Chapter 119 - 118 - Attention

Today's the 26th of September, on a Monday, and it was the first day back in classes after the end of the X-Warrior Championship. I was currently standing by the stairs leading up to the entrance of the Academy, a deep sense of reluctance in me. 

I really don't want to go in...I did eventually reply to the massive pile of messages I'd gotten from most of them, but I hadn't actually met any of them in person since the tournament, except for Katie and that one time I ran into Suri, so I was kinda dreading how they might react when I enter the classroom...though that isn't the main reason for my hesitancy.

No, the main reason was-...ugh, I don't even want to think about it, it makes me shudder in horror...so far, I've been pretending that it didn't even happen, but I won't be able to for much longer, and the thought of that put a pit in my stomach, along with a sense of anxiety. 

I can't just stand out here though, I was getting stared at...a lot. I hate all this attention. The security guards, not the mention any other students passing by, were all staring at me without restraint...yeah, I better head inside already. I let out a sigh as I headed up the stairs and through the doorway, and as I began to walk towards the classroom, I felt a tap on my shoulder. 

"Sup, celebrity classmate slash teammate." 

I glanced back, to see Mitchell behind me, an amused look on his face...he can tell that I'm not happy about all the attention, and he's finding that funny, huh? Dick.

"Oh, hey. And don't even joke about that, I'm not a celebrity," I replied with a sigh. 

"Yeah, no, my trending pages on social media beg to differ, dude...seriously, how long before I stop seeing your face all over my newsfeed?" He inquired with a smirk. 

"Quit exaggerating, the number of posts about me have decreased a lot lately," I rolled my eyes in exasperation. 

"Man, you seem on edge...what, is being the center of attention really all that bad?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow, as we made our way to the classroom. 

"No, it's not that...I mean, I can freeze time, so ignoring and avoiding crowds and attention is easy."

"Huh, right...so, then, what's got you so stressed out?" He asked curiously. 

"Well...," I responded with a sigh, as I opened my holoscreen, made it visible to him, before opening my inbox and showing him one of the messages I'd received, "This is what's got me so stressed."

He was silent as he read it, his eyes widening in shock as he saw who the sender was and read the text.

"Jesus fucking Christ, man...this is kinda terrifying. Sure this isn't just trolling or-...nah, that can't be, no way. This is seriously messed up." 

"I know, right? I have absolutely no idea how to go about dealing with this," I groaned, as I shut off my holoscreen. 

"I can see that, I don't know how I'd react in I were in your shoes," He replied with a shudder, as we reached the entrance to our classroom. 

Damn it...I really don't want to go in...but that's not really an option, so...here goes, no point in delaying it. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, before pushing the door open and hesitantly stepping in...

"Ayyy, it's the champ!" Exclaimed Lin the moment I entered, approaching me with her palm raised, "Way to go, dude, you were awesome!" 

Huh? I mean, I guess I appreciate the praise and all, but why's her hand-...ohh, she's asking for a high five. 

"Oh, uh...thanks, I guess," I replied as I awkwardly struck her palm with mine.

"Hey, Kilzachs, you gotta fight me, man! It's all I've been thinking about since watching the tournament," Chimed in Taayin with a grin, looking pretty amped up. 

Along with congralutory messages, he'd also sent me some messages challenging me to fight him...didn't want to commit to anything, so I didn't reply. Can't do that in real life though, too bad. 

"Yeah, I got your messages...maybe later," I deflected, trying to make my way to my seat. 

"Hey, bro, that was quite the surprise, to see that you're an Anomaly," Said Andre, joining in on the conversation, "That was seriously epic, the reveal of your powers...that moment was awesome!" 

"Thanks, uh, I-," I began to respond.

"I agree, I already knew but it was still really cool," Agreed Zoya.

Right, she'd been down in the maze with me and some of the others when those Wights tracked us down and I unlocked Tier Three. 

"It's pretty dope that we're the classmates of most heavily-trending person in the entire Sanctuary," Grinned Lin, smacking me on the shoulder. 

"That won't last much longer, it's already starting to die down and-," I started to counter. 

"You know what won't die down though? My desire to fight you, so don't think you're getting out of that!" Interrupted Taayin, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. 

Okay, enough crowding me... 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Pause>." 

I broke away from the crowd and slunk over to my seat, plopping onto the chair with a sigh. It feels like I've been sighing a lot in the last few minutes...yeah, that's a good indication of how I feel right now. 

I think I'll enjoy a few seconds of peace and quiet before unfreezing time again. I then glanced around the rest of the class...looks like everyone's here...everyone except for the person who sent me those messages that freaked me out. 

Alright, it's been two minutes and twenty percent of my XFE, I should return the time flow back to normal. But...I really, really don't wanna! Damn it... 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Two: Play>."

"Huh, wha-...woah, that was awesome!" Exclaimed Andre, after an initial look of surprise. 

"Not to be harsh or anything, but...getting crowded first thing in the morning is a bit too overwhelming for me," I remarked, earning sheepish, apologetic gestures from them. 

"We're sorry, we got carried away," Apologized Zoya. 

"No worries, you didn't mean any harm," I responded with a dismissive wave of my hand. 

"My bad, dude...but I'm still not backing down from my challenge!" Remarked Taayin with a smirk. 

"Fine, I'll fight you sometime soon, happy?" I sighed, giving in. 

"That's all I wanted to hear!" 

As they returned to their seats, I glanced around at everyone sitting near me, namely Kiran and my teammates. 

"Appreciate you guys not swarming me too," I said gratefully. 

"Eh, no biggie," Shrugged Mitchell indifferently. 

"Hmph, he says that, but yesterday, he messaged us and said that as his teammates, we should give you some space, since most of everyone else would probably have their attention locked onto you," Remarked Suri, flashing Mitchell a slight smirk. 

"Wha-...no, that never happened!" Huffed Mitchell as he averted his gaze, doing a pretty crappy job of lying. 

"But it did though," Chimed in Seila, bringing up her holoscreen and opening her inbox to show the proof, before shutting it off and stifling a laugh as Mitchell glared at her. 

"Wow, uh...thanks, man, I really appreciate that, genuinely," I said to Mitchell gratefully. 

"Whatever, don't make it weird," He responded with a grumble, turning around. 

"What about you, Katie? You probably don't have it as bad as me, but I'm guessing that you're getting plenty of attention too, huh?" I asked, changing the subject...kinda.

"I do get a few stares...but people approaching me is rare, thankfully."

"Lucky you," I replied dryly. 

"Hey, um, by the way, congratulations," Smiled Seila. 

"Yeah, congrats," Added Kiran, with a stifled yawn. 

The rest congratulated me too, which was nice, but also really, really awkward...I had no idea how to respond other than replying with some pretty awkward thanks. 

"Thanks, guys...but you all already said this much when you messaged me," I remarked, after they all finished. 

"Well, yeah, but it's only common courtesy to do so in person too," Replied Seila. 

Huh...I had no idea that was a thing. Which is to be expected, considering that, till recently, my social skills had been absolutely atrocious. And even now, having improved a fair bit, I've still got a ton of room for improvement. 

"So, hey, what are you going to do about THAT?" Inquired Suri curiously. 

"Hm? Not sure what exactly you're referring to...," I sighed in denial. 

"You know, that message...the super creepy one."

"Oh, you know about that too?" Chimed in Mitchell, "Man, I'm sure as hell glad not to be in your shoes right now."

"Yeah, well, at least it's looking like I won't have to deal with it today," I replied with a sigh. 

"No, you're wrong about that...he's not absent or anything, he just went to the bathroom a few minutes before you arrived," Responded Suri. 

Huh? Oh, shit... 

"What are you guys talking about?" Asked Seila curiously, as right on cue, the classroom door opened... 

As the person who opened it stepped in, their gaze landed on me, their eyes lighting up gleefully as they made their way over to me with a grin... 

"Kilzachs! So good to see you! I hope I'm not being too forward here, but...can I shake your hand!? Oh, and maybe get a selfie? Did you get my messages? You never replied-...oh, I know that's because you're probably really busy and stuff, but I just couldn't help myself! Eeeee, I can't believe I'm breathing the same air as you right now...to think such a powerful Anomaly would happen to be a classmate of mine, I'm so freaking stoked!" He squealed in excitement. 

This is...this is even worse than the messages, I'm definitely starting to feel sick... 

"What-...the actual fuck?" Blurted out Seila in shock, as a stunned silence fell over the entire classroom. 

And I can't blame them...after all, the one who was gushing and praising me like an obsessive fanboy, was none other than...Tairo Najimi...

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