'We live not in a world of reality, but in a world of perception.'

Several thousand kilometers off the west coast of South America lay a large independent island with a population of one and a half million residents. A hodgepodge of cultures, the island of Elysium, came to be due to a short unnatural shift in the earth's crust, causing the structure of the earth to change drastically over a few years.

On the six hundred thousand square foot landmass, rapid development by independent bodies had resulted in a large sprawling city, four-fifths of the island's size. This was the place Horatio called home.

Horatio Peppingar was a sixteen-year-old high school student with an interesting secret, he could see beyond the falsehood that was this world. Horatio perceived much more than the normal person, able to sense events and intents far before they presented themselves. He was super-intelligent and with a rough personality. He sat in detention, supervised by his math teacher Mrs Dorothy Mc-Smith.

Dorothy eyed him surreptitiously from behind the books she was grading. He was the only one in there, the bad apple in her class. He sat there without moving, staring straight ahead at her, but his eyes did not seem focused on her in particular. 'He's so weird.' She thought, unable to stop herself from frowning in disdain. She took her eyes off him and continued with her work. Horatio was in detention for assaulting another student. He was not usually a violent kid, yet when he flipped nothing stopped him. He had taken down seven other students, pursuing the fifth before security restrained him. 'I worry about him,' She found herself thinking, ‘maybe his guardian is unfit for the job.’

The room was silent for the hour and a half for which they sat together. Once his time was up Mrs Dorothy called her to him.

"You can't keep doing things like this, Horatio." She said. Horatio scowled and looked away. "I mean it. You may have been excused multiple times because you're an honour student but that won't save you forever. What is your sister going to do if you're expelled?" She asked. Horatio did not say anything, Dorothy sighed.

"I'm here to help Horatio, if anything is making you feel this way tell me, I can help you with it." She offered.

"I'll think of it." He muttered curtly and left. Dorothy watched the door and shook her head.

Horatio continued through the almost empty school corridors. Everyone had gone home, it was time he did too. He sighed, his sister was going to give him an earful for ending up in detention again.

"Suggestion: Resolve your differences non-violently." A robotic voice spoke within his head. Horatio narrowed his eyes maliciously.

"Shut up." He said to it. The voice did not come again. Horatio walked in silence. Next High was a massive school, three academy buildings existed side by side, built with the intent of taking the island’s children through all stages of education. The three collectively were the second largest buildings on the island, just missing the massive shopping centre in the middle of town.

Horatio made it through the front doors and into the light of the setting sun. 'It should be about five o'clock.' He thought. "Correction: It is four fifty-nine." The voice within his head came again.

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"I thought I told you to shut up?" Horatio queried.

"You did, but I picked up on some juicy information and ignored your directive." The voice said. Horatio scowled, he was not in the mood to speak to it.

"What did you pick up?" He asked.

"You're being followed." The voice said. Horatio's heartbeat instantly shot up. His brows creased as he queried.

"By who, and why?"

The voice took its time in relaying the answer but did so eventually. "Margulis Toldaap, we do not know the reason why."

"Damnit." He cursed and took a right, heading behind the academy building.

Margulis Toldaap was another student of the school, a senior Horatio knew very well but had never met.

In the island of Elysium and the world at large, there was a growth in the prominence of a strange phenomenon. It was still rare enough to be unnamed but it was within the eyes of the world's scientists and doctors; exotic hair colours. At first, it seemed to be another evolutionary misstep but those who had kept a closer eye on the condition had found that these individuals were special, in varying ways.

Horatio, as a victim of the condition, had poured hours of research into it and came out with the resolution of not making contact with any others who were like him.

For this reason, he sharply avoided Margulis and her crimson hair, just a shade too vibrant to be normal, and too uniform to be dyed. She had tried to initiate meetings with him several times throughout the past year, ever since he had entered the school and he had made it clear through proxy that he was not interested.

This time, he would change the rules a bit. This was the last school week until summer break, if he was going to do something now was the time. He would sneak up on Margulis and interrogate her. Whoever she was, she knew something.

"Interesting choice." A female voice came from behind Horatio. He felt a hand grab his as he was spun quickly and in a second, pinned to the wall. "Did you think the trees would hide you and your green hair?" The owner of the voice asked.

'Margulis.' Horatio realised. She was right before him, had easily surprised him, nobody surprises him.

Standing at a height of six feet and with more to grow, Horatio saw himself as tall, but Margulis was much taller. Constantly avoiding Margulis, Horatio had taken no notice of who exactly she was, what exactly she looked like. He gazed timidly at her and his gaze was returned, both fiercely and laden with intrigue, the intensity of her stare boring into him. Horatio tore his eyes away, forcing himself to look down to the dull concrete.

Horatio had not expected Margulis to be as...beautiful as she was. He found himself unwittingly studying her entirety; her strong legs, supple thighs postured seductively in a pair of stockings, the not-so-long black skirt she wore held at the waist by a designer belt, her full chest covered by the school's ocean blue uniform blouse, her ravishing face just inches from his, her lengthy locks of straight natural scarlet-crimson hair drooping down. He gulped, eyeing her toned arms that were outstretched, confidently holding Horatio pinned. Horatio never thought to fancy the muscular kind, but before Margulis, he was undeniably smitten.

"You're Margulis, aren't you? I'm-" Horatio began, he was silenced immediately as Margulis' gaze turned sharp.

"You're a virgin, aren't you?" She asked seriously, almost as if the question was perfectly normal. A moment passed without Horatio's answer.

"What?!". He yelled.