🌟-Mei Xing

It was so strange to be back with Minori and Albert again. His grandmother walked into the living room with a tray of traditional kueh and tea set. Alb rushed to his feet and took over from his grandmother, whispering some things to her in Cantonese.

For an old woman around her age, there was a dignity to the way she walked; back straight, shoulders relaxed with large but silent footsteps. The cups rattled as he laid them on the coffee table. He gestured towards the tray. Our cue to eat! I picked up the ang ku kueh in its vibrant red paste.

“Hey, thanks for inviting me to hang out with you guys,” I said before taking a bite.

White lotus paste filling? Delicious! Minori helped Alb to pour the tea.

“Drink up! We managed to stockpile a lot of these before leaving Hong Kong,” he said.

I looked out the windows in his living room. The sea lied straight before us, dotted by those ugly container ships.

“So, you used your magic again,” Alb said as he sank down on his sofa.

What else could I do but nod? My fingers were becoming sticky from the wet rice flour. Minori on the other hand helped himself to the almond cookies. The memories came flying back to me. The way I cried for him to stop. How I held my hand out and the next thing we knew, Nicholas was sprawled against the wall, his head bleeding.

“I gotta say though, at least you saved our asses. That was pretty awesome,” he said.

I brushed away an untied batch of hair behind my ear and continued to drink. Minori remained silent all this while. Looking at the way he kept tapping his bare feet though, I knew there was something that he wanted to say. I nudged him by the sides.

“Alamak! What is it?” he asked.

“Ayo! Say something!”

He rested his head on the sofa’s frame, hands on his belly like he was doing one of his choir exercises. Alb put his teacup down and brought his arm over Nori’s broad shoulders.

“That day when Éclair attacked Nora and I, I used magic. I think. I don’t know. I just screamed for her to stop and it was like my voice turned into some sonic wave that hit her,” he confessed.

Alb and I gasped. Minori? With magic? We put our cutlery and plates down, leaning in close to hear what he has to say.

“Really! That’s it! That’s the only time I ever used magic! I swear!” he said.

Then, Alb’s eyes lit up. With his index finger up.

“No! I think there was an earlier instance. You said ‘sonic wave’, right? Remember that time when you played soccer and screamed so loud, the windows at the science lab broke?” he said.

I grunted as I suppressed my laughter. Seems like things in VS were a lot wilder than I actually thought.

“Really meh? I always thought those windows were just fragile,” Minori retorted.

It was really weird for me to be in Albert’s circle for once. Back in primary school, it was always just him and Minori in their own little worlds. I mean, Minori and I were somewhat close since we were the only non-Malays in Malay class. But that was it.

“Anyway, Mei. I’m happy you seemed to have found some friends now,” said Nori, clearly wanting to change the subject.

“Thanks, Nori. You should get to know Luqman though! He’s in biology too,” I said.

“Oh! I’ve seen him before during lectures actually! He always sits by himself. I wanted to ask him to sit with us but was always too shy,” he confessed.

Alb gave a weak smile. As he sipped away his herbal tea, he looked listlessly into the family portrait that sat above the piano. I turned to look at the laundry hanging over at the balcony. His new TSD shirt was out in the sun to dry. Ah. Right. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t sell my soul.

“Man, things are really going to get busy from now on, eh? Sam and Nora with their council campaign. Me with TSD. Mei, can you take good care of Nori for me, please?” asked Alb as he put his cup down.

“Alb, of course she would! She’s my Kakak, and I’m glad to have her as my Kakak again,” said Nori as he hugged me tight.

Ugh. I rolled my eyes, only to find myself smiling right after that. Maybe it was the sight of this boy with an athlete’s build hugging me with my tiny and flabby frame. Minori never changed that much, I supposed.

“So, who’s up for a game of UNO? Cards Against Humanity?” asked Alb as he walked towards his shelf of board games.

All of us raised our hands, eager to enjoy one final moment of pure freedom before Project Work, common tests, homework, and school hit us like wrecking balls.

🎼Dae-hyun

The weekend ended too fast. Shame I couldn’t say the same about the damned bus that was supposed to take me to Clementi MRT though. All of us latecomers stood in a single-file, waiting for the warden to scan our NRICs or Ez-link cards so that our details could be recorded into the discipline system.

I handed the warden my card and waited for that somewhat satisfying beeping sound. He directed me towards the direction of the meeting room. Great job, Dae-hyun. February has barely started, and you already earned your first strike out of three for late-coming.

When I entered the meeting room, there were already a handful of students inside. No way. What was Harini doing in there? I gave her an awkward wave. Well, so much for calling me out on my previous late-coming when she couldn’t even come to school on time.

“How’s Éclair?” I asked as I sat beside her.

She tightened her high ponytail as she sighed. She shook her head.

“I don’t know if we can keep her in dance if she’s going to continue being this emotionally volatile,” she said.

From the way she fidgeted with her cuticles though, I could tell that she was not telling me one part of the story. Still, to know that she might be written off the dance team after just one session was enough to make me mouth a big ‘why’ to Harini.

“I don’t think that’s very fair. She could have been having a bad day. Maybe she was triggered by an unpleasant memory. The way I see it, she uses dancing and painting to speak words that she otherwise cannot,” I said.

Man, if I could bury my face in my beanie, I totally would. Why did I not bother to tell her all that the day I met her crying at the piano?

The door opened and another person walked right in. Instead of having a sullen face though, he gave a cocky grin and greeted the teachers with a casual wave.

“Samuel Wong? What a pleasant surprise. Come late after you’re officially accepted into council and you’ll have to surrender your badge to us,” said the discipline master.

What was his name again? Ah, right. Mr Ang. Sam just gave a simple salute and took his seat next to me.

Man, to come late to school when he was on probation as part of his journey to the council? That took really big balls. Where was I with Harini? Right, Éclair.

“What did the other seniors say?” I whispered.

“Let’s say I was the only one who vouched for her. Even after she tried to freaking attack me when I restrained her,” she said.

I pulled down the edges of my beanie and tried to let out the steam building up in my head. I mean, sure. What she did wasn’t the most professional thing a dancer from the professional squad could do, but couldn’t the exco have some empathy?

Sam poked his head out, leaning into our conversation. Walau eh! Has he ever heard of this thing called ‘privacy’?

“Éclair? Don’t worry. We’ve got her under control,” he said.

Just like that, he leant back against the chair, like that interruption never happened. My eyes shifted towards him without turning my head. His own cat-like eyes shifted back at me. Harini just stared on, confused by what was going on.

What did he mean by ‘we’ve got her under control’ though? I folded my arms and slouched back. Yet, I brought my toes together, letting all the strain be concentrated on my feet. It just didn’t sound right.

🧸-Frankie

I gathered all of the printed documents and headed back to my cubicle to analyse the results of Friday’s incident. Note to self: ask Morgan if it is possible for anyone outside of Divyane or the SPF to procure a Warping Barrier.

I settled the graphs and registered mage profiles on my desk, my coloured pens all lined up like soldiers awaiting battle. Tan Mei Xing, Luqman Hakim, Jason Jayakumar Nazareth, and of course: myself. Only four of us were registered. Yet, the graphs showed ten energy lines way above the amount that a normal human being could produce. Hell, four of those lines almost went off the charts!

As expected, Mei and Luqman produced above average levels of magical energies. Two of the signatures were between the threshold that a muggle and mage could produce. Who on earth were the four with astronomical readings?

I cursed myself for not taking photographs of the crime scene. Well, at least I had interacted with most of them for long enough to match their faces with their names.

A sudden thud sent the mocha shaking within my cup. Instead of leaning against my personal corkboard, the documents that Nathaniel had sent me with regards to Project Elemental were lying over my stack of clear files. I sighed. I wanted so badly to ignore the mess, but it was just taking up too much headspace.

I stretched my fingers out and tried making everything stand straight again. That is, until a graph that was very similar to the one before me poked out from the slightly yellowed pages.

“Huh?” I grunted as I picked that document up.

I opened it and there it was. It was derived from the very same programme that everybody else had taught me to use – just with a somewhat outdated interface. The values projected on that graph were around the same as the four insanely high energy lines.

“Elementals, unlike ordinary mages, are able to produce up to 200 times more magical energy. If harnessed correctly, this energy has the potential to…” I stopped reading out loud.

The verb was scribbled out with a pen. Then, another word was squeezed in between the lines, only to be cancelled out again. The potential to do what? Was this why the project was halted?

My eyes stared back at the data that I had collected. The gold, red, silver, and orange lines held astronomical values of energy, just like the sample on that page. I…I wasn’t dealing with four elementals, right? Four of those good kids (except for Éclair. No way would I consider her good.). They can’t be Elementals, right?

“Unlike human mages, Elementals derive their magic from an organ called the Pectus Magi. This makes their magic purer and uncontrollable if we are able to prove the hypothesis that the Pectus Magi responds to the bearer’s emotions and mental state,” I read to myself.

The data stared right back at me. I could send Morgan the data. But what if Nathaniel were to procure it from her some way or another? And what? Experiment on those kids? On the other hand, this was my first internship. I had to do it right the first time. If I walked out of this with a sullied testimonial, there was no way in hell I would land an excellent internship in Year 2.

I pressed my head against the headrest of my swivel chair. But Morgan…if she knew, she wouldn’t tell Nathaniel, right? Besides, she was my direct supervisor. I tapped my pen against the armrest, letting my thoughts drown in that mindless knocking.

I opened the drawer, hoping to find some leftover post-its. Instead, an application form for independent research rested inside, like it was waiting for me. I took it out with both hands and looked at the blank form. With shifty eyes, I scanned the office to make sure I didn’t look overly suspicious.

Topic of research? What if this was the only way to keep everything a secret? To make sure they were safe while also proving my own capabilities as a researcher? Maybe this was my own cheat-sheet for now.

🌼-Luqman

I know I said just a few weeks ago that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with magic, especially considering how it might have indirectly torn my family apart. Yet, here I was, at the school’s rooftop hydroponics garden with Mei and Kenny watching on.

“Hey, you two! Focus on your homework instead, okay?!” I nagged.

With both hands held out towards the water lettuce nursery, I realised that I had no idea what I wanted to do with these plants. Grow bigger? Tie someone up?

I ended up putting them down. Why would I want to use magic now, right? I wasn’t in mortal danger like on Friday! And the plants? They were obviously very well-cared for. Why would they need a magical boost, right?

I returned back to our study bench and let the spritzing mist from the cooling fans hit my back. My biology notes and annotated cell diagrams stared back at me. As long as it had a cell wall and chloroplasts, it would respond to me. Do my bidding. Would it?

“Mei! Luq!” a chirpy voice cried out from the staircase landing.

All of us turned around and saw Nori with his right hand giving an enthusiastic wave as he skipped towards us. Somehow, that sight was enough to make me grin after a failed attempt at being a botanical orchestra conductor.

“Hey, Nori! Ready to start studying with us?” Mei asked as she pushed her bag aside and allowed him to sit beside her.

His bangs flew up as he nodded. Kenny brought his hands together and I asked him to show me the biology flashcards that he showed me earlier before lecture.

Sometime into our study session though, my phone vibrated. My eyes widened. Please don’t let it be Nenek. Please don’t let it be Nenek.

“Hey, I got to take this call. Nori, if you have any math questions, ask Kenny!” I said as I stood up.

I headed towards the hydroponics garden and answered the phone. Instead of Nenek’s smooth voice, Frankie’s rather harsh voice greeted me over the phone instead. Why would he call me?

“Hey, Luq. Is now a bad time?” he asked.

“Huh? No. It’s fine. I mean, I was in the middle of studying and helping Nori, but I can call. Make it quick though,” I said.

The vibrations tickled my cheek as I heard him breathe on the other end of the line.

“I know you want to stay away from investigations and all, but maybe I can protect you guys from my bosses,” he said.

Protect? I turned to look at my friends, blissfully ignorant of our little conversation as they began to drown in their lecture notes.

“Basically, the director of my department? He plans to revive this super sketchy Elemental Project…and I suspect that four of those people that we were caught up with on Friday? I suspect they’re Elementals too,” he said over the phone.

What did that have to do with me? From the way he spaced his words though, he must have perceived this to be a great threat. What were Elementals again?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you need my help though, I’m more than happy to assist you. But I need to know what you’re going on about,” I said slowly.

He huffed an impatient sigh. I could imagine that he probably had one hand on his hip, looking like a really pouty primary school student dressed in business casual attire over at Divyane’s office.

“Okay. Look. I don’t know which one of you guys are Elementals. But some of your friends might be in danger. I’m working solo to protect them, but I don’t know if I can handle it,” he said.

He still did not explain to me what an Elemental was, but at least I understood why he sounded desperate. The director of his department intending to restart a controversial project? The hanging roots of the water lettuces began creeping up towards the tray, almost like they were trying to tell me something.

They intertwined and weaved across each other, pointing straight at our table. I held the phone tight, squeezing myself into a secluded corner of the garden.

“If it’s an investigation that you want me to help you with, count me in. I know it sounds crazy, but the plants told me to,” I said, eyes still on the roots.

“Great. Bring Mei and Kenny along if you can. And that really tall Indian guy too,” he said.

The two of us hung up. The roots were still slithering towards them. I knew the plants meant no harm. That they were sending a message to me. I wondered why he was insistent that I bring Kumar along for the ride though.

🌊-Minori

It was kind of weird being in my school uniform without Alb. That was like our reality. Almost everywhere we went, we were wearing something related to school, be it our bumblebee t-shirt or our VS or SJC uniforms. This time, he wasn’t by my side for lunch.

Instead, it was Andi, decked out in his all-white RJC uniform. Just less than four months ago, I was wearing all-white too. He dug into his nasi padang. For a rather skinny boy, that was a lot of fish.

“Nora? She’s fine. Why?” he asked, his mouth full.

My hands were hidden beneath the table, fingers fidgeting over one another. What was I supposed to tell him? That his twin almost died again because of the same girl?

The clanking of metal cutlery against the plastic plate sent me shooting up. Andi leaned in closer, not seeming to care about how ridiculous he looked with that rendang moustache.

The bustle of this coffeeshop died down with every inch he made closer towards me. Fudge! I was being too obvious. No, Nori. What was I supposed to tell him? That I failed to look after his twin?

“Éclair almost killed Nora again,” I said in one breath.

I gazed down upon the nasi lemak that I ordered. Even that seemed unappetising. I was certain that Andi’s expression would be even less palatable.

His elbow banged hard against the table as he put his glasses down and pressed his fingers over his forehead. He shook his head, letting out a muffled cry.

“I knew it. I fucking knew I should have begged her to come to RJ with me. If she wasn’t so freaking paranoid about the RGS girls recognising her, maybe this bullshit wouldn’t have happened!” he cried.

The fluffy coconut rice stared back at me. My fingers stopped fidgeting and just found themselves pinching the top of my olive-green pants.

“I’ll do my best to protect her. I promise,” I said, finally choosing to look up at him.

He still had his face hidden by his smooth hands. Then, he just looked outside the coffeeshop, facing the moving world outside. He laughed to himself before letting out another muffled scream.

“Ya Allah. I should have known! She keeps smiling every time she comes back home, acting like she’s had an awesome day. Fuck lah! So, she doesn’t trust me? Her own twin? Damn it.”

So, this was what being the bearer of bad news was like. And I hated seeing this because this was exactly how I would react to Keiko hiding her struggles from me.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure the two stay away from each other as far as possible. Kumar will send Éclair home every day, Kenny will check on her during all their classes,” I attempted to explain.

But what could contain the rage of an angered sibling? Andi gestured at me to stop talking. Silence hung between us. He eventually leaned back and straightened himself.

“Okay. I’m sorry for the outburst. I shouldn’t have done that when it’s clear that you really care for Nora. I guess she’s never really changed much from last time, always insisting that she hide her weakness from everyone,” he said as he put his glasses back on. “In fact, I’m glad she’s got someone like you that she can just cry in front of.”

I got flashbacks to the day Alb was alone on that bench, eating out of a paper bag and just crying to himself after the funeral. Maybe I did have that weird superpower after all.

“I’ll keep an eye out on Nora for you. Promise,” I said.

Then, he shook his head. Why would he not want me to protect his sister? He continued eating, as though his near-emotional meltdown never happened.

“No. I suggest you ask her if that’s what she wants. She’s headstrong and doesn’t like to be seen as weak, you know,” he said.

I blinked. He is her brother after all. They were born at the same time. But for her to hide her pain from her family?

As I walked back to Bishan MRT station, I had to blink back those tears. Were they tears of hate? Sympathy? I wanted to hate Éclair so badly for ruining her life. For forcing her into this lie. At the same time, I couldn’t. I knew she must be hiding a painful secret. But what?

⚡️-Eclair

The door to my bedroom creaked open, prompting my eyes to flutter open. It was another sign that I was still wide-awake. I turned on the wall lamp and saw Dani’s slender silhouette walking towards me. As she drew nearer, I realised that she was in her casual clothes instead of her pyjamas.

“Shh. It’s okay, Éclair. It’s okay. From now on, I’ll be doing your missions for you,” she said.

She pulled the sheets from me, revealing the tracking anklet that Lisias had given me. I tried yanking it out of her hands, but she kept tugging back.

“Dani, I can’t let you do this.”

“Neither can I allow myself to see you drowning in guilt over the actions that you were forced to take. I rather take the fall for you,” she said.

Her slender hands reached my ankles. I hunched down and covered them with mine. She tried pulling them out but the moment my grunting was audible, I surrendered, not wanting to wake our parents up with an escalated struggle.

“But what if he finds out?” I asked, placing my hands in hers.

She brushed away the stray hairs covering my eyes. If I were to lose her, Mama and Papa would still lose it. He had not spoken to me too since the day of the struggle.

“I’ll find my own ways. Meanwhile, I need you to do something for me. Keep yourself busy. Stay in the art studio. Drown yourself in dance. Anything that will keep you occupied. If he messages you to meet him, tell him that you have a school commitment. I’ll distract him,” she said.

She let go of my hand and stood up. I pulled her by the hem of her peasant shirt, not wanting her to go. And just like that, my arms were wrapped around her waist.

“How did you know what I was feeling?” I asked, burying my head into her shoulder.

“A nice boy from your school told me everything. The moment he saw me walking home, he asked if I was your sister. I proudly told him ‘yes’,” she said.

It had to be Kumar. Before she could take another step further, I hugged her even more tightly than before.

“But are you sure you can handle this? Unlike me, your magic isn’t as powerful. What if the Phantoms kill you instead?” I asked.

“I’ll manage. Promise,” she said.

I let go of her and watched as she made her way out of my room. She shut the door, leaving me in the dark. Instead, I got off the bed and chased after her, not caring that my footsteps might wake my parents up.

Looking down from the stairwell, I saw her unlocking the door from the inside. I mouthed at her not to leave, but nothing emerged from my throat. I scrambled down the glass steps, hoping to reach the door before she shuts it.

The chilly night air embraced me when I swung them open. No noisy clanking of our gate’s gears. Footsteps? Inaudible if there were any. I headed back inside, letting the gurgling of the indoor fountain drown my thoughts.

When I went back to my room to search for my handphone, it was gone. The charging cable that I usually used was snapped off altogether, exposing the frayed wires underneath. Of course. Of course, Dani took it with her.

I sank back into my bed, letting those tears spill-over onto the freshly laundered sheets. Kumar sending me home every day. Kenny keeping a close eye on me during class even though he refuses to say a word to me. Dani now taking my place as his test subject. This was supposed to be my operation. My struggle. And now, I had dragged so many people into this.