The Golden Retriever

Chapter 2

The bell rang at 12:00. It was the second week. Summer seemed to remember to rain long after it should have. The soccer field became a marsh that forced students and staff to endure ankle-deep puddles, the parking area became a gravel pit that swallowed unlucky vehicles that were simply trying to leave the place. Trent once thought that the academy had no way to solve these problems. That is, before he met his Social Studies/History teacher. His teacher, after telling him how the world works; the corruption, the greed, the lies, had left mysteriously. Evidently, he must have been fired since he was well-liked.

"Trent, di-paka mukaon bai?" Gil spoke through a spoonful of humba. Trent shrugged and dug into his chopsuey with siomai. He half-listened to the mildly entertaining conversation about a card game. The four were once again eating in their usual spot, beneath a large mango tree.

"Kapila naman tamo gi-ingnan nga unya pa lagi maka-Stride inig Gr 3 namung duha?" Scott exclaimed, exasperated whilst watching Gil and Matt's in-game lunch. "Bu-ot diay ka? Mu-Stride man gani ka bisag wala pa ko naka Gr 3" Matt smiled as he wacked Scott in the head. "Salig man gud; ingun kay nay walo ka Stride, tikasan." Trent chuckled and finished his lunch. By the time the match ended, his friends had still yet to eat half of their lunches. Trent grabbed his deck pack and began to shuffle his cards.

"Tudlu-an tamo unsaon pag-duwa'g tarung"

Fire... smoke...flood...dust... darkness...

"Hey, wake up. You slept through the whole last period." said a slightly higher-pitched voice. Trent opened his senses- hair, black; perfume, vanilla; uniform color, white.

Instantly, he was on guard. Who else was there to wake him up than the new student herself, Alicia.

"Torres, what the fuck; ever heard of personal space, Sheesh!"

"Well isn't this a bizarre twist- the guy has personal space issues."

Trent got up and collected his things. Sitting in the back row had its perks; being able to sleep in class was one of them. Since the teachers were as high-nosed as most of the other students, they left the room as soon as the bell rang. Of course, nobody bothers to wake Trent up; they watch out for themselves or their own circle of friends. Trent doesn't mind at all; he just wishes that HIS friends were kind enough to at least try to wake him up.

"Dude, we're gonna get in trouble if we stay in the classroom too long."
"All right, alright, just give me a minute."

The two descended to the ground floor where they finally found Matt, Scott and Gil playing a three-way match. It was odd, really; Shadow Vs Gold Vs L J.

" I stride and call two rear guards, I counter-blast and lock these two cards..."
"I break ride and call three rear guards, I counter-blast and retire two of your units..."
"I activate Legion and attack for 3400..."

"What are you doing?" Alicia asked all three.
"Playing a card game, what does it look like?" Gil spoke up.

Alicia made a face. "Really, I've never seen this before. How do you play?" Gil pointed at Trent and went back to his game.

Sighing, Trent began to explain every detail from damage, to triggers to guarding to attacking. Before long, the three-way match ended with Shadow being the sole survivor. Much to their surprise, as they began to walk home, they heard a voice speak up.
"Can I play?"

Trent, as the "founding father" of the squad, he was forced to give her the step-by-step tutorial while lending her an extra deck; Oracle. The Tutorial match of course was set for Alicia's win, even against Royals. Then the rematch began. She beat Trent three more times before the day faded to night.