The Anti Heroes - A Collection Of Short Stories

Round 1: Angel

In the bustling hallways of South Lake High School, Angel opened her locker, a lollipop in the right corner of her mouth.

"Fifty for chemistry homework and sixty for physics. If you want the answers of this week's math's test, it will cost you two hundred," Angel said.

"Two hundred?!" Blake let out a cry. "Why is it so expensive?"

Angel bit her lollipop. "Do you know how much time it costs me to get you those answers? Mrs. Green changes them every day!

You know what, two hundred is not enough for me wasting my time for you. I don't like you. Two thousand, take it or leave it."

"Two thousand?! Angel, you're killing me!"

Angel looked bored at Blake. "Three thousand."

Blake swallowed and quickly dug out his phone.

Angel fake smiled. "That will be five thousand."

Blake bit his tongue and glanced at Angel. He opened the Legendary Crest app and transfered five thousand gold pieces to Angel's avatar.

Angel smirked and showed Blake a pen. "Thank you," she said. "May I present to you the Pen of Wisdom?

Roll out the side of the pen like this and you'll get the answers you seek.

Now go forth, mortal. My time on Earth is expensive."

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The bell rang in the end of the school week.

Angel strolled down the hallway, her lollipop clenched between her teeth and her backpack draped over her shoulder.

The teachers she passed raised their eyebrow or looked at her in contempt.

Angel ignored them, but when she walked passed Mrs. Blue, Angel smirked and threw in some finger guns. "See you on Monday, Mrs. Bluedabadiba!"

Mrs. Blue's eye twisted. She snapped the pencil she was holding in half.

Angel sucked her lollipop loudly and sped up her pace.

An old granny voice made her stop in her tracks. "Not so fast, Angel Boisduval."

Mrs. Green blocked Angel's way, her arms firmly crossed. "You're not yet going home, young lady."

While Angel stared unamused at Mrs. Green, her eye caught Blake behind the teacher.

Blake whispered sorry.

Angel's eyes filled with fire ready to scorch his sorry ass.

Mrs. Green cleared her throat, tilted her arm and revealed the Pen of Wisdom. "A little birdie told me you've been selling these."

Angel glared at Blake. "That little birdie won't be tweeting for long..."

"That little birdie won't have to tweet anymore, will it, Morticia?"

Morticia came forth. Her features were soft, her hair fair and she was dressed in soft pastels.

With an ethereal voice she spoke: "No, Mrs. Green, the birdie doesn't have to say anything. My hand slipped and I filmed it all. The whole transaction... Right here." Morticia held up her pastel bunny eared phone.

Angel's eyes shot daggers at Morticia. "Your hand slipped, bullocks."

Morticia held her hand in front of her mouth and laughed the most silent evil laugh.

Mrs. Green waved her finger. "Watch your language, young lady. You are going to the principal right now. I have already called your father."

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Angel's father, dressed in a high quality suit, sat on the principal's chair, his feet resting on the principal's desk.

The principal, a bald otter-like human sniffling every word he spoke, stood near the window.

"Monsieur Boisduval, I apologize for having to call you in today. You see, your Angel isn't a sweet angel, unlike her name -"

"What did she do?" Angel's father played with a highly expensive object he found on the principal's desk.

"We caught her red handed selling a pen with this week's math test answers."

The door went open and Angel's head peeped in the office.

Angel's father looked up, stood up, bowed to the principal. "Thank you for your time, principal Crypto."

"It's Callipso."

Angel's father looked expressionless at the principal. "Right. Angel, you're grounded. Now let's go home."

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Angel sulked the way home. "It's not fair I'm grounded without you even hearing my side of things!"

"That's what I'm going to listen to now," her father said. "But if I hadn't told you you were grounded in front of Crapto, he would have insisted on disciplining you instead.

Plead your case."

"I admit to selling that pen."

"Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself."

"Nice. How did you get those answers?"

"I hacked the teacher's cloud."

"Impressive they only got you for selling the pen. That's a five year sentence over a ten year one for hacking.

How much did you get for that pen?"

"Five thousand gold in the game I play."

"How much is that worth?"

"Three lucis or about an hour of game play."

"Why not ask more?"

"Because I knew he couldn't afford more."

"How did you know that?"

"Blake can only play the game using the school's free wifi and they had confiscated his phone earlier this week. There's no way he would have been able to play more than an hour."

"Couldn't he just ask for money?"

"Ask who, dad? His mother is ill and his father ran the moment she got ill.

Blake is working two jobs after school to keep them floating while being his mother's prime caretaker. There is no money!"

Angel blew up her cheeks. "But that idiot is too proud to accept any help. So I charge him a small fee, making it a big deal."

"It's still cheating, you know?"

"Isn't the system cheating him?

He has no time to study, but is forced to show up at school, scared every second he's there because no one is looking after his mother.

And then after school, he's supposed to study and make homework while he's working and looking after his mother. There aren't enough hours in a day to do all that!

And the worst part is that no adult who knows about it helps him.

At least I do."

"How can we help him?" Angel's father took the expensive principal's object out of his pocket. "Might this be a start?"

***

Total amount of words: 1 000