Fall Foretold

Pilot

Talking of Disturbing, worrisome, annoying, and "Kidney stones!", the SHS students are the worst if there was a list. It was a "curse" on that particular class, and this particular set was the Apex of them all.

Sterling High School was popularly known for competitions but the SHS 2 students were more than just "very competitive"... and mischievous. In fact, if they were perfect at anything, it was playing pranks and hoaxes.

Joe Ryan is a fairly built and handsome student, "No cap", and he is as competitive as many of his When I say "fairly muscular", it's actually lean muscles. After attaining the second ranking position, throughout a session, he was on the verge of keeping the same title in the second class of High School.

Charles Kelly had always been boastful and he remained the same.

"That annoying arrogance", Joe had muttered, with jealousy. Charles had smirked at the expression.

While Joe worked hard to beat Charles in the ranking, Charles always seemed to relax and comfortably win. Joe couldn't choose a time to look into his eyes and say, "This is the last. Trust me!", and actually beat him. That only happens in the movies, trust me. He had mentioned it, a lot in his mind though, but it ended up, the same. Saying it out would cause more painful mockery.

"There's nothing you can do about it, bro. Nothing", Charles had said, once. It didn't stop ringing in his head.

While most of the others didn't seem to care about the rankings, Joe worked harder, staying up, all night, to study. However, for the session, there was a little close to "no" hope of getting ahead of Charles. Two terms had passed, already, and Joe was "stagnant", Charles was smiling. The third term scores are never directly revealed. Instead, the scores of the two terms are automatically added to the "unrevealed" scores of the third term, then the result is divided by three.

"I hate Economics!", Joe had shouted, staring into his report sheets for third term SHS one, as if the report sheets were the judge. Apparently, Economics was the only subject with a low score; too low to beat Charles.

That clause had always been repeated, every time. Charles was expecting it, again. Even Joe knew he'd have to repeat it if he didn't break his head and stuff an economics textbook in it.

Felix Calan, Joe's closest friend, was fourth position in SHS one. And there was Jackson, the bully, who came "third?". While most bullies are believed to be numbskulls, hugely built, less attractive and "dumb! again", Jackson only checked with his fairly muscular body. He was handsome too. But his academic prowess remained unbelievable. "He probably bullied the Teachers", Who knows? ?

Laura was fifth position and would have been Joe's girlfriend, if Joe's wish came true. Unfortunately, Laura never seemed to notice him, or look at him... not to talk of having a thought of him. The five best students, consistently, had minor differences in their scores, which made it "pretty" possible for the fifth to overtake the first... in their fantasies, though ?.

"I can get all of you expelled! Every single one of you!", Mr. Batis had been yelling since day one.... yes, because he was always getting pranked, since day one. Just after their first year in Senior High, they got the nickname, "Devil's of Sterling High"…. Till it became an understatement for their level of devilry ?; just kidding.

While Jackson would always take every chance he got to bully Joe, the girls in the back seats would admire the cute boys at the front. Charles would talk endlessly, of his intelligence, insult his mates and flirt with the girls.

Harry, the stupid one, was always sixth. Forget about the "sixth position", this guy is literally stupid. "The ranking is probably a coincidence of his stupid guesses", Charles had mocked him once. Joe hated the insult... but he laughed ?.

But Harry wasn't dull, even if he was actually "stupid!"... even if I can't tell the difference ?. They were twelve students in the class and he had an higher ranking than four other students. They were the only four who switched positions, too often. Sadly, Harry just always happened to be one of Jackson's unfortunate victims. Blame Fate for that.

"I am going to get the fourth book of Harry Potter, after school", Joe said, arranging his books in his backpack. "Let's go together"

"Yea... No, I have to get home early", Felix replied, with a disappointed tone. "Mom's mad at me... but I'll borrow the book when you're done".

"Sorry, did someone call my name?", Harry brought his head in like he always did. "I'm almost sure I heard my name"

"No one called you. We were talking about Harry Potter", Joe replied.

"That magic book? Eeww!", he said, irritatedly, and continued to write whatever he was writing.

Jackson got bored. He would do anything to have fun. When it comes to Jackson, anything means bullying.

"Hey, Joe", he shouted. "Let's have some fun. Throw two blows at me and I'll throw five blows at you. Fair game"

"I'm not in the mood for that, now, bully", Joe replied and ignored.

"Oh... That's our prefix. It's gonna be fun"

Harry spoke again. "My grandma used to warn me not to fight"

"Well, maybe he was always beaten to a pulp whenever he tried to fight", Jackson replied, mockingly. "He doesn't want you to suffer that fate"

Jackson clenched his fist and pulled Joe by the shoulder. Joe swiftly, shook off his hands and pushed him against the chair.

"Challenge accepted!", Jackson shouted, walking backwards and smiling mischievously. "Get prepared"

Felix massaged Joe's shoulders as he sat down. "You can beat him, Joe... Even though he's bigger... and stronger... and faster. The Lord is with you"

"Seriously? I'm about to fight this son of a b***h?!"

They had gotten everyone's attention. This was now a live wrestling match, with the fans hailing the fighters.

Jackson threw a clenched fist at Joe, who bent his head, quickly, preventing the hit. Jackson threw his second punch, which landed right in Joe's palm. Breaking Free from the former's charismatic intimidation, Joe slammed a punch on his nose.

"Whoa!", Jackson bent, holding his nose for a few seconds while Joe stood still, thinking of what to do next. Jackson raised his head, suddenly, and landed a stunning punch on Joe's face.... #Blackout

★

"Seriously?!!!", Mr. Denvers yelled at them, staring widely at the duo. "Will you ever repent?! Ever?!!!... I really wanted a swollen eye and a broken neck but, unfortunately, thank God!!!"

"He started the fight", Joe reported.

"I don't wanna know. I don't care how it happened. What matters is it happened. People only care about the result of things. This action deserves more than just detention but I am very merciful so congratulations, I'll just call your parents and inform them about the two weeks suspension you just earned."

"No, sir", Jackson pleaded. "We'll prefer the other punishment".

"I didn't mention any other punishment... but I won't be giving you any. At least, not now. This must not happen again. Never again. Now, you have to promise you'll never do such again".

They hesitated for a while, exchanging glares of resentment. Joe broke the silence, "Sir, how about we postpone that promise? If it happens again, by mistake, and I actually break his neck, like you want, I promise... to promise"

"Best idea", Jackson chuckled, throwing a crazy look at Joe.

Mr. Denvers finally closed his mouth, after leaving it gaping for so long. "It looks like you both already have an agreement so whenever you choose to make this happen again, make sure I am not around the corner. Whenever one of you is busy breaking his skull or getting a tooth plucked out, just don't call me... Now, get your round faces out of here, delinquents"...

★

Sterling City had gone through some changes; just a little different from how it used to be. Lucifer Ryan had become a terrific legend in the city. He was a symbol of crime and he never got caught. Turns out the "no one is above the law" saying is just a myth.

Maybe because he had top officials working with him... or because of some supernatural link no one believes and no one wants to talk about.

He was strong and -sorry, Strong's not the word- powerful and rich enough to buy the large hall which stood as a border between Sterling City and the Metropolis.

He was definitely a role model to the 'upcoming' terrorists. He had remained unstoppable till he lost the use of his legs. His terror, then, ended. Now, the city would have to deal with the new generation of rebels, inspired by the old Lucifer.

The bell rang. School time was over for the day. The students left for their homes, quickly. The new janitor hadn't smiled at anyone since he got the job.

Joe walked down the street, heading for the "Drake Supermarket". He was going to buy the fourth book of Harry Potter; Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire. He had read the prequel, about a million times.

The supermarket was closed. He phoned Felix. "Fella, I'm there already but the supermarket is closed"

"You kidding? That's weird. Never happened"

"Yea, everything about here is weird. The street is literally empty. Not even sure if they have what we want"

"The book section is pretty close to the door. Try looking through the glasses. You may be lucky"

"Yea. Just the front of the shelf. I can see Harry Potter, book one. There's Sherlock Holmes, too. Should I buy it?"

"Sherlock Holmes!?", Felix exclaimed. "I've been wanting that. Yes, please. Can you buy it?"

"Definitely not"

"Damn you"

"Yea, I know. I can't even afford two books, now", Joe replied. "And I can't see anything that looks like The Goblet of Fire, except another Harry Potter book that is definitely NOT the Goblet of Fire"

"It's probably just not displayed at the front. You should check back tomorrow. He has to open, tomorrow. Except his grandma got hit by a parked car"

"Haha", Joe laughed. "Or rats broke in and looted money"

"And built a castle with a strong defense army"

"Haha. Stop laughing", Joe said, struggling with his legs. His smile slowly faded. "Uhm! I can't move my legs"

"Haha. Are you kidding? You got tired and decided to lie down or what?"

"No, I'm not joking. I can't raise my feet", he kept struggling, clenching his teeth as he tried harder. His heartbeats had sped up. "My shoes seem to be glued to the ground"

"Have you got magnet on your shoes or any metal part?"

"Yea, I think I got metal on my shoes" he pulled, aggressively. "Aargh!"

"You really should call for help, man", Felix said. "Or get out of those shoes"

"I can't get out of the shoes", Joe panicked. "The street is actually empty. I told you earlier"

"Are you kidding me?! I thought you meant scanty and you were just hyping, as usual. Your life's really pathetic, man"

"Well, damn you!", he tilted back and fell on his butt, trying to untie his shoes. "I can see a car coming.... Help! Please, I can't move my legs!"

Two men sat in the car, staring mischievously, as they drove past him. They ignored his cry for help, smiling suspiciously.

"Really?!", he yelled. "They couldn't even wait to check out what I'm going through"

"They didn't wait?! You know what? hang on. I'm coming to save your poor legs"

"Be quick. My heart is about to explo-".... *BOOM* ?

The whole place got consumed and swallowed in flames. There was an explosion and Joe was sitting right there, trying to fix his shoe problem. Except now, he couldn't be fixing a shoe problem anymore.

'soundtrack or his heart literally exploded?!'. "Hello? Joe?! What was that? Are you there?", Felix had begun to sweat. There was no reply from Joe. He knew what an explosion should sound like, even though he had never witnessed one since he was born. That definitely 'couldn't' be an explosion. "Hey! Say something!", he yelled but the phone conversation was already over.