Kid and Jordan still stood there, like their remote controllers just run out of battery. Lila's words left an unusual sense of dread between them—Kid especially. Archbishop had his eyes set on him, and knowing him for just a few days, he knew that this was something he needed to take seriously. But he couldn't care. Not at this state he's in.
The outburst, too, was unexpected. They went on and on and on, and he suddebly got irritated and let it out, for some reason. He wasn't supposed to let out a shout like that. What he really wanted to do was to leave them alone and deal with their bullshit, while he explored the place. But, things happen. There was no going back now.
Jordan was equally quiet. This wasnt the first time he and Lila argued, and it possibly won't be the last. Those two had been at loggerheads with each other ever since they met. No matter the topic, scenery, even the state they're in, they would still find ways to argue over the smallest things.
Like an old married couple, if one would have the balls to say.
"We... should head back to our dorms," Jordan said quietly.
Kid looked at him with a face resembling that of acceptance, knowing this won't be the last time they'll both argue.
"Yeah. Let's go."
The walk to the dorms was quiet, too quiet, if a noisemaker were around. They already knew a hall monitor was scurrying around, but who would give a shit? It's not like he'd actually do his job, right? ... Right?
As they walked, though, Jordan's face had a thoughtful expression, still thinking about the earlier banter. If there were a debate right now, and Lila and him competed against each other, he knew they'd be there for hours...
He smirked. That wouldn't be so bad, innit?
Kid noticed the smirk. "Got something on your mind, huh?"
"Oh, no," he immediately replied. "It's just Lila. She just... she just gets on my nerves, sometimes."
"Why? Her arguments get the best of you, or what?," Kid asked with a chuckle. "Or is there something else you're weighing in your head—"
"Watch it, Kid," Jordan cut him off, "I never said I had a crush on her." He sighed deeply. "It's just that she doesn't understand us orphans."
"Isn't she an orphan, herself?"
"I told you she has the freaking Archbishop as her uncle, so no, she isn't," he replied with slight annoyance.
"Then why are you pissed? Clearly, there should be some reason as to why, though," Kid asked, sensing his inner frustration.
Jordan let out a deep sigh. "She doesn't see what we orphans go through. We never chose to come here. And she's there saying we should be grateful, we should be happy. That's bullshit. It makes me wanna punch her sometimes."
He turned to look at Kid, whose jaw dropped slightly, dumbfounded at what he said, although in his head, it sounded sensible.
"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You're pissed at her... because you want her to know what an orphan goes through? Are you hearing yourself right?!", he exclaimed.
"No, that's not it. I want her to feel everything an orphan goes through. No parents, no relations, nothing. Just... you... alone."
"Okay, I now realise it. You're crazy".
"Why, thank you," Jordan chuckled.
After some time, they reached the entrance of the school garden, where a figure hidden from view was quietly pruning hedges, cussing under his breath every two minutes. Its movements were quick and sloppy, betraying his frustration, and was practically fuming from the ears as he missed each strike.
Meanwhile, Jordan and Kid stood there, looking at it. The ginger hair made Jordan recognise the figure almost immediately. Then, an idea popped into his head.
"Hey, kid, watch this," he said quietly, picking up a stone.
"Hey, what are you—"
Before Kid could finish, Jordan threw the stone with insane precision, landing bullseye on the figure's head. It tensed, feeling the pain from the stone and slowly straightened up like a warlord ready for battle.
"What did you do?!," Kid hissed under his breath as they both hid behind a nicely pruned hedge.
"Shh... watch," Jordan shushed him, suddenly very excited.
The figure suddenly closed his eyes, mumbling something under his breath. Kid couldn't pinpoint exactly what he was saying, but it seemed it was talking about... Physics?
"Hmm. The stone flew at a speed I couldn't notice by ears alone. The air displaced by the stone was so thin, even my hair couldn't find the flow. I couldn't decipher where it would go next, as well. The pain was supposed to spread across my head. But instead, it felt like a red line of pain just passed through my head," he muttered to himself, his voice slowly growing irritated,
"There's only one person in this place with this kind of uncanny accuracy."
He looked around, his face scrunched up in irritation. "Jordan?! Where are you?!"
Behind the hedges, Kid's eyes widened almost comically. "How did he—"
Jordan tried his best to stifle a laugh. "Still got it, Bo," he revealed himself to a very grumpy Bo.
"Keeping the pruning up, I see? I thought they only punished you to scrub the bathrooms."
"First, piss off, Rip! And second, the Archbishop thought it'd be more 'profitable' and 'apologetic' if I helped the old gardener out! And to make matters even worse, I'm officially a laughing stock!," he ranted about, much to Jordan's inner amusement.
Then, he let out a sigh, face thoughtful. "All because I got laid. She was sexy under that stray dress, though."
"Heh. I could tell, looking from that face of yours. You couldn't keep your hands to yourself, huh?"
"Who can? In this monastery, we aren't even allowed to make any advances towards the girls! All because of this stupid rule about 'no relationships'. And to add on, these girls here are naïve and... and uneducated. Yet. But we... we boys need experienced women in our lives! Ones who know their way around, in and out! Those are the ones we need! This generation of girls, man, they don't even bat an eye on us! They only approach you if money's in your pockets! Absurd!"
"You're talking too much, Bo," Jordan commented as Kid got out of his hiding spot. Bo caught eye of it, and his eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"Who is this kid?" He looked at Jordan, seeking answers.
"He's called Kid," he answered.
"Kid?," Bo's eyes narrowed, the air of suspicion crawling by. "That's... very unusual."
"He's the Boy With No Name," Jordan corrected himself, and upon hearing that, Bo's face lit up as the suspicion melted away, the pain throbbing in his head momentarily forgotten.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?!," he boomed, walking over to Kid who was clearly intimidated by his huge figure. He was seeing the new felon in person, and he'd be damned if he thought he wasn't scared.
Bo then offered his hand to him, waiting for him to return it. Reluctantly, he shook his hand—the second time he returned the unusual gesture. First, to Jordan. Now, to him.
"Um... nice to meet you, Bo," Kid said quietly, looking down. He couldn't look up, couldn't even acknowledge him. Jordan noticed and laughed softly.
"Come on, Kid, he won't bite. And he's also a softie!"
Bo almost broke Kid's hand after hearing that. "I'm not a softie!," he shouted, "I am a hard, tough guy! You saw how I was brought in all bloodied!"
"Whoa, you really shouldn't be saying that," Jordan said, giving him a deadpan look. "And besides, the only reason why they took so long in catching you was that you were running like your flu test was revealed."
Bo's mouth clamped shut at that. Jordan's words hit close to home, because partially, he was right. He was batshit scared of them catching him like a wuss.
"So—so what if they did, huh?! At least I gave them a hard time!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Jordan sighed, turning to face Kid, whose hand was close to turning blue from Bo's grip alone. "Um... you can let go of his hand now."
As if lightning just struck him, he noticed his grip hurting Kid and quickly retracted his hand from him, apologizing silently. He wasn't one to apologize properly, thinking it would ruin his tough image.
"Ahem... anyways, Kid, you know you're famous here, right?"
"Wait, me?! Famous?!," Kid sputtered out in mild shock, the look of surprise masking his face. "I can't be that famous!"
"Well, hate to break it to you, you are. News tend to spread quickly when it comes to newcomers. And looking at your mysterious vibe, it's not gonna die down soon," Jordan explained.
"Yeah, the last thing that was famous was the broomstick that managed to find half its way into Dean Connelly's ass," Bo laughed heartily. "It took the nurses three hours just to remove it! And it broke along the way!"
Jordan and Kid couldn't hide their laughter. But Bo's next words shut them up instantly.
"Speaking of broomsticks, have you guys seen the gardener lately?"
Jordan's eyes widened slightly. Kid's head tilted in confusion.
"No... why?," he asked.
"Nothing much. He just told me he was gonna get a shovel for diggin'. He hasn't been back since," he answered, sighing.
Kid's eyes then widened. "He hasn't been back?!"
"Odd... how long has it been?," Jordan asked Bo, not liking where this was going.
"It's been... three hours ago," Bo replied. "That's the longest he's ever gone for a shovel."
The air suddenly went cold. All possible outcomes invaded their minds as they thought of the ways the gardener might've disappeared. Maybe he was embarking on a trip, maybe one of the Fathers sent him to clean their bungalows, they didn't know. That was what they feared the most. The unknown.
"How... how long does he normally take?," Kid asked Bo quietly, who had already realised the situation they were all in.
He gulped, a bead of sweat running down his face. "A minute... and a half," he dropped the bombshell.
The whole compound fell silent. Even the birds stopped chirping, as if they realised the air around them dropped below several degrees. They all stood there, the chilling realization kicking in.
"Um... would you think..."
"The gardener was kidnapped? Or worse? Way ahead of you, ginger boy," Jordan started to panic. Out of all the days in his life, fear gripped him like a lifeline.
They all stood there; helpless, panicking and on the verge of breaking down due to the sheer level of dread that threatened to consume them. They could practically feel their hearts running miles as they thought of what to do next.
"I don't like this...," Kid muttered.
"Yeah, no shit," Jordan muttered back, "This never happens in this monastery."
Then, suddenly, a voice rang in Kid's head.
"Follow the fly."
Wait... did I hear that right... His ears caught the voice like another soul was living inside him. But what he didn't know was... what fly should I follow?
Then, as if someone answered him, a fly flew past him, slow and deliberate, like it was urging him to follow it. Without thinking, his legs gave way, following it as if he was in a trance. His movements were not hidden from Jordan and Bo, whose earlier confusion only heightened at his choice to follow a simple housefly.
"What's he doing?," Bo muttered. Jordan shook his head, a silent 'I don't know' and contemplated for a moment before following him. Bo's eyes widened in terror.
"And just what do you think you're doing?! You're gonna follow him like that?! People are gonna think you're both retarded!"
"So I should leave him alone like that?! You're joking," Jordan retorted back. Bo sighed, a very heavy sigh as he started to think.
"I'm so gonna regret this," and he followed Jordan.
****
The fly weaved through the spacious hallway, Kid falling close behind. It was as if the fly had an answer to something he couldn't find, like it was akin to a god, because Kid couldn't manage to snap out of the trance he was in. And not to mention, the faces that'll look at him. So embarrassing!
The fly suddenly changed route and headed for the walkway to the old gazebo that was a haven for moss and ivy. The moment it was in view, and the fly flew away, snapping Kid out of his trance, his heart froze almost immediately. He was stuck there, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was almost ready to puke.
He took one step forward, then froze again. The sight was too much for him to bear. If he were to choose watching this artistic monstrosity or watching two people have sex, he'd rather get crushed by a meteorite.
"Kid, where are you?!," Jordan and Bo caught up to him, and upon seeing what Kid saw, they froze as well. They took shaky steps forward, unable to remove the sight from their memories. Standing next to him from both sides, they looked up, and let out a quiet but horrified:
"Fucking hell..."