CHAPTER 11

  "See what you people have caused now!"

  "Ehhn!" someone at the front shouted.

  "Leave them joor! It's those people at the back!" a girl snapped.

  "Who's that one?" Richard chuckled.

  "You look like you're crazy," she fired back.

  The classroom erupted into chaotic noise, fluctuating at dangerously high decibels.

  Looks like a comedy scene has finally ended up in a wrestling match, Elinqua mused, pressing his cheeks with his tongue.

  "Even though I fell for those cheap jokes... I know I did!" He chuckled as he rubbed his stomach

  "But seriously, Philip, you talking at all shocked me."

  "That statement didn't buy a flight ticket before flying out of my mouth," Philip said dryly. "Must be the rebellious one."

  "You should’ve imprisoned that statement, Mr. Quote Master!" Elinqua teased.

  He sighed deeply. "We're in trouble now... But are we in the frying pan or the fire? That’s what i am worried about now."

  "I'm sorry, brother," Philip said quietly, head bowed.

  The noise continued, but the boys went silent, bracing for whatever punishment was coming.

  Were they brothers by blood—or friends bonded by fate?

  The class was a storm of sound: sporadic, fierce, and wild. What should’ve been a cheerful break turned into a battlefield of petty fights and quiet heartbreak.

  Students started building 'worry towers' in their hearts.

  Break time ended.

  Later that day, Elinqua and Philip parted near the school gate.

  "Bye Elinqua" Philip said.

  "Bye for now, bro" Elinqua replied.

  Elinqua’s face was visibly disturbed. Walking along the road, he flagged down a bike.

  "Bike!" he yelled.

  The old bike man stopped. "Where to, my son?"

  Elinqua gave the address, and after brief discussion and agreement on the price:

  "You look troubled, hope no problem?" the bike man said with a knowing glance.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Nothing, sir."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Yes sir!"

  he climbed on, and off they went...

  At home, Elinqua searched frantically for the key to the house. He dug through every compartment of his bag. Nothing.

  "Why is this happening to me again?" he cried, nearly in tears. He blamed himself bitterly.

  "WHY? WHY? WHY?"

  Today had already been one of the worst: backlashes from school, literal red scars, and now this.

  You know we come to a point in life where we feel like sitting down and switching on the abundant supply of our cry.

  The outlet of this heartdrops is the only relief mechanism lift up the weight off our chests.

  After break time (crying) was over, ransacking continued

  Minutes of ransacking, until:

  "Wait... the smallest compartment!" he said.

  His hands scanned the sorroundings of the compartment, until his hand grasped something solid and metallic

  Bringing it out, the next word he could utter was just singular, but in it was a surge of relief utterly expressed

  "Hallelujah!" He said as he touched his ponding chest and looked up to the sky.

  He dashed inside.

  It was 4:30 PM. Mum should be on her way now.

  He took out the two glasses, and having confirmed the infrared, he wore it, only to see it didn't work as expected.

  "What the..." He said

  Why is it not working?

  "Ohh, i know why!" He smirked as he looked at the drawed black curtains around

  The room was dark due to closed windows and drawed curtains.

  "And one more thing, is this thermal or infrared glasses?"

  This glass exhibit both features!"

  "Because if it is thermal, it should only detect only heat and if it is infrared, it should detect only infrared light!" He started talking to himself.

  The morse code should not be detected if it is thermal googles, yet infrared glasses don't detect blue, which was present in the morse code!

  "This just kinda frustrates scien..." He was about to speak until someone intercepted

  "What of if the glass was made out of an eye?" A voice suddenly said out of nowhere in the room

  "WHO SAID THAT?!" Elinqua shouted, his heart thumping louder.

  A figure appeared, floating slightly above the ground.

  "Who are you?!"

  "My name is NESO 8C, but you can call me NESO" the figure said calmly.

  "A ghost?"

  "No, I am an embodied genie."

  "You must be a ghost"

  Elinqua grabbed the nearest object—a broomstick. He remembered his pastor's words: “Hold steadfastly to what you have.”

  He closed his eyes ready to send the plane flying

  "Hiyaaa!" he shouted, flinging the stick.

  The stick flew, had a successful journey onward, and found it's mark, It even pierced through NESO’s body like mist but it crashed against the wall of the other side hardly!

  "You can’t hit me," NESO said, "I’m currently disembodied. But your glasses—they make me visible."

  Shocked, Elinqua took the glasses off. NESO vanished. He wore them again. NESO reappeared.

  "I’m not here to hurt you," NESO said.

  "I was sent to serve you—by your ancestor."

  "My… ancestor?"

  "Yes. One of your mothers—your grandmother—was a pioneering ophthalmologist, she made a groundbreaking discovery!"

  NESO explained:

  “She created this technology after studying tetrachromatic birds. She infused the UV, M, L, and S opsins—but focused more on increasing the number of the latter to enhance the visibility of the blue colour in the sorrounding—into the glasses. The result? Vision far beyond the normal human range.”

  Elinqua gasped. "So... that's why I saw the blue Morse code on granny's portrait!"

  He ran to the wall where the portrait hung. The code glowed softly.

  NESO followed.

  "One more thing," NESO added, "I can become fully embodied."

  But Elinqua was already focused, decoding the message.

  Suddenly—TATTARRATTAT!

  "WHO'S THAT?!"

  "It's Mum! Open up!"

  Rachael had arrived.

  "Not agaaaiiiiinn..." Elinqua said as he was tired of hiding things, not knowing that he had just begun.