The wind was calm as leaves were falling gracefully by the silent street outside the gates of Mchalmmond High School. The rays of the sun sneaked through the curtains and corridors. It was 10 minutes before class. Cade was running fast like The Flash a few meters away from the school. He woke up pretty late because he didn’t set his alarm and The Generals didn’t bother to wake him up because of their individual commitments to their clubs and training in school.
Cade’s chest heaved while he held his knees when he arrived outside the entrance of Mchalmmond. His eyes followed the intricate lines of the enormous gate and analyzed how he could climb up without someone noticing him and without breaking his bones. He stood for 3 minutes and concluded: that he cannot climb up the gate without ruining his uniform and hurting his balls.
Cade hid behind the wall when a guard came to check if there were latecomers and left when he saw no one.
“Curt?” Luke called him. Cade put his finger on his lips to silence him. Luke walked closer and whispered, “Go to the exit.”
Cade obeyed him and went to the back of the school. It took him a long time to arrive because the school was too wide, and he had a difficult time avoiding the CCTV cameras. Luke was already waiting for him at the back. He opened the gate and let him enter.
“Thanks, Pres,” Cade said.
“You better not do this again.”
Cade put his fingers on his forehead to salute and made his way near the garden where the latecomers were being punished.
“Mchalmmond do not tolerate laziness and irresponsibility. As a punishment, you are tasked with cleaning the garden and the comfort room after class. Do you understand?” Mr. Robinson said. He was the M.O.D. or moderator of discipline, the most feared staff in school. He had an army cut, and he came from the military before returning to the teaching profession.
“Yes, sir,” the students replied.
“Do you understand?” he roared.
“Yes, sir!”
Cade was startled when someone grabbed his collar from behind.
“What are you doing here?” Luke asked. “Do you want to be caught?”
Cade gulped. “No.”
“Then go to your classroom before you put me in trouble. Your teacher is coming. Hurry!”
Cade nodded and dashed to the classroom. Fortunately, he arrived a few seconds before his teacher. The class resumed like nothing happened. Cade gazed at Liam’s vacant chair and wondered where he could be. He shifted his eyes to the green field and felt the soft air in his cheeks as he closed his eyes.
Cade’s dramatic moment, like shooting a music video was disturbed when someone inserted a bag through the window. It shocked him because their classroom was three floors above the ground. How could someone reach it?
Suddenly, hands appeared from the window and gripped its edges. Someone was climbing from the first floor. He drew closer to the window and saw Liam climbing through the wall. He used a long ladder, but it wasn’t enough. So, three of his basketball members stood on one another’s shoulders and lifted him up.
“What the hell?” Cade whispered.
“Just pull me up, will you?” Liam said.
Cade offered his hand and pulled him inside. Liam crawled towards his seat while the teacher was still writing something on the board.
“Alright. Before I forgot, let me check your attendance.”
Liam took a glimpse of Cade and winked.
After the 30-minute discussion, the class moved to the Art room exclusive to the Art Club. But they could also use it for their Art subject. It was everyone’s favorite place to visit.
The theme for this year’s Art room was World War I. So there were statues of soldiers, poor civilians, and a cabinet filled with guns, shields, and barricades. There were figurines of machine guns, motorized transport vehicles, high explosives, chemical weapons, and airplanes.
“It’s giving me the creeps,” Cade uttered.
“It’s too realistic,” Liam added.
They stared at the photo cards hung on the wires with LED lights surrounding them. It was the photos of the Art Club members.
“Oh, Luke’s here,” Cade said as he pointed to a photo.
“He was a loyal member of this club before he became the president.”
“It must be sad to leave your passion behind.”
“His father urged him to run as the president to gain more experience in politics. Mr. Harris is also the P.T.A. President and they’re a family of politicians.”
“Wow.”
“Please find your seat. Grab your paint and canvas. Then, start creating an abstract painting,” the teacher said. Liam and Cade sat beside each other as they thought of a unique concept.
“By the way, I noticed that the three of you are in separated classrooms,” Cade said.
“Yes. The Generals are separated the next year to serve as the role model in each class.”
“Did it ruin your friendship? With all the distance and competition?”
“Not really, because we have the same goal to be on top.”
Thirty minutes had passed, and everyone was prepared to present and explain their masterpieces. As expected, Liam had the most impressive explanation and probably would get the highest score.
“Mr. Curt Fleming, you’re next.”
Cade stood on the mini-stage while holding his art. He tried to compose himself and calm his knees.
“What can I say after that mind-blowing speech from Liam? I should jump off a cliff, bury myself, and let the worms turn me into a masterpiece. That may win against him, right?” The students laughed. “Just kidding, the M.O.D. might throw me in hell for good.”
“So, as you can see, I only used two colors. Black and red. I looked around this room and felt one thing. Grief. War might be the darkest time in history. Thus, I painted them black. The red splashes are obviously blood. The cries of our people. But then it also symbolizes love, right? This simply means that in war, there is love. Ironic, isn’t it? And in darkness, we see the light. The absence of a matter is the presence of another. Therefore, it is only in the grievous moments that we give value to what we have lost, and appreciate what we have after that torment.”
Cade bowed his head and smiled. Everyone applauded him and his teacher gave him a standing ovation. Liam lifted his thumbs and cheered his name.
***
Cade was on his way to the dormitory when he saw a familiar cat.
“Lady Marmalade?” he said.
To his curiosity, he followed the cat.
Is Antione here? Is he spying on me?
The cat stopped under the bypass road and jumped inside the garbage can.
“Eww. You’re not Lady Marmalade. She will never let herself get dirty, and Antoine feeds her with human food. Luxurious one, not to mention. She’s not a cat anymore. She’s royalty,” he ranted.
Cade turned around to go back, but realized he was lost. “Where am I?”
“So, you are Cade Robertson.”
Cade stepped back when a group of people appeared.
“Who—who are you? What are you talking about?”
The one with a dragon tattoo on his arms drew nearer to him.
“Don’t act dumb. We know you. Cade Robertson. Son of a Billionaire. Lives in Westminster London. What else?”
“What do you want?”
The guy smirked. “We want to see you in pain, crawl, and beg for your life.”
“What? Who are you, and what did I ever do to you?”
“Remember Buck Blair?”
Cade gathered his thoughts. “He’s familiar. The idiot who messed up with me in Westgate.”
“Idiot, huh? He’s our gang member.”
“Gang member? Did you follow me here? From London to Britain. Really? I must be so special.”
The guy punched his cheek. “We didn’t follow you. This is where we live. We have members all over the world. His enemy is our enemy.”
“If you are so famous, then why didn’t I hear of you? What’s the name of your organization?”
“The Red Tag.”
Cade chuckled. “Red tag? That sounds like a cheap brand in the market.”
“We’ll see if you could continue to laugh.”
Cade looked at them one after another. It was six versus one.
“Then catch me,” Cade said and ran.
Goodness. I need you, Theo!
Cade used to join track n’ field in his sophomore year and he ran at high speed. He lurked through highways and alleys until he came across Luke, Liam, and Lewis who were having a smoke.
“Hey. Where have you been?” Liam asked.
“Run!”
“What?”
Cade grabbed their hands.
“What’s happening?” Liam asked.
“Those crazy people are after me.”
“Let’s split them up. You go straight. I’ll go east. Luke, go south. Liam, join Cade,” Lewis said.
“Either we’ll fight them or lose them. Just don’t get killed,” Luke said.
The boys split up and divided their opponents. Luke wore his brass knuckles and fought the guy who was following him. Lewis threw his bag and faced his opponents with flying kicks.
“You don’t mess with the captain,” Lewis said.
Meanwhile, Cade and Liam were running for their lives.
“We reached the dead end,” Cade said.
“There’s no running now,” Liam replied.
Three guys cornered them and flexed their muscles to show their strength.
“Can you fight?” Cade asked.
“Not really. I can’t even fight for love.”
“Me neither.”