For the first time since her sister died, Mona finally entered the empty classroom ahead of everyone else. She sucked in a deep breath before walking over to her seat. She plopped her body down and put her heavy mind on her arms.
"Did you do the homework?" Mr. Ferk's voice pierced the moment of peace in her head. She looked up and glared at him.
"There's no need to the homework as long as I do well on tests and exams," she answered before shoving her face back into her arms.
"It's your senior year already," she heard his voice grow louder, "don't you think you should take school more seriously?" she felt something hit her head. She peeked back out from her cave and looked up to see him place a packet on her desk.
"What is this?"
"Your future planning worksheets."
"...don't need it," Mona pushed the packet onto the ground.
"Hey!" she heard Mr. Ferk yelled, "this is a serious thing that you sho-"
"I don't need it!" she said with a stern voice. Mr. Ferk didn't seem to say anything at all, and what she heard next was just a moment of silence. After a while, she heard him sigh before she heard his steps move further away from her. She balled her fists as she tried to fall asleep.
"Good morning, Mr. Ferk!" a familiar voice perched out. Mona knew whose voice this was without even looking up.
"Good morning, Natalie," she heard Mr. Ferk said back. A moment later, she heard Natalie giggle. Mona could tell Natalie saw her as she heard a small gasp. Mona ignored her as she squeezed her eyes shut. She heard Natalie walk out of the room as she went to her own classroom.
-
The bell rang indicating that the school day was over. Mona finally picked her head up as she stretched her arms and yawned. Throughout the day when she was awake, she could feel the stares and murmurs of people talking about her. She just continued to ignore them as she knew they wouldn't bother her even if they wanted to. She stood up from her seat and swung her backpack on. She was ready to leave. People continued to chatter around her as they all started to pack their textbooks away and they started to leave. Mona was waiting for all of them to clear out so that she could walk out with ease.
"Mona," she heard a deep voice call out to her. The room suddenly fell silent as she looked up to see a boy standing at the doorway. His face was a face that was well liked by anyone. The boy had light brown hair, and his green eyes seemed to pierce through her as he looked at her. She looked away before they made eye contact as she tried to go out the back door. Before she could reach the back door she felt someone grab onto her arm.
"Did you not hear me call you?" he jerked her back and she looked up into his angry eyes. She glared at him as she yanked her arm away.
"What do you want?" she hissed. His eyes burned back at her.
"Why are you back here pretending to be a good student?" he hissed back.
"Woah... didn't know the new prince of the drama club was so free that he would be interested in such an ordinary student like me," Mona mocked him.
"Mona!"
"What?!"
"You..." he bit his lip, "you're an eyesore. Leave."
"I do what I want," Mona snarled at him. A small crowd of about ten people just stood there and watched the two as they continued to argue. The drama club was a huge thing at this academy, and people in the drama club were always remarked as being the best students there.
"You... you slut! You don't deserve to be here! Mina should be alive! Wh-"
"Liam!" Natalie yelled as walked up to them. She grabbed onto the boy's arm. "Stop," she begged, "you shouldn't be here doing thi-"
"No," Liam pulled his arm back, "I should be here doing this... for her... and for him," his eyes teared up. Mona let out a small laugh.
"Doing this for the dead... the dead are dead. Why are you still so passionate over someone who's never going to talk to you again?" she laughed, "she's dead already, so let her stay dead," one side of her lip went up as her eyes looked at Liam with a sparkle in them, yet behind that sparkle was a tinge of loneliness.
"You!" Liam pushed Natalie away as he grabbed onto Mona's collar. "How dare yo-"
"Haha!" Mona let out another laugh before he could finish, "look, you can't even control your anger... how did you manage to take Elliot's spot if you can't even act with dignity?"
"Don't you dare say his name!" a tear stroll down his face as he pulled Mona closer to him, "a mouth as dirty as yours, does not deserve to say his name!" he hissed.
"What's going on here?" a voice of authority broke the tension in between them. Mona looked behind Liam to see Mr. Ferk walking towards them. She felt Liam's grip pull away as she took a step back.
"Nothing sir," Liam wiped away his tear before Mr. Ferk could notice as he smiled, "just wanted to say hi to someone I haven't seen in a long time." Mona watched as Mr. Ferk looked at the two of them with suspicion.
"Really?"
"Yes, sir. Right, Natalie?" Liam nudged Natalie.
"Y-yes, sir," she quickly said. Mona looked away as she turned and walked out of the exit.
"Mona," Mr. Ferk called out to her.
"I'm going home," she yelled back.
"See you tomorrow," he heard him say. She didn't say anything back as she continued on her way.
-
Ferti went to the library first as she saw her party list and the other members were not on yet. She continued to read where she had left off. After about finishing five books, she saw Floy walking towards her. She peeked up behind her book but didn't say a word as she waited for him to speak. After a moment, the little boy opened his mouth.
"Adventurer," his tone was oddly kind and serious at the same time. Ferti set her book down as she stood up from where she was sitting.
"Yes?"
"Why are you so attached to the library?"
"Pardon me?" Ferti furrowed her eyebrows.
"I have seen many adventurers come and go. Some would read, but eventually give up due to the effort, while others would just come here in order to benefit from my grandfather, yet you, you seem different."
"What do you mean?"
"What are you here for?" Floy asked. Ferti thought about it for a bit, before a distant look appeared in her eyes.
"Someone once told me that knowledge is power and that those without knowledge are powerless. They will continue to stay in the dark until they learn the truth. I am only here because I seek knowledge in order to make myself more powerful. There is no other reason than this," Ferti replied. Floy looked at the ground for a while before nodding his head.
"I see," he said as he looked to be deep in thought.
"Why the sudden question?" Ferti asked. Floy looked up at her.
"I have been keeping track on you because you have... amazed me, to be honest," the ends of Floy's lips curled up, "I thought that you would give up after I told you about the requirements to have access to the next floor but you didn't. Instead, you continued to read, and your memorization skills are quite impressive."
"Is that all?" Ferti asked as she sensed something was not quite right. Floy looked at her and gave her a sad smile.
"Finish the task at hand first, adventurer, and then we will talk more," he said before turning around and walking back to his desk. Ferti cocked her head confused, but just shrugged her shoulders as she continued to read
-
Ferti was back in Dspect's house as they all sat around the roundtable. She rushed to the place when she saw that each of them were online. She had been trying to think up of battle strategies but figured that things would be pretty much useless unless she gets to see their skills of fighting firsthand.
"What are we gonna do now?" Dspects asked.
"First, we head to the Training Hall," Ferti replied.
"Why?" Foggy asked.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
"We need to make sure we have some form of teamwork first if we want to survive. If not, then we are all going to die within like the first... thirty seconds? Maybe less?"
"What?! Are the monsters that strong?"
"Well... they did wipe me out in like one hit so for you guys... maybe four hits would do."
"... dam..." Dspects muttered.
"Let's go then," Elizabat finally spoke up, "we're wasting too much time doing nothing here," she got up from her seat. The two guys groaned as they nodded. Ferti just shrugged her shoulder as the four of them made their way to the Training Hall.
-
The Training Hall was free to use to anyone as it was paid by taxes in the kingdom of Meleheim. Despite this, not many people utilized the Training Hall anymore as Road Builder had been out for a while now and their levels were too high.
Ferti and her party walked into the empty room.
"Welcome to the Training Hall," the desk clerk said as he gave them a big smile. Ferti gave him a small bow before she led her party to an empty training room.
"Alright guys," Ferti said as she closed the door to the training room, "show me what y'all got in store."
"Umm... aight I guess," Dspects said as a spear appeared in his hand. He walked up to a dummy and breathed in for a moment before he brought his spear back and thrust it toward the dummy. He continued to slash and turned, showing off some fancy footwork.
"Stop! Stop!" Ferti yelled out. Dspects paused as he looked over at her with confused eyes.
"Whaaat?!" he yelled back.
"You are wasting too much stamina on unnecessary moves," Ferti shook her head, "just keep your footwork simple and your thrusts strong."
"But if I do it like this then I look much cooler and also the attacks are a bit stronger."
"Yea, but if you do it like that then you're gonna burn out in like... an hour," Ferti said as she calculated it in her head.
"Hmm... but can't we just hunt for an hour and then come back out and rest?" Dspects asked.
"Actually," Ferti said this as calmly as she could, "I... haven't exactly found the escape route yet."
"What?!" Dspects and Foggy yelled as Elizabat just stood there, not even reacting to her words.
"Yea... like, I know how to get there... but I don't know how to get out, soooo... yea..." she said as she scratched the back of her head. Dspects let out a groan before nodding his head.
"Okay... let's... keep practicing then," he could only say. Ferti gave them an apologetic smile as they continued to train that day.
The party just continued to train that day to build up their abilities. Ferti decided that they would go to Snib's Crib the following day and they all agreed to meet at Dspects house again before they all logged off.
-
Mona pulled the helmet off her head. She looked at the battery light to see it blinking red. She got up from her bed and went to plug it in. She yawned as she stretched her arms up before sitting on her bed. She pulled out her laptop and set it on her lap. She took a deep breath before opening it and signing in.
Her wallpaper showed three single daisies in a field but she ignored it as she went onto the Road Builder forums. She wanted to research strategies to dealing with snake-like creatures. After researching for a while her eyelids grew heavy. She swayed back and forth as her hand continued to click on the mouse. Not before long she fell to her side as her head landed on her pillow.
-
Two identical, little girls sat in a field together, each holding a lily in their hands.
"Do you think they will find out?" one of them asked.
"No. Listen here! Since we know we have power, but since they don't know they don't have power. Don't worry! No one will find out," the other one laughed.
"Bu-"
"No buts, Mona! We have already started so we have to finish it!"
"Mina!"
"Shh... I won't listen to you anymore... besides you were the one who wanted help in the first place."
"But I didn't know you would come up with this plan!"
"Don't worry," Mina looked around, checking to see if there was anyone in sight, "it will... be our secret," she whispered before giggling. Mona also giggled as she looked at her older sister.
"Hehe! It's fun!" Mona smiled brightly.
"Right?! Hehe..." the two of them continued to giggle to each other.
-
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Mona opened her eyes to the loud noise. She combed her hair back with her fingers as she sat up. She looked at her now dead laptop and groaned as she put it on the ground.
"Mona! Come out! Let's go to school!" she heard Mr. Ferk's muffled voice behind the door. She rolled her eyes as she plugged her laptop in and walked into the bathroom.
After getting ready she went to open the door.
"Mona! Co-" she opened the door and saw Mr. Ferk standing there smiling. "You came!" he beamed a smile at her. She rolled her eyes again as closed her door and walked past him.
-
She walked into the empty classroom and stood by her desk. She bit her lips as she placed her nearly empty backpack on it.
"Not sitting down?" she heard Mr. Ferk ask. She side-eyed him before turning her back to him and walking out the back door. "Hey!"
"I'll be back," she said nonchalantly before continuing on her way. She heard Mr. Ferk sigh behind her but she didn't care. She took a few turns before taking the stairs down to the first floor. After walking for a while, she finally reached the place she wanted to be.
She looked at the two huge doors in front of her and pressed her lips together.
"It's too early... no one should be here yet... right?" she mumbled to herself as she put her hand on the handle. She pushed it down and pulled the door open. She walked inside.
She looked around her as the big auditorium room was dimly lit. Her eyes had a trace of nostalgia as she looked around the grand place. Her eyes traveled to the brightest place in the auditorium, the stage. She took in a deep breath as she walked up to the stage. When she reached the bottom of the stage she stood still. Her breath was steady as a small smile started to form. Her eyes twinkled. Her hand reached out to touch the stage. It was as if she was meeting a lover that she hadn't seen in years, the way she was so carefully reaching her hand out.
"Who's there?" a voice called out from behind her. The twinkle in her eyes shattered apart as she drew her hand back. Her lips went back to a straight line as she turned back. "Who're you?" the voice asked again. Mona watched as a male figure started to take shape as the lights started to hit him.
"Who're you?" Mona asked back but just as the words left her mouth she saw his face. Those clear brown eyes looked at her confused.
"M-Mona?" Matthew stuttered out, "y-you go here?" Mona avoided his eyes as she looked away.
"Yea. I do."
"Wah! It's fate."
~
"It's fate."
~
She heard a female voice say in her head. She bit her lips before walking past Matthew to the exit door.
"Wait!" she heard Matthew say but she didn't care as she continued. "Hey! Hold up, Mona!" he ran in front of her and stopped. She paused, not wanting to run into him before looking up.
"Do not talk me. You heard what I said before, so listen to it," she hissed. She looked at his confused eyes.
"But... why?" he breathed out.
"At this school I am n-"
"What is our new scriptwriter doing with a slut over here?" Mona turned her head to see Liam walking towards the two.
"Huh? Slut?" Matthew asked.
"Do not to talk to her, Mat. That filthy piece of shit will ruin you," Liam snarled.
"What? Wha-"
"He's right. So, don't talk to me anymore," she agreed as she started to head towards the stairs. Before she could go to the stairs Liam gripped onto her arm with force.
"Stop coming to school. It's starting to smell like shit," Liam hissed.
"I guess your sense of smell is getting better because it's always smelt like shit," Mona hissed back as she pushed him and pulled her arm back. She glared at him before turning away and walking back to her class.
Once she got back to class she stormed to her desk.
"You're back!" Mr. Ferk said but she ignored him as she plopped down on her chair and buried her head into her arms. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for sleep to overcome her.
-
The two little identical girls were now older as they stood in the classroom. One of them had her back turned to the other as she stared out the window. The other one stared at the girl's back with a conflicted red face.
"Mona! Why are you doing this? Why?!" she screamed. Mona turned around to face her older sister. Her face was devoid of any feelings as she looked into her sister's eyes.
"Mina... let me have him," she said, "he belongs to me. It was me who gave him the umbrella that day! He loves you because he thinks you were me! It wasn't you, so... let him go... because... because he's mine!"
"What? Why are you acting like this? Why?!"
"Because I love him! So let. me. have. him."
"I... I can't do that. I already gave you s-"
"Why?! You are the star of the show, and everyone here loves you! You have everything! Why can't you just give him up to me?! I want him! I. want. him!" Mona screamed as she walked closer to Mina.
"Stop!" Mina screamed back. "He already knows that you were the one who gave him the umbrella that day... but he still chose me, so... he's mine!"
"Wh-what? You are lying!"
"No. I'm not lying. If you don't believe me then ask him yourself. He loves me for me... let's stop. Let's stop this little secret of ours now... I'm tired... let's go back to being loving sisters, okay?" Mina said as she stroked Mona's face. Mona furrowed her eyebrows before looking up and glaring at her. She shook her head.
"No... I can't. I want him. He's mine."
"Mona!"
"You're dirty! That man made you dirty! You don't deserve him!" Mona screamed. Mina's gentle eyes suddenly grew with fury as she lifted her hand up and struck Mona's cheek. Mona fell to the ground as she let out a yelp.
"Y-you!" tears streamed down Mina's face, "who... who do you think I did that for?!" she yelled. Mona looked up and glared at Mina. She picked herself up from the ground and gave her a wicked smile.
"Do you think he will still love you after he learns about the truth?" she asked. Mina looked at her.
"You wouldn't d-"
"I would. That's how much I want him. I will tell him," Mona threatened, "didn't you say that you would rather die than let him find out? Go die. If you die, he will never know. If you don't want to die, then let me have him," Mona threatened. She looked at Mina's shocked face before letting out a laugh. "Should I go tell him right now? I should, shouldn't I?" Mona started to walk away but Mina reached out to grab her before she could get far.
"Stop!"
"No! I won't stop until I have him. So you... you stop!"
"Do you really want me to die that much?!"
"Yes! Die! If you die, then everything will be so much better!" Mona yelled. Mina looked at her with hopeless eyes.
"Mona w-"
"Stop. I don't want to hear it. You either listen to what I say, or he will know," Mona glared at her, "I won't say this a second time," she said before pulling her hand out of Mina's grasp. She started to walk out the classroom. She stopped by the door and turned back to see Mina fall to the ground, her back shaking.
-
"No!" Mona yelled as she stood up from her chair. Sweat ran down her face as she saw Mr. Ferk standing there looking at her shocked. She looked around her to see all the seats were empty.
"Nightmare?" Mr. Ferk asked. She looked at him, her face a bit flushed and shook her head.
"No," she said, "nothing at all," she slung her backpack on.
"Then what wa-"
"It was nothing!" Mona raised her voice, "forget about it." Mr. Ferk just shrugged his shoulders.
"Alright then. I will," Mr. Ferk said as he handed her a packet, "homework. Have it done by tomorrow." Mona looked at the packet and grabbed it out of his hand.
"Yea," she said as she walked out of the classroom.
"Mona!" she turned around to see Matthew running towards her. She glared at him and turned around to leave. It was too late as he caught up to her. "Where are... you going?" he panted out.
"I told you to not to talk to m-" before she could finish she felt his hand on her shoulder as he turned her around.
"I don't have time, so here," he picked up her free hand and shoved a piece of folded paper into it, "call me if you ever need anything. Bye!" he waved to her before running back the way he came. Mona looked at his figure get smaller and smaller until he turned a corner. She looked at the paper, annoyed, and was going to throw it on the ground when she stopped. She let out a sigh before stuffing it into her uniform pocket and then heading home.
-
Ferti and her party met at Dspects house again. They all looked at her and nodded their heads. She nodded her head too as she took in a deep breath.
"Let's go," she said as she started leading them to Snib's Crib.