Novels2Search
Archaic Artisan
Chapter 1: Fuck you, Ethan!

Chapter 1: Fuck you, Ethan!

BEEP. BEEP. BEE-

CLACK!

"Argh..." Kyle stopped his alarm with the quickness of a seasoned veteran, rousing himself from his sleep he sat on his bed while rubbing his eyes with one hand and fumbling around for one of his half filled water bottles with the other. After grabbing the bottle of water and downing all that remained, rising to his feet, he stretched.

One could say that Kyle had won the genetic lottery, standing at 6'1, with broad shoulders, not being lanky but not having much fat or muscle either he would come off as fit at a glance, despite not working out a day in his life, the only thing one could use to explain his physique is genetics. He sported a head of lush black hair and healthy tan skin, a product of his African American and Asian heritage. After his stretch, he ran his hand through his hair, haphazardly fixing his bed head and restoring his hairstyle to its truest form, a mullet.

He grabbed his phone and checked the time and date. 6:17, June 6, 2019, "Graduation..." Kyle smirked. He walked towards his bathroom and turned on the shower before stripping down and stepping in, letting the water drench him he let himself reminisce about his years in school while mechanically scrubbing himself. It hadn't been long since he had thought about life as a student coming to an end, but there is something different about it being on the cusp of reality, when you're with friends time just flies and your youth almost seems eternal.

Kyle shook himself awake from his musing and cut off the water before grabbing his towel and stepping out. He wrapped himself in his towel and then wiped his mirror to take a look at himself. His dark brown eyes were clear and full of vitality, a reflection of his mood for the day, and his eyebrows were a combination of thick and sharp, almost looking as if he'd gotten them plucked on a regular basis, although that was not the case he could fall safely on the handsome side of appearances, not that he would allow anyone to call him anything else.

He brushed his teeth and gave himself a big smile, showing his pearly whites and natural fangs before walking away, drying his hair and grabbing some briefs and shorts to throw on before scrolling through social media apps on his phone.

DING!

After scrolling for a while Kyle got a message, he couldn't help but smile when he saw who it was from.

"ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE SHITS RISE AND SHINE, ITS TIME THAT WE GO FROM BOYS TO MEN!"

Ethan Walker. A childhood friend of Kyles, he's only a little shorter than him at 6'0, but his build beats Kyle by a long shot, he looked as if he had a vip card for the salty splatoon. He's a muscular guy with a build akin to prime Mike Tyson, this from him being an athlete and to top it all off he has a scar under his left eye from his childhood of being a bit of a ruffian and helping another friend of theirs. With short brown hair and brown eyes, and a light skinned complexion he's the perfect sunny boy.

"Pretty sure you were the only one still asleep, so thats not your line." someone quipped.

Ohaji Valentino. A friend that a bloody eyed Ethan brought to Kyle on a very odd day. He's 5'8 and of caramel complexion courtesy of his African and Columbian heritage, having hazel eyes and long dread locks, he can only be described as dashing, and when you factor in his nonchalant but outgoing and flirty nature...the guy is a lady killer. He's a nice guy to have around, and since Ethan helped him as a child the two are like blood brothers.

"Says the midget who is never on time." another shot at him.

Malachi Thompson. A good friend of Kyles whom he met as most men who become friends do, going about their days and enjoying their hobbies until seeing each other enough to spark up a conversation, with their hobby being skate boarding, they'd seen each other so much while skating to school along the same route and meeting at a local skate park that the friendship just happened over time before he let his worlds collide, seamlessly combining his friend groups. Malachi was tall and skinny at 6'3, with a dark skinned complexion and braided cornrows and could be described as lithe, most likely due to his years of skate boarding. He and Haji always seem to be at each others throats for no apparent reason.

"And they're off to the races." another said in what seemed to be exasperation.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Dami Shinzo. The most expressive of the group, he has a peculiar interest in martial arts and swords but he's good enough at the first to explain why he's interested in the second. He's tall, standing at 6'2 and looks skinny because of the baggy clothes he usually wears, but he is most definitely on the lean side. Kyle met him when his parents signed him up for a martial arts class while they were home for a few rare months and not of deciphering some ancient ruins. He is of asian descent.

"காலை வணக்கம்" Kyle decided to say good morning in the Tamil language.

"No one here speaks Japanese, Kyle." Ethan responded before anyone else could.

"First off, thats racist, and second thats not Japanese, it's Tamil, one of the oldest languages in the world." Kyle shot back defensively.

"Well no one here speaks that either, also you can't call me racist when your initials are one "K" away from a bad tattoo decision." Ethan responded followed by a cascade of laughing emoji's from the rest of the guys.

Kyle Dreskel Kraft. His full name, if his middle name had started with a "K"....well you get the picture.

"I still don't get why you even learn such ancient languages anyway, I mean, no relics even exist from those times, at least not important ones." Malachi also chimed in. He himself could be considered very smart, yet he couldn't understand why.

"I've said before that I intend to follow in my parents footsteps and become an archaeologist." Kyle sent back with a shrugging emoji.

Kyle's parents were archaeologists and were rarely ever home, even for his graduation today they were somewhere on the other side of the world, but Kyle had no bad feelings about that, he liked what independence had taught him and his parents had shown more than enough love and care, so he didn't feel betrayed or abandoned.

Their banter continued until it was about time for them to get a move on. Kyle put down his phone and got up to grab his garment bag out of his closet laying it across the bed and opening it, revealing a suit. He grabbed the slacks, dress shirt, and tie before getting himself dressed and slipping on his dress shoes.

"Damn, I clean up nice." Kyle let his narcissism burst forth while checking himself out in the mirror. After straightening anything out of place he grabbed his cap and gown, stuffing them in his bag before grabbing his board and stepping out of the door. He took in a breath of fresh air before closing the door behind him and locking it, only to turn around and see an equally sharp Malachi.

"Looking sharp." Malachi said with a slight grin.

"Not bad yourself." Kyle respond with a similar grin.

They dapped each other up and got on their way to their destination. Blackstone High.

----------------------------------------

Arriving at their high school, they were greeted with a bustling crowd, but they paid it no mind and drifted off towards the location where they had done rehearsals for the last few weeks. Greywall Auditorium.

Making their way to the place was easy enough and they only had to show their student ID to get in, only to immediately spot an animated Ethan drawing the eyes of everyone in their graduation class.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Gather around and let me say a few words to my dear peers." Ethan looked like a madman, waving his arms with flair, with a big innocent smile on his face. It was working though and everyone was slowly, but surely being drawn in by his display.

"Ah, YES! Kyle and Malachi hurry on over for my big speech!" Kyle and Malachi looked at each other and then at the tired looking Haji, and the red faced Dami standing behind Ethan, before sighing and walking over.

"Ahem..." Ethan cleared his throat. "Well everyone, this is what we have dreamed about. The days of hard work without pay, is all but over! No more homework, no more bad lunch, and no more angry old people yelling at us!" Ethan continued, getting more into it as he went on, drawing a few small laughs from the crowd.

"It took a lot out of us to get to this moment, and I'd like to thank the student council for all of their hard work, and my boy Kyle here for creating that kick ass theme we had for prom." He said as he put his arm around Kyle and continued on. "We've come this far, so let's go out with a bang!" Kyle suddenly had a bad feeling, one that became clear with Ethan's next words.

"Kyle is throwing the biggest house party in history and everyone here is invited! Bring your bodies to move, and we'll have everything else. Drinks, food, and hell, even rooms!" Kyle felt a massive headache coming rapidly, even more so when he heard the crowd erupt into cheers.

Far too lost in the moment Ethan gave one final proclamation to set it all in stone.

"We planned for this house party to go viral, the biggest party on the west coast! If I'm lying, then me and my crew here will face divine retribution!"

As if on cue the air froze, it was a weird atmosphere, sound didn't seem to be a concept in their immediate area, there was no noise.

And then, divine retribution descended. The roof of the auditorium was split open revealing a pitch black void and the auditorium lost all gravity. Chairs left the ground and began to hover in place, the tapestries fluttered in the wind and the air began to howl, screams begin to be mixed in with with the other sounds of clutter and cacophony.

And then came the suction.

People began to be pulled toward the void, unable to stop themselves they could only release shrill screams before ultimately succumbing to their fate. Whatever fate that might be...Kyle and the guys weren't trying to find out. They had already been stumbling over each other towards the door when the roof split open, but alas, this seemed to be an inescapable fate.

They were quickly pulled from the safety of the ground and rapidly toward the void, with only enough time for Kyle to bellow what he thought to be his last words.

"FUCK YOU, ETHANNNN!!!"

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter