🍌 The Banana King
Chapter 3: Toilet Cleaning, Bananas, and Training (day 3)
"You… it was you? So it really was you!" No Pity asked, eyes wide.
Arnold straightened. "Yes, sir. I cleaned the toilets."
"No way… perfect! You have a natural talent for that," No Pity said with a rare smile.
Instantly, Arnold's face morphed into that of a hundred-year-old grandmother, grinning as he resumed scrubbing the toilets.
Two flies hovered nearby, whispering among themselves.
"Man…" said the first fly.
"Yes, bro," replied the second.
"That human… he's a professional. I can't deal with this," said the first.
"True… he's my biggest enemy. I must stop him today!" said the second.
The first fly dove at Arnold. He barely looked, stepped on it, and that was the end of it.
By 4:00 PM, Arnold finally finished. He washed his hands and returned the cleaning materials to the discipline master's office.
No Pity stared at him, swallowing hard. What did I do now? Arnold thought.
"You're doing excellent, Arnold. Continue like this. Your new title is… Perfect Toilet Cleaner," No Pity said.
Exhausted, Arnold went back to class. He saw Ange and Momo waiting. He was surprised to see Momo still at school this late.
"What's he doing here?" Arnold asked.
"To help you learn math," Ange replied with a smile.
Arnold processed that. Momo's teaching style reminded him of a father instructing a child and Arnold, reluctantly, was the kid.
"No, I refuse," Arnold muttered.
Ange blinked, shining eyes glowing. Arnold remembered the promise he made the previous night: he would do one thing she said, if possible.
"Okay," he sighed, approaching Momo.
Momo adjusted his glasses, fingers tapping the frame, and grinned. "Let's start."
First up: quadratic equations. Arnold breezed through the first exercise—but inverting signs in the final answer brought Momo's hand down hard across his face.
"This is unacceptable for someone I teach," Momo scolded.
Arnold groaned silently. Two hours later, fifty slaps had left his jaw swollen and twisted, his face nearly unrecognizable.
Finally, they returned in Ange's VIP car. Arnold collapsed onto his bed as soon as he got home.
"See you tomorrow, Arnold," Momo said before leaving.
Arnold remembered everything and yelled, "NOOOO!"
He activated his phone, downloaded Webnovel, and searched for The Banana King. Reading for an hour, he discovered something critical: the importance of a balanced diet.
Then he noticed his sister, Mervill, still in the parlor watching TV.
"Since morning?" he muttered, then headed outside to train.
Three bananas later and thirty push-ups done, Arnold collapsed, sweaty and exhausted. Mervill laughed until she fell over.
"I really need to stop for today," he said.
Day 3 Wednesday
Arnold woke at 8:30 a.m., checked his phone. 8:30…
"What kind of kid doesn't wake me up?" he muttered, storming to Mervill's room. She was sleeping peacefully.
"Get up! Aren't you going to school?" he shook her.
"No class today," she said.
Arnold's eyes widened. With lightning speed, he brushed his teeth and dashed out.
I'm late! I'm late! he thought, sprinting down the nearly empty streets.
Passing an old mother, she remarked, "He really loves school."
Step after step, hill after hill, Arnold ran until the school came into view. Students were already being punished.
He tried to sneak in another way—but a reflective head glimmer caught his eye.
No Pity.
Arnold smiled faintly and walked boldly toward him.
"Why are you late, Arnold?" No Pity asked, eyes glowing.
"I slept late last night," Arnold replied evenly.
"Oh, I see. Take this bucket and fill the 500L container with it," No Pity commanded.
Arnold's face showed nothing. Two buckets of 10L to fill a 500L container… he calculated in his mind.
"What?" No Pity asked, sensing his calm.
"Nothing, sir," Arnold said, stepping to the tap.
No water came out. The 500L container loomed before him, silent and menacing. Arnold grinned, face shifting into that of a thousand-year-old crone, showing all his teeth.
It was terrifying enough to make a living being run away.
No choice… I'll carry water from River Gouachez, he muttered, striding out the gate.
The school was divided into three campuses. River Gouachez flowed near Campus 1. Arnold prepared for a long trek.