🍌 The Banana King
Chapter 5: Green, Alight, and the Superpower Test
Arnold looked left and right.
"Where am I?"
He was on a tarred road when he spotted the back of an old woman. Hesitant, he approached.
"Please… where ?" he began.
The old woman turned. Her head… was a banana. An ugly, smiling banana.
Arnold stumbled backward. Suddenly, bananas shot up into the sky, yelling, "Eat us! We're delicious!"
Haar! They swarmed him entirely.
Arnold woke up in bed, sweating. He touched his forehead.
So it was just a dream…
…but his eyes were golden yellow for a moment before returning to normal.
Is something happening to me? he wondered, preparing for school.
It was 6:30 AM. Arnold passed two guys with cutlasses harassing a student from another school. He knew he was weak interfering could get him hurt so he quickened his pace.
"Why did you leave that person alone but not me?" one called.
"Hey, bro, come here. Let's discuss," said the man, approaching Arnold.
Arnold was trapped. Haar! This is getting boring, he thought. He casually popped a bonbon into his mouth.
Suddenly a punch to his face. The man collapsed, unconscious.
The second man approached, ready to fight. Arnold's reflexes kicked in.
He blocked, countered, and in a single blow: destroyed the man's cutlass, shattered his jaw, and sent him flying six meters.
I didn't even use 30% of my power. What a shame, Arnold thought.
The boy was Green black-painted skin, short green hair, a dragon tattoo on his left hand, seventeen years old.
He searched the defeated men and found 1,500 FCFA. Poor guys, he muttered.
Arnold started to walk away.
"Hey, you! Arnold!" Green called.
"Yes?" Arnold asked.
"What do you think of my power?"
"Great," Arnold said.
Green smiled, eyes gleaming. "Can you be my friend?"
Arnold hesitated but accepted; he had no choice.
"My name is Green. Now we're friends. Pay the 500 FCFA tax."
Arnold handed him the money. Together, they sprinted to school.
Why am I so weak? Arnold thought.
Arriving late, Arnold entered the classroom. His eyes widened.
Alight, the greatest fighter of the school, was present. Rarely at school showing up only a few times per year.
Plated Rastafarian hair, black skin, piercing eyes, nineteen years old. His legs rested on a bench.
After greeting, Alight asked, "Do you know how to fight?"
"No," Arnold replied.
Alight smiled.
Hours passed. Ange and Momo shot Arnold dark looks. Then Arnold noticed unfamiliar students standing at the back, sitting on a new bench.
Why isn't Banky acting? Arnold wondered.
Ange whispered to her neighbor, "Do you see that boy?"
"No, nothing," the neighbor replied.
Alight understood immediately. They're identifying everyone with potential superpowers… Didn't expect them to risk coming to my territory.
He stood, malicious smile on his face. Eight unknown students attacked together. Two wielded poison knives. Alight dodged, bursting the bench beneath him. He fought as if against no one.
Each punch, two or three at a time, slammed into their stomachs, making them visible to all. He beat them until only one remained the one who had been invisible.
"Thank you. Now I know who has a chance at superpowers," Alight said.
The invisible student reactivated his skill, trying to escape. Alight shoved him, breaking his teeth, pulled him up by the hair, eyes locked.
"Call them right now. I'm bored."
He's really human, Arnold thought.
Alight sat back on his bench. Banky attempted to leave.
"Stay here," Alight commanded, pressure radiating.
Ten minutes later, Alight approached Arnold.
"Where are we going?" Arnold asked.
What kind of question is that? Alight thought, but Arnold's face morphed into a thousand-year-old woman in fear.
The yard was 200 meters from the school.
Twenty students Alight and Arnold versus twenty others.