A few minutes later, Mrs. Watson entered the cafeteria again. Her eyes beamed with crooked glee. "I apologize for the delay. Anna, thanks for covering for me."

The other lunch lady approached, with a spatula in hand.

"No problem, Carol." The other lunch lady replied. With a smile, she swung her spatula down like a hammer, and asked, "So, how'd it go? Did you break a leg... or two?"

"The audacity of that young man." Mrs. Watson leaned in, cracking her knuckles. "Well, he won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Oh-Ho-ho-ho." With one gloved hand over their mouth, Carol and Anna started laughing. "Oh-Ho-ho-ho!"

They laughed louder: "Oh-Ho-ho-ho! Oh-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho-Ho!"

The middle-aged aunties laughs were like "Desi Aunties". All "Nahi, Nahi, and "Vo Ladka kaun tha? Ye aaj kal ke bachey besharmo ki tarah ghoomtey hain."

Finally, with one last laugh, the lunch ladies strutted to the kitchen in good-fashioned, lunch-lady style.

Steven looked down at his lunch. All of a sudden, he didn't feel like eating anymore. So, he drank his smoothie.

Soon, the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch. Steven cleaned up and returned his plates to a lunch lady.

He then peered down at his schedule. The next class was Phys Ed. in the gymnasium.

He looked at Zero, who was beside him.

"I'm guessing you knew where that is?"

Zero quietly led the way...

The gymnasium was in a separate building. When they entered, they noticed a waiting area that led into the main building. With one big push, he stepped in. Immediately, he was met with the blinding lights, forcing him to squint down onto the brightly lit, sleek floor. He looked around, seeing the areas on his left and right had wooden benches. As the students poured in, Steven saw some unfamiliar faces...

He stopped in his tracks. Like a person who is not running, he stopped in his tracks.

"We share the gym with students from different classes." Zero commented. "I guess you know-"

"No." Steven laughed. "Where do we sit?"

Zero shrugged and pointed to the man coming out from the closets.

A whistle blew.

"ALRIGHT, SOLDIERS!" A middle-aged man holding a whistle shouted. "Call me Captain Baker! I am your GYM teacher! Alright anyone wanna know a COOL fact about me?"

Before anyone could speak, he continued:

"A COOL fact was that I was once a Captain! That was my other profession! Well, I wasn't very professional, but that doesn't matter as a gym teacher. Alright, I'm gonna be answering some questions now. Do NOT interrupt."

Before anyone could speak, he continued:

"Do I have QUALIFICATIONS to be a gym teacher? Obviously, HA! You don't need qualifications to be a gym teacher. You little peeps SURE are funny."

"A bachelor's degree..." Zero whispered.

"What?" Steven whispered back. "That's a thing?"

Zero nodded.

Steven stared at the captain. Maybe he had his head baked by the sun one too many times.

Zero nodded. "Sunscreen."

Steven paused, realizing he had said it out loud.

They, of course, didn't know the Captain's story.

It all began at a young age...

The sun's UV rays shone down on the Captain's skin. Over time, the stem cells were killed off. The UV rays had activated matrix metalloproteinases, breaking down the collagen and causing deep crevices. And the Cathepsin K enzymes slowly ate away at his elastin, destroying the once snappy skin.

It was a tale of ages. Or rather... aging.

"...As you already know, I am your gym teacher. I will be teaching you all how to cultivate your body, mind, and soul."

Before anyone could speak, he continued:

"What! You-Young-Whipper-Snappers!" He wagged his finger.

"How do you NOT know what cultivation is?"

Before anyone could speak, he continued:

"Well..." He looked down at his book. "Let's see..." He flipped a page. "Cultivation is the art of ...farming. Planting and agriculture and stuff."

Steven squinted at the green-covered book.

The book, aptly titled /Cultivation 101: A Pea Size Guide to Garden Green Success/ was in fact, about planting.

Still, why did he feel like something was terribly wrong?

Before anyone could speak, the Captain continued:

"Okay, gardening is pretty easy." He stared up proudly at the glaring gym lights. "Mmhm, all you need to do to maintain most plants: water them here and there, some fertilizers here and there, and some sunlight here and there."

"But..." Call raised his hand.

"No buts. What did I say about interrupting?" The Captain reprimanded. "Anyways," He grinned. "Give your plants adequate space to grow, and they'll sprout in no time!"

He looked at the book again. His eyebrows wiggled.

"Oh wait," Baker chuckled, awkwardly "...wrong book."

The Captain shuffled back into his closet.

Never had the students ever been so attentive before, but this situation had made them realize their true potential. So they stared at his every step. As soon as he was out of sight, the class burst into noise.

Shortly after, the captain walked out. He took out another book. "Okay, this is the correct one.' He coughed. "They had the same title."

The captain cleared his throat.

"Anyways, without this book, you guys wouldn't be able to comprehend the profound truth of cultivating!"

"Captn. Baker, I think we-" Call called out.

"Nonsense! You little'uns know how to grow plants and stuff? You all are city kiddos, not country kids." Captain Baker bellowed out, chuckling.

"I can grow-" Another student butted in.

"No interrupting." Cptn. Baker shouted. "Now... where was I? Oh right!" He opened the book and flipped through a few pages.

"Let's see..."

"Oh, I see." He mulled, "Aha! We're not growing plants, but humans! We're making humans grow using 'energy'! See, I always wondered if you needed to 'water' humans..."

He read a bit more, before shutting the book.

"Huawhhghh." The captain yawned. "Luckily, I won't be cultivating..."

The students stared back.

"...You guys will. For the rest of the class, I want you guys to um... do that cultivating thing. OK soldiers, work hard!"

At this point, some people raised their hands, but... Captain Baker had already put on his sunglasses, and thus could not "see". He plopped out a chair that just so happened to be there and started drinking some icy, red juice from a glass cup. It had a tiny, green umbrella floating in the water and was reminiscent of a drink served in one of those Boujee vacationing islands.

"I will be sitting on my..." Captain Baker sank into his vacation chair, "if anyone needs me."

Steven sighed. No one needed him.

Besides him. He had no clue how to do this cultivation thing.

Remind him... how this teacher got his license?

"One of the profound mysteries of the world." the guy in front of him muttered.

Steven turned to look at him.

"... Is how this teacher got his teaching license." the navy-haired boy continued. His words, quiet and snarky, sank into Steven's ears like a pebble. "Mm... To ponder this concept for eternity would not yield a rational answer. To think this over too long would only waste the active potential of my neurons. To talk even for breath more would cause me to oxidize quicker."

Steven stared. He realized who the fellow was. Grey-green leaves, culinary herb? It was Sage.

Sage probably knew a lot about cultivation since he was named after a plant, Steven thought to himself. He also probably knew a lot about roasting people with... that minty fresh decor.

Yeah...

Sage would probably taste amazing with udon, Steven concluded. Even though he had never ate it, he could imagine the taste of all the ingredients together. It reminded him of a flashy ad he had seen a while back-

He could still hear the voice of the announcer even now:

"Do you want the experience of a lifetime? No? Well, look no further than tasty Kitsune udon? A delicious meal that's gone in seconds and will make you want thirds. Apparently, it's Oishi! The bowl consists of chewy thick noodles, luminescent dashi broth, and aburaage seasoned well with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Now, just for the low price of 10,660 yen, you can buy Japanese noodle soup in dashi broth, topped with seasoned fried tofu, narutomaki fish cake, and scallions! But wait, there's more, the vintage Japanese Shop of the Udon family will also throw in exclusive kawaii chopsticks made with wood from the mystical forests of Japan! Buy now! This deal will only last until supplies last, international shipping fees will apply. Buy now, or die... Of hunger and sadness. (Bowls and noodles sold separately.)"

The ad had left Steven with a hungry stomach.

Really hungry, but he didn't want to eat back then. An execrable tyke. He felt like he bit the hands of the one who fed him and he grasped his hands together. Not yet, he reminded himself. Recalling the morning exchange, he remembered there was a bowl called Kitsune Udon in his class... short hair and brown eyes. Across the gym, he saw her approaching the sleeping captain. She looked a bit puzzled and tried asking a question... to no avail.

A minute later, the Captain finally replied "Mmhehwasha," before turning over and beginning to snore.

As the snores rang out, Steven looked at everyone else who seemed to know what they were doing. It seemed like he was the only one who was clueless.

"Hey.." Steven tapped on Zero.

"Huh?" Zero asked as his eyes fluttered open.

"How do you..." Steven paused. "Cultivate?"

Zero tilted his head. "Oh. You..."

"Close your eyes."

Steven closed his eyes and saw his eyelids.

"There's a lot of energy around us.' Zero continued, "We want to keep energy within us and not leak out. Which goes against... thermodynamics."

"So, what do I do now?"

"Try to see the world in a new light."

"I can't, my eyes are closed," Steven told him.

"..."

"So am I supposed to see energy?" Steven asked.

"No, energy is invisible," Zero answered. He pondered to himself for a bit. "Try... to feel the world around you. The movement of heat that dances inside you. The flow of air that surrounds you. The mellow waves of sound that vibrate in your ears..."

'I feel..." Steven breathed out, a long gust of wind followed.

"Full."

"Huh."

"We just ate," Steven explained. "I'm full."

"Hmm..." Zero uttered. "Try again?"

Steven closed his eyes, not expecting much. He breathed out.

All he could feel was his skin against his clothes...

"Take that off."

"Wait, what?" Steven asked, puzzled.

"That necklace." Zero clarified. "It's eating all the energy around you."

"But-" Steven started. "How did you-" He touched the necklace that hung directly over his chest and tightened his hand over it. He kept it under his shirt so that it wasn't visible except for the faintest imprint. It was always there, but somehow, the mention of it made it feel every more apparent on his skin. It was there. Somehow, it was seen. He looked back at Zero.

Zero turned his head away.

Gingerly, Steven pulled it out from under his shirt and muttered, "Fine,"

"That's still too close," Zero told him.

"What..." Steven muttered.

"I-" Zero muttered awkwardly. "can hold onto it."

"Right..." Steven gently passed it to Zero.

Steven closed his eyes again.

For a moment, he didn't feel anything. Like before, he felt nothing. But just for a moment, and then, he started to feel something. Something as the gears kicked into motion. The pits of his stomach were burning and the air that he breathed in started to thicken. With that, the peripheral nerves of his body awakened, and waves of electricity started firing off.

As the active potential reached his pupils, he could feel his eyes coming to life in the darkness. His vision started to dance in flickering spots, before fading away. That was when he realized that he could see better than ever. As if the world was grounded to him, he could tell where everything was. The gentle reminder that his eyes were still closed made him realize that he was never so in tune with what was around him. The sensations jumped on his skin like cold rain showers. Pitter. Patter.

Drip. Drop.

The sensitivity allowed him to taste his breath as it drew nearer. Milky and warm, it tasted familiar of early morning melancholy. He could see the waves of air particles as they bumped into each other... and he could touch the vibrant colors that swam near. He could smell the movement of heat as it drifted away from his body and hear the ever-changing song of carbon as it shifted from being alive to lattices of a diamond.

With one deep breath, all the energy that tried to leave his body fell back inside.

"No way..." He breathed out.

The loud gym bell rang.