For Eric Savage, it was just another day at school. The noise in the classroom slightly annoyed him, but why would it be quiet in the middle of a recess? Most of his classmates were scattered around in small groups of three to five, busy discussing the latest gossip and exams. Just a couple of weeks separated them from the graduation, so most of them at least tried to be serious about their grades. Some people, though, were really too carefree...

Just a few desks away from Eric, three girls loudly talked to each other. 

"Haha, really?!" one of them chuckled. "If I were in your place, I'd dump this dumbass of a boyfriend already! You shouldn't tolerate something like this, Jess." 

"C'mon, Karen," the other girl replied, "you never dated anyone in the first place, so you are the last person I want to hear love advice from."

"What about we ask the real professional, then?" The third girl, whose name Eric didn't even remember, said as she looked in his direction. "Hey, Savage, what do you think? Should Jess break up with her BF? I know you were listening to us even if you pretended to study, teehee."

Annoying... Eric thought as he ignored her. Contrary to what she said, he really tried to concentrate on the history textbook before him. 

He just gave her a sidelong glance, expressing his attitude. 

"Boooring!" the girl booed at him. "By this rate, you are going to stay virgin until your thirties! Would we need to call you Savage Wizard, then?!" 

The other two girls and some of the other classmates noticing the little commotion giggled at the stupid joke. 

It would be better than being with someone like you, Eric thought but didn't say it out loud. He really wanted to give those people a piece of his mind, but he didn't want to escalate harmless teasing into a conflict. He knew that if he started to talk back, it would be hard for him to stop before he thoroughly offended the annoying teen. 

Still, he didn't leave her remark completely "unpaid for". The "witty" girl made a couple of exaggerated backward steps as the boy gave her a stern gaze. 

"Scary, scary!" she said with a fake frightened expression before leaving with her friends to join another group, further away from his desk. Some people gave him amused looks before returning to their conversations. 

It's not like he was bullied or anything, but people just liked to tease him from time to time. Tacitrum and diligent in his studies, Eric wasn't close to anyone in the class, and, honestly, he didn't care about those people that much. Soon, they were going to go their separate ways and, most likely, never meet each other again. 

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I just need to endure their distracting presence until graduation. He tried to reassure himself. I bet that people at Stanford are more serious and less bothersome. 

Sighing to himself, he concentrated on the book before him, waiting for the recess to end and for the teacher to return. Unfortunately, his plan was interrupted by someone. A silver lining was that it was a person he tolerated better than his other classmates. 

The teenage boy he recognized as Derek Wilson sat down on the place nearby and whispered, making sure that others can't hear him, "Don't pay attention to those thots, bro! They are just hungry for your attention. Honestly, I even start to believe that Beth has a crush on you." 

Eric raised his head a bit. "Who's Beth?"

"What?!" the boy exclaimed, gathering some attention. "Oh, man, you got me there. For a moment, I really thought that you forgot the name of the female classmate who talks to you the most. It's really rare to hear a joke from you."

Rather than forgetting, I never even bothered to remember... Eric commented in his mind. Concluding from his description, she's probably the girl who talked to me just now. She transferred to our school at the beginning of the year, right? For some reason, she's the one who tries to annoy me the most. I would even believe his explanation if I didn't know any better.

In spite of his negative opinion of her, Bethany Meyer still was considered one of the prettiest girls in class. Her ginger hair, cute little freckles, and emerald eyes made for a nice combination. Not like he cared, though. 

"Oh, shit, look!" Derek said as he pointed in a certain direction. "This jock Fred tries to flirt with your potential girlfriend! You should do something, bro!"

Dude, you've called her a thot just a couple of sentences ago, and now she's my girlfriend candidate? My opinion of you gets lower and lower. 

In the corner of the classroom, a group of seven people, including the three girls from before, stood with their backs to him. One of them was a tall and muscular boy, at least one head taller than Eric. He was the most popular guy in their class and also a promising rugby player — Fred Wolf. 

Just out of curiosity, Eric looked in their direction. Fred tried to hug Bethany around her shoulder, but the girl nimbly avoided his hand and gave him the middle finger... Yeah, they were totally "flirting". Eric was just one step away from "losing the love of his life".

Maybe she isn't that bad, after all, Eric thought when a sudden noise picked his attention. He thought that it was just a school bell but immediately realized that something was seriously wrong. 

Everyone stared with shock as a large orb of white light appeared in the middle of the classroom. 

Is this ball lightning?! Eric thought. This shouldn't be right. It's sunny outside, and how could it enter the room without anyone noticing?!

Each person reacted differently. Some were scared silly, like Derek, who hid under the desk. Some tried to be heroic, like Fred, who stood tall between his group and the orb, trying to protect them with his body. Eric, though, just gazed at it, fascinated with its uneven form and the sense of power it gave him. 

The instinct he didn't know existed told the boy to punch the white sphere with all his strength, just like he had trained in secret from his mother. Of course, he just ignored the silly thought. 

Before anyone could take hold of themselves or the people closest to the exit could escape, the orb expanded in an explosion-like way, enveloping everyone in blinding light. 

In the next moment, the classroom was empty. It was the first Unexplained Mass Disappearance Case known to earthlings, but far from the last one.