September 4th, 2023. Monday 8:00 AM
A peaceful morning. The sun was shining. There was a slight comforting morning breeze. Birds were taking turns singing.
It was a peaceful morning.
But what if I told you it was a Monday morning?
For most people, that would be fine. Some people would hate it because they'd have to go back to work, but overall, it was still a nice morning setting.
What if I added it was a September morning?
To the adults, this won't mean much, but to the younger people, this changes everything.
For students, nothing about a September morning is peaceful. After spending a whole summer having fun and away from anything academic, they're back.
Back at school. September is the time for students to return to reality.
That would usually be the case. However, for these young adults, it was different. These new set of students were about to embark on something new. Something different.
Ding! Ding!
The clock tower rang as it struck 8:00 AM.
New faces were entering a new environment. A polished, pristine institution. An academy many would die to attend, and these 'lucky' students had earned that opportunity.
Since it was the start of the year, an introductory assembly would be held in the main hall at 8:30 AM. Many students scurried around trying to find their way around, but the main hall was nearly impossible to miss. The main hall was one of the school's main attractions.
Inside the main hall, a few second-year students were hanging out on the upper floor, preying on the new students from the balcony. Feeling a sense of superiority watching their excited faces.
"Poor kids, they have no clue what they're getting into," Richard said, chewing gum, amused at the sight beneath him.
Chloe took her eyes off her phone. "It's not that bad," she said, with a small smile. "But most of them will have their dreams crushed just finding out how things turn out around here."
"You can't blame them. All of us were exactly like them," Leon said, leaning on the railing with both his arms. "I couldn't wait to be number one, you know. Trying my hardest in the challenges and getting the most points... then you find that one person dominates and gives everyone else no chance." He turned his head to his left, "What'd you think, Micheal?"
Micheal had a similar position to Leon's, the only difference was that his head rested in his arms.
He raised his head and sluggishly said, "I don't know. We'll have to see."
Micheal, a tall boy with hazelnut-coloured eyes, clear skin, and short hair on the sides and back, but longer blonde hair that covered his forehead but sat above his eyebrows.
"Bro, wake up. It's not summer anymore," Leon told him, shaking him.
"Okay, okay. I'm awake," Micheal yawned before he stood up straight and stretched his arms behind his head.
He took a look below, and that was enough to make him let out a smile that showed his straight teeth.
"Look at you, you never used to show your teeth last year," Richard said, surprised to see a smile on his face. "Those train tracks in your mouth made you insecure."
Micheal tilted his head slightly and looked at Richard, "Why are you hating?" he asked, still smiling. He returned his gaze to the oncoming students below. "I'm just excited to see what's coming. Our year is boring, but maybe these kids can be a new source of entertainment."
Micheal leaned over the wooden balcony again to better see these 'kids' as they entered the hall.
8:15 AM.
The hall was flooded with new students. It was pretty messy, but not chaotic. People were finding seats, everyone greeting each other and breaking the ice, trying to make friends early. The second years were watching from above. Some were bored, some were stressing about the year ahead, and some were observing.
A few minutes passed, and things began to settle down as most students took their seats. There was still time before the assembly began, so conversations were flowing nicely. A nice vibe was filling the air. It was going swimmingly before the assembly started.
8:31 AM.
The room was in a panic. Total chaos. The atmosphere drastically changed. Girls were screaming and trying to move, boys were shouting and trying to move, and teachers were looking around, trying to calm the situation down.
You would have thought everything would have gone to plan and the assembly would have started on time from how calm everything was beforehand. But now it looked like a scene from a TV show.
To see how we came to this conclusion, we have to rewind a few minutes and focus on a particular group of friends.
"This is mad. How did I end up here?" Malakai said in awe, scoping out the entire hall. Malakai was a short boy with brown skin, faint acne scars, and hazelnut-coloured eyes. His small face was enhanced by his long, black, wavy hair with dark brown tips. His face also showcased a noticeable scar across his nose and a small birthmark under his right eyebrow. He was the joker of the group. Benjamin, who sat to his left, placed his hand on his left shoulder.
"How did you end up here? How did you get past security at the airport?" Benjamin sarcastically asked. Benjamin was a dark-skinned boy who stood 6 feet tall. Unlike Malakai, he had smooth, clear skin, short hair, and bright yellow eyes. His face had no scars or birthmarks but did have a line in his eyebrow for style. He was the all-rounder of the group; he had a bit of everything.
Malakai looked at Benjamin with a smile. "Huh? What you trying to say? I'm carrying something illegal. Or that I'm illegal, and I snuck into the country", Malakai mockingly replied.
William burst out laughing on his right. William was another short boy who was slightly taller than Malakai. He had straight brown hair, which looked unkempt, a chipped tooth, which was on show whenever he showed his teeth and one of his redeeming features, his freckles. He was the weird one of the group, the one who got bullied the most, but he could take a joke.
"I agree with Ben, I don't think you belong in this country", William jokingly said.
Malakai slowly turned to William and then looked back at Benjamin with a confused look, and then turned one more time to look at William.
"YOU DON'T BELONG ON THE SURFACE; YOU LOOK LIKE A RAT!" Malakai laughed while pointing at Willaim. Benjamin switched alliances and started laughing with Malakai rather than at him.
Ray, who was next to William, also began to giggle. Ray had black curly hair; his green eyes were one of his stand-out features, alongside his smile, further intensified by his dimples. Jay was the innocent one of the group; he was considered the little brother of the group even though he was taller than Malakai and William. William smiled because he knew it was coming.
"I'm sorry, but we can't all be good-looking like Lucas," William loudly said while looking at Lucus.
Lucas, who was on his phone, looked up as soon as he heard the mention of his name and saw the four of them looking at him.
"What? What happened?". Lucas was tall and stood around 6'1. He had clear skin, a symmetrical face, straight white teeth, a nice smile, blue eyes, and flowing blonde hair that perfectly hung slightly in front of his eyes. Both ears were pierced with studs, and a stud in his nose just to be extra. He was the epitome of a pretty boy and the stand-out boy in the group.
"Seriously, what were you talking about?" Lucas questioned again.
"Nothing, nothing about you anyways. We were talking about David". Malakai lied
David popped his head around Lucas's body and said. "You do realise I was listening the whole time".
David was the tallest of the group at around 6'3. He had blonde hair, straight like Williams, but shorter. Brown eyes like Malakai's but darker. David was just your average-looking guy. Physically, nothing stood out for him, unlike the rest. David was the responsible one of the group, like a dad to the group. Whenever there was a problem, everyone would look towards him for help or to sort it out because they could be bothered.
Malakai looked at David and gave a sarcastic-looking, shocked face. A look that said I know you were listening, and I just wanted to get your attention.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Anyways, when's this gonna start. We've been here for time", Malakai whined, looking at the main stage.
"We'Ve beEn hERe fOr tIMe", mocked a guy before Malakai. The guy turned around to face Malakai. The guy looked big; he had blonde hair that was slicked back, one of his ears pierced and dark blue eyes.
"What we got here, someone from the UK. What you looking at bruv?" He said in a British accent to aggravate Malakai. He even added UK slang to take the piss.
Malakai is from the UK, more specifically, London. Right now, he is far from home and surrounded by Americans, so his UK accent is very noticeable.
Malakai looked over to his friends and gave a confused but, at the same time, an amused smile. He then faced the guy and asked,
"Uuhh, who are you?".
Malakai tried to be polite and gauge what type of guy he was. Depending on what this guy said next would determine how Malakai would control the situation.
"Dillon. And make sure you remember it because you're going to be my bitch. Look at you, haha. You look like a kid", he replied, smiling.
Malakai got his answer. He gave one last look at his friends to indicate and warn them what he was planning on doing; they understood instantly. Malakai now started smiling with his teeth out.
"You don't know me dawg". Malakai joked in an American accent, lifting his head slightly up. Dillon's eyes widened; he was shocked that this kid even responded, let alone take the piss. Dillon shot up from his seat, towering over Malakai.
"Who do you think you are?" Dillon said aggressively. Malakai, still smiling, looked at the 6-foot wild animal in front of him.
"Malakai Junior". He proudly announced. "You're going to hear that a lot, so I doubt you have to remember it".
This was a shock to Dillon's system. He didn't expect anyone to stand up against him like this on the first day, especially someone who looked like a 15-year-old. Malakai was still sitting down; he didn't feel threatened at all, and it was obvious. This pissed Dillon off even more.
"Don't test me." Dillon warned Malakai. "Trust me, you don't want this".
Malakai let out a small laugh and looked at his friends. "Who's this cringy stereotypical American bully?" He looked back at Dillon. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings this much". Malakai teasingly mocked.
Malakai pressed one too many buttons with that comment because Dillon grabbed Malakai's uniform, pulling him up from his seat. This caught the attention of a few people around them, some turning around and looking in their direction. Malakai's friends watched, all smiling. They found this funny.
"Look, all your friends are too scared to save you. Your friends are a bunch of pussies. Their homeboy is getting bullied, and they ain't doing nothin'." Dillon happily said.
Malakai's and Dillon's faces were close to each other. Both looking each other in the eyes. One of them was filled with anger, while the other was calm and unfazed.
Malakai looked over at his friends, still getting pulled by his collar, and smiled at them.
"Naa, they know". Malakai confidently said.
"Know what?" Dillon questioned with a pissed look on his face.
Malakai, in an American accent, shouted,
"They know what's in my bag. I got an AK-47, dawg! Don't test me, dawg!".
Malakai was having fun and taking the piss, so he said that in quite a loud voice. A voice that everyone in the hall could hear despite the amount of noise. The room went silent. The students in Dillon's row slowly turned towards Malakai. The people in front of them also turned to look, and so on. Everyone's eyes were on Malakai.
"AK-47??". A girl said worriedly.
"He's got a gun?" another girl said, confused.
"HELP! HIS GOT A GUN!" A girl screamed.
All of a sudden, everyone started to panic. Girls were screaming, boys were standing, and teachers were looking around, trying to calm the situation down.