Chapter 106: Decathlon (4– Final)

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Decathlon (4– Final)

(Sorry for the late chap. I threw my back out and had to recuperate for an entire day. Eid Mubarak everyone!)

[General POV]

Irritated by the paparazzis sneaking photos of Edward Newgate's Decathlon team, the Franklin Middle School team failed to answer the next question, allowing Atlas Middle school to gain the lead with 10 points ahead.

Alex helplessly clicked her tongue and glared angrily at the paparazzis before she stood up and shouted, "Staff member! DO something! They are giving me a headache and interfering with the game!"

"I agree. Please stop your flash photography while we are inside the venue. Better yet, get lost." The old moderator ended his sentence in a cold voice, striking fear inside the self of the nerds there.

Rajesh stood up and said, "Yeah. Get out. Or we will call the police."

The paparazzis ignored them and continued their selfish behavior, when suddenly all of their cameras stopped working.

"Huh? What is happening?" A drug-addled, sly looking paparazzo muttered as he tried to test his camera a few times, only to find out it had been broken. "Fuck! What about the storage!" He cursed and took out his memory card from the camera to check it on his laptop, only to find that his laptop had broken too.

"FUCK! WHO DID THIS?!" He cursed out loud. Not only him, but all 20 paparazzis there also found out that all of their electronics had been fried, and they had lost all data they had in their laptop storage and also their cameras.

That meant, a lot of black materials had been destroyed, leaving them with no source of income, and no defensive items to protect themselves from the retaliation of those they had blackmailed before. They got horrified at the conjecture, and hurriedly moved out of the venue one by one before anyone else could find out what had transpired here today.

Amidst the chaotic venue, Mrs Henderson walked back slowly to her audience seat, but her steps paused as she saw a sullen company senior standing right in front of her.

The korean man in a black suit frowned and said in a cold tone, "Henderson. You have broken the Afterlife rule."

"It's a stupid rule to follow." The teacher rebuked, not showing regret for her actions.

"Nonetheless, it is a rule. You cannot interfere with the affairs of the living. I had turned a blind eye when you offered help to the kid you're observing, but to protect an ordinary kid? Why do you have to go so far to meddle in the mortal's fate?"

"..." Henderson paused for a while, as even she did not know why she did that. She pursed her lips and replied, "You put me in this world...as a teacher."

"And?"

"A teacher will protect her students."She said and snapped her finger once more.

"So. You're not satisfied with one offense, and you thought making two offenses, one witnessed by a senior agent, could finally give you satisfaction?" Gong Shin said sarcastically.

"I'm not afraid of punishments. I just want to do what I think is the right thing to do." Henderson replied before walking past the frowning Gong Shin and sat back at her seat. Unbeknown to her, the senior manager in the Afterlife corps showed a slight smile before turning his face stoic again and sat next to the teacher.

He handed her a disciplinary notice, and said, "I already arranged for you to be pulled back to the company, but now...I guess you have to stay in this world for a little bit longer."

"Right now, I just hope that kid doesn't make so much trouble." Mrs Henderson said helplessly before willingly accepting the disciplinary action without even trying to defend herself.

"Oh right, you still haven't told me the story." Gong Shin asked in a friendly manner.

"Which story?" Mrs Henderson asked, confused.

"The story of the best and most disciplined angel demoted because she ran a karmic draw for a 1 year old kid."

Mrs Henderson opened her mouth a few times in disbelief, before she frowned and said, "I don't want to talk about it."

On the other side of the city, a red Porsche was being pursued by 4 police cars in a high speed chase. The roaring of the engine startled the passerby on the street, especially a realtor who had just gotten out of a supermarket with grocery bags in both of his hands.

"Oh my god, kids today had watched too many speed racer movies!" Phil Dunphy exclaimed as he watched the red sports car pass by in awe.

Inside the red car, Edward was cursing his luck. "Damn it. Why is the police so active today?" (E/N: 5 stars bro )

While driving, the songs played by his earphone raised his heartbeat up, and also his reflexes as he made a few difficult maneuvers on the streets.

????Wonder if you know

How they live in Tokyo????

"PLATE NUMBER, D. U. D. E. E., PULL OVER! RIGHT NOW!" The cops shouted using his megaphone to make Edward stop his reckless driving.

????If you see me then you mean it

Then you know you have to go????

"Sorry, I got a thing!" Edward shouted back at them and shifted the gear before drifting at the last minute at an intersection, losing 2 cop cars because they were too late to react.

????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????

"PULL OVER! PULL OVER I SAID!" The cop said urgently.

"Wait. Is that Buddy?" Edward looked behind using the back view mirror and was feeling helpless as he saw an acquaintance here today.

"I really can't stop now.." Edward clicked his tongue while trying to contact Jenna, but she didn't pick up the phone.

????Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)????

"Fuck it!" Edward swerved his car and changed his position to face the cop car as he put the gears in reverse.

Buddy screamed in horror and pressed his brake, but the collision he expected didn't come. He was only tricked by Edward, who in turn took another corner, and managed to disappear from the police chasing him.

"I could get addicted to this. COME ON. COME ON. Jenna! Pick up!" Edward muttered anxiously as he feared the worst. But then, Jenna picked up the phone.

"Jen. What is happening? Are you alright?" Edward asked hurriedly.

"Y-Yeah. I'm hiding inside my mom's closet. They are still here, trying to find me. Apparently most of them are dumb, so I'm still safe." Jenna hushed her voice and said in disbelief after she miraculously managed to escape pursuit from the bad man's goons. One forgot to tie his shoelace and tripped. One suddenly got a phone call and decided to answer it instead of following her, and so on.

"I already called for help. So tell me, is the front gate open?" Edward asked in a calm manner as to not increase the pressure on the young girl.

"I-...I think so." She replied anxiously.

"Good. I will just drive my car straight in. Don't hang up the phone, and tell me what's happening."

While Edward was speeding to get to Jenna's mansion, Alex was currently inside a predicament with almost no way out of her troubles.

"We have...one question left... One chance...to turn this all around." Alex muttered while biting her fingers. "And the last question is going to be...the hardest of them all."

"Come on guys. It's not that bad!" Enid tried to cheer the team up, but no amount of effort could raise the team's spirit. "What about that paper?"

"I don't know. Ed's notes I guess." Alex replied before opening the paper. She was suddenly infatuated with the neatly written formula and explanation that the paper showed, and almost forgotten to focus on the last question.

The moderator was changed to Rajesh as the paparazzis had caused him to be unwell and had to sat down and rest

"Now...it's time for the final question. A question that will decide...whether the Franklin Middle school team could surpass Atlas Middle school, or will Atlas remain at the top, and become the champion for these 3 month championship games." Rajesh said ceremoniously. "ARE YOU READYYY!?"

Both of the team were confused by the sudden change in atmosphere, and were looking at him in confusion. "Nevermind." Rajesh said dispiritedly before reading the final question. "The last question will be a change of pace from all of the science stuff. It will be a History question...and It will be worth 100 points!"

Alex stopped biting her fingers and wiped the non-existent sweat on her forehead as she looked at the score. 320 points for Atlas. And 310 points for Franklin.

The crowd murmured at the change, but Rajesh ignored them and asked, "What is-"

"WAIT!" Alex suddenly shouted.

"W-W-What?" Rajesh turned to Alex, but as she was a girl, his mutism appeared again, and he quickly hid away from her. Alex rushed to the judges table and slammed the papers on the panel's desk.

"We caught the snitch." She declared.

...

[Edward POV]

As I drove to the mansion, a hot, burning anger spread out from my chest to my entire body. An orphan boy, unadopted till I reached adulthood and was kicked out of the orphanage... the only comfort I had right then was to know I was not alone. There were a few children like me, unwanted by society. We consider ourselves the bottom members of society, and decided to look after one another.

( E/N: And so I had to become the hero Gotham needs not the one they deserve) or however that line went lol)

But...One by one, we fall prey to the darkness of human society. One orphan girl was tricked into doing pornography, and died from drug overdose. One married a rich man, and was choked to death. We tried to save them, but we were always one step too late. In the end, we all went our separate ways, as it was too painful for us to keep sticking together.

(A/N: TOO DARK!)

"Of course you can." I replied instantly. She brightened up a bit and gave me a hug before whispering something I couldn't hear.

"You're welcome. And Hey, if you ever need me again, just give me a call alright?"

She nuzzled into my embrace, but I stopped her and said, "Hey don't run your hand all over the place."

"I didn't-" She widened her eyes in disbelief, and then realized I was making a joke and smiled.

"Finally. I haven't seen your smile all day. I've started to miss it." I said with a smile, causing her to blush.

"You know what, today gave me an idea for a song. Do you want to hear it?"

Her eyes lit up and she asked, "A song...about the incident? Or about...us?"

"A little bit of both kind of a promise about us too." I replied with a slight shake of my head as I pretended to think.

She released me quickly and said in excitement, "Well. What are you waiting for? Go write it down before you forget about it!"

"I don't need to write it down. I can just play it-"

"Then do it!" Jenna exclaimed, desperately needing something to distract her mind away from the whole incident.

"Alright. Lemme check the piano first." I stood up and walked to the piano nearby, and Jenna followed me like a baby duck . I gestured for her to sit next to me on the piano long chair.

"Also Jenna, if you got your panties wet while I sang, don't throw it at me like you did at the concert yeh?"

She blushed in embarrassment and hit me slightly on the bicep, "Who exposed me?'

"I will not name the witness...you know... protect your sources and all that."

She pouted but her excited eyes betrayed her. "Just sing."

"Okay. After that, We're going to eat."

??????????????????

[One call away– Charlie Puth]

My fingers gently tapped the piano keys as I looked Jenna in the eyes.

"?? I'm only one call away. I'll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee~! I'm only one call away. ??"

She blushed in embarrassment and avoided my eyes.

"??Call me, baby, if you need a friend. I just wanna give you love~

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon??"

She covered half her face with her slender hand as she peeked at me through the gaps of fingers.

"??Reaching out to you, so take a chance

No matter where you go, know you're not alone??"

My intentions were conveyed to Jenna, and she couldn't help but shed tears again as she heard the song.

"??I'm only one call away??"

I sang with a decisive tone as I wanted her to know I would always be there if she needed me. Even if I was far away, I would definitely try. After all, she is one of the few precious friends I have in this life.

"??I'll be there to save the day! Superman got nothing on meee! I'm only one call away??"

We went to the diner together, with her sitting at the backseat of my bicycle as I stressfully pedal away to the restaurant.

??Come along with me and don't be scared

I just wanna set you free.

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon??

We meet with Enid and Alex, who gave Jenna a hug the second they saw her.

??You and me can make it up, anyway...

For now, we can stay here for a while...

Cause you know, I just wanna see your smile??

Jenna shared with the girls what happened, and shared the tales of my heroism with an excited tone and a sincere smile on her face. We ordered a lot of food as we waited for the others.

??No matter where you go, know you're not alone

I'm only one call away

I'll be there to save the day??

Sanjay and Haruna came to the diner with a big grin on their faces as they raised the 0.5 meter tall silver-white trophy up high in the air. The whole restaurant applauded to congratulate us as Enid announced our win to everyone.

??Superman got nothing on me

I'm only one call away??

Jacob was agitated and wanted to destroy the producer after Jenna opened up and shared the whole story to Elsa and him. I had to grab him by his pants to keep him in the restaurant.

??When you're weak I'll be strong

I'm gonna keep holding on??

In a way, for me to run over there to save Jenna today, was also a redemption for me who was always late in saving my friends in my previous life. While Jenna was afraid of letting me go, I too felt the same way. We went back to my place after celebrating, and the group decided to let me keep the trophy for a while before donating it to the school.

??Now don't you worry, it won't be long

Darling, if you feel like hope is gone

Just run into my arms??

??I'm only one call away

I'll be there to save the day

Superman got nothing on me

I'm only one, I'm only one call away??

"Hey Ed." Jenna stopped me from walking by tugging at my shirt. I turned to her and asked, "What is it?"

I finally knew what she whispered before this. She looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Thank you."

I smiled and patted her head lightly before casually saying, "Anytime."

"??I'm only one call away

I'll be there to save the day

Superman got nothing on me

I'm only one call away

I'm only one call away...??"

(A/N: New way of writing the song. Wdyt?)