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                        Boys + Club                        
                   -by Gunnsho Baddman-                    
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                          Awaken                           
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Awaken
Boys + Club
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Chapter 1: Awaken
Beneath the waves. Darkness all around.  Flash stares down into the darkness. Eyes peer back at him.
Down? Maybe not. Maybe up? sort of disorienting. The darkness and water is
Was he spinning? Or floating freely? No more chains to hold him down. Hold him together.
“Listen up...”
He closes his eyes. Did he? Or were they already closed? Not like it matters if he did.
“This is something you have to do if you want to be...”
Something tugs at him. His heart pounds in his chest.
Above.  Above? Yes.
A light shines from above. He raises his head. Something pulls at him. Something pushes him towards it.
“That was the goal... right?”
Rising faster. Getting closer. He reaches out to the light.
“To become... a Superstar!”
-[Ten]-
“20 minutes. Much better than last time.”
Flash’s eyes flicker open, his breathing steadying as he looks up to his teacher. Cheerilee looks at him, a small smile on her face as she shows him the stopwatch she held: [0:20:00:34]. He takes a deep breath and moves to stand, uncrossing his legs.
Her smile drops. “Flash.”
He stops. “Not yet. Take it easy.”
He crosses his legs again. “Alright... I can...” another deep breath “...I can go all night....”
She tilts her head to the side a bit, looking over his sweat drenched muscle-shirt and shorts. Glancing away for a bit, she runs a hand through her hair and chews her bottom lip. Calming down, she turns her attention back to the tired youth, a tired, if determined, smirk on his face.
“No. You need to rest now.  You’re still young, so you’ll recover fast, but I can’t have you getting injured unnecessarily. Ok?”
A bit disappointed, he nods his head and straightens his legs out. As he climbs to his feet, Cheerilee approaches him and gently grips his shoulder once he finished. “You’ve made excellent progress, Flash.  I know you want to go further, and I think you’re almost ready for the next step, but...”
Flash carefully turns to look up at her, so as not to knock her hand off. “You think I’m ready?” He smiles brightly at her, “So, I mean, if I gotta go home, do you think I could at least try the divinity thing before I go?”
“Divination, Flash.” She chuckles; he pouts. “But... okay.  You know what to get, right?”
Like a jackhammer, his head bounces up and down before he dashes off to grab something from the supply bag she brought: a single, empty glass. Cheerilee watches as he heads to the nearby river and fills the glass with water, nearly spilling it all out as he ran to set it on a tree stump.
Chuckling, she calls out to him, “Careful, Flash.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He scoops up a leaf from the ground and places it on top of the water.
Cheerilee walks over, “Now, I want you to place both of your hands near the glass.” As if it were a furnace on a cold winter night, Flash extends his hands towards the glass. “Uh, hold them out like you’re going to grab it.”
“O-oh.”
“Good. Now, perform Ren.”
He closes his eyes, his hands tensing a bit, before a subtle aura began to radiate from them.
Yes.
The water is still for a moment. It shifts a bit, air bubbling to the surface.
Just like that.
Something begins to form within it.
One step closer.
It solidifies.
“A silver ball.”
Flash lets out a deep breath. He feels Cheerilee’s hands on his shoulders.
“You’re a Conjurer. I didn’t expect that, to be honest.”
Dejected, Flash looks away. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Flash. Don’t be.” She gripes his shoulders firmly, her voice stern yet gentle. “I’m not disappointed. I’m just surprised. You’re a Conjurer; that’s a part of you. And I’ll do my best to help you hone it, OK?”
“O-ok!”
She smiles. “Good boy. Now, head on home, alright? We’ll continue your training tomorrow.”
“Alright.” He gathers his backpack and runs off into town, waving over his shoulder and calling out to Cheerilee, “Bye, Ms. Cheerilee!”
She waves back, running her free hand through her hair.
One step closer...