His vision started to clear off, he saw a vague object all black in front of him. Slender her figure made her so special to him. The person touched Daren and it made him feel a sudden softness in the hands. He saw Jassie standing next to him looking scared and worried over the person that was lying on the bed in the nurse’s office. The nurse came rushing over to him carrying a cup of warm cocoa and a piece of biscuit that was a thing that made everybody feel comfortable in those sickly time. Daren did not quite care about the biscuit or the hot drink that stood independently on the white oak bedside table as there was a person that stood next to him that made his heart skips a beat again.
“How are you feeling Darl-Daren still feeling oozy from the black out?” Jassie asked him.
“I am fine it was just a black out. Nothing big.” He replied.
“Well okay… Yea it was nothing because you blacked out for a whole day and only found when Edward was walking past the back arts classroom at the end of the day. I think that is fine. Nothing to be worried about.” She shot him sarcastically.
He then noticed the need to be worried as he been out cold for the entire day and not to be found till the end of the day.
“Sorry… I was worried for you because you were always there at lunch but you did not show up today. Nobody would have thought you would use the back arts class room to get to the nurses office which is why that was the last place we looked.
“Awesome!”
“Whatever, just don’t scare me anymore like that. Anyway your mum is on the way and since I don’t know where your locker is I thought you might want to get it now so why not I walk you to it. Just to keep you safe and not having beauty sleeps again.
Jassie and Darren went to get his bag and walked out of the school together waited anxiously for them to get picked up by their parents. They were alone by the bus stop, everyone had gone home. They sat by the bus stop and glancing at the light blue sky hoping something interesting that will actually help to end this awkward conversation they are in. Jassie sat there on the bench ever so poised. Her untied hair blew with the wind which carried her sweet smelling shampoo used by her and blew past his face. He shivered as the wind blew into his unbuttoned shirt but Darren was enduring something so sensational that even the chilly cold wind could not interrupt.
“Something smells good and I don’t think it’s from the school because nothing in this school actually smells good. And thank you for helping me just now. I am sorry I made you stay back in school for me.”
“Don’t worry about it Darren. What friends should do for each other.”
Jassie moved closer and threw her arms around him. He felt a sudden jolt of excitement and adrenaline. Something he had never felt so strong before but it was real and overpowering. His heart was pulsing so fast that he could feel his heart almost beating out of his chest.
They slowly moved apart after the long hug. Daren did not want to stop that sweet moment but as they moved apart he saw a heart shape carved into her skin. It bore the alphabet “DK”.
“What happened to your hand?” Asked Daren Kung caringly.
“Ohh nothing. I was bored and I just played with Kari’s pen knife.”
Friday, December 18, 2009
Chapter 2 – Unseen but touched
There were small lamps lit above the portrait of former principals of the school to illuminate them. Students waiting in the dark hallway waiting to enter classes, they were chattering away but the noise did not seem to bother Daren nor Edward too much as they were both too preoccupied with their thoughts. Edward was thinking about the friends he wanted to invite to his little rendezvous after school at Vinnie’s but Daren had another very shy topic in his mind that he was paying too much attention until he was stepping on other student’s feet. They screamed in pain at Daren he could not care less about their agonizing pain that they felt but he just walked right past them all. A gentle soft finger poked him from the back as he jumped to alertness while his palm slapped Edward on the face. They turned back and saw a girl with small pink converse shoes on her foot. She was in black tights that were partly covered with a short mini skirt, exposing her slim legs that were as white as snow. She wore a small sized casual T-shirt that would seem to fit an infant. The outfit fitted nicely with her slender and petite body like a glove topped. The boys took no time in noticing the attractive girl that created the tiny commotion between Daren and Edward stood behind them both and had this innocent glow in her face.
Her face sparkled. Literally. Her face sparkled like a jewel with the help of the sun that was shining into the corridor they were standing. She had makeup that seemed to nicely illuminate her face like never before. She seemed like a star to them both. She stood there like a doll, her hands were waving like mad. It was something that she does. Her face was beautiful, nothing they both ever saw before as beautiful as she was. They were stunned with the transformation their friend had had in just 2 days. Edward was standing there thinking whether to invite the beautiful celebrity look-a-like. Daren on the other hand was still embracing the beauty of the girl standing in front of him. Edward knew that his friend needed a pick up line as soon as possible before he drowns in self embarrassment.
‘Dang Jassie… What happened to you?? I mean, you are gorgeous. Like a super celebrity.’
‘Did some beauty mafia kidnap you and now you are like working for them? Cuz if that’s the case you have my money whenever you want.’
Jassie let out a gentle giggle.
‘Nothing happened. Just that my mum took me to the salon and they had me brain washed and now you are looking at JASSIE 2.0. New and improved.’ She replied with a little smile in her face.
She continued.
‘I thought being the ladies man would have made you a very high class type of guy. I know I still look more like a geek than anything else.’
At this time, Daren knew it was about time that he said something before things got awkward. Trying to think of a line that would compliment her but at the same time gave her the sense of criticism. It was something that he was almost good at by now.
‘I agree. That’s very different from what you used to wear. I mean now you look less like a Casper ghost. Daren said it with a little chuckle.’
‘Casper?’
She gave him a small grin with a shot of laughter. She knew he was just pulling her leg in a way that seemed funny. Everything seemed to be humorous now. They were laughing away as they walked out of the dark hallway that had small streams of light shinning into the corridor. The light penetrated past the glass doors, it projected the shatters and crack that the door has seemed to be filled with. They walked to the G block where Daren and Edward had chemistry. Jassie had her books in her hands and she went to her respective class. Daren, still being intrigued by her sudden change in fashion made him go gaga for more as he stood outside of the class looking at her like a model strutting her pose on the cat walk. He felt sudden warmth in him. His lady god image was burning in his mind with a blue and orange flame and erupting like volcano. He did not move for a minute or two but just to admire her beauty. Her Asian blood that made her feels so exotic to him.
Edward walked over to his seat and realized that his best mate was still standing near the door. He dropped his materials that made a huge banging sound that shook everybody in the room. From students that were resting their heads on tables as if taking a break before the teacher arrived to gossip girls that was chatting away on the latest gossip that they all heard, they all jumped to their feet.
Edward turned back and gave a small smile. The other students slopped back into their seats calming down. Edward moved back to its normal pace of going to Daren that was standing like a doll.
He shook Daren of its feet.
‘General Daren of the Jassie Ship... Come in… Major oral drool problem… This is Commander Edward Daniels speaking.’
He immediately awakens from the day dream that made the little patch of floor soaking with drool. Edward was staring at him with a confused look. Daren gave him a never mind look and Edward turned back walking straight for his chair. He surveyed the surrounding hoping that nobody saw him standing there. He then sheepishly dragged his body to the seat where Edward manages to reserve. The classroom was arranged in a way that chair and tables where students could study was in the middle. Experiment benches were erected by the side of the classroom where clean marbled table tops were the first thing anybody could see. Clean white plastered floor covered the whole classrooms floor. It made squeaky sounds when soles of shoes rubbed with it. They sat together side by side in the middle of the room, third row from the front. He dumped his books on the plastic table. Five minutes there later his mind slowly came back to reality, the reality that he is in the most exciting class with a lot of mathematical questions and chemical equations. Being a person that loved a challenge, Daren loved the fact that he is constantly challenged with numeral questions involving number of moles and molar mass in chemistry. Unfortunately for him, he is in the class with a very boring Chemistry teacher.
The class was noisy. Everybody was chatting away with their friends. Chairs were messed up, some were upside down and some were laying side down. Edward was busy texting friends that were in the invite list of his after school meal. The door creaked open. Students rushed to their seats some just sat straighten their backs and some just adjusted their chairs. Sudden movement of chairs and human body filled the room and it made the whole class noisier than before. Miss Brandy, a middle aged spinster with 3 children came in the class with a cup of lotus tea on her left hand and her bag with a black, rugged and stained laptop strapped across both her shoulder. She had a hunch on her back as she strode into the room. A normal routine for the class of chemistry class B from the lotus tea to the bag pack and sometimes a stack of books that she uses as reference.
As the got into her teaching mode she yelled out to the class to open their text books to the chapter on oxidation and reduction. The class did what she commanded like soldiers following the orders of the commander. Pages flipping were the only sound heard by the students, it echoes through out the ears of students. Daren’s ears also heard the irritating sound of the flipping of pages. He felt a sudden shot of pain to his ears. It did not stop him from flipping his book.
With Miss Brandy mumbling away with the process of rusting and oxidation, he felt another shot of pain to his head. Class continued with the teacher now yelling at a student for not paying attention to her mumbles. She nagged to the whole class of the importance of this year as it will cost them their recommendation to join next year’s chemistry class. Not listening to her, he felt a sudden shot of pain to his head. He knew it was not a normal headache as it was much painful than a normal headache. It made him hurl. Daren like the other was not listening to her but was clenching his head in the middle of the class. The headache was now so agonizing it almost made his head pop. The pain shot at him for nearly 5 minutes now, he could not stand the pain and his head now lying flat on the table. The headache
“Lying flat on the table is not working, maybe I should go to the nurse’s office.” He told himself. He stood up and slowly walked over to Miss Brandy. His head was like on burning and was piercing with needles.
He whispered to her. ‘Miss, May I be excused? Not feeling well.’
He was excused.
He held his books close to his chest he wanted to run into a wall in hope that it would decrease the pain. His surrounding felt so foggy it felt as though there was a layer of mist that made his view so blur. He continued walking to the general office where the nurse’s office was. His headache was still pulsing in his head that was clenched by his fist. He walked past the canteen, there were kids sitting around looking at Daren. He was in so much pain that he moans to keep his headache in check. he could no longer stand the pain in his head. Every passing second that he bear with the pain it just got much worst. Needles piercing into his head were the feeling he felt. It increased every passing second, he could not stand the pain any longer and he just sat on the ground. He was crouching on the ground beside the teacher’s office and did not move. Pain almost eating his brain alive now.
Bright white light shove into his eyes it was the brightest ever seen in his whole entire life. It blinded him instantly. Daren was laying naked flat on a floor made of white parquet tiles without any clothes on his body. With no borders visible he felt stunned. He moved his hands to survey the environments but feeling nothing but clean fresh that was gently touching his skin. His vision still slightly impaired, it took him a few seconds to realize a figure was walking towards him. It was so tiny at that moment he thought he was seeing ants crawling towards him. While trying to overcome the brightness that blinded his sight, the shadow slowly appeared before him. Coming ever so closer now, he wanted to run from the mysterious object. His legs were frozen. He had no control over it as if they were a foreign object. He shook his legs vigorously hoping that it would help him. The figure was much closer to him now. He saw the figured covered in black robe that seemed to be ripped many times by claws it covered him fully to his ankles. Skulls of human were hanging from his waist, it was dangling from a string that held all four of the skulls together. The robe had hood that made his face partially covered. His exposed face was white and it was pale as while as the bright light that shone so brightly. It looked like a human that was hidden in a light deprived area. Daren used his hands to push him further from the mysterious figure as his foot was weak and not functioning properly. He pushed his body further but the black robed figure was coming closer to Daren.
Suddenly, the figure started to levitate and lifted his hands that were pointing towards Daren. Pain shot across his chest where the figure aimed his hands at. Warm red liquid was gushing out of his chest. He realized that he was bleeding from a wound that came from the figure. Liters of blood came oozing of his bare chest and it surrounded him like a pool. Feeling a cool breeze gushing towards Daren’s face and it made him felt sleepy and everything was blurry. Everything started to turn black from the bright background to black his sight starting to fade. He saw the figure placing his palm onto his exposed chest. He did not feel anything next as he was floating carelessly in total pitch black. Now he is not even able to move his entire limb of his body. ‘Why am I paralyzed?’ He asked himself with a calm tone in his mind. Maybe its all a dream maybe its just my imagination.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Chapter 1-Misery of the households
As he slowly took the baseball bat and the mitt out of his closet, memories of his father slowly flooding his mind and intoxicating him like the smell of sweet corn bread fresh out of the oven which he smelling now. That sweet corn bread suddenly brought him to his peak as he wondered to himself why his mother was baking sweet corn bread with no obvious occasion As he stepped down from stairs he could smell the smell of his beloved sweet corn bread slowly diffusing into his big mansion that his dad left him, his brother and his mother to take care off.
He walked past the living room where small fragments of memories of his father slowly hit him. His father’s curly yet short brown hair that fitted perfectly with his calm oceanic blue colored eyes. He made a turn into the kitchen and saw his mother standing behind the kitchen counter faced straight towards him. He saw his mother sobbing with tears slowly running from her eyes onto her mothers old wrinkles chin. Her eyes were as red as fresh blood that seemed like it could set anything in sight on fire and her dark blond long hair was very messy. Tears slowly dripping onto the rim of the baking tray she used to hold the corn bread in the perfect square mould. It was at that moment when he remembered the last time his mother baked his favorite sweet corn bread she was also in a very emotionally unstable state with tears able to fill 3 dams and able to revegetate plantation in Africa. Without hesitation he went over to the plate that held the bread readily sliced and already cooled with strawberry jams in a small saucer placed next to an empty plate.
‘I knew you would come down that’s why I got Aunt Pearls jam already for you honey’ Daren’s mother said to him with a raspy tone, clearly trying to hide her tears and emotion from her eldest son that seem to have also tried to hide the fact that he knew his mother was crying but not why she was crying.
‘What is with the water works going on here? My bread is actually kind of soggy.’ He said to his mother without a slight glance at her.
He knew she was really sad or angry over something because she would never make it unless he hogged her or something really sad came up. To his mother the baking of the sweet corn bread was suppose to act like chocolate and its effects would help to relieve her sadness and tears when she was not feeling well. While his mother was trying to avoid answering the question, Daren munched down his slice of bread then asking his mother again the reason for her crying in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. She sighed in despair. She knew there was no running away from his son that was very determined in everything he did and everything he wanted from anybody. Not know if it was a bad point of his eldest son or a good point she answered him. ‘I just called your school to tell them that you would be away for a week or two to attend a funeral in KLL.’ She told his eldest son with a slow sigh at the end of the sentence.
Without thinking he asked her back with a shocked written on his face so clearly that it actually scared his mother white.
‘WHY??? WHO DIED???’
Daren’s mother pointed at a portrait of his grandmother that was lying on the top of a classical wooden shelf filled with ornaments and decorative handed on by his grandmother at the end of the kitchen. He fell back into his chair and was stunned by the news. He never thought his grandmother was ready to move on, he always thought she was a very strong person as she was still bugging his mother last week to go to Paris last week to pay a little visit to their long lost relative.
His mother continued. ‘Heart attack while she was asleep. Sad way to die if you were to ask me.’
Without a sound he walked out of the kitchen and turned into the hallway and stopped dead in front of stairs. He yelled out to his mother back in the kitchen still sobbing away. ‘Hey mum, do I still go to school today?’
‘Yea, you should but only for today you can choose to go to school or not.’
He slowly lifted his legs up each elevation and finally after 15 steps he reached the top floor. He went into his room and picked out a black long sleeve shirt that he thought would be good to wear considering his grandmother’s passing with jeans that he wore yesterday. He picked up his cell phone and wallet slide each in his jean pocket, he was ready for school. He made his way downstairs and told his mother that he was ready for school and automatically his mother walked over to her purse and headed straight out the door. Daren slammed his side of the car door after shutting the garage closed. He sat there quietly while his mother drove them to St Dove Albertine High School.
‘How is school till now Daren? Everything okay at school?’ asked his mother now clear of her tears of grieve.
He thought to himself. Should I tell her about Jassie Heng, the cute part Asian and Pilipino girl? Should I tell her that I really love her but can’t take any chance at ruining my friendship with her? His mind was flying all over Jassie’s lovely and calm Asian face.
He then replied ‘Everything is fine in school, doing my homework and not causing any problems to the teachers. Except for my Technical Math teacher, I don’t think likes me.’
‘Did you do anything to him?’
‘Did you complete your work?’
‘Don’t tell me you asked the question on Einstein theory or law or whatever it is.’ His mother questioned him like a police trying to dig for answers from a suspect except this is his eldest son.
‘I did my work and I did not ask him any question about the Einstein theory of gravitation mum not law. And no I did not rape him or anything, because he is really huge and has a huge “BO”.’ Daren answered with a slight laugh in his reply.
‘BO? What is BO?’
‘Body Odour. He smells like a train wreck and nobody cleaned the mess up for a year or two.’
‘That sounds bad honey. Anyway, just be good in his class and don’t let him get on your nerve. You are new in this school, so be good.’ Replied his mother as they reached the front door of the school.
Daren jumped out of the Toyota Prius his mother was driving, his almond colored hair was flying all over his head. He felt a cold chilly breeze blowing past his ear and heard the screaming of 10th grade girls after while one of them talked about her encounter with Edward Daniels few minutes ago in the library. Edward Daniels was the first person that Daren knew on the first day of his new schooling life here, since then they have been best friends. Edward being the out-going and handsome person manages to surprise Daren over the fact that they both had common interest in movies and games. Daren walked over to his locker in the locker bay that was located at the end of the school. With no change in status quo he dropped everything in his locker and walked away with materials for his first class. At that moment, Edward too appeared at the entrance of the locker bay. He glided quietly straight towards Daren as he smiled very casually.
‘Hey Daren, everything alright dude? I texted you just now but you did not reply.’
‘Yea, everything is fine but my grandmother is not.’
Daren took out cellphone and checked his inbox as he replied ‘She passed away this morning and I have to fly back to St Monic later after school.’
‘You serious? That’s awful. I am guessing that you can’t hang out later after school in Finnie?
‘Awh… You going to Finnie after school? I really miss the Ice Cream shake. Need some so badly!’
As they slowly made their way to Chemistry class in the dark hallway.
me
Author: Nicholas Kung
Screen Name: N Kung
Email Address: nickykung@hotmail.com
Genre: Thriller
Novel Names
1. The Ritually Sinned
Wishlist
Harry Potter books
Dan Brown
Lemony Snickets Collection
