The Immortals

ONE - Beer and Magic

"Tom?" a stern, clear voice called, yet sounded so distant that it was hardly worth hearing or reacting to.

That endless abyss of visions and dreams was much more interesting at that moment. There was a beautiful brunette holding a small newborn in her arms, then he saw an old book, bound in leather, the pages decorated with black ink, forming words of another language accompanied by strange symbols. No matter how hard he tried to understand the content of his dreams or the book in those, he never succeeded, so he dismissed them as meaningless.

"Tom Langer, are you listening to me?" the voice called again, louder this time, snapping him out of his daydreams.

Said Tom Langer was startled to see a pair of blue-grey eyes framed by a slightly wrinkled and angular face, with thin red lips looking at him in annoyance.

Mrs Treegard spoke again, and you could tell by her slightly choppy and harsh tone that she wasn't in the mood to worship the sun and sing kumbaya around a campfire today.

"You can dream in your sleep at night, but in my classroom people listen and learn! So again for you: From when to when did the Second World War last?"

Tom let out a thoughtful "Erm" and looked at the board for any clues, but there was nothing that could save him right now. "I guess from the beginning to the end."

There was a brief burst of laughter from his classmates while Mrs Treegard just rolled her eyes. She walked back to her teacher's desk from Tom's seat, then picked up a piece of chalk and got ready to scribble on the blackboard. The history teacher's gaze slowly roamed the classroom and stopped at a girl with half-length, dyed blue hair.

"Celine, are you able to tell me?"

"From 1939 to 1945" replied Tom's classmate and best friend since kindergarten.

Mrs Treegard nodded affirmatively and scribbled the dates on the board. She continued to share more facts about the topic of today's history class while Tom slowly drifted back into his daydreams ...

***

After the sixth lesson, Tom left school with Celine. Along the way, they encountered Eliott, the third and final member of their group. Eliott had dark brown hair and blue-green eyes, and wore black jeans and a gray AC/DC hoodie.

"Hey guys" he greeted the other two, who greeted him back with a short "Hey."

Eliott took out three cans of beer from his black backpack and gave each of them to Tom, Celine and himself. Tom opened it immediately and Celine eyed the can skeptically.

"Now tell me you did not carry that beer around school all day?" the blue-haired girl asked, addressing Eliott, who just cheekily gave her a crooked smile.

Tom had to smile and said: "Come on, you know this hobby alcoholic."

When Celine was about to object, Eliott interrupted her. "Doesn't mean I drink it at school."

"I hope so" Celine said, opening her can as well.

The three toasted with a "Cheers" and began drinking their beers.

Eliott belched loudly to which Celine just shook her head and then he asked: "Wanna go to my place? My brother got more beer so we can continue drinking properly. It's friday anyway."

"Sure, 'course" Tom said and then they went to Eliott's parents' house.

***

In the evening, the three friends spread out on Eliott's couch and ordered pizza. Eliott opened his fifth can.

"I'm so glad my parents are away for the weekend."

He laughed happily, shouted "NO PARENTS!" and took a big gulp.