I felt full of energy today. After finally getting a full night’s sleep, I was focused during class, and in an overall good mood. It felt like I was ready for whatever Tori had in store for me.

I also decided to test my theory about the school uniform. I wore casual brown pants, a grey T-shirt, and a black hoodie—nobody, including our teacher, seemed to care. In fact, it felt like Mrs. Thompson actively avoided me when it was time to quiz students. Maybe I was imagining things, but if this trend continued over the next few days, it could be pretty useful.

Not to mention, it saved me from the hassle of keeping my uniform ready every day.

But what does this mean in the context of all the weird stuff surrounding Tori?

Speaking of Tori, she was waiting for me by the school gate after class.

Today, she wore a long black shirt with silver chains hanging from her belt loops, paired with ripped dark jeans and the same elevated combat boots as before. She hadn't bothered to show up for any of the lessons, but really, why would she? Everyone ignores her anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter whether she attends school or not.

Unless she’s the type who enjoys learning—but that seems unlikely.

The area around the school was quiet. Most of the students had gone home, and the late afternoon sun was starting to dip, casting long shadows across the empty yard. A few leaves drifted down from the trees lining the street, carried by a light breeze. It was peaceful, in a way, after the usual school day rush.

I prepared myself for the incoming madness and asked:

"So? What are we doing today?" I asked, approaching the school gates.

"I’ve been waiting for you for an hour! What’s wrong with you, Jonatan?" she snapped, clearly irritated, stomping her foot hard enough to make her frustration obvious.

"Joshua, not Jonatan," I corrected her, though she didn’t seem the least bit interested in apologizing, so I continued. "I literally just finished my classes. I thought you knew when we got out; we’re in the same class," I added, rolling my eyes.

"Bla bla bla, how was I supposed to know? Just don’t be late next time!” she shot back.

"If you didn’t know, you could’ve asked," I said, keeping a straight poker face.

Clearly, that thought hadn’t crossed her mind. She stopped mid-stride, widened her eyes, her left hand stretched out, palm open, while her right hand, loosely clenched in a fist, lightly tapped her other palm—like some weird 'eureka' gesture.

“Ooo, good idea, my student. I’ll take that into account next time!” she said, sounding mockingly grand, as if this was some major discovery. "But that’s not important right now! We have another mission to complete!" She raised her finger triumphantly into the air, as if announcing something of cosmic importance.

"Ooo, my esteemed master, and what might this mission be?" I asked back, mimicking an exaggerated aristocratic accent.

"Follow me!" she commanded, not waiting for any further response as she briskly started heading toward the nearby bus stop.

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

We sat at the back of the bus. Tori sprawled out across two seats, leaning against the window with her legs stretched out on the empty seat in front of her.

“So, what’s up with you, Josh?” she asked casually.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going on around us, and I’ve got a few questions,” I said, my mind still buzzing with all the weirdness lately.

Tori sighed deeply, like she was already tired of where this conversation was going. “I bet you do, but for now, keep those questions to yourself. I’m not in the mood to deal with another destabilization.”

“Destabilization? What do you mean by that?” I asked, even though I had a vague idea what she was getting at.

“Destabilization, you know… an attack. That’s what we call what happened to you in class and at the restaurant. Don’t ask me why it’s called that—I didn’t come up with the name. It’s just what we’ve been calling it since long before I was... initiated.”

“You keep saying ‘we.’ Who exactly are you talking about?”

Tori glanced around, her eyes darting to the other passengers as if she was half expecting another 'destabilization' to kick off right then and there. It was clear she didn’t feel entirely safe talking about this.

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“I told you, too many questions!" Tori snapped, rubbing her temples with annoyed face. "But it looks like you’ve somehow racked up enough points for me to clue you in a bit more. We—meaning the Loremasters—that’s what we call our… faction, I guess you could say. Though we’re not exactly a tightly knit group.”

“A faction? How many people are in this group?”

“Like I said, we’re not exactly close. I’ve only met a few of them myself, and I haven’t kept in touch for a while.” She waved her hand dismissively, clearly not wanting to dive too deep into that. ”Maybe I’ll explain why someday, but for now, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“So what exactly do you guys do?” I asked, and almost immediately I felt a tightness in my chest. My breath hitched for a second. Great, here we go again.

At the same moment, Tori clutched her head and hissed through her teeth.

"I warned you! And now my head hurts! Ugh, I was having such a good day." She looked at me, clearly frustrated. "When the destabilization hits you, I can get hit by it too! It's like some shared punishment. Not always, but seriously, you GOTTA be more careful."

I could see her annoyance, but before I could say anything, she shook her head and quickly changed the topic.

“Let’s switch topics before we both end up in worse shape. Tell me, did anything interesting happen between our meetings? Got yourself into any trouble?” she asked, still rubbing her forehead, but the way she smirked at the word ‘trouble’ made me think she almost hoped I had some dramatic story to tell.

And, well, I kind of did.

"I hope I didn’t get into any real trouble, but yeah, something interesting did happen," I began, telling Tori the entire situation with Wanda. I explained how the girls in the restroom ignored me while bullying her, and how unsettling it all felt.

Tori whistled, clearly impressed.

"Not bad, Josh. So you played the knight in shining armor for her, huh? That must've earned you a good chunk of points. That’s probably why we can talk a bit more freely now," she added with a smirk.

"You keep mentioning these 'points.' What do you mean by that?" I asked, genuinely curious, forgetting completely about the whole destabilization thing.

As soon as the words left my mouth, Tori quickly glanced around, as if preparing for another sudden attack. When nothing happened, she let out a long, relieved sigh and answered, sounding a bit drained.

"Some things you're gonna have to figure out on your own for now. I really don’t want to get hit too hard because of your questioning." She paused, then continued, "But it seems like I can answer that one—at least partly. ‘Points’... that’s what we call our current level of importance to the world, how much we can get away with. There's no clear metric to check them unless you visit [The Loremaster]."

When she said [The Loremaster], instead of hearing the words, I saw them flash in my mind like a written title: [The Loremaster]. It wasn’t like I imagined the words. No, it was as if the phrase was forcibly inserted into my brain—clear, sharp, and impossible to ignore.

It was like the world had briefly glitched, and my thoughts had turned into some kind of game interface or movie subtitle. It was such an abstract, surreal experience—seeing something without really seeing it, feeling it echo through my thoughts like an alien presence. I couldn’t explain it even if I tried.

Not the first, and probably not the last strange thing that’s happened around Tori. You’d think by now I’d be used to it.

But seriously, what does she mean by ‘how important we are to the world’?

I realized I’d have to keep these questions to myself, at least for now. Maybe once I collect enough ‘points,’ things will start making more sense.

So... I need to keep doing what I did with Wanda? Helping girls in distress to uncover some kind of global conspiracy doesn’t sound too bad, honestly.

After a moment of silence, Tori lazily asked, “What was that girl’s name, by the way?”

“She introduced herself as Wanda Ravenwood,” I replied.

The second I said the name, Tori shot up from her seat, her eyes wide like I’d just told her something shocking.

Ah, right. Wanda acted like her family name was a big deal, and judging by Tori’s reaction, it seems I was right to assume that she knew her family.

“What have you done?! Damn it, Josh! Do you have a death wish?” she exploded, then buried her face in her hands. “Wanda Ravenwood? Do you even know who she is—wait, of course you don’t. This is my fault for not warning you.”

What?

I was really confused.

“I heard her parents are some kind of criminals? Did I get that wrong? But Wanda doesn’t seem to have anything to do with that, from what I understood.” I tried to calm her down, though I wasn’t sure how well that was going to work.

“Parents? What parents? Who cares about them! Wanda is insanely dangerous, Josh. It’s a miracle you’re still alive! Do you even know how much effort it would’ve taken to wake you up?”

What again?

“What do you mean ‘wake me up’?” I asked, now thoroughly lost.

Tori threw a hand up in front of my face. “Shut up for a second, let me think.”

I sat there on the bus, staring at her like she had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. Wanda? Dangerous? That small, pale, fragile girl who was being bullied in the bathroom? There was no way she could be dangerous.

After a moment of silence, Tori interrupted my thoughts. “Wait, wait… did you say you helped her? Wanda? With three other girls who were bullying her?”

I nodded cautiously.

Tori pulled out her phone and started frantically typing something into it and muttering to herself:

“September 18th... could it be? Was that the turning point? Hmm, it’s possible we might avoid... no, no, definitely not. But if we play our cards right...” Then, suddenly pointing a finger at me with a determined look on her face, she declared:

“Josh, I’m giving you the most important mission of your life! You need to become friends with Wanda Ravenwood,” she said her name with a hint of disgust, then continued, “You’ll give me a weekly report on how things are going with her. Oh, and try to keep those other girls away from her!”

“That was my plan anyway,” I replied. “Wanda’s not safe with those girls targeting her.”

Tori just smiled, but there was something unsettling in that smile. “No, no, Josh. You should do it more for their safety, not hers.”