[center][h1][color=OrangeRed] Spencer Dalle [/color][/h1][/center] [center][sub]Several hours prior to the Hancocks' party[/sub][/center] School was irrational. Never for once did it justify the idea of progressive learning let alone the strains left from its wake. There was always homework, school projects, subsequent quizzes and the infamous dread often termed as recitations. One could not simply live off a peacefully structured life with these being loaded up consistently. Yet it became a universal practice. Something authorities would make a point out of and even they would shamefully say it's 'for the greater good'. But what was the greater good? Learning shouldn't be this complicated. It shouldn't force innocent youths to a false image of comprehension. It's all absurd. Absurd to the point where it would make sense. Life wasn't supposed to be easy and everyone should know that. Learning is all about suffering as suffering stood for the same. Time was but a detriment to Spencer. He just couldn't take the concept of limiting things on certain point when It'd be for a better cause. Studying felt a good part on being a student and through it, understanding why it should be at limited time seemed nonsensical. The worst part of it all was folding out his surrender, knowing every fiber of his brain nor every spine of his bones could do nothing to let things start all over again. Time couldn't reverse itself, how much more if something lesser would place an attempt. Perhaps it's just the way it is and how he lived through it made him realize something. He knew he couldn't keep on raising his fists in protest, so he decided to embrace it. Today wasn't an excuse though and despite being used to last minute studying, this would probably be the worst one yet. Spencer leaned his chin on top of the book's cover, setting his eyes around the library, aimlessly putting his sights to whatever comes to view. Everything seemed to be drifting from what was real, as if his perception was bending to a universe far from his own. Something felt largely unsettling. Eerie, distorted images kept on sneaking through confined sections of tables. Small numbers of textbooks shook from their shelves with a few being plucked by an implausibly invisible force from where they rested then fell down to the floor. One was even rising through thin air, lazily reaching on the ceiling yet strangely enough, nobody took a single notice. People's physical appearances started to sail away from what was normal, etching into blobs of amorphous builds. Spencer grimaced to what took place within the moments followed. Horns extended from people's skulls while slowly being engulfed by tendrils of shadowy dusts. Grotesque growls wheezed the air, most of them sounded as if something was expanding from their throats. Insect-like wings spread from the back of a few individuals belonging a particular group, fluttering as they flew toward the ceiling. Spencer held his book against his chest, eyes widely open as he tried the best he could to understand what was happening. Apparently he couldn't and what seemed to be as bizarre a while ago completely transcended into a sea of utter confusion. It felt more of a battlefield than a magical forest. Much like a scene you'd extract from The Lord of the Rings and Spencer's role became that of a Hobbit but with a broken leg. He then gasped for air, nervously sliding his chair away from his desk. He dropped his sights from the whirling nightmare, figuring he could get away from it all. But as he returned a glance, it was still there, it was real and he felt it. Then something grabbed his shoulder. Terror sent chilling vibrations directly to his spine as he tried to move his frozen body. "Spencer." A soft guttural voice sailed through his ears, inflicting more terror. Then as Spencer managed to crane over, he saw a masked figure. Behind the mask revealed a shadowy, faceless being with crowns embedded with thorns. A loud, terrified scream escaped from Spencer's lips, holding himself against his desk and rolled with his chair away from the shadowy entity. "Spencer." It repeated itself again. How did it manage to know his name? Regardless, fear hindered his curiosity. "Hey Spencer." The voice sounded like an echo now, as if shifting to a voice he was terribly familiar of. However, Spencer wasn't easily fooled. He knew the masked entity made an attempt to imitate a voice he knew of so he could get himself closer and let his soul be devoured. [i]No. I won't let it kill me. Not this time[/i] His mind raced yet he froze like a rat stuck on a trap. Then the figure inched closer and grabbed Spencer's shoulder. "Get away from me you Nazgul! I won't let you have the ring and destroy middle earth!" He exclaimed. At that moment, everything went back to normal. Trails of orcs and fairies died within a snap of a finger. Not a single one was seen flying on the ceiling. Books were properly placed on the shelves. And the sight of the librarian hopped like a kangaroo on synthetics. The librarian cleared her throat, giving an obvious sign as to what Spencer did, then went on her way back to her desk. Ann ―Spencer's friend from the debate club stood in front of him, puzzled by his uncanny response. "Nazgul?" She asked, her eyes narrowed as to how confused she was. "Yeah you looked like a Nazgul 5 minutes ago and you were trying to whisper me some weird gibberish on how you wanted the ring. Something is obviously wrong here." Ann raised an eyebrow, carefully placing Spencer's words in contempt. "Are you okay? Sounds like you're not having enough sleep." "I'm telling you. Something's wrong. I was told earlier that I have a task to save middle earth and to do such, I need to go to a volcano place I don't know of and throw this ring there." Ann mockingly closed her eyes, only to notice a groggy person daydreaming about a peculiar scene from a movie. "Okay Spence. You should know watching a movie before cramming gives you nightmares while daydreaming," She suggested. "So either stop doing it or you're going to need mental help and please, let's just bury this Lord of the Rings thing deep in a cave so no one will find it." "But Smeagol lives in a cave ... he might find it." Spencer noted innocently as if he's not aware of what he daydreamed. A gruff sigh slipped from Ann's lips. Annoyingly grinding her teeth as she kept her mouth closed. "The Hancocks are holding a party tonight and you were invited by them." Despite being vexed by Spencer's delusional daydreaming, Ann managed to feel convenient delivering the message. She lifted a smile, looking down for Spencer's response to it. "Your point?" Apparently Spencer regained his composure. Sounding barely surprised, he went back to open his book, flipping a few pages to find where he last stopped. "My point is you, as a kindhearted person with a compassionate spirit, will take me, Jal, Sherwin, Clarisse and Jess there." For the next few moments, silence littered between them. Spencer continued reading his book with no intention of ever responding to what Ann requested. He fell silent, focused on every page he flipped. "Well?" Ann was eager to get that response but Spencer paid no attention. "Hey Spence. Are you even liste―" "I won't bother coming. I have things to study tonight." He answered hastily. "Aww c'mon. Don't be like Uncle Scrooge. Have a heart and give your junior members a chance to have fun." "But I thought group studying and writing a Professor Williams and Paine fan fiction was your kind of fun?" Spencer replied obliviously. "Look Spence I know you don't like parties but consider this one as a celebration for your past success as our prime minister. We promise we'll help you feel the fun." Spencer rolled his eyes. "Nah." "How about I give you a month's worth of canned cola?" Ann grinned ambitiously, hoping that would do the trick. "You already did that and correction, a month's worth will only last a week." "How about a Siamese kitten?" It wasn't worth a shot but nonetheless, Ann managed to feel contented of her offer. "You know I hate cats." "Puppies?" "I already have a dog. You don't even know that the school restricts students from having pets." Spencer sighed, knowing this could continuously go on and disturb him. "A girlfriend? going to the party gives you an oppor―" "I hate girlfriends." "A boyfriend then?" "What the hell Ann?" Their conversation ended abruptly as the librarian hopped out of nowhere and gave Spencer the obvious look. It was his second time doing it and a third one shouldn't be considered as an excuse anymore. He left a sullen smile in response, an obvious answer saying he won't be doing it again. Ann raised an eyebrow again, seemingly was not in the favor of how her plan went. "Please Spence. We need to go to that party. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll even give you my sister." "What?" Spencer hissed, eyes raising in question. "Okay perhaps not but please Spence. Just this once. Pleeaaase ..." Ann has only been friends with Spencer for the least 4 months since her enrollment to the school's debate club. Regardless of that, Spencer saw nothing odd nor repulsive about her. She had always invited him to a number of hangouts and social gatherings through the span of their friendship and Spencer couldn't see any potential conflicts rising between them in the future, or at least for now. Still, Spencer profiled her as the same with the people he'd usually meet inside or outside of the debate club. It would only be up to him if he wanted the friendship to be abrupt or not. Spencer groaned silently in annoyance. He rolled his eyes and painfully forced his attention to Ann. "Oh alright. Just go and don't disturb me. But this will be your last you ... glasses girl. I won't ever again accept any requests from you outside the debate team." Ann nodded in joy. "Yes. I love you Spence and Thank you. I hope you become the president of the United States when you grow up." Spencer grimaced. "But I'm Canadian. What are you even talking about?" Ann chuckled as she moved herself away from Spencer's desk. She matched a smile when Spencer glared at her and made her way outside of the library. "What is it with people and parties?" Spencer muttered as he continued jotting down notes from the book he was reading. [center]_____________________________________________________________[/center] [center][sub][i]During the party[/i][/sub][/center] [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ5bZuUlftI]Pop music being played on the background because why not?[/url][/center] One uncertain subject that perhaps Spencer won't be aware of for the rest of his life was social gatherings. Sure, he did have his own share of parties before but his stay was never the most enjoyable ones. Music was always loud, people talk about things he'd never be remotely interested and then the existence of the inevitable beer pong ―not that he has never drank before. There was just this particular vibe that everyone happened to feel which Spencer failed to incorporate himself with. Perhaps being a cold-hearted bastard was the one to thank but even so, he won't be bothering himself with anyone other than to let the party end as soon as possible. For once he haven't felt out of place, his debate friends were nearby so there's relief hanging around him. One thing he couldn't put on hold was the nature of his invitation by the Hancock twins. Although they weren't mortal enemies by any means, Spencer wasn't quite fond of them or at least wasn't in favor of their ridiculous popularity. Spencer often saw it as a tool to gain a shameless kind of acknowledgement for one's presence. And the Hancock twins were perfect examples to demonstrate how that tool works. Spencer had his mask on already. Perhaps he'd consider not being an Uncle Scrooge tonight and just follow the common advice often spoken at parties. He smiled as a variety of colored lights flashed the marvelous mansion. Music was bearable but not quite as enjoyable as Spencer's own taste. Small crowds dispersed in large spaces of the place and some were already nabbing chunks of the delicious food prepared on the dining table. "I tell you. We're going to have fun because fun is going to have us." Jal said fancily as she gently brushed her hair with her hands. "Oh. my. jizzle. Did you see that? That hot guy named Lewis from the basketball club just winked at me. My heart feels like China's economic growth right now cuz baby it's falling apart!." Jess squealed in romantic excitement. "I swear that if I won't have sex with him tonight, I'm just going to virtually create a three dimensional version of himself and let my usb port open for his 500 gig RAM." Spencer shook his head in disgust. "What the hell Jess?!" He exclaimed. "You're not even sure about China's current economic stability and where on earth can you even find a 500 gigabyte RAM?" "Who cares?" Jess excitedly headed where the juice dispenser was. "You alright?" Ann asked for a last minute relief. She seemed to doubt how Spencer saw the party but seeing him smile earlier was a different sign. "No," Spencer glanced where Jess trailed off. "I mean she's serious about it, isn't she? Think about teenage pregnancy and how perilous it will be to her future as a public speaker." Ann chuckled, patting Spencer to the shoulder. "Oh she's harmless and just relax. Don't let Smeagol find what we've buried in that cave. No more Lord of the Rings daydreaming for now." Spencer sneered. "Ha Ha. Very funny. I'll make sure to scream at someone and tell them they're the Nazgul." Ann sighed with a bit of glee. "This is a party, you should have fun. And as promised earlier that if you don't, I'll help you." "Alright then." Spencer trusted her, at least for now. He let himself drift into the music. Perhaps enjoying the party wasn't half as bad. Besides, it's just the first day of school. There was nothing else he could lose.