225 Old School (1/2)
Dain Hammerhand and his unit, The Steel Cloaks, arrived two nights later to relieve us of our post along the Trickster's side of the demilitarized zone.
I found it odd that Dawn's unit on the other side of the line had also been recalled the same as us. And it made me wonder if something big was also happening on the side of the Sunspire Dominion.
Now, while my unit made its way back to Hoodwink during the next four nights, I spent those same four days managing my class' big activity for the school festival.
”Sorry!” one of my female classmates yelled as she'd nearly bumped into Rufus who was walking with a stack of papers in his hands that might as well have been a pillar made of paper. ”I d-didn't see you there, vice-prez!”
”No problem, Julie,” he waved her concern away with a pearly white smile.
The very next second, Rufus dumped the pile of papers on my desk.
”Here,” he said.
”Here, what?” I asked in confusion.
”Safety permit, construction permit, school night activity permit, and a bunch of other permits you'll need to bring the wrestling match to life,” Rufus explained.
”Thanks,” I eyed the stack of papers with some unease. ”I think…”
Rufus crashed onto the seat next to mine and then sighed in such a heavy way that I felt kind of sorry for the guy.
”You okay, dude?” I asked. ”Because you look like shit…”
”Did the bags under my eyes give me away?” Rufus chuckled softly. ”Yeah… I'm just tired. I'm on too many committees at the moment… and I haven't really gotten much sleep…”
”Overworking yourself, huh?” I asked concerned.
I knew what it was like to overwork. Hell, I've been doing it every day since I arrived in the Fayne.
”I'll be fine…” he insisted. ”Once I'm able to sleep again…”
”Wait… you haven't been sleeping?” I asked.
No wonder he looked like a zombie. The handsome guy I've known since middle school never had sunken cheeks like the one he sported now.
Rufus hesitated, but seeing the sincerity in my eyes, he whispered, ”Y-yeah… been having nightmares…”
”What kind of nightmares?” I asked curiously.
”Kid's stuff really…” he replied with a sigh. ”Monsters from old fairy tales…”
My brow furrowed.
Nightmares, monsters, and fairy tales in the same sentence was not something I wanted to hear in daylight. However, before I could question him further, Julie, the Korean girl who'd avoided colliding with Rufus asked me to check the delivery details on the ring we were borrowing from her uncle's boxing gym.
”Sorry, man,” I said as I got up. ”We'll talk later, yeah?”
”Yeah, sure,” Rufus smiled wanly. ”Hey, Dean…”
I paused and glanced over my shoulder. ”Yeah?”
”I hear we're doing a royal rumble style match… that's cool!” Rufus sent me the thumbs up.
After school, Arah, Ty and I were making our way home when we were forced to stop near the entrance to the school for a crowd of students had gathered just inside the gate. And they were all noticeably uneasy.
”What's going on?” Ty asked the first kid we reached.
”There's a group of strange dudes hanging outside the gate,” a brown-haired boy with freckles on his nose replied. ”We think they're some kind of gang… they didn't listen when campus security asked them to go away…”
”Looks like they're waiting to gang up on someone,” the kid next to him added. ”Sh*t, wouldn't want to be whoever it is…”
I checked my watch. It was half-past five and the sun hadn't set yet. So whatever this is might not be at all related to me and my friends. I hoped.
”Let's go,” I said. ”We can't be here when the sun sets…”
The three of us pushed our way through the crowd, who, after finally noticing someone was brave enough to step out of the safety of the school and into whatever trouble lay beyond, parted for us like we were Moses and they were the Red Sea.