Vitality [Teaser]

Chapter 5: An Unexpected Visitor

Nikos walked out of Dr. Ana's house and back on the main street to take the bus back home. He activated the sensors and waited for a few seconds until the bus suddenly arrived.

"Hey, hey! Your mom told me a relative picked you up from the hospital and dropped you off here. Anyways, how was the operation, bud?" The bus driver said.

"Uh... It went, alright," Nikos replied.

"Well, that's good to hear. Sounds like you got your head back in the right place. Anyways, hop on in, and I'll take you home. It's a good thing Alanis takes real good care of you. You're a smart kid, and, with a rank as high as yours, we don't want any head trauma getting in the way of that!"

Nikos sat at the front and gazed at the window. There was a long stripe of monitors on both sides of the tunnel. Each monitor showed a different segment of a pre-recorded video of a forest blowing in the wind. They looked life-like as if a forest was really outside of the bus. Nikos watched it out of boredom until the bus driver stopped near his house. There weren't many people on the bus around that time. Most people were already working or were in school.

"Here, we are, Nikos! You rest up now, okay! And tell your brother to keep out of trouble!"

"Alright, thanks for the ride," Nikos said.

"No problem, buddy! Have a great day!"

Nikos walked off the bus and began walking back to his house. He checked his mailbox expecting to get a letter from the upper-rank Proditors, but it was only filled with bills. Nikos then looked at his home and caught a glimpse of a person's arm off to the side. He slowly walked towards the person and peeked from the front of his house.

"What the- Iris?!" He said out loud as he walked towards her.

Iris jumped out of her skin and dropped her tablet and stylus down on the ground. "Nikos! Don't scare me like that!" She yelled.

She then fixed her hair before turning to Nikos so that her left eye was covered by her white platinum hair while the other remained visible. She slowly exhaled and picked up her tablet and stylus. Nikos quietly stood there bewildered until she finally turned around.

"What are you doing here looking at my window? Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Nikos asked.

"Yeah, but uh, Mr. Moore wanted me to... Check up on your assignments since I finished early already." Iris said.

"Well, I'm already done with all the worksheets. So, do you want them?"

"Oh no, just hold on to them. I'm only here to check on your progress, not turn it in for you. That's your job to do tomorrow!" She said with a sassy smile.

"Tomorrow! Yeah, you're right..." Nikos said awkwardly.

"Uh, you okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking about some stuff."

"Well, don't think too hard, stupid. You only have so many brain cells!" She said with a chuckle.

Nikos lightly giggled.

"I'm just messing with you. What's that box you got there?" Iris asked.

He looked down at his hand and saw the box that's holding on to his tracker.

"It's for my mom... It's an early birthday present." Nikos lied.

"That's really sweet of you! What did you get her?" She asked.

"Just a pair of earrings."

"Oh, can I see it?" Iris said as she reached for the box.

Nikos quickly pulled the box away from her. His eyes widen as he held the tracker in both of his hands.

"No! Err... No, you can't. I'm sorry... It's way too special..." He said.

"Oh, okay... Weird... Well, hey, I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?" She said.

"Yeah, for sure!" Nikos said with a fake smile.

"Promise?" She asked.

"What?"

"Do you really promise to be there?" Iris asked softly. "I don't want you to get into any more trouble, Nikos. I want to keep climbing the ranks with you. Together, you know?"

Nikos was silent for a moment, but he cleared his throat.

"Don't worry, I promise, Iris." He finally said glaring into her single blue eye.

"Good... I'll see you then." Iris said with a smile as she looked into his mixed colored eyes.

Iris began to walk away from him as he watched her stroll onto the sidewalk. She then stopped and looked at Nikos who was still standing beside his house. She smiled at him and put her hands around her mouth.

"That yellow eye isn't doing you any favors by the way!" She yelled with a smile.

"Neither is your hairstyle! You gotta let that other eye view the world, too! And it's amber, not yellow!" He yelled back with a chuckle.

She giggled and waved good-bye and continued walking down the sidewalk. Nikos exhaled in relief and meandered inside his house. He made his way upstairs into his bedroom and tossed the box with his tracker on to the desk. Then he flopped onto the bed and glanced at the clock just to the left of him.

"Barely ten o'clock..." He mumbled.

He was the only one inside the house, and there was no other noise besides his own breathing. He then turned to his side and looked over at Orion's bed. It looked like no one slept in it for days. Nikos let out a sigh and kicked off his shoes and finally fell asleep.