The next day Mack was ready to go. He had on his UM shirt along with a hat to match. He trampled downstairs with his suitcase in hand and a backpack slung over his shoulder. He was excited. His face showed that and more. A new beginning somewhere else. The uncertainty was daunting but he also welcomed it.

His siblings all waited for him downstairs that morning, eagerly awaiting to send him off. Especially Jason who now had his own room. Their mother also stood waiting anxiously. One of her children was leaving home and she felt it. She tried not to cry but let a few tears go.

Mr. Haven came down the stairs behind Mack and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Ready to go, Son?” he asked.

“Yep!” said Mack.

Mr. Haven had a small suitcase as last night he decided to accompany his son to UM and get him settled. Previously it was just Mack going and he would figure it out as he went. This was because his father was swamped in court cases and initially he couldn’t find the time. As a last minute decision, he distributed the work to his assistants because after all this was his first son going off to college. This relieved Mack as he didn’t have a clue of what to do the moment he was there.

“And we’re off,” said Mr. Haven.

Everyone gave their goodbyes. Mrs. Haven held onto her hug a bit longer than what was necessary. This made Mack subtly pull away because if he let her continue he probably would've missed his flight. “Love you, Mom,” he said.

“Love you too, sweetheart!” she said back.

“Take it easy you guys. I’ll see you at Christmas,” he said.

He left the house and Dye and the rest of them watched from the porch as he and their father loaded up the car and left. They all waved goodbye as the car disappeared from sight.

The next week was quiet. Dye texted Jenny a little bit throughout the week but the conversation was dry. It was like she didn’t want to talk to him. This made him a bit depressed. He was inside his head again as he began to psyche himself out. Thought’s of her having gotten a boyfriend over the summer stuck out the most. That would explain why she was acting so distant. He couldn’t think of any other reason other than that and now he was anxious to get back to school, as odd as that seemed, to find out for himself, but that was a whole week from now. Until then he needed to get out of the house.

He texted Joss to hang out but Joss had gotten a summer job at the mall and was working every day that week. His next off day would be Saturday and so Dye just said he would reach out then to do something.

Has Jenny found a boyfriend? She’s been acting weird.

Dye hit send.

He waited and after a few minutes he got a response.

Not that I know of.

He read the reply from Joss.

That relieved him somewhat. There was another message. Homecoming is in October. Ask her!

Dye smiled. That was a great idea.

Another message from him came in.

Gotta clock in. Catch you later!

Monday came and went with nothing of significance happening. Even looking for superhero things to do was slow. Crime had plummeted since Dye was away so there was no reason to armor up and patrol the city.

Tuesday arrived and Dye just watched movies all day.

Wednesday came and Dye decided to see what Corrine was up to and if she wanted to do something. She was busy studying for her GED which was in a couple of weeks. Sam was still caught in the reigns of figuring out his science fair project and Jason was just enjoying his newly acquired room.

Thursday. He played video games all day.

Friday. He slept all day.

Saturday was basically a repeat of Thursday and Friday combined.

Sunday came with anticipation but still nothing of significance to pass the time.

Finally, it was Monday. He woke up without his alarm blaring. Got on his clothes, grabbed his backpack and bolted downstairs for breakfast.

He wasn’t really hungry. He was focused on getting to school and seeing Jenny. Jason was scarfing down his breakfast while Sam enjoyed his meal, reading the new issue of Science Today.

He wanted to hurry them up so he could get to school. His anxiety was seeping through like an ooze and Sam sensed it.

“Are you in a hurry?” asked Sam.

“I just want to get to school!” Dye replied.

“That’s a first.”

Jason finished his food and grabbed his things.

“Alright, AIS! The Jason express leaves in 3 minutes.” He gulped down his orange juice.

“AIS?” Dye questioned.

“Ass in seat!” Sam replied. “He’s been on this since he got his license”

It wasn’t long until they pulled into the school’s parking lot; a sea of students forcing their way into the building.

“Look at all these Freshmen,” Jason said menacingly. He rubbed his hands together as though he was about to jump into a buffet line.

After receiving his schedule from the counselor’s office, Dye found his locker and opened it to start putting his things inside.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

When he shut it he found Joss and Jenny waiting behind him.

“Hey guys,” he said, surprised. He smiled.

Both Joss and Jenny's jaws dropped.

“Dude…” said Joss. “What have you been doing? You’re jacked.”

Dye had to remember that they hadn’t seen him for three months.

“Oh…yeah. I uh — went to go see my aunt and uncle over the summer. They have a uh — farm out in Kansas.”

“What did they feed you on that farm?” asked Jenny.

“Um — nothing out of the ordinary. I guess. I did a lot of chores though.”

They began to walk.

“What’s your schedule look like this year?” she asked.

He unfolded his and read down the list of classes he had for the upcoming year. “Let’s see,” he began. “First period is Math, second period is English, third period I have Biology, fourth period P.E., fifth period Spanish, and last but not least, sixth period is U.S. History.”

“What a load,” she said.

“Well at least you have P.E. with me,” Joss said.

Dye broke a smile. “Awesome!”

Loud whispering started to echo from up the corridor. Dye, Joss and Jenny turned. Girls started to scream with lust and stare at someone walking down the hall, as though a celebrity had entered the building.

“Who is that?” Asked Joss, staring at the unknown person coming up the way.

The person strutted through the hallway, one hand in his pocket, the other carrying a book. As he got closer, Dye began to identify his features. He wore a white dress shirt that was halfway unbuttoned, revealing a broad chest beneath a t-shirt, with a pair of jeans and black shoes. From a distance, Dye saw the boy possessed wavy blonde hair. It was styled as though one side was longer than the other; his left side not passing the bottom of his left ear while his other side reached down to his jaw bone.

“Look at this guy,” Dye said to Joss.

“What a tool,” said Joss with an attitude.

“Let’s go,” said Dye as he and Joss began to walk away. That’s when they noticed that Jenny wasn’t following. They turned to her and saw that she was completely hypnotized by his appearance.

“Jenny?” He asked, getting no response.

Dye turned his head and eyed the oncoming boy suspiciously. The constant shrieks of girls made Dye, Joss and all the other boys present agitated and somewhat jealous. As the boy came towards Jenny he stopped dead in his tracks in front of her, but she did nothing but stare into his silvery, gray eyes. He smiled at her, making Dye absolutely bitter.

“G’day, mates,” he said looking at Joss and Dye, both of whom didn't seem too happy. He looked at Jenny.

“Crikey, ahh yah a beauh,” Jenny blushed. “Oy was wawndering if yah could haelp me foin lawckah nubah'' he pulled out his class schedule, “foah hundred and fifty-twao.”

Dye and Joss looked at each other, barely able to understand the boy and his heavy Australian accent. Jenny remained silent, still admiring his beautiful gray eyes.

“Uh, yeah, it’s further down,” Joss finally replied, pointing down the hallway.

“Cheers, Mate.”

Just as he was about to be on his way, he noticed Jenny still looking at him.

“Somethin the mahttah love?”

Jenny didn’t say a word. She just blushed more. Something inside her head told her to hide it but she couldn’t. He smiled.

“Puhhahps lunch luytah?” he asked her?

Dye knew she would say no. Why would she say anything but no. She didn’t know this guy. To Dye, he was just some pretty boy who girls gawked over. He was a dime a dozen and Dye knew Jenny wouldn’t fall for such a rouse.

“Sure,” she said.

Dye’s reality shattered. He could almost hear the glass falling to the ground and breaking into thousands of pieces.

“Fahntuystic,” he said as she grinned. “Yah blokes can join us if yah wahnt.”

Dye and Joss pretty much ignored him.

“Boy the way, moy nyme is Zachery. Zachery Bluestone.” He smiled and blew past Joss and Dye, his hair waving as he did, and melted away as he walked down the hallway.

“Wow,” Jenny said under her breath.

“That dude! Who does he think he is?” Asked Dye.

“I don’t know, Mah Man, but I couldn’t understand a word he said.” Joss replied.

“Hey Jenny, you’re not going to actually eat lunch with him, are you?”

Jenny broke free from her trance and turned to face an obviously jealous Dye.

“Why shouldn’t I?” She asked.

“Because you always eat lunch with us.”

“He said you guys could join us.”

“I don’t want to join him.” Dye said back sarcastically.

“What’s your problem?” Jenny sounded almost as irritated as Dye. “I haven’t heard from you all summer and now you’re all upset because some guy gave me the time of day?”

“You don’t even know the guy,” he replied.

“Well he’s shown me way more attention than you have!” She snapped.

Dye stood there without words. He couldn’t say what he really wanted to say but suddenly he let go of all his inhibitions and the words just fell out.

“I’ve given you plenty of attention. Now all of a sudden some douchebag who you don’t even know looks at you and you’re drooling on your shoes.” Joss’s eyes went between the two, not sure if he should intervene. Jenny scoffed.

“All that muscle must be keeping oxygen from your brain! You’re so full of yourself!”

“Me? you’re the one who was too busy to even hang out. What? Did you find a new boy toy over the summer or something?”

Jenny chuckled at his audacity. The offense made her look him in the eyes with contempt. “What I do in my free time is none of your business, Dye. Maybe you should’ve picked up your phone instead of ‘roiding up.” Jenny sneered at him but this time the scorn was clear. “I'll catch you later, Joss!” She rolled her eyes at Dye, making sure he saw her do it, and stormed off.

Dye turned around, faced his locker, and banged his head hard against it.

“Dude, you didn’t text her all break?” said Joss.

No he didn’t. Training and living inside an actual volcano makes for a weak cell signal.

“I’m an idiot,” he slammed his head again.

“Girls, right?” Said a voice beside him. The locker next to him closed. Dye looked over and saw a girl with brown hair and eyes to match. She reminded him of Corrine, but younger, and with a lighter shade to her skin. She wore a white, skin-tight long-sleeved shirt and baggy jeans, giving her a tomboy vibe. The strap of her bag crossed her chest.

“I don’t see why girls go for guys like that,” she said. “If you ask me, he’s nothing special.” Dye looked down the hall only to catch the school’s new pretty boy wooing another group of girls. That infuriated him.

“I officially hate that guy,” he said.

“You and me both,” she replied. “I’m Molly.”

“I’m Dye,” he replied.

“Dye?” she questioned.

“Don’t ask, something about dying a rug when he was kid or something like that.” said Joss.

The two made eye contact. “And you are?”

“Oh — um — my name is Joss.”

“Joss huh? That’s no better than Dye.”

She jokingly said. Joss caught the humor and smiled, nearly getting butterflies in his stomach as he did.

“I just moved here from New York with my grandfather,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about Beach Shores and the Xenton.”

“Yeah?” replied Joss. “You’re into them?”

“Hell yeah? They’re so cool!” She replied like an obsessed fan girl.

“Then I got tons of stories to tell you,” said Joss. The two began on their way, assuming Dye was behind them. He didn’t follow.

He had an incredible urge to punch the locker as hard as he could knowing he could do some real damage. Just to show Bluestone how much he currently despised him. Just looking at him flirting with other girls ignited a fiery hatred inside of him. He secured his backpack and left the hallway.