Mr. Stanley, which was the teacher's name, closed his text on the puppet and dismissed the gathering.
Cole stood up, wringling his neck around, in search of Lenora he saw earlier. Everywhere was crowded. Then, he felt a soft touch on his back.
"Cole!.... Finally!" Lenora hugged him.
"You're here?. So, you are.....?"
"Where is Kevin?" Cole interrupted Lenora
"I haven't seen him but he came to class though. What's up with you?" Lenora noticed Cole's worried face.
"Do you have any idea why almost everybody were talking about me as soon as I entered this place?" Cole curiously asked.
"I noticed it too. But partially, I do know" Cole had given her his full attention now.
"It's about that blood bond thing we did last night!" She answered
"What about that?"
"Well, like I said, 'Partially'...."
"Well done, man!. That guy was damn scared!" Kevin was seen with a group of boys, laughing.
"Oh, Cole. When did you show up?" Kevin spotted them.
"Ohhhh. It's him — the guy from last night" One of the boys said. He was short, had blond hair and pale skin.
"What've you installed for us, man?" Another said. They burst into laughter.
"My brother doesn't like intimidation" Kevin told them.
"Whatever!. Catch up with y'all later!" And they walked off.
"Big Celebrity here. How're you doing?" Kevin wrapped his arms around Cole's shoulder.
"Who are those guys?" Lenora asked Kevin
"Just bunch of friends!"
"Bunch of friends?. Just one night here and you've already joined a gang for you to kick asses" Cole said, sarcastically.
"And you know I love doing that all day!!" Kevin smiled.
Lenora hissed.
"You know that part wasn't really necessary" Cole said
"Which part?"
"The celebrity part. Do you find it funny calling me some unworthy names?" Cole asked.
"Ohh!. Come on, Cole!. You are a celebrity — Everyone now knows you" Kevin said
"What do you mean?" Cole's face has changed now while Lenora fixed her eyes on Kevin.
"Don't you know?....."
"Of course. Since I came in here, I've been hearing rumors here and there concerning me but I don't really know much about it. What is it?" Cole asked Kevin.
"Oh!? You don't?. It's all over the news!" Kevin exclaimed, as he reached for his bag to grab a newspaper.
"Hold on!. Do this place cast their own broadcast live?" Lenora asked
"They do have their own news officials and but I don't know anything about live broadcast" Kevin answered, still searching for the newspaper.
"Haven't you still learnt enough last night, Miss intelligent?" Kevin teased her. Lenora gave him a death stare. Cole just didn't mind.
"And when did you start reading their newspapers?. I thought it was written in Latin!"
"Well, making friends that understands Latin can give you an advantage in that aspect" Kevin said.
"Hmmmm..."
"Here is it!" He added, as he drew out a newspaper out of his bag after a long period of searching. It was squeezed and he had to open it up.
"Here you go!" He said, handing the newspaper over to Cole. Cole read the headline, which was written in bold writing style:
Reliquia sanguinis sine controversia respondet, dum ens recens supernaturale primum probationem vinculi sanguinis subit.
"How on earth am I suppose to understand this?" Cole exclaimed.
"Well, I had friends who translated it for me and it relates to you" Kevin turned to Cole.
"What did it say?" Cole asked
"Just find out yourselves. I've got asses to kick!" He said and jogged off.
"That boy is sick!" Lenora was kinda angry.
"Well, I might not have a hard time knowing about this!" Cole said
"So, how was last night?" He asked Lenora and they talked while they walked out of the class.
After Lenora had headed off to 'where she didn't tell Cole', Cole headed straight to Mr. Bruce's office, with a specific homework to give to him.
"So quick?" Mr. Bruce asked Cole, as he entered the office.
"Good afternoon Sir!" Cole hurriedly greeted.
"Afternoon?" He paused and asked himself.
"I haven't really seen anyone talk about time here. Is there no time?" Cole asked Mr. Bruce.
"It depends!" Mr. Bruce chuckled.
"So, what's up with the rush?" Mr. Bruce noticed.
"I got to class and I heard rumors and whispers about something relating to me" Cole sat down and began to explain.
"And I found out that they've written something about me on newspapers....."
"Newspapers?" Mr. Bruce was confused.
"Yes. Here!" Cole handed the newspaper to Mr. Bruce.
After reading just the headline, he was flabbergasted.
"But Cole, I told you to keep a low profile!"
"And I did. I didn't talk to anyone nor did I disclose anything to anybody. What does the newspaper says?"
"It has information about the blood bond trail issue from last night. And if it gets into the wrong hands, it won't be good" Mr. Bruce exclaimed.
"Wrong hands?" Cole was confused at this point too.
"Just don't bother about that"
"Have you had breakfast?" He asked Cole.
"No"
"Come with me. Let's go have breakfast. I need to call for a meeting this evening!" He said.
"And don't worry. Once you start learning how to speak Latin, to read Latin won't be difficult for you" He smiled.
They both walked out of the office.
"Your staff?... Where is your walking staff?" Cole noticed Mr. Bruce was walking normally, which wasn't normal.
"You mean my walking stick?"
"Looks more than a staff to me"
"Yh. Well, I don't need it now. I need to walk faster as you do, right?" They both smiled.
"So..... Where do we get breakfast?" Cole asked, as they were walking.
"Nyxoria" Mr. Bruce answered
"Sorry...." Cole didn't hear what he said or perhaps he didn't understand.
"The dock of safety!" The words rang in his head. It sounded familiar.
"Ohhh. Mrs. Pinny's house?"
"It's not her house" Mr. Bruce chuckled.
"But she stays there and runs the restaurant"
"Well, you can call it her house" He said and they arrived at a door.
"We're gonna be going there the same way you came in. This is a portal door by the way"
"And it's not gonna be fun" Cole said it in a funny way.
"Now that there is News about you all over the place, still try to be cool and keep a low profile, okay?"
"As usual" He answered.
"And play cool too. Still don't disclose your identity and don't think about what ever rumor you might be aware of" He added
Mr. Bruce opened the door and they both walked in — into dark air.
Seconds later, they found themselves standing on solid floor — in the open big hall. The restaurant where Cole and others first got in.
"Get yourself a seat!" Mr. Bruce tapped him
"I will be back!" He added. Cole watched him walked out, this time he was with his walking staff.
"How did he get that?" He was wondering how he got the walking staff, as he didn't take it along when they were coming.
"You mean how did you come here?" A voice interrupted him.
"Oh. Mrs. Pinny!" He exclaimed.
"So good to see you!" They shaked hands.
"It's a small world!" Mrs. Pinny recalled Cole's last words to her. They both laughed.
"You haven't answered my question!"
"Oh.... This time, I didn't wonder how I got here" He answered.
"You will get used to it" She said. They entered the kitchen, which was nearby.
Mrs. Pinny was preparing Cole's meal. Cole stood by the sink, been environment-conscious. He found a newspaper on the kitchen cabinet and it had the same headline he saw on the previous one Kevin gave to him.
"You don't really have to worry about that" Mrs. Pinny saw him, looking at the newspaper.
"You know about the news too?" He asked
"Read eveything. Many rumors but it's true"
"True?"
"I mean the blood bond trial!" She said. Cole was relived.
"Here!" She gave Cole a plate of french toast, stacked and topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, and finished with honey dripping over the sides.
"Thanks" He said and began to eat.
"You can go find yourself a seat" Cole headed to the hall with his plate of food in search of just an empty seat. Still, all eyes were fixed on him. He felt uncomfortable with that. But he just walked past few set of tables before finding a free set of table, which he sat on to eat his breakfast.
Shortly, a guy joined in.
"Percy!. How're you doing?" Cole was delighted to see him.
"Cool, man!"
"How was yesterday?. Hope everything went well in your basement?" He asked
"I wasn't really sorted" Cole told him
"And yh.... I heard the news!" Percy said
"Yh. It's somehow!"
"Let's not talk about that, bro"
"I was sorted into the werewolf clan. I learnt a lot last night. This whole place has other different features. We are in another world" Percy added
"Yh... Yh!" Cole was mainly focused on his meal.
"Guess you must be really hungry" Percy said.
"I wasn't very hungry before I came. That portal kinda drained stuff out of my tummy" Cole explained.
"That's the feeling!" They both focused on their meals.
After they finished eating, a guy rushed in and joined them.
"Heyy!. You're late!" Percy seemed to know him. He was dark-skinned, muscular and tall. He wore black T-shirt and black trousers. But one thing was odd about the dressing — He had a grey hat on.
"Yh. Just got things to finish before coming down here" His voice was edible. He began to eat his food, quickly.
Cole gestured at Percy, asking if he knows the guy.
"So, Jeff. This is my cousin, Cole" Percy introduced Cole to Jeff, which was the guy's name.
"Oh, Cole. Nice to meet you!" They shoke hands.
"Soft skin!" He added. They laughed.
"Well, he has soft skin. My name is Jefferson but you can call me M.C Cowboy" He said
"Cowboy?. Is that a name?" Cole asked.
"Well, I was intimidated at high school by bullies. They nicknamed me that. I kinda found vibe in the name and took it" He explained.
"Ohhhh!. So, you've lived in the U.S?" Cole asked
"We all came in here surprisingly. Just like you guys did" He said.
"There was no need for the hat. The outfit looks just good without it" Cole suggested.
"Well, you can also take that as a reason for me being called 'Cowboy'!" He said. They all laughed. They were getting along with each other now.
"So, since Percy knows you, you guys must be from same basement, right?" Cole wanted to know more.
"Partially though. He is a Lycan and am a Werewolf" Percy began to explain.
"But I think there's a kind of boundary that links the both basement together because we also have almost the same characteristics" He added.
"That's way too much for a guy that just arrived yesterday to know" Jeff jokingly said.
"I need to get into books. To see how all these supernatural beings looks like in their natural form" Cole said
"You will get to know many things — with time" Jeff said. He had already finished his meal.
"Powering through the meal huh?" Cole said and they laughed again.
Suddenly, a group of boys laughed really loud in the hall and it drew almost everyone's attention.
"Those touts!" Jefferson exclaimed.
"Touts?" Percy and Cole asked.
"They are the big bullies around here. Most of them are from the Lycan's basement" He said
"So, you still get bullied?" Percy said
"Well, not as I was being bullied in my high school time"
"You have to stand for yourself, man!" Cole told him
"Is that not Kevin?" Percy asked. Cole took a look
"It's him. So, he has been hanging around with those bullies?" Percy exclaimed.
"Well, I saw them today though. Am not sure if Kevin is really in for intimidating people" Cole said.
"He just loves kicking asses!" He added and they laughed, standing up with their empty place and walking out of the hall.