The Shrink Program

Chapter 116

-Two years ago-

It all started when the King of the Hill came to me with a simple request.

"There is a monster sitting on my Hill Maddison Tramph." He smiled down at me disarmingly. "Would you mind slaying it for me, and taking its place?"

All I could do was blink at him speechlessly, as people do when a random guy comes up to you in the middle of a deserted hallway and asks you to join him on a quest to la-la land.

"...What?" I managed to get out, pressing my back further against the glass behind me.

Alan Floid sighed, leaning casually against the window on his side of the corridor, directly across from me. The late afternoon sun shone at his back, making his hair glow crimson.

"I have a problem. His name is Jack." Alan explained with a sigh. "He has crossed too many lines and needs to be stopped. To do that, I need you to challenge him and take his place on the Hill. "

Warily I bit my lip. "You're from the Hill, Like Nigel?"

After coming into contact with Nigel Fleming a few times, I had learnt about the King of the Hill. Now that I knew the reason behind all the fighting in this school, I had become even more determined to avoid getting involved.

"The King, actually." Alan shrugged nonchalantly, and I swallowed nervously.

This wasn't the first time I had come into contact with Alan Floid.

Funnily enough, Vain had been the one he approached first.

Representing the school council, he had come up to Vain only a few days after we had started at the school, asking the diligent boy if he wanted to assist the student council.

I could still remember the shocked look on Vain's face, and the way he had let this strange boy drag him off without a single word of protest.

Alan Floid held influential roles in both sides of the school system. With a mixture of respect and caution, I suppressed my instinct to just outright refuse him.

"Why me?" I asked instead, stalling for time. Vain would be finished with his after school duties soon, and when he arrived, I would have an excuse to escape.

The King met my eyes seriously.

"Well, out of everyone here in this entire school, no one looks half as bored as you do."

The King grinned at my shocked expression. Before I protest, he rolled his eyes playfully. "Being bored out of your mind makes me think you might be just crazy enough to take me up on my offer."

I tried to reply politely, but all that came out was a strangled noise of outrage.

"Maddison."

Relief washed over me as Vain appeared at my side. That relief froze in its tracks when I saw Vain's tense expression. Instead of looking at me, he stared coldly at Alan.

"Good afternoon Alan."

"Vain." Alan nodded back, giving the smaller an amused smile.

"You'll have to excuse us. The busses have already left, so we have a long walk home."

Alan only gave us a raised eyebrow, an amused smile still in place as Vain curtly took my shoulder and led me down the hallway away from the boy.

"You know Maddison, you kind of remind me of a lizard, sitting on a rock," Alan called after us nonchalantly, causing me to look back at him in surprise.