"Why are you smoking in the school premises? Don't you know you will be punished if you are caught?" He asked with his childish stern voice.
Riggs burst into laughter looking at Carl disdainfully.
Carl was angry at his laughter.
"What's funny?" He snapped.
As at then Carl just begin to practice his growing powers after series of trainings. He always feel like to show himself but his thundersense wouldn't let him (A thundersense is the active caution power in them. It always bring them to caution untill they've grown enough to caution themselves).
"Do I in any way look like a student?" He said puffing out smoke.
Carl looked at him gloomily. He felt the boy shouldn't be smoking so heavily like this at his tender age.
"It will be even worse for you boy. You are a minor and who sold you cigarette?" He asked bossily.
His voice would have been mistaken for an elder if he was not seen.
Riggs got angry with the way he was spoken to and how he was referred to as a minor. Not that he didn't agree to be a minor but because he looking at Carl gaged his age and thought that he should be of same age category with him and yet he is scolding him like an elder. He felt belittle.
"Hey watch it boy!" Riggs said firmly and glared angrily at him.
Carl gave him an irritated scrutiny. He made sure he saw the look on his face. It was cold and daring.
"Put that cigarette away now!" He ordered in a very cold tone ignoring his warnings.
To Riggs's shock he was so scared of the boy's words. He felt so scared as if if he didn't obey he was going to run into trouble. He then dropped the cigarette and frowned.
Carl himself wasn't expecting such quick compliance. He felt he needed to use more firm words and some little threatening before he would comply.
Riggs was glaring at him but he did nothing. He was just cursing at him in his heart. Carl was expecting such so it wasn't a bother to him.
"You are too young to be smoking. You will only damage your system. Just go eat good food" he lectured and then turned to leave.
" Who are you?" Riggs asked.
"I'm Carl" he said and left.
When he got home, he narrated all to his family and that immediately pricked his father's ears. Although he seems too young to have an assistant but he didn't get to know where it was said that one can't meet his assistant earlier. He met his own in college but that doesn't mean his children will be that late.
This then made Dean to instruct him to go try look for the guy. It was a bit difficult for anyone to find him aside Carl been that he was the one that came in contact with him but Carl is yet to master some of his ability.
This made him a regular visitor to the rooftop. He went for days he wouldn't find the boy. He then start to give up. But after some weeks he saw him again.
This time he wasn't smoking but eating bread. Being that Carl's ability to hear thoughts has been sharpened, he discovered that the food he was eating is stolen. He then begin to wonder how many atrocities the boy do commit.
At first when his father told him to look for the boy he didn't know the reason but he did it. He thought his father wanted to help the boy but when he told his father that he was tired of searching, his father then explained the reason for the search.
"If you don't get hold of him now you might not have an assistant for ever" his father told him and that boosted his efforts to find Riggs.
"Why steal?" He asked as he moved closer.
He didn't know why a boy with so many bad characters will be chosen for him as an assistant. He didn't want to start correcting and correcting. He felt a little burdened.
Riggs was so scared that he wanted to run away.
"It's okay. It's just me" Carl said.
Riggs looked back and he truely saw that it was only Carl. Half of him wanted to run and the other half wanted to stay.
At the latter end, the other half that wanted to stay prevailed. He then sat and continued eating the bread he held hurriedly like someone is coming to get it from him.
Carl watched him with pity. He was just eating ordinary bread and he was so enthusiastic about it.
"If you are so hungry, why not go to the government welfare houses?" He asked.
He knew about the welfare houses been that his father will take him along to go donate into those houses.
Riggs shook his head.
"They are all bunch of liars".
"Why do you say that?" He asked.
Although he needed not to ask been that he could hear his thoughts but he still did.
"They would give so little and lie that they give a lot" he said chewing his bread.
" But isn't that better than stealing?"
Riggs kept quiet not knowing what to say. He didn't even know how he got to know that he was eating a stolen food. He then conclude that it is because he looked so poor and dirty so it was an easy guess.
After few seconds, Carl talked.
"Do you want me to give you a job?"
Riggs's face lit up and then fell again as fast as it came up.
"I do need a job but I'm a minor and I don't have anything it takes to qualify for a job" he said sadly.