Cytronica

One

Thursday

"I hate coming here."

Priya tilted her head upwards, staring at the tall boy. "You what?"

"I said ..." Hunter paused, stretching his arms and yawning, "I hate coming here."

"Wow. Never thought I'd hear anyone say that." She made herself more comfortable on the table she sat on.

"Me either," he admitted. Hunter had medium-length brown hair which was neatly brushed back, and wore a loose, open shirt, his chosen attire for Cytronica.

Priya glanced at their surroundings. The common was lush, covered in green grass and thriving trees, some of which had an unknown variety of fruit hanging from their branches. She couldn't see any other students in the area aside from the three of them.

"He's right," Zack, the other student, said. He was the shortest of the trio, his eyes hidden behind large glasses. "I'm regretting this too. I thought it would be a little more ... I don't know."

"Lively," Hunter said for him. "This is a waste of my time."

Priya smirked inwardly. Hearing Hunter complain so early in the school year was, in a way, oddly satisfying. They'd only been administrators for one month, with another eight or so ahead of them. The pair weren't exactly close, but nor were they enemies with one another. They'd shared many classes throughout high school, a rarity in an institution of their size.

Initially, she was a little bothered to learn they'd be working alongside each other, his arrogance irritating at the best of times. But things hadn't been too bad so far, she thought.

Still, seeing his furrowed brow was always amusing.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "It is lively. See?"

He followed the direction of her finger and saw that she was pointing to a group of joggers nearby. Their faces were blank, completely expressionless, their movements seemingly synchronised.

Hunter wheeled again, glaring at the brown-skinned woman before him.

Priya offered him a crooked grin, which quickly faded as she realised that Hunter and Zack had a point. While she clearly had a higher level of tolerance than they did, spending every afternoon in the realm was, in a word, boring.

Zack lifted his gaze from the ground, staring upwards at the towering skyscrapers around them, which dwarfed the common. The high rises blocked the sunlight in the park for most of the day, leaving it in a constant state of shade. Somehow this spot had become their unofficial meeting place, being preferable to standing out on the bustling city streets of the central business district.

Hunter began pacing around the table, his body restless, the silence among the group growing more and more awkward with every passing minute. He strode across to an enormous rock and leaned against it, his mind registering a cool feeling on his back.

As soon as he made himself comfortable, a familiar pair of faces appeared on the trail before them. The two girls made their way over to the group.

"Hey," Jiaying said on behalf of them both.

Hunter offered a single nod, not bothering to verbally greet them.

"Wow," Beck said, noticing the immediate lack of morale. "Are we having fun?"

"Don't ask," Hunter groaned. He was aware that things had been getting progressively worse, but today he was in no mood for pleasantries.

He watched as Jiaying and Beck sat on the table alongside Priya. Truthfully, he was a little jealous of Jiaying in moments like this—she was able to spend time with her girlfriend as well as fulfil her administrative duties. It was a clever idea, he thought. And Beck didn't seem to mind spending time with the group, especially since she and Jiaying had started becoming close with Priya.