It was a few weeks since school was back in session. Zero had disappeared without an expnation. Scarlett is nowhere to be found. Jayden and Micah are busy studying since 8th grade is the most important chapter of their lives in terms of both magical prowess and education. Muhammed was probably skipping as per usual, cause he can just save his ass by using Deus Ex Machina to bullshit his way through life. And Arlo? He was walking down the hall alone once more, headed to his next css.

  Arlo arrived in his next css. It was an English css. Mr. Fisher used to be the teacher of the English css. But for some reason, he quit after Zero arrived. Rumors say he moved to Nevada. Wonder if he escaped the quarantine safely. Even Arlo can agree that Mr. Fisher was kind of an asshole. Especially after rumors about him sleeping with the principal’s wife got out. Oh boy, wouldn’t wanna be that guy.

  Arlo found it hard to stay focused in English css. Remembering the past two years was more important right now. His life had drastically changed. And to be fair, it was all thanks to Zero. Even if he was a bit of a mystery. What’s up with that guy anyway? Disappearing out of the blue. Casually having so many scars. And the sshed zero on his back? Arlo knew Zero was a rule bender, but a delinquent? Damn. Didn’t expect that one out of Zero. The new English teacher wasn’t having any of Arlo’s daydreaming, she smacked Arlo over the head with a book. Causing him to snap out of his nostalgia.After css had ended. Arlo went to his magic css. He was able to participate this time, though he remembered all the times he couldn’t due to not being able to unlock his magic yet. Then he remembered how he awakened his power in this exact training hall. He shuddered; those were times he did not want to remember again. He vaguely remembered what Zero had said about the magic. It might’ve been located somewhere in the brain, probably in the Hippo Cortex Ultra Maximus. Yeah, that sounded about right. Suddenly he got struck in the face by a weak fireball causing him to fall on his ass. All of his peers started ughing. This reminded him of how Scarlett accidentally had struck him with the ball that one time. Ahhh, good times. Speaking of Scarlett, she usually never missed a second of school. Why did she suddenly stop showing up?After magic css, Arlo was walking down a familiar hall. He saw the mural of that boy again. Why did they even have it? That thing is creepy, crossing the uncanny valley. But the most nostalgic part of this hallway was how everyone teamed up here to take down that weird clown monster. That was the moment Arlo realized he truly had friends now. Ones that fight with him when was leading the charge. And how they all worshipped him after he single-handedly destroyed the clown all by himself. Like, how can they not? He vividly remembers how Zero, Jayden, Muhammed, and Micah were all jealous of his super awesome strength. And how Scarlett was practically fawning over him? Yep. That’s exactly how it went.Then, as he was walking home. He remembers the road where he talked with Zero. He vividly remembers his arch-nemesis, the pedestrian signal. But he also remembers how Zero was being a dumbass. Not making any sense. This just proves his superior intelligence. No wonder everyone is jealous of him, wants to be him, and wants to be with him. Sorry dies. I already have my perfect wife, Scarlett. So, back off. This is how he spent his entire 8th grade. Flunking all of his csses, getting distracted by little things, and why does it feel like this chapter is going to end?

  (End of Part One)