The golden sun rose up to the sapphire sky, wielding its deadliest of weapons. The rays penetrated deep into peoples' skin with a burning sensation. People fanned themselves left and right by the Angler Street, complaining about the obnoxious heat.

A few steps before turning to the next street, droplets of clear blue streaked down from his face. His hand brushed across his forehead, wiping the sweat that trickled down. The wet strands of his coffee-colored hair, dragged away from his brow. His features softened as a sigh escaped his thin lips, a soundless protest.

"Jace, you sure would need this!" A scruffy voice spoke. It was Mr. Rizzo, who threw him an ice-cold bottle of water.

"Wow, thanks! I'll pay for this later!" Jace called out, stopping in his tracks for a few seconds and catching the bottle with his hands..

"Sure lad, have fun in school!" The middle-aged man with a big build replied. Jace waved and walked faster.

He twisted the bottle cap and heard a click. Like a man dying of thirst, Jace quickly drank the clear water that sparkled under the sun's rays. Glug glug glug... "Ahhhhh, I really hate the summer heat."

"Yo, Jace! Lemme have some of that!"

"Zach." He spoke with pleasant surprise as the red-head grabbed the half-filled bottle and gulped it all down. "I forgot you lived nearby."

"Turning old already?" Zach grinned. "Oh yeah, did you see the Red Bat game last night?"

"Totally."

"'twas awesome, no? Especially the last part... Larc hit the ball well, homerun for the win!"

"I know right, but it was Onyx that took the whole world by surprise. That new team made it in the semi-finals. Rookie's luck?"

"Nah, they got good players. But I reckon some of them were 'stolen' from the other junior leagues. It's a nightmare really; they're making the sport cheap."

They passed by the school gates and stopped in front of the lockers. Jace keyed in the four-digit code and swung the door open.

"Man, my locker's such a mess. And it's only the second day of classes." He complained as he went through all the clutter. The inside of the locker was painted red but the color was hardly seen due to the heap of random things; books, papers, and personal belongings.

"I concur. I don't think that'd attract the ladies." Zach grinned as he rested his weight on the locker next to Jace's.

"If mom was here she'd nag me to death." Jace ignored his friend's comment and rummaged through his things. "Hmm, bubblegum wrappers... literature book... history book... no, not this."

"Dude, I don't wanna be late so I'll run to my class now. You know how my folks react to seeing tardiness in my report card. See ya later!"

"'Kay." He set aside his history book. "Now where was I..." Jace noticed an unfamiliar sight amongst the sea of untidiness inside his locker, something that stood out like a sore thumb. He reached in to grab the specialty paper which smelled of roses. What's this and what's it doing here?

It was neatly folded so he tried his best not to scrunch it up as he pried it open. He saw different colors and sizes of letters cut from the pages of a glossy magazine.

He paused in astonishment. This foreign material that invaded his private haven couldn't have just popped out of nowhere. He looked around and saw the almost empty hallway surrounded by the school lockers. It was going to be just another arduous day for Jace Tertullian.