(NARRATION) Soft rays of light pierced through the window blinds, causing a youth with brownish-black hair to stir in his restful sleep.
As he lay on his bed, the phone on his nightstand buzzed as if it were filled with a hive of bees.
A groan escaped his mouth.
For a brief moment, the buzzing stopped and he sighed in relief, ready to fall back to the embrace of sleep.
The next moment, a siren sounded from his phone, set up the night before to make sure he woke up on time.
Groaning loudly, the youth lifted a hand in an attempt to grab the phone.
He slapped the cracked screen, and it did nothing to stop the bloody alarm that was piercing his ears.
From downstairs came a loud voice belonging to an older man.
“Turn the damn alarm off!
The neighbours are gonna bark at me!” “Ahhhh… alright!” After finally getting the motivation to turn off the alarm, he sat upright and stretched.
Yawning loudly, he got up, looking a little dazed.
Scratching his stomach, he looked around the dimly lit room to find his shirt.
After he finally got out of his comfortable bedsheets, he exposed his brown eyes and well-toned but not particularly muscular body.
He was only wearing a pair of teddy-bear boxers he had snatched from his ‘sister’ while she wasn’t looking.
Dressing himself, he exited his room and headed to the bathroom, where he brushed his teeth and took a quick bath.
While drying his hair, he heard obnoxious knocking on the door, followed by his sister’s voice.
“Open the door!” Grunting at the show of no manners and the lack of a “please” he didn’t answer.
Clearly not getting the memo, she continued knocking, only making her ‘great brother’ even more certain of his decision.
“Stop being a hardass and open the door!
I’m gonna piss my pants.” He simply shrugged as he trimmed his growing beard.
“Piss yourself, then.” A bitchy grumble that sounded like it came from a pair of baboons mating echoed from the other side of the door, and then the vile creature formed the forbidden sentence.
“DAD!” “SNITCH!” the youth called back.
Already knowing the outcome, he put down the razor and put his shirt back on.
Shortly after, another shout sounded.
“Don’t be an ass, Nathaniel!
Open the door or I’ll come open it myself.” “KAY!” Scratching his family jewels, he backed away from the door and outstretched his hand, unlocking it with a click.
Using basic logic about how baboons act, he backed away.
Right on time, the door burst open, proving his dear sister had no sense of safety for her one and only brother.
“Move, you asshole!” She pushed past him and began shoving him out the door, her azure eyes burning with fury, and her messy black hair that seemed slightly ashen was moving wildly as she strained to get him out of the room.
He, of course, stood as firm as a monolith.
Grunting, his sister—Nita—tried and failed to push him even with all her baboon strength.
She decided to wise up and whispered into his ear, “I’m gonna spoil the newest chapter of SS.” *BOOM* Critical strike.
“Tsk, you win this time.” Nathaniel broke from his state of being an immovable object and went back to his room.
Grabbing his phone, he checked the time.
It was only 7:26 AM.
He had a bit of time to kill before going to school, so he began reading the newest chapter of SS.
‘Damn, Asterion got sealed?
Man G3 really cooked with this Volume.’ After reading the chapter, he checked his messages and looked at the Discord group chat: Vahhhh: Alr, so when we get done with the trip, we hoppin’ on S1.
We gotta cook and explode that mansion.
aLLhtty: Nah, I say we go check out the new Roblox game I found.
aLLhtty: Also, it’s got like no pay-to-win stuff, so we chillin’.
insomnIIac: What about the MC server?
insomnIIac: We gotta finish the hangar build!
Vahhhh: Amy, you’re such a Minecraft holic.
insomnIIac: Says the guy advocating we play a game where we sell drugs.
Leeeeee!: I agree with Sammy.
We should play that Roblox game—we tried it and it was pretty fun.
LaMbo: I second the Roblox game.
LaMbo: I saw the TikTok Sammy sent me, and it looks pretty fun.
Vahhhh: Fuuccckkk, come on guys, we just got the mission we’re so close.
Vahhhh: We just need cocaine to finish it.
Vahhhh: We can finish it and then play the Roblox game.
insomnIIac: Kay, I checked out the Roblox game and it looks cute.
I vote for it.
Vahhhh: We’re voting now?
Capitalist117: HELL YEAH, DEMOCRACY!!!
aLLhtty: I vote for Roblox.
Vahhhh: S1.
insomnIIac: Roblox.
Leeeeee!: Roblox.
LaMbo: Roblox.
Capitalist117: Roblox.
aLLhtty: Well, it’s decided then.
Vahhhh: What about Nate?
Vahhhh: He should get a vote.
LaMbo: Y’know he’s probably still asleep.
Hey Nate!!!
What followed was a constant spam of hashtags and his Discord name.
Smiling slightly, he noticed they had been texting at 1 a.m., so his vote wouldn’t really matter—but he still voted.
LordofMississippi: Don’t really care, but ig Roblox.
Preparing himself mentally for what Martin would say to him at school for not agreeing with his one and only vote for S1, he grabbed his bag and pulled out the repulsive books.
After tottering around his room for a bit, he stuffed some snacks into his backpack along with his favorite vintage coin—one his ‘dad’ had given him on his fifth birthday.
He jammed a couple of energy bars in as well.
Then he took his fanny pack and placed his phone inside along with a power bank, charger, wallet with a small amount of the omnipotent entity called money, his mandatory condom for good luck, and his keys.
Dressing a bit more properly in a white T-shirt, black pants, and a yellow hoodie, he slung the fanny pack over his shoulder like one should, put on his backpack, and exited his room.
Taking the keys out of the fanny pack, he locked the door and made sure to push it firmly—just in case.
As he passed the bathroom door, he heard the shower running and could already feel the steam from the boiling hot water escaping.
‘Why does she boil herself like that?’ Pondering it for a second, he shrugged and slammed the door with all his strength.
Nita yelped—either from fright or from getting burned by the water.
Nathaniel giggled mischievously and smiled at no one in particular.
“Have a good day at school!” He went down the stairs, ignoring the curses his sister shouted after him.
He would’ve lingered by the door, but he was slightly afraid she’d bash his skull in with the bathroom trashcan.
Heading into the kitchen, he saw his dad typing away at a monitor with a focused expression.
He gave his ‘son’ a small nod before returning to work.
His blue eyes glinting with a kind of greed one would require to make large amounts of money.
His ‘mom’ was sorting plates, and to her right were three sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil.
She turned and gave him a pleasant smile.
“Morning, dear.
Ready for the trip?” Nathaniel smiled and nodded, walking over to inspect the sandwiches.
“Yup.
So what’d you make me?” With a small chuckle, she grabbed them and handed them to him.
“You’ve got a grilled cheese with your favorite cheese, a ham sandwich, and we had some extra salsa, so I made a burrito with the leftover minced meat from yesterday.” Nodding appreciatively, he took off his backpack and made room for the sandwiches.
“Mhm, I see.
Delicacies all around.
Thanks, Ma.” After putting his backpack back on, he headed to the front door, his mom following behind, her ashen black hair was tied in a Ponytail, showing her beautiful azure eyes.
He slipped off his sandals and put on his simple sneakers—cheap, but not cheap enough to fall apart anytime soon.
“Lord…” As he tied his shoes, he paused and looked at his mom.
“What?” She tilted her head, looking confused.
“Hmm?
I didn’t say anything.” A little stumped, Nathaniel shrugged it off and said a quick goodbye.
His mom waved warmly.
“Have fun!” On his way to school—only a few minutes from his house—he pulled out his phone and scrolled aimlessly.
‘Ohhh… so they’re apparently releasing a special episode of LOTM this year.’ It was already old news, but he had only just checked it.
The minutes passed quickly as he scrolled furiously, watching poor baby Punch get bullied.
After typing a few comments about the staff not doing anything, he suddenly felt a hand smack his shoulder.
Familiar with the gesture, he looked to his right and saw a girl just slightly shorter than him, smiling warmly.
She was wearing a soft cream hoodie tucked into light-wash straight jeans, white sneakers, and a light jacket layered on top.
Around her neck hung a tiny silver necklace shaped like an ankh.
“Eyy, my sandman sister, whaddup!” Amy looked puzzled for a second, then glanced at her necklace and smiled.
“There’s my knowledgeable little gremlin sleepyhead.” “Ahh, how good to hear that from an insomniac.” As they walked, they jabbed each other lightly.
She punched his shoulder at the “insomniac” comment and chuckled.
“Hey, at least it’s not narcolepsy.” She brushed her long black hair back and looked at her sleepy buddy with a pair of amber eyes.
“So, who you sittin’ with?” Pondering the question, Nathaniel rubbed his temple.
“Dunno.
Martin probably wants me dead.
Sammy’s fat ass is gonna eat my snacks.
Now that leaves you, Liam, Steven or Damian.” Amy nodded as they reached the front of the school.
A bus was parked outside, and a small group of students had already gathered—some from their class, others from the second class going on the trip with them.
“Aight, check this out.
I got two plastic containers with some nicely seasoned salmon in them, courtesy of my nonnina and an absolutely packed sandwich, along with a few chips.
So I say you and me sit together and trade, as far away from Sammy and Liam, who I already know are gonna buddy up.” Pretending to think about it, Nathaniel nodded a few times and smiled.
“Aight, you got yourself a deal.
Seats in the middle sound good to you, my madam?” “Grande.” she answered with a small bow, proudly showing off her european heritage.
While chatting, the two heard a familiar voice call out to them.
“Wassap!” Mr.
Capitalist, known by his real name, Damian, walked up with a boisterous stride.
He had blonde hair and green eyes, the perfect prince really, wearing a simple cream hoodie with some luxury brown jeans.
Nathaniel looked at him with a small frown.
‘Wonder how many of those he’s got to make up for the brain cells he’s missing.
I mean, seriously, those cost like 300 bucks.
Could’ve bought simple shoes and a good months worth of nice food to stock the fridge.’ Nathaniel lampooned inwardly.
Damian flashed a dazzling smile that probably made mirrors blush and made Nathaniel and Amy cringe.
“What are you guys up to?” “Oh, nothing much.” Nathaniel said dryly.
“Just negotiating seats like civilized people instead of buying the entire bus like you probably would.” Damian made a snarky tsk and wagged a finger.
“Now, now, no need for jealousy, my little peasant.
Envy doesn’t suit you.” “A hard job doesn’t suit you.” “Haha… wanna go?” The two looked ready to jump each other, though Nathaniel was already planning to shove him and run with his tail tucked.
Amy stepped in and stopped the soon-to-be chase.
“Alright, calm down, boys.
No need to bark this early in the morning.” They stopped bickering but clearly wanted to respond when she added a mischievous, “Good boys.” As they waited, Sammy and Liam showed up together, as usual.
Sammy had styled black hair and yellow eyes.
He wore a black V-neck with greyish-black jeans and some simple shoes that Nathaniel approved of.
Liam had brown hair and silverishly black eyes, a few freckles across his face, and a slightly childlike look—not in a bad way, of course, some girls were into that.
His outfit was similar to Sammy’s but styled a bit more fashionably.
The five of them waited until the last two arrived.
Martin had short red hair and dark orange eyes, wearing slightly edgy black clothes with heavy boots, which was definitely a sight.
Steven was the shortest of the group, with light grey hair and mesmerizing blue eyes.
He wore a greenish-yellow shirt with black trousers.
Martin looked at Nathaniel and grunted.
“You traitor.
You told me you liked the game.
Why vote for the stupid Roblox game?” Nathaniel stopped his conversation, looked him up and down, then covered his mouth.
This action of course immediately lit a fuse in the red head.
“What!
I swear, if you shit on my outfit for the 100th time, I’m gonna whoop you in place of your dad!” Barely holding back laughter, Nathaniel said, “No, no, I think it’s… uh…” Liam stepped in with a chuckle.
“I, for one, think it’s perfect for—” Martin grinned but frowned after Liam finished.
“—a midlife crisis.” Instantly, Martin lunged to tackle Liam while Sammy laughed loudly and pointed at him.
Damian snickered slightly and whispered to Amy “I can’t tell if that’s an outfit or a cry for help.” Amy bit her lips and held back a laugh with all her might.
As the argument grew louder, clapping echoed nearby.
Professor Brapple stepped in front of the group with a tired and underpaid look.
“Everyone, calm down.
I’m sure you’re all excited to go to the aquarium and such, but I need you to listen for a bit.” He explained the basics of the trip.
The most important parts were the free time they’d get and the fact that they would stop at a large mall for an hour at the beginning of the trip.
Professor Brapple clapped again to stop the excited cheers.
“Now then, for today we’ll have the ones in the back head up into the bus first.” The students already waiting at the front booed, while the eccentric group of seven in the back smiled.
Steven grinned like a villain and walked forward.
“Just as planned.” Sammy followed with Liam, muttering, “This is a reasonable development.” “W reference.” Amy nodded, looking at Nathaniel expectantly.
One by one, they boarded the bus.
Just as Nathaniel stepped on, he heard Martin mumble something behind him… “King.” Nathaniel turned.
“What?” Martin blinked.
“I didn’t say nothin’.” “Oh…” Rubbing his temple, Nathaniel took his seat in the middle with Amy.
Behind them, Sammy and Liam sat together, much to the annoyance of Amy and Nathaniel.
In the back, Martin and the others claimed their territory.
After a few more minutes, everyone was seated and the bus started moving.
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.” Amy said to him.
Nathaniel blinked.
“Uh… what?” “You didn’t say… um… what was it?” Nathaniel felt a strange premonition for a moment but decided not to think too hard about it.
After all, why would he?
Everything was perfectly normal.
______________________ Author’s Note: Hellooooo everyone!
This is my second ever fic, give me some comments for motivation.
I’ll only upload about two times a week at most.
Next week it will be Monday and Saturday.
As for the week after that…
Who Knows?
Anyway i hope you enjoy and give COMMENTS!
They encourage me to keep making chapters.
Also if you have any questions i’ll be Happy t oanswer, so long as they don’t spoil Anything.
ENJOY!