CHAPTER EIGHT
It's a new day and the sun beats just as hot as it ever does. Mason is found plodding along to school, his feet barely lift from the paved ground with every step. Scraping by with little thought for the ledge ahead of him.
Krrrr Krrrrr FGGGG
Mason takes a heavy and slow fall.
"Dammit, sidewalk!"
Mason barks, suddenly more awake than a moment before.
CRACK
A curse-inforced elbow digs into the pavement, cutting down half a foot of sidewalk.
"Woah."
"What was that?"
The loud and crushing sound alerts a few passersby, their heads looking up from their newspapers and phones. The world resumes.
Krrrr krrrr krrrrr
Mason continues on, dragging his body along until he finally reaches the campus of Masquerade.
Looking up with heavy eyelids, Mason catches a tall glinting shimmer off of the main towering building, a flag with the school's crest waving down at him. The Two Faces, one of a Demon and another of an Angel, beckoning him and other students inward.
"Ugh, shut up."
Mason mutters as if the flags said as such.
"Yeah, it was insane! He only had to swing once and they were thrown across the field!"
"Geez, Breck is amazing!"
Enthusiastic students blare past Mason, proclaiming their newfound Hero, Breck.
Mason's ears burn at the name, turning away this time to ignore the mention.
"Ugh. You shut up too!"
Mason yells as he turns away toward the school entrance.
"What?"
"Weirdo."
The girls hear him and ignore him just the same.
Walking further into the campus grounds, Mason finds himself having to force down the words of the surrounding clamor - more words of praise and envy toward Breck than Mason ever thought he'd have to hear. Though it makes sense, he realizes,
"That bastard is probably the strongest among all of Masquerade…"
Mason tilts his chin up, biting the inside of his mouth at admitting that painful truth.
"Damn it… not for long though… I swear."
Mason thinks, his forceful drive to become stronger never wavering.
"Cheh."
A poster from yesterday's exhibition with Breck's name on it billows past him, thrown loose from the tacks used to place it on a standing cork board nearby. Blowing past Mason, he keeps his eyes fixed forward and can now see a familiar head popping up in the distance.
Sam's tree-green hair pokes up on the horizon and then just as he sees him, Sam starts to wave his arm wildly.
"Masoooooon!"
Sam runs up to him and Mason tries not to keep eye contact, too tired for Sam's level of energy.
"Ugh, morning people."
Mason growls.
"Yeah, hey buddy."
He says louder as Sam closes in.
"Mason, jeez, what happened?"
Sam peers at Mason's blackened under-lids and deep red eyes.
"Get into another fight just before you got here?"
Sam grabs Mason's shoulders and turns him over to see the other side of his face for bruises or blood. Finding nothing but more tired Mason-face.
"Get off me, I'm just tired."
Mason says in a low monotone, turning his head to rid himself of Sam's hold.
"Tired?"
Sam tilts his head.
"So you really did it?"
His voice is heavily laden with disbelief.
Students break through the two of them, forcing them to move aside from the opening of the school's gates. Pulling towards a tree nearby for some cooling shade.
"You stayed up to finish 5,000 words!?"
Sam exclaims, both impressed and doubtful at the same time.
Mason smiles at Sam, not happy or enjoying, just dumbfounded.
"No? What? Are you crazy?"
Mason admits,
"I can't write 5,000 words! But I did stay up as late as I could and tried my damndest!"
Mason looks away, off to the crowd of students breaking off to their respective halves of the school, Cursed and Blessed.
"Oh."
Sam sighs, realizing his friend might be in trouble.
"So what did you get done?"
Sam leans on the tree now, fixing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm not completely hopeless!"
Mason smacks the top of Sam's head with his katana.
WHACK
"Ah! Ah! Okay!"
Sam relents, vigorously rubbing at the top of his head.
"I got to 2,000 before I started to see letters and words float around my room!"
Mason yawns, wiping his left eye of some teary drowsiness.
"Hmm."
Sam thinks to himself, placing his light fist underneath his chin
"Well, honestly, that's more than what I thought he'd get done…"
Sam's thoughts betray his friend.
Continued in PART THIRTY-TWO…