The S.O.L.O.ists

Chapter 1

Kenton's Point of View

WHAM!  I hit the punching bag with all my might but still it didn't budge.  "HARDER!"  My friend Carter yells at me. "I'VE BEEN AT THIS FOR AN HOUR!"  I gesture wildly in frustration, "WHY DON'T YOU GIVE IT A TRY ALREADY?!"  He girlishly put a hand on his hip and clicks his tongue in annoyance.  "Boy, you do not talk to me that way, understood?"  I sigh, "Fine, and dude you got to stop with your gay antics if you don't want to get kicked out of school."  He groans, "What do these people have against guys who like guys?  And girls also;  what's so wrong about being gay?"  I shrug and started unravelling my bandages, "I don't know, man.  Maybe it has to do something with us having to be separated into different dorms."   He pauses thinking about it, "Oh yeah that makes sense."

 This conversation just got awkward.  

My name - if you don't know - is Kenton Simmons. I am a member of the 'Save Our Lives Organization' a.k.a  S.O.L.O.  Every student at this school has been chosen out of all the kids in 'Ender City'.  We are highly skilled in fighting and intellectual ability.  This whole organization is meant for protecting those around us when people are in dire need for help, though I don't see any of us helping anyone anytime soon.  We are always fighting with each other so what is the point of this place if we can't even keep our peers away from harm?  Stupid.  Luckily, I am part of a group that people don't even dare looking at let alone tangle with . . .The Populars.  

Nobody is ever really friends in the popular group because everybody has to talk about at least one person that is also in the group behind their backs.  I don't even know why I bothered to join the group in the first place.  I have been friends with Carter Clark much longer than I have been in that group and just because he is not up to "cool" standards he is not allowed to hang with me.  What is up with the world these days?  

"Hey Kent, can you help me out here instead of daydreamng like an idiot."  My friend snaps at me.  "Sorry," I pull the t-shirt over my head and jog back over to him.  I help him get the boxing gloves on his fists and set up the machine that was inside them.  This enables us to see how much damage is being done to the punching bag with an individual blow; so far my highest is 25.1%.  Lame. 

"You think you can beat my score, Clark?"  I inquire cockily knowing that he probably could.  "I'll give it a whirl," he says honestly.  I nod in a approval of his attitude and type his student number and the name of the exercise into the computer so that his progress would be recorded.  I gave him the signal so that he could go and he began pounding the bag with all the anger he could muster.  

That's the thing about Carter; in order to do anything that involves using muscle he has to use anger to ignite any strength that he has.  He's extremely secretive about his past and almost never talks about it.  All I know is that he has a mom, a dad, and a younger sister; which I don't even know the names of.  How could someone keep bottled up like that for so long?  Wouldn't it start having some unhealthy effect on them of some sort?  Anyways, I hear an annoying beeping sound and I look at the computer.  "Woah, Carter your damage is 40%!"  I exclaim in suprise, "I think that beats the schools high score!"  I turn around to smile at him but the only thing I see is the indent that he left in the bag.  

 I call for him but there is no response.   I check the doors and any other place that he could be but I just end up with nothing.  He just vanished.