Explorers.
Honestly, Tommy didn't know much about them. In fact, he knew almost nothing about the classes of ability users managed by GDF. Just the basics, general knowledge that most people already have. Things he had seen on television and heard in random conversations on the street.
But from the little he knew, it was enough to create a basic deduction.
Explorers were ability users of a special GDF unit called "Exploration Unit". The job was to enter the danger zones, environments full of creatures, unknown plants and who knows what will be in that place, and discover as much as possible about that area and the creatures that lived there, in addition to also bringing samples that would be analyzed later.
Overall, they were very similar to the adventurers of the past. Brave and reckless hot-blooded people who threw themselves headlong into danger without worrying about their own lives. Maybe that was one of the reasons why Tommy never saw an explorer, with a personality like that, they probably don't live long enough to be known.
But this was just a stereotypical view of him. Maybe there were explorers who weren't like that. Maybe there were some who were more modest, simpler and less... well, less barbaric so to speak.
But as said, Tommy had never met an explorer, so all he was saying were just assumptions.
Well, today he would have the chance to confirm whether these assumptions were correct or not, because today would be the first time and, who knows, maybe the last time he would ever see an explorer.
A day to remember, a day not to forget, a day to-
"What are you doing? " Sophia's voice cut Tommy's line of thought.
"Nothing... just thinking" Tommy replied finally returning to focus on the real world.
"You're embarrassing me," Sophia said, rolling her eyes.
Now Tommy was feeling a little embarrassed. Unfortunately, a habit that he recognized as harmful to him was that he was distracted very easily. There were times where he would simply forget what he was doing and start imagining something random or get lost in his own line of thought.
It was something almost comical. He was unable to focus deeply on something other than games or activities he liked, like reading. He usually lied to himself and said that everyone was like that, but he knew it was a lie.
One of the many lies he has already told trying to deceive himself and forget the harshest truths.
Oh, that was strangely more philosophical than he expected. He should write that down now.
"You're doing it again" Once again, Sophia's voice brought Tommy back to the real world.
"Sorry" Tommy apologized a little more embarrassed.
The two were now in the city center, where there was a much bigger commotion than Tommy was expecting.
There were people everywhere, with most of them holding posters written "Piers" on them. To contain this crowd, there were already barriers set up and people that Tommy assumed were guardians preventing people from crossing these barriers.
It was a really suffocating environment for Tommy, because he didn't like spaces with many people. If he knew that would be so many people here, he probably wouldn't be here. But there was no turning back.
Tommy and Sophia were just waiting for Sophia's friends, so much so that they were at a point a little further away from the crowd to make it easier to see them when they arrived.
And it was also at that moment that Tommy finally remembered that he didn't know which friends Sophia had called.
Sophia had many friends, so many that Tommy didn't even remember everyone's name. Even if she had told Tommy which friends she had called, Tommy probably wouldn't know them.
Now he was a little curious to know who she had called. Even though he didn't plan to interact with others, he still wanted to know who Sophia could have called for such an event.
" Sophia! "A feminine and lively voice caught Tommy's attention almost instantly. He recognized that voice very well, so much so that he didn't even need to look at the person to know who she was.
Isabella. Sophia's best friend.
Isabella was a... strange person, in Tommy's opinion. Tommy was a simple person, he liked things and lived his life in a simple way. Isabella was the complete opposite of that.
To begin, let's talk about her appearance. Her hair was divided into two colors, the right side being pink and the left side black, and until today Tommy didn't know if her hair was naturally like that or if she dyed it in some very specific way. Maybe he'll never find out.
Her eyes were also very flashy. Bright pink eyes, but the most curious detail about them was that the left eye had a brighter shade of pink than the right eye. Really intriguing.
And his skin had this pure and clear shade of white. Isabella herself seemed less human and more of a limited edition of some famous doll that all girls want.
What about personality? Isabella was a complete show of joy. She was always smiling, she was always happy. Always. Tommy doesn't remember a single day that she seemed to be sad.
But who knows? They say that those with the biggest smiles carry with them the sorrows and misfortunes of others.
... Ah, Tommy was strangely philosophical today.
"Tommy, it's so good to see you here! " Tommy got so scared that his heart almost missed a beat. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Isabella right next to him.
"Yeah, I say the same" Tommy replied in a simple but polite way.
Tommy had a good relationship with Sophia's friends. Well, with the friends he knew. They were mostly easy people to deal with and good to have around, so it was not difficult for Tommy to create a friendly relationship with them.
He liked them, but not enough to call them friends. After all, they were Sophia's friends, not his friends. The most he knew about them was superficial information at most. And he also needs to create a certain intimacy with someone before deciding to call that person a friend.
"You don't have to get so serious, relax a little! " Isabella said while trying to form a smile on Tommy's face using her hands.
"..." Tommy just moved away from her a little and crossed his arms while looking in another direction. That direction was full of guardians.
Seriously, Tommy could swear they showed up there out of nowhere. There weren't so many there when he had looked a few minutes ago.
"Ignore him, he's always like that" Sophia said to Isabella who was looking at Tommy the same way a child looks at a candy.
"Being serious all the time is bad for your health," Isabella said with almost absolute certainty.
"..." Tommy was sure that was a lie, but decided to pretend to be deaf and ignore it while remaining with his arms crossed.
It may seem kind of ridiculous, but that was one of the many poses Tommy had for situations like that. Situations where he was in uncomfortable environments and even if he didn't want to, he needed to mix in somehow. This pose was exactly for that.
This one and many others. Simple poses that didn't attract attention but also didn't make him look like a complete stranger in the crowd.
A sudden touch on the shoulder made Tommy stay alert and immediately look at the person who had touched him, only to relax almost immediately when he saw who had touched him.
That was another of Sophia's friends, Nico.
Nico was a little shorter than Tommy, which was kind of intriguing because Tommy was 5'4 tall. Nico also shared some similarities with Tommy, because both were blond and had a little lighter skin, but with the big difference being that Nico had blue eyes and Tommy had green eyes.
" 'Sup dude? Everything alright? " Nico greeted in a friendly way.
"Yeah" Tommy replied while nodding "What about you? "
"I think I'm fine," Nico replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, what a beautiful thing to see! "It can't be...
Tommy almost didn't believe it when he saw Luke behind Nico and waving at them as if they were longtime friends. Luke, of all people, was Sophia's friend.
Honestly, it wasn't something that surprising. She had many friends. Sometimes it seemed that she knew half of the city.
Tommy still didn't let himself be shaken, he just waved back and turned his gaze elsewhere.
"How rude..." Luke whispered to himself with an expression of false sadness and disappointment.
" Almost all of them. The only one missing is... " Sophia looked around as if she was looking for someone, until her eyes landed in a specific direction " There she is! "
Tommy, curious as always, looked in the direction Sophia was pointing to see who would be the last missing friend.
When he finally realized who was approaching, Tommy had one of the biggest surprises or scares of his life.
It can't be...
"Rosalina! I'm so glad you are finally here! "
" ... " The red-eyed girl just stood still while Sophia hugged her. Not so far from them, Tommy was thinking whether or not it was a good idea to accept having gone there.
Today was going to be an interesting day...