The Fabulous & The Ancient Artifact

Part 5: The RPG Thief

"What are you doing under here? Get back to the court!" Mr. Mauro scolded them as he crouched to not hit his head on the ceiling under the stairs.

Without even allowing the children to pack up the game, the brawny teacher ordered everyone to leave. Eric, Sofia, and Julia went back to their P.E. class just as it was ending. There were fifteen minutes left before the bell rang.

Cauã, in too much of a panic to even grab Mrs. Odete's broom, headed to the main hall. It had access to the stairs to the upper floor where his classroom was located. As he climbed some of the steps, he glanced up at the round digital clock that was on the wall in front of the stairs and saw '5:45 P.M.' As he continued climbing the steps, he remembered what had just happened in the classroom and how angry Mrs. Conceição may still be at him. Along with how he would be mocked by his friends for practically the rest of his life because he had thrown up all over the teacher's feet.

On his way, Cauã changed his mind. He peeked down the halls and snuck back under the stairs next to the courts. Without thinking too much about it, he collected the pieces of the game, placed them carefully in their bags, and went back towards the classroom with the box. He had to sneak around since he didn't want to be seen by anyone, especially by the hall monitor or the school janitor.

After he was sure the coast was clear, he hurried up the first flight of stairs. As he reached the top of the flight of stairs and was about to turn, he came face to face with whom he least expected to see: Luquinha.

"Hey, look who it is! Sarará, there you are!" the blond kid said disdainfully, tossing his bangs to the side with a short flip of his head. "Did it take Mr. Mauro too long to find you? I gave such good directions on where you were!"

"So, it was you who ratted us out, you..." Cauã started before Luquinha interrupted him.

"Mrs. Conceição asked me to come find you. The reading class was moved to the library," Luquinha said, feeling like a German shepherd bringing the stray sheep back to the flock. "And wait a second! What game was that? The one you were playing?" Seeing the box Cauã was trying to hide behind his back, Luquinha prodded, "Yeah, what game is this?"

"It's none of your business!" Cauã stood firmly as Luquinha moved towards him.

Both had the same lanky body type. Since the teacher and students were not around, Luquinha had no one to back him up there, alone with Cauã in the hallway. However, Luquinha had the benefit. Cauã always was always afraid that if he beat up Luquinha, his mom could lose her job as the housekeeper at 66, 17th Street.

"I hate your stupid face!" Cauã shouted, facing Luquinha as he made his way down the hall backwards. "I wish you would just somehow turn into an ugly freak so everyone could make fun of you!"

Both glared at each other for several moments; there were sparks of anger in each of their eyes. When they finally stopped in front of a door where 'Library! Silence!' was written, Cauã tried to enter first. When he took a step towards the door, reaching for the doorknob, Luquinha stuck his foot out. Cauã tripped and fell. He tried but couldn't keep his balance, since he was holding the game box in one hand and reaching out with the other, so he ended up hitting his mouth on the library door. THWACK! The door swung open as he fell.

"Cauã Travassos?" Mrs. Conceição yelled as she rose to her feet, astonished to see Cauã face down on the floor.

The other children, who were sitting on the floor with textbooks in their hands, were surprised and started laughing wildly.

"Be careful, you clumsy boy! You must pay attention where you are going!" Luquinha sauntered in, right after the ruckus, with a look of innocence on his face. He leaped over Cauã and grabbed the game box. "Fabulous." He read the title on the lid in a low voice; then, he opened the box, where he saw the parchment bearing a shield, emblazoned with a halo and four wings and divided into four parts.