Centum Malediction

Chapter 5-9

Tuesday, September 28th. 2010

Michael spent the majority of his night texting Chelsea. It was nice to be in constant contact with the girl he loved. He let her know what happened with Damien, not bothering to leave anything out. He said that Damien wouldn't be bothering them anymore. Chelsea was a bit upset about his use of magic but agreed that he had no choice in the matter. Just like Michael she  wished it hadn't come to that

Chelsea's texts were inconsistent as she had just started her internship at the hospital. It was part of some program the new counselor told her about, making Michael immediately suspicious. He hated the counselor regardless of how helpful she was being to Chelsea. However Chelsea was excited, so Michael couldn't complain too much, it was always nice to see her happy.

The hospital was incredibly busy. Michael learned the number of people diagnosed with depression disorders had gone up drastically over the past month, doubling the national average. There were a large amount of suicide attempts, and the ones that failed, had to be treated immediately. Chelsea told Michael it felt like she was tossed right into the deep end with no preparation. She was only shadowing nurses and she could feel the stress. Michael was quick to offer her some words of encouragement before she became too distraught.

After she finished the first night of her internship she was a lot chattier in the texts. Michael had a hard time keeping up with her. She went on and on about every little detail of her life and Michael loved every second of it. She even sent him a picture of herself wearing her cutest pajamas and taught him how to set it as his phone's background image. It was nice to own a phone. For one of the first times in his life he no longer felt behind his peers.

The next day Damien didn't show up at school. Michael was, however, harassed by Simon. Simon began listing off things that really happened at the nuclear power plant over the weekend, each stranger than the last. Whether it was demons attempting to cause Armageddon or a superior race of aliens trying to show us the evils of nuclear power Simon wouldn't stop talking. Michael thought he had been mean enough to him in their last encounter that he would stop bothering him, but like always, Simon simply brushed the insults off and kept on going. Michael ignored him the best he could. He didn't want to get into any altercations given how he barely escaped intact from his fight with Damien.

"So what did you do this weekend?" Simon asked in his usual nerdy demeanor. "Let me guess, you didn't even know about the eco terrorist attack?" He said eco terrorist with air quotes showing his distrust for the official system.

"I was the one who led the attack actually." Michael responded in a serious tone. Simon looked dumbstruck, but only for a moment.

"Yeah right." He laughed.

"It's not any more ridiculous than some of the ideas you've come up with." Michael shrugged.

"Michael!" Someone shouted from down the hall. Michael turned and saw Matt, the freshman who took junior classes, rushing straight at him ready to tackle. His hopes to avoid an altercation were dwindling with every second. Matt's movements reminded Michael of a berserk goat. When he got close enough Michael simply lifted his knee, using Matt's own momentum against him, and knocking the wind out of him.

"You okay there kid?" Michael reached down, helping Matt to his feet as the people in the hall laughed.

"I can't complain. I attacked you." Matt said between breaths. He seemed to have calmed down quickly from his fit of rage. For the first time Michael looked at Matt with some respect. His attack was so sudden and out of nowhere it was hard not to give him credit.