The Curse of Xurse

Narrator- Yo It's me again, let me say this first. This story Is about an individual's life and the choices they made along the way. Their name is Xurse. Now that's out the way we can get started on the story. Now, where did I leave off… Oh yes, the YeaR Is 187 month 7. Spring has just arrived, carrying the air filled with citrus and burning wood…

YeaR 187 Month 7

The room Is filled with cries from a newborn baby. The midwife adjusts the baby In her arms as It cries nonstop. As she reaches over to pass the baby to Its mother she speaks "A beautiful young boy Mrs. Miri. What will you name It?" Miri grabs hold of the baby boy and gently begins to rock her arms. Slowly calming the baby down. speaks to the midwife "Can you help me over to the balcony?" The midwife replies "Yes Mrs. Miri." The midwife quickly goes to the side of the bed to help Miri stand up. As she stands they slowly walk towards a sliding door. Miri looks down at her son while the midwife opens the door to the balcony. She stares into his eyes, while he stares back. The midwife swiftly returns and helps Miri to the balcony railing overlooking the massive jackal berry orchard. While the wind slowly blows loose dirt and half-eaten jackal berries, Miri looks out over the balcony and gazes out as the sun fades out west. She quietly begins to talk "Your father would have been so happy to see you… But unfortunately, he left." The wind starts to pick up and knocks some of the fruit off the trees. Miri goes on "But! He still loves you with all his heart. And so do I!" She reaches with her left hand and pinches the baby's cheek. It giggles and tries to eat the fingers. As the baby continues to much on the fingers Miri laughs and continues "For him, I'll name you Xurse." As she looks back up at the orchard, the light slowly fades covering the trees In the dark of night. But it carries a warm, caring breeze. Slowly Xurse settled down and fell asleep.

Narrator- Your probably wondering what jackal berries are huh? Well, there one of the few foods the Leon country produces. And Xurse's mother Miri just so happens to run the biggest orchard In the country! Let's get on with the story, for the first 2 YeaRs Xurse did regular baby things. Eat, sleep, poop, sleep, and eat some more. But after a while, he started to pay attention more and more to his mother. She was a mixed martial arts teacher. The back of her house Is a farm while the front Is a dojo for all to learn the art of mixed martial arts. By the age of 5, he showed promise. For YeaRs he did nothing but watch, unable to speak and ask questions. Let allow able to practice. On his 5th birthday, Miri promised she'll enroll him in school during the winter of next YeaR. But he must complete his daily training every day until he starts school. A course Xurse agrees to, so let us see what kind of training he has today…

YeaR 192 Month 8

As the sun rises In the East, a gently chilly breeze passes through the orchard. Xurse's alarm clock starts to go off. He slowly rolls over and presses snooze while trying to sit up, wiping his face and eyes. His mouth opens and he yawns. When he finished he just sat at the edge of his bed staring out into the darkness of his room. After a few seconds, he stood up and started to walk to the door of his room. As he opened his door, Xurse continued to walk through the dark until he reached the bathroom and then turned on the light. As he looked into the mirror, he slowly and quietly pointed out key features "I got kinda long, black, silky hair. Dark brown eyes, but on the bottom left eye a line runs to the middle of my cheek, that's a scar that was left by mom." He rolls his eyes and keeps going "Still got a baby face… Still short…" Xurse lets out a long sigh and starts to brush his teeth. After a few minutes, he finally finishes and opens the door to leave. In doing so a blinding bright light fills his eyes and he falls to the ground screaming "MOM! I'M BLIND! HELP!" In a matter of seconds, Miri comes rushing down the stairs past the kitchen, turns the corner, and quickly runs through the living room to find Xurse In the hallway rolling around on the ground screaming. She bends down to take a look at his eyes. And what a surprise… Nothing Is wrong, as Miri stands she closes her eyes and makes a fist while trying to keep her composer. As Xursed calms down, Miri speaks "You woke me up at 5 am. There's nothing wrong with your eyes." Xurse stands rubbing his eyes replying to his mother "Just wanted to make sure you were up. Today's the first day of training!" Miri couldn't help but panic, she quickly ran upstairs and rummaged around her room for a few minutes. While she does that Xurse goes to the kitchen and makes himself a bowl of cereal. As he sat down he tried to read the box "Uh… Fro… Frosted Jac… Frosted Jackal berries… FROSTED JACKAL BERRIES!" He eats, waiting for his mother to come back down. After 10 minutes or so Miri comes back down, ready to leave. Xurse puts the cereal away along with washing his bowl, by the time he finished Miri had finished packing a bag. She looked at her watch and finally spoke "Alright Xurse, for the first part of your training you'll have to make a trip to the capital of Leon, Stad Van Leeus." Xurse jumps for joy while saying "Finally! What's next?" Miri opens the front door for Xurse. As he makes his way through she shuts and locks the door behind them while replying "Next Is… Cutting our travel time from 3 hours to 1 hour." Xurse brings his right hand to his chin and scratches It while saying "How can we do that? We don't have a car or a ship… Can you fly?" Miri laughs but still finds a way to answer "No silly. Today you take your first step In learning Materia!" Xurse can hardly contain his excitement, but It's short-lived. Xurse tone changes and he becomes sad while he speaks "But, I don't have Materia. So how will I be able to train?" Miri turns around and squats, looking Xurse In his eyes she picks up where she left off "Your right you have no Materia AFFINITY. That means, your Materia hasn't manifested a true form." She takes her left hand and points to the orchard and continues "Materia flows all around us. It's an extension of life. By living you have and can collect Materia. Watch." She stands and spreads her legs shoulder-width apart. Miri takes a deep breath and speaks "Now, you want to feel the Materia around you and let It flow freely throughout your body. Become one." Slowly the air around her started to shift, and Miri's hair flows freely In the wind. As she brings her hand back down to her side she looks back at Xurse and says "Now that you collected the Materia you must tell It what to do. For example, we need to make It to Leeus In 1 hour. So we tell the Materia to strengthen our legs and feet." Just like that, the pressure shifted towards her legs. Xurse amazed quickly yells out "So now you can go really fast right?" Miri nods and laughs while speaking "Yes. Now, this Is your first task, make It to Leeus In 1 hour. I'll be waiting. Bye!" In an instant Miri vanished, leaving only a cloud of dirt. Xurse eagerly looks down the road, he takes this time to think "So become one with the Materia. Then tell It what to do… doesn't sound too hard." He spreads his legs shoulder-width apart and brings his fist to his hips. Slowly Xurse takes a deep breath and releases. He tries to feel for Materia. Bit by Bit he slowly sees and feels the energy moving around him, allowing It to collect inside of him. He gently brings his left foot back and leans forward a Lil. He stares down the middle of the road. His toes grip the soles of his shoes… He takes the first step, but instantly trips on his shoelace and slams his face straight into the ground.

12 HOURS LATER

Xurse quickly gasps for air. As he opens his eyes he looks down and sees himself covered In water. By the time he looks up, Miri is already speaking "What happened? Couldn't quite get It?" Xurse wipes his face and replies "No. I got It, but these stupid shoes got In the way!" He angrily takes them off and throws them, all while Miri laughs and says "Well then, show me." Xurse nods and takes the same stance before he knocked himself out. As he exhales his feet grip the earth, and he gently brings his left foot back and leans forward. Eyes fixated on the path ahead. In an instant he was gone, Miri couldn't help but clap In excitement. Xurse raced around the orchard collecting all the fallen fruit and piling them up In front of the house. Miri watched and started to get lost In thought "He got the hang of that quicker than I thought. Well, we can start applying It to other parts of the body and decreasing the amount of Materia wasted." After a few minutes, Xurse comes to a stop and says "All of my chores have gotten easier! That means more time to train right?" He stands eagerly waiting for a response. Miri couldn't help but laugh. As she did she spoke "Easy you say? Let's kick It up a notch. The next step of your training will be to apply the technique throughout your body while spending the least amount of Materia possible." Xurse lets out a loud sigh and rolls his eyes while responding "That sounds boring. When can I do the cool stuff like shoot fire, create water, or even shoot beams from my eyes? On TV they fight all the time doing crazy moves, why can't I?" Miri smiles and takes her hand, pushing it against Xurse back and leading him back into the house as the sun shines Its last light. He grows impatient and starts to yell out "COME ON MOM! WHEN CAN I SHOOT BEAMS AND MAKE THINGS EXPLODE?" They both stop right before the front door, Miri speaks "That takes time and practice. She turns him around and bends down. As she looks him In his eyes, she's reminded of his father. Swiftly she grabs him and hugs him with all her might while saying "Nothing gets easier In life, you just get strong enough to face everything. Were the last words your father said to me before he left 5 YeaRs ago." Xurse stands there listening, this Is one of the few times mother speaks about father. As she releases Xurse he goes to ask a question "What does that mean?" She continues to stare at her son until she finally answers "It means, that no matter what. As long as you train and grow past problems are no more. While future problems are within reason." Xurse even more confused than before tries to answer but Is stopped by Miri saying "Enough chit-chat. Let's get ready to eat and head to bed!" He jumps for joy and rushes inside to clean up, Miri takes one last look at the orchard as the night consumes the last rays of light. She turns and heads inside.

Narrator- For the next 7 and a half months Miri helped Xurse learn the basics of Materia. He trained his body and mind will strengthening them with Materia. It took him a while but eventually, he got the basics down. Also, that sly kid began to practice martial arts In secret. Going off of memory and some of the old combat arts books laying around the house. As the 7 months come to an end, the seasons change from spring to fall to summer and finally winter.

YeaR 193 Month 3

Once again Xurse room Is filled with noise from his alarm clock. As he rolls over to turn It off he looks at the time and day. It's 4 In the morning, his eyes open wide as he says "The first day of school!" He quickly gets out of bed and heads toward the bathroom without turning a single light on. When he enters, he shuts the door, turns on the light, and looks into the mirror. He starts to think while getting his toothbrush ready "My hair grew a bit, and the tips are turning purple. My scar under my left eye is still there, hehe. I got a nice tan over the summer too." Xurse reaches his left arm out to turn on the faucet to rinse his toothbrush. This time he opens the door slowly, so the light doesn't blind him. As he exits he makes his way toward the kitchen to make some breakfast. He reaches for the box of cereal and grabs a clean bowl, as he sets them down he heads toward the fridge to grab the milk and make his to the drawer of spoons. Just before Xurse could sit a loud crash followed by a scream can be heard from upstairs. Xurse ignores it and continues eating his cereal. After a few minutes, Miri slowly walks down the stairs holding her head. Tired and defeated she sits next to Xurse and says "Good morning!" With a mouth full of food he answers "GOOD MORNING!" Chunks of cereal fall out onto the table while he keeps talking "I'm almost ready. Just got to get dressed and pack my bag." Miri nods and stands making her way to the sink to grab a towel to clean Xurse's mess. He quickly gets up and heads to his room down the hall. As he closes his door he starts to think "What should I wear… First impressions are important!" After about 20 minutes of trying on clothes, Xurse finally decides on a fit. Before he leaves the room he gets some notebooks, pens, and a few folders. As he opens his bag he shoves everything In and quickly zips It up. There's a soft knock on the door followed by a voice "You almost ready dear? It's almost time for you to head out." Xurse opens the door while replying "READY!" the 2 of them walk through the house until they meet the front door. Miri looks at Xurse, wearing black cargo pants, and a black tee shirt printed with a cubed watermelon split In half. His hair is a mess but somehow It completes the fit. Miri smiles while saying "Where's your coat and boots?" Xurse lets out a long sigh before answering "I'll wear the coat but the shoes… NO!" As he finished he folded his arms and turned his back toward her. Miri couldn't help but get slightly annoyed. With an irritated tone, she said "If you don't put both on, 1 month of strength training and dojo cleaning!" He quickly turned back around, sat, and started putting on his shoes while saying "Yes ma'am." She couldn't help but smile. As Xurse finished up, his mother helped him put on his coat and scarf before walking him out the door. As they walk outside the sun barely starts to rise. Shinning through the eerie grey sky. Snow gradually falls and blankets the orchard In a soft white. The sun steadily climbs the sky while Miri and Xurse watch. Eventually, Miri break the silence "Well, looks like It's time for you to go." She turns to look at him one more time, but before she could do anything Xurse unexpectedly hugs her. Miri returns the favor. Filled with warmth Xurse let's go and says "See ya! I'll be back by 4!" He turns around and spreads his legs shoulder-width apart, gently bringing his left foot back and leaning forward. Just as he takes off, Miri waves, saying "MAKE SURE YOU BEHAVE!" But all that's left Is a cloud of snow.

1 HOUR LATER

As Xurse draws closer to the capital, he sees more and more kids. He picks up the pace to be one of the first ones to arrive. Swiftly moving throughout the capital, moving past people, shops, transport cars, and houses until he stops In front of the school gate. It’s a fairly big school, It even has a field. Xurse watched other kids and parents enter the gate and head toward the field, as they did he followed. They walked until they circled to the back of the building where the field Is at. Xurse was shocked by the number of people that showed up. 100s If not 1000s of kids of all ages have gathered here to grow and learn. By the time Xurse got close, the crowd goes quiet and a man steps out and faces the crowd with a big smile while speaking with a clear, commanding voice says “Welcome! Today’s the day…” A few people In the crowd start to clap. Xurse tries to get a good look at the man but everyone towers over him. He aggressively starts to push his way through the crowd while the man continues to speak “Where are my manners, my name Is Mr. Luck. For all the returning kids I hope we can continue to grow. As for the new kids welcome!” The kids scream In excitement just as Xurse made It to the front of the crowd Mr. Luck starts to pace while talking “For the new kids and parents I’ll give a brief overview of the system. Were broken down into 10 grades. From ages 5 to 16 one can enroll, anytime after that, you must do It on your own.” Xurse takes a look at Mr. Luck, he’s a tall, bald, white man wearing black slacks and a red button-down tucked in. Xurse eyes wander examining the field, schoolhouse, and even the people. While he spaces out Mr. Luck still speaks “For the first 3 grades, those are to build up good math and reading skills. Along with the ability to write. In grade 4 you’ll finally get to learn Skills. Each Skill Is a culmination of your learning from the previous grades. Grade 5 will further build upon your basic math and reading abilities. Grade 6 Is the introduction to Materia, at that point most kids gain access to their inner abilities. But some might not, but don’t fret they too can still learn and grow. Use this time to prepare, for when you do get It you are already a master!” The crowd claps In excitement, Xurse Is at a loss for words. He takes a look at the dull sky as snow slowly falls to the earth and thinks “I have to make It through 5 YeaRs of classes to finally be able to learn more about Materia… That's bullshit.” Mr. Luck lets the noise die down before continuing “Grade 7 Is all about world history. I come from the Chronos Kingdom, we take pride In history. So I’ll personally be teaching that class myself. This Is the class most people fail so be ready to learn! Next up Is grade 8, which is a tech class. We partner with the Silva family to learn about modern technology and how It functions. We're almost done! Grade 9, pushes your knowledge to the limits. And finally grade 10, Finals. You take everything you learned throughout the YeaRs and take 1 final test. You can fail each grade 3 times, If you fail the 3rd attempt you are kicked out. So with that, I’ll leave you with a little word of advice. The secret of your future Is hidden In your daily routine. My good friend Mike told me that, hope you see the value In It like I do!” The crowd of parents and kids explodes In excitement and joy, Xurse couldn’t help but feel cheated. As the kids said their final goodbyes to their parents, they were split up by the grades they completed. Xurse was put into grade 1 along with 20 other kids. They make their way into the school and their teacher gives them a tour. Showing them where the cafeteria, gym, bathroom and stuff like. After about an hour they finally go and enter their class. The teacher instructs the kids to take a seat. The kids raced to sit with their best friends in a matter of seconds. Most people In the class come from the capital, so they’ve probably been friends for YeaRs. Xurse starts to panic, he scans the room for open spots but there all taken… But one. There’s a table In the corner by the window overlooking the field. Only 1 person sitting at It, Xurse takes his opportunity. He heads over to the boy sitting at the table, He takes a good look at him. His hair Is light brown and shiny with a light-skinned complexion. Even though he’s inside he wears dark circular glasses that fit his face. His clothes are covered in holes, as Xurse looks closer he realizes there were burnt into his shirt. Finally, Xurse breaks the silence “Yo! What’s up with the shirt? It’s kinda cool.” The simple act of speaking startled the kid so much that he hides underneath the table and with a scared tone says “I’m sorry! I forgot my lunch at home!” Xurse couldn't help but laugh. The boy slowly brings his head above the table. He takes a few seconds to look at Xurse, and realizes he got him confused with someone else. As he slowly goes to sit back down Xurse asks him another question “This your first YeaR too?” The boy nervously nods. The classroom Is filled with noise until the teacher finally calls everyone to attention “Quiet down, please. You can call me Mr. A. A little bit about me… Uh… I’m from Leeus. I’m 29. Single, no kids. I’m a decent cook, I like to read and play video games.” One of the kids yells out “BORING!” Some of the kids laugh while a girl yells out this time “What's your Materia?” Mr. A sighs and under his breath says “I should have retired after my last class. I hate kids.” The class grows restless, waiting for Mr. A to answer. He does “It’s a secrete. If you can make It to grade 6 maybe you’ll find out.” The class groans In disappointment. The teacher takes a look around to see any new faces and see’s Xurse In the corner. Mr. A starts to talk again “Most people In the class know each other but for the people, that are new introduce yourself.” As he finishes he points to Xurse to stand. While he stands Mr. A says “Go ahead and state your name, favorite food, hobby, and Materia If you have one.” Xurse takes a deep breath and speaks confidently “My name Is Xurse. My favorite food Is cubed watermelon.” He takes off his coat to show his shirt but continues to speak “And for my Materia… Uh… I haven’t gotten It yet.” All the kids In the room start to laugh, while a few yell out “No Materia! FREAK!” “What’s the point In coming to school If you have no Materia? Idiot.” “Xurse has the curse of no Materia!” The room laughs even louder. Xurse couldn’t help but sit and shut up. The glasses kid speaks up to him “I don’t care If you don’t have any Materia.” And smiles. Xurse rolls his eyes and looks back at Mr. A “Alright class settle down. Let's get started!”

Narrator- What a warm welcome that was. Well anyway, Xurse continues to try and leave a good impression but every time It fails. They just make fun of him for being short and not having any Materia. Also his shirt, cubed watermelon. Come on. Well Just as Xurse finishes his first day of school he starts the long walk back home.

8 HOURS LATER

Xurse collects his things off the table and shoves them into his bag. As he stands he starts to put on his coat and notices the kid next to him already left “Finally he left! He’s been following me all day, and all he talks about Is old video games and manga. Nerd.” He flings his bag over his shoulder and starts to head outside. It’s been snowing since the morning and hasn’t let up once. Xurse makes his way through the gates and turns around “Man… I thought It would be cooler. But It’s just full of weirdos, bullies, and idiots.” He turns and starts walking North. The snow slowly picks up and the wind grows, blowing the flakes In swirls as Xurse walks. After about 20 minutes of walking, he comes to the main river that cuts the capital In half that dumps out into the ocean. You can hear the frozen river crack and pop as It freezes over. The snow moves freely across the river's icy surface, Xurse gets ready to cross the bridge but stopped. He quickly turns his head left and right to see where the noise Is coming from “What Is that noise… Sounds like people laughing and something else...” One step at a time he made his way over to the edge of the bridge and peered over the edge. On the back of the frozen river were 4 kids throwing snow at someone on the ground. Xurse takes a closer look at the kid on the ground. The kid's face drips with blood and splashes on the pure white snow, tainting It red. The other 4 kids just continue to throw snow, laughing like there’s nothing wrong. Xurse grips the railing and yells out “AYE! STOP! HE’S BLEEDING!” The 4 stop laughing and look up at the bridge, one of them yell back “LOOK! IT’S THE KID WITH NO MATERIA! HAHAHAHA!” They continue to laugh and start to throw snow at the bridge. None of them hit, but Xurse realizes that there not throwing snow. It’s ice. Filled with anger, he takes a deep breath and jumps over the railing. The other 4 kids started to throw more ice at the kid bleeding. But, Xurse landed In front of them protecting him. 1 hit his chest, 1 missed, while the other 2 hit square In his face. Breaking his nose and splitting his lip. The 4 kids point and laugh “Dumbass! Why you get In the way?” “Yeah, yeah. Your just as stupid as him.” “On god! He failed 2 times already. And hasn’t even left grade 1! HAHAHAHA!” Xurse spits the excess blood from his mouth and says “If being smart means hurting others for fun, then I’ll gladly stay a dumbass.” The kids continue to laugh and throw ice at him. But he doesn’t move, not an inch. After a few minutes, the 4 kids grew tired and started to leave “Man. There’s no point If he's not going to react. Let's go!” As they turn and leave Xurse turns around and bends down to help the kid “You good?” The kid slowly lifted his head and said “Thank you…” But before he could continue, Xurse finally saw who It was and cut him off “It’s you! The weirdo from class!” The kid puts his head back down and starts to cry again. Xurse starts to panic and thinks of a way to calm him down “No need to cry. How about… You, uh. Tell me your name?” A weak and scared voice speaks “Viktor. My name is Viktor.” Viktor raises his head and starts to wipe his tears and snot away. Xurse face scrunches up In disgust but he replies “Cool. The names Xurse!” As Viktor finishes wiping his nose he takes a look at him. He was covered In more blood and bruises than himself, he couldn’t help but cry again. Xurse sighs and says “Come on with crying!” But that only makes him cry more, as Viktor breathed heavily he said “I’m sorry. You got hurt cause of me. Maybe I am stupid.” Xurse takes his hand, smacks the back of Viktor's head, and says “Nah, you just got to get better and stronger.” Xurse helps him back up to the bridge. They look over the railing and watch the snow swirl. Viktor is the first to speak “Do you stay around here?” Xurse answers “Nah. I live about 3 hours North of the capital.” Viktor turns towards him in confusion and says “3 hours? How do you make it to school on time?” Xurse grows a devious smile and says “I may not have a Materia affinity but I can still use and control Materia. I collect a bunch of It and strengthen my body. That's why It didn’t hurt when those bastards threw ice at me.” Viktor's face went from confused to amazed. He stutters but says “If you can do that why didn’t you say that when Mr. A asked?” Xurse brings his right hand up and shakes his finger while replying “Cause, that doesn’t count. Mom said anybody can do this, so that doesn’t make It special.” Viktor couldn’t help but admire him. He Is everything that he wanted to be brave, strong, smart, and even good-looking. Xurse continues “Well I got to go. Don’t want to get In trouble.” As he finishes, he turns around and starts to head home. Viktor quickly catches up and says “I live this way too! Want to walk home?” Xurse roles his eyes and answers “Sure. But keep the nerd talk to a minimum.” Viktor nods In excitement, for the first time In 3 YeaRs since he’s been enrolled he finally feels normal. They walk In silence for a few minutes until Xurse speaks up “So, do you have your Materia?” Viktor nods and says “Yeah! My mother thinks It’s volcanic ash.” Xurse stops walking, stares at Viktor, and says “WHY DIDN’T YOU USE THAT AGAINST THOSE BASTARDS EARLIER!” Viktor couldn’t help but laugh and neither could Xurse. Viktor eventually answers “Well I can’t really control It and It’s really dangerous.” Xurse starts to kick some of the snow as they walk and says “What makes it so dangerous? Ash can’t be that scary… Right?” Viktor takes his glasses off and says “Not only can I hurt others but I can easily hurt myself.” His eyes are cloudy almost soulless. Xurse gasps and says “Cool. So do you shoot ash from your eyes or something?” Viktor answers “And I’m the dumb one. No, the ash comes from the pores across my body. And since It’s volcanic ash there's more to It than just ash. To keep It simple my ash has 3 main components rock fragments, minerals, crystals, and volcanic glass.” Before Viktor could go on Xurse cut him off and said “Is this explanation much longer? Cause It’s getting kinda boring.” Viktor puts his glasses back on and replies “Yes. Basically, when I got my Materia I lost control and the volcanic glass within the ash scratched and cut my eyes to the point that I am now 70 percent blind In both eyes.” Xurse can’t even begin to understand anything that Viktor said but still replied “Uh… Cool, I guess. Well, this Is my turn.” Viktor frantically tries to keep the conversation going with Xurse “Uh… You coming to school tomorrow?” As Xurse walks away he answers “Of course! If I don’t who will protect you from the smart people? See ya, Vik!” Even though he hates that Xurse Is leaving him happily replies “Same! See ya Xurse!”

3 HOURS LATER

As Xurse quickly approaches the orchard, his mother waits for him on the porch. With each step closer Miri looks more and more at Xurse until he is just a few meters away. She loudly exclaimed “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU FACE? YOUR NOSE AND YOUR LIP!” Quickly she rushed Xurse inside the house to the kitchen. She frantically searched for a rag and some alcohol, while Xurse sits and finally answers “I made a friend today, but he’s kinda weak…” Before he could go on, Miri stopped and turned toward Xurse with a blank look, saying “You didn’t fight anyone, did you?” Xurse shakes his head and replied “Nope!” Miri couldn’t help but smile, as she looked at Xurse’s bruised and broken face she was reminded of the first time she met his father YeaRs ago. As she finishes she says “So you made a new friend? What’s his name?” Xurse hops out of the chair and heads over to the fridge while saying “Viktor, and he already has his Materia too!” Just as Xurse closes the fridge he takes out a container of mini cubed watermelon and walks back to the table to sit. Miri follows and replies “Well, that's nice. It’s very important to make friends.” She smiles while watching Xurse eat the watermelon, and slowly Miri becomes lost In thought “It’s almost that time. I just hope I can prepare him for a future that brings love and happiness.” As Xurse finishes his mini watermelons he speaks up “Well I got to get ready for school tomorrow…” But before he could go on Miri cuts him off “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Xurse starts to think while heading over to the sink to wash his plate. After a few minutes, he finally answers “No?” Miri laughs and grows a devious smile. Xurse begins to panic, he continues to think “What did I forget? Come on!” But then, Miri walks over to him, places her hand on his shoulder, and says, “Your training. Now all exercises are tripled. Hope you're ready for a long night.” Xurse’s mouth drops “TRIPLED? Come on mom!” She laughs hysterically and says “Go change, we're going to be outside today! Hope you like the snow!” He rolls his eyes and walks toward his room to get ready.

THE NEXT DAY

Xurse’s alarm goes off once again, he quickly gets out of bed and walks through the silent, dark house until he enters the bathroom. He finishes brushing his teeth and washing his face, and heads back to his room to change clothes. By the time he finished, It was only 5 am, he still had an hour left before he had to leave. Slowly he walked over to the edge of his bed to sit. Xurse closed his eyes and thought. He sat In a dark, empty void with nothing. He picked a direction and walked. Nothing new appeared but nothing ever left either. Xurse finally comes to a stop and says “Man, I read a book that said you can use your mind to train but there’s nothing here. Just darkness… This Is lame!” As Xurse opens his eyes a faint light shines through his window breaking the darkness In half. He turns to look at the clock, It’s about to be 6. As he stands he grabs his bag and heads to the front door. He waits for a few minutes to see If Miri Is coming, but she doesn’t. Xurse couldn’t help but smile “Must have been a long night for you!” As he laughs he puts his coat on and looks at his boots. He opens the door to look outside, the ground Is still covered In pure white snow. As Xurse shuts the door he looks back down at his boots again. Contemplating about wearing them or not… Finally, he decides “Well If I don’t wear them mom will probably find out and triple my training again, or worst.” He swiftly puts his boots on and heads outside. As Xurse walks through the orchard, the dimly lit sun breaks over the horizon consuming the darkness, and just before he left a voice can be heard behind him. He goes to turn around while the voice continues to shout “MAKE SURE YOU BEHAVE! AND NO FIGHTING!” Xurse waves goodbye and readies himself to take off.

1 HOUR LATER

Xurse quickly approaches the city and begins to slow down. As he draws closer and closer, he starts to see more and more families making their way to the capital. After a while, he grows self-conscious and tries to act cool. Before Xurse could even step foot In the city he was greeted by Viktor “Good morning friend!” Xurses continues to walk while saying “Don’t call me that, It’s childish.” Viktor swiftly catches up and responds “Okay then, how about… Best friend!” Xurse smacks his lips and answers “We're not babies, come on! Think of something better!” As Viktor thinks a snow flurry begins. Just as fast as the snow falls It disappears once It touches the ground. A few minutes go by and Viktor finally speaks up “How about, X?” A long silence falls between them. The noise of the city fills their ears. Cars move down the street at high speed, and people hustle to their next destination. All while the snow continues to fall, eventually Xurse breaks the silence “Nah, X Is too corny. Just call me Xurse.” Viktor nods as they approach the school gates, but as soon as they entered Viktor instantly noticed the group of boys that were throwing ice at him the other day. He quickly ran to the other side of Xurse and said “Be careful, If you don’t give them some money they’ll find you after school. You know the rest.”Xurse puts his hands In his pockets and keeps walking toward the entrance of the school, but just as he reached for the door someone called out to him “AYE! YOU! THE KID WITH NO MATERIA! HAHAHA!” The other kids around started to laugh too, but Xurse ignored them and kept going while Viktor followed. As they made their way to their classroom Viktor started to panic, mumbling under his breath “Oh no… oh no, what have we done…” When they enter the classroom they go to the same seats as yesterday. They have a few minutes before class starts, Viktor takes this time to take out his supplies, while Xurse leans back In his chair and asks Viktor a few questions “Who are those guys?” While Viktor opens his notebook and readies his pencil he answers “Well the one that called you out Is none other than Timmy Leon. His Uncle Is the mayor of the capital.” Xurse rolls his eyes and tips a bit further In his chair before replying “What a baby name! Anyway, why does It matter that his uncle Is the mayor?” Just as Viktor finishes he said “Cause, he never gets in trouble for anything he does. The adults are too scared to say anything. Even the principal!” Xurse lets his chair fall forward while smacking his lips. But before he could say anything Mr. A enters the room. Most of the kids barely noticed him enter, a few minutes go by and nothing happened. After a while, Mr. A cleared his throat and spoke with a commanding voice “Alright kids settle down now.” The class slowly quiets down, allowing Mr. A to continue to speak “That’s better. Now, I’ll be taking attendance. So make sure you say here when you hear your name.” The kids reply In unison “Yes Mr. A.”

After a couple of minutes, Mr. A finally finishes calling attendance and starts to explain the schedule for today “Alright today’s the day. Your first real day of school.” A few kids clap while most of them groan In agony. Mr. A continues “The mornings will consist of math. Anything math-related will be done In the morning. While the afternoon all the way up until It’s time to go will be for reading and writing.” Even more groans and sighs can be heard, but Xurse sits up. Viktor swiftly followed while Mr. A kept talking about the rest of the day Xurse slowly gets absorbed In his own thoughts “Finally I get to learn! This Is what I’ve been waiting for!”

A FEW HOURS LATER (LUNCH)

As Xurse and Viktor scourer the cafeteria to find a place to eat, they find a small table off In the corner next to a window. The both of them put their lunch on the table and sit at the same time letting out a deep sigh. Viktor opens his bag with his lunch while Xurse speaks “Man… I thought school would be so much cooler than what It Is. But it's just a random guy standing and talking for hours until lunch…” Viktor cuts him off with a mouthful of chips “Then we go back and do It again!” They both put their heads down In defeat. The both of them eat their lunch for the next few minutes until Xurse pulls out a special box containing something. Viktor points to the box and says “What's that?” Xurse smiles a bit before answering “Glad you asked Viktor! IT’S!” Xurse excitedly stands and steps up onto his chair while saying loudly “WATERMELON!” Viktor couldn’t help but laugh. In doing so some of the other kids noticed and one of them was Timmy. Before Xurse could continue Timmy yells out at him “AYE LOOK! It’s the curse! HAHAHA!” The other kids laugh as Xurse sits back down In his chair. But Timmy doesn’t stop there, he keeps going “Also watermelon Is out of season, IDIOT!” The laughter of the others grows In volume, Viktor quietly speaks to Xurse “It’s alright just ignore them like you said, right?” Xurse nods In agreement and says “Yeah. Anyway, want a piece?” Viktor’s eyes grow huge, he quickly answers “YES! I’ve never had watermelon before. It’s kinda expensive, and It Isn’t In season for very long.” Xurse nods and continues where Viktor left off “Your right! But this isn't just your ordinary watermelon. It’s the Nara clan special… Cubed watermelon!” Viktor too shocked to speak sits quietly staring at the cubed-shaped watermelon sitting In the center of the table. But before Xurse could cut the melon, Timmy again yells, “So you got 1 cubed watermelon? How sad, I have 100’s at home too bad you can’t have any!” The kids start laughing again but this time Xurse offers him a rebuttal “Well I wouldn’t want one anyway, they probably smell just like you. And you smell like dog piss.” As Xurse turns back toward the table to cut the melon the whole cafeteria burst out laughing. Every kid points at Timmy and laughs obnoxiously. Filled with anger and embarrassment Timmy stands and walks over to Xurse’s table, but Xurse continues doing him without paying any attention to him. On the other hand, Viktor begins to shake uncontrollably out of fear. Timmy speaks with an annoyed tone “So you think you're funny?” Xurse cuts the melon In half and says “Nah when I say that?” His responses only made Timmy madder and the other kids louder. With Timmy’s face a bright red he angrily answers “Do you know who I am? I’m Timmy Leon, nephew of the mayor of Stan Van Leeus!” The laughter that once filled the room simmers down until It was silent. Xurse speaks, but not to Timmy “Aye Viktor?” Viktor frantically nods while Xurse goes on “Which side do you want? Left or Right?” Viktor looks at Timmy, his face Is filled with rage and ignorance, and he slowly points to the right half. Xurse pushes It towards him while he grabs the left side. Xurse goes to lean back In his chair, he brings the cubed watermelon up to his mouth to take a bite. But right before he could Timmy takes his right hand and smacks the melon out of Xurses hand. Viktor gasped and hides underneath the table while the other students stare In silence. Timmy begins to laugh and says “Wish you had one of mine now huh? Should have stayed on that garbage farm, berry picker! HAHAHA!” But just before he could walk away he grabs the other half and takes a huge bite out of It and walks away. Viktor notices and rises out from underneath the table, he tries to look at Xurse but his hair covers his face. Viktor turns and looks at Timmy getting all the glory, and for what. His hands turn into fists, he takes a deep breath and with all his strength and courage yells out at Timmy “T…T… Timmy… YOU'RE A BITCH!” The cafeteria continues to laugh but not at Timmy but at Viktor. He turns his head to look back at Xurse, but his head Is still down. Viktor Is quickly filled with regret and panic. Timmy turns around while laughing and saying “What? The lil baby thinks he’s tough now! Well, look like your best friend can’t help you now!” At that moment Timmy took one last bite of the watermelon. With only the rind left, he takes a pitcher's stance and hurls It at Viktor's face. It hits him square In the face, Viktor falls to the floor holding his nose, crying. The whole cafeteria points and laughs with no remorse. Xurse let his chair fall creating a loud thud that silenced the room. All that could be heard were tears and sniffles of Viktor. As he slowly made his way to Viktor he bent down and quietly spoke to him “You have more courage than me, don’t cry Vik.” Viktor wipes his face and looks up at Xurse, he wears a warm, genuine smile. Viktor couldn’t help but smile back, Xurse helps him up and they start to leave the cafeteria to head toward the nurse's office. But as they pass Timmy he reaches out and places his hand on Xurse’s shoulder and says “Where do you think you're going? I think you owe me an apology Mr. Curse!” This time the vibe was different, not a single kid laughed or let alone said a word. Xurse just stands there with his head down, Viktor takes a look around and he can tell how they feel just by looking them In their eyes. Terror fills the room. The only one that didn’t notice was Timmy, blinded by his ego. He grips Xurse’s shoulder even harder while saying “Go ahead, I’ll start It for you. I’m sorry…” Xurse answers “Let go.” But Timmy stands and laughs, barely able to speak “Now, that snot how you finish that sentence. I know you guys are a little slow, so I’ll give you another chance. I’m sorry…” Slowly Xurse looks over his left shoulder and looks Timmy In his eyes and says “I’ll ask one more time dog breath, let go.” As Timmy stares into Xurse’s eyes he feels a burning sensation within his own. Slowly the light that once flooded the room fades into darkness. Timmy’s hand flies off Xurse’s shoulder straight to his eyes yelling “I CAN’T SEE! I CAN’T SEE!”  Xurse turns his head back forward and takes Viktor to the nurse. As the 2 of them leave not a sound could be heard but the screams of Timmy which brought a smile to not only Xurse’s face but Viktor’s as well.