Evan Tong walked toward the cafeteria table with a frown. He carelessly dumped his backpack on the floor, and sat down on the bench as fast as possible. How could he tolerate another year of school? Leaving this hell couldn't come sooner.
"English class. What's the fucking point of English class when we already speak English?" Evan said.
"What? Not a fan of Shakespeare?" Scott said with a grin. He was a redhead with thin lips and small eyes, with curly hair that reached his shoulders, and he sat on the opposite side of the table.
"No. Not at all. I don't need to read some old ass books by some medieval ass British dude," Evan said.
"Actually, Shakespeare is from the early modern period, not the Middle Ages," Scott said.
Evan rolled his eyes. "You get my point."
"I actually think English class is cool. It's relaxing. You just read some books, watch some movies about books, and talk about some books. What's so bad about that?" Scott said.
"That's because you have Mrs. Smith. I have Mrs. Wong. Mrs. Smith is an angel. Mrs. Wong is literally a hellspawn," Evan said.
"Is she really that bad?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Evan said.
"Ironic, since it's Mrs. Smith who actually has demonic ancestry," Scott said.
Evan chuckled, "Right... Funny you should say that. I had the same thought."
"Did you get a bad mark on your assignment?" Scott said.
"What I hate about English is the subjectivity. It's all just making shit up. What makes an assignment good? What makes it bad? It's all up to the teacher's opinion," Evan said.
"It's art. There is no absolute right or wrong," Scott said.
"Tell Mrs. Wong that..." Evan said.
Ketan sat down beside Evan. "Wassup," Ketan said. He had dark brown skin and short black hair with a fade, and he had an impressively full beard for a teenager, which made him appear more like a college student than a highschooler. He had been working out for six months out of a desire to become an alpha male gigachad, according to Ketan's own words, and Evan was impressed by his friend's physical transformation. Ketan looked like a bodybuilder, and while he claimed to be all natural, Evan suspected his friend was using performance enhancers of the magical sort, though he didn't care if Ketan was cheating. Humans were surrounded by mythical creatures with supernatural powers beyond most people. Evan figured humans needed as much magical strength as they could get.
"We're just discussing why English class is complete ass," Evan said.
"It's not that bad. Science class is the worst," Ketan said, "Why do we have science class when magic exists? Is it even necessary?"
Scott shrugged, "Magitech is a booming industry."
Alvin arrived last. He was the shortest of Evan's friends, standing just above five feet tall, so everyone affectionately nicknamed him Big Al. His black hair was parted in the middle with a curtain haircut. Alvin had arrived in Canada four years ago from the Philippines, and he still had a hint of a Filipino accent when he spoke English.
"Hey guys! I got the pizza," Big Al said as he set down a box of pizza on the cafeteria table.
"Eh! Big Al's here!" Evan said.
Big Al brought pizza from one of the nearby Indian pizza restaurants, which were ubiquitous in Vancouver. Alvin opened the box, and Evan smiled at the savoury aroma. The four boys each grabbed a slice of pizza, and talked animatedly about school and other topics.
