Chương 22: Devon

Planet 500. We were out for what felt like five or six hours. Maybe even more. We couldn't tell for sure since we were on a different planet. When we arrived back on Earth, we were certain that we were the most exhausted people on the planet. Ben and Maya had collapsed on the smooth stone flooring of the portal room, and they looked like they were going to fall asleep at any time. Meanwhile, I fought against my urge to go to sleep, reached into my pocket for my phone and checked the time. 11: 10 PM on the same day.

We left at 7 PM sharp. The expedition lasted only four hours, even though it felt like we were on Planet 501 for at least double that. Maybe time flowed differently on Planet 501 compared to Earth. It was pitch-black outside when we reached the surface of Planet 500, sorry, Planet Earth, but who cares? It will always be dark at 11 PM no matter what time of year it is. Compared to Earth, the air on Planet 501 was significantly different in terms of air quality.

It would take some time to get used to the air quality on Planet 501 if we were to return and truly make it our home base. And there was also a temperature difference. It felt so much better being on Planet Earth than Planet 501 in terms of temperature. When we reached the surface of Earth, I wasn't shivering anymore, and it no longer felt like I was in the Arctic Circle.

"We're back," Theo said once we reached the surface. He was perhaps the least tired out of all of us. There were almost no cars on the road and the streetlights were on. Maya nodded, letting out a loud, prolonged yawn.

"I need to sleep so badly," she grumbled, looking at the ground. She didn't even have enough energy to lift up her head.

"This is where we go our own separate ways," Theo said. He lived in the opposite direction to where my house was.

"See you all on Monday."

"See you," I said, waving at Theo as he left.

"See you," Maya slurred, unable to lift her head up anymore.

"Where's your house?" I said to Maya.

"I can walk you home."

"No thanks," Maya grumbled.

"My brother's gonna pick me up." I sighed.

"Then I'm going home. Ben, make sure Maya is safe and doesn't fall asleep." Then I started walking in the direction of my house. Maya and Ben were getting further and further away from me as I got closer to my street. I could see Ben helping Maya to stand up, and eventually, he gave up, letting Maya lean on the door of the electric substation and get some rest. What an adventure. Planet 501. One giant step closer to getting rich. One step closer to realising my potential as a Night Hopper.

Monday. Back to school. Ugh. School felt like a reality check for me. On weekends, we would go on excursions to other planets, whereas on weekdays, it would be school and studying. I had almost completely forgotten what it was like to be in school and sitting at the back of the class reading web novels. It felt like ages since I last did that.

If time flowed much slower on Planet 501 compared to on Earth, then theoretically we could have longer weekends if we stayed on Planet 501 during the weekend, and in my opinion, that just felt like a cheat code. First period on a Monday morning was always maths. My least favourite subject ever. It required too much thinking and methodology. It was too rigid. There was always a set answer. And I didn't like that.

I sat at the back of the classroom next to Cayman and Ellie which was the last place the teacher would suspect any bad behaviour happening. Theo and Ben, who used to sit two rows in front of me, were now on the other side of the aisle on my row. The back row was the perfect place for me to read Night Hoppers. Once the lesson started, I took out my phone and went on the website where I could read Night Hoppers. However, before I could start reading the first chapter-"Class," the teacher announced.

"We have a new student joining us as of today. His name is Devon Donaldson." Why was everything trying to stop me from reading Night Hoppers? Was I reading it at the wrong time? Or was it just my luck? Immediately after the teacher finished speaking, Cayman and Ellie's moods changed dramatically. Cayman's face contorted in anger, even though I had no idea what he was angry about. He looked like he was about to go on a full-blown rant and destroy the classroom. This story originates from a different website.

Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Ellie, on the other hand, had a more silent reaction. Before, she had been looking lifelessly at the board before the new kid entered, but now her head had fallen and she buried her face on the table. It was clear that Cayman and Ellie had a hidden grudge against this kid. At first glance, it looked like there was nothing wrong with the kid that just walked into the classroom.

He wasn't extremely tall nor extremely short; he was perhaps an inch or two shorter than me and had a bored look on his face. I definitely wasn't the only person in the class who thought that the kid that had just walked in was a girl. He definitely had the looks to qualify as a girl: long shoulder-length fair hair, unruly bangs and an extremely skinny build for a boy.

Although his hair was neatly brushed and looked as soft and as silky as a girl's hair, it seemed like he didn't care about the appearance of his clothes. He was wearing our school's uniform, but his shirt was untucked and his blazer had creases all over the place. He was definitely wearing a second-hand uniform. He looked like someone who spent all day worrying, but at the same time, he looked like the perfect representation of a nerd.

"Shit," Cayman cursed out loud.

"This little bitch shouldn't be here right now." I turned to face Cayman.

"Why not?" I whispered back. Cayman looked down at the desk before turning to face me.

"This guy is someone I have history with, and it's not pleasant." I didn't ask any more questions about the boy to Cayman. Devon Donaldson? I had never heard of that name before. That wasn't the name of a character from Night Hoppers, nor was it the name of someone in another novel I had read before. But since Cayman and Ellie had recognised him, he had to have some affiliation with Night Hoppers. But what was the link? Other kids in the classroom started to talk about Devon.

"Look at this guy. He looks so unenthusiastic."

"He looks ugly as hell."

"Is he really a boy? I thought he was a girl initially."

"Maybe he should cut his hair and start going to the gym." Two rows in front of me, I could see Jamie Denton and Daniel De Souza whispering to each other. It seemed like everybody's gazes were fixed on the boy who had just entered the room, even the neutrals. This was exactly the opposite of what everybody was talking about when Cayman and Ellie first walked into the room.

Whilst Cayman and Ellie were praised for their impeccable looks and smart appearance, Devon was being shamed for being scrawny and having an untidy appearance.

"Why don't you take a seat at the back?" the teacher asked Devon.

"Take a seat next to Robert and Cayman." I looked at Cayman and Ellie. It looked like their worlds were about to come crashing down. Cayman looked like he was about to pull out his hair and rip it all to shreds. Ellie, who had lifted her head to get a good look at Devon, had her head face down on the table again. She looked like she was going to continuously bang her head on the table. As Devon walked down the aisle, he got a few strange stares from the other kids. He eventually made it to my row.

"This is the seat, right?" he asked no one in particular. His voice was squeaky and reminiscent of a worrier. I nodded. Cayman wasn't even looking at the guy. Devon sat down as the teacher began his lesson. That was when Cayman turned to look at Devon.

"Why are you here?" Cayman whispered angrily.

"Under no means do I need your help at all."

"You sure?" Devon challenged.

"I can sense the presence of other skill users here, not just you and Ellie." So Devon was a skill user after all; maybe he was also a Hopper. Cayman banged his fist on the table, which startled the kids around him, including Daniel and Jamie.

"Is everything all right back there?" the teacher called out.

"Cayman, are you OK? Turn your textbook to page seventy-nine. Devon, you too." As Devon reached into his disintegrating bag and pulled out his second-hand textbook, he continued talking to Cayman.

"Remember what I talked to you about before you came here?" he asked Cayman in a whisper.

"This was what I was most worried about. I don't understand why you chose to come here rather than-""Shut your damn mouth," Cayman snapped in a whisper.

"I came here for a reason, and I don't regret it any single bit. I'm not talking about it in the middle of the lesson. Come talk to me about it during break or lunch." Devon then turned his head to face me. I had my phone on my lap which was open on the website I normally used to read web novels.

"You're Robert, right?" he asked me tentatively.

"I'm Devon. It's nice to meet you." He seemed to not have any social anxiety, I guess. I nodded. Devon's eyes then opened wide.

"Is that a web novel you're reading? Sick! I also like reading web novels in my free time." He looked like he was about to shout. I put a finger to my mouth to shush him.

"I don't want the teacher to know that I have my phone out in class," I whispered. Devon nodded.

"Right," he said nonchalantly, lowering his voice. He continued to talk to me in a whisper.

"Do you know what my favourite web novel is? It's this one called Infinite Regression Formulae. It's really good. You should check it out." Hang on a minute. I recognise that name. Infinite Regression Formulae. It was the most disliked novel on the website I often used; it had the lowest rating of any novel on the website and it had the most negative comments. Of course I wasn't going to read something like that. It was likely to be rubbish.

The comments stated that the story had a bad plot, bad character development and extremely short chapters. It was like the author didn't want to put any effort into the story. I did read the story description, however; it was about this boy who has the power to regress and turn back time as many times as he wants. He helps out his friends and family using his ability by ensuring they stay away from danger and aims to keep his regression ability a secret.

In my opinion, there was nothing interesting about that, and there was no language in the description that would encourage someone to read it.

"N-no, I haven't," I stuttered, trying my utmost best not to hurt Devon's feelings.

"I-I'll give it a read if I have time." That was a lie. I was never actually going to read something as bad as that. Devon gave me a wry smile. If he was able to sit through hundreds of chapters of that crap, then what the hell was he? What kind of personality did he have to crave rubbish web novels? Maybe he truly was a nerd.

"You know, when I grow up, I want to write a web novel," Devon continued. Luckily, he was whispering and trying to be as discreet as possible.

"I want to be an author of a very popular web novel, and I want to have people praise my work and leave me good reviews." Huh? I wanted to say that it wasn't possible if his favourite web novel was the worst one on the website. However, that would just hurt his feelings and worsen the situation on my row. Instead, I thought about what I wanted to do. Coincidentally, I also wanted to write a web novel since that was also my dream. Maybe Devon and I secretly had a ton of things in common.

"Me too," was my blunt reply.

"I also want to write a web novel when I'm older." Devon's face lit up. I thought his eyes were glowing.

"Really?" He couldn't keep his excitement contained. Maybe he did have some feminine qualities in him.

"You'll definitely grow up to write a popular web novel. You look like the kind of person to do that. You look like someone who can't contain their determination for something." Huh. This guy was quite weird. I could vaguely see why Cayman and Ellie disliked him so much.

"Alright, class!" the teacher said.

"Turn your textbooks to page 80. We're going to be learning about differential equations!" The whole class let out a loud sigh. This boy definitely knows about the skill user world and Hoppers, I thought as I turned my textbook to the correct page. Obviously, I wasn't going to pay attention to what the teacher was talking about. I looked over at Devon, who was reading the content on page eighty of the textbook. He looked like he was lost in thought. What kind of person was he?

Like Cayman and Ellie when they first walked through the classroom door, Devon was a complete mystery. Not a single moment during my conversation with Devon did Ellie lift her head up. All she did was shake her head lightly from time to time. She must have been distraught just hearing Devon and I talk. No, more than distraught. Words wouldn't be able to describe how she was feeling. It looked like her feud with Devon was so bad that she didn't even want to show her face in front of him.

Either that, or she just wanted to sleep through class. Whatever the circumstances, I knew that I had to get Devon on my good side, since he seemed like a nice person who was good to work with. And I needed to find a way to improve the tense relationship between him and the Grace twins. Only time will tell if everything goes the way I want it to. But all I knew was that I had to wait until lunchtime, since a heated discussion between Cayman and Devon was most likely going to happen.