Darius's eyes flickered as he was snapped out of his reverie, and he quickly picked up his stuff and dashed past the desks and out the door to catch up to his friends.
He made his way by his friends before he gave them a piece of his mind. "I want you to know that I will get my revenge on you."
Victor smirked as he walked down the familiar grey and white hallway. "You're certainly welcome to try. Just before that, remember our history."
Darius scoffed in response. "I'm not scared of you. I'm not like any of the other students at this school." He then subtly glanced at the surrounding students as if to prove his point.
Although they typically ignored the situation, Darius's mention of it made the group acutely aware of how the other students avoided them. Actually, they were mostly avoiding Victor. When Victor was not around, the rest of Victor's friends would sometimes be approached for various reasons.
There was a small pause before Elaine threw a snack bag at Darius before handing another one to Victor. "Enough of that. Let's just enjoy our snacks in peace."
Noticing Elaine's intentions, the group quickly skipped to a different topic as they made their way to the assembly building.
Truth be told, while Victor appreciated the gesture, he didn't think Elaine had to go that far. After all, Darius and Victor had both grown up under the same caretaker since the age of 5 and had been best friends ever since. The pair had been almost inseparable, so he doubted a little comment like that could shake their over 10-year-long friendship. The two of them had met Rosa when they switched to middle school, while Elanie and Jax joined up later in high school. Currently everyone was 17 years old and one year off from graduation.
"You know, after knowing you for so long, you would think he would know you are such a scammer." Rosa mused.
Darius couldn't help himself from responding. "I do know he's a scammer, and that's precisely why I challenge him. With enough practice I'll soon be able to beat him at his own games."
Victor gave him a sidelong glance, seemingly disbelieving the validity of Darius's statement. He then grabbed himself a handful of chips before answering between crunches. "Well, good luck with that. It's because I know you so well that I'm so good at scamming you. After all, that's what best friends are for." He continued with a chuckle.
"Ouch, that's harsh." Jax spoke before glancing over at Darius.
"It's okay. I've made up for it." Victor replied. In a sense, Victor's statement was true. Although he was a regular source of torment for Darius, Victor had also bailed him out of more problems than he could count.
"Don't worry, next time I'll definitely beat you." Darius cried indignantly.
"Didn't you say the same thing last week?" Rosa raised an eyebrow before turning away. "Never mind that, but don't you find something strange about this assembly?"
It was common knowledge across the school that those going into the final year of school all had to attend an assembly before the new school year started. This was not only a tradition at their school but also at every school across the entire planet. However, everything about this assembly was kept under wraps, so no one knew what to expect.
The group of friends were currently on their way to the same assembly, and none of them knew the consequences of attending.
"Yea, the school website usually tells us the theme of the assembly, but strangely enough, this one is blank." Jax frowned.
"Yeah, I tried contacting some of my friends from the grade above, but they have been strangely quiet." Darius spoke.
"I would be surprised if anyone did answer. Ever since last year, most of them have been strangely silent." Victor looked thoughtful.
"It was around this time last year that the upper years stopped posting as much on the forums." Rosa commented.
"Do you think it has something to do with the assembly?" Victor inquired curiously.
Elaine gave an exasperated sigh. "Does it really matter? There is no point in all this speculation. We will find out when we get there."
A wave of nods passed across the group, and shortly after, the friends made their way to the presentation building. This large building was rarely used for actual presentations besides the schoolwide assemblies. While it was built to be large enough to hold the entire school population, Victor could count on one hand the number of times he had been in the building. As such, Victor had often questioned the building's usefulness.
Fortunately, its function and appearance were not as dubious as its purpose. The inside of the building was circular, with seats placed along the outside and gradually descending until they reached the stage in the center. There was no ceiling, allowing for fresh air to circulate in the building, which Victor himself very much enjoyed.
As they entered and found a spot for themselves, it was immediately apparent that there was a tense atmosphere that filled the air. Despite intending to arrive early, it seemed almost half the school had arrived before them. The crowd of students gathered radiated a sense of anticipation and anxiety, which was easily sensed by everyone who walked on the inside of the large dark structure. Victor quickly surveyed the crowd to pinpoint the source.
"Look over there." Victor pointed. "Matt and his Blood Punch Gang are here too."
Usually Matt and his cronies didn't even bother attending their classes, much less the assemblies. They rarely appeared in their dorms, and rumor had it that they resided in some abandoned buildings off campus.
Victor wasn't sure whether the rumors were true, but he did notice a couple of caretakers standing around the group of 4 as if on guard. The group exchanged a silent look. If the school forced even the delinquents to attend, perhaps the assembly wasn't so simple after all.
The anticipation rose as more students filed into the gym and slowly found their seats. More students became aware of an abnormality as they looked around and realized that almost the entire school population was in attendance. That was incredibly odd, as there was a small portion of the school that attended virtually due to injury, sickness, or just because they didn't care. Yet strangely not a single person was out of place.
As the atmosphere intensified, Victor glanced at the staff and noticed that their excitement seemed to surpass that of the students. Victor felt strangely unnerved as he turned his gaze away. Right as the anticipation reached its peak, Principal Ojus, for whom the school was named, walked on stage.
While the short hairs on his head had long since grayed, the vitality in his light blue eyes had still yet to fade. Standing in a tailored grey suit, with a red tie, and an outfit he wore almost everyday, he greeted the room with a fervor stronger than any the students had seen before.
"Hello students, a great turning point in your lives swiftly approaches." Principal Ojus began with a level of ease and experience that came from running this school since its inception. "This announcement might be a shock to you considering your upbringing, but I encourage everyone to keep an open mind."
The principal gave a pointed look toward the crowd before he continued. "As of tomorrow, every student in their last year of school all across the world undergoes the same process, an awakening of a supernatural ability, one that defies mundane logic." The principal paused to let the audience absorb his latest statement.
"Uhhh, did he say superpowers?" Elaine asked. She wasn't alone, as almost every student had the same look of disbelief and confusion as murmurs began to rise up from the surrounding crowd.
The principal confidently smiled, somehow calming the whispers before they escalated further. "You don't believe me, do you? Well, today my staff and I will provide several demonstrations to help you open your mind."
The crowd watched as three school nurses each wheeled a wheelchair-bound student with injuries of varying degrees up some ramps and onto the circular stage. Based on the bloodstains on their clothes, the wounds appeared to be rather recent, Victor noted. Multiple gasps of recognition and terror sounded out from the crowd as the injured students were rolled to the center of the stage, each facing a different direction.
At that moment, Jax whispered to the others with a serious expression. "Hold on, aren't those members of the Blood Punch Gang?"
As they all looked closer, they realized all three of them, two boys and a girl, were some of the delinquents that hung out with Matt and skipped classes with him. Indeed, it was precisely as Jax had said.
The first student on the left bore multiple gashes all across his body, while the second one had bruises running all along his face, and her left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. The third student had a stump halfway down his right forearm, exposing the smooth cross-section of his wound to many of the surrounding students.
Victor couldn't help but glance at Matt and the caregivers surrounding him suspiciously. 'What the hell happened to them?'