Page 218

“What do you need help with?” said Sheryl. “I’m pretty good with geography. Gregory’s a math nerd.”

“Hey, I’m not--”

“Yes, you are, shut up. Micah, you’re good at something, aren’t you?”

“Hell no.”

“Yeah, you are! Biology! You’re good at biology!”

“No, I’m not! I cheat, I swear I do!”

“Yeah, right, you goodie-good! Nathan, Janine, what are your best subjects?”

‘Hector, what have you done?’

‘I don’t know, but I’m scared...’

“Hector!” said Sheryl, making him flinch. “C’mon! Give us your address, and we’ll take turns tutoring you!”

-+-+-+-+-

Battonburg was a quiet little town. Buildings were architecturally ornate but never more than three stories. The small roads remained quiet, even in the middle of the day, and as Geoffrey looked for a place to park, he spotted a familiar reaper waving him down. He pulled into a diner and got out of his sleek, white sports car.

Ozmere floated over to him, with Moss lumbering not far behind. ‘Hello again,’ the reaper said.

“Hello. What are you doing here?”

‘We wanted to make sure you didn’t wipe out the entire town.’

Geoffrey pouted. “Aww, but that is the easiest way. I do not need to ask around about Colt if I just consume all their souls and read their minds.”

‘Geoffrey, please. That sort of thing will attract the attention of the Vanguard’s aberration hunters. And trust me when I say that would not be fun for you.’

“Bah.”

‘Don’t be like that. We’ll make a game of it. We’ll talk to various people and if someone seems like they know something useful, THEN you can eat their soul. Agreed?’

“Oh, very well.”

‘Good.’

“Is Desmond here, too?”

‘No, he and Ezmortig are still in Sescoria. There is still much that needs overseeing. Our reinforcements arrived the other day, and Desmond’s been trying to help everyone get situated without drawing too much attention.’

Page 217

He waited for lunch to arrive, barely staying awake for his next class and giving up entirely for the one after. None of the teachers mentioned his absence at all, but he supposed he should have expected that, given how overcrowded each class was. They surely had more important things to worry about than the whereabouts of a single student.

When lunch arrived, he found himself seated at the table with everyone, receiving their questions and intrigued faces. After all that had happened to him, he had to remind himself of their names. Nathan, Janine, Gregory, and then of course Sheryl and Micah.

“...I got a job in private security,” Hector explained.

‘Really? I was guessing you’d go with metalworking.’

“Security?” said Sheryl. “You mean like a bodyguard?”

“Kinda, yeah...”

“I didn’t think people under eighteen could get work like that,” said Micah.

‘Oho. What now, genius?’

“It’s... an unusual arrangement, um... just... It’s difficult to explain.”

‘What a cop-out! Boooo!’

“What do you mean ‘unusual’?” Gregory asked.

‘Ha!’

Hector looked between everyone. “Um. Well, uh. This wealthy guy... he hired me. D-don’t ask me why. I don’t really know. But um. It’s pretty rewarding work. I mean, I enjoy it.”

‘Wow, Hector.’

“There’s just one problem,” Hector added. “My boss. He’s kind of a jackass.”

‘Oh, you dick.’

Micah’s brow rose. “Has your boss been making you miss school? That’s not legal, is it?”

“N-no, I’ve been choosing to miss school...”

“That’s no good!” said Sheryl. “You shouldn’t skip so much. What if you aren’t able to graduate?”

Hector frowned. “Ah, uh... I-I think that ship may’ve already sailed, actually...”

Her eyes bulged. “What?! You’re kidding!”

Hector flushed with shame and looked down at his food. It was some kind of meat-like blob covered in sauce, and the sight of it didn’t do much to make him feel better.

“Do you need a tutor?” Micah asked.

“Yeah, do you need a tutor?” Sheryl echoed.

“Um, I, ah...”

‘Uh-oh. Where is this going?’

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--donation bonus (day #9, post 5/5)--
“Hector!” said Sheryl, smiling. “How have you been?! We were starting to think you moved away or something!”

He averted his gaze as she cornered him against a wall and a line of lockers. “I, uh...” Garovel wasn’t awake to help him. He froze up.

“Is everything okay? Am I making you uncomfortable again?”

He definitely did not want to answer that.

She frowned after a moment. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I get it. Don’t worry. I’ll just leave you alone from now on.” She started walking away.

“N-no,” he said, gritting his teeth. “Please don’t... um...”

She turned. “What?”

“You’re not, uh... I mean... I don’t want you to leave.” He tried to look at her face, but her renewed smile was too much for him.

“So why haven’t you been around school, then? Were you sick or something?”

That would be a serviceable lie, of course, but he decided to stick with one story. “I got a job. It’s been, uh... very demanding.”

“What sort of job requires you to miss school? Like a family business type of thing?”

“N-no, it’s, um... well, it’s difficult to explain.”

“Oh yeah?” She looked at her watch. “Well, I do actually have to go. I’ve got tennis. Um. Tell me more about it at lunch, okay? I’m sure everyone else is curious, too.”

“Ah--okay...”

And she was gone again, disappeared into the passing stream of students.

‘Smooth,’ said Garovel.

Hector’s brow lowered. ‘You’re supposed to be asleep.’

‘I was awoken by the sound of you lying yourself into a corner. What the hell are you going to tell them, exactly?’

‘I have an idea... I think.’

‘Is that so? Don’t tell me, then. I want to be surprised.’

‘Go back to sleep, already.’

‘Fine. But wake me up at lunchtime.’

Hector smirked faintly. ‘Okay, I will.’