Gary had expected to hear these words from Kai every day at one point and time. As each day went by, he imagined this exact scenario, but when nothing had happened, and for so long, Gary had stopped worrying about it. Yet here he was in this situation.
The two had talked a little further, as Gary wanted to know exact details, but it seemed like Kai actually didn’t know much. Just that they knew that someone who matched his body and hair description went to this school, with the biggest discovery being they had gotten a name as well.
They were looking for Gary Dem. The silver lining was they only knew what school he went to and nothing about his family.
“So, what do we do?” Gary asked, hoping for an answer.
It took a while before Kai eventually answered back.
“We can’t do anything, not so quickly. Transferring you over will only make it suspicious, and if they find you, it might also put me at risk. Maybe try dyeing your hair black or something. I know before I said it was fine, but now that they have narrowed you down to this school, they might pick you out first, but that won’t stop the other students from knowing who you are…. We are just going to have to take this head-on.”
Hearing all of this, the one thing he was happy about was the fact that Kai had not abandoned him. In this situation, it was easy for him to ditch all of his plans because Gary was a big risk. In the end, Kai was also a member of the Underdogs, and the situation with Gary could spell big trouble for him.
The school bell had rung; it was their signal to get out of there. Gary’s happy mood had wholly gone down, as now there was only one thing he could think about. When entering the classroom late, the teacher started to give him a few words of warning. But Gary would only reply with a few simple words.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Sorry, sir.”
It was clear something was up, so his homeroom teacher decided to let him go. Besides, today was meant to be a joyous and happy event. Still, Gary’s soft footsteps were noticed by many in the room.
Xin, seeing Gary in this way, thought it might not be the best idea to approach him today. No one knew what other people were dealing with in their lives, and when someone was like this, she doubted she could even help and just wished to give him space.
“Hey man, is everything okay, is your sister sick or something?” Tom asked straight away. He wasn’t shy like the others. If his friend was worried, he would ask straight up.
“Yeah, Amy’s fine..my mum is okay as well. It’s just I’m the one with the problem.” Gary replied back.
With that reply, Tom had decided to push off a little. He knew asking anything now would get him nowhere and would try to open up with him as the day went on. The class began working. They were cutting out and making little supporting fans and stickers while those that would be taking part in the talent show were practising.
Of course, no one Gary was close to was taking part in the show, nor was he. He didn’t exactly have a talent to show them. After an hour of what seemed like an arts and crafts lesson. It was finally time for them to all head to the main hall.
The students lined up and went down the hallways into the gigantic main hall that the school had, entering the room that could hold the six hundred or so students. When having an assembly, usually they would use seats, but due to everyone being invited and every year group, everyone would be required to stand for the event. Then at the end of the room, there was a large stage for events like this and their performances.
They didn’t have any fancy lighting or many props like other schools had because it was a normal school in a tier-three city, but it would do for the students. Eventually, all the students had entered.
Tom had stuck by Gary’s side, who still looked unenergetic. He hadn’t said a word, and Innu was staying by his side as well.
‘I got that message from Kai to keep an eye on Gary and report to him. Something is definitely up. I wonder what happened?’ Innu thought.
Still, he just wasn’t good with this stuff. What to say or what to do, and he knew if it was him in a similar situation. He would eventually sort out the troubles he had himself.
The show looked like it was about to begin as the teachers entered and shut the four doors into the place. Two at the back and two at the front close to the stage. Gary and Tom were in the centre, so they could see everything.
“Hey, it looks like we found you.” A voice said, coming out from the side.
Turning around, they could see that it was Kai, and with him was Marie as well. Before heading over to Gary, Kai looked and stopped in front of Tom instead.
“I haven’t seen you since that day at the Wolf’s club. Thank you for looking after Marie’s mother the other day.” Kai said in a soft voice.
Quickly, Marie came over and thanked Tom personally as well for the help. She suddenly grabbed his hands and thanked him properly.
‘A…a..girl is touching my hands.’ Tom thought as it was the first time for him that he had made contact with the opposite sex other than his mother. At the same time, when looking at Marie, he could tell that she resembled someone a little bit. She looked a little like Gary’s sister, only the older version that he had imagined in his head.
“You’re welcome…if you need help with classes, please ask me as well!” Tom replied. It was a strange and stupid response, but Marie was kind enough to reply with a nod.
“Gary,” Kai shouted quite loudly to get him to snap out of his daze. The students were talking in excitement anyway, so they all needed to speak louder than they usually would.
“Enjoy today, watch the show. Deal with the situation as it comes. We’ve done all the precautions we can, and besides..your special, right?
“If it comes to it, just show them all how special you are.”
The lights started to dim down, as it looked like the talent show was about to begin. The lights turned on the stage, and everyone was expecting any second now for one of the host teachers to come out and start speaking.
Yet there was silence, no sound, nothing. The students were quiet at first, but as time went on, they looked at each other and looked at the teachers standing by the side for some guidance or help, but even they looked confused.
Until eventually, a person was seen walking on stage. It was a man who had done so confidently, but it was someone the students didn’t recognise.
However, Kai and his gang noticed a red bandana wrapped around his arm.
Walking up to the mic, he leaned in and said…
“Let’s get this show started.”
Loud bangs were heard coming from all four doors of the room as red colour members stormed into the hall simultaneously.
******
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