Avilien

Agency

Squeezed tightly, as Brit used her strength stats to hug the life right out of her newfound allies, she had to let them go when Cissy started to turn blue in the face and lost the will to keep bashing her in the head. Cissy hit the ground quicker than a sinking ship hit the ocean floor, and gasped for air while Nagori missed the warmth from the hug—both girls in two different minds about Brit.

"Do you want to come over to the hotel I'm staying at? They have amazing room service and food. Not forgetting the indoor Jacuzzi and rooftop swimming pool. There is even a room for virtual gaming. It's not fully immersive, but so close," said Brit. Dripping with enthusiasm and hoping the two girls would tag along with her and Luke, Brit could hardly contain her excitement as she shook like a child on a sugar rush.

"We'll have to pass," said Cissy as she stood back up and rubbed her sore ribs. "Nagori and I have to help Lance with his sword training. My mum and dad work at the Golden Tower, so please don't cause them trouble. They work behind the counter in the foyer...not that you're even listening to me anymore," said Cissy, as she watched Brit's mad dash back over to Luke, who hadn't moved from the swing. He had remained seated the entire time, thinking over what Nagori had revealed.

"Come on, let's go!" shouted Brit as she dragged Luke off the swing and yanked him to his feet. The moment she turned back around, Nagori and Cissy had vanished, like a cliché old film where people can vanish in a split second while your back is turned.

Luke watched Cissy use a move similar to Brit's Phase Rush, enabling her and Nagori to make a speedy getaway down the road. He saw the protest in Nagori's eyes as she reached out for Brit, wanting to be cuddled more, and he saw the fear in Cissy's eyes as she only glanced back once.

"Party poopers!" Brit stomped her foot and puffed out her cheeks.

"Brit...I really want to come to the hotel with you, too, but I need to head home. There is something urgent I have to check on. Want to come back with me?" Luke hoped she would say yes. He felt uneasy about this new stalker. Someone strong enough to deter Anna and Lance put him on edge.

"Man! Everyone is ditching me today. Tell you what, I'm going to go grab a nice hot bath after all that P.E, since I didn't want to use the school showers because they were so dinky. I'll come up to your place on Friday, after school. I don't do Thursdays—that's my lazy day, like Sunday. So I guess this is 'see you until then'?" asked Brit as she exhaled.

"I guess." Luke felt glum. Not only did he want to visit the hotel as a once-in-a-lifetime chance, he now had to face off against a possible intruder on his own. Brit had enough on her plate to deal with, so he thought twice about telling her what was up. She had saved his bacon enough.

"Hah!" screamed Brit, scaring Luke and making him jump out of his thoughts.

"You're going to miss me. Don't worry, we'll see each other again on Friday." Brit ruffled Luke's hair and then gave him a hug. Much taller than him, she enveloped his torso and her added strength from stats almost crushed his ribs. Now Luke understood why Cissy bashed her in the head as he gasped for air.

Without any more exchange of words, Luke watched Brit walk out of the park and in the wrong direction for her hotel. She need only look at the skyline to know where it was, yet typical Brit went further and further away from it. Standing alone in the park as students and other people passed by the railings, Luke tried to think who his stalker could be. Anna, Nate, Lance, Cissy, Nagori, and even Brit were out of the question. Mr. Mock stood as the only person he could think of, and that was a wild stab in the dark. His headmaster wouldn't be snooping around his house while he slept, as shady as he now seemed. Luke laughed at the very thought and rubbed the back of his head.