Hellion

Veritas Lux Mea

Kai’mos Varthus

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Smoke from the smoldering circuitry was filling the expanse of the bridge rather quickly, outpacing the failing ventilation system which would normally push the toxic fumes through turbines and out into space. There was little time to think. The Ithlo’s quick assessment of Kevej’s condition made it clear that the First Mate needed to be triaged, as stopping massive blood loss from the fractured arm and torn flesh was priority.

“We need to get off the bridge.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Without hesitation, a clear mind, and steady hand, Kai’mos pulled the hypo-syringe from his bag, lifted it to the other’s arm, and injected a good dose of what would be considered antibiotics and painkillers. Time was of the essence, and there was no way he could move the patient without first stabilizing the broken arm. Another injection, this time using solution that would slow down the flow of blood to the affected area, would prevent further blood loss as he went to work wrapping Kavej’s right forearm in a temporary splint. The smoke filling up the bridge was making it tougher to breath, and as another explosion rocked the ship -almost knocking both crew members over- the Ithlo knew it was time to get the hell out of there.

“Alright Mister Vin'Akali, I am going to slowly hoist you to your feet, placing your other arm around my neck for support.” The Ithlo said to the other, slinging his medical bag across his chest and doing his best to lift the First Mate from the other side. “Stay with me though, my friend. You have a concussion that will need to be mended. But not here.”

Kai’mos stood up straight, with his new patient’s half-limp body hanging on one side as they started towards the bridge exit, taking care to keep them both steady as another explosion caused the ship to shake uncontrollably. It had been a long while since the Ithlo was in a ship-to-ship battle situation, which was just another reason why he preferred to keep both feet firmly planted on solid ground.

Moments later found them outside the bridge entry and in the main corridor, with the door mostly closed behind them to keep any remaining smoke trapped on the other side. Staring down the corridor, it’s security lighting strobing from the ship-wise malfunctions, he needed to make it to MedBay, where Kevej could be secured on a surgical table, and the doors locked down. However, the facility itself was located mid ship, and their pace would be slower than a normal.

Either case, this was the way, and he would succeed, or die in the attempt.

CHAMPIONS of DRAYDON ⚔️

I'm out, but ty.

Rosefell High.

The initial anticipation of the announcements began to slowly waver as Principle Henderson lowkey gut-punched many of the art students with his “budget cut” statement. Alex shouldn’t have been all that surprised considering the underfunding that has hit Rosefell long before he ever attended, but it still didn’t lessen the blow. Also unsurprisingly, the football team seemed to be -more or less- unaffected. Not that it mattered really.

He sulked at the news, nevertheless, as he continued to monitor the video camera that pointed toward the stage, making sure it didn’t accidentally becoming disconnected from its power supply. Boy, now that would be a shame, wouldn’t it? Honestly, no one would care, because the recording would simply be put into archive status, and most likely never see the light of day. Henderson liked to document school events as though it were his own family being captured, however, rarely did a lot of it end up anywhere but the cutting room floor, or just simply lost to history. Maybe centuries from now, some group of archaeologists would find the still images and video footage, and wonder what the hell kind of society they may have missed. Or, at the very least, get a laugh before setting fire to the entire collection.

The mention of “Home Ec” and the “Baby Project” classes, followed by the resounding moans and chuckles from the crowd, brought Alex back from the momentary reverie, as he too shook his head at what this year had to look forward to.

“Cooking and daycare...” He mumbled to himself as Henderson wrapped up the speech and students were dismissed to their first class.

Quickly and efficiently, the camera equipment and cables were broken down and packed away in the hard plastic case that had seen better days, and waiting a bit for the crowds to clear the stairway, he surveyed the auditorium for Lana. They hadn’t had much of a chance to talk face-to-face since that night they kissed. It seemed the fates decided to keep them apart as much as possible for the remainder of the summer break, but hopefully they have a chance to this year. As the students began to disperse, however, he didn’t notice Lana anywhere. Most likely she and her “breakfast club” of friends rolled in late to the assembly and under the radar. Either way, he wanted to see her.

Alex made his way toward the back stage and packed the video equipment in its designated storage locker, looking around for Henderson in hopes he didn’t have to get sucked into another long-winded conversation before he had a chance to dip out for his first class.

Algebra 2. He absolutely hated math, yet was still decent enough at it that most work took him no time at all to complete. But Alex wasn’t a numbers guy at heart, as his right-brained thinking kept him daydreaming of creative endeavors and far away places, beyond the constraints of academics.

Still, he wondered who might be in his first period class...

Hello childrens

Welcome!

Musings n' Dreams

I'm
depressed, sad, hurt, lonely
unloved, judged, misunderstood,
insignificant, broken
Fine

Musings n' Dreams

A bruise is tender
but does not last,
it leaves me as
I always was.

But a wound I take
much more to heart,
for a scar will always
leave its mark.

And if you should ask me
which you are,
my answer is-

Post a random fact about yourself.

When applying chapstick, I always start with my bottom lip.

I have to have an odd number of applications on the bottom lip, and the even number one less than the number on the bottom.

@HaleyTheRandom

Ugh, as much as I love chapstick, it's like, the more you use it, the more your lips rely on it. It's a vicious af cycle and idk how I feel about that :/

Random fact: I've been taking online business classes in the hopes of starting a freelance design biz one day, and all I want to do at this point is cry.

Rosefell High.

Over the next twenty minutes or so, Alex had at least several dozen images of students and faculty swarming in from the main corridor, front parking lot, and picnic area, which was probably enough considering he’d have to sort through each file later for quality. But he enjoyed it nonetheless, especially getting a chance to really flex all the Canon’s features. The camera itself was relatively new, something gifted to him by his parents, since they both knew the photography passion was a lot more than a fleeting hobby.

Artistic endeavours came and went for the young man: a drawing here, a painting there, and perhaps even the odd sculpture, but photography was something of a challenge accepted with open arms. He studied everything he could from as many online resources as possible, and even took a summer-long class two years ago, which really inspired his pursuit. And it helped too, that a few friends from last year’s art classes were a source of motivation, including Sage, who was probably the most gifted artist Alex had known in a long time. She had a way of sparking creativity in the most mundane of subjects, and really helped him to think outside the box.

“Make sure you put one of them somewhere prominent eh?"

Jordan’s fleeting voice snapped him out of his brief reverie, and Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the comments, shaking his head as the “drama queen” strolled by like he owned the place. Which he did, in his own head, of course.

”I’ll make sure you’re headlining the entire year, buddy.” The photographer jested, making the decision to start heading toward the auditorium not too far behind Jordan.

---

“Wow.” Was about all that he could mutter, noticing that within no more than a half hour, did the place fill up with so many new and familiar faces.

Alex casually walked the floor near the front row, getting a few wide shots, close-ups, and even a nice panoramic of the entire seating area, and he was pretty sure the same group of kids that gave him the middle finger did the same in another shot earlier. Funny how pictures have a way of coming around to bite a person when they least expect it. Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the silliest of thoughts. And with that, he made his way up the steps that lead toward the back stage where he’d kept his bag full of different size lenses and a tripod, which he would need to set up soon.

“Mister Bellamy, great, you’re back! I need a favor, son...” Principle Henderson seemed to come out of the shadows like a Nosferatu, lowkey spooking the young man as he was rifling through the camera bag. Alex cringed every time the man referred to him as “son”, but thankfully he wasn’t facing the other to show his disgust.

Mister Henderson continued.

"Turns out our IT guy, Brian, is running late this morning, and, well, I hate to ask you for more, but…"

Okay, let's pause, because this was about the time where Alex was asked to do something outside his area of expertise and perhaps even, his comfort level, especially when the old guy pretended to feel bad for asking anything.

"...I'll need your talent manning the video camera, at least until he arrives and can take over."

"Well" Alex signed, and turned around. "Sir, you see, I'm-"

"Perfectly qualified? I know, that's why I asked you!" The principle did another one of those slow motion, at-a-boy punches to the kid’s shoulder like they were becoming super besties. "But seriously, Mister Bellamy, you're the only one I can think of at such short notice, and I'm sure you'll do fine. Yeah?"

The principle stood there with that lingering, yet pathetic expression, as if Alex didn't help him out, the entire assembly would collapse in one fell swoop. The guy had been acting strange today anyway, but it could just be attributed to all the logistics going into the first day of school. So, how was a student supposed to respond to their Principle, but with a…

"Sure, no problem, sir." The young man nodded, regretfully, but forced a smile nonetheless.

"Thanks a bunch, sport, I'll make sure to-" He was cut off mid-sentence by one of the teachers calling him over for help with something, and with that, he stepped away, leaving Alex to wonder just why the hell he even agreed to any of this.

Back on the main floor of the Auditorium, Alex made his way up the stairs that ran along the center of the stadium seating, toward the ten-by-ten section near the top that was typically designated for camera setup. Unfortunately, a lot of the rowdier students would sit along the top as well, so most likely he would be dealing with a handful of assholes. Lovely. He shook his head, staring at the shoddy wiring job, with cables running in every direction and not properly tied together or moved out of the way. He knelt down to at least clean up the cables and cords so he didn’t end up tripping over anything.

He just wanted to make it through the assembly and get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

Hello! Bonjour! Chao!

Welcome mein fren!

Rosefell High.

"Coffee, Mister Bellamy?" Principle Hendersen held a small, white, generic paper cup in front of him which was filled with whatever they considered coffee at the school.

"Alex." The young man across from him responded with a half smile. "And-uh, no thanks."

"Sure thing, son." The other shrugged, tossing the black liquid into the nearby wastebasket. "So hey, thanks for coming in a bit early this morning. It was great having you here last year taking photos for the yearbook -which came out great by the way- and all the events happening around the school. I gotta say, the staff here love you for making us look good. Even Miss Petree, who seems to have a thing for your work." The man chuckled to himself, while Alex gave an obviously cringed expression, knowing exactly what was implied.

“Uh…yeah, so...can I go?” Alex said, his nose still crunched up as he motioned toward the exit with both hands.

The older man cracked a cheesy grin, with a slightly odd chuckle, before continuing. "Aaaanyway, yeah you know the drill. We just need some stock footage of students coming in, a few candid ones, and then when the assembly starts, get some nice shots of the staff on stage. Of course, before we can use images of the kids, we’ll need parents permission if they’re under eighteen, etcetera, etcetera…” He said before taking a drink of coffee and nodding. “I’d really like to spruce up the school paper, the video announcement content, and even the website...poor thing has been so neglected.

Alex nodded and gave a half-hearted smile while musing at the fact the principle still keeps wanting to work on that sorry excuse for a high school website. From what he understood, the video monitors inside the school halls that were supposed to showcase “RoseFell High School Current Events” haven’t worked for a couple of years, at least some of them anyway, and the content that was published was fairly stale. And then there’s the school paper, which was probably the saddest state of affairs, because really, who the hell reads newspapers?

“Well, at least there’s the yearbook to look forward to.” Alex shrugged, looking down at his digital SLR Canon, and making a few adjustments, moreso out of boredom, anxiety, and probably a few other things thrown in.

“Damn right, sport.” Principle Henderson said with a mocking slow motion punch to the kid’s shoulder, as though he just gave a most excellent pep talk. “Alright, I’ve wasted enough of your time. Scoot off and do something creative!”

Holy shit, it’s about fucking time!

“Awesome, thank you Mister Henderson, for your...continued encouragement.” Alex nodded with a straight face, but as he turned on a heel for the opposite direction, couldn’t help but crack a smile and almost bust out laughing while heading through the exit doors toward the main corridor.

Freedom at last.

It was about eight o'clock, and students were pulling into the parking lots and slowly making their way through the main entry and toward the Auditorium. In a way, Alex loved this feeling, it was a rush, really. Sure, most students really didn’t want to be here, but at the same time, the energy could be felt nonetheless. That energy totally translated into each and every photograph that was taken. There was a dynamic that you couldn’t fake, which made it worth the time.

Alex usually kept himself off to the sidelines, as he didn’t need to be bumped, or crowded by anyone, especially while he was working in his craft. His typical wardrobe were in the realm of blacks and grays from Old Navy, a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of stone washed jeans, and black Adidas. He blended in with just about anything, leaving plenty of others sticking out like a sore thumb with their wild outfits, hair styles, and bling. He liked it that way. Every-so-often he peaked out over the top of the camera to compose an image in his mind’s eye, before looking through the viewfinder to frame a shot. Some of the kids smiled, others waved and goofed off, and then of course there were the handful with obscene gestures just because they could. A tall redhead with an elegant light yellow toned sundress and jean jacket stopped in front of the camera with the most gorgeous of smiles, standing there for a few moments staring at the young photographer, which made Alex a bit uneasy. He didn’t like the attention.

“By the way.” The girl started to walk away. “The lens cap is still on.” She smirked as she continued down the hallway.

“Whaa…?” Alex’s face had a confused expression, and the thought of actually having the lens cap on all that time made him borderline angry, until…

“Gotcha!” The redhead yelled from down the hall at the same time Alex realized the lens cap was, in fact, not on.

Fucking high school.

A few minutes later brought him outside the front entry near where the faded red picnic tables were situated, and a few students had already sat down for a variety of reasons. He first recognized the blonde -shit, what was her name again?- sitting and finishing off some kind of sandwich. He’d never actually formally met her, but people hear things about other people in a moments notice. Still, she seemed like an okay person.

Oh yeah, and then Jordan, who was sitting at one of the other tables way too focused on his phone to even notice the few pictures that were taken of him. Alex remembered that "drama queen" all too well, especially from all the times he wanted to be in just about every picture for the yearbook last year. No doubt he hasn’t changed, but it usually takes more than a single summer to change anyone.

Wow. The summer had gone by faster than Alex hoped, and the one regret he had was not being able to spend enough time with Alana. They both really hit off last year, well, later in the year anyway. It was kind of a slow burn thing with them, because both were about as shy as could be, and social interactions were sparse. But, they got over that hurdle about mid-year, and spending time with one another was something Alex looked forward to almost exclusively. But, the summer came, and both of their families had their own plans for trips and activities, which didn’t include either one of them being together.

But there was that kiss. A single kiss one fairly cool evening in July that Alex would never forget. God he missed it, and hoped there would be more to come before next summer came out of nowhere.