[Center][B][U]|_______Trial_by_Failure_______| |____Starring:_Drake_Castle___|[/U][/B][/Center] --- [B]New Lilith Ski Resort; Dusk[/B] --- [I]With my cape fluttering behind me, snapping loudly because of a powerful cold wind, I stood atop an outhouse posted on the Ski Resort's slope right beside the trail. Riding towards me, garbed in red armor and wearing a scarlet BMX helmet, was my target. He had a package kept in a container slung over his back like a quiver, little did he realize that it would soon belong to me. As he approached my position, maintaining his speed and course, blazing down the trail, I pushed off the tips of my toes and leapt through the air, pouncing towards the rider. My cape caught the wind and made a distinct crack that ensured I wouldn't drop down to the dirt path below. I began to rise through the air, gracefully gliding under the cover of night, casting an extra dark shadow on the path below as I pursued the rider. Once I was directly above him, he looked up, completely taken off-guard by the sudden darkness that shrouded him. He saw my form hovering over him like an eagle chasing a mouse, so I dropped, and as I got closer I forced his heart to beat like a gatling gun. He screamed and tried to change his path, but it was already too late. I dropped from the sky above him and used his armored body and bike to break my fall. Upon landing, I heard the unmistakable sound of a breaking leg and the scream that follows. "Gaaah! Oh Ga-" my gloved fist clapped his cheek and silenced him. "Where are the others!" I roared, imitating Christian Bale's Batman performance as best I could. "They-they're.. they're coming," he said, raising his finger and pointing over my shoulder I spun around to see what he was talking about, but all I saw was a bat racing towards my face. I heard a resounding [B]Whap[/B] and dropped to the ground, my eyes fading to a closr as I drifted out of agony and into the embrace of a reluctant slumber.[/I] --- [B]New Lilith Vocational Academy; 1:35 PM[/B] --- "Wake up, Castle!" My eyes instantly snapped open as I saw a rolled-up magazine pulled away from my now stinging face. I'd apparently fallen asleep in class again, with [I]Simon[/I] in the desk to my left, and [I]Jessica Morgan[/I] in the one to my right. She sneered at me with flared nostrils and slitted eyes. Typical. Instead of continually trying to kill me with her eyes, she directed me to our ever lecturing public educator. "...and that, class, is why no one actually killed George Washington and he lived with his wife for many, many years before he, like everyone else succumbed to death. Now class, clear off your desks except for a pencil." I pulled my hands off of my cheeks, which had been holding my head up, and began to pat myself down, looking for a pencil. I slowly explored all my pockets and anxiously shifted in my seat while I hoped that I just had one. Even one would've been fantastic. But, C'est la Vie. "Having a good time with your hands?" Jessica chided as she referenced the way I was feeling for a pencil. I didn't have a good comeback, so I huffed and turned my head. I reached over and softly rapped my knuckles on Simon's desk, "Hey, buddy?" Barely raising an eyebrow, Simon tossed the pencil off his desk onto mine before pulling another from a pocket on the leg of his jeans. He then crossed his arms and firmly refused to acknowledge my existence as he picked up his history book and journals, sliding them off the desk and setting them on the floor while the teacher began to make his way around the room, depositing tests onto every single student's desk, one at a time. It almost makes me wish I'd studied. Almost. Fortunately, luck was on my side. Simon always knew the answers, even though he never studied. Sitting next to him I should have no problem passing this class. Well, that always was my theory. I bit my lip as I anxiously awaited the arrival of my test. Then I decided that everyone else should share my pain. I looked at my desk, casually I began to tap the pencil I'd borrowed, creating a steady beat. Then, I extended my awareness a little bit, feeling Simon's steady and relaxed heart beating like a healthy teen's should. I made sure he wouldn't get too comfortable. So I sped it up a little bit. His foot began to anxiously tap as he lost his cool. But he didn't lose his focus. Jolting, he spun his neck towards me and whisper-screamed, "Stop it," firmly announcing his will through gritted teeth. So I eased off, and let him steadily transition back to a regular beat when the teacher finally got to me. He stopped and eyed me for a second, venting his disgust at my very existence before he dropped the paper on the edge of my desk and walked away. I looked at my paper and came upon a horrific revelation: It was an essay. So, surrendering to my fate, I wrote three words on the paper: [I]I Don't Know.[/I] Then, I flipped the paper over and rested my head on the desk before I waited for class to end. Minutes later Simon did the same, turning his wonderfully written miniature article onto it's face. [I]God[/I], he can be [I]such a nerd.[/I] Immediately after his paper was turned over, he produced a pencil from his pocket and took his nails, scratching his fingernails along it's many faces, then he set it on the ground before rolling it to my shoes. Casually picking up the pencil that had strayed from my friend's possession, I gave it a quick look over. Using his nail, he'd etched a message into the side of the pencil. [I]Clever of him.[/I] It read: [Indent][I]My place. after school. I have something for you. You are gonna love this.[/I][/Indent] I took the pencil and, using the pencil sharpener, destroyed the message by grinding the wooden pencil to the point where the tip was hardly an extension of the eraser.