"Leave me be," Lana declared in the most stern voice Timmy had heard come out of her mouth.
That didn't seem to be enough for Hau. "Yo, girl, you don't got a say in it," Hau said, relaxing back in his chair. "We gon be matin' partners, yeah. The man gets to set the foundation, and I the man, ain't I?" Hau wiggles his eyebrows.
Lana growled. "You piece o—"
She was interrupted by the blaring of sirens. SWAT cars pulled into the school parking lot, sliding slightly from the thick layer of ice as they came to a stop.
Señora Akatina sprung up from her chair. "Muy mal!" She cried. "Adios, amigos!"
Señora Akatina snatched her gun and ran out into hall. It wasn't long until gunshots echoed in the corridors, along with the screams of mixed voices and their English teacher's wild cheers and taunts.
The principal came on the PA demanding the school to go into lockdown, and that it wasn't a drill, but since Timmy's class didn't have a teacher, his class just played on their phones for the remainder of the time. Timmy couldn't help but notice Hau seemingly flirting with Lana the whole time. Lana didn't seem to appreciate any of it.
After about an hour, Señora Akatina was confirmed to have fled the facility after injuring four troops and killing twenty-nine. It was hard for Timmy to avoid tripping on the bodies on his way out of the school that day.
"What did Hau mean about you being his mating partner?" Timmy asked as soon as they lost Hau in the crowd. Lana began to twiddle her thumbs. "I-it's nothing, Timmy. Hau's just... special."
Timmy asked her what she meant by "special."
"Well," she began, "it's not really that he is special, but rather his niche. A-and not that he isn't special, he definitely is..." A disgusted look was fixed on her face as if she had recalled unpleasant past events.
"Lana, what's a 'neesh?'" Timmy asked as he followed her on the bus and down the bus aisle. They sat down in their usual seat behind Jill and Marnie. "Is it related to feet?"
"Oh, no, no," Lana denied with concern. "It's his role in the mating process. Here, it's better if I just tell you the whole situation..."
Lana cleared her throat as the bus began its venture down the hill. "Both my family and Hau's are Walrustian families. In order to commemorate the thriving of our land and the love Walrustün, our lord and savior, brought us, a male Walrustian child and a female Walrustian child must mate in order to produce the baby, which we marinate in an olive oil and vinegar marinade for two weeks. We then sacrifice the baby by boiling it, and then we fry it, and then we chuck it off a cliff, and if the ritual worked, the baby will be struck by lightning on the way down."
Timmy blinked. He hardly caught a word of that. "What does 'commemorate' mean?"
"Uhh... Like, celebrate. Honor something."
"Okay." Timmy had one more question. "But why do you have to mate with Hau? You're only in first grade!"
Lana looked out the window. "Actually, he's probably in his twenties... But, anyway, Walrustün chose us to mate. All my life, I believed Walrustün was always infallible and flawless in every way, but I— I just don't know..."
When the wave of silence made its entrance, Timmy plugged in his earbuds and prepared the Fortnite OST. But before he could jive, Lana gasped and the bus skidded to a stop. The bus's passengers slammed against the seats in front of them, except for the people in the very front seat, who flew out of the windshield in a tangled mess.
"Ahh! My hair!" Jill's friend, Marnie, cried. One of her pigtails had come undone.
"It must be that Akatina!" Jill declared. "She must've spiked the wheels!"
Timmy tried to ask Lana what she'd seen, but the chatter roared so loud he could barely hear himself think. And the condensation clinging to the windows completely obscured all view of the outside world.
"Hush! Hush!" The bus driver hollered
. "Someone was standin' front 'a the bus, and I din't wanna get sued."
Timmy thought for a moment about the condensation blocking the windows. How would the bus driver see out when driving?
The person made their entrance just as well as before. It was none other than Hau; skin pale and indistinguishable snow or dandruff— probably a combination— dotting his hair. Lana ducked behind the seat while Timmy sat there dumbly. "Yo, girl!" Hau shouted. Everyone was watching him except the two kids who flew through the windshield. "I know you're in here, girl!"
Hau went down the aisle, scanning each row of seats as the people in them scanned him.
"Sit down, kid," The bus driver demanded.
"You're not my mom, yo!" Hau barked. The bus driver shrugged and Hau proceeded until he reached Lana and Timmy's. Hau grinned. "There you are!"
Grabbing Timmy by the ear, Hau yanked him out of the seat and took his place next to Lana. Timmy yelped as crashed on his arm. If not for his five coats, his arm would have likely shattered. He noticed Marnie watching Timmy as he sat up in the aisle. "You good, mate?" She asked.
Jill quickly shushed her friend and whispered, "That's my brother! Don't talk to it."
Timmy looked over at his seat.
"Hey, girl~" Hau purred. Lana itched uncomfortably as Hau grew closer to her. Thinking of the girl who was shot to death on his street, Timmy sprung off the floor. "Stop harassing her!" He yelled.
Hau withdrew his arms and faced Timmy. Lana looked bewildered.
"You wan go, boy?" Hau snarled, narrowing his eyes. Timmy felt his fear well up, but he reminded himself of his honed Fortnite skills. Surely it was just as easy in real life, right?
"Bring it on!"
Timmy was incredibly wrong. Hau gave him a harsh beating— a myriad of punches in Timmy's ribs and his stomach, and, worst of all, a blow to his face. Timmy's eye began to swell. Hau's body may have looked short and weak, but his arms were like steel.
Timmy limped home by Jill's side, hopeful that Kiawe or Mallow wouldn't take this opportunity to snipe him in the condition he was in.
