'Does the teacher really need to use that boring of a tone? As it's not enough having to wake up too early. Could it all be a ploy to force me to sleep in class and get expelled?' Kai thought as he followed the lecture with the eyes but not with the brain.

His eyes were drawn to the interior of the classroom. Everybody was quiet but not quite following. Colleagues' eyes fighting to remain open. Cellphones being used under the desk. Drawings skills being improved over the desk. It was a normal day at Goldenville High School.

'It doesn't help that nothing happens in this boring place ever…'

Kai glanced at the girl in the second row. The highlights merged well with the shiny bright long hair.

'Aimee seems to be the only one actually paying attention to what the old man says.' Kai thought.

Unlike the other students, she was always too into the class. And after the classes ended, she would often leave early and spend the interval on her own.

'What a strange girl…' Kai contemplated.

Kai was never the popular guy. He didn't like drawing attention. He sat in the middle because he wanted to be forgotten in the middle of the crowd. He didn't act like the tough guy neither he wanted to be the weird guy. He was the regular student who talked about school but wasn't really involved with anyone.

The bell rang. Some students got all happy and began packing their things.

'Wasn't there another class after this? Oh yeah, it's physical education. Some people love that one…'

Kai sighed and began packing his things, unmotivated.

'Well, at least today is basketball, I like that one…' He thought while he descended the stairs, taking care to drag himself for the biggest time possible.

'…I like it because if I'm late I get to wait in the seat and just watch.'

The ball bounced fiercely, echoing the whole court. As expected, Kai sat down and watched as the minutes passed by.

“They sure are lively, heh? They put so much effort into it." His short colleague said as he came and sat down at his side.

“Yeah…" Kai agreed. In his mind, he thought: 'He is like me. He just wants to pass the time. He always comes and starts some talk but I never remember his name. I guess it's too awkward to ask now in the middle of the semester…?'

“Wow, look at that!"

Rick, the beefy guy of the class row scored a three-pointer.

“He does that a lot, doesn't he?"

“Yeah, he's really good."

“If I want to throw stuff fifteen feet in front of me, even if my eyes could picture the action my arm would probably go like… Six or less."

“…And to the wrong side."

“And to the wrong side."

The class went by as Kai and the colleague sat down watching, and then met its end. It was the last one of that morning. Kai could finally fetch something for lunch.

As always, everybody ran away from the school when the bell rang and Kai was left alone as the last one in the locker room. He was too unmotivated to even change the physical education uniform and get his things.

'I'm beat… And to think I have that part-time job today…' He finally decided to get up. He then proceeded to pack his things up very slowly.

'Silly people. The outside won't run away from you. It's like they are racing the bell.'

As he got up, Kai noticed something shining coming from Aimee's locker.

'What? That locker is opened? That girl forgot something here…'

He went to the locker and saw a shining thing. It was a very strange object. Unlike everything he had ever seen. It was made of some kind of bright golden metal. The shape was irregular and the purpose was unclear. It was a bent cylinder with some points coming out from it. Several holes over the surface drew some sort of distorted face. At least in Kai's mind, it reminded of a face.

Kai got too curious and grabbed the object to look closer.

'What is this? Decoration? No… It's too ugly for that. Then maybe it's some kind of memento? Or maybe one of those foreign worshipping objects? Why would someone bring this to school?'

As he touched the object, the sensation in his hands was very odd. It didn't feel like the thing looked it would feel. It felt colder. And maybe softer. It was almost like the thing was alive… Trying to adjust to the warmth of his hand.

“Ouch!"

Kai felt something piercing through the palm of his hand. He had the vivid impression the object spiked him.

'What the…?'

On the next second, he could swear he saw the object moving. He got so scared he trembled and the object fell from his hand on the floor, making an echoing loud noise which covered the whole room.

'Sh*t! Did the thing just bite me? And I let out a dumbass scream too…' Kai realized as he gazed at the object, now inanimate over the floor.

'All I was trying is being nice and getting this thing back to Aimee but if she hears her thing rolling on the floor, comes back to pick it and sees it was me who dropped it…'

Kai looked at his hand. It was covered in blood. It didn't hurt at all, it seemed one of those shallow wounds which bleed far more than they should.

'Dammit. I should go to the infirmary or something…'

Kai decided bending over to get the thing again before his thoughts turned reality. As soon as he did so, he noticed a shadow covering the sun which hit the floor from the window. It seemed to be from someone standing by the door.

'Uh oh… And she actually came to get it back.' It was the first thing he thought.

He looked at the door direction but he didn't see Aimee. Nor a human. Instead, he saw the shape of a big canine figure. It wasn't quite a dog. In fact, it seemed covered with spikes instead of fur. The face seemed frozen and devoid of emotion. The bizarre figure seemed to stare into Kai's soul.

'What the f…!?' he dropped the thing on the floor again. With the noise, the creature started running away.

“Hey! Wait!"

All Kai could think at the time was chasing the thing in order to make sure he wasn't hallucinating or anything.

The canine figure was very fast. As soon as he left the room, he couldn't see it anymore in the corridor. It had already vanished. But he could still follow the noise of its feet. It sounded like it was running up to the second floor, toward the lady's room.

“Wait up, you…" Kai would scream as he chased it down, even though he subconsciously knew screaming was useless.

As he got close to the bathroom door, he heard a high-pitched scream.

“That voice... Aimee?"

The bathroom was the type that had that door that closed automatically after the knob was released. It seemed to have been just closing after someone got in. He breathed in, grabbed the knob, and pulled it open again.

When he opened, all he saw Aimee, who seemingly had been thrown to the ground. At first glance, he could swear there was nothing else there. He thought about asking, but as he blinked, when his eyes opened, he saw the creature standing next to her, staring with that same frozen expression. Like it had been materialized there.

Kai let the door close back him. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but the thing looked dangerous.

“Aimee! Watch out! I'm going to grab it!"

“No! Go away! You don't know what you're dealing with!" She screamed back.

Kai's head was overtaken by doubts:

'What…? Go away? And leave you like that? What do you mean with don't know what I'm dealing with? And do 'you' know then? What the hell is going on here? What is this thing?'

The questions were numberless, but he didn't have time to think. All he could see was a regular unknown animal who had just pushed a girl and was trying to eat her or something. He grabbed the handle of a long mop that was leaning to the wall and began trying to scare the animal away.

“Take that, you little…" Kai threatened the thing swinging at it.

“Kai, no!" He heard Aimee's voice again.

The wild thing jumped at him at great speed. It was faster than he could have anticipated. It felt like a bad dream where an unknown animal jumps at the dreamer covering the whole screen and causing the dreamer to wake up.

The view getting covered with the spiky fur of that thing was the last thing Kai saw.