Your name

It was almost midnight when we first met. I was crying on a bench near the beach. I was looking into the Mediterranean sea hoping the sound of the waves would soothe me and that the cold wind would take my troubles away and not just ruffle my blonde hair.
Suddenly, I heard you come up to me and looked straight into my crying eyes.

-Why are you crying?-, you asked. I cleaned my tears with my sleeve and took a fast look at you. You had short dark hair, wide curious eyes and a caring smile.

-I wasn’t crying-, I lied. -My eyes are sweating-. This made you laugh, making me flustered and a little bit irritated that my lie was ineffective.

-Hahahaha, you are funny-, you said. Then, you just sat beside me without asking for permission. Your lack of manners made me forget why I was sad. I took another look at you and saw that you were roughly my age, which meant it was well past your bedtime. Mine too, obviously, but this wasn’t about me, I just wanted to make you leave.

-How old are you? What are you doing this late at night?-, I asked.

-I’m 6 years old and I just went for a walk to see if I can find some cool seashells. Look!-. You proudly showed me two seashells. I wasn’t impressed. I was 8 at the time so I thought I had the right to scold you.

-Shouldn’t you be at home at this hour, it’s past 11.

-Yeah… You may be right. But the night is so interesting. I find all kinds of interesting things at night. I found a big frog the other day that didn’t even run away when I touched it. Or should I say, jump away… Anyway, I find all kinds of interesting things, like for example, a pretty girl that only sweats through her eyes even though it’s freezing. So weird right?-. Your little compliment actually made me feel better and stole a little smile from me. I could see that’s exactly what you wanted since your eyes lit up.

-Thank you-, I said.

-My pleasure. By the way, strange girl in the night. What’s your name?

-Emma

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Wednesday 5th of July 3018.

It was the end of lunch break in Andromeda School. The students of this prestigious school wore a black and white uniform with a hint of purple in the shirt collar, school crest and socks.

On the 6th floor, in class 6-C, three girls were calmly talking about the latest news.

-Have you heard that we’ve colonized another planet? Planet… eh… X-23 I think they called it. Horrible name by the way-, said the girl with two ponytails.

-Yes. I heard it was a very difficult planet to conquer. It claimed 52 lives before it was ready for human settlement-, said the class rep.

-So many? We haven’t had so many deaths exploring a planet in ages. The last one I can think of was Nane…-. The girl with the ponytails, Gyanna, kicked her friend Yve in the ribs to make her stop talking. She then realized and tried to change the subject. -Do you think your Dad will make a 5-S Experience of this planet?-, asked Yve.
The class rep noticed how she changed the subject and why she did it. “I have good friends” she thought to herself.

-Most probably, my old man would never miss an opportunity to make some profit-, she answered.

-Could we… Is it ok if this time we also…?

-Yes, you can be the beta testers of this Experience-, answered the class rep to her friends. This news was met with a group hug and words of appreciation and a sea of compliments about her being the best friend ever.

Two floors down. A 17 year old boy was running for his life. He kept bumping into other students that only received an apologetic sorry. He ran upstairs to the 6th floor and waited behind a wall. 3 very angry students followed his steps shortly. When the first of them was able to reach the sixth floor, he stumbled over a leg that made him fall flat to his face. The boy that made him trip looked at his victim.

-Ups, my bad Erix. That was meant for Lasson-, he laughed. -Next time don’t follow me and nothing will happen to you-. The boy saw Lasson coming up the stairs as angry as a raging bull and decided it was time to go.

-I will get you for this! Stop running, you rat!-, screamed Lasson.

-I think I won’t take your advice, Lasson. I’m quite fond of my face without the bruises, you see. Maybe next time-, mocked the 17 year old boy while running away like the wind from the school bully.

The 3 girls kept talking without knowing about the ruckus that was unfolding in their school.

-...and that’s why Pluto stopped being considered a regular planet and is now a Dwarf planet-, explained the class rep.

-Damn, so unfair. Why did he have to change his status?-, said the girl with the ponytails.

-Yeah, I hate that guy. Pluto is so cute, he didn’t deserve that treatment-, complained the girl with glasses.

-He’ll always be a regular planet in our hearts-, said the class rep.

The classroom door slammed wide open.

-Emma!-, screamed the noisy boy.

-What do you want now, Nyco? And don’t scream my name like that!-, jelled the usually calmed and gentle class rep. 

The boy got in the class, rushed to her friend and took her hand. He then gently pulled it towards him.
She felt a sudden rush from his boldness when touching her hand in front of everyone.

-I need you Emma. Or better said, I need your Warpy-, said Nyco pointing at her bracelet. Emma, seeing how everyone was looking at them, felt her cheeks turning red. She moved her hand away.

-What have you done this time?!-, she asked.

Three angry students came into the class, panting from all the running. The biggest of all three, Lasson, was completely drained in water from head to toes.

-I think that answers your question-, joked Nyco.

-Got you now, roadrunner-, said the bully while getting closer. Emma took her Warpy off and gave it to him without any more questions.

-You owe me big time for this-, Emma said.

-Duly noted-, said Nyco while running away with the Warpy.

Nyco used the desks as a barrier to stop the three students that were eager to catch him. He then jumped on top of one and started hopping like a frog from desk to desk. Emma covered her face in embarrassment for the mess her friend was making.

-Sorry Emma for not having the time to thank you for your help. I’ll talk to you later-, said Nyco.

-In the time it took you to tell me that you could have… Ah, never mind-, moaned the class rep as Nyco exited the door with Lasson and his friends running behind him.

Nyco put on the bracelet on his left wrist while running and thinking of a place he could go to activate Emma’s Warpy. The answer soon popped in his head. “The rooftop”.

After running another set of stairs he finally opened the door to the rooftop. He looked back to see how close his pursuers were and see if he could catch his breath.

-Ooooh, shiiii…-, Lasson censored Nyco by pushing him to the ground.

The bully tried to immobilize him with his hands but Nyco able to break free by stepping on his face. He got up and ran to where there were no students around. He looked at his friend's bracelet trying to see if it had all the energy for activation needed.

-Quick, he won’t activate it if we get him-, said Lasson. 

He was absolutely right, if they touched him it would be meaningless to activate. When Nyco finally found the option on the little screen that indicated it had enough energy, he looked up at his pursuers. Seeing that they were getting closer, the reckless 17 year old decided to step on the railing that protected people from falling over the rooftop to the floor.

The bully and his friend did not think he was crazy enough to do what they were thinking he would do... but indeed he was. Nyco gave them the middle finger and jumped backwards, quickly falling to the ground. He was falling so fast that all he could hear was the wind in his ear as he quickly rushed to the floor.
He pressed the button on the Warpy midfall and a translucent orange sphere surrounded him. In the blink of an eye, Nyco suddenly disappeared as 3 kids threw insults and threats in hopes he could hear them. Needless to say, their attempt was in vain.

Nyco was nowhere to be seen.