RasericGames

Chapter 5(Edits need to be made)

The judges were all discussing amongst themselves at their table while everyone was waiting for the next match to be announced.
"Where did Chase run off too?" Katherine asked.
"Probably to finish watching his show. He's got a bit of an obsession for cartoons." Max chuckled.
"Oh, almost everyone is here." Chrissie walked through a crowd of people and stood in the group with Max, Lucas, and Katherine. "Hello."
"Hiya." Max waved back.
"What did I miss?" she asked.
"Chase won his match. I don't know who the others were." Lucas shrugged.
"Medina and Kaleb. Those names ring a bell?" Max asked.
Chrissie crossed her arms and looked up with her eyes closed, deep in thought. "Is Kaleb a kind've nerdy looking kid?" she asked.
"Very." Katherine nodded.
"Oh! I think he works with me at the electronics store." she opened her eyes after remembering. "I haven't been working there for long, but I know that Kaleb is one of the other employee's names."
"Where'd he go anyway?" Max looked around for Kaleb only to see his father giving himself the Heimlich and promptly ignored him.
"Found him." Lucas pointed out the kid sitting on a bench, holding his phone in the air to get better service.
Chrissie squinted her eyes to better see Kaleb. "Yeah. That's him. How'd he do?"
"Well…" Max started to explain.

"Would Kaleb and Medina step up to the platform?" Mr. Brown folded the newspaper he was reading and adjusted his glasses so he could see better.
Kaleb hopped out of the bench he was sitting on and started to walk up onto the stage, cell phone still in hand.
Medina was the first to get to the stage. Her jacket was tied around her waist. She wore a cream colored tank-top as she kept holding herself from being nervous.
"Both sides ready? The winner of this round will go against number four, Chase Cole." the skinny judge announced.
Medina nodded quietly, then faced Kaleb.
Kaleb gave a thumbs up. "Gotcha."
"This round is 10 minutes long. Same rules apply as before." the female judge announced as she started a timer. "Start."
Kaleb crossed his arms. "I insist, you go first." he gestured.
"N-no. I saw what you did last round. You used the other person's Crystal to your advantage." Medina shook her head. "That's bad."
"Nah. It's just like hacking into a computer." Kaleb cracked his fingers.
"So you steal a person's crystal?" Medina started to let out a light mist of crystal dust along the stage.
"Well, there are limits to what I can control. Like anything bigger than a house is too big, but something smaller than a pebble won't work." Kaleb flicked various specks of scarlet Crystal into the ground, but nothing happened. "See?"
"So if I keep it like this? You can't do anything?" Medina asked while she made two towers of silver dust spiral around each other.
"Hmm. Good question." Kaleb flicked three Crystal shards into the spiral. They fluttered in the spiral, doing nothing.
"Doesn't seem like it." Medina concentrated on keeping the continuous movement of the tower.
"Crystal Armament: Hacking." Kaleb snapped his fingers and parts of the spiral froze and fell to the ground in scarlet chunks. Kaleb crossed his arms. "Yeah. Your Crystal is too small for me to take it over." He turned to the judges. "I give up." he waved to them.
Medina looked confused. "Why would you just give up like that?"
"Well, I'm just looking at it strategically. There's no way for me to win in style against you if I can't take over your Crystal." Kaleb hopped off the stage and pulled out his cell phone and started texting away. "You need the right equipment to fight a boss."
"Well, that was anti-climactic." the skinny judge scratched the top of his head.
"And I noticed Number 4, Chase, left after his match; Medina wins the elegance round by default." Mr. Brown clapped his hands.
Everyone followed Mr. Brown's clap and applauded Medina.
Medina's face turned a flush red. She hid her face in her hands from embarrassment as she walked off the stage.
"Medina, if you would come to the judge's desk for your reward before the end of the competition, it would be appreciated." The female judge spoke calmly. "But there will be a short break before we start the strategic round. Everyone who is competing in this round get ready. We will explain the rules during the first match."

"Anyone here in the next round?" Max asked, looking at Lucas and Katherine's numbers.
"Nope. I'm red." Lucas held up his red number 3 paper.
"Same." Katherine held up a red paper with the number 4 on it.
"I'm in the strategic round, but I don't know if I'll do well." Chrissie held up a green paper with the number 4 on it.
"C'mon. You're crazy smart. You'll do fine." Max assured.
Saidu walked into the park carrying Chase over his shoulder. Chase was flailing rapidly while shouting.
"Saidu! Be a good person! Let me see how they finish the episode!"  Chase grabbed the park bench tightly in hopes to stop Saidu.
"You're the one who told me to drag you away from that TV store, man." Saidu pried Chase off of the bench.
"And you are such a great friend for doing that! I would've missed my match if you didn't bring me here in time--"
"You didn't get here fast enough, you lost by technicality." Lucas interrupted Chase's rant.
"Eh?" Chase looked at Max. "Say it ain't so."
"It's not so." Max smiled widely.
"Really?" Chase gave a sigh of relief.
"No. It's true. Kaleb forfeited and you weren't here, so the girl won." Max laughed.
Chase fell to pieces as his body went limp on Saidu's shoulder. "All that money." he grieved. "Gone!" he sobbed. "I could've bought so many collector's items! Goodbye cardboard cutout of a sexy maid!" he became very quiet.
"Will he be alright?" Katherine asked.
"Chase." Max tugged on his pants.
"Yes?" Chase still remained motionless as he head was hidden behind Saidu.
"You finished?"
"Yep." Chase perked back up as Saidu set him down. "You win some you lose some."
"Sexy maid?" Lucas asked with his interest peaked.
"Yeah man. It's this cardboard cutout of this hot maid from one of my shows. She has all of the right sizes where it counts and she has red hair just like--"
"Chrissie?" Max interrupted and pointed to Chrissie.
"Yeah! Just like Red! That's the reason I wanted to get it in the first place." Awkward silence fell between the group as Chase made eye contact with Chrissie.
Chase's face was frozen in a nervous smile. "Crystal Armament: Snare." he formed a drum between his hands bashed his face into the orange and red drum. Chase sat down on the ground with his face hidden in extreme embarrassment.
"Embarrassed, Chase?" Max laughed loudly at Chase's reaction.
"What happened? I was spacing out." Chrissie shook her head.
Max's laughter weakened from lack of oxygen. "That's hilarious!" he placed his hands on his knees.
"I want to die right now." Chase muffled in the drum.

A man was standing on a tall building several blocks yards away. He had a pair of binoculars held against his eyes while speaking into a headset. He wore a solid black fedora and a black cloak. He held two fingers against his headset to turn it on.
"Sir, it's even worse than you thought. We'll have to take even more drastic measures." he zoomed in on the random bystanders at the park and watched as they used their Crystal. "I'll report back once I have a definite number of how many I have seen." he took his fingers off the headset and resumed observing the stage as Steven, Chrissie, and two others attending the strategic match.

"Because there are only four of you in the strategy round, we decided to put you all in the same round." The female judge explained.
"The challenge for this is…" The skinny judge said as if listening to a drum roll. "Learn everyone else's name." he finally said. "You can use whichever means necessary. The first person to find out three names is the winner. If you guess wrong three times, you're out. Everyone understands the rules as I explained them?" he looked at everyone standing on the stage.
"What if we already know someone else's name?" Chrissie turned to Steven.
"Then I guess you have a one point advantage." Mr. Brown smiled.
"Start. There is no time limit." The female judge waved her hand.

Everyone on the stage looked at each other with question.
Steven observed the two people across from him and Chrissie.
"Well. I can assume you two know each other." The one boy crossed his arms. He wore a number 3 sticker on his chest. "But that doesn't change anything." his hair was short, matted, and brown. He wore a rather bulky brown hooded jacket.
"Uggh. Why couldn't this be something more arithmetic like?" the other boy adjusted his heavy glasses. He had the number two on his shoulder.
Chrissie cupped her hands around her mouth. A neon orange glow seeped through her fingers. She opened up her hands and a small orange cube rested in her palms. She gave it an underhand toss to Max.

Max caught the Crystal and looked at Chrissie with a raised eyebrow.
Chrissie tugged on her earlobe discreetly then walked towards the center of the stage.
"What's that?" Lucas looked at the bright orange Crystal Chrissie produced.
Max held the Crystal up to his ear for a few seconds. He chuckled lightly. "Hold on, I need to go talk to people." Max walked away from everyone.
"Oh. Alright?" Lucas wondered.
"Hey, man. It's not nice to keep secrets, Y'know?" Saidu wagged his finger.
"Don't worry. I'll explain it in a second." Max assured.

"Would you guys tell me your name?" Chrissie asked innocently.
"You already know my name is Albert." Steven said with a straight face. "And yours is Rachel."
"Ha! Idiot! You shouldn't of told us your names!" the boy with glasses snorted. "So your names are Albert and Rachel!"
"And my name is Bert." the other boy waved.
"And his name is Bert! That means I win!" he laughed nasally.
"Number 2, you guessed wrong too many times. You're out." Mr. Brown flipped open his newspaper again. "But you other three can still guess his name though."
"What!?" Number 2 stomped off the stage. "But they told me their names!"
"We obviously lied." Number 3 snickered.
"If you're going to guess, guess with a more accurate method." Steven touched his fingers to his forehead. "Crystal Armament: Rewatch." a halo of various shades of blue Crystal formed around Steven's head.
"You have the same type of Crystal style as me." Number three touched his fingers to his head. "Crystal Armament: Rewind." The same halo formed around number three. His Crystal was a dark and dull red.
Chrissie looked at the both of them. "What are you guys doing?"
"Tracing all memory I have to see if I've seen him before." Steven kept his face hidden in the halo.
"As am I." Number three looked around inside his halo.
Silence stayed on the stage as Steven and the other boy continued to review their own memories for the other's names.
Chrissie looked outside the stage. "Where'd Max go?" she asked herself.
"Hey!" Max called out, he had his arm pulled back as if he were ready to throw something.
Chrissie turned to Max to get hit in the forehead with the small orange cube that she'd lobbed to him.
"Sorry!" Max apologized with a slight smile. "I didn't mean to hit you!"
"It's alright. Thanks." Chrissie held the orange cube up to her ear. "You know Steven. The guy he's going up against is Vincent. Then you know your own name, so that makes three." Max's voice spoke from the Crystal.
"He's Vincent, He's Steven, and I'm Chrissie." Chrissie said to the judges calmly.
"W-what?" Vincent's Crystal shattered.
"Wow. Chrissie, Number 4 wins." Mr. Brown adjusted his glasses. "That was smart. Using Max to gather figure out the other boys names while you simply waited. That's a handy Crystal to have in that situation." he thought to himself.
"I'm a little lost on how she guessed it correctly right away." The female judge scratched her head.
"Her Crystal records her voice." The skinny judge explained.
"Still, that was faster than I thought. This Crystal tournament is flying by. We should organize these more often. It really inspires the kids to control their Crystal more." The female judge talked to the others.
"Wait a second! She only guessed two names! She never got the dork's name!" Vincent pointed to the boy with the glasses.
Steven sighed. "She guessed three." Steven dispersed his Crystal and massaged his temples. "Her own name counts."
"What? They never told us that!" Vincent complained.
"They never told us it was against the rules either." Steven shrugged. "Good job, Chrissie."
"I really won?" A smile stretched across her face. "Yippee! I can take the week off of work!" she walked off the stage and towards the judges.
"Congratulation Chrissie." Mr. Brown handed Chrissie a check for a hundred dollars.
"Well, I can take a few days off, at least." she chuckled to herself. She thanked the judges and returned back to her circle of friends.

"Good job, Chrissie." Lucas nodded his head.
"Did the Crystal pick up my voice well enough?" Max asked. "I couldn't tell which end I needed to speak in."
"Yeah, what was that orange Crystal, man?" Saidu asked.
"Oh. I can use my Crystal as like a recorder. It can record things and play it back." Chrissie explained.
"Have you ever tried to use it in a more effective way?" Steven joined the group.
"Effective? Huh?" Chrissie asked.
"If you can make more than one, you could use it like a cell phone." Steven suggested.
"Oh! I never thought of that!" She held her hands together. "What would I name it though?"
"Oh yeah. Everything needs a name when you practice it, man. That way you get a better image in your head, man." Saidu nodded. "I use mine on my body so much, I forgot, man."
"Crystal Armament: Communicate?" Chase spoke up.
"Hmm. That could work." Chrissie tried to picture it in her mind. "Can I test it on someone? I know that sounds weird."
"No way. Those stories of Crystal going horribly wrong? What if that happens to me?" Steven took a slight step back.
"I was just gonna hold your hand to see if I can create a--" Chrissie started to mimic without bringing her Crystal out.
"I happily volunteer!" Chase held out his hand toward Chrissie.
"Really?" Chrissie tilted her head. "You don't mind?"
"Not at all!" Chase held his hand with Chrissie's. "Her hands are nice and soft." he thought to himself.
Chrissie closed her eyes to concentrate as she squeezed Chase's hand slightly. "Crystal Armament: Communicate."
A bright orange glow emitted between Chrissie and Chase's hands. Both of their hands Crystallized over in a neon orange Crystal.
"Wahh! I'm so sorry!" Chase heard Chrissie's voice.
"Nah, don't sweat it. It doesn't hurt." he said out loud.
"Who were you talking to?" Max asked.
"Chrissie." Chase pointed with his noncrystalized hand.
"I didn't say anything… Out loud." she clarified. "Oh!" she looked at Chase. "Telepathy." she said mentally.
"Oh. So that's how this works. So technically, we're all alone?" Chase thought to Chrissie.
"I'm sorry, but you're not my type." she smiled on the outside, but she said bluntly on the inside.
Chase lowered his head. "Shot down." he said out loud. He fell to his knees.
Chrissie made her Crystal disperse.
"Shot down?" Max looked at Chase. "Oh." he patted Chase on the back. "It's alright."
"I guess I need to practice a lot more." Chrissie clapped the Crystal dust off her hands, exhausted from the Crystal she used.

Chapter 4(Edits need to be made)

Max was in his house the next morning before school. He was sprawled out on his bed in an impossible position. His snoring kept him sound asleep throughout the night.
"Max. You're going to be late for school if you don't get up soon." Max's mom said from the hallway.
Max responded with a loud yawn followed by groans of relief made by his stretching. "What time is it?" he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Two minutes before school starts." Max's dad burst into the room with a granola bar in his hand. "Quick! You'll have to eat this and go!"
"Two minutes!?" Max quickly sprung out of bed and snatched his uniform out of his closet, putting it on in a hurry. "Why doesn't anyone wake me up sooner!?" Max sprinted out of his room with his book bag and grabbing the breakfast bar out of his father's hand. He slid down the rail of the stairway and darted out the door, making a sprint to school.
"Dear. You really should stop teasing with your son like that." Max's mom sighed as she watched Max sprint down the street. "He has at least thirty minutes until the first bell rings."
"Well. It got him out of bed, didn't it?" Max's dad laughed. "A boy his age needs to have more energy."

Max was sitting in his first classroom. The rush of being late had worn off and now he was more tired than before. He had the weight of his head balancing on his hand.
"Rough night?" Katherine asked.
"Great night. Rough morning." Max's face slipped out of his hand and he smacked into the desk. He sat back up tiredly.
"It's almost time for the bell to ring. The teacher isn't here again." Chrissie made note of.
"I'm here!" Mr. Whitmore fell into the classroom, keeping his papers clenched in his hands. The bell rang directly after he fell into the room. "Safe." he panted. "Let us begin!"
"Mr. Whitmore. Why are you always late?" Max asked.
"It's not very professional." Steven added.
"Pop quiz!" the teacher announced.
"Huh? But it's the second day of school!" Max groaned.
"And there's the answer to your question." Mr. Whitmore clapped.
Max looked at the teacher, trying to understand.
"You asked him why he was always late. Then you said it was the second day of school." Katherine clarified. "Understand now?"
"Oh." Max thought about it some more. "Clever."
"Anyway, let's open our textbooks to chapter two." Mr. Whitmore read from his daily planner on his desk.
Max sighed as he pulled his book up onto his desk. He gazed down into his book while looking off into space. "I wanted to get more sleep." he sighed to himself. "Everything seems a lot more peaceful there."

The day seemed to fly by. It was already the last class of the day, English. Everyone was sitting at their assigned tables.
"Eh, it's a Friday. I won't make you do much work." Mr. Brown shrugged. "And how many people are participating in the tournaments?" he asked the class, reading an article off of the laptop on his desk.
"I am." Max waved his hand.
"Me to. I signed up online." Lucas nodded.
"Same." Katherine raised her hand.
"Anyone else sign up for style?" Chase asked, looking around the room. "I'll take you all down." he laughed.
"You don't fight in the style competition." Lucas noted.
"I'll fight with music!" Chase boasted.
"Did you sign me up, Max?" Chrissie asked.
"Sure did." Max gave a thumbs up with a smile
"Okay. So that's quite a few of you." Mr. Brown surveyed the entire class.
"Hey, when the prize is money, it gets kids to talk." Chase laughed.
"Not to mention private lessons." Lucas activated and deactivated his crystal on his hands over and over.
"Well, everyone has their own reasons." Max laughed. "Some more important than others. Like my wanting to sleep." he cracked his knuckles.

The end of the day came quickly and everyone started to pack up their things.
"Crap. When does the tournament start?" Max tried to remember.
"Eight-thirty is when the style portion starts. Nine-thirty is the fighting. I think the strategic is at ten because not many people signed up for the fighting portion." Katherine mentioned. "Other than myself." she brushed off her nose.
"Awesome! So I can sleep in!" Max nodded in please.
"Man, why do you like sleeping so much?" Saidu turned to Max.
"How can I put it in a good way?" Max scratched his head. "Well, consider real life as a cheeseburger and dreams as filet mignon. The cheeseburger is great! But if I have an opportunity to eat the better of the two, I will." Max explained.
"What's filet mignon?" Chrissie asked.
"What? You've never had--" Chase was interrupted by Steven.
"Filet mignon is a very delicious portion of meat." Steven explained.
"Oh." Chrissie nodded.
"So I'll see you guys at the park tomorrow?" Max looked at all of his friends.
"Yeah. We'll be there." Chase gave a thumbs up. "How else am I gonna win?"
"I'll show up too, man." Saidu nodded.
"Girls?" Chase gave a smile to Katherine and Chrissie
"Uh-huh. I'll be there." Chrissie smiled back.
"I'll be there too." Katherine she nodded.
Saidu walked out of the classroom and headed home. "Yeah, man. See ya guys tomorrow."
"Oh my god." Chase's eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" Max asked.
"It's… it's…" he squatted as low as he could
"It's?" Lucas looked confused.
"It's Friday!" Chase jumped high into the air "Cartoons tomorrow morning!" he started to run out of the classroom.
"What about your match? You have to compete at eight-thirty." Max asked.
"I'll figure something out! I can't miss my shows!" he shouted from the hallway.
"How did most of these people get into this school?" Steven sighed.
"Unique personality, slightly better than average grades, and extremely gifted with instruments." Max responded. "At least, that's how Chase did. My dad just knows people, that's how I'm here." he laughed.
Max looked around the room to see if anyone had anything to say. "Then I guess I'll be seeing you guys at the park tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'll see ya then." Lucas waved.
"Bye-bye." Chrissie waved.

It was Saturday evening, it was eight o' clock and the elegance competition was starting soon. Max was standing in front of his mother, explaining that he was participating in the park's tournament. Max wore a silver colored shirt with a gold diamond logo on it. He wore denim jeans that were several sizes too big for him.
"Why is this the first time I heard of you wanting to be in the tournament?" Max's mother placed her hands on her hips.
"Cause I didn't think you'd mind?" Max gave a big smile.
"I'll go with him if you want, dear." Max's dad set his hand on Max's shoulder.
"What about the problem with his Crystal?" she protested.
"This could be a great Father/son bonding experience! And if things get out of hand, I'll bring him home." Max's dad pleaded.
Max's mom crossed her arms and looked at both of them. After a few seconds of staring, she turned away and walked back into the hallway. "While you're out, get some milk." she said.
"Thanks, Mom!" Max smiled even more.
"Great! Now I get to embarrass you in front of your friends!" Max's dad placed his hands on his hips triumphantly and laughed. "It's my job as a parent."
Max sighed. "Gotcha."

Max and his father both approached the park entrance, there was a table set up with two teens sitting at the table. One boy and one girl. On the table there were various stickers with numbers on them and a sign in sheet.
"Are you participating in the tournament?" the girl asked.
"Yep. I'm Max Zentrum." he stated.
The boy at the table looked at the list of all of the participants. "Max Zentrum? You're in the third combat fight, your number is five." he handed Max a red sticker with the number '5' on it.
"Haven't I seen you around the school before?" Max asked the girl.
"Probably. I'm in your first class. Where you sleep." she giggled a little.
Max laughed back. "What can I say? Mornings." he turned to his dad. "Don't tell mom." his laugh turned into a groan of worry.
"Well, you got me out of doing chores this morning, so I'll let it pass." Max's dad walked into the park.
Max followed behind him. "Thanks, guys." he nodded to the two people at the table.
"No problem." the girl smiled back as the boy registered another person into the park.
"She seemed cute." Max's dad nudged Max's shoulder.
"I don't know her that well." Max shrugged his shoulders. "You're not gonna be doing this all day, are you?"
"Oh, I am definitely going to." he laughed.

Max arrived at the center of the park. There was a wooden stage placed on the grass and several people conversed around it. There was a table with three older people sitting at it. One skinny man who looked like he was in his thirties. He had glasses, his hair in a ponytail and a sad attempt at a beard. The other was a portly woman whose hair was curled and brown. She wore a large pink dress. The last was a familiar face hidden behind a newspaper.
The skinny man tapped the microphone a few times. "Testing, testing." he looked around to see if people could hear him.
Everyone faced the judge's table.
"I'll take that as a yes." He smiled nervously. "We are going to start the first round of the elegance competition." he spoke. He handed off the microphone to the woman in the center.
"Would numbers one and six please step up onto the stage? John Markestan and Medina Pinzon." she handed off the microphone to Mr. Brown.
Mr. Brown folded his newspaper and stood up. "How this works is two people will try to perform the most amazing spectacle they can think of. You will be graded on individuality, style, and uniqueness. Regardless, try your hardest to impress everyone." he rolled up his newspaper and waited for two people to walk up onto the stage.
A boy with light brown hair stepped up onto the stage. He wore a blue number 6 sticker. He came up onto the stage pumping his fists into the air. "That's right! I'm up first!" he wore a green martial arts headband across his forehead. "Everyone here will know the name John Markestan!" He waited to see who else would walk up onto stage with him.

"He seems pretty cocky." Max's father shook his head. "That won't get him very far in life."
"But what if he's actually as good as he says?" Max tried to defend John. "I don't know him, but you might as well give him a fighting chance."

A petite, girl walked up onto the stage as well. She wore a brown jacket and jeans. She kept looking around at all of the people surrounding her. "I didn't think there'd be this many people." she whispered to herself. His blue number one sticker was on her back. Her hair was a long, sleek brown that ran down into her jacket.

"Ah, you see? She'll be the winner. She's got more spirit than the boy." Max's father scratched his goatee.
"What? How do you see these things?" Max squinted.
"Shh. Start watching."

"The time limit is Three minutes. Start." The woman at the judge's table hit a timer on the table.
"Crystal Armament: Fireworks." John hurled a red Crystal into the air and it exploded into a flurry of smaller crystals. "Yeah! How about that!?" he looked up into the air at what he thought was amazing.
The girl cupped her hands together. "Crystal armament: Wind." she started waving her hands back and forth as a dull white mist fluttered through the air, giving the sky a silver tint. She started moving her fingers around beautifully to control the mist of red Crystal, separating it and causing it to create various shapes in the air, making the simple pop that John made look insignificant.
John's jaw dropped at the skillful control of Medina's Crystal.
"Crystal armament: Geyser." Medina brought the mist to the ground and flung it back up so it looked like a fountain pouring upward and outward.
"Time." The skinny judge hit the timer and announced. "I think it's obvious who the winner was." he nodded to the other two judges.
Mr. Brown nodded along with the female judge.
"Number One, Medina, advances." Mr. Brown announced. "Good job." he smiled.
Max started the wave of applause. "Bravo!" he whistled.
"You're always the easiest to spot in a crowd." Lucas approached Max. Lucas was wearing a red number three sticker. "I see you're in the fighting competition just like me. Know who else is?"
"I think Katie is too." Max thought back.
"Hey, Max. I'm gonna go hit up the snack stand." Max's dad pointed over to a table advertising various snacks and sodas.
"Kay." Max nodded.
"Oh, have you see Chase?" Lucas asked. "He's going up right after this next round."
"How'd you know that?" Max started to look around for Chase.
"There's a paper layout of how the rounds go on the judge's table." Lucas pointed out.
"Oh! There you are, Max!" Katherine waved through a crowd of people. She was wearing a red number one sticker.
"Oh, it's Katherine." Lucas waved back.
Katherine shoved Lucas away to the side and stood before Max. "I'll get to see your Crystal for once." she stuck out her tongue.
"Maybe. Who knows?" Max shrugged.
"You're no fun." she pouted. "Get a little fired up once or twice."

"Would numbers three and five step up to the platform for the next round in the style competition? Richard Mash and Kaleb Razzak." the woman judge spoke through the microphone.
A tall man with a feminine figure sauntered up onto the stage. He wore a black and grey stripped tank-top under his black jacket with tight black skinny jeans. His hair was a midnight black with a red streak in it. He flipped his hair to the side with a flick of his wrist. "Finally. Time for a real show." Richard smiled.
Another boy walked up onto the stage, his eyes glued to his cell phone. He was texting while looking up occasionally to make sure he didn't trip over anything. "One second." he held up a finger. He resumed his face paced texting. He wore a light blue jersey over his yellow t-shirt to make his skinny body seem bulkier. He wore pajama pants with various pixilated drawings on them. "Okay, done." he hit the send button on his phone and closed it, putting it back in his pocket.
"You may start." Mr. Brown announced.
"Hey, haven't I seen him around school before?" Max looked at Kaleb.
"Who? Kaleb?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah." he turned back to Lucas.
"He goes to our school. But he's been sick. Well, so he said." Lucas nodded his head to Kaleb whose body was shimmering with chartreuse light.
"He always plays that card. He skips out on as much school as he can." Katherine added. "But he's not a bad kid. He's just very tech savvy."
"That means?" Max gestured for Katherine to continue.
"He spends most of his time on the computer." she shrugged.
"And you know him how?" Lucas added.
"Him and I play online games together sometimes." Katherine admitted embarrassingly.
"Nerd." Max teased.
Richard held up a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Each bouquet was made marvelously out of Crystal. He spun on the heels of his feet and hurled the flowers up into the air, causing them to flutter and disperse.
"Crystal armament: Hack." Kaleb flicked a particle of his scarlet Crystal at one of the flowers. The particle pulled the flowers together with a chartreuse Crystal. The conjoined mass of flowers broke apart in a storm of crystallized flower petals. The petals broke apart into dust as the fluttered towards the ground, glistening the entire park.
"Ha! I never know I could do that." Richard batted his hair out of his face again.
"You didn't." Kaleb smiled. "That was me." he opened his phone and resumed texting.
"Time. Kaleb, number five, advances." Mr. Brown nodded. "That was an excellent display of Crystal control." he gestured for the other judges to clap.
"Oh. Thanks." Kaleb pulled his phone back out and started texting on it again as he stepped off the wooden platform.
"Hey! NxH!" Katherine shouted to Kaleb.
"NxH?" Lucas thought about what Katherine shouted. "Are you alright?"
Kaleb turned to Katherine. "Oh. Hey Katherine." he walked over to her.
"NxH is his name in the game. I figured he'd respond to that just as well." she scratched the back of her head embarrassed. "I feel nerdy."
"Feeling nerdy and being nerdy are two different things." Lucas snickered.
Katherine smacked Lucas on the shoulder. "Jerk."
Max's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. "Dad?" he turned to the snack stand to see his dad staring him down. Max answered his phone. "Yes?"
"Max. Isn't that Katie? The girl who always came over when you were in elementary school?" Max's dad muffled with a mouth full of popcorn.
Max turned to Katherine. "Yeah, that's her. Why?" he turned back to his father.
"Why aren't you all over her!? She's grown up!" Max's father laughed. "If you were a son of mine, you'd be with the ladies!" he laughed harder as he tried to force a corndog in his mouth.
Max ended the call, irritated.
"Who was that?" Lucas asked.
"Nobody." Max massaged his temples.
"Okay. Next up is Numbers two and four. James Cannon and Chase Cole." The skinny judge announced.
A boy with an oriental look to him walked up onto the stage. His head was buzzed and he wore an orange scarf with a white long sleeved shirt and black pants. He remained quiet as he waited for another person to appear on the stage.
"Oh man. Is Chase coming? It is Saturday after all. He watches cartoons until noon." Max thought out loud.
"Number four?" The skinny judge repeated. "If he isn't here then number two wins automatically." he stated.
Everyone started to look around for the person with the blue sticker with the number four.
"Guess he didn't show." Lucas sighed.
"Well, his cartoons are important to him." Max shrugged.
"If number four isn't here, I guess number two advances." The woman judge announced.
"Waaaait!" Chase sprinted through the park gates loudly. He galloped onto the stage and stretched out his shirt so everyone could see his number four sticker. "I'm here!" he panted. "Can we hurry this up? I'm going by commercial time." he wheezed.
"Very well. Start." Mr. Brown hit the timer on the table.
"You go first. I'm gonna..." Chase swallowed so he wouldn't choke on his own breath. "Inhale." he placed his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.
James held his arms in front of himself. "Crystal armament: Sparks" he started wafting his hands around his body, letting out small particles of a gray-red crystal. The crystal popped like firecrackers and into bright red as the hit the ground, displaying a ground level firework show.
Chase had to bounce on his feet to avoid the various popping. "Whoa! Watch it." he clapped his hands together. "Crystal armament: Trumpet." he formed a Trumpet from his reddish-orange crystal. He started playing a slow paced melody, allowing himself to catch his breath. He inhaled discreetly between each note.
"It's just music. You're supposed to be showing off your Crystal." James crossed his arms.
Chase smirked. He inhaled deeply, taking his lips away from the trumpet. He placed his lips against the mouth of the trumpet as soon as his lungs were filled to the brim with air. "Crystal Music." he started playing a very face-paced musical number. The notes that he played materialized and danced out of the trumpet. They fluttered around in circles before they dispersed in a yellow mist.
"Time." The skinny judge announced.
Chase continued to bob his head from side to side, letting out more and more music notes. He was oblivious to everything else.
"Time!" the judge repeated.
Chase continued his solo from his trumpet, increasing in volume.
Lucas picked up a rock and hurled it at the back of Chase's head. "Shaddup!" he shouted.
Chase dispersed his crystal trumpet and massaged the back of his head where he was hit. "Geez! Everyone's a critic!" he whined.
"You can step off the stage now, Chase." Mr. Brown rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke into the microphone.
Chase quickly looked at his cell phone for the time. "Yes! That's great! Now I can hurry to the electronics store and finish watching my show!" Chase sprinted out of the park while looking at his cell phone.
"Chase! There's a second round!" Max shouted.
"I won't be late!" Chase assured as he made a sharp turn out of the park's entrance.

Chapter 3

Max, with his head hung low, was walking carelessly along the sidewalk, stepping between every crack in the sidewalk just to keep himself entertained. "I hate living so far away. Everyone else is home by now, and I'm still walking." he pulled down sharply on his book bag straps to tighten them around his arms.
A heavy gust picked up, pushing Max forward a little. He cracked a gentle smile across his face. "Haha. I could just use my Crystal to get home faster." he down on his hands and feet, knees bent and ready for push-off. Max paused to think. He shifted his eyes back and forth, noticing a few cars passing by here and there. "Nah. Better not. That'll just make me more tired in the long run." he stood upright again and started to walk in larger, lethargic steps. He kept his head cocked back, looking up to the sky, daydreaming.
After several more minutes of walking, Max finally came to his house. The house had a stone gate around about four feet high around the perfectly mowed lawn. A small wooden gate opened up into the yard which was just a walkway to the door surrounded by various exotic flowers that were still in their green buds and dull hue. An older man was clinging onto the second floor windowsill, trying to lift himself inside. The man had thin black hair that was spiked upward in the front and hung down on the sides. He had a bleached soul patch on his lower lip that spread into a goatee. He was wearing a worn out white shirt, and torn jeans that were stained with the smell of grass and marks of dirt all over his torso as if he just laid down in the flowerbed under the windowsill. Beneath him was an assortment of gardening tools and weed killers carelessly tossed into a pile of mulch and pulled weeds.
"Dad?" Max asked questionably. "What are you doing?"
"Max! If you mother asks, I'm still out here pulling weeds." his father almost lost his grip on the windowsill. He held onto the window frame with one hand and gave Max a thumbs up with the other.
"And you're actually doing what?" Max stopped in the middle of the pathway, chuckling at the sight of what looked like a man trying to break into his house.
"Trying to get inside to take a break." he repositioned his hands on the frame, preparing to pull himself in. "Your mother won't let me inside the front door."
"You should really do the work first." Max suggested.
"Now, now. Don't be a hypocrite." He heaved himself through the window, crashing into the house. He quickly popped his head back out the window. "How are your grades?"
"Oh... Well, it's the first day! Hard to tell!" Max avoided the question.
"And your Crystal?" he said in a quieter voice.
"Fine." Max sighed. "It's not like you guys want me to use it that much anyway." He said under his breath.

"I'm home." Max closed the door behind him and took off his shoes in the foyer of his house, laying them up against the wall. There was a brightly illuminated hallway with glazed brown hard wood flooring. The hallway went through the main section of the house, branching off into different rooms. Right beside the start of the hallway was a carpeted stairway that led to a more dimly lit part of the house. Max hung his book bag over the railing and started to ascend the stairs while undoing the top buttons on his shirt.
"Max? You're home? How are you feeling?" A woman's voice called down from the hallway. She had a pair of folded glasses in her left hand and a thick book in the other. As she poked her head out into the hallway, her long silky black hair draped down her back.
"Oh, hey mom." Max leaned over the stair railing.
"No problems with your Crystal, I hope?" Max's mom came out of the reading room she was in and into the hallway, looking up to max. She wore a grey top with faded blue sweatpants. "You know what happens when you use it."
"I won't. I don't use my Crystal that much anymore anyway." Max assured.
"If you say so." Max's mom sighed. She flicked her wrist, opening up the glasses and putting them on. "Is your father still working outside?" she opened her book back to the page she was on and started to walk back towards the room she came from.
"He told me to tell you he was still doing Gardening work." Max nodded his head up the steps. "Then he climbed in through your bedroom window."
"Max! My own flesh and blood! How could you betray your Papa!?" Max's dad slid out of the corner from the top of the steps.
"Honey?" Max's mother adjusted her glasses so the reflection of light hid her eyes.
A shiver went down his father's spine. "Y-yes, dear. I'll go finish the yard work." he lowered his head and descended the stairs, defeated.
"Thank you." she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
Max's father walked back outside, grumbling at the work he had to do.
"I'll be up in my room." Max quickly hustled up the steps, undoing the final buttons on his shirt. "Later I'm gonna head to the park to meet up with some friends from school!"
"Alright, sweetie." his mother turned away.


It was around Mid-Evening. The sky was a dark pink, lightly illuminating the park, which was just an assembly of paths for joggers to run through, or for people to cut through. Several trees were planted throughout the flat grassy spots in the park, providing shade during the day. In the center of the park, where all the stone paths intersected, there was a notice board, filled with papers from companies that wanted to promote their products, or people putting up their numbers, looking for a job.

Chase was sitting at the park bench in a bright yellow hoodie and jeans while playing a slow jazzy tune on a saxophone. "I got the~" he started to sing. "I showed up early and now I'm waiting in the park for some company blues!" he said all in one sharp breath, resuming his jazzy blues melody.
"Hey, Chase. You're here early." Max approached him from the side, changed into a light blue shirt that was several sizes too large for him and khaki pants.
"M-max! Is that you?" Chase set down his saxophone and looked up to the sky, speaking like he was an old man. "I-I haven't seen anyone for the longest time. I've been stranded here, without human contact for nearly a century." he coughed hoarsely.
"Seriously, how long have you been here?" Max chuckled.
"Eh, somewhere around five minutes." Chase spoke normally and played an upbeat saxophone tune. "Tournament rules are right there on the notice board. They could've made it a bit more noticeable though." He said sarcastically and resumed playing.
The entirety of the middle section of the board was covered with bright, flashy colors, elegant fonts, and pictures of silhouette fighting under the word CHAMPION.
"Yeah. I don't think I could see it from my house." Max took a seat next to Chase, looking around at the lack of people at the park. "Nobody else came yet?"
"Well, just as I got here, Steven was leaving. Guess he wants to participate in the fight." Chase played a dramatic tune.
"Play me something to get me pumped up." Max stretched his arms.
"Am I gonna see that Crystal?" Chase placed his lips on the saxophone sexually.
"Oh god, don't do that." Max buckled forward in laughter.
"Couldn't help myself. But seriously, you're gonna use your Crystal?" Chase raised one eyebrow and positioned his lips normally.
"Depends on how well you play. I only use my Crystal when I'm in the mood. You know that." Max took a few steps from the bench.
"Hey, man." Saidu started jogging to Chase and Max.
"Y'hey." Chase nodded. "You a fan of music?"
"Yeah, I love music, man." Saidu smiled. "Didja notice the board, man?" he pointed out to the poster.
"Let's discuss that later. For now, we see if I can get Max to use his Crystal."
"Yeah. I'll be the judge of your music!" Max threw his fist in the air. "Not much you can do with only a saxophone though." Max scoffed, trying to agitate Chase.
"Saidu, can you play an instrument?" Chase set his instrument down and started rubbing his hands together.
"Yeah. The flute." he nodded.
"Okay, I need you to... Wait, really?" Chase snickered. "The flute?" A smile stretched across his face.
"If you're gonna make fun of me, I just won't talk, man." Saidu cast a shadow on Chase.
"No, no. Just wondering." Chase stretched his arms up and out. "Can you play a Crystal flute?"
"I can't make one, man." Saidu shrugged. "But I've been playing the flute since elementary school, man. If I had one then I'd help you, man."
"Perfect!" Chase interlocked his fingers. "Crystal armament: Flute." he slowly started to separate his hands. A Crystal made of a tie-dye of light oranges, reds, and yellows were formed into the Crystal. "There. Play that." Chase handed the flute to Saidu while panting.
"You okay, man?" Saidu took the flute and held it in its correct position.
"Yeah. Using Crystal takes a little out of me. I'll follow your lead. Do something fast paced." Chase caught his breath and picked up his saxophone.
Saidu nodded and inhaled deeply, holding the breath in. He slowly let out all of the air in his lungs into the flute, playing a rapid and fast beat without any break. The beat was soothing, yet enthusiastic.
Chase stared at Saidu, holding his saxophone to his jaw-dropped mouth.
"I think you broke Chase." Max waved his hand in front of Chase's face. "But that was impressive." he applauded Saidu. "Can you beat that, Chase?" Max snapped his fingers a few times in front of Chase his face to snap him out of his trance.
Chase shook his head. "Can I beat that?" Chase stood up on the bench defiantly, staring eye level to Saidu. He didn't speak a single word. He started to play a slow song, taking long and wide across the bench, swaying his body.
Saidu smiled. "C'mon, man. I thought you were a great musician, man." He crossed his arms, waiting for Chase to finish.
Chase's eyes narrowed as if he was ready to go in for the kill. He played a sharp, harsh note while staring down Saidu. A melody of jazz tunes rapidly tied together into one note followed by a sharp attack of Chords. He jumped high into the air, landing on his feet and bringing the outburst of jazz to a soft decline.
Max laughed loudly. "Man, Chase got fired up quick!" Max clapped rapidly. "Bravo!"
Saidu shook his head with a smile. "Ah, I guess you're good too, man." he kept the flute by his lips, ready to start playing again.
"I'll call it a tie." Max chuckled.
"Not yet." Chase insisted. He readied his saxophone once more.
"Oh, you guys are here. That's good. I thought it got too late." Chrissie approached walked up from behind the notice board. She was wearing a brown jacket and a soft pink shirt under it with a long blue skirt with yellow floral designs. She was holding the hand of a little girl. The little girl had similar orange hair, but it was tied into a braid and hung over her shoulder where she twiddled it between her fingers. She wore a heavy pink sweatshirt that went down to just above her knees.
Chase quickly set his saxophone onto the bench and approached Chrissie. "Hey, you made it." Chase smiled while putting his hands behind his head.
The little girl observed Chase. "You're a weird person." she spoke with the innocence and bluntness of a child.
"Mimi." Chrissie crouched down to the little girl. "Don't be rude. These are my friends."
"Hey, Mimi." Max crouched down like Chrissie. "Long time no see!"
"Maxie!" she let go of Chrissie's hand and sprinted into Max's stomach.
"Whoa! Look how big you got!" Max exaggerated.
Chrissie giggled. "I guess Mimi remembers you Max."
Saidu awkwardly waved to Chrissie.
"Oh! You're that big kid in our class." Chrissie stood back up, still having to keep her head arched back to look at Saidu. "What was your name again?" she blushed from forgetting.
Saidu laughed. "It's Saidu. Don't worry about it, man." he looked at the Crystal flute. "Hey, man. Did you want to get rid of this?" he wagged it in the air.
"Oh! Yeah!" Chase grabbed the flute from Saidu and snapped it with ease, disintegrating it in the process.
"Did you guys already figure out what part they're signing up for in the tournament?" Chrissie looked at everyone.
"Nope. They were too busy messing around." Max picked up Mimi and held her to his side. "They are so immature." he snickered.
"Don't be blaming stuff on me, man." Saidu pointed to Chase "He's the one who started it, man." Saidu started to think. "Wait, no it wasn't."
"Yeah, it was you, Max!" Chase jumped back up onto the bench. "You're the reason we got off topic!"
"Me?" Max acted surprised.
"Meanies! Don't blame Maxie!" Mimi stuck her tongue out at them.
Chrissie laughed. "So Max started it all, again, huh?" she giggled.
Max hung his head in disappointment. "She knows me too well." he walked to the poster on the notice board while still carrying Mimi.
"I do, Maxie!" Mimi snuggled against Max's neck.
Max chuckled lightly. "At least I have a fan." he approached the poster. "Want me to read it out loud?"
"Go for it, man." Saidu nodded.
"A competition where you have to push yourself to your limits! Go against others in a fight of skill, power, stamina, and wits." Max started reading in his head after that. He muttered every other word.
"Oh, so there's more than one type of tournament?" Chase asked.
"Yeah. There's the fighting, elegance, and strategic. Well, that's what the poster says." Max turned his head back towards everyone. "Fighting is self-explanatory." he continued to read the poster. "Elegance is showing off the beauty of your crystal and how well you can manipulate it."
Chase pumped his fist high into the air. "Sounds good to me."
"And lastly, the strategic is solving puzzles and riddles. Not much Crystal use here." he scratched his head. "I guess that is for the people who're smarter than anything." Max stared walking back. "So by default, I guess I'll have to fight." he sighed.
"You don't seem like the fighting type, man." Saidu tilted his head, trying to imagine Max in a boxing ring.
"Well, I'm better at fighting than I am at thinking. And I can't fight." He shrugged.
"I'll try out the Strategic course. I probably won't get that good though." Chrissie said with her hands together, nervously playing with her fingers.
"C'mon. Don't have that attitude, Red." Chase wrapped his arm around her and pointed up to the sky. "You gotta think you can win. Wait, no. You gotta know you can win!" Chase emphasized.
"R-right!" Chrissie said with more fire in her eyes and a small determined smile.
"Maxie! I wanna play in the games too!" Mimi tugged on the side of Max's mouth, stretching out his cheek.
"Sorry, Mimi." Max slurred from his mouth being stretched. "It says it's for kids sixteen to twenty-one."
Mimi started to whine. "No! It isn't fair!"
Max started to bounce Mimi in his arms, trying to calm her down. "Hey, want some candy?" he bribed whilst holding out a stick of gum.
Saidu laughed. "Max certainly gets along well with anyone. Right, man?" he asked Chase.
"Max is smarter than I thought." Chase walked away from Chrissie, talking to himself. "He's trying to get Red by getting the sister's approval." Chase fell to his knees. "Genius! Why didn't I think of that?"
"You okay, man?" Saidu sat down on the bench, staying about the same height with everyone.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Chase tried to stand up triumphantly while, in his mind, he felt defeated.
"Saidu, are you going to compete in the tournament as well?" Chrissie asked.
"It says here that there are three winners. One for each category." Max let Mimi down, letting her return to Chrissie's side.
"Well, maybe I'll go for the battle one, man. I can't do any fancy things with my Crystal." Saidu admitted. "But I'm actually a pacifist. So I probably won't even compete." he chuckled while scratching his neck.
"Woo! Less competition!" Max cheered. "No offense."
"Nah man, none taken." Saidu nodded.
"It's getting kind've late. I told my parents that we'd only be staying here for a couple minutes anyway." Chrissie grabbed Mimi's hand. "We'll have to head back. Could you put my name on the strategy sign-up sheet, Max?"
"Sure thing." Max spun around to the poster.
"Now's my chance!" Chase bowed before the two girls. "Allow me to escort you home. It is improper for two young girls to walk home by themselves."
"You're still weird!" Mimi pointed at Chase.
"Mimi, don't be rude." Chrissie hushed her little sister. "We don't live that far away. We'll be fine."
"Shot down." Max made a whistle sound followed by the sound of something exploding.
"I'll see you guys at school!" Chrissie smiled and waved before walking out of the park with her sister.
"Did you see that? She's obviously intimidated by my generosity!" Chase placed his hands on his hips and laughed into the air.
"Denial, man." Saidu added to Max's joke.
"But now that Red is gone, I'm gonna sign up for the elegance tournament." Chase picked up his saxophone and hung it over his shoulder. He squinted at the sign up board as he walked closer to it.
"Looks like Steve signed up already." Chase scribbled his name on the elegance list.
"You sure you don't wanna sign up, Saidu?" Max nudged.
"Positive, man. I don't like hurting others." Saidu noticed that the sun had almost completely set. "I'm gonna start heading back home too, man." He stood up and stretched.
"Alright. I'll see ya in class." Max returned to the bench.
"Hey, if one of us wins, we should throw a party!" Chase suggested
"We'll discuss this during English." Max approved of Chase's idea.
"Alright." Chase pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Hey, wait a sec. Weren't you going to show us your Crystal again?" he crossed his arms.
"What? Who said that?" Max laughed. "Not me."
"You win this round." Chase nodded. "But I'll get you to show me that Crystal again. It's pretty cool!"
"Hey, how come you're so sensitive about others seeing your Crystal, man?" Saidu asked while starting to take a few steps away from Chase and Max, ready to head home.
"There's a long and dark background behind this tale you ask." Chase wiggled his fingers in front of Saidu's face, trying to be dramatic.
"Just cause. Not sure why. I won't show it at a tournament, but I'll show it around my friends, but only if I get a good reason to show it. I'm not the best at using Crystal."
"Wow, thanks for playing along, Max." Chase hung his head in disappointment. "I wanted him to think that you were like, the son of a demon. Like in those awesome shows I watch!" he made horns on his head with his fingers. "That'd would've been awesome." Chase dropped his hands. "But you just can't let me have my fun." He shook his head.
"Then how come Katie has never seen it, man?" Saidu asked, ignoring Chase entirely.
"Wrong place, wrong time?" Max chuckled while shrugging. "It's hilarious cause she's always trying to see it."
"So who has seen it, man?" Saidu pointed to Chase. "Just him, man?"
"Nah. Parents, him, Steven, Lucas when I was younger, and just a couple people here and there." Max tried to remember.
"What color is it, man?" Saidu turned to face Max, wanting to see his Crystal.
"I'll keep that a secret until the tournament." Max smirked.
"A light blue mixed with gold." Chase stated plainly. "It sparkles a lot."
"Gah! Why?" Max pretended to choke Chase from a distance.
"Ruin my joke, I ruin yours! It's fair trade!" Chase shouted back as he ran out of the park with his saxophone over his shoulder.
"He's fast, man." Saidu watched as Chase had already sprinted out of the park.
"Yeah. Only when he's running away or there's a girl involved." Max laughed. "Anyhow, I'll see you later." Max started to walk out of the park.
"Yeah, man. See ya." Saidu walked away in the opposite direction.

Chapter 2

Max walked into a classroom brightened by the high sun shining through the window. The desks were properly aligned in a 'U' shape along the walls, all facing the center of the room. In the center of the room was a large redwood desk with several files, papers, and folders neatly stacked all around a closed silver laptop.
"Welcome!" A taller man in the teacher's chair turned his head to see Max come in through the door. "Have a little trouble finding the class?" He stood up from his redwood desk, causing the chair to roll past Max and into an empty corner of the classroom. "I'm your teacher for Advanced Crystal Development." His clothes were a bit different from the other academic teachers. He wore a larger midnight blue trench coat that cloaked the majority of his body. He threw his coat off into the air, but once it started to fall, it began to unravel and shred into cloth confetti.
The classroom was filled with coos of awe.
"And I'll be teaching you how to do things like that." He drew attention to the Crystalized knife he had formed in an instant. He twirled the knife in his left hand with ease.
"Whoa, that was awesome!" Several kids almost jumped out of their seats, wanting to get a closer look.
"I thought you needed to say the Crystal thingy." A girl spoke up.
The teacher laughed. "I'm Mr. Devon. Expert in Crystals. And I'll be your teacher." He reintroduced himself while rolling up his sleeves, showing off a four-leaf clover tattoo on his left inner forearm. "And to answer that question of yours." He started to gather all of the bits and pieces of his coat by sliding them into a pile with his foot. "That's for beginners. It's like training wheels. It's much easier to focus when you say something out loud. Only the good Crystal users can utilize their Crystal without words." he gloated.
"She didn't ask a question, it was a statement." A kid corrected the teacher.
Mr. Devon crushed the Crystal knife in his hand, during it into dust. He clapped his hands several times to clean off his hands. He bent over to pick up all of the pieces. "Alright, let's just get on with the lessons. Seating chart is right here, find your correct seats." he discarded all of the shredded cloth into the trashcan by his desk while sliding the seating chart to the end of his desk.

After everyone took their correct seats, Mr. Devon was pacing around, observing all the students. "Alright! Only twelve of you? I thought more kids would've signed up for this class, considering we all use Crystal in this school." He sat back down at his desk and started to rummage through his drawers, looking for something. "Oh well. That just means I don't have to waste anymore clothes to prove a point." He referred to his earlier display.
"I guess some aren't as skilled as yours truly." An arrogant tone came from a boy who had a buzzed head and his chin thrusted out, as if saying he couldn't be taught more than he already knew.
"And you are?" Mr. Devon ran his finger down his list of names.
"He's Connor." Max kept his head propped up with both of his hands. He lazily stared off into space. "He thinks he's god because he can go get half of his body in Crystal."
"Hey now, Max. Don't get jealous cause you can't!" Connor stuck out his tongue.
"Just half?" Mr. Devon chuckled under his breath. "You kids haven't been to Europe, have you? That's where all the big-shots in the world go to compete. I competed in that once, and man, the people there use Crystal unbelievably." he stood up from his desk again, keeping both hands hidden behind his back. "It was so much fun. Everyone was a good sport."
"Hmm. Seems like that'd be a fun thing." Max answered halfhearted.
The muscular African child next to Max nodded his head. "Yeah, man." His hair was black and curly. It bounced with every motion of his head. The kid had almost outgrown the largest size uniform Brigma High had to offer. His white buttoned shirt had been unbuttoned a few times to prevent it from tearing. The vest was in the same condition as the shirt; stretched and taut.
Mr. Devon continued to pace around the room, clarifying who was who by the seating schedule. He kept one hand behind his back at all times, as if he was holding something.
Max shifted his gaze over to the kid next to him. "So, who're you? I haven't seen you around the school before. And I'm a pretty social person."
"W-well. I moved here from London a few years ago, but I was born in Nigeria." he spoke in a heavy but kind voice.
"Ah, cool! Must be nice to go to different parts of the world." He yawned. "It's boring to just be in one place for so long."
Mr. Devon finally got around to Max's side of the room, still keeping one hand out of sight the best he could. "And your name is Saidu?" he glanced at the muscular kid.
"Yeah, it's Saidu, man." he faced the teacher with an attentive stare.
"Hey now, don't talk my ear off." he laughed. "And I guess you're Maxamilian?" he pointed to Max because he was the last student in the row.
"Just call me Max, please. It's so much easier to type on my worksheets." he snickered. "I'm kinda lazy. I heard you were a laid back teacher, so I'm gonna try to get away with taking a nap here." he confessed bluntly.
"Well, fair enough." Mr. Devon shrugged. "Alright! Who would like to demonstrate their Crystal?" he returned to the front of his desk and leaned back on it while waiting for someone to volunteer.
"I will!" Connor stood straight up. "C'mon, what'd ya want? I got it, I got it." he patted himself on the chest, trying to look triumphant.
"Stop a bullet with your Crystal." Mr. Devon pulled out a silver revolver from behind his back and aimed it at Connor without a moment's notice.
Connor ducked and weaved to get out of the sight of the gun. "Jesus! Are teachers allowed to carry guns in school!?" he scurried behind his chair, peaking over it.
"Probably not." Mr. Devon looked down the barrel of his gun and shrugged. "But who else would actually like to try to stop a bullet with their Crystal?" he started waving his gun past the class. Everyone either followed Connor's method or hid behind their hands. Saidu and Max were the only ones who didn't flinch.
"Well, you two seem confident." Mr. Devon kept the gun focused between both of them, pointing it back and forth. "How about you, Max?"
"Huh? What?" Max blinked a couple times. "Sorry, I was daydream-" Max convulsed with surprise. "Geez! Is that a gun!? Don't point that at anyone!" he fell out of his chair and onto his face where he laid motionless. "Ouch."
"Then how about you, Saidu?" Mr. Devon pointed the gun at Saidu's chest.
Saidu stood up without a word. He placed his hand on his chest. "Crystal Armament: Torso." A deep dark green chest plate made of Crystal formed on Saidu's chest. The light from the window made his Crystal illuminate the classroom with a green hue. Saidu nodded his head. "I'm confident, man."
"Alright! I like it, it's nice." Mr. Devon nodded with approval. He fired three shots at Saidu's chest, showing no emotions of worry or doubt.
After he finished cringing for the feel of impact, Saidu looked at himself, he checked for any kinks in his armor from the bullets. "Huh? What happened, man?"
Mr. Devon started cracking up. "I wouldn't load this gun. I just put gunpowder in it so it would make the sound." he lobbed his gun in the trash. "Lesson one: Don't hesitate, always be determined, and think you can always do it. Crystal responds to your thoughts." He lectured while returning back to his chair and flipping open his laptop.
"That's about four lessons, isn't it, man?" Saidu's Crystal started to crack and fall apart.
"This isn't English class, ok? For the rest of the class, see how long you can maintain your Crystal." He noticed how some kids were still crouched behind their chairs. "Oh relax! I could've pulled out the fake hand grenade." He knocked on his desk a few times. "C'mon. If you don't activate your Crystal, you'll get a zero for the day."
Everyone activated their Crystal and kept it on their bodies, except for Max, who was still lying face first on the floor.
"You sleeping, Max?" Mr. Devon called him out.
Max laughed slightly while sitting back up in his chair. "Nope. Although I might catch a quick nap. Using Crystal for a long time kinda drains me out for the rest of the day, Y'know?" Max took off his vest and balled it up against his desk, trying to relax. "I'll just take the zero for the day."
"If you think your parents will be okay with that." Mr. Devon marked down Max as 'uncooperative' on his online database.
"Anyway, you said your name was Saidu, right?" Max turned his head to Saidu.
"Yeah." he nodded slowly. His entire from the waist up, and the neck down was covered in Crystal armor.
"Now that I think of it, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" he sat up, looking at Saidu more closely.
"I walk the same path as you to get to school." Saidu was focusing straight ahead to keep his Crystal from cracking.
"Come on then, you should've talked to me before. I don't bite." Max patted Saidu on the Crystal covered back.
"Hey, don't touch me, man. Hard enough to keep my Crystal going as it is, man." Saidu wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

The bell chimed again, signaling the end of third period. After the class was over, all the students were gasping, wheezing, and panting from overexertion. Some students used others as arm rests while they carried each other to their next class.
"You gonna be okay, buddy?" Max looked up to Saidu, who was sweating profusely and stumbling while he walked. "You held your Crystal until the end of class. That's pretty impressive." he reached up to pat him on the shoulder. Max looked at his hand that was moist from the brief contact it has with Saidu. "That's lovely." He smiled sarcastically.
Saidu chuckled. "Why didn't you try anyway, man?" he unbuttoned his white shirt more, showing off the start of his white tank top.
Katherine stepped to the side of Max. "Oh, big surprise. Max didn't try. Again." she pushed him in the side of the head with her finger.
"C'mon, quit it. You know I don't like doing much unless I have to." Max batted her hand out of the way.
"I still want to see your Crystal colors." Katherine pouted.
"The only time I use my Crystal is when I feel like it." Max sidestepped around Saidu to get distance from Katherine. "Anyway, this is Saidu. He's coming to English with me." Max slowly stretched his arms to show the height difference between the two of them. "Where you going?"
Saidu looked at Max under his arm. "Is this your girlfriend, man?" he turned to Katherine.
Katherine snapped her head away from Max and Saidu, looking at the lockers as they walked. "G-girlfriend? Ha! He wishes!" she looked at them through the corner of her eye.
"Nah. You know that major mob leader around here? Yeah, she's his daughter." Max shrugged carelessly.
"Hey, loudmouth! That's not something I want announced at school! I like to not be pushed around, but I don't want to be feared!" she shushed Max.
"What? I think it's cool." he laughed. "You gotta introduce me to your dad sometime."
"So, should I like, not mess with you?" Saidu looked under his arm at Katherine.
"Chill. I don't have any interest in following the mob life." she adjusted her satchel. "Just treat me normally."

Max, Saidu, Chrissie, Steven, Katherine, Lucas, and Chase were all in the same classroom with other students. There were several birch circular tables with books of various categories stacked on each table.
"Good afternoon, students. I'm Mr. Brown." The teacher was a short portly man with a scruffy white beard. He sat poise and proper with the tie around his neck loosely undone. His bald head reflected the gentle lights from the ceiling into a harsh glare. "This is English. I don't mind what you do as long as it isn't loud, reckless, or could get me fired." he blatantly stated. He opened a newspaper and put on miniature reading glasses that flexed around the bridge of his nose.
The students looked at the teacher questionably.
"Listen, it's the end of the day. Personally, I want to relax." The teacher shrugged.
"Teacher of the year!" Max stood up so fast his chair groaned against the floor, fell over, and attracted all of the student's attention on him. He threw out both of his fists and twisted them upright into thumbs up. He reset up his chair, sprawled out his arms on the table and his legs beneath. "Nap time." he smiled with his face against the cool wooden table.
The room went silent from Max's outburst.
"My. Someone's energetic." Mr. Brown ignored Max and continued to intently read the paper.
"C'mon Max. I wanna arm wrestle ya." Lucas nudged him gingerly from behind with his elbow. "Are we allowed to use our Crystal?" Lucas asked the teacher.
"Go ahead. Just nothing flashy. Keep it containable within the room." Mr. Brown opened up the newspaper. The headline read "Local Crystal tournament starts up!"
"Hey, Max." Saidu got up and squatted down into an empty seat next to Max. "Mind if I sit next to you, man? I dunno anyone else, man."
Max chuckled while keeping his face buried in his vest. "Get more social then. I'm gonna nap."
"Maximilian!" Chase tackled Max out of his seat and onto the floor.
"Keep it down." Mr. Brown cleared his throat, still not looking up from his paper.
Max's face was emotionless as he was mounted by Chase's tackle. "Chase. I wanted to sleep."
"Looks like everyone has this class." Lucas chuckled as he sat down at the table.
"It has been forever since I last saw you!" Chase wept into Max's chest.
"You already made that joke today." Max said, ignoring Chase's fake tears.
"Oh. I did?" Chase rolled off of Max and extended a hand to help him up. "My bad." Chase shrugged. "It's been a long day."
"Chase, you can use Crystal a bit, right?" Lucas asked. He touched two fingers to his palm. "Wanna arm wrestle?"
"Nah. I'm good." Chase glanced at the spines of the books before picking out one in the middle on music. The stack of books toppled over into a messy pile. "I'll clean that up."
"I'll go, man." Saidu put his elbow on the table with a smile. His biceps were large.
"A brave man will accept any challenge." Steven looked at Lucas from the corner of his eye and readjusted his glasses, reflecting the light.
"Crystal Armament: Arm." A smooth glaze of black and white Crystal formed a double helix until it reached his shoulder where the Crystal sharpened and twist into a fine point. "Let's do this!" Lucas smiled, determined that he'd win.
"But a smart one knows when to stand down." Steven muttered to himself, making sure Lucas wouldn't back down.
Saidu locked hands with Lucas. "Let me know when you're ready, man. I'm not gonna use my Crystal, I'm too tired from last class." he leaned most of his body on the table.
"Wait, let's get a ref." Lucas scanned the classroom. "Hey, it's Chrissie, right? Can you be the judge?"
Chrissie looked away from her romance novel. She placed a hand drawn bookmark in the page where she left off. "Um, okay." she walked up and cupped her hands around both of theirs. Her hands could barely cover Saidu's large hand or Lucas's Crystal gauntlet. "Ready?"
"Hang on. I gotta see this." Max sat on the floor beside Saidu, looking up to both of their hands. "Front row seats."
"Go!" Chrissie jumped back.
Saidu's eyes flared up for an instant. He shifted his entire body behind an almighty arm thrust to bring Lucas's hand down to the table in an instant. A loud thud echoed through the room and knocked over the pile of books Chase had just finished restacking. Lucas's Crystal was cracked at the palm and almost split at the wrist. Everyone's eyes were on Saidu and Lucas.
Mr. Brown glanced up from his paper, gave an interested shrug, and resumed his diligent reading.
"S-sorry." Saidu quickly looked around nervously. "I thought that if you were using your Crystal, it'd be more difficult." He apologized again while letting go of Lucas's hand, pulling off small bits of white Crystal from where he clenched.
Max started laughing uncontrollably. "L-Lucas!" he fell back with laughter. "You should see your face!" Max imitated Lucas's surprised reaction before breaking down in laughter again. "Classic." he caught his breath.
"How strong are you, dude?" Chase finished restacking the books a second time.
"It was just the heat of the moment. Beginner's luck." Saidu picked up the first book he could find from the pile and hid his face in it, flustered.
Lucas looked at his arm. He dispersed the remaining Crystal from it. "I guess that's a good indicator that I gotta start working harder." he dropped his face on the table, discouraged.
"If you really want to be put to the test. There is a tournament this weekend." Mr. Brown spoke up. "I'll be happy to award extra credit to whoever wins. In fact, you'll get an 'A' for the semester."
Steven adjusted his glasses when he heard the teacher. "As in a perfect score?" he clarified.
"Correct." Mr. Brown folded his paper and set it on the desk. He leaned forward to observe the student's reactions. "You'll be going up against trained people. You'll deserve it if you can win. Sure it doesn't have anything to do with English class, but this school is about furthering Crystal knowledge as well."
"Hey, Mr. Study is actually gonna get physical?" Chase laughed at Steven. "But I don't think I'll participate. I got an image to keep with the ladies. Right, Red?" he winked at Chrissie.
Chrissie was reimbursed in her romance novel and didn't pay attention to Chase.
Chase sat in a chair next to Max. "She digs me."
"A one-hundred percent? That means I won't have to work." Max bounced to his feet. "Alright! I'll do it!" he pointed to the teacher as dramatically as he could, swaying his body with the motion of pointing. "As long as this can be my naptime class!"
"He's got a strange drive, man." Saidu chuckled in his deep voice.
"Fine. Win the tournament, and you can sleep in this class." Mr. Brown agreed.
"At least I'll get to see his Crystal colors." Katherine muttered to herself.
"Why do you want to see his colors so bad?" Chrissie looked at Katherine questionably.
Katherine looked shocked. She thought she was talking in her head. Her face became a bright red. "You didn't hear anything!" she shouted in a whisper while covering Chrissie's mouth.
Chrissie giggled through Katherine's hand. "I didn't know you had a crush on him." She muffled while keeping her eyes glued to her book.
Katherine's face became a brighter red. "Not a word!" she hushed.
"My lips are sealed." Chrissie giggled again.
"To make sure I'm correct, you said that the tournament is this weekend?" Steven pulled out a PDA and tapped away with his finger, marking down notes, times, etc.
"That's right. The winner also gets eligibility for private Crystal lessons from one of the country's best." Mr. Brown scratched his beard with his palm.
"Private lessons?" Lucas crossed his arms. "I guess I'll participate." Lucas started nodding to himself and imagining if he won. "Then I might be able to learn how to go full Crystal."
"Still not interested." Chase shrugged.
"And a hundred dollars." Mr. Brown added, trying to spark more people to join the tournament. "How does that sound."
Chase slammed both of his hands flat on the table. He had a newfound fire burning in his eyes. "I'm sorry. But you guys are going to lose to me! If I get that money, oh the things I could buy!" he let out a maniacal laughter. "The world will be mine!" his laughter turned into a roar.
"Shut up, Chase! You're so noisy!" Katherine threw a paper ball into Chase's mouth.
Chase looked at Katherine and sat down while maintaining eye contact. He spit out the ball onto the floor. "Good shot. I'll respect that." He talked quietly.
"What're the rules?" Max asked, ready to fight right away.
"Hmm, you could find that out on your own, rather than me telling you everything." Mr. Brown reclined back in his chair with the newspaper. "Information will be at the park though. Maybe you can find out after school." He shook open the newspaper to a new page he hadn't read yet.
"Who wants to meet up at the park around eight?" Max raised his hand with a smile, looking around for anyone else to raise their hand.
"Please." Steven scoffed. "I have too much homework for free time."
"Ehh, I gotta practice trumpet." Chase kept his hand lowered. "Sorry, Maxamilian."
"I'll go if I have some free time." Chrissie lifted one hand from her book and into the air.
"Well, I guess I'm practicing trumpet at the park." Chase shot his hand up into the air.
"Yeah, man. I'll come too." Saidu raised his hand.
"I'll get there if I finish work early." Katherine nodded.
"Sound like shady business." Max snickered. "I'm only teasing." he shut himself up to prevent Katherine from getting mad.
"Can't." Lucas massaged his wrist. "I'm just gonna ice this."

The time seemed to fly by through the rest of the class. Max had several books stacked around his head by Chase and Saidu. The sound of snoring was faint through the fortress of books built around Max's head.
"So mature." Lucas chuckled a little as well.
The end of the day bell chimed three times and everyone started to gather their things.
"Max, school is over now." Katherine kicked his chair.
Max's snore came to a halt. "Oh, class is over? Wait a second." He remained motionless. "Am I blind!?"
Katherine tugged Max by the back of his collar to bring him out of the book fort.
"Oh! Well that's much better." Max chuckled as he whipped his book bag up onto his shoulder.
"What? No 'thank you'?" Katherine followed Max to the door.
"Hey, Red. You walking home?" Chase stood up beside Chrissie.
"Yes. Do you live nearby?" Chrissie was putting her book away in her bag and looked up to Chase with a sweet smile.
Chase grabbed his heart and fell backward into Max. "Gah, you're killing me, Red. So adorable." He quickly turned his head to see who he fell on. "Oh. Thanks for breaking my fall." Chase whispered.
"Are you okay?" Chrissie stood up from her table with a confused look at Chase.
"Hopeless romantic." Lucas rolled his eyes while watching the scene from his table.
"Sorry about the arm wrestling thing, man." Saidu fluffed up the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with Lucas.
Lucas laughed. "What are you apologizing for? You're strong."
"Nah, man. I just keep forgetting to hold myself back, man." he held out his hands as if he were begging for something.
"How come?" Lucas tossed up his book bag, spun around, and slid his arms into the straps with ease.
"Well, my Dad is really strong, man. He fought like big time, man. So he just tries to teach me how to defend myself and stuff, man. But, I don't really fight back either, man. So it never really turns out pretty, man." Saidu shivered.
"I think I get you. Man." Lucas softly laughed at Saidu's speech. "My parents can't even use Crystal." Lucas sighed. "I need someone to learn from. Mind if I hang out with you sometime?" he started to walk to the door, looking over his shoulder to see if Saidu would follow.
"Oh yeah, man. Sounds like fun, man." Saidu held his smaller book bag in one hand while he walked.

***Crystallization***

Chapter 1


Several centuries ago, a comet known as Crystalia was heading on a collision course for Earth. Due to mankind's rash behavior, they launched various missiles upon it, in hopes to neutralize or at least minimize damage. The blasts from the missiles chipped away at the comet, scattering its shards throughout the world.
These shards, referred to as Crystals, caused panic at first. They were absorbed into any living form, so long as it had a pulse. But, through time, people became used to the Crystals in their bodies. The Crystals did no harm to the humans or animals it melded to. In fact, it gave people unique abilities; be it making armor, weapons, or shelter, the Crystals provide unimaginable power at the cost of one's stamina.
However, the Crystals don't react for just anyone. Only those who have focus, diligence, determination, and willpower are able to use the Crystal to its full potential. And those who do manage to use the Crystals well enough tend to compete with each other in fights and in competitions. But of course, the use of Crystal is also banned by some cultures and groups as it is deemed unholy acts, witchcraft, a virus, etc.

Brigma High School is a place in the U.S. where those with excellent grades, rich parents, or outstanding physical achievement, such as future Olympic contestants are educated. This school is one of the highest in the country. A requirement to get into this school is that you must be able to use Crystal to some extent. Each of the students is required to wear the Brigma school uniform: Sleek, jet black pants and a white button up shirt with a royal blue vest. The girls wore knee length white skirts and top with a royal blue bowtie.

"Alright! The teacher isn't here." One student stretched, rustling his crisp, new uniform.
"Well, it is the first day of school. Maybe the teacher had trouble waking up this morning." A girl with radiant ginger hair spoke up. Her eyes were an orange tint that matched her wavy locks that draped over her shoulders. She kept her head low, avoiding eye contact with everyone. She kept a meek smile across her face as she doodled hearts and kittens.
"At this school? Please Chrissie, everyone here is far above average." a young man adjusted his glasses with his pointer finger. His posture was upright and his desk was organized. His school uniform was clean, ironed, and had multiple pins on it for academic excellence. His hair was properly combed into an elegant wave that left only a few hairs out of place. Those hairs were gelled together and positioned between his glasses.
"Oh, I guess you're right, Steven." Chrissie traced her thumb over her ear, showing off small diamond stud earrings. She let out a soft laugh at her completed doodle.
"Psh, what about Max back there?" Another student laughed as he pointed to a student sleeping happily in the back of the class.
Max had thick black hair that was stuck up in various places from oversleeping. His white button down shirt was half tucked into his wrinkled black pants. He had balled up his vest and used it as a cushion for the desk. Mouth agape and drool collecting on the vest. He seemed as if he were in complete bliss.
Steven repositioned his glasses with his middle finger back towards Max. "Well, of course there are some exceptions." he cleared his throat.
"Hey, don't pick on Max. He's pretty smart." Another stomped on the ground to get everyone's attention. Everyone quickly shut up and turned her head away from her as if she didn't exist. The girl had frizzled mud-blonde hair that was kept together in a ponytail by a black scrunchie. She kept her hands on her hips, as if waiting for someone to so much as attempt to talk back. She noticed how everyone stopped teasing Max and gave a smug grin while nodding. "That's what I thought." She muttered under her breath.
"Earthquake." Max smacked his lips together and nuzzled against his drool enriched vest.
Everyone in the class laughed at Max.
The blonde scoffed at the unsightly gesture Max had done and picked up her book. She raised the book high above her head and let gravity take its course, right onto Max's head.
"Gah! What!?" he flailed his arms around. His hazel eyes were squinted from getting adjusted to the light. "Oh, did I fall asleep?" he chuckled as he caressed the back of his head with both hands. "Wait, who woke me up? The teacher isn't even here yet." he pouted as he laid his head back down on his makeshift pillow.
"Me." The brunette waved to him. "Can I have my book back?" she held out her hand, waiting for Max to hand her the book she dropped on him.
Max rubbed his eyes. He stretched his arms while bending over to pick the book off of the floor. He lifted the book high above his head, letting out a groan from the stretch. He arched over his desk to hand it to the girl. "No problem, Katie."
"Geez, you think you can talk to me so casually." she snatched the book from Max's hands and placed the book on the center of her desk in one quick motion. She tried her hardest to keep from smiling back at Max.

A young man, in his twenties dashed through the doorway into the classroom; he had bed head, various papers held in his hands in an unorganized order, and his tie tied on poorly. "Sorry I'm late!" he laughed weakly between every wheeze for air. He gulped down another breath of air. "I'm your new teacher, Mr. Whitmore." he sprawled all of his papers on his desk. "I overslept." he flopped back in his chair, wiping the sweat from his forehead, wheezing incoherently. "How late am I?" his head was cocked over the back of the chair. He was too focused on breathing that he didn't look at the analog clock above the doorway.
"Two minutes." Steven fiddled with his glasses. "Are you sure you're qualified to be our teacher?"
"Calm down, Steve. Everyone has those days." Max laughed. "Take as long as a rest as you want." he called to the teacher while keeping his chin on his vest.
"Right." He gulped down another mouthful of air. "Nice try." he flicked his wrist to the class. "Open your books to page forty-three and read paragraphs three to five." He said without bringing his head up to face the class. "I should invest in a bike." He twisted and swerved on his large chair with wheels.
Max snapped his fingers in disappointment. He unballed his vest with his right hand as he reached for his book under his chair with his left. He heaved the book up onto the desk and put his arms into the vest, not buttoning it. "Thought I could've stalled him longer than that." he rested his cheek in his hand as he lazily read. "When did my vest get so wet?"

First period was over, everyone was migrating to their second class. Max and Chrissie walked towards gym together, followed by another boy, Chase. Chase hustled through the hallway, dodging and weaving other students in attempt to catch up to Max and Chrissie.
"Maxamilian!" Chase tackled Max to the ground. Chase carried a satchel instead of a book bag. He had pins of various TV action heroes and funny one liners all over his uniform's collar. The collar had been flipped up to make room for all the pins. His right arm sleeve had been rolled up to his shoulder for a resting place of his satchel.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" Chase stumbled to his feet. "That your girlfriend?" he said nonchalantly while looking at Chrissie.
Chrissie became a bright red. "W-what!?"
Max rolled over and hopped back up to his feet, pretending nothing happened. "Nah. Chrissie is just a good friend of mine."
"Y-yeah. We're friends." Chrissie exhaled with relief.
"And I saw you just last week." Max chuckled.
"But, but." Chase grabbed Max by the collar and held him inches from his face. "It felt like forever." he whispered intensely.
Max matched Chase with a blank expression. "You forgot your medication again, didn't you?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps! But, that won't stop me from going onward!" Chase put his hands on Max and Chrissie's backs. "To Second period!" he pushed them with himself towards the gymnasium.

All of the students changed into their gym uniforms, white t-shirt and royal blue shorts. They were all lined up in a row, standing outside in front of the school. The gym teacher was wearing a tight yellow shirt that showed the definition in his chest and upper arms. His shirt was tucked into his royal blue shorts that barely met the school's dress code. He kept his face hidden under the reflective sunglasses and red baseball cap. He had a whistle hanging partially in his mouth, ready for a chance to blow it.
"Start stretching out, I'll be right back, I need to hand in something to the office." The gym teacher spoke through the whistle as he flipped through his clipboard. He jogged into the main entrance of the school.
"I guess this gives me relaxing time." Max waited until the teacher went through the doors and sat down on the dirt. He stretched his arms behind his head, letting his body follow until he was lying down.
"You never change." a kid said, touching his toes. His thin black hair hung over his eyes. He had several streaks in his hair bleached white. His eyes were a light-grey, like dirtied snow.
Max turned to his side. "Oh, Lucas. What's up? You dye your hair?"
"Is there anyone he doesn't know?" Chase started swinging his arms from side to side while laughing.
"Figured I'd try this style cause it matches my Crystal. Have you gotten better at using your since Elementary?" Lucas asked. "I can actually get my entire legs now."
"Seriously? That's pretty good. Lemme see." Max laid on his side, resting his head in his hand.
"Alright." Lucas held out two fingers in a piece sign and pointed it at his legs. "Crystal Armament: Legs." A Crystal started to materialize between his fingers. He touched the Crystal to his leg, carefully aiming it with both hands. A black and white spiral pattern originated from where he placed the Crystal on his legs. As the Crystal expanded, it got thicker and harder looking. The legs were spiked at the knee caps. "See? I've gotten pretty far for my age." The Crystal started to flake away in chunks, disintegrating as it fell off of him.
"Ha! You think that's something?" A hefty kid waddled over to Lucas, Chase, and Max. "I'll show you what a true Crystal user like myself can do." he held grasped his wrists. His face turned purple from concentration. "Crystal Armament: Arms." He strained to say. Brown and grey colored gauntlets formed up the kid's arms. He pulled his hands apart, holding his arms out to his sides, revealing his pit stains from overconcentration.
"Oh wow. That's pretty cool." Chase mocked in a sarcastic tone while slowly pacing towards the kid. "Not a fan of the color though. The colors reflect on what you really are like." Chase shrugged. "So I'm gonna guess and say you're nothing but a person who bullies others."
The bulky boy's Crystal covered arms lifted Chase with ease by his throat. "What'd you say, shrimp?"
"Well ladies, I bet we can guess he didn't get in this school because of his good looks!" Chase waved to all the female classmates with a gentle smirk. They didn't pay much attention to him.
"Chase. I wouldn't get yourself into these situations." Max sighed as he stood back up, getting ready to intervene.
"Why I should crush you like a grape!" he tightened his grip around Chase's neck.
"Oh the irony! Tubby making a food joke." Chase grimaced from the pain.
A loud whistle blew harshly and sharply. "Alright! Break it up!" the gym teacher came back outside. "If you children think you're so talented, why don't you just go do a lap around the school? That goes for all of you! And you can thank these two for that!" the teacher pointed to Chase and the larger child. "Now drop him or I'll make it five laps!"
The large child heaved Chase backwards with a heavy lunge.
Max caught Chase before he hit the ground, skidding back in the dry dirt slightly.
Chase brushed himself off. "That was totally worth it." Chase snickered as he started jogging around the school with all the other students.
"You really should stop agitating people." Max sighed while jogging beside Chase.
"Ah, Chase." Lucas sprinted up to them. "I remember you from middle school. We didn't have any classes together, but you seemed to make yourself known."
Chase puffed out his chest. "Well, I have a pretty noticeable personality."
"So, how much of your Crystal can you use?" Lucas asked. His hand returned to normal before the teacher came back.
"Well, I don't attach it to my body like most people. I use it to make instruments," Chase played an imaginary saxophone. "I'm a musician."
"That's still impressive. If anything, that's more advanced than armor-making." Lucas nodded with amazement.
"Yeah, yeah." Chase was looking behind him while he jogged. "Where was that redhead you were walking with, Max?"
"Who? Chrissie? She should be in this class." Max looked forward, past several people. "She's up there." He pointed to the noticeable orange hair.
"And that's my cue to leave you." he waved goodbye as he sped up to catch to Chrissie.
"So, you've met Chase. Who else have you seen around?" Max turned to Lucas.
"Hmm, I've seen Jamie, Steven, Madison, and Katherine." Lucas looked upward, trying to recall anyone else.
"Oh, Steve and Katie? They're are in my first class." Max nodded. "How's Jamie been? He still doing track?"
"I don't know." Lucas laughed. "I don't talk to the guy."

After second period, everyone was changed back into their school uniforms and started moving to their next class.
"Maxamilian! What class do you have next?" Chase started walking with him.
"ACD." Max started turned down a hallway.
"Oh. And that is?" Chase continued to follow Max closely.
Max stopped and pointed to the sign above the doorway he was about to enter. The sign read "Advanced Crystal Development"
"Huh. That doesn't sound like a class you'd take." Chase put the back of his hand on Max's forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
Max laughed while pushing his hand away. "I'm only in this class because I heard the teacher is really laid back."
"Oh. So you're going to try to get away with sleeping more? Same old, same old." Chase looked around the hallway to see that it was empty.
"The bell is about to ring. What class do you have?"
As if on cue, the school's bell chimed, signaling the start of third period.
"Ah! Crap! I have math!" Chase repositioned his shoulder strap and hustled down the hallway and around the corner, almost losing his traction and slipping.