The golden rays of the sun crept over the horizon, bathing the new world in their glory.
People began to stir awake, some already out and about, moving to their various destinations.
They had the World Government, and thus there was no need to fear the new change.
The World Government was in control. Who was there to make a fuss?
Not to mention the many countermeasures they had in place.
...
"Yawn!" Luke wiped the droplets of tears from the sides of his face, bored.
It was clear he hated school, and now even more so that Starborns existed.
He still wasn't sure he was one yet.
The streets, which would normally be crowded in the late afternoons, were empty.
Thus, he strode leisurely toward his destination.
"HEY!!"
He involuntarily turned toward the call, his gaze settling on a young boy waving at him.
Blonde hair in a buzz cut, emerald eyes, with a lean build. A boy his age dressed in the same attire as Luke, probably a classmate.
Luke groaned, brows creased. He knew the guy, someone he didn't want to see first thing in the morning.
Unwilling to deal with him, he turned back, pretending not to see him as he continued to walk, the wrinkles on his brows deepening.
"I woke up early to avoid this…" he grumbled, frustrated that despite waking up early to avoid his classmates, he had still run into one.
And not just any classmate, the worst of them, his supposed best friend, Arthur Ainsworth.
"Hey, Light!" Arthur roared, calling out Luke's nickname.
Yet Luke paid him no heed, his steps quickening in an attempt to get away.
Hurried footsteps sounded behind Luke as Arthur ran after him.
Luke now switched from quick steps to a full-blown sprint, trying to create distance between them.
"You can't escape me this time!" Like a war cry, Arthur shouted behind Luke, and before Luke could retort, he felt a hand on his back.
"Tag! You're it!" Arthur had arrived right beside him, a playful smirk on his lips.
"How did you…"
"How did I get here so quickly?" Arthur smiled.
"I'm a Starborn, you know. My ability is Electricity… or is it electric impulses?" Arthur placed a finger on his chin, trying to remember his power.
"Wait, let me check." Arthur checked his smart wristwatch, the screen too dark for Luke to see what he was looking at.
"Ne… uro flux…"
"My ability is Neuro Flux." He raised his head, stating his ability with pride.
An ability that allowed one to control the electrical impulses in their body.
One could increase their speed, dexterity, and even strength and defense to superhuman levels.
And the more advanced could create EMP waves from their bodies, not that Arthur could do any of that yet.
At most, he could only, for a short while, increase his strength and speed.
The rest he was still learning.
"What do you think? Nice, right?" He flashed his eyebrows, awaiting Luke's praise.
Luke looked at him, his expression unreadable yet...
"Even Arthur has one," he thought, jealousy dawning in his eyes.
"I guess so…"
"You guess?! Always such a buzzkill." Arthur tidied himself up, taking his bag off the ground. The two then strode together, Arthur giving in to his curiosity.
"So, what's your ability?" he asked.
"I don't have any."
"I knew you wouldn't say. Well, forget it… How have you been then? I heard you got wrecked by some punks." He tactfully changed the topic, aware of Luke's reserved nature.
Even to him, his best friend, Luke didn't share everything.
He truly opened up only when he was around his sister.
A siscon, Arthur always called him.
"Yeah, I was in over my head," Luke muttered, remembering the near-death beating he took and the words Boris had told him.
"Yeah, thank God you're alright. But what of the gal? Did she fall in love with her knight in shining armor?" Arthur, never one to be serious, joked.
He knew the situation. Luke had almost died, but now wasn't the time to talk about the past, considering it could have been a traumatic experience.
"No, I never saw her again… They did say she came to visit though..." Luke responded, also a bit curious as to how the girl was doing.
He hadn't seen her after the incident, though his sister said she was alright.
"What an ungrateful wench," Arthur, without any filters, cursed.
"Don't badmouth someone you don't know…" Luke glared at his friend.
The latter only scoffed in return.
"Sigh…" Luke could only shake his head.
This so-called best friend of his was a self-imposed one.
He had forced himself on him. Even though their natures didn't match, they were complete opposites.
Luke always wondered why this guy always walked with him.
He had chalked it down to pity, as Arthur had begun to cling to him after his father's passing.
And needing no such pity, he had tried to shake him off many times, yet like a leech, the guy wouldn't let go.
…
Several minutes later, they arrived in front of the school gate.
District 1.4.7 Middle School.
A cluster of schools that educated all children of middle school age, mostly from 12 to 15.
"The soldiers are here again?" Arthur curiously asked his friend.
"What do you think, genius?" Luke rolled his eyes.
"Is it because of the Starborns?"
"No," Luke answered sarcastically, taking the lead.
"Hahaha." Arthur smiled to himself, elated.
He was always happy when Luke would let his guard down from time to time, treating him like a best friend would.
"He's warming up to me. Soon I might take the place of his sister," he thought, politely greeting the heavily armored soldier as he passed. They only responded with a nod.
"Are they going to be like this all semester too?" Arthur bombarded Luke with questions as if Luke was the commander of the soldiers.
…
"Hey!... Did you discover something new about your ability?"
"Look, I can stay invisible for two minutes."
"That's neat, but not as great as mine. I can now gather water from the atmosphere itself!"
"Wow."
"…"
"…"
The children conversed among themselves, each showing off their abilities, comparing to see whose was greater.
Luke sat at the back seat close to the window, his absent gaze outside as he thought about the ability he would awaken.
He believed, no, hoped, that he was a late bloomer, as he had discovered on the news that not all teens had awakened.
Even the students in his class confirmed it, as about 30 percent had not yet awakened.
Speaking of population, not all the students were present, which was rare, as today was the opening ceremony for the new year.
But no one paid attention to that; they were too preoccupied with their abilities.
"Hey, get seated, all of you!"
A commanding tone reverberated through the class, and they all instinctively settled down, everyone seated where they should be.
The empty seats were more apparent now, not that anyone noticed.
"I know you're all happy about your new gifts, but we have an announcement to make. From today onwards, we will be having a new teacher, considering recent events..."