Chapter 4

Sunlight dimly lit the streets as the artificial sun of the sub-dimension fell. Michael had spent too long helping the student presidency set up for a tournament, which would be happening the following day. If only he had paid more attention to the time.

Now he had to rush home. To expedite the journey Michael decided that it would be a good idea to start jogging. His heavy backpack weighed him down, and the way it jostled threw him off balance on more than one occasion.

Harmony had probably already started to worry about him. He often said for her not to worry about him, but that didn’t stop her, and he couldn’t blame her. They were siblings after all.

Near the halfway point between the school and their house the street lights started to turn on. The lights illuminated the other houses, all of which looked very similar. Michael chose to turn his jog into a run. He was hoping to save at least a little time.

Michael quickly approached their house, and he noticed that the lights in the front room were on. There was nothing to do in the front room, so why would Harmony be there? Did they have a guest?

As soon as he started pondering, he stopped. He would get his answers soon enough.

***

The front door swung open as Michael walked into the house. Harmony had sat herself in the chair with the best visibility of the door. Their guest had insisted on waiting for Michael to return before starting their conversation.

Presently, Michael had just walked in through the door and was peering into the front room. The moment that he saw their guest, he immediately tensed up.

“Good evening Michael, I’m glad to see that you’re still well today,” Caleb said, standing up from the sofa he was sitting on.

“If I had known you would have been stopping by I would have been home sooner,” Michael started to apologize.

Caleb held his hand up to stop Michael from talking, “I didn’t know myself that I was coming over. Besides, I know that you were setting up for the tournament tomorrow, so it’s excusable.”

“Anyway, come take a seat,” Caleb said moving on to a new topic, “the reason I came to visit was so I could check in. After all, I only get to see you for about an hour every other day.”

“Come on, take a seat so we can talk,” Caleb invited.

Michael moved into the room and took a seat in another chair in one of the room's corners. He was acting too formal for Harmony’s liking. This was their house and Caleb was their guest. This should be a very informal meeting.

All formalities had already been conducted by Harmony, and they were done to the bare minimum. No sense in stalling the conversation any further.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“What are we going to talk about today?” Harmony asked, jumping into the conversation.

Starting to lean on his knees, Caleb said, “I was just wondering if you needed anything. It has been a while since I asked that.”

“We’ve been doing well,” Harmony replied, “as we said during our last meeting we are very capable of taking care of ourselves.”

Caleb smirked for a second, “that was never in question. I was just wondering if there was anything that you did need recently. If there isn’t anything you need then that’s fine.”

Over the course of the past couple years Caleb had been stopping by to check in on them. He had become somewhat of a de facto parent for them. Projects and schooling had all been supported by Caleb, and the resources that he had to offer.

Since the disappearance of their parents Caleb had been the only adult figure they had in their life. Harmony didn’t really consider him their guardian. He just felt like a good friend.

“If there’s nothing that you need, then there’s something I come to ask from you,” Caleb shifted subjects, “it’s with regard to Maya and Steven.”

“As you know they are right under you in terms of… nigh everything,” Caleb explained, “so I was wondering if you would be willing to help them get up to your level. They do have the potential.”

“We would have to train them?” Michael asked.

“Yes, you are friends so I don’t see any problems with it,” Caleb said.

Michael gave Harmony the look of, “this is going to be impossible. I’m not good at teaching anyone.”

Conversely, Harmony enjoyed the prospect. She would be able to hang out with her friends more. Something that Michael needed to do as well. This was the perfect opportunity.

On top of that they would be helping Maya and Steven out. Supporting friends was always a good thing. Even if Michael didn’t like it, Harmony thought that this would turn out very well.

“What would you have us do with them?” Michael shot another question.

Caleb shifted and grabbed a small notepad from within his pocket. The cover was black with the eclipsing sun and moon on the cover. From the looks of it, it was definitely his work notepad.

“It shouldn’t be anything too strenuous,” Caleb thumbed through the notepad, “after all they are bright students that are very capable of passing their classes.”

“Both Maya and Steven want to join the military, much like the both of you, but in order to be up the ranks when they join they will have to pass a combat test with flying colors,” Caleb said, looking up at them, “from your previous scores and positions in school you are already guaranteed to be high up, which is why I want you to help your fellow classmates.”

“We understand,” Harmony chimed, “they’re our friends, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Michael shot Harmony a stare, but she didn’t care. With how antisocial Michael was it would be hard to convince him, but she could get the job done. She had done it before after all.

Besides, Harmony wanted to meet up with Maya and Steven. Sure, they had many opportunities to interact, but most of the time they had to focus on paper schoolwork. Now they could hang out, and train, almost any time that they wanted.

“Good, good,” Caleb said, clapping his hands together.

Caleb stood up from the sofa that he was sitting on, “I should get going. It’s late, and I’m sure that there’s some work that you have to do.”

“Thank you sir,” Michael jumped up and moved to shake Caleb’s hand.

Accepting Michael’s outstretched hand, Caleb nodded. Soon they separated and Michael was showing Caleb out the door.

Harmony smiled to herself all the while. Even if Michael didn’t think so, this was going to be a fun next few weeks.