Part 12: Mellow

The next morning at school, the boy with the sewage brown seaweed hair’s abduction was the talk of the hallways. Gianna had not gone to school that day, for she did not want to be questioned or think about what happened and where he was taken.

Lucy, on the other hand, went to school anyway. When asked about Roy's whereabouts, she responded with either 'How should I know?' or ‘Probably prison or something'. It would be a lie to say she wasn't in the least bit concerned about him, though. She often wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten into, but she never let it show.

Kirsten Hubermann, the German girl Roy had promised to train, came up to Lucy at lunch time.

"Is it true that the police took Roy away?"

"...Yeah, I guess."

She sat down and held her hair in her hands.

("What's she stressing herself out for? Didn't Roy beat her face in?")

"What... what if they just moved him into Tarantula Block? I mean, he did beat my brother after all."

"I doubt they would need police with machine guns to do that. Plus, even if that were true, that idiot would have shown his face around here gloating about it."

"I... guess you're right."

She got up and returned back to her table.

Lucy returned from school that day and went straight to Gianna's room. She looked down at her lying on the bed watching TV.

"You should really stop worrying about him. I'm sure he's alright."

"I'm not worried..."

She continued to stare at the screen.

"How was school today?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Shitty as usual."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ha. That's good."

<p class="MsoNormal">Lucy exited the room.

<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, the sun had risen over the circular building. The blinding sunlight beamed on Roy's face through the window.

<p class="MsoNormal">He moved his hand in front of his face to block the sunlight. When he looked to his right, he saw Delia, still asleep, curled up in his arms.

<p class="MsoNormal">They did not have sex last night. Just as Roy was about to give in to temptation, Delia got up and reconsidered what she had said. Roy was frustrated, but he was also relieved. However, she did want to sleep with him very close to her which almost turned Roy into a rapist overnight. He managed to resist the temptation, but he did not get much sleep that night.

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy was startled by her sudden yawn. She opened her eyes and stared at him.

<p class="MsoNormal">"...Good morning."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Mornin'..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy got up from the bed and stretched.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I'm going to take a shower."

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy felt a tug on his shirt as he was about to leave.

<p class="MsoNormal">"...Thanks."

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy scratched his head and smiled as he exited the room.

<p class="MsoNormal">Upon entering the kitchen, he noticed Cameron and Mellow had their arms on the table, clasping each other’s hand with creepy smiles on their faces.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What are you guys doing?”

<p class="MsoNormal">They didn’t say anything or acknowledge Roy. It didn’t take Roy very long to notice that they were arm wrestling, but he was still confused. Wasn’t Mellow supposed to be some fearsome monster? Why is he engaging in friendly competition with someone weaker than him?

<p class="MsoNormal">A drop of sweat hit the table.

<p class="MsoNormal">“...!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow’s hand was slammed against the table and it fell apart. Roy covered his face to protect himself from the flying pieces of wood and splinters.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You piece of shit! You cheated!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Cameron unrolled his sleeve and snickered.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I did no such thing, you sore loser.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow turned his head to Roy.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hey, you! Why don’t you come and arm wrestle him next? Then I’ll decide if you cheated or not, you piece of shit.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“But you guys just destroyed the table.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Make another one, dumbass. Did you forget your own power?”

<p class="MsoNormal">(“Shit, I forgot I can do that...”)

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy created another table and drew a chair up to it. He rested his elbow on the table and stared Cameron in the eyes. They locked hands, and Mellow counted down.

<p class="MsoNormal">3...

<p class="MsoNormal">2...

<p class="MsoNormal">1...

<p class="MsoNormal">Right as Mellow stopped counting, the table cracked. Roy and Cameron put all of their energy into trying to put the other’s hand down. Roy was a lot stronger than Cameron had expected, and Cameron was weaker than Roy had predicted but not by much.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Damn, seaweed head, you’re pretty strong!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Same to you!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Another crack was made in the table, and it was just about ready to fall apart. Roy couldn’t stop to repair it, so he had to wrap this up quickly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“HAAAAAAAA!!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“GROOAAAAAAAA!!”

<p class="MsoNormal">The table fell apart into pieces, and Cameron’s body went spinning and twirling. He landed on his back and bounced into the living room.

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy had his hands on his knees, sweating. Cameron got off of the floor and dusted himself off.

<p class="MsoNormal">“See? I didn’t cheat.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow clicked his tongue and folded his arms.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You probably just let him win.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow turned to Roy.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hey, come help me clean this shit up.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy silently helped Mellow pick up and sweep the pieces of wood scattered across the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So, where are you from?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy was taken aback for a second. He didn’t expect such a casual question from Mellow of all people.

<p class="MsoNormal">“H-Hawaii...”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Ha! I have to say, you’re the only person I know that is actually from Hawaii. If you’re anything to go by, Hawaiian people must be real pushovers.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy clenched his teeth. Roy had no such thing as “pride in his country/island/state/region/someotherbullshit”, but he was being indirectly insulted. It was quite a struggle not to punch Mellow in the face.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s your name?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Roy Kailola...”

<p class="MsoNormal">Mellow tried to hold in his laughter.

<p class="MsoNormal">“That... truly is a unique last name! HAHAHA!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“So then what’s your real name, Mellow?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Heh...?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Are you telling me that someone actually decided to name their kid ‘Mellow’?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy felt a tug at the back of his head. Surely enough, Mellow was ready to punch him in the face, but, for some reason, the pull disappeared almost as fast as it came.

<p class="MsoNormal">“...Harima...”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Huh?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Harima Maeda... That’s my real full name.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy scratched his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I see... So you’re Japanese?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Obviously, you dolt.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Roy moved his eyes up to Harima’s forehead.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, this? In Special Block, they make everyone where headbands decorated with the flag of the country they’re from.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hmm, that’s neat I guess. Hey, why do people call you Mellow?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Harima scratched his head and tightened the band round his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s what people used to call me since they couldn’t pronounce my name without fucking it up. I can’t even tell you how much kids I beat up for fucking up my name. I ended up just going with this name since then.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, it isn’t particularly hard to pronounce in the first place. How did they keep messing it up?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Exactly, they just did that to fuck with me. I guess it’s weird to be the only Jap kid in a suburb in Wyoming. God I hated those brats.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I hope you gave them a beating they’ll never forget! I sure would have!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Of course I did! Just who do you think I am?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, I was never really bothered about my name, but something about me made kids want to bother me too. Wherever I went, people always messed with me and wanted to fight, but that wasn’t really a problem since I’ve always liked fighting.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“So you were a friendless valiant like me, huh?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, some kids stuck around me after I beat them up, but I wouldn’t really call them friends since they only stuck around me out of fear. Plus, they didn’t like me very much. Admittedly, I was, and probably still am, a rotten child. I did a lot of stupid shit, and my attitude pissed a lot of people off for some reason.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“...So we aren’t that different, really.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I guess, but you’re stronger than me, that’s for sure.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Not really. My ability is just more useful than yours, or you just suck at using your powers. What is your power, anyways?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well... I can create anything with my hands...”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Anything?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Anything but living things.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“And you couldn’t beat me with a power like that?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh hush. I never really fought with these powers before. I’m too used to beating people up with my hands.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I guess that’s understandable, but that’s still no excuse for being shitty with such a useful ability.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, yeah, maybe I could learn from a wise figure like you since, apparently, you know my powers better than me.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, maybe you could...”

<p class="MsoNormal">Though his mannerisms weren’t all that lovely, Mellow proved to be quite a nice person.

<p class="MsoNormal">(“Huh. He’s not as much as an ass as I thought he’d be. I guess he’s only scary when he’s fighting.”)

<p class="MsoNormal">After all of the scraps of wood were swept up and thrown into a giant box, Cameron and Mellow went to the living room, and Roy left to the bathroom.

<p class="MsoNormal">While showering, he couldn’t escape the thought of him having to kill someone.

<p class="MsoNormal">(“That old man is full of shit. Why do I have to kill someone? It’s not like I can’t just beat them until they can’t move or something. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do!”)

<p class="MsoNormal">“...”

<p class="MsoNormal">(“Man, I sound like such a pussy right now...”)

<p class="MsoNormal">