House of Cards

The Lone Wolf of Olympus

After the death of the principal, the institute provided another one from their ranks to replace the latter. They also replaced the other staff except for the janitors and the guards and the current teachers picked for this year to teach the new students. The rules remained the same despite new staff that was introduced a few days after the principal passed away. I won’t bother remembering those guys names since they are all going to leave in some point in the future and I don’t even care about the sessions any more. All I have done from the day I received the letter was secretly train myself and experimented on my limits and everything that I can do though my limits were all non-existent the moment Chris somehow gave me his ability.

My training continued for two years without letting everyone know except for Van who slyly opens my room every time he gets the chance regardless of how many times I reminded him. It came to a pass that I no longer bothered to remind him since I know that kid really well, he will not disclose something that I want to be hidden, he is that sharp and quick to take up on what I have in my head.

Many things have changed, the institute became really large when the number of special individuals that was admitted this year skyrocket to the near thousand. So the institute has no choice but to make three buildings on the west, south, and east that are able to hold at least two hundred fifty students per building. The institute even allowed other corporations to open convenient stores and karaoke bars inside where the students can make use of their vacant time and befriend other students besides their classmates. The building of the huge structures did not take a lot of time since the institute hired various construction companies to help each other and build the buildings faster than a single construction company could do alone thus it only took two months complete, enough to be available the moment the students enrolled at Olympus.

I watch the structures rose from the ground from my window as one of the buildings was erected a hundred meters away from my place. Then before we knew it, the year was almost over and my classmates already made plans to meet even after the school was over and spend some time together amidst the chattering that enveloped the entire room, I sensed a girl coming towards my direction as I lay my head on the table pretending to be asleep at the back of the room.

“Um- hello.” She said in a meek voice with her eyes swaying from left and right wondering if she is doing the right thing when I looked at her with my droopy eyes. I never really talked to anyone from this year’s class, sorry I did not try to talk to the other class from thirty years ago except for Van when he became my classmate so I don’t really know what to say so I greeted her like a normal people would do. “Hello-“ I said with a broken tone like there was something blocking my throat. “Cough! Cough!” ‘Is this the karma of not talking to a single soul except for the ones I knew for a long time? ‘I asked myself after I blew the first conversation I had with the very first person to tough up just to talk to me.

I thought she was looking at me with disgust but I was wrong, it rather look like she was worried if I were to have choked on my own saliva. “Are you okay?” she asked with a more worried tone and I shake my head as response. “No, I was just surprised that someone talked to me that my body seemed to have been surprised as well.” I replied with a soft smile, she then handed me her phone right after I finished telling her my excuse. Unable to understand what she wanted to do, I tilt my head with a confused expression asking her what she wants in a really strange way of straining my eye brow while shifting my gaze between her face and her phone. After not getting an answer I decided to ask her using words. “What is it?” I ask in a soft and gentle voice but then I saw her face slowly redden. “Can I get your phone number? I wanted to hang out in the future you see.” She replied with a shy expression. ‘Ah so it was that huh? Okay, there is really no problem if I have at least one contact number added to my century old contacts right?’ I thought to myself as I grabbed her phone and saved my number after hearing her purpose.

“Here, I saved my contact number. I hope you don’t mind.” I said as I handed back her phone. She then thanked me and immediately went back to her friends who seemed to have been watching everything from a distance and congratulated her for some reason beyond my comprehension. ‘I guess tomorrow is the end of the year huh? It felt really good to have talked to someone from my class.’ I thought to myself as I lay my head again on the desk with a weak smile on my face but then it slowly disappeared as the thought slowly died in my head. ‘Mr. () should be finished about what I asked him for help. Another year huh? I guess the time of staying idling inside this cruise is over.’ I clenched my fist as I went back and thought of my plan that have not been realized for almost thirty years.

The year ended for the institute but it did not clearly end for the students, they ought to meet again in their free time and spend time with them just like they planned but for me, it was the beginning. The beginning of my revenge, something that I should have done a long time ago. The girl who asked for my number says her good bye before she left with her family on a really expensive car so as courtesy I waved back at her with a smile on my face. ‘So she belonged to a really well off family huh? Too bad kid, I am way older than you.’ I thought to myself as I walked back to the Olympus when I saw everyone had already left and went back to my house where Van was already eating dinner. “Another year has passed huh?” he said right after I stepped inside the house. “Yeah.” I feint a smile as I entered my room and put my graduation card inside the drawer where all of my previous ones rest.

I went back to the living room and saw Van inviting me to eat. “Uncle, come here. I cooked this perfectly, even better than last time.” He said as he pulls out another chair beside him so I have no choice but to sit and eat with him if he goes that far. “I can’t believe that you really are immortal. To not age must be really good huh?” he said immediately after getting a glance at my face. “Are you saying that my stay in this world came to a halt as well?” I said as I shove the food in my mouth which he then responded with a terrible shake of his head. “Just because I am not aging even for a single bit it doesn’t mean that it’s all good for me. Staying alive longer than anyone has its downsides too and it will make you regret to have this ability over the years.” I retorted with a serious tone.

Van is looking at me like I am someone who is almost losing my mind so I look at him with a blank expression as a response. “Let’s stop this pointless topic and just eat. We can just talk again about other things except this one.” I said with a bored tone as I turned my gaze at the food and after seeing me, he then did it as well.

A few months later and it was the opening of the classes as well but this time the students is so overwhelmingly a lot that some of them actually stuck on the gate when some group decided to walk alongside with the others. It seemed like the babies who were born amidst and during the over-population from the past had finally grown up and I never thought that I would get to see them on Olympus that I even heard one of the staff gasping in awe after seeing the number of students roam the school grounds almost covering the entire streets. “Are they going to fit on the assembly building?” then one of his colleague scolded him. “Hey have you forgotten about the new assembly building? Don’t be an i***t, there is no way that place will be over crowded.” He said along with a slight pinch on his colleague’s sides. This year was not like the previous years, the students just went inside the assembly building and were briefed about what is going to happen in their entire year of staying inside Olympus and then were directed to their dorms to proceed the first day tomorrow with a fresh mind since the students might have been under such stress so they want the students to rest first before they proceed to the lesson sessions.

Some students are already on their way to one of the new school buildings while here I was getting out in a convenience store eating ice cream on the very first day of school.

*CLING!* *CLING!* *CLING!*

“I am really nervous of our first day of school. Stepping on the school grounds is like a dream come true.” One of the female students said with a little shy but excited tone. “I know right-“ one of her friend agreed but then stopped the moment they laid their eyed on my droopy expression. ‘Wow, he looks like a dead fish right before we even started class. And here I thought I was the only one scared of my first day in Olympus hence it did not cross my mind that I would get to see someone having it harder than me.’ she whispered to the one beside her. Instead of minding what they thought of me I just brushed the thought off and not bother putting up with them and proceeded to eat the melting ice cream in my hand while walking straight to the building where I am supposed to be.

I look at my card and saw that I found the room where my homeroom would be so I entered the room but then I noticed something was about to swing from above the door so I suddenly tilt my head to avoid the thing that was supposed to hit me, a can of paint intentionally tied at the top of the door to hit unsuspecting prey that decides to enter the room. The sound of the student’s voice who devised the plan disappointment echoed in the entire room as well as the others who he manage to get along with his fun look at my with surprise but then I caught the paint can and pulled it from the top of the door. The surprised and angered look in his face the moment I destroyed his fun is indescribable but then again, to make sure that no one gets hurt I burned the can along with the rope that it was tied with in front of his very eyes to dust until there was nothing solid left and proceeded to the back side of the room where there is so many more chairs available. Their shocked expression and widened eyes followed me until I manage to sit down and lay my head silently on the desk.

“Did he just burned the can Tim?” one of them said with an astonished tone. “Woah! To burn even a metal to dust, that’s some intensity of heat!” another one exclaimed but then I was surprised that there are a pair of footsteps followed right behind me that entered the room briefly after I sat down on my desk. Then I sensed someone I know enter the room so I raised my head and saw Van walking in with a smile on his face. ‘Ah, always alone as usual. You should at least make some acquaintance uncle, no wonder you are called the “Lone Wolf of Olympus”. ‘