"Jack it's better if you don't listen to that stubborn girl and be on your way to the academy so you can get there before nightfall", his mother said sternly as she walked in to see Jack still on the little food he had been eating for over five minutes.
"Brother Jack, don't listen to mum, okay?" Emma sniffles as she tugs on his sleeve, "Spend five more minutes on the food, okay?"
Jack nodded in reply, and his gaze moved to his mother, "Mum, let me spend some more time eating my food so it can digest properly, you don't want your son to be tagged as the running stomach boy at the academy, do you?"
Their mother sighed in exasperation, and she rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, when you and your sister are done with your five-minute game, you will get ready to leave for the academy yourself."
As she turned, she dabbed the tears in the corner of her eyes.
A week has passed since the incident in the forest, and Jack is finally going to the academy today. Still, he had been acting sluggish since waking up, especially with the empowerment of his sister, who kept trailing after him with tears in her eyes.
Around twenty minutes later, Jack was finally ready to leave for the academy.
"Brother Jack, can I go with you?" Emma sobbed lightly as she watched her brother put a few pieces of cloth and other necessities in his bag.
Jack looked at her and wanted to say something but his mother beat him to it.
"Emma, don't put your brother in a tight spot, the academy isn't a playground for children where he can take you to", their mother said in a tone that left no room for any protest or argument.
Emma, who was about to protest, suddenly flinched and went silent; the words she was about to say died in her throat as she saw her mother's cold gaze.
Emma's eyes were filled with unshed tears. Jack stood up, walked towards her, and spoke in a low voice as he stood before her, "Don't worry, brother will surely come to visit when I can, okay?" He patted her on the head as he spoke.
"Alright, mum, I should get going. You should take care of yourself and my stubborn sister, okay?" Jack turned towards his mother with a smile, and she immediately pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Silly boy, you should be worried about yourself since I won't be able to look after you, but make sure you remember all I've told you and always stick to them, okay?"
"No matter what happens, I will never forget your advice, Mom," Jack replied.
"You should get going so you can get to the academy early", his mother waved him off. Jack gave his crying sister a quick hug, and he quickly made his way out of the house.
Jack sighed lightly as he cast a glance at his home for the past fifteen years. He was leaving his home for the academy with only a bag with his necessities in it and a few UTS bills that would probably last him to get to the academy.
Jack Walked along the badly damaged road of the slum, he was heading towards the bus station where he would be able to board a bus that would take him to the central city and from there he would be able to find a means of transportation that would help him get to the academy, Jack was thinking to himself as he passed by a very beautiful house that seem to be out of place in the slum.
The house was a villa, and its beauty was like paradise descended on the slum, only its gate was beautiful enough to make people love it".
Suddenly, a beautiful voice called for him, and a beautiful girl quickly approached him from the house.
A deep frown crept on his face as he heard that voice; it was none other than Melissa, the daughter of the man who killed his father.
Seeing anyone who was connected to the people who caused his father's death always sent a surge of anger through him. With clenched fists, Jack didn't spare her a glance as he continued walking forward, but she was already beside him, and she flashed him a shy smile.
"Classmate Jack, you are going to the academy right? I'm almost ready, so how about you wait a bit for me so I can offer you a ride to the academy?" Melissa spat out these words in one fluid motion, and she flashed a shy smile.
Jack paused, and his fists clenched subconsciously by his side, "I don't know you, and I don't want you to talk to me ever again," Jack said coldly, and he walked away without casting the petrified Melissa a glance.
Not long after, Jack quickly got to the bus station where he would get a bus heading for the central city.
Quite a few people were waiting, so Jack also had to wait for about twenty minutes before he was able to get into a bus heading for the central city.
The journey was one that lasted for almost two hours; the ride was neither comfortable nor really uncomfortable; it was manageable.
Jack inhaled the fresh air of the central city, everything around here was better and far more advanced than the one in the slum.
Tall buildings were scattered as far as the eye could see, the asphalt road was completely clear, and so was the sky.
With the help of people, Jack made his way to the bus station that would take him to the academy.
The bus station was quite crowded and buses heading towards the academy were not at the station. Not wanting to stand, he quickly scanned the surroundings and found an empty bench he could sit on.
As Jack approached it, he saw another figure approaching the bench from the other side, and the person got to the bench before him.
"Sorry, can I sit here?" Jack asked, looking at the young boy, probably around the same age as himself, sitting on the bench with a strange type of headphone on his head.
The boy cast a side glance at Jack without saying anything. Jack smiled lightly as he sat at the other edge of the bench, not paying attention to the figure seated at the other edge of the bench.
A few minutes passed, and Jack closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"Um...s... sorry, can I sit here?" Jack heard someone murmur in a low voice before him. Jack opened his eyes to see a timid-looking boy standing before him with his bangs scattered across his face.
Jack was about to reply when a low rumbling sound shook the ground causing the people around to be startled.
The people looked around to confirm if everything was okay, and they soon returned to their business, but Jack felt that the rumbling sound wasn't as simple as it seemed and something was going to happen again.
The boy beside him with the strange headphones stood up, and his gaze was fixed on the skyscraper behind the bus station.
Jack's gaze also moved to the building, as if on cue, a massive explosion burst out from the top floors of the skyscraper, sending large shards of glass and debris raining down with insane speed.
The crowd around them erupted in chaos as they began scrambling in all directions.
Amidst the chaos, Jack saw a little girl being pushed to the ground, and he saw a large shard of glass spinning towards the little girl.
His heart nearly skipped a beat as the girl was quite a distance away from his current position, and she might be hit before he could get to her.