Clouds

“You want to touch the clouds?” I said, looking at Ruby extending her arms to the sky I’m standing on.

After we almost reached the school, I suggested we look through the sky and experience the school from up above. Really, I just wanted to canvas the entire school campus, and from the looks of it, it’ll look like it could take a while for me to thoroughly explore everything given how vast it is.

“No, not really. If I wanted, I would’ve asked.” She puts her hands over my shoulder again. “We should go down now.”

“Are you sure? I don’t really mind if you want to spend more time here.” Besides, my arms won’t get tired from carrying her around.

“It’s alright. Kale’s probably waiting.”

“Sure. Is he just near the entrance?”

Ruby doesn't respond right away but instead gives me a pensive stare. “Yeah… Put me down near the garden. I’ll call him.”

I search the school and see a garden near a greenhouse. It took a bit of time for me to find it though, given that it’s inside the forest. It may have taken some time for me since I had to absorb all the details, but for Ruby, not even a fraction of a millisecond has passed. I move us there instantaneously. After I put Ruby down, she immediately takes out her phone and starts calling. She doesn’t know, but I’ve been keeping my vision on the man sitting on a bench beside the greenhouse. His katana is sitting on top of his thighs while he focuses his gaze on his phone. From the looks of it—since I really don’t want to pry and look at his phone since it’s against my moral code—the way he’s fiddling with his fingers looks like he’s playing a game until it suddenly rings. From his reaction, I can say he looks peeved from it. I mean, I kinda get it. Who in their right mind would be ecstatic at the mere thought of their me time getting interrupted by a phone call? It’s easy to guess who this guy is, but I have to make sure. “Yo,” I called the man.

He looks up in my direction, still adorning that poker face. “Yo, Seth.”

It’s surprising how he didn’t even flinch at the guy who snuck up on him, aren’t people usually startled when someone appears out of nowhere? Does he already know who I am and what I’m capable of?

​​The man’s phone stops ringing as Ruby starts to ask, “Is that Kale?”

“See for yourself,” I replied.

“Hey,” the man said.

“‘Hey’ yourself,” Ruby replied. She turns to me and says, “Thanks for taking me here, Boss,” with a sharp and cold gaze. The smile she always carried with me so far suddenly becomes a distant memory. It’s kind of scary.

It always makes me sad that she still calls me Boss when we’re among peers.

“Take us to the entrance?” Kale asked.

I raise my hand to assure, “Sure,”

“Hold up,” Kale interrupted, picking up his katana. I raise an eyebrow as I look at him. “Look, you teleport me with my sword last time, just wanted to make sure.” Good call, but in my defense, it’s more likely that I didn't keep the sword in mind, or maybe it was a prank.

“Kale!” Ruby reprimanded the guy, slapping him on the arm. I snicker.

“Look, he just forgot, okay? Happens to the best of us,” he explained, but Ruby still looks genuinely pissed off.

As I really wouldn’t want Ruby to break her teeth by grinding them so hard, I have to make peace, “It’s alright, I won’t… forget.” The last word turned my face sour. “Anyways, let’s get to it?” Both of them nod.

I move us to the gatehouse and a moment of awkward silence ensues until Ruby begins, “This is us, Boss, take care.”

Kale chimes, “Have a good day, man,” and walks away.

I wink at Ruby, hoping to get a reaction from her, and thank goodness she flashes me a slight smile before returning to her cold demeanor. It’s understandable, I guess, since our relationship may be a well-kept secret because I have two girlfriends—but does that mean that for the other girl, our relationship is public?

After Ruby and Kale are out of sight, I decide to walk down the long road to the school’s main building. I look up through the skies right up to the stars to determine what time it is; it’s faster than getting my phone and turning it on. From the looks of it, it is past nine in the morning, in the middle of summer, so I wore my uniform for nothing. Ruby didn’t even comment on my clothes; we just went outside and talked about sweet nothings most of the time. She did mention something about tying up loose ends as her agenda. I would’ve asked her more about it if only she hadn’t said that it was nothing that I was supposed to worry about. How convenient.