1985: Dawn of a New World (A Summoner Fanfic)

Chapter I - Summer Surprise

"...and lastly, we will be on a cruise that will tour us around Europe! We will visit the Eiffle Tower in France, the Berlin Wall in Germany, the Leaning Tower in Italy and a lot more!" a girl with straight black hair falling to an inch below her shoulders proudly read her essay ending with a snobbish grin towards a boy, noticeable of his short rust brown hair, sitting on the front seat nearest to the center aisle.

"Perfectly read Hannah! Obviously, you'd have a great summer so you don't need me to greet you." In a matter-of-fact manner, a male professor started clapping as he was sitting on his desk at the corner of the room, near the window. The other students followed almost instantly with their applause, as Hannah proudly bowed and elegantly walked to her seat in the third row. "Alright, now Mark, come on here and tell us how you will spend your summer."

"Well, I'm going to go to the market and help my poor mother sell some smelly fish!" A boy of large build with spiked hairstyle sitting at the back row shouted in a sarcastic manner causing most of the students in the classroom to laugh.

"Alright, that's enough laughing! Settle down now, settle down!" The teacher in front repeatedly hit his desk with a long wooden ruler, which was previously lying beside him on his desk, to catch the class' attention. "And that's great Alvin! You just earned a free ticket to the principal's office! And oh, you don't have to wait too long because the show's going to start immediately after class!" His tone shifted from being sarcastic to a serious and pissed off tone.

The class gradually stopped laughing which made their teacher abruptly smile then faced the boy in the front row who seemed to be bowing down in embarrassment. Alvin, who seemed to have been embarrassed as well, bowed down with a fierce look on his face and a clenched fist.

"Ok now Mark, go on and impress us with your summer plans!" The professor demanded, making Mark stand up, with his legs shaking a bit then turned to face his classmates still bowing. His freckled face blushed in shyness as the face of most students turned towards him. He stood in a crooked posture, worsening his short stature. "Please move to the center young man, and chin up so we can all see your handsome face!" His teacher encouraged him as he walked towards the center, in line with the teacher's desk.

Mark, the one sitting on the front row to whom Hanna gave her sarcastic grin, raised his pad to the level of his chest, revealing tanned hands with obvious course textures. The boy took one deep breath, then started reading. "Uhmmm...this summer..." he read in a soft, stuttering voice. "...I will go to the..." His speech was abruptly stopped by the sound of the school bell signifying the end of class as well as the school year.

"Well, I'm sure you'd all have a great summer ahead of you! Now hand over your essays and have fun on your vacation everyone!" Before he could even end his sentence, the students started to stand from their seats then lined up in front of him.

"Goodbye, Mr. Goodwick! See you next school year!" The class recited in a harmonic choir as they hurriedly walked to the line.

"You'd be under another teacher at that time, but yeah I'll be seeing all of you in the school grounds for sure!" Mr. Goodwick stood up reaching for his students' papers as each of the class excitedly got out of the room. "And oh Alvin, stay put for a while. I'm going to accompany you to the principal's office." Alvin got back to his seat giving a fierce look towards Mark who nervously handed his paper to the teacher and hurriedly got out of the room.

Mark stopped for a few minutes the moment he got out of the school gate. He took a deep breath and then exhaled, letting off a relieved sigh, as if he just escaped from a scary pursuer.

He smiled to himself, seemingly forgetting the embarrassment he went through earlier. He then wore a determined look on his face, positioned himself like a track n' field athlete in starting position. "Ready, set..." He whispered, ignoring the mocking gazes of students, exiting the school grounds. "...and go!" He then ran off as if in a race, avoiding people along the way.