Earth

Boyce was sitting by the door to the back of the school in the commons that doubled as a cafeteria during lunch. His fellow anime friends all had the other lunch so he was always sitting and reading a manga on the window ledge. This time it was no different; other than a small group of four bullies coming toward him. "Hey book boy what you reading?" One of them mocked Boyce as he usually did, "One of your little man-ga books." This guy mispronounced the name, although Boyce knew it was on purpose.

"Manga," Boyce corrected him, "And I highly doubt that you could handle the true complexities of this series. It is not suited for someone without any sense of taste for a good book." Boyce said as he kept reading the manga in his hand. On the front it read 'Darker Than Black' and had a man with dark hair and what seemed to be a blade in his hand. It was the start of the series, yet Boyce had already read all of it a couple times before.

Seeming to be ignored the one who spoke to Boyce scoffed and walked away clearly irritated. As he left Boyce reached for his water bottle without looking. He was slightly off and he grabbed a few empty spots at the nearby table. With the last grip his water bottle slide a couple inches, as if it had a string on it, right into his hand. Boyce wasn't paying attention and thought that it was already there, but one of the four bullies (not the one that had spoke) saw this as showing off. He turned around and nudged the others to follow him. "Do you think your cool with your little trick you freak?" This one was the more violent and easily angered boy of the bullies. Boyce snapped his manga shut and looked to him slightly confused. "Don't give me that look; I'm talking about you water bottle trick!" The bully was now pissed since Boyce was still confused as to what he was talking about. The boy couldn't stand for Boyce's ignorance anymore and got ready to punch for Boyce's face.

Boyce's instincts kicked in and he hoped off the ledge barely dodging the attack; allowing it to collide with the window with a thud. "I have no clue what you are talking about." Boyce didn't feel like getting in a fight on the second week of school so without another word he grabbed his stuff and made his way through the commons. There he found a seat near some of the jocks who he could actually get along with since his cousin was on the football team. They didn't notice him as usual, but those bullies couldn't find him after that. For now he was free to read his book again as some students looked to Boyce; some knowing that as usual and others seeing it as something new.

Jason was sitting on the stage of the theater with some of his friends eating a donut. Like usual, he had brought a box of day-old donuts with him to share with his theater crew. Jason was typing in his laptop with one hand, eating the sprinkled donut with the other. He was working on is latest book idea. It was an adventure fantasy book about a group of misfit mercenaries called the Crimson Wolves. He based the mage character off of himself. He was laughing at a line he wrote, when one of the theater kids asked to do a game. Everyone looked to Jason and the room got awkwardly silent. Jason noticed this and looked up. "Why are you all looking at me?""Because you know all the theater games and your a senior.""Fine." Jason shut off his laptop after saving his work, downed the donut and stood up.

"Alright, we'll play party quirks. I'll be the host. Line-up." As the students lined up, he pretended to set up things for the party. "Alright, got my chips, my spiked punch bowl. Entertainment." He said while making a shadow puppet on the wall, which got a laugh. The shadow on the wall started to get bigger and bigger, and the room seemed to get darker and darker. Jason noticed it and stopped doing the shadow puppet, and almost immediately did things go back to normal. Jason looked around very confused, as did the other students. Did he cause that to happen? Nah, couldn't be......still. "Alright, that's enough spookiness for me. I'm out" Jason grabbed his laptop and slid it into his shoulder bag. He picked up his box of donuts and swiftly walked out of the theater onto the campus.

Jason just began to wander through the halls, seemingly without a destination in mind. He just wanted to get away from what had just happened. He ran into a lot of idiots asking if they could eat his donuts, which he basically ignored. He walked until he came upon a bench, sort of away from the bulk of the school and decided to sit there for awhile. "Stop freaking out, your over reacting. Don't think about it." Taking his own advice, he pulled out his Jim Butcher Novel of the Harry Dresden files. He had read the entire series all the way through about 3 times now and he was back on number 5. He decided to focus on the story of this one. He liked it because it was different than the others. In this one, Harry Dresden, professional wizard, fights Demons. Wizard vs. Demon in the modern age, he thought it was really compelling. And it certainly kept his mind off of the rogue shadow puppet.

Sabrina observed the confrontation that was happening a few tables from her's with an uninterested eye. Someone should probably step in, but no one would have. The students of their school did not have a justification of right and wrong and that made her sick to her stomach. By nature, people were generally only after their own self-gratification, and she saw no point in establishing relationships with shallow peers. Sure, there were a few who were kind, but not intelligent, and they usually expected something in return. However the actions did stir a dormant creativity. She began jotting down a premise for an upcoming novel.

Student makes his fortune by taking the fall for his peers. His reputation as a delinquent in the eyes of the teachers is actually an act of genuine kindness

She liked the idea, but like any good novel, it would need some polishing. A few quirky scenes in the bathroom, a crush on the "goody-two-shoes" class president, and an epic school protest at his expulsion for the climax. She could easily see it becoming a hit, if she had the motivation to finish it. Sabrina really believed in her capabilities, inside her head the plots for best-sellers floated, but each was pushed out of the way for something she considered to be better. Slamming the cover of her notebook she gathered her things in preparation for her next class. She'd have liked to go home and scribbled away for hours, but alas she had a pointless education to pursue.

As she passed the theater, she observed a playful game in process inside. Sabrina admired the type of people who weren't bothered by the opinions of others, and she'd have liked to even joined. But she was too conscious of herself, and wasn't able to easily join in frivolous activities with people she hardly knew.

“I step forward and embrace the skies,
the red sand sets my heart aflame.
My feet dance, I enjoy the sun,
My dread rises up, and set ablaze.”

Miriam looked at her creation, pleased with the emotion filled within her new poem. She gave a satisfied smile, then set out with her sketchpad, to illustrate. What would she draw to match this? She closed her eyes, and she could see herself dancing in a lonely desert, a world of nothing but fire around her.. As she visualized it, her fingers moved on their own accord.

“You're doing this again?” Came the voice of one of her classmates, “Why do just sit here and drew? Why don't you go talk to someone like a normal person?”
“Because I'm happy here. Please leave me alone.” She said, reaching into her pack for a fiery red pastel., and began to make light strokes on the paper..

“Don't you tell me to leave you alone!” Came the classmate's rude voice. “I can do what-”

“Nothing,” Miriam said, looking up, “You can do absolute nothing. You claim to be of importance, but you're lower then they came. I'd say worse than pond scum. Your life is dependent on your family, but it won't last much longer. You're afraid that they'll abandon you.”

She stood up, “I hate cowards like you.”. She said. She was tapping her penci, against her leg, with had somehow caught on fire. Everyone looked at it in surprise, and Miriam quickly let go of it. It stopped burning when it toched the ground. “The sun, maybe?” She asked, confused. She sat back down, and continued on her sketch.

As Boyce finished up the manga he put it back in his backpack and pulled out a second. Just as he opened it up he saw a glimpse of fire slightly in the distance and watched as it quickly went back out upon reaching the floor. [i]'You don't see that everyday,'[i/] Boyce thought as he set his book down deciding to read it later. He then put one of his waters on its side and started rolling it back and forth. In his head he remembered a part in a manga he once read where a character tipped a cup upside-down, but the contents didn't fall out. Boyce then paid more attention to his water bottle as the water inside began to stay still as if the bottle was not moving in the slightest. Boyce fell back out of the seat, spooked by what he just saw. A few students looked to him wondering what was going on. Boyce was sure it was his imagination but just wanted to get out of there since he figured those bullies would know his whereabouts now. He quickly gathered his things once more and rushed to his next class. The bell wouldn't ring for a while but that was the best place for now he thought.

On the way Boyce bumped into another student from his lack of paying attention. With a quick apology he continued; not realizing that the person he bumped into, Sabrina was her name, was in his upcoming class. The second he reached his destination Boyce quickly found his seat and began reading his manga again, trying to ignore the rest of the world until the tardy bell rang to start the class.

Jimmy just got to a really good part in his book, when he heard some people yell. He looked up from his book and saw a spark come off of a girls pencil. She said something and sat back down and started to draw, like nothing happen. Huh.....I wonder. Jason then shook his head. Just because the girls pencil caught fire for a brief moment, didn't mean the same weird thing that happened to him was happening to her. He re-focused back between the pages of his novel. He kept reading it, but his eyes kept getting drawn back to the girl. He had seen her before........of course! She was in his next class. Her name was Miriam, she usually sat behind him in their next class. That didn't give him the right to walk up to her and go, 'Hey! Did you just light your pencil on fire? Because I just controlled a shadow puppet to almost black out the theater!' She would just probably knee him in the groin and run. Girls do that, they fight dirty, for they have no male pride or honor to hold them back. Then he got that little voice in the back of his head that whispered 'Your sexist.' "I am not a sexist." Jason yelled to himself. He drew some attention of some passer-Byers, he looked at them and said. "I'm trying to have a conversation with myself, I don't need everyone dropping eaves all over it!" He said in a New-york accent. he loved weirding people out, especially if it involved accents.

After about 10 minutes, he decided to screw it. He got up, bag over his shoulder, book in hand and donut box in the other. He walked up to Miriam and began to speak. "Hey, couldn't help but notice your drawing. Ive seen you draw in class sometimes, and I wanted to see what you were drawing..........I'll give you a donut." He said opening the box in front of her.

As Sabrina made her casual approach to the class, she was bumped into by the classmate she had seen in the courtyard during lunch. His hurried pace made it difficult for her to respond to the apology he recited, and her inquisitive nature caused her to wonder what caused him to rush. He seemed to be a fairly unbothered sort, so whatever prompted him must have been important. Perhaps the bullies had come back to pick up on their confrontation, poor thing.

She arrived shortly after he did, but despite this, she was still the second to arrive. Her boots hitting the floor echoed on the hollow walls of the room. Sabrina glanced at Boyce curiously, a strand of hair falling into her face. When he didn't return the look she tucked the hair behind her ear, and uncommon to her nature, she took a seat directly to the right of Boyce. She didn't know why, and didn't have a rational reason, but something was persuading her to do so.

Sabrina was reluctant to start a conversation at the risk of sounding dumb. She thought of commenting on him being in the class, like the "popular girls" would do to play hard to get, but they had been in school for two weeks and she was well aware of his presence, after a silence that felt to be drawn out over an eternity she finally turned to him and smiled, "I see you are reading Darker Than Black. I love that series!" Sabrina then dipped into her bag and pulled out the exact same book in the series. Her hand waved over the cracked book and the pages flipped. She never paid attention to this occurence, it was subtle, and therefore she never noticed that they flipped without her ever turning the book or touching the pages, " Umm, I just started reading it though."

Miriam looked up, to where someone...oh she knew him. Jason? Yeah, Jason Fitzgerald... He sat in front of her in a couple of her classes. She was about to tell him to go away, but then he expressed interest in her drawing... and it sounded like a simple conversation starter, but there was a hint of actual interest. On top of that, he even offered her a doughnut.

“Thank you.” She said, accepting a doughnut. “I'm afraid it's not finished yet, so I can't let you see it. I believe I saw your last play... you are the guy in the theater, right? It was funny... yet kind of sad.”

She put her sketchbook away, and focused on eating the doughnut. Some of the girls were still staring at her, either because of the earlier fire incident, or because she was talking to someone, witch she usually did not do. For someone reason, she felt as the following conversation would have meaning... call it woman’s intuition.

“I'm not sure we have met, officially. I'm Miriam Smith... call me...”

5 seconds later, she recovered from a burst of micro sleep, “Oh, I'm sorry. Just call me Miriam, okay?”
She noticed the book in his hands, “Oh, I've read that book before... that plot was confusing at first, but it made more sense towards the middle. I could relate to one or two of the characters.
She pulled a book from her bag, “I'm reading 'Angel of Fire'. It's about a young angel who was cast of of heaven because she could manipulate fire, because they thought it was connected to hell. SO now she has to find a way to connect to human life... I'm talking too much, aren't I?” She asked, quickly putting the book back.

One other person seemed to have a similar idea to Boyce; coming into the classroom to avoid the others. Then the girl mentioned that she was reading dark than black as well. ’An interesting conversation starter with a new person’ Boyce thought as he closed the book at the half way point. “I think it is a good series, one of my favorites to be exact.” Boyce wasn’t exactly sure what this girl, Sabrina as he remembered, was trying to do. Regardless the reason for starting the conversation there is no reason to ignore her or be rude. “I have read through it three times and I decided to start on my fourth. It is the best series in the school library in my opinion. Then again after reading each series this school has two to four times each you begin to know them quite well. Anyway how do you like the series so far?”

After Sabrina gave her thoughts on the ‘Darker Then Black’ series thus far Boyce decided her would test and see if she would ignore him from odd statements. “Earlier at lunch some bullies said I did some trick with my water bottle. At first I disregarded it as them finding a reason to mess with me, but after I move I think I found that to not be true. I started to roll the water bottle back and forth and after a bit the water start to stay at one point of the bottle, not even a drop moved to the other side. I seemed as if the water had been sealed at that spot. It spooked me and I left it at the table and bolted over here.” Boyce figured that if anything would get her to think he was a freak and ignore him this would be it. If not then he could easily call her a friend, though for now just a school friend.

Jason was glad he had offered the doughnut as a catalyst for them to get off on a good start. After she accepted, he took a seat next to her. Jason was a little disappointed when he heard he couldn't see Miriam's drawing, but was utterly surprised she saw him in the play. "You saw The Curious Savage, huh? No ones ever really recognized me from the shows. It's always fun playing a crazy person, even if it gets a little sad. I'm glad it brought laughter to you." Jason said in a very sincere way.

Miriam was in the middle of a sentence, then, it seemed she fell asleep. Jason almost jumped when she woke up 5 seconds later. "Hehe, okay Miriam. I'm Jason Fitzgerald. You can call me Jason, or Jay. I'm cool with both." He said with a smile. She past the weird test with flying colors, he could now allow the conversation to continue.

She commented on his book. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I believe I have a grasp on it now, after all this is the fourth time Ive read it." He said jokingly. A girl with the same taste of book that he did. Jason couldn't believe that it was possible. He quickly recovered from his astonishment when she mentioned her book. He had never heard of it, but it sounded interesting. She then said the silly notion that she was talking too much.

"I believe you are talking just the right amount for a starter conversation with a person who shares a similar interest with you. Now if I had asked you about the weather, then yes, you would be. Since that is not the case, I bid thee, speak more." Jason said in a kidding manner. "Honestly, I feel kind of special that you are talking to me. I never see you talk in class, which is good, we're in their to learn not to socialize. But, the only time I see you talking too people is when your showing up assholes, which I love by the way. Ive always assumed you just have very high standards when it comes too socializing, which are always good to have. It seems even the highest standards can be overcome with a genuine interest and deep fried circular dough." Jason said with a smile on his face. He hoped he hadn't offended her by saying any of that, he was praising her in reality. He had only spoken to her for a few moments, but in those few moments, they had connected in an odd way, she was a cool person. Jason thought this was the perfect opportunity to bring up the strange occurrence.

"Hey Miriam, you know how your pencil caught fire? Well, something weird happened to me too. I was doing a shadow puppet in the theater and it started growing and all of the lights were dimming, but the second I stopped doing the puppet, all of the lights came back on. So........please don't kick my in the groin and run because you think I'm crazy. I'm not entirely sure why I even just told you. It just seemed like.........I don't know, that you would understand? Do you know what i mean?"