**

Mondays, known for inducing dread among students. Whether snowy, sunny, or windy- the day will always start off second-rate. This Monday was no different.

It was nice out, a shining sun paired with an occasional gust of wind which would push your hair back. It was a perfect Monday.

At least as ‘perfect’ as a Monday could be.

But there stood a student unfazed by the despair of the new week. 

As he paced down the gray concrete which ran parallel with the surrounding road, he grinned. Similarly to the majority- his dirty blonde hair was pushed by the wind, while his face was doused in brilliant rays of sunshine.

Where he differed, however, was the mere air which surrounded him. 

It was as if the standard Monday Demon which terrorized all was being fought back by a Guardian Angel.

It was as clear as day that the man suffered differently from most. I mean just look at his friend who walked beside him.

Head down, eyes closed, fists clenching the straps of his bag. The man was surrounded with despair- it was made obvious since he walked alongside the ‘Last Hope of Monday’. 

It was as if the ‘Last Hope of Monday’ was unaffected by despair, always living in the moment without worrying about the future.

At least that’s how his presence came off.

The contrasting man next to him- no, ‘Monday’s Personification’ -finally uplifted his head, as he looked at his friend with wide eyes which gleamed with beseech.

“You know how close Coach and Mr. Z are…” His voice was riddled with sorrow.

“He’ll probably make you run y’know…” 

This was the gloomy man’s last line of defense. If it failed he would surely be alone during a long and strenuous lecture, presumably about “The Importance of Mental Health”.

Mr Z. is always going off-topic about whatever matters interest him.

Eyes still wide with hope, ‘Monday’s Personification’ awaited a response. Preferably one that suited his needs of course.

“I don’t mind running.”

And just like that his hope was shattered. Immediately, his gloom became even gloom-ier. 

“Pleeeeeaaseeeee Tensaiiiiiiiii…” 

‘Monday’s Personification’ grew desperate.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Ca- Call it ‘a prediction of fate’!”

He has now resorted to begging and fortune telling. Oh how far the weak have fallen.

“Nope.” 

Tensai kept it sweet and short. No sense of indifference in his tone nor any falters in his movement. He just kept walking upon the sidewalk as he waited to part with his best friend and reach his favorite cafè.

After a short silence between the two, Tensai spoke again.

“Just come with me.”

No response from his gloomy friend, who long ago disengaged from his puppy eyes and resorted to looking at the bleak stone in which he moped on.

Suddenly, a very awkward voice spoke out. One which was deprived of human qualities. It was as if it couldn’t decide whether the voice wanted to be male or female.

“Oh- if you see Noah again, tell him I said ‘Hi’!”

Noah picked his head up and started to look at Tensai now, who was as stone faced as could be- still walking as if no one said a word.

Noah thought he was going insane, and went back to looking at the color deprived stone.

“Teehee!”

Now side-eyeing Tensai, Noah saw him bring his hand from a cupped position over his mouth back to his side- yet he continued to walk as if he didn’t just do the most horrific impression of a cute girl ever.

“That’s what one of the waitresses told me.” Tensai said- still stone faced.

“Regardless if “she” (sounded more like a deformed dying slime to me) said that- I can’t afford to miss any more lectures…” Noah disengaged his side-eye as he said that.

“Always looking to the future…” Tensai said in response. “I could never.”

Noah scoffed- “Clearly…”

“…”

After a few moments of silence, Noah picked up his slouching neck and stood up straight.

“Alright- I’ll send you some notes after practice… See’ya.”

Tensai looked to his left to see Noah walking down a different path.

“Alright, thanks. See’ya!” 

The more he spoke the louder his voice reached, to compensate for Noah getting farther and farther.

Tensai continued walking- thinking to himself as he did.

‘A prediction of fate? When was the last time one of those were correct?’

Tensai shook his head- as the wind shook up his hair and the sun shone bright on his face. 

The man who constantly lived in a ‘favorable present’ would never think in such content again.

**

*fwoop

The old man who was wearing a neatly collared shirt rose from his chair. Slamming his hands on his desk- he got the class's attention.

“REMEMBER. You MUST turn these in by time you leave. It WILL be a grade.”

Quickly, he glanced over the crowded classroom until his eyes met three kids towards the back end of the room.

“That’s directed towards YOU Ren!”

Ren was sat with his two friends- facing away from the teacher and towards the wall which was only half a dozen feet away.

Prior to getting called out, Ren was whispering with his friend- both of them leaning over their desks as they shielded their mouths away with their hands.

They seemed to have been gossiping about something…

Before the teacher could yell at Ren again, he held out his thumb- indicating he got his message loud and clear while still facing away towards the wall, gossiping away.

Some might find this belittling, but the teacher was used to it. With that he sat back down while fixing his collar. He was back to grading papers.

The charity group’s representative took the ensuing silence to grab everyone’s attention again before the inevitable ringing of the bell.

Standing in front of the whole class he spoke:

“Remember everyone… while you may not be thinking about it yet- those with disabilities have to cater their futures to their own needs!.. So when filling out that sheet, keep this in mind!..”

Contrary to his loud voice and powerful exclamations, the entire time he was talking his voice was filled with indifference. He clearly could care less. Same could be said for the kids “listening”.

Before letting their attention slip away, he puffed out his shirt which hosted a go-fund-me link on it. 

While everyone was looking at his shirt- it was for all the wrong reasons. The man was completely drenched in sweat, and the ruthless 16/17 year olds were not holding back.

While the others were whispering about the poor sweaty man who stood at the classes head, the boys in the back were talking about something else…

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Hey, Ren… do you think he’s dead?”

“Clearly not idiot. He’s probably just a better actor than you Lucas!”

After the cheap shot at Lucas, Ren snickered. The two continued to whisper to each other as to not wake someone from a deep sleep.

That someone was Koji.

*ring ring ring

The sudden ringing of the bell took everyone off guard aside from the teacher. The sweaty charity representative was too busy prepping his supplies for the next class to pay the clock any mind, and the students were far too enveloped within their own whispers.

With the bell making it’s presence known, Koji finally awoke and rose from his desk- stretching and yawning as he did so. 

Both Lucas and Ren looked at him peculiarly, then both of their faces flushed.

Across the room, a glare sharper than a divine weapon could be felt. 

“HEY-“

Before the teacher could finish his scolding- which he had very badly wanted to do -Lucas and Ren scribbled something on their papers, and handed it in. It was scary how quickly they managed to do so actually…

“KOJI! WAKE UP!”

While Ren and Lucas evaded an angry old man with receding hair, Koji had not.

In fact, Koji was still yawning and stretching. He is a very delicate person you see.

Quickly, but without frantic, Koji looked at the paper on his desk and simultaneously grabbed a pen.

[What Job Will You Have In 10 Years?]

This was the prompt they were given.

**

Lucas Ren and Koji were roaming the halls waiting to arrive at their respective classes. Sadly the three friends didn’t have many together.

The halls smelled of sweat due to the near gymnasium which had just released it’s respective class.

The tiled floors were cracked, and the few lockers bent. Holes in the poor ceiling which caught fire by pencils propelled by kids every so often and couples which crowded the already narrow passageway.

These were the halls which the three were passing through. On the bright side (pun intended), at least there were windows with a nice bright sun!

Koji, still a bit drowsy from his deep slumber, scratched his head as a means to wake up a bit. As he did he glanced at Ren, who was simply waving back to anybody that greeted him, and Lucas, who was eyeing the risqué couples with unknown intent.

After he finished waving back to a group of passing girls, Ren opened his mouth.

“So, what’d you guys put for the prompt?”

A light topic starter. It was common for Ren to be the one to initiate plans and start conversation. It’s not like Lucas and Koji disliked their little group- it’s just how Ren is. Even when they were all younger, Ren was the one who got the three together. Ever since then, the three have been best friends.

“Oh, I put acting.” Lucas, who was still eyeing the couples, replied with indifference as if his reply didn’t really matter- or maybe more so that it was already expected.

“Figures. Y’know… you always talk about your great Hollywood dreams yet I’ve never once seen you put effort towards them…”

Ren said this out of genuine curiosity. He knew Lucas wanted to pursue acting, but it seemed like he could care less if he actually achieved his dreams or not.

“What do you mean? I’m studying as we speak!”

As he continued, Lucas’s eyes narrowed and he propelled his neck forward to better inspect.

“The way they act, the body language… every couple is different!”

Ren looked borderline disgusted at this more than notable response.

“That’s like saying watching rom-coms is studying to get into a relationship…”

Ren had caught his attention with that one. Lucas looked his way, tilted his head and asked in earnest:

“Does that not count?”

As Ren and Lucas rebuttled each other in their stupid argument, Koji silently face palmed. But he couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Koji was happy- no, content -with his current situation. Loving parents, an older brother who’s name carries weight among the locals, and a good group of close friends that he can hang out with.

There wasn’t exactly anything to feel saddened about. He lives a normal life every day, one that- as stated before -he was content with.

*sigh

Even so, sometimes he couldn’t help but feel that he wanted more. 

“God! You're a lost cause!” Ren exclaimed this to Lucas with a lot of body language, subsequently snapping Koji out of his daze.

“Oh yeah? Well- Oh! Kerrie! John! What a nice relationship you two have! Do you guys mind if I take a video to study with??!” Lucas side-eyed Ren as he said that- as if trying to prove a point or exclaim: “See? I’m right!”.

And just like that Lucas was off, melting away into his next class while very creepily inspecting couples.

“Geez. He’s actually gonna get in trouble one day for that…”

Ren scoffed at Lucas as he watched him leave the halls. Soon after he re-appointed his attention towards Koji.

“What’d you put Koji?”

He was referring to the paper slip which the sweaty representative handed out of course. Koji thought back to what he put…

[What Job Will You Have In 10 Years?]

         [Whatever My Dream Is]

‘Hell no.’

“Oh, I just put ‘nothing’.”

“Figures. You know you gotta find something to pursue soon right? We’re getting up there in age…”

Towards the end of his sentence Ren seemed to outwardly sigh.

“I mean even Lucas has you beat out on this one. At least he has an aspiration to chase after.” It seemed Ren was more focused on throwing shade towards Lucas than actually trying to give advice.

Koji thought for a second, but he had nothing to add. It was true. The reminder of this just added more weight to his shoulders which he couldn’t seem to shake off.

Noticing Koji’s sudden solemn mood, Ren changed the subject and forgot about Lucas.

“I put basketball… of course.”

His tone grew slightly enraged as he continued.

“I mean I say ‘of course’, but I highly doubt I’ll be able to go pro if our team continues to suck so damn much!”

Ren exhaled after getting his emotions out, as Koji just kind of looked forward. He was already well aware of how far their school has fallen.

“I miss the days when our brothers dominated all the local schools… It was fun to see all the other kids' faces after their brothers lost to ours.”

Ren chuckled, then continued.

“You know Koji?.. I used to think me and you would be just like our older brothers… dominate the highschool scene, then continue to play together at the same college.”

Ren’s face became gloomier as his tone softened and halted his walk. The distance between them was only a few feet but it felt like they were miles apart. 

The longer Koji waited for Ren to say something, the more his surroundings became dull. His ears started to ring and his vision blurred as his anxiety peaked. 

Koji of course knew what was coming…

It was a common question asked by those with expectations:

“Koji… why’d you quit?”

“…”

Ren’s question was followed with a silence. The longer the silence went on, the more Koji was able to perceive his surroundings again- the clearer he was able to think.

But still, Koji didn’t know what to say. While he knew what had discouraged him, what had brought him down… he didn’t know why he had quit.

He just… he just did.

He ran away…

“Ah. Sorry about that. You don’t have to play if you don’t want to- that was a bit of an insensitive question, wasn’t it?”

Ren chuckled, clearly trying to not burden Koji with the question. He knew his friend well enough that it clearly wasn’t something that he wanted to discuss, and yet he brought it up anyway…

He felt guilty.

After a bit of an awkward pause, Ren continued- increasing his upbeat tone a bit.

“Welp, my class is right here anyway. See you later, Koji.”

Before Koji could respond to relieve some of Ren’s guilt, Ren was pulled over by some other kids that wanted to make conversation with him.

“Hey Ren! Come here and help us settle…”

The sounds of Ren and his other friends became more and more distant as Koji continued his walk to class- giving up on trying to relieve his friend of some guilt.

He ran away…

‘I suppose there’s some downsides to being popular…’

But who was Koji kidding? He was once popular too…

…and he was never happier…

**

Koji had sat himself down with little time to spare.

He actually didn’t mind this class too much- even if he didn’t have any friends in it…

‘That sounds pitiful…’

Even so, he enjoyed some time to relax by himself. The combination of a nice teacher, an easy subject, and time to yourself was not something to be trifled with.

He didn’t quite have enough time to immerse himself in his phone, so he decided to simply observe a bit.

He wasn’t exactly familiar with this class since he sat in the back and kept to himself. You could say he never exactly put effort to familiarize himself.

‘Hmmm…’

But after scanning the classroom, the only notable things were a missing teacher and some of the more popular girls talking in the opposite corner.

“Ahh your art is so good!”- very girlish voice

“Purrr gurl!”- even more girly voice 

As soon as Koji heard that he was no longer interested.

*ring ring ring

*slam

The bell rang and the door slammed at the same time, leaving the room in a bit of a trance as the students who were up and about hurried back to their seats.

The young teacher stood there, coffee in hand and book pitted between his armpit.

Koji was readying himself mentally for class- even though he would probably sleep -when the teacher suddenly called on him.

“Koji!” He said.

“Do I have a Koji Thompson in this class?” The teacher's voice rang out with a bit of perplexion. It seems that since Koji didn’t familiarize himself with the class, the class didn’t exactly familiarize themselves with him either…

In fact… he didn’t exactly make a name for himself in many classes. The only time he would really be within others' heed was when Ren, or even sometimes Lucas, would draw attention.

‘Even my own teacher though?’

While Koji was thinking about this, embarrassingly at that, some of his more popular peers started talking.

“Koji?”

“Who is Koji?”

‘Damn…’

This really hurt Koji’s pride.

“Oh, isn't that Tensai’s brother?”

“Oh yeah! That’s his last name at least!”

Even after figuring out Koji's identity, no one knew what he looked like. Some of the students started looking around, probably half expecting to see Tensai 2.0, but instead their gazes hovered right over Koji. I mean, this has got to be an all time low. This is beyond pitiful. Like damn.

‘It’s never been this bad…’

“It looks like they got the wrong class. Better call the office and let them know…” The teacher spoke reluctantly, not wanting to have to call the front office.

“Oh- I- I’m right here. Sorry.”

Koji started gathering his things as he said that, assuming he was dismissed. He didn’t even care about the fact that gathering your things presumptuously could look embarrassing if things didn’t turn out as planned, cause all he was thinking about was how no one knew who he was.

“Oh, never mind then. Well, Koji, you're getting dismissed. Head down to the front office.”

“Oh- um ok.” Koji tried to respond in the least awkward manner possible since he had already made enough of a fool out of himself, but the gossip about him had dragged his mind away so his response was a bit clunky.

‘Good “first” impressions are overrated anyway…’

**

On the streets of the town where Koji resided walked two girls, around the same age as Koji himself.

“Hey, remember that Koji kid that got dismissed today?”

She whispered to her friend who stood by her side and cupped her hand to her ear to better hear.

“Yeah, what about him?”

“Well… I heard from my mom that she was treating his brother, Tensai.”

“Te-Tensai? THE Tensai???”

She squealed, breaking the whisper as her face flushed just thinking about him. Then she paused.

“Wh-“

She lowered her voice back to a small whisper.

“What happened to him?”

**

Ren sat at home enjoying the comfort of his bleak brown sofa. The ease he felt from the moonlight and the warmth of his microwaved ramen was undeniable- especially after coming home from a good workout.

Turning on the TV to occupy himself while he ate, his phone lit up.

“Hm?”

He unlocked his phone as he flipped through channels- paying attention to the sound which emitted from the TV.

[Hey, don’t bother your brother for a bit. Stay safe. Love Mom]

‘?’

Just as he was about to ask why, he heard something from the small worn-down speakers attached to the small boxed TV.

His face dulled, as his pupils dimmed and dialed. Flipping his neck, he directed his attention to the TV- where his blurred gaze quickly made out a familiar face. 

Phone in one hand- ramen in the other -Ren felt a shiver trickle down part of his spine as he visibly shivered.

**

End Chapter 1:

Calamity Creates Prosperity