Inside the Standart High School Main Building were the bustling hallways, with their sides containing doors to their respective classrooms. Multiple people around Quad Four conversed with one another, filling the hallways with loud chirps that softly override the announcements from the speaker.
Nate and his friends continued on their way to their homeroom class until they bumped into familiar acquaintances. A girl in a red jacket and blue jean shorts was seen arguing with a boy of considerable height who wore a black shirt with a white, rectangular middle.
They are Quad Four's classmates from homeroom, Aliana Augero and Brandin Fiborr.
Aliana was always considered the most energetic person by most people in school, but she is also a popular figure due to her consideration for everyone she meets. Nate thought of her as someone with strong emotional ties who could be a weapon of some sort.
She continued to dominate Brandin with her smug words. Brandin was one who was easily swayed by anything.
"I guess we found out which one of us got to school first. You're the one who's always late, Brandin. Just try to keep up with me," Aliana says as Brandin was fuming up in his emotions.
"Whatever, it's not like you're better than me in other stuff. Just wait, you'll see what I've got."
The two locked eyes with one another and left without uttering another word to each other. The crowd that was around Aliana and Brandin began to slowly dissipate as the thought of something happening between the two would not happen in real life.
Nate could only feel moments like just now are what keep this school together. Little events happening from time to time are what effectively create a sense of normalcy and calmness for the whole school.
Quad Four continued walking inside the hallways until they reached their homeroom classroom. The first class of the day for Nate and his friends is math.
Nate knew that math was usually a subject not favored by most people, but the fact that most people in class were ones he had known since freshman year.
He and his friend's teacher is Mr. Mouch. His stern-looking appearance is matched by a stern attitude. A short man, easily shorter than most people in his class. His dark brown hair appeared to only cover his head in a thin, single line. He wears a white suit with a blue tie, black dress pants, and shoes; this makes Mr. Mouch appear as a typical teacher, just like the others at Standart City. Most of Nate's classmates disliked him mainly because he often assigned a large amount of work for the class.
However, the plus side is that if you try to keep up with the curriculum itself, then those people won't have any problem with Mr. Mouch. Other than his crazy schedule with the classwork, the teacher is cool in Nate's opinion, unlike the opinions of the others in the class.
Nate sat down on his chair, which is situated between Cloey and Sam on both sides. Not that he minded with them being near each other, but the slightly worrying problem is the fact that Brandin is behind Nate, and Aliana is in front of him. Nate has to remain cautious for the rest of the year if he wants to avoid being caught between the two quarrels.
Cloey exhibited a concerned look at Nate before scooting her chair near him. Aliana further taunts Brandin in her seat before both of them exchange sour words with one another, much to the dismay of other students in the class.
"Brandin and Aliana seem more into this rivalry stuff than before, Nate. I hope they don't distract you."
Nate was appreciative of her words, "Yeah, but... let's see if things would calm down between the two of them."
More and more people come to class. Nate saw more of the students that he knew, with ones like Lucia Morgans, one of the cheerleaders, and Tom Stardom, the aspiring, self-proclaimed movie star of this generation.
Then there were people like Bobby Belarus, Kana Namuro, Katie Cobbs, Mosan Feff, and Charter Buss coming their way into the room. As the last person missing in class finally arrived, Mr. Mouch got up from his chair and made his way to the front of the class to give a message to everyone.
"I'm sure most of you are aware of the news about the green gases in the city this morning, but I must ask you all to keep down the chitter-chatter about this and use your time for the mathematical chapters we are going to cover," Mr. Mouch announces while eyeing heavily on Aliana and Brandin, who themselves are currently staring at each other with slight contempt.
"Turn to the page we covered yesterday and discuss the basics of that chapter with your neighbors. You all have five minutes."
Cloey shifted her chair near Nate.
"So... about last night with the green gas," she began.
"What about it?"
"I've been thinking a lot about this, but what if these things are really alien stuff like the other people are saying?"
Nate could only look confused by what Cloey said. She seemed to notice what he felt right now and added to her words.
"I know, I know, it's just some rumors, but these things keep happening each month. Like, is there something more than what we know right now?" Cloey said with a look of concern.
Nate tried to reassure her, "Maybe it's just a coincidence with these things. Who knows what's happening, but I don't think we have anything to be afraid of, at least for me that is..."
Nate then overheard some of his classmates whispering around the classroom, as if something sinister had overshadowed their day before coming to class. It was interesting to learn what they're thinking during this day.
Aspiring movie star, Tom Stardom, whispered to another classmate named Marlene Toberwell about someone having a motorcycle accident after getting hit by wires in the sky. Marlene was bewildered by such events happening and initially refused to believe the facts of Tom's story.
The other side of the room consists of more of them talking amongst themselves. Varedeth is also seen by herself with her trinkets, ones that she insists are "magical in nature," but most dismiss her claims as delusions from trauma.
A classmate named Tyraun Duve tried to urge his best friend, Jed Sampson, to back off from Kana Namuro, who is deeply unsettled by Jed's invasion of her personal space, leading to classmate Paula Griffin to intervene before anything else might happen. Policing student, Cristo Drudge, stands by the window to spot any potential threats to the class. Meanwhile, delinquent Dawson Bright chuckles at Bobby Belarus's clothes and at Marlo Chen for sleeping in class. A girl with long, brown hair and squared glasses, Layla Pess, is one of the few actually doing the work given by Mr. Mouch.
Then there were the other students, such as Katie Cobbs, Kylie Herb, Charter Buss, Mosan Feff, March Merryina, and more.
"Have you heard about that guy with a stack of those things with him? That dude's gonna get caught."
"If you're gonna talk about it, at least tell me who the heck it is..."
"Listen, the name of the guy is... um... what's his name again...?"
"Hold on. Did you really not know what you were talking about right now? Are you super forgetful or something?"
"No way, I'm not that forgetful, I just don't remember a lot... I think?"
"Sure, buddy, let's go with that."
Lots of talking around here.
Nate thought to himself. The repeated murmurs, however, are slightly below the sound of a whisper, enough not to catch the attention of the teacher. Nate instead focused on doing the work provided with Cloey instead of trying to listen to more of the conversations zipping around the room.
"Why is the green gas thing such a big deal? Like, it's not gonna kill anyone; they even said that on the TV," Lucia Morgans whispered.
"Or maybe..." said a voice beside Lucia, "...that we shouldn't dismiss concerns over the potential of a destructive event happening."
Lucia jumped at the sudden voice that blurted out and spun around. Mr. Mouch was directly right beside her within earshot, having heard about everything she had to say since class began. Nate wondered how on earth his teacher could walk around unnoticed by many.
"Miss Morgans, are you familiar with the history that Standart City has endured. A certain event effectively changes what has to come to Green Country?" Mr. Mouch aggressively asked Lucia.
Another classmate named Randall Evans snickered at the ordeal, "Oh god, here we go with this story again about the Green Catastrophe. Guys, wake me up after he's done, okay?"
"Oh, the past, the painful past. The Green Catastrophe was a cataclysmic event of green energy coming down from the sky. Some say it's from something out of this world, while others think it's from the Mountains of Siphence. Our city was one of the many locations that were affected by the Green Catastrophe..."
The teacher then turned to Lucia before continuing.
"...But many of us here in this classroom might have friends and family affected by this event, myself included, so it's important to know the past and its influence on the present. Lucia, I hope you understand."
Lucia could only look down at her feet before saying in a defeated tone, "Er, yes, sir..."
But what Mr. Mouch said was true. There was an event called the Green Catastrophe, which started seventy years ago, where mysterious things suddenly impacted various cities in Green Country. These events killed over a million people, and many more were injured by scattered debris flying everywhere.
Nate could only eerily shudder when hearing details about the Green Catastrophe, even though Standart City currently isn't too broken up by it.
After having to stay in the classroom for so long, Nate could finally let out a sigh of relief. The tense position of staying in the stuffy room for so long was probably enough to make him crazy. If his friends were not there in the room with him, boredom would overflow his mind and make him feel uninterested.
He also saw some of his friends feeling the same way; the way they are slumped down at the lunch tables, as if they had just finished physical education class in the morning. The outside was quite something to look at, and was even more of a comfort to be physically in.
"I'm so spent like it's not even funny," Sam said with a wheeze.
"Stop exaggerating, the classes are not that bad if you just pay attention," Manson said. It was always like him to be not amused with Sam's actions and attitude.
"You guys, look at the bright side," Cloey made her way into the conversation, "Lunch this time has my favorite dessert of the school, strawberry cream rolls."
Manson rolled his eyes, "Cloey, aren't you tired from class too?"
"Oh yeah... I guess I'm too tired to eat this cupcake then."
Cloey's expression was one of dejection as she had no idea what to do with the rolls now that she had learned she wasn't hungry. Sheila tapped on Cloey's shoulders and offered to make a suggestion:
"Um, Cloey, if you don't mind, may I have that roll? It was all empty in the lunchroom," Cloey asked with a soft tone.
Upon hearing what Sheila said, Cloey's face beamed like the sun rising on a cold, gloomy day.
"Of course, Sheila, you must be so hungry after waiting to ask me for my rolls. Here, take them. I'm fine with what I have still."
Cloey gave her only edible roll to Sheila, causing Sam to have a look of worrisome contortion on his face. Cloey is always someone who would offer up something of her own to give to others, and this is exactly what makes Sam anxious. Nate was also similar to Sam, but was understanding enough of her nature to let it go.
Manson then directly stepped forward to make an announcement.
"So guys, about the thing we need to do... Do you remember what it is?"
Quad Four could only shake their heads in not understanding what Manson was talking about.
In response to their lack of answers to him, Manson frowned.
"The assignments from biology class. We have to find something outside of school as a topic of discovery."
"Oh, gotcha, I was wondering what the homework was for biology. We'll try to find something in a forest and stuff," Sam said.
Nate is relieved by what was suggested just now, "Yeah, we totally should search for a topic for tomorrow."
"So what about Vivid Forest? That place is usually empty," Cloey asked.
"Vivid Forest? You sure that's a good place to find anything?" Manson worryingly said. Nate understands what he is saying, even though the place is near their neighborhood, the forest itself has only trees and common plants.
Sheila shook her head, "Guys, I don't know about this, I mean, there are other places we can try out."
"Yeah, that's true, but Vivid Forest is so near. It wouldn't hurt to at least try the place first," Sam said.
As soon as Sam spoke the last word, the bell suddenly rang out from the building. Students are shuffling away from the outside into the main building. Nate looked at the group, then at Sheila, who was staring at the ground with a worried look after Cloey mentioned Vivid Forest.
"Alright, guys, Vivid Forest for tomorrow! See you guys later," Sam said as he sprinted away into the main building.
"See you guys later!"
Cloey followed suit after Sam, leaving Nate, Manson, and Sheila at their spot.
Manson was the one who spoke first, "Aw, jeez, once they set their minds onto something, they'll go to Vivid Forest. I'm just gonna go after them just in case they get into some trouble."
He left to search for Cloey and Sam. Nate could only glance at Sheila before she went to her class.
"Goodbye, Nate, take care," She softly said to Nate.
Nate could only let out a mumble as she went away. He wondered if he would say a few more words, but he didn't have a reason to.
"Bye... Sheila..."
Returning home from school, Nate found himself exhausted from the duration of the day. But he felt more tired than he did yesterday. Nate took the time to appreciate the area surrounding him, not knowing what might change soon.
The sky itself was of a typical blue hue on an afternoon day, like the endless seas themselves look as though it's possible to swim through. The gentle breeze flowing by Nate's body gave him the cooling of the end of summer, into the beginning of autumn.
Nate had almost forgotten about the anniversary of the Green Catastrophe. For him, forgetting is part of the path to becoming more accustomed to the future, or is it something else needed for tomorrow to be another peaceful day?
Nate continued walking down the street until he saw a familiar red car. In the corner of his eye, Nate noticed something that caught his eye, something familiar near his house. Upon getting closer, a dark-blue vehicle was parked in front of the gray-tinted garage doors, and it belonged to his mother...