I discovered there
were seven exorcists at school. There was Isaac and Annie, who were both in my
class. Kurt (the big guy) and Laurence (the awkward one with curly hair) were
both in second year. The blonde girl Katie, and Tyson (who seemed like their
leader) were both in third. Nina was also in the third year. She wasn't at
school the day I met the other exorcists, but I saw her once in the hall. She
looked a lot like Sis, but I'll tell you more about that later.
Everyone seemed to find Laurence annoying, but he was the only one
who was willing to tell me anything. Whenever I talked to the others they'd
freeze up and tell me to go away, but Laurence let the secrets spill like there
was no tomorrow.
“Monsters are animal spirits which live in the natural world,” he explained
to me.
“I know that already,” I said while remembering the stories Grandpa
told me as a child. “What else?”
“Hmm, monsters usually pretend to be different animals and then transform back
into monsters and eat humans. Lots of murders are actually done by monsters instead of people. No
one thinks that the cute kitty they find on the street is going to eat them
when their back is turned.”
“I knew it!” I didn't feel so stupid anymore for treating every
animal with caution as a child.
“But different types of monsters often disguise themselves as the same animal
so you never know what you're going to get until it unveils itself. Sometimes it’s
just a talking cat, or a giant cat with massive claws, or a half cat half
person thing. It makes exorcising really hard. When I started we had to run
away a lot, but now Tyson and Katie are pretty good, and Isaac is probably the
best.”
“Isaac,” I snorted. I could feel my anger begin to rise up already.
I'd made a few attempts to be nice to the guy, but he ignored me completely. “I
don't get it, why is that Isaac guy such an arse all the time?”
“Don't worry about Isaac. He's still mad about having to go to this
school. Isaac actually made it in to a really good high school but they refused
to let him go. He's been angry since then.”
“Still, that's no excuse to be a dick to everyone,” I muttered.
“Don't say that, Isaac's a really loyal friend. He might be angry
now, but he's normally fun to hang around.”
“Maybe,” but he had still gone out of his way to build a wall
between Annie and I. “So what's the deal with him and Annie?” I asked
“Isaac and Annie, huh? They're the same age so they've always been
close. Annie was bullied in elementary school, but Isaac would always rush in
and save her. Just like a knight in shining armor.”
“I see,” I wasn't sure how I was going to compete with that.
“He helps her with school
work at home a lot too.”
“What! Home? So he goes to her house?” The thought of the two of
them alone in Annie's bedroom made me want to puke.
“Yes, sort of, we all live together.”
“Really?” That wasn't as bad then. “All of you, as in all the
exorcists, like together, in one house?”
“Yes. Tyson, Kurt, and I have to sleep in the same room. Tyson
snores and Kurt farts all night.”
“And your parents are there too right?”
“Nah, our parents are back home, we just live here during our training.”
“Wow that must be tough,” I tried to imagine what it would be like
the live far away from Sis, Steve and Sophie.
Laurence shrugged. “At first, but I've been here since middle school
so I don't really mind anymore, but Kurt was really angry. I think he sometimes sneaks off and goes
home when he's not supposed to.”
I soon discovered that Kurt was probably the biggest guy at school.
I'm really glad that he wasn't trying to beat me up because I don't think I
would have survived. The two of us got along pretty well for a while, until
that incident.
Tyson was the oldest and the leader of the group. He was also
Annie's older brother, so I had to be nice to the guy if I wanted to date her.
This meant I had to try not to spill their secret.
I tried talking to Annie a few times since the first day, but Isaac
would always slip himself between us and foil all my plans. Therefore she
couldn't go with me to the cinema, the mall, the water park, or all the other
fantastic date locations I came up with.
I considered asking my sister about her father and older brother but
I decided against it. Sis always got depressed when we talked of them. I was
also paranoid of what Tyson would do if I told her there were exorcists running
around my school. I probably should have told her immediately. Maybe I was too
stupid to see what was coming, but perhaps Sis could have saved me.
***
I began to wonder
if I would have been an exorcist if Grandpa hadn't passed away. If I had a
famous guy like him as a mentor I could have been an awesome exorcist by now.
Surely awesome enough to make those other guys take me seriously. Maybe even
awesome enough to rival the first Michael Matsumoto.
I spent most of my classes day dreaming about fighting monsters. I wasn't
certain how they were exorcised, so I made up most of the details on my own.
Like with giant swords, or magical weapons that sent out laser beams. In my
imagination I became a fantastic monster hunter who saved young maidens from
terrifying monsters. Unless the maiden was a monster herself. In that case I
would have to destroy her, despite being almost overwhelmed by her beautiful
looks.
Being the idiot that I used to be, I decided I couldn't take it
anymore. I had to see a monster, I had to know if they were
real.
I decided that the best thing to do would be to ask the exorcists if
I could follow along one day and take a quick look. One quick glance, then I
would be out of there straight away. I approached Tyson with this idea in break
time, but he wasn't very enthusiastic.
“Absolutely not,” he said.
“Why not, I promise I'll stay out of danger.”
“There's no way I could guarantee your safety.”
“Come on, I really want to see a monster, I'll do anything.”
He looked like he was considering it, but he then shook his head.
“They would probably ground me, I have a date with Sarah Wilson on Friday and
it would suck if I couldn't go.”
I tried begging for another five minutes, but he wouldn't budge. I
later found out that Sarah Wilson was the prettiest girl in third year, which
explained his decision, but I was certain I'd seen her making out with a
student near my house.
I considered approaching Annie or Isaac, but I knew it would be a
waste of time. Some days they didn't arrive at school until lunch time. Unlike
the rest of us (who were lectured for arriving even a few minutes late) the
teacher just nodded as they entered the room.
“This is so unfair,” I muttered to Fred, the guy on my right who was
my new lunch buddy. “The teachers don't do anything when they're late. I
wouldn't mind not showing up until one.”
“It's because they do community service,” said Fred as he took a
bite of his chocolate bar. “Like go to retirement homes and read stories to old people. I
asked Mr. Philips if I could join, but he said all the places were full.”
“Humph,” I fumed. Only I knew the truth. I'd decided I
wouldn't mind chasing monsters all night if I didn't have to study anymore.
High school was far duller than I expected, and the teachers had already
started piling on the homework. It was only the second week, and I had two
assignments due.
I ignored Tyson's advice and attempted to follow them after school.
Unfortunately they all seemed to possess some sort of exorcist skill which
allowed them to vanish when the final bell rang. All my stalking attempts had
failed.
I felt deflated, but little did I know that I was about to meet my
first monster within the next few hours.
* * *
I
took a walk through the shopping district on my way home. It was a closed off
street with shops on either side and a roof so you didn't get wet when it
rained.
I stopped to look in the second-hand games store at things I
couldn't afford. It was unlikely that my sister would give me money for games,
but if I could convince Steve, he may have brought it for me. He was a really
awesome guy when it came to things like that.
There were a few girls hanging around the mall as well. Some were in
groups, and others were casually shopping on their own. There was a cute girl
gazing into the display window of the clothing store. Probably imagining how
she would look in the fashionable, but over priced outfit the mannequin was
wearing. I was tempted to stop and talk to her, before I remembered the
gruesome end to the first Michael Matsumoto.
I decided I would no longer attempt to pick up strange girls before
confirming they were human. I didn't want to meet the same end as my older
brother. I was paranoid that the fox monster really liked the taste of his
heart, and might come back looking for seconds.
I sighed and turned to go home. So much had changed since I began
high school. I had to make new friends, found out my adopted family were
exorcists, and discovered that any pretty girl could be a heart eating monster.
If I'd known my death was also soon to come, I would have returned home and
locked myself in my room forever.
I heard the jingle of phone charms, and a flash of blonde raced past
me. I stared blankly at the girl running off into the distance. She was wearing
our school uniform, but she was
wearing an assortment of jewellery which was against
school policy. The only person I knew who could get away with that was Katie!
I took a second glance. It was definitely Katie. She must have been racing off
to fight a monster. I couldn't figure out any other reason why she would be in
such a hurry.
I clutched my bag strap with one hand to prevent it from falling off
my shoulder, and followed suit. Following her was like taking another step
closer to my demise, but I was just too excited about the chance to see a real
live monster.
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