No One Left

If you look to your left, you will see a very thick bush and the same thing when you look to your right. Up front looks like an endless path screaming silently in the ears of those coming towards it.

'run! run'

The path is most creepy at night. When the insects and night agents are at full strength and the shadows up front forming into different creepy things that reminds you of those horror movies you've seen before.

The same can't be said for these two knights who have known the name this path bears and can walk about it at any time of the day.

They are coming from one of their knighthood adventures. Returning like proud warriors. Legends!. As they recount the tales and all that happened on this great adventure.

"I killed Dave but he keeps standing back up". One of the Knights lamented as they continue their journey back to their kingdom.

" I'm not even going to engage them in battle again" reported the other. "They never keep to rules" the knight concluded.

The journey back to the kingdom was a quiet one. Guess the Knights lost this time but due to the other party breaking the rules.

They soon arrive at their kingdom, let's call it home this time. But as they approached home, they began to slow down their pace. It is time to account for the days' adventure most likely by force. They know any mistake will sell them off so they decide to device an excuse. They whispered some indecipherable words to each other and started running as fast as they never had.

"Mase!"

Someone called as they approach an old building. They keep running as fast as they can but the person in the the building hasn't finished their rant.

"This is the time you are returning home". The person shouted in a questioning tone.

It is a she and that's Mase' mother. Mase ran straight into the old house as the other knight ran past it, to her own destination. I guess.

The inside of the house is surprisingly more beautiful than the outer side tends to show. The house seems to be well arranged. Television and some home appliances neatly arranged at a side, two single-seater chairs and one two-seater chair arranged at different angles of the room and some picture frames hung on different sides of the wall. One seems to have Mase in them with a man and woman that seems most likely to be his parents. It is the sitting room.

That voice calls from another part of the house again and Mase ran in the direction the voice came from. He opens a door and enters where he thinks he had heard the voice. It was the kitchen. Standing in the kitchen is a woman that looks most likely to be in her late thirties. She is tall, elegant and looking at her from behind, you will notice how endowed she is and certainly too beautiful for her age.

When she turned to face Mase, her beautiful eyes scanned his dirty clothes up to down.

"So tell me, who ask you to leave this house. I told you not to ever walk that road alone again but..."

"It was not just me" he interrupted "Jane was with me". He thought that would be enough but the lashings didn't stop.

"Even at that, you both are still kids and that path, I do hear, is becoming more dangerous these days. Do you want to be kidnapped or killed or something and make us worry?" She didn't wait for him to answer the question.

"I'm sure you didn't do your homework before you went to play. You are becoming more and more stubborn these days and you have to be disciplined. You must..."

Mase stopped listening to all his mother was saying as the aroma of what she's cooking blocks his ears. His stomach is growling and he's almost drooling from the aroma of the food alone. He is a foodie. Though he never gets fat but he eats everything and anything that comes across his path.

When he looked at his mother again, he noticed she was still talking and she didn't even realize the person she was talking to wasn't listening.

"I'm coming to see the principal of your school tomorrow" she said as she finally ceased to talk.

Mase was glad he heard that last part.

'If she is going to see Principal Godfrey tomorrow, then I need to start looking for excuses to make up for everything' Mase thought.

But he didn't realize he had missed the most important information when he was drooling on a meal. A great knight of Takumi kingdom will soon fall in the deep sea of... let's see!.

Mrs Henshaw, Mase's mother told him to go have his bath and change into new clothes. The clothes he was putting has become a mini rag. 'The battle of the knights is not a battle for the faint-hearted'.

Mase ran inside his room at the back end of the building so he can bath before the food gets ready. He can't afford to miss them hot. Mase's room is a small room, though big enough for little Mase. It has in it his bed, a study table that he probably have never used, then his wardrobe and different toys, mostly toy guns and paper swords all over. The room is a total mess.

Mase quickly took his bath and head out to get his food. He wish to devour the meal as fast as possible. When it comes to food, he is always in a rush.

He met his father when he got downstairs. He seems to just be returning from the day's work. He looks happy talking with his wife but had a slight change of emotion when Mase walked in.

"Welcome Dad" he greeted

"How are you my boy. How was school today, and I hope you are fine..." he bombarded him with series of questions without waiting for him to answer.

This is his usual way. He is known to be a disciplinarian and an intelligent man, some say that's because he had lived abroad for a long time.

Mase has a hunch that something fishy is behind those questions. Unfortunately he is right.

"Your mum told me she asked you to complete your homework before I return from work. Where is it, I want to see it now". Mr Henshaw demanded for his homework.

Sadly for Mase he has not done it but he began to wonder when his mother told him to do his homework before his father returns. Then he remembered when he had stopped listening to his mother ranting and shouting and only concentrated on the aroma of the food.

'That must be when she told me' he thought.

His mother had told him to do his assignment but he was not listening. That day became worse for Mase. A true knight was beaten.

In the next house, just behind the Henshaws house, a sound of crying was heard as a child seems to be receiving some sort of punishment. It is Jane.

She too had faced her own problems when she returned home and now in this situation. Another knight on her knees. Our true Knights have been defeated but this time no foul-play involved and they can't complain on this field.

Mase could not eat that night. I guess for the first time in his life.

Mase quickly got out of bed that morning hoping to prepare for school before his parents wake up. He quickly prepared and ate the food he left the previous night. He met up with Jane who also seem to be waiting for him. She seems not to have closed a eye the night before.

They soon got to the bus stop where their school was meant to pick them up. The school bus was not there yet that morning as they have arrived earlier than the usual time. They decided to sit on a bench close by and wait for the bus.

While waiting they told each other what happened after they got home the previous night. Each recounting how they got beaten with pitiful faces as if hoping for the other to start an #justiceforMase/Jane.

The horn of the school bus snapped them both out of it. Jane whispered to Mase as they were about to enter the bus but it was still loud enough to be heard.

"My mum said she's coming to see the Principal today"

"Same here" Mase answered as they got inside the bus.

The Leaders Foundation Elementary School or LFS in short is one of two elementary schools in the whole of the Old Town district. That being one reason why the school has a very large number of students. The second being the location of the school.

Old Town is the remotest area in all of Silverland. It has bushes surrounding it. It is literally a forest. The district has a lot of old and ancient buildings contrary to the gigantic buildings in other districts thus making it hard for influential people to reside in the district.

LFS is located close to the borderline of Old Town and a neighboring district higher in class compared to Old Town. The founder must have wanted both the children of the lower-class citizens and the apparent middle-class citizens to attend his school. The location thus making this easier.

The school is a very big one and has huge and large classrooms to accommodate its sheer number of students. The classrooms are built to accommodate over 100 students if not more than. Mase is currently in one of those classrooms.

There are over 50 students present in the class with the homeroom teacher taking their attendance. Ms Erin being the homeroom teacher.

Students spend 5 years in the elementary level then go on to spend another 5 years in the upper classes where they are either employed by high class citizens or employed by schools or just work as ordinary servants or errand men based on how skilled they are.

Mase and Jane are both in Elementary 4, Ms Erin's class. She has finished taking the attendance of the students and was about to start the lesson for that day.

"You gave us an homework yesterday Ms Erin" A student on the front row shouted.

When Ms Erin had faced the board to write the topic for the day's lesson, Mase thought he had escaped and felt a huge load lifted off him because she not asking for the homework before the start of the lesson means she won't collect it that day or she just forgot. Mase really hope for the former.

"Ohhh!" Ms Erin exclaimed "I almost forgot that. Now bring your homework to the front according to your registration number."

Mase could hear his heart beating so loud as if it was about to pop out of his chest. He was cursing heavily in his heart at the boy who reminded the teacher about the homework.

He was jolted back to life when Ms Erin suddenly called his name.

"Mason Henshaw bring your homework forward"

When Mason looked at the front of the class, he could see Jane already standing there. Her name starts from the letter 'J' so she had to submit hers first.

'She seems to have accepted her fate' Mase thought as he looked at his friend.

He was asked to join Jane who was standing at one side of the classroom when he could not provide his homework. They are to wait for everyone to finish submitting theirs before they are all marched to the Principal's office.

When the last person submitted, the only ones remaining at the front were Mase and Jane.

Ms Erin soon marched them to the office of the Principal and they were suspended for the rest of the week. They will come to school but won't be allowed to attend lessons. They will work on the school farm.

It was a Tuesday so they have 3 days left to work. They will be allowed lunch time as usual and will only work on the farm when others are in class. One of the senior students in Elementary 5 was called to show them the portion of farm that they will work on.

They worked a little but played most and soon it was lunch time. Mase for some reason didn't follow Jane to the cafeteria and even seems to be avoiding her when he saw her in the cafeteria. He sat quite a distance away from her.

Soon some people join his table but from the way they sat and looked at Mase, it was obvious they are not there to just eat. Mase seems to have noticed them too.

'This is what I've been avoiding. Why are they here again'

"Hey punk!" One of the boys called quite silently but people close enough could still hear.

They seem to be awry of them too.

"I've been doing what you said" Mase said without lifting his head.

"Why did you allow yourself to be placed on the same farm with her" another one of the boys with a voice thicker than his age said.

"We don't want you to interact with her in any way. If we see you talking to her, then you will face harsher things than you did before."

When the boy said this, Mase remembered what they had done to him previously, and he began to shake from fright.

"I'll do anything you say" he replied shakily. The boy smiled.

When he raised his head, he saw that the Elementary 5 student who had showed them the portion was with them. He wondered if he did that intentionally.

He quickly gobble down his meal and returned to the farm even before the end of lunch time. Time passed quickly as it was soon the end of the day.

For some reason, neither of their parents showed up in school as they had expected that day, or maybe they did and they were not just summoned. Either way, they hope they didn't come so it won't pile up their misery.

Jane noticed the strange behavior of Mase but whenever she try to ask him about it, he quickly run over to another side of the farm, avoiding her.

When the school closed and they found their way to their bus even though Mase was already seated on the bus she got to the park. Mase made sure he sat where there won't be room for a friend. They soon got to their community and got off the bus.

"You seem to be avoiding me".Jane implored Mase as they made their way home. Looking as exhausted as ever.

"I was just trying to consolidate my focus on the work we were given. You know if I had responded then, we would just be playing around and end up doing nothing" Mase lied.

Jane sensed that something was off but she decided to let it slide for now. Mase is someone that won't resist the chance to play or something. He is a free bird. What more do you expect from a 10-year-old.

"You should have told me"Jane replied and they walked home. Silently.

Mase was curious as to why his mother didn't show up at his school today. He knew she put on a serious expression when she said so the previous day.

'She was not just trying to scare me. Was she?'

In earnest, she was not issuing an empty threat when she said she would see his Principal but some things had come up that day so she could not go.

To be safe, Mase asked if she will still visit his school, and she said no. Much didn't happen for the rest of the week. Mase went to school though he does not attend classes. He became a triangular student. Do you know what a triangular student is?. Come on you don't. You know a triangle right?.

The way a triangle has just three points. Perfect. Let me tell you few things about triangular students.

He is that student in your school that goes from class to the lunchroom and back home. Those kinds of students are 'jackers'. Yes jackers. And you know what they jack?. I don't need to tell you everything.

So these students always come first in class and receive every available price on the prize-giving day. So that is a triangular student for you. I have to tell you Mase is not that triangular student I just portrayed up there.

Mass is not jacking anything. He is not planning to come first in class or receive all the awards on the prize-giving day. No Mase is becoming a different breed of triangular student. He's making a new record in the field of triangulation.

'Behold the great Mason Pythagoras'

"Shut your filthy mouth" a senior screamed.

Mase had subconsciously declared his sovereignty. Over what?. I do not know. Well. Mason had become a triangular student. He goes from home to the school farm where he keeps serving his punishment and from there to the cafeteria and back home. The farm being the Point O of his isosceles triangle. Hope you remember what an isosceles triangle is and you remember the point O. Good.

The Elementary 5 students still confront him at the lunch room-cafeteria, dining hall, whatever- and they still collect out of his insufficient lunch, and they still warn him not to go near Jane because they are his senior and because he is a loser and because his parents are poor so he doesn't deserve a girl like her and because if he do go close to her, they will make sure he regrets it and a thousand other because and because.

He has to endure the anxiety of listening to these 'becauses' every day at lunch and still tried to ensure that Jane remains oblivious of all the threats he is receiving because it is another because.

You know things can never be concealed in school. Someone will always tell someone who in turn will tell someone that will tell someone till everyone hears it. That is the legendary art of gossip. You know why it is legendary?. Relax.

There was a time in LFS when this Elementary 3 student took his friend to his house. Mase was still an Elementary 1 student then.

So this boy took his friend home the way best friends do. I go to your house and you come to mine. When I'm stuck outside on a rainy day, I can run into your house as if I've always lived there, I can enter your kitchen and sit in your dining like I own the house. That's the way best friends do right?

The Elementary 3 student felt he could not break the unwritten rules of bestfriendship hence took his best friend to his house.

I was not there and Mase too wasn't but someone told Mase and Mase, in turn, told me. So according to what the someone who told Mase said, one thing led to another and the boy's best friend learnt that his best friend does bed wet.

I didn't tell you one unwritten rule of best friendship;

'Best friends always gat each other's back!' as Mase would say to Jane looking dead serious. So the boy trying not to break that rule kept a straight face and did as if he noticed nothing. He can just push it to that thick darkness at the back of his mind. That place you shoved your ex-lover into when she broke your heart and you just moved on. So this the boy moved on.

But you know it is human nature to want to reveal one thing that you already know to another person. That feeling you have when your parent tells you that they'll buy you a bicycle but then ask you not to tell anyone.

You know how it is then that your tongue will be willing to share it to the whole wide world and you know something about nature, it always wins out.

So this boy probably told someone in his class and probably tells him too not to tell anyone but human nature wins out here as well and he told someone else as well and mother nature keeps her winning streak going and before you know it, it has spread to the ears of everyone, senior, mate and even to the likes of Mase in Elementary 1.

It's pathetic though because the boy was later nicknamed PeeLord. And the name spread just as fast. One thing about rumors or gossip is that its credibility is never confirmed before it is shared.

So the almighty Peelord through this event of nicknaming and face slapping became traumatized and in the long run, his parents discovered the reason for his unusual behavior at home and so decide to set things right in school. It was Peelord's mother who came that day. She said it was all a misunderstanding that her son Seth, who we all know as Peelord does not bed wet and he had had dinner on his dinner the previous night and had mistakenly pour water on his bed so when his friend sat on a wet bad, he thought it was pee.

Someone told Mase that too and he didn't know if it was a lie or not but the name Peelord lived till this day in LFS, etched in the minds of those present during the time of that legend.

So it was this way that the threats Mase received from the seniors got to the ears of other students and it obviously found its way to the ears of Jane. God knows how.

The rumor spread on Friday so the next day was Saturday and there won't be school. Mase ran to the bus as usual and Jane decides to wait till the following day to make her inquiry.