CHAPTER 1 - NEW AND ODD
1600 Words
I turned on my medium-sized bed, trying to get back to sleep, but it seemed impossible. As if that wasn’t enough, the alarm clock beside my bed suddenly began ringing loudly, almost cracking my eardrums. Annoyed, I grabbed it without thinking and flung it across the room. It slammed against the wall with a loud crack.
I heard something break, but I didn’t bother checking if the alarm was damaged or not.
Still lying on the bed, I suddenly remembered something.
“I didn’t even set the alarm last night,” I muttered.
“Uuughhh… it’s Monday morning.”
My bedroom door opened, revealing Philip standing at the entrance, staring at me with his usual serious expression. I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep, but I guessed he had already caught me.
“Get your lazy ass off that bed. You’re late for school,” he said before shutting the door and leaving.
“Hmmm… no good morning or sweet words. What a brother,” I murmured quietly.
I threw the duvet aside and dashed into the bathroom. After finishing up, I walked back into my room and opened my wardrobe.
I slipped into my black ripped jeans, the tear resting perfectly at the knee, then wore a white top with the bold inscription BOSS LADY printed across the front. Since the morning was cold, I added my black jacket.
No makeup today. I was pretty enough already, and besides, I was late.
“Oh s**t!”
I had forgotten to arrange my backpack.
I quickly packed my books, grabbed my phone, and rushed downstairs.
Philip was already seated at the dining table, eating breakfast.
“How do I look?” I asked, spinning around dramatically.
He slowly raised his eyes toward me.
“Ummm… good,” he answered lazily.
“Really?” I asked suspiciously as I dropped my bag on the table.
“You look astonishing. More beautiful than the angels,” he replied sarcastically before stuffing toasted bread into his mouth.
Philip was my elder brother. We were the only children of our parents.
I never got to know our mum. Dad said she died when we were still very little. Since then, he had been the one taking care of us.
We were both still in high school, and Phil—as I liked calling him—worked part-time at a café after school to support Dad.
We fought like cat and rat most of the time, but deep down, I knew he loved me. He never allowed anything bad happen to me. His way of showing affection was just… weird sometimes.
Still, I loved him. Life without Phil would honestly be boring.
“Eat fast. We’re late,” he said while carrying his plate to the kitchen.
“Don’t rush me. Do you want me to choke?” I replied with bread stuffed in my mouth.
“By the way, where’s Dad?”
“He already left for work.”
“So early?”
“Yeah. He had something important to catch up with. Enough talking—eat.”
He walked out of the kitchen while I hurriedly finished breakfast.
¶ ¶ ¶
I sang along to Go Crazy by Chris Brown featuring Young Thug as the music blasted through the car stereo.
Halfway through the song, I noticed Pamela sitting quietly beside me with her arms folded across her chest.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
No response.
I glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
“Pamela?”
“Nothing,” she finally replied.
“Hmmm… that ‘nothing’ definitely means something. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
She sighed heavily before turning toward me.
“It’s Joel. He’s been getting on my nerves lately.”
“That son of a b***h. I’m going to kill him,” I growled, clenching my teeth dramatically.
“Please don’t kill him,” she said with a small laugh. “Just make him stop disturbing me.”
Our conversation continued until we arrived at school.
I drove into the parking lot and parked among the other cars.
“Take care. Don’t get into trouble,” Pamela said while stepping out.
“You too. See you later.”
I watched her walk toward the school entrance before grabbing my bag and heading inside.
I quickly stopped at my locker, picked up my Physics notebook, and rushed toward class.
Physics—the first subject of the day and my favorite.
Unfortunately, class had already started.
Mr. Etu glared at me the moment I stepped in.
I received a long lecture for being late, though thankfully, my excuses managed to save me from punishment.
What annoyed me more was Morgan—the class clown and biggest troublemaker—mocking me from the back of the classroom while Mr. Etu scolded me.
I shot him a dangerous grin before walking to my seat.
The lesson had already gone far ahead. Mr. Etu was explaining A.C. circuits when suddenly the classroom door opened.
The principal walked in alongside two unfamiliar faces—a boy and a girl.
Mr. Etu paused his teaching while the principal stepped forward.
“These are new students,” he announced. “Please make them feel welcome. Their names are Betsy Williams and Richard Williams. They recently moved into town.”
The entire class stared curiously at them.
But something felt… strange.
Throughout the introduction, Betsy kept staring directly at me.
Not normal staring.
It was the kind of stare that felt like someone was scanning through my entire existence.
Like a robot studying me.
I hoped she wasn’t actually some kind of weird robot sent after me.
A few moments later, she leaned toward Richard and whispered something into his ear. Immediately, both of them focused their gaze on me again.
“What the hell…” I muttered under my breath.
I turned toward Juliet’s seat.
Empty.
Weird.
¶ ¶ ¶
I swung my dagger three times before slashing through a Whimpo’s throat on the fourth strike.
Another creature charged toward me, aiming for my head. I ducked instantly and stabbed my dagger into its torso.
Honestly, I had no idea what gender those creatures were.
They definitely weren’t human.
The monster growled furiously and threw a punch toward my face. I rolled to the side, kicked its leg off balance, and watched it crash hard onto the ground.
I flipped forward and charged toward another one.
My dagger flew through the air and pierced its forehead.
Before it could recover, I stepped on its chest and launched myself upward, slashing the throat of another creature behind it as I landed.
Two more hurled their swords toward me.
I quickly dodged and chanted a shield spell.
A glowing barrier formed around me, blocking the swords before they could reach my body.
The shield disappeared instantly afterward.
Without wasting time, I summoned two swords into my hands and drove them straight into their stomachs.
Their bodies dropped lifelessly onto the ground.
Breathing heavily, I picked up my daggers and rubbed them three times with my index fingers, making them invisible again.
“Whimpos in this city… definitely not good,” I muttered.
“But what are they after? It can’t be me…”
Then realization struck me like lightning.
“Wait a second… Phil and his sister.”
My eyes widened.
“Oh no. The due date is getting close. If they’ve found Phil in this realm, then danger is already here.”
I immediately reached for my phone to call him, only to freeze when I checked the time.
“9:02 AM?!”
“Oh s**t! These idiots made me late for school!”
Out of annoyance, I spat on the dead Whimpo closest to me and kicked its body.
“Phil is already in school…”
I sighed.
“The only option now is Mr. Antonio.”
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and cast another spell.
The Whimpos’ bodies vanished instantly from the environment.
I glanced around nervously.
“Hope nobody saw any of that…”
¶ ¶ ¶
“Hey… I’m sensing our kind here,” Tesla whispered to Rachie.
“Yeah, me too,” Rachie replied quietly. “Ever since Betsy and Richard entered the classroom.”
“I think those two are from our realm,” Betsy whispered to Richard, “but not our kind.”
“Yeah. I can see the purple ray in their eyes,” Richard replied. “They’re both Purple Oaphes.”
“We need to meet them,” Tesla whispered.
“Meet them? No. I disagree,” Rachie replied immediately.
“Why? They’re our kind.”
“I know. But whatever brought them here might not be good.” Rachie lowered her voice even more. “We already suspect Phil is the Hybrid Oaph. That’s probably why they’re here. We need to protect him.”
Tesla stayed silent for a moment.
“Besides,” Rachie continued, “why would two siblings be in the same class unless they’re twins? And they clearly don’t look like twins.”
“They’re not siblings,” Richie whispered. “They’re lovers. Which makes them even more suspicious.”
At this point, all the random whispering and constant staring was beginning to irritate me.
Tesla.
Rachie.
Betsy.
Richard.
Every few seconds, one of them glanced at me like I was some strange experiment.
Whatever they were hiding had something to do with me.
And I was going to find out.
Because deep down…
I was beginning to feel it too.
Something strange.
Something dangerous.
Something… different.
- Writer
