Winter Quarter 2016 Week 5 Monday
“Jacque, the hell?” Zhuyu remarked, looking over at the man.
Jacque looked up from his laptop, an orange in his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders and finished eating the slice.
“Bro, what do you expect? I already finished my homework, so this is all I got to do,” Jacque replied.
I sat on the opposite side of the circular table, unable to see what Zhuyu meant. From previous experience, it was probably some bulls**t manga or anime crap.
“Have you read this one yet?” Jacque asked, pointing at his screen.
“No, is it any good?” Zhuyu asked, tapping his mechanical pencil against the table surface.
“Bro, hella good,” Jacque said with a large grin.
“Really?” Zhuyu responded with skepticism.
“Nah, not really. It does have that plot though,” Jacque admitted, popping a piece of gum into his mouth.
They continued talking about random topic which I only heard parts of. Right now, I inspected my chemistry midterm, wondering what score would get me a 3.0. I scored above average, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to worry.
“Actually, I just remembered I have an essay to turn in later. F**k my life, man. I should start working on it. But, I don’t really feel like it,” Jacque lamented, placing his head down on the table.
Jacque sighed, typing on his laptop, but paused. He pulled out his phone and stopped working. I checked the class syllabus again, making sure the correct percentages were applied for my rough estimate. Zhuyu wrote on his paper again, writing down a summation sign. What kind of math was he doing?
“Tomo, how is your training with Jin?” Zhuyu asked, pulling out a calculator from his backpack.
“I guess it’s okay. Still haven’t managed to copy any of his magic yet,” I replied.
“Jin’s style is rather unique, so I’m not surprised if you can’t replicate any of his skills. His thinking process is very ingenious, but different than a standard person’s. It’s what makes him so skilled,” Zhuyu complimented his friend, punching in numbers.
“I can see that. It’s like the opposite of dealing with Ichizen,” I remarked.
Was it okay to talk about this kind of stuff with Jacque around? He might be a hero, but it was kind of sad if he was. No offense, of course. I gave Zhuyu a look which he ignored.
“Hey, Jacque, are you know…?” I asked.
“Huh, am I what?” Jacque asked, taking out his earphones.
“Never mind,” I decided.
I glanced at Zhuyu again, hoping for a sign, but he didn’t notice me. He wrote a function down on his paper, staring at it for a good thirty seconds. Whatever, just ignore me like usual. Jin was rather powerful and it actually made me a little glad I was on their side. The same went for Kyoi. If I joined up with Champ, I had no doubt I would have been decimated.
“Sorry, did you say something, Tomo?” Zhuyu asked, finally looking up from his paper.
“Forget about it. It’s not important anyways. I can ask you about it later,” I replied.
“Tomo, I’ve been wondering about this, but what’s your major?” Jacque asked, resuming his typing.
“I’m not sure yet. What’s yours, Jacque?” I answered.
“Hopefully design, but based on how I’ve done so far, I don’t think I’ll make it. My life officially sucks,” Jacque replied with a large amount of negativity.
“Uh, I see. Oh, that reminds me. Zhuyu, does the name, Konoe, mean anything?” I asked, recalling Kyoi’s hint from last time.
“Yeah, it does. Why do you want to know?” Zhuyu nodded.
“Wow, you actually gave me a straight answer. Kyoi told me to watch out for Felicity, but I’m not sure what she means. She told me the name, Kaisi Konoe. I was wondering if you knew anything,” I revealed.
“Feng is messing with you again, I see. Well, I don’t know if I can tell you anything. Why don’t you ask Felicity? I’m sure she’ll react with great joy when you mention that name. If you really want to know, Tess or Felicity herself can give you the answers,” he responded, checking the time on his watch.
“Yeah, that’s really helpful, Zhuyu,” I remarked.
“I’m always here to help. But seriously, don’t think about it too much. Felicity will probably tell you about it when she wants to,” Zhuyu warned.
You know, that only made me want to know more. Jacque stood up and walked away, presumably to the bathroom.
“Hey, is it okay for us to talk about hero stuff when Jacque’s here?” I finally asked.
“Sure. Jacque knows about us,” Zhuyu confirmed.
“What are his powers?” I questioned.
“He doesn’t have any. He just knows about us like Felicity,” he answered.
“How many people actually know about you guys?” I questioned.
“A select few. It’s not greater than ten. Circumstances kind of forced us to reveal it. Are you worried about your friend? That one girl. I heard Champ is her boyfriend,” Zhuyu responded.
“What do you think I should do?” I asked for advice.
“I can’t say, Tomo, don’t know anything about your friend. Honestly, I’m not the best person to discuss these types of things. Felicity or even Darryl are better choices,” Zhuyu replied, shaking his head.
Jacque returned, swinging around his earphones, looking around the student lounge. Come to think of it, Jacque actually knew a lot of people. Whenever I came here, Jacque talked to a variety of different people, not just Zhuyu or the others. Maybe I shouldn’t judge him too harshly.
“What’s up? You’re looking at me with a weird look,” Jacque said, sitting down again.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just noticed you know a lot of people,” I spoke about my observation.
“Yeah, sort of. I guess I’m just too nice of a person. Here comes Shigetzu,” Jacque agreed, pointing at the gravity manipulator.
Shan took a seat near me, pulling out his laptop. The man checked his phone first, before plugging his laptop into a nearby outlet. Jacque sighed, staring at his laptop with a sad look. I wondered what it would be like if they were just normal people. Probably the same. I doubt not having powers changed their personalities.
“Tomo, you think you can beat me yet?” Shan asked, after turning on his laptop.
“What do you mean?” I asked, not sure what he meant.
“Tess told me that you were training with Jin, so I was just wondering how strong you’ve gotten. If you can beat Darryl, I’m sure that you’re in pretty good shape,” Shan explained with a slight smile on his face.
“You’re messing with me, right? It’s only been two weeks. There’s no way I can be at your level,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I am, but I hope you refine your powers soon,” Shan admitted.
“Besides, Kisai and Kyoi are more than capable,” I shook my head.
“They’re mainly offensive. Much more useful dealing damage out on the front line. It would be great if we can get someone for a support role,” Shan revealed.
“I’ll try, it’s not like I’m a freaking genius like Kisai. Hey, how well do you know Felicity?” I said.
“Not as well as Darryl or Long. She probably hates me,” Shan responded.
“What the hell did you do?” I predicted his answer.
“I did not display the best work ethic when I had a high school class with her. I’m sure you notice that she really has a thing for that,” Shan answered.
“I expected something like that. Ichaival seems to call you “a piece of s**t” in multiple conversations,” I nodded, expecting such a response.
“Wow, that guy. That’s probably one of the reasons why she likes Darryl so much,” Shan shook his head.
“That does make sense after seeing her at the Christmas party. Doesn’t Ichaival like that other girl too? Uh, Jen,” I recalled the archer’s name.
“That’s what makes it so interesting. On a related note, has Felicity spoken about Darryl when you’re with her?” Shan grinned at his friend’s predicament.
“A few times,” I recalled our past conversations.
“Just trying to see how it’s going so far,” Shan said, typing on his laptop.
Zhuyu glanced at his watch, packing up his stuff. He bid us goodbye, leaving for his next class. Jacque expressed despair, covering his face up. He leaned back on his chair, tapping his mouse button.
