Nick was at his locker, putting in his combination before opening it. He switched out his math textbook for his literature one and gave the door a good slam.

“Cathartic, isn’t it?” Alejandra asked.

Nick didn’t realize how tight his muscles were until he heard her voice. Then he felt himself relax as he smiled. “Hey, Alejandra. Where are you off to?”

“P.E. I hate having P.E. so early in the morning.”

“Ah. My condolences. I have it for the last hour of the day,” Nick said.

She smiled. “See, that’s when I want it. Either the first hour of the day to help me wake up, or the last hour.”

“I wouldn’t mind you having it the last hour. Then I could finally have a class with you again,” Nick said.

Alejandra’s face turned semi-serious. “You should have taken choir, then.”

Nick laughed, shaking his head. “No, no. No choir is that desperate to have me sing in it.”

Alejandra smiled, readjusting the strap of her backpack. “I don’t think you quite understand how desperate we need men in the school choir.”

Nick almost said something when he realized someone was standing close to them. Glancing up, he noticed Rafael standing there, and he wasn’t looking happy. Alejandra’s smile faltered. “Hey, Rafael.”

“You should probably head to your next class, Alejandra. The bell will ring soon.”

Nick felt his eyes narrowing. The bell wasn’t anywhere close to ringing. Alejandra frowned, glancing at Nick before returning her gaze. “Rafael—”

“Just go,” Rafael said.

Her frown turned into a soft glare. She pushed past Rafael to get to her class. Nick watched her leave, not sure what was happening, but the silence between the two old friends was prickly.

“I need you to stay away from my sister,” Rafael said.

Nick felt a smile cross his face. “Seriously, Rafael?”

“Seriously.”

Nick shuffled his feet, gripping his textbook. “Might make it difficult, considering we’re in the same CCNC group.”

“You know what I mean,” Rafael said.

“No, actually, Rafael I don’t.”

“Let’s just say she doesn’t need another man with a criminal record in her life.”

The words caused his previously relaxed muscles to tighten right back up again. “Considering I don’t have a criminal record, that makes me in the clear, doesn’t it?”

Rafael glared. “Just stay away from her, Nick.” He turned around and melted into the river of students. It was getting thinner. Nick closed his eyes, trying not to be angry. Two and a half years, Rafael ignored Nick’s presence at school until now. Just to tell him to stay away from Alejandra. It made him furious. Tyler told them all that Rafael was planning on coming for a session on the sixteenth. He hoped it wouldn’t be a disaster.

***

Derek was in his literature class. He kept checking the clock as delicately as possible. It wasn’t that he hated literature, but he was excited about drama, his last class of the day. They were going to practice their one act, and he couldn’t wait. He loved performing the act, but there was always the work that went into it. It started out super rough, then slowly, with time and practice from everyone, it would come together. That feeling was always so euphoric to him. The part where it wasn’t quite done, but the end goal was in sight. How everyone worked together to make it the best it could be. Honestly, it was the only school group projects he loved.

The intercom crackled to life. Derek rarely heard it during class. It was usually during the changing of the classes.

“We have an emergency pep rally in the gym! I repeat, an emergency pep rally! Let’s get down there in an orderly fashion and get ready to cheer!” It was Mr. Stower, the vice principal of the school.

Mrs. Hernandez blinked a few times. “What on earth? No one mentioned this!”

Derek glanced around, confused. It wasn’t homecoming week. That was next week. It wasn’t even the first football game of the season. That was last week. It was a random Thursday on the last day of August. They didn’t have a football game planned this weekend.

Mrs. Hernandez stuck her head out the door, trying to see what was going on. She was in conversation with Mrs. Billings, both quite surprised at this.

All hope of conversation was done. That much Derek knew. Already his classmates were talking amongst each other, some even pulling out their phones despite Mrs. Hernandez’s stern policy.

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“Come on down to the gym!” the overhead crackled again. Mr. Stower sounded unusually chipper. “Yes, teachers have questions! I do not want you to worry! We will make this up! Down to the gym as fast as your legs can take you!”

Derek didn’t like this. Mrs. Hernandez came back with a distinct frown on her face. “Aren’t senior pranks at the end of the year? If this turns out to be a senior prank, we will find out and there will be consequences.”

“Come on, Mrs. Hernandez! My friend in PE is already there and says it’s legit. The principal was having them pull out the bleachers and everything!” Penny said, holding up her phone.

Mrs. Hernandez sighed, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Fine. But I don’t like any of this. And don’t go fast. We go in a proper line.”

Derek left his stuff except for his phone. They walked in an orderly but not quiet line. Everyone was talking about what could be going on.

“Hey.”

Derek turned to see Nick falling in line with him. “Hey.”

“Any idea?”

“Nope.”

“Do you feel you should suddenly bolt for the front doors and run home?” Nick asked.

“Oddly specific, but I definitely don’t like this turn of events.”

They made it to the gym. The bell already rang to go to the next hour, but no one was paying attention to it. They were far more curious why Mr. Stower was calling for a pep rally on a Thursday. The teachers, too, whenever they passed each other, would give the other teachers questioning looks.

Derek settled in his seat on the bleachers. They were not comfortable. The noise was far above a normal pep rally. He could even see Evelyn talking with the other cheerleaders and the cheer instructor. If the cheerleaders didn’t even know about this pep rally, then what was this about? Nick was sitting next to him, folding his arms and checking his watch.

“Alright, I need everyone to sit down,” Mr. Stower said, talking into a microphone at the front. “Yes, yes, sit down. Everything will become perfectly clear. I assure you.”

Derek was texting like crazy, glancing around at the adults. “This is so weird.” Many of his other friends were all asking in group chats if they had any idea what was going on. The noise was lessened a little now Mr. Stower was standing before them.

“I wanted to thank you all for such a great month so far. The football team has done spectacularly.” Mr. Stower clapped, which started a scattering of applause. “Now, this year, I wanted to do something real special. I’m planning on getting a lot more hands on in many more of the after-school clubs.”

“That’s the wrong use of words for a vice principal to say,” Nick mumbled.

Derek chuckled. The door opened, and Nick and Derek glanced at it. They both saw a black and red scaled arm holding it open. Derek stiffened, his grip over his phone tightening.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit,” Nick whispered next to him.

There was a scraping noise as a naga entered the room. The snake was covered in black and red scales, with the upper torso of a man. He was jacked, with only a black vest covering his torso, his human like arms full of muscle. Two long swords were strapped to his body as he slithered inside the gym. He was standing about five feet tall, but there was another ten feet of snake's body slithering beneath him. His human head was surrounded with a scaly hood, like a cobra.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” Nick was still saying.

“Stop looking at him,” Derek said.

Both of them stared at Mr. Stower, neither one of them calm.

Every muscle in Derek’s body went taut. He felt it, the desire to pull Milo into the fray right at that moment, but he stopped himself. This wasn’t a battle. Not one they could win. Not against Akshi.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as Akshi’s yellow eyes scanned the crowd. Looking for anyone who saw him. Derek forgot how to breathe.

“He can read thoughts,” Derek whispered.

“There’s no way he can use that on us,” Nick said.

“There’s no way he should be inside the bubble, either.” Derek already felt a bead of sweat gather on his hairline.

“I know many of you hear after-school clubs and automatically assume cheerleading or football,” Mr. Stower continued. “But I’ll be attending all of them. Every single one.”

Akshi slithered quickly up to Mr. Stower, moving his hand around, and the principal’s pupils glowed a sickly green color.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Derek said as Nick covered his mouth. Charm person. Akshi was casting charm person on the vice principal of Elmwood High.

“We are not your enemies.” Mr. Stower’s voice sounded distorted and almost dull. “We are your friends.”

Derek somehow found Alejandra’s gaze in the bleachers not that far from her. She looked terrified, which couldn’t have been any different from his own. He turned back to see Akshi making some sort of hissing noise as the sickly green pupils brightened. “We will begin tomorrow. We are excited to learn more about you.”

Derek’s phone vibrated. He glanced down at the phone he had tight in his grasp.

I can’t explain it. I’ve got the absolute worst feeling. Are you guys alright?

It was from Tyler, which somehow made it worse. There was no way Derek could explain this in code. He didn’t even want to try. Instead, he lifted his phone as secretly as he could and took a picture. He wasn’t sure if it would translate, but he saw Akshi in the picture. Right next to Mr. Stower, with his eyes still glowing green. He sent it to Tyler.

“Alright, thank you!” The green deepened in Mr. Stower’s eyes as he put on a fake chipper voice. “You may now go back to class!”

Akshi’s head moved from side to side, looking at teenagers that were all focused on Mr. Stower. Derek’s chest heaved. Somehow, Akshi figured out how to charm a person of this world. For whatever reason, he was here, at Elmwood High. Inside the bubble.

They would have to be careful about telling this to Grizzizzik.

Akshi dropped his hand, moving around to study each and every student’s face with an almost laid back expression, even though his eyes were intense. He was waiting for someone to look at him, for some sort of recognition to flicker through their faces. Derek did not want to know what would happen if Akshi saw recognition on anyone’s face.

Derek shoved his hands deep in his pocket as he stood up with the rest of the student body.

“Head down, look bored,” Nick mumbled.

Derek focused on the door, even though he felt goosebumps rising on his arms the nearer they got to Akshi. He kept his eyes toward the door, following the surge. He didn’t dare breathe again until they were out of the gym.

Alejandra appeared next to them, looking terrified. Nick said nothing, simply put his arm around her shoulder, searching the halls until Evelyn appeared next to them.

“We pretend like nothing happened,” Nick whispered. “He’d notice if a group of kids stopped showing up at school. Derek, try to see if Tyler can meet us tomorrow instead of Saturday.”

Derek nodded, then checked his phone. Tyler had already replied.

Forget the code.

Call me.

ASAP.

End of Volume One