Invasion

Chapter 1: Back To School

The holidays had ended. School had started. This was, to me, the worst day of the year. After whiling away my time playing video games and watching the latest movies, my body, having switched to Lazy Mode, was not used to the school environment that sneaked upon me overnight. I gave a loud moan as my ears caught the sound of the dreaded alarm beep. As I got up, I was constantly tempted to smash my alarm clock like they sometimes did in movies (after all, no one would ever notice) but I thought better of it. I walked - but it was more like dragging my feet as though they weighed a ton - along the sidewalk, using my powerful legs on any stone that thought that being separate from the sidewalk was a good idea. There is really nothing much to look forward to at school. I mean, why would one want to see his friends in school when he can simply walk to the friend's house during the hols? Then the answer came to me: Kate, my best friend, never failed to fly to Scotland every holiday to visit her great-great-grandmother. The only time I saw her was during school hours. As I walked closer towards the school, I could already see her sitting on the stairs reading her favourite book for the umpteenth time. I've always asked her why she liked the book so much and have always been given the same answer, "that it was a good book" and nothing more. Kate noticed me and waved. I waved back and sat down beside her. "So, when do you intend to put that book down?" I asked. "The exact moment when the school bell rings," she replied grinning from ear to ear. I raised one eyebrow. I have always been proud of the fact that I am the only one in my family who could raise a single eyebrow and never hesitated to use this skill whenever I could. I high-fived Bryce as he walked by. "Hey, nice haircut," I commented. "Thanks. Could have been better, though. I just wasn't able to explain what I wanted to the barber," Bryce explained. Bryce's real name is actually Thomas Bryce; but against his fathers wishes, he persuaded everyone to call him by his last name. "It looks perfect! I can't imagine it being any better," said Kate. Brian blushed lightly. "Thanks," he said and looked at his watch. "School's gonna start soon," he said getting up. "Coming?" I asked Kate, getting up too. "I want to finish this book first!" she winked. I laughed. "Fine, I'm staying here. Er...see you in class, Bryce," I replied and turned to Brian. Brian made the heart-shape with his hands teasingly and snickered to himself as he ran towards the class. Just then the school bell rang. I turned my head to Kate just as she slapped the book shut and allowed it to drop on her lap. She had kept to her word! I burst into a loud belly laugh which caught the attention of many. I flushed as I gazed at everyone in embarrassment, then I returned my gaze to Kate. Considering the fact that she had much better control of her emotions unlike me, I was not surprised to see that she only gave a silent giggle at my spontaneous reaction. She grabbed onto the railing and stood up. As we walked into the school building, she nudged me on the arm. "How was that funny?" she asked. "At that moment, I happened to find it funny. It doesn't really tickle me now," I replied. "It's a shame we aren't in the same class," Kate ended as we waved goodbye.

Class was not what I expected: My class had a replacement teacher because our old one was down with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The new teacher appeared to be in his late twenties. He wore a pair of black square spectacles and his hair was gelled. He was actually very nice and became an instant favourite the moment he said 'good morning, class'. At lunch, he let the class off ten minutes early unlike our other teacher much to our delight. As I made my way to the lunchroom, I noticed Derrick standing at the lunchroom door, almost showing off the scar on his cheek.

The truth was actually nothing to be proud of. Two years ago, Derrick accidently lighted a can on gasoline (no one knows how on earth he could have done it "accidently") the result was "too terrible to speak of" (Actually, he was probably just too embarrassed to describe it in detail.)
but it left him with a permanent scar on his right cheek.

Derrick Parker is the worst kid on the planet. An eighth-grader who failed at his level and had to join us sixth-graders, he swore he would make our lives a misery if anyone of us made fun his scar. Unfortunately, last year a new kid named Jimmy Hilton, who didn't know of this, couldn't stop laughing after saying that Derrick's face was like a dried pickle. Derrick happened to be there when Jimmy laughed and flew off the handle the next minute. Jimmy got it really badly and broke his finger in the 'assault'. Derrick got four hours of detention that day, but it didn't seemed to matter to him. "Detention? How bad can it get? At least baby Jimmy's isn't gonna be laughing at me again," he told us.

"Out early?" he asked with his arms folded. "Yeah..." I replied, suspicious of his unusual friendliness. "Well, you're still not goin' in. Me and my buddies will first," he declared. I was about to point out that it was 'my buddies and I' but I held my tongue for fear that he might thump me. "Oh c'mon, Derrick. Did I do anything to deserve that?" "No," Derrick admitted. "Maybe I could let you in after all." I couldn't believe my ears. "Really?" "Yeah, sure! Why not?" he replied with a smile, though it wasn't exactly friendly. I was just about to enter when I found myself falling. Derrick had tripped me. "Whoops!" he snickered. I got up and rubbed my sore bum. By now, everyone was walking down the hallway including Derrick's 'buddies'. Derrick's buddies were, Ethan, Julian, and Dan. They joined his side most likely because they wanted to escape his unjust 'rule'. What they should have considered as well was what they would probably turn out to be living under his bad influence."Hey, man!" Ethan said. "What's up with him?" Dan asked nodding to me. Derrick told them, and all four laughed. Derrick smirked as he and his buddies entered the lunchroom. I went in after them scowling to myself.