He saw his mother crying in the large living room with the TV and fireplace. They stood there in wealthy clothing, but no one wore a smile that day. Jasper looked at the letter. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to show the letter to his mother, but all he could see was Leon in military uniform and blood around him. His mother must be picturing the same. He hid the letter in his pocket.
Some time passed again as Jasper looked out the window, seeing the many spaceships and monsters take off. Scarlet was proud of its monster creation as this planet sold monsters and everything close to it to outer space. Since the war, many planets have not bought anything to cross the line between good and bad. Jasper turned to his bank neighbour, a girl with straight black hair and red tips. She looked away. Jasper sighed.
“Is it because of my brother? Spit it out,” he said, crossing his arms. They both talked nonchalantly as the teacher explained something on the board. The girl sighed while playing with her hair. She put on a big smile, turning her gaze at him. “So yeah,”
“D-do you wanna go for lunch later? Somewhere where we can be alone. I think you need it,” she said, sighing. Jasper looked at her and then at the glances from his classmates as Hales was a name not everybody had. Leon Hales made quite the turn around the world since he was announced as the youngest general for the mission to Planet Jupiter XI. Some guy popped right in front of his face as the break started. He slammed the table, being extremely close to the face of the protagonist.
“You did not tell me you had such a cool brother. But wait, when he is at the academy, then why are you here? Do you have beast enchantment powers like your brother?” he asked, having a big smile and body language. He almost looked like a cartoon character in his eyes. The protagonist twitched his eyebrows, looking confused at the sight as soon as the bell rang.
“Who are you?” Jasper asked, showing a friendly smile as Isla laughed beside him. “Nah, now for real. Why are people approaching who I never talked to before? I can not be that famous,” he said, sighing with an annoyed expression. People kept coming to him from left and right as Jasper grabbed Isla by the arm and pulled her out of the classroom. Isla did not fight back as they made their way to the cafeteria, walking past some students who kept glancing at him from left to right. He turned to Isla with a confused face.
“I wonder if people wonder if I have an attribute or I look damn good like my brother,” he said. Isla laughed again.
“Well, you both are guys. But other than that, you are a bit different than your brother. There is still one thing matching,” she said.
Jasper looked at her, raising his brows. She huffed, not saying how both had the same eyes with the same empty expression, even if they smiled. They almost looked like twins if it were not for the hair colour.
Jasper stood in front of the cafeteria, ready to take lunch if it were not for some upperclassmen who approached him. Isla noticed some snarky looks the big guys gave and almost hissed at them. She grabbed the arm of her friend.
“Problem coming,” she said.
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“Jasper Hales? Come with us for a second, and let us talk. My brother is very close to your brother,” he said, grabbing Jasper by the shoulder. Even the cantine lady in front of his face gasped as she put some broccoli on his plate. Jasper huffed, rolling back his eyes.
“Can you please not give me broccoli? I can not feed it to my dog here even if I wanted to,” he laughed. Everyone gasped again as Jasper ignored the upper-class men. The big guy with the dark skin bowed closer to his face. But the boy released his grip immediately from his shoulder.
Isla was about to use the necklace around her neck, which glows red. “I will handle it,” she said. She walked between those two, showing her grey but glaring eyes at him. She was not the one to be messed with, as she also had a student council sign on her school uniform. She grabbed the shoulder of the guy, releasing the warm energy from the necklace.
“Okay. Let us talk. You must be the younger brother of Oliver Maison. My brother talked a lot about you,” he said, grabbing Isla and pushing her behind him. She looked pissed as the fire in her eyes needed some release. Jasper stared at the taller guy with a friendly expression, noticing from the smirk and body language of the upperclassmen's friends how they belittled the protagonist. He looked back to the canteen lady and the kids who were watching. If things went down, no one would dare to step in.
He did not want to get Isla in trouble.
He looked dead in the guy's eyes as he smirked down at him. The upperclassman grabbed Jasper by the head.
“You are small just like your brother… I can not believe they chose a shrimp over Oliver,” he said. “Let us talk outside,” he continued. Jasper clicked his tongue.
“No,” he answered, grabbing his plate. He walked past the bully and straight to an empty seat. Isla gave the guy a stinky look before flipping her hair at him. Jasper chuckled as they both sat down.
“Listen. I want to know why the Hales family is privileged,” the guy said, walking to their table. He smashed his hand in Jasper's food, spilling it on his clean uniform. The tall guy then grabbed his collar, almost pulling him up. Jasper's eyes glowed for a moment there.
“Outside. Let us go. So I can smash your head in,” Jasper said, glancing at Isla. “Stop that, “
Isla grabbed her necklace, ready to release something from the anger in her eyes. Jasper held back his emotions as he calmly got up and walked out of the cafeteria. Isla was surrounded by some upper-class girls.
Jasper was kicked against the wall, the upperclassman not removing his foot. The dark-skinned boy had a hunch that he saw Leon in him for some reason.
The story of Oliver Maison was not something his brother kept a secret from him.
Jasper was 10 as he waited in front of the big gates, his pale cheeks flushing red. He wore a coat and a hat with some gloves. They let him in, him being able to see Leon. But he was surrounded by bigger other guys, almost punching him down.
“L-Leon!” Jasper cried, instantly running to him, but as soon as his brother saw him, he pushed him away. Tears almost formed in his eyes, as Leon widened his eyes and ran towards his little brother. He hugged him tightly, covering his cheeks where he got hit.
“S-sorry, I didn't mean to hit you! You should not have stood so close,” he said, breaking free from the rougher guys. They were older, around 17, going at a 13-year-old boy, just newly placed into the academy. The name Hales meant shit to them. The older guys sneered, looking down at them. They left the scene as soon as the guards noticed the commotion. Leon huffed, tears forming in his eyes as he cried. Jasper knew it was not because his little brother got hit.
He never forgot the expression of the boys or their features. Jasper huffed, pushing himself off the boy. “Why are you never hitting them back?”
Back to the presence, Jasper huffed, grabbing the leg of the tall guy. He grinned as they looked down at him wide-eyed.
“Enjoyed? Now let me show you my real attribute,” he said, some light forming under his grip.
Isla rushed from the cafeteria after flicking the girls down to the ground, making a mess around her. She grits her teeth as she runs into a corner where she sees Jasper breaking the leg of some boys. She screeched slightly at the sight as she held her mouth.
“Come on. Bark,” he said. He noticed Isla standing over one of the guys whose hands showed the other direction. She gulped as she looked back at Jasper, who just rubbed the back of his head. “They asked for it,” he said.
Isla let out a breath as she shook her head. “Well, at least you poor guys know now the privilege we have. Once he breaks your leg, he can pay to get away with it,” she said, grinning. “You - do - not,”