User blog:GalacticAttorney/The Paladin Force - Chapter 1

Chapter 1
A trail of drool slowly slid down Oscar Villegas's cheek as he lay asleep in his house. The digital clock mounted on his wall read 8:29 AM. Oscar's room, decorated with posters of action heroes and movies on the walls, was peacefully quiet.

Then the clock hit 8:30 AM, and the sound of an electric guitar came blaring from the clock. Startled awake by the sudden noise, Oscar cried out in surprise and tumbled out of bed, the comfortable quilt half wrapped around his body as he fell. He hit the floor with a thump, and after recovering, he got up, dazed slightly.

"That's one way to wake up," Oscar muttered to himself, and he made his way over to his dresser, running a hand through his soft black hair, which was full of bed head. He grabbed the comb on top of the dresser and went to it, checking his frazzled locks in the mirror hung on the wall above his dresser. His sky blue eyes stared intently as he fixed his hair. When that was done, he pulled on some decent clothes consisting of a purple shirt and tan cargo shorts and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

He walked over to the small bathroom just down the hall from his room. His house was a small one, since his family didn't have much money. It had three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living/dining room and kitchen. That was it. He brushed his teeth and applied some antiperspirant to his armpits before he walked into the main room.

His father sat on the couch, sprawled out with his beer belly bulging from underneath his muscle shirt. Oscar's father wasn't a very good one. He didn't have a job, refused to collect his unemployment check out of pride, and at night either sat on the couch and drank beer or went to the bar and drank beer. Almost half of the Villegas family income went into preserving his never-ending supply of alcohol.

Oscar's mom, however, was a very different story. She worked hard every day to support her family at her job as a marketing executive, and did a pretty good job of doing so. She kept her nose out of her kids' business, and that was a good thing. She was gone most of the time that Oscar was home, but she still had a good relationship with him.

Then there was his little sister, Ellie. She was at the refrigerator getting out the milk for her cereal. She was only in fourth grade, but she had a very knowing attitude. Despite her love of poking fun at Oscar, she loved him a lot and enjoyed his company. Oscar felt likewise. "Morning, Bro," said Ellie, casting him a sideways glance.

"Hey, Ellie," Oscar replied. He sat down on a barstool that was at the kitchen counter and pulled over a bowl and spoon that had been set out for him. Then he reached for a box of Super Choco Crunch, which could be accurately described as diabetes in a box. He poured it into his bowl and knocked on the counter twice. Ellie, getting the message, slid him the gallon of milk. He caught it, poured it, and quickly devoured it like any 16 year old boy would. After he finished, Oscar put his empty bowl and spoon on the counter above the dishwasher and ran for the door to get to school. "Bye, guys!" he called.

"Bye!" Ellie called.

His father just grunted incoherently.

He was too hungover from the previous night’s bar run to speak clearly. Oscar pushed open the door, reached into his backpack, and pulled out his Ultra Noiders Compact Hoverboard. Good thing Ravlea's so technologically advanced, or else I'd be late to school for sure!, Oscar thought to himself. He tossed it to the ground and it unfolded itself midair, twisting into a full-sized hoverboard. Excited for what awaited him today, Oscar hopped on and took off down the sidewalk at a high speed.

He arrived at school a few minutes early: 8:49 AM. Class would start at 9:00 AM ordinarily, but not today. Today was something special. Today was field trip day! The entire junior class of Dorchester High School was hopping on the yellow buses to head to the Ultra Noiders Institute of Scientific Development, or UNISD for short. The company that ran the institute, Ultra Noiders, was a multi-billion dollar corporation that dominated much of Ravlea's business and production industries and was responsible for the advanced technology Ravlea now had access to. They produced everything from private jets to toaster ovens, and they were incredibly successful.

Excited to go see everything the UNISD had to offer, Oscar hopped off his hoverboard when he reached the school parking lot and it shrank back to its compact size. He put it back in his backpack and walked towards the main entrance.

People waved to him and said hello as he passed by, and he waved back. Oscar had always been relatively handsome and popular, but he was very modest about it, unlike others would likely be. He was genuine and kind, and got along very well with people. He couldn't ever stand to see anyone doing something bad, not even something little. He was often called to be the mediator if someone had an argument. In short - he was the goody-two everybody liked.

As he went inside the building, he noticed a familiar face leaning against the wall of the auditorium: James Noider, his best friend since kindergarten. He ran over eagerly. James was the same age as him (albeit a few weeks older), and the two were practically inseparable. He was, as his last name implied, the heir to the Ultra Noiders company throne, and as such he was just as, if not more, popular than Oscar. James grinned widely when he saw Oscar approaching, and the two high-fived each other and bro-hugged each other tightly. "What's up, man?" James asked. His dark brown eyes shone with excitement and youth.

"Just hyped up for the field trip today!" Oscar replied. "For once, we get a free day off! No teachers, no homework, no hour-long snorefests, and no stupid accompaniment worksheets. Just a day at the office for you!"

"And for you, too,” James replied. “You're totally my partner for when we get there. Not only are you the only person I would want to chill the whole day with, but with me around you get free all-access to the whole place!"

"You’re just glad you don’t have to learn anything today. Stop lying," Oscar joked. The two friends laughed, and just as they were about to keep talking, the starting bell rang.

"Let's go over to where the buses will be," James suggested. “The teachers probably aren’t going to wait for us if we’re late.” And so the duo went outside to stand by the crowd of already growing students in front of multiple coach buses. Some of the kids outside broke off and joined the two friends in chat. Most of them were girls.

Both Oscar and James were popular with the ladies. James was a smooth talker and was widely pursued for his wallet, but Oscar was pursued just as much for his genuine likability. After a boring safety lecture from a teacher outside, the students boarded the buses and the large yellow metal chariots drove off.

Oscar and James sat by each other and talked about miscellaneous topics for a while. Then, Oscar yawned, saying, "Well, since this ride is so long, I'mma take a nap. Shake me awake when we're there."

"Dude, you're sleeping already? What time did you get to bed last night?" James replied, taking a friendly stab at his comrade.

Oscar just shook his head. "Sorry, I got home late after stopping at your mom's house," Oscar stabbed back.

James gave him a shove, implying that the argument had been closed. Oscar allowed his eyes to close as he leaned his head against the cool glass window, and he drifted away into sleep.

~

Oscar had a dream. He dreamt he was floating in a white abyss. Adrift in the blank void, he sensed a presence somewhere. He couldn't tell where it was at first, but then he saw a silhouette far off in the distance. He heard it call to him in a feminine voice.

"Oscar... It is almost time." Not sure how to respond, Oscar said nothing.

The person continued. "Prepare yourself," she said. "Everything is about to change..."

Oscar opened his mouth to ask what the strange figure meant, but he felt himself being sucked from the void. He flailed in the air as the silhouette grew smaller and smaller...

~

"Oscar! OSCAR!" Oscar snapped awake to James's voice. He sat up abruptly and whirled his head around to look at his best friend in that sort of dazed state one is in after they wake up abruptly. "Whu? Whuzzehp?" Oscar mumbled, the abrupt awakening leaving him drowsy.

James looked at him strangely, head tilted to the side in confusion. "You were flailing around in your sleep, dude. Everyone on the bus is looking at you."

Alarmed, Oscar turned his head and saw the questioning gazes of the rest of the bus all on him. Every set of questioning stares conveyed the same message: What was up with that?

Oscar coughed uncomfortably and replied, "I... Uh, I just... Had a weird dream, that's all." The students, content with his answer, turned their attention away from him.

James chuckled and remarked, "Dude, you were acting like you'd had a seizure!"

"Ha ha ha," Oscar fake-laughed as he stretched out, the uncomfortable position he’d napped in having strained his back a little. He then sighed and asked, "Well, it was a weird dream, but I'll tell you about it later. Are we close to UNISD yet?”

“Funny you should ask,” James replied and stared past Oscar out the bus window. Oscar turned to look with him and stared at the massive complex that was UNISD.