It had been a day since Inuwa and Clarissa had gotten into their first physical altercation with another. It was against these 3 kids who were trying to act like stooges or hoodlums by attacking another rather fashionable-looking kid. After they scared the stooges off, the kid hadn't woken up by then, so they went to the school office. The conversation at the office was awkward at best, though, it definitely could've gone better.
'We saw him being attacked by 3 people; we think they're students here…' Inuwa said.
'Do you know their names? Or what they look like?' The receptionist said.
'Yes, actually!' Clarissa replied. 'The kids responsible were a rather tall, bulky-looking kid with blue hair, a scrawny blonde guy and another blonde girl with pink highlights.'
The receptionist looked puzzled for a second.
'Do you perhaps have a video or photo?'
'Yes, we do!' Clarissa said, pulling out her phone.
In that moment, the screen lit up. Scrolling through her gallery, Clarissa opened up the latest video. In that video, both Clarissa and Inuwa were on the school grounds. Their voices were huffed yet excited; the video footage was extremely choppy, to add. Soon, the video footage revealed a view of Caeleb and his friends from the back, presumably attacking another. After that, the video ended with Inuwa and Clarissa being confronted by another person with a tall, round figure and a buzz cut.
'Who was that?' asked the receptionist.
'We don't know. It doesn't matter.' Inuwa responded.
'Well, what I've seen is very serious. Did you call emergency services?' the receptionist said.
'I did.' Clarissa replied.
The receptionist deflated, and then audibly sighed. She then muttered something about paperwork and work hours before turning towards the pair.
'Okay, well it's good that you reported it. But I don't recognise you two. What age are you two?' She asked.
'I'm 12.'
'I'm also 12.'
'Alright, I'll search you two up now…,' the receptionist typed in the year group they were in into the school database. Then, she scrolled down on the profiles till she found a recognisable face.
Unfortunately, she did not find anyone who looked similar to the two. At that moment, she came to a realisation. They were trespassing.
'Wait, what did you say your names were?!' She said, looking up. But the moment she looked, the two had vanished into the twilight night. It was an ethereal occurrence. With that, she huffed in silence and put on some headphones.
"Inuwa, what would we have done if she found out about our school?!" Clarissa said, "We'd be done for! You're lucky it was 7, and she wanted to be out of that place!" She huffed. Inuwa, in response, shrugged. Grinning, he put his hands together– perhaps he was ready to rebuke her statement.
"But she didn't."
"It's a what-if for a reason, numbskull!" Clarissa replied, throwing her book over his head.
"Still, I hope that guy is alright… do you remember the things those asses were saying?" Inuwa said.
"How could I forget? If my friends treated me like that, I don't think I'd trust anyone ever again…" Clarissa replied.
"Did you ever get the names of those guys?" Inuwa asked.
"You were with me last night when we heard! But yes."
"O-oh, I didn't hear."
"It was Yuzu, Tamarin and Caeleb. I don't remember the other one; he was forgettable," she shrugged. Truthfully, Inuwa didn't remember the scrawny kid either. Probably because of how much of a sycophant, he was. It was somewhat embarrassing to impose such little agency on yourself like that.
"I think his name sounded like a food… Oh! I remember! It was P–"
"–ickle," a rather monotone voice added. Inuwa and Clarissa quickly swished their heads to the source of the voice. Standing near the classroom door was Edgar. The brunette's hair remained regal, and his unmoving yet determined glint persisted.
However, no longer was he in his school's uniform. He was wearing his own clothes like the rest of the students in the school (Even though it was incredibly difficult to tell since he still wore a blazer and tie).
With a friendly grin, he extended his palm out to the pair. "I would like to thank you two for helping me yesterday," he said. "If you want anything, I can ask my dad to buy it for you as thanks." He finished.
Graciously, Inuwa took his hand and smiled. Then, he softly shook his head. "You don't owe us anything," he said.
At this, Edgar shook his head. His grin broadened.
"No, no, I insist. You two practically saved my life. If you didn't take them down that day, I would've suffered under them for much longer." He replied. "This is my way of saying thanks."
Finally, Inuwa's smile faltered slightly. It seemed that the gears in his head had begun leading him to a judgement of sorts. After all, during that escapade he and Clarissa had taken notice of the damaged electronic goods in his bag. And, after checking those delinquents for any more stolen devices, Clarissa noted that their phones were all the latest versions. If what they were saying were true, why did they have the newest edition?
"Why do you feel the need to give up a material possession to make friends?" Inuwa asked unperturbed. "It seems you splurged a bunch of cash on those creeps as well."
Edgar looked down slightly. Now it was Clarissa's turn to speak.
"Well, I guess since you still owe us, I'd like to ask for something," She cut in. Edgar looked up towards her in shock. So did Inuwa. "Clarissa!"
Then, with a lovely smile. She clapped her hands together. "Why don't you become our friend?"
"What," he said, feeling exuberant internally.
Yet, he also felt nervous. He was so ignorant with his previous friends that he never noticed their true feelings. He was far from being a perfect friend. Why would they want a dense, naive heir like him? Aside from the obvious reason, being extortion of money.
"You heard me," she continued. "You should hang out with us. It honestly gets boring sometimes with just me and Inu."
"Hey, I'm not boring!" Inuwa shouted.
"Okay," He said, staring off to the side. He didn't know what to think about that. However, he did know that if he wanted to have friends in this school, he'd better stay with Inuwa and Clarissa.
With that, he resolved himself. He hadn't earned the trust of his previous friends. As a result of that, they had no attachment to him, nor did they share any intimate knowledge. If he wanted to avoid a similar situation with Inuwa and Clarissa, then he had to first learn everything about them. That was the only way.
'After all, in science, the more we understand the properties of a metal, the better we can predict and control the impacts of our actions. In this same way, if I learn everything about them, then I can predict their actions, which will allow me to earn their trust.' Edgar thought.
With this thought etching the back of his mind, Edgar followed Inuwa and Clarissa out of the classroom.
In a flash, a month had passed.
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"Where is it… where is it…?" asked Inuwa.
The group were in a shop dubbed 'Burgalore!'. It was a regular fast-food joint; however, it was incredibly trendy at the moment. As evidenced by the fact that a long line of students was lined up to the store counter from all the way outside.
Luckily, Clarissa had anticipated this and had managed to convince the teacher to let the trio out early. Banking on her status as the head of the year to do it. Now, the trio were ordering their food on the kiosks.
"Inuwa. Why are you taking so long?" huffed Clarissa. "It can't be that hard to get the burger and go. We're waiting."
"Don't rush me!" he yelled. "Now, where is it? This is a fast-food place; why wouldn't it have nuggets? nuggets… nuggets …nuggets." The boy was lost in his own world, scrolling up and down in hopes of finding something that seemed to be obviously not on the menu.
"Of course, where would you be without your beloved nuggets?" huffed Clarissa. "They're not on the menu!"
Inuwa stared off to the side. He didn't care about what she had to say. Grunting, he began to closely examine every single meal - in hopes of finding them.
"That's disgusting! Your eyes are practically pressed up against the screen!" Clarissa shouted, chastising Inuwa. "There are people behind us, you know! Stop embarrassing me!" She continued. Hoping– no, praying to the heavens above that the boy would take a second to reflect.
He did not.
"All I need is a chance!" He said resolutely. "I won't give in now!" He was practically glimmering, basked in a celestial light. It would've been charming to Clarissa in any other situation. But here, she could feel a disorienting nagging in her chest as she face-palmed. There was a geriatric man behind her who started chortling, further adding to her embarrassment.
"Bwahaha! Go get 'em, kid! Find your nuggets!" he shouted.
"Thank you, kind sir! I won't be long! As long as I don't give up…!" Inuwa said.
Clarissa was preparing to sink to the floor, cover her face and scream as loudly as she could. When the first voice of reason in her life, Edgar, spoke up.
"Inuwa. I found something that resembles your beloved nuggets." Edgar pointed to his Kiosk.
"They're called pop-bites, but they're just like smaller nuggets with more individual pieces." He spoke. He then sighed as that was enough to attract Inuwa's attention. He could practically see a supernova occur within his void-like eyes.
"Thank you, Egg-ar! How can I ever repay this act of kind majesty!" Inuwa said.
"You can start by prostrating yourself before me, you heathen. When did you come up with such a vexing nickname?" A clearly annoyed Edgar replied. He was on the verge of starting a scuffle with Inuwa, but to maintain his status, he had to restrain himself.
"No way will I ever do that! Because of that, I'm changing the nickname! How about Edge-gar?" He replied with a victorious smile. In the background, Clarissa sighed and paid for the duo's orders.
A vein bulged out from Edgar's forehead. "What kind of heir cares about their public image in this day and age?! All I have to do is flex my money, and you'll be dead where you stand!" he shouted, a malicious grin clawing its way up his features.
"Well, that's fine! It's about time I help tackle the issue of corruption within our nation! And I'll start by cleansing scum like you!" Inuwa said, pointing at him.
With that, the crowd staring at them expected some sort of back-and-forth fist fight. It looked like something entertaining was brewing. Some of the onlookers even began to pull out their phones to start recording, and the staff of the establishment stared uneasily at the duo. Of course, the oblivious duo never registered any of this. However, Clarissa had resolved to scream into her pillow the moment she got back home.
In that instant, the duo began 'fighting'. However, it wasn't the kind that attracted views. The two were giving each other noogies, flicking at each other and poking each other. It was the kind of pathetically disappointing fight that Clarissa had feared. She could only flush as the onlookers lowered their phones, their hopes dashed.
"Wow, that's kind of pathetic," a woman who looked to be in her 30s said.
"Just leave them be; they're kids," replied an elderly man.
"I was like, so convinced that they'd start stabbing each other or something," a blonde girl hollered.
"I can't believe I was about to record for that," a brunette said, looking towards his friends who all wore smiles.
One of the employees sighed and continued serving orders. He didn't even know why he stopped serving them. Those boys were harmless.
"Moneybags, don't think for a second you've won this!" Inuwa told Edgar as he was trapped in a bind by Edgar. "I'll come back! I always do!" he said as he struggled against Edgar's superior grip.
"Not today!" Edgar said, tightening his bind ever so slightly. However, it was enough to press his carotid artery.
"–Urk!" Inuwa replied as he felt the pressure against his neck increase. "Fine! I give! I give!"
Edgar then released him from his grip. As this happened, Inuwa sank to the floor.
"How can I live with myself after losing to an egg…" he murmured.
"You don't", Edgar replied, standing over him. "It's my victory today. However, you fought a valiant battle, my friend. One of the toughest I've fought in a long time." He said, tears gathering in his eyes.
"Thank you…" Inuwa replied. Then, he closed his eyes and donned a bright smile. With that, his eyelids relaxed, and his movement stilled. Inuwa had died. Slain by Edgar's own two arms.
The battle was over. A tear rolled down Edgar's cheek. He had lost his friend in the battle; what could he make of himself now?
"Inuwa! Edgar! Our order is here!" Clarissa shouted over at the two. In an instant, the immersion the boys had in their own delusions had broken. The previously dead Inuwa awoke. Some bangs covered his eye. 'My nuggets!' He thought. The boys then clambered over towards Clarissa. Then, they received their order.
Since there were no open seats in the restaurant, the trio decided to eat their food on the way home. The atmosphere was rather pleasant. The sun had retreated behind the sky, and now it was bathed in a soupy orange. The trio exchanged pleasantries together and gave commentary about their food. For some reason unbeknownst, the three felt nostalgia. As if they'd experienced this sort of moment many times before.
"Wow, these don't taste like nuggets at all."
"I told you they weren't nuggets."
"But you said they were like nuggets, Edgar."
"Let me try one, Inuwa, and see what you're talking about."
"Sure."
Edgar took a bite.
"They taste exactly like nuggets."
"Seems like your taste buds aren't 'sophisticated' enough," Inuwa smirked.
'Huh? Does Inuwa have some sort of nugget sensing in his taste buds? I'll have to make a mental note of that. That's one more thing I've learnt about him today.' Edgar smiled.
Reflecting, Edgar thought about his experiences with Inuwa and Clarissa compared to his experience with Caeleb.
'Who knew you just had to pick the right friends to feel such happiness? They don't even take advantage of all the money sitting in front of them. I used to think they were stupid and blithe for doing that. Maybe they were trying to make me feel like a normal person. If that's the case, then how could I ever repay them?'
To Edgar, his friends had become something akin to the siblings he never had. They all mutually lifted each other, gave advice to each other and succeeded together. There was nothing closer than their bond in his mind. That's why he was certain that their friendship could weather the test of time. As long as all three of them were together– they definitely could.
He didn't care whether they initially approached him out of pity or gratitude. It was what they constantly brought that mattered to him. They brought something to be motivated for and something he could focus on aside from his academic pursuits. That's because–
"I love you both. Friends who'll last a lifetime." He murmured, smiling.
Inuwa turned around, his eyes wide. "Huh? Did you say something?"
"Hah… no! Are you going senile already?" Edgar replied.
"Why… you!" Inuwa said.
Inuwa then began chasing Edgar the way home. Leaving Clarissa behind. Wordlessly, she stopped walking and covered her mouth.
"Unbelievable. You're so cringey." She said. However, her mouth was curved into a wide grin. Which was a telltale sign of how she actually felt.