<Lily>

 

 

‘Why am I so pathetic?’

Staring at her lunchbox, Lily resisted the urge to cry.

Today was her first day of Highschool and yet she was sitting on the school’s roof.

Alone!

‘Mom, Dad… I’m sorry!’

Despite promising to change her ways, she still ran away from classmates. Unable to answer to any of their calls. She just wasn’t good at meeting new people. An unfortunate reality, seeing as she no longer shared classes with her only friend. The days ahead were to be bleak if she kept moving at this pace.

Shoving a piece of bacon in her mouth, Lily mourned her social life.

Or, lack thereof.

Highschool was supposed to be one of the highlights of life. A place where lifelong memories and friendships were forged through steel and bone. Love, passion and hatred, all intertwined to create an experience impossible to get anywhere else. In this spring of youth, one discovered oneself in ways they previously thought impossible.

It was day one.

How had she already killed it?!

SLAM

The entrance of the rooftop crashed open. Its metal hinges groaning under the strain of violent movement.

Lily flinched.

Instantly, she turned invisible.

Not many people could access the rooftop. Due to the barriers in place, practically only those with abilities were able to get up here. And of those, only the few who could somewhat fly or at least hover. Lily, with her ability named Ghost, didn’t struggle nearly as much as others.

Who could it be?

The intruder suddenly came into view.

It was hard not to gasp.

An ethereal beauty stood in the doorway.

Her long, flowing light-blonde hair shimmered like spun sunlight, and her enchanting crimson eyes glowed with a gentle, mesmerising warmth. An air of sweet, inviting innocence clung to her like perfume, softening the atmosphere with her presence. A warm, serene smile graced her lips.

There was no mistaking her.

The greatest of the new generation.

Hero Bright!

‘No way!’

Transfixed by her presence, Lily couldn’t look away.

It was unreal.

The talk of the world had trailed out so casually.

‘She’s so perfect….’

Unlike the Lily, Bright was the epitome of competence. The core principles of heroism shone through her flawlessly. Power, intellect, and kindness. She had it all. And since yesterday, the added bonus of receiving the backing of her equally extraordinary parents.

‘Wow’

Lily knew she would be attending the same Highschool with Bright. After all, this was the top school in the country; it only made sense for someone like her to be here. But, when Bright walked into her class, she was shocked beyond belief. The sudden commotion outside immediately made sense.

And yes, this was the second time Lily has seen Bright.

And yes again, she was still in awe of her.

How could a person not be?

It was the only natural reaction for a person.  

‘I bet she has tonnes of friends already….’

The moment Bright sat down at the front, people swarmed her.

It must be nice to have it so easy.

‘Wait. Why is she here?’

It was break time.

The perfect time to socialise.

SLAM

The entrance of the rooftop closed.

Bright’s serene smile dropped.

“Goddamn bastards!!” (B)

‘Huh?’

“Screw this! Screw them! Screw all of it, a thousand times over!!” (B)

A cacophony of curses flew in the air.

They rang out in rapid succession for quite some time until their originator paused to catch their breath.

“If they think they can pull a fast one on me, they’ve got another thing coming!” (B)

Lily watched as Bright pulled out her phone and furiously began tapping away.

She was calling someone.

Voice desperate.

“Come on, come on. Pick up already.”  (B)

Nobody picked.

She called again.

Nobody picked.

The cycle repeated until….

A few failed attempts later found Bright sitting on the ground, back to the door.

Her fiery spirit completely gone.

“Six months isn’t even a long time, you know? Nothing happens in six months. Expecting someone to always keep in touch is so unreasonable. In fact, it might as well be impossible.” (B)

Bright stared at her phone while muttering softly to herself. Before long, she silently removed a card from her pocket. The card, golden in colour with a black strip running horizontally, caught the light. Bright furrowed her expertly crafted brows at the card before tossing it a few feet in front of her.

“Worthless garbage.” (B)

Lily quietly gaped at the scene.

The sweet voice in the air was undoubtedly that of Hero Bright, yet the words….

Well, they were nothing short of abhorrent, really.

She would go so far as to say they were very unheroic-like.

‘What am I thinking!?’

Lily vehemently shook her head.

No. She must be mistaken. Of all people, there was no way Bright couldn’t be hero-like. She was the embodiment of the hero spirit. In fact, this very morning alone, Lily came across a rather heartwarming video online. Bright was interacting with some little girl. Speaking to her so softly and gently despite the little one overstepping boundaries.

Yes, that was Bright, Hero Bright. The star of the future. She wouldn’t speak like that. Clearly, there was some confusion on Lily’s end. A misunderstanding of sorts. Maybe there was a parrot or a crow around who sounded like Bright saying those awful things; maybe someone was using some ability to mimic Bright? Yeah, those sounded like more reasonable explanations.

SPLURT

The food in Lily’s lap slid off.

She forgot to keep supporting it.

“Is… someone there?” (B)

An undertone of threat laced the words.

Lily froze.

What should she do?

A question she didn’t get too long to think about as she saw Bright’s eye glow.

“W-Wait, I’m here!” (L)

Lily swiftly deactivated her invisibility.

Her ability, Ghost, gave her the stereotypical powers associated with spiritual beings. Those being flight, intangibility, and possession. It was a powerful, special tier ability that allowed her to enter the hero course, but as powerful as it was, it still had some limitations—one of them being her intangibility. It was not a sustainable state to be in. Lasting a couple of seconds at any given time.

If Lily wanted to dodge Bright’s attack, she would have to time it well.

An impossible task against Bright.

“~O-Oh, hello! ~” (B)

A serene smile once again bloomed on Bright’s face.

“…H-Hello.” (L)

Something was very, very wrong with that smile.

“~You’re a student here, right?~” (B)

Lily nodded.

The distance between her and Bright abruptly closed as Bright neared her.

She smelt so nice.

“So…. How much did you see?” (B)

“S-See?” (L)

Bright cupped Lily’s hands.

How could a person’s hand be so soft and smooth?

“O-Ow! M-My hands…” (L)

Lily wilted.

While all ability users received a boost in strength after awakening, just like their powers, the boost was not equal. Some people were simply stronger than others.

“Don’t play dumb with me. Do you really think you’re the first stalker to try this?” (B)

‘Stalker?!’

“I’m not a—” (L)

“Spare me.” (B)

The world flipped.

Lily suddenly found herself on the ground, face to face with a glowing fist.

“I’ll give you one warning.” (B)

The light bearing down on Lily intensified.

“Stay. Away. From. Me.” (B)

Click

“Now that’s not something you get to see every day.”

A familiar voice, accompanied by the banging of a door, sounded. Turning her head to the entrance, relief flooded through Lily. It was Suie, her one and only friend. Standing in all her overconfident glory.

“I think there’s been a slight misunderstanding here.” (B)

“Yes. I believe so too.” (S)

Bright picked up Lily and dusted her off with a laugh.

“We were merely just getting to know each other, right?” (B)

Bright looked at Lily.

“Y-Yeah.” (L)

“Huh.” (S)

Suie walked up to Bright and dangled her phone in front of her.

“To think the upcoming prodigy would be so corrupt…. I wonder what would happen if this photo got shared around?” (S)

“S-Suie, stop that. Please!” (L)

Free from her predicament, Lily moved in to subdue her friend. As much as Suie fancied herself a criminal detective, now was not the time to be playing like this. Bright wasn’t really a person you should be messing with—especially now that her parents had claimed her.

“Right…. What can I do for you?” (B)

An obvious greed lit in Suie’s eyes.

“N-Nothing! Let’s just pretend this never happened!” (L)

“Buy me a supercar!” (S)

“You don’t have to do that, r-really!” (L)

Bright stared down at the ground.

A moment of silence passed.

“I…. I don’t have any money.” (B)

“It’s okay, really!” (L)

“No, it’s not! She’s clearly lying!” (S)

“B-Bye then!” (L)

Pulling her overly enthusiastic friend away, Lily rushed to the door and yanked it open.

Entering the building, she briefly glanced back against her better judgement.

Bright was quick.

Already moved on, she was bent down by herself, inspecting the card she had thrown earlier.

A small smirk playing on her face.

Oddly, something was amiss with the scene.

Lily closed the door as they entered.

Why did she look so lonely?

 

 

“And just because we’re in separate classes doesn’t mean you should eat alone!” (S)

At those parting words, Lily left Suie’s class.

Suie was right about that, but the thought never occurred to Lily.

With break almost over, Lily headed to her own class and sat at her seat. The back bench which is furthest from the teacher. An unpopular decision in this school and only this school due to everyone’s overachieving nature. Relaxing a bit, Lily let some of the tension in her shoulders go and closed her eyes.

The rooftop incident was already in the past.

And, despite seeing what she saw, she still believed deep down that Bright was a good person. She had just made an honest mistake. Gods know how many creeps she had met in the past. Being famous and popular had its drawbacks for sure.

The smirk came to mind.

Mumble Mumble

Lily opened her eyes.

Why was the class suddenly quiet?

“~Hi~” (B)

A new unwelcomed desk mate sat to her left.

Why?!

 

---

 

<Bright>

 

 

Today was a terrible day.

After rushing to get ready in order to carry on their conversation, Bright came downstairs to an empty house and an envelope on the table. In the envelope was a tiny note with instructions and a card. A debit card. In an action that could be termed immature, Bright threw the note in the trash out of anger and headed downstairs to go to school. Why school? No real reason there. He just wanted to be anywhere but at the house.

Getting off the elevator, a familiar face came into contact. It was the lethargic soldier he first met. Unlike before, he wore polished, formal clothing, looking more like a butler than a soldier. The lethargic soldier-turned-butler then requested—practically forced, Bright—into entering what was essentially a military vehicle with an escort to school.

It was bad enough. Bright drew attention just by being himself.

The escort made it hell.

His entrance, combined with the fact he had been newly “claimed”, drew eyes like no other. Walking to class was hell, not to mention even sitting in class.

Perhaps that's why he overreacted the way he did.

‘No, that’s not it’

Bright glanced at the timid girl next to him.

What really set him off was the debit card. The stupid thing didn’t even work. After ordering one of everything on the school menu, the card declined and then sent notifications to his phone: ‘The daily limit has been exceeded.’ If other people hadn’t stepped up to pay for him, Bright would have seriously embarrassed himself—not saying that alone wasn’t shameful in itself.

Topping it all off, the Director was dodging him. She and the Chairman as well. Neither of them picked up his calls.

So, in the heat of the moment, Bright had made a critical error. Worse still, it was recorded.

Caressing his breast pocket, the outline of a tiny book could be felt.

He needed to fix this situation.

‘I guess this actually came in handy’

And, to do that, he needed to make friends with these kids.

That way, he could get them to delete that photo.

Easy peasy.

By end of day, he will have them falling over him.