I'm the next King of Elements. Those words echoed through his head for the rest of the week. He had fantasies of him standing on top of the world with the Suscéptor held high over his head. He saw himself finally getting respect from his classmates.

Tonight, however, he saw a dark, formless Aggaron standing with the bloody Suscéptor in his hand as a phone rang in the darkness.

He groped the top of his headboard, knocking his football trophies and comic books onto his face. "What is it?" he mumbled.

"Don't think that just because you're the King of Elements you can be a jerk."

"M-Megumi? Do you know what time it is?" he said, propping himself up with an elbow.

"Yeah, time for school. Mom told me to start taking you to school, 'O mighty King.'"

"Why would she do that?" Dre asked as he rolled off of his bed onto the ground.

"Maybe it's because you've been late to two of your classes on Amity. Mom doesn't really appreciate tardy students."

"Yeah, I'm still feeling the after-effects of her rage. What about Samantha? You know that she hates you right? She doesn't even want me to see you anymore."

"Like I really care how she feels about me. Just come out before we both show up late."

"Alright, alright. Just let me get some clothes on." He pulled a black t-shirt from out of his dresser and a pair of black shorts from his closet. As he threw his shirt over his head, a thought had occurred to him. It was Monday, and he would need to bring the honey drops with him for Amian school. He stuffed the packet of candy along with a brush, his toothbrush and toothpaste, inside of his pockets before bolting out of the house, saying good-bye to Raheem and Abigail on the way out.

Megumi had parked behind the Wolf family's truck. She sat on the hood of the car, resting her head on her hands as she studied the back of the vehicle. Her hair had been tied into two long pigtails. She turned towards him, studying him with her bored eyes. "About time you made it," she said, sliding off of the car.

"Ian stole my alarm clock again," Dre said as he rushed towards Megumi's car.

"Why would he steal a clock?"

"You have to shoot a target on it while it's going off. I bought the last one about a month ago and he's been stealing it since."

"Well now, look at Mr. Fancy Pants over here," she said as they got in the car.

"Fancy as a minimum age worker," he said, brushing out his hair.

Megumi chuckled as she started the car and pulled out of the drive way. If there was one thing Dre was successful at doing was making her at least chuckle on a daily basis. A miracle for Dre's standards.

"Don't you think it's about time to get that cut off?" she said as she turned on Moncrief Street.

"What? No way, dude." He covered his hair in his protective hands. "Long hair is, like, my trademark."

She shook her head as she turned her attention back on the road, stopping beside Baker's Best Stop. "You are one strange person, Dre." She smiled. "It kind of reminds me of my daddy when he was our age."

That caught his attention. "What do you mean?"

"My daddy told me that when he was younger, he was also a strange and goofy person with long hair."

"Was?"

"The difference between you two-" she began, her voice slightly raised as she drove across the highway, "is that while he was able to make people laugh because of it, you just make yourself seem like, well, you."

Dre paused for a moment. "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. And besides, I am such a comedian. I make you laugh, don't I?"

"By some strange miracle, yes," she said as she drove down the long stretch of Elm Street before turning on School Street. "I'm guessing that you haven't told anyone about being an Amian, right?" she assumed.

"I haven't told anyone yet, mom." Megumi shot him a dirty look. "Besides, even if I do tell anyone, it's not like they'd would believe me." He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Kimmy had texted him.

"What is it?"

"Kimmy said that there's a meeting in the gym. Most likely it's going to be McManus gloating about being the new principal. If it is, I'm not staying."

"You never know, it could be to actually raise concern about what Dixon did to you," she said as she parked in the east parking lot. A group of student sat on the poles of the walkways, talking to each other as they usually do when they skip anything that has to do with school. The rest of the students were piling into the gym, with none other than McManus greeting them at the door. The wide, smug smile etched across his face confirm what he expected this meeting to be about. Figures. He would boast about anything that came to mind.

They both made their way up the grassy hill. Dre could just feel the arrogance feeding off from McManus as they approached him. As he noticed Dre and Megumi, he wiped off his bronze nametag with the sleeve of his black button-up shirt, sporting the words Principal Demetrius McManus in a mahogany print, no doubt trying to bring attention to it.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite dynamic duo," he said.

"Yo," Megumi stated. "You seem to be in a really good mood today."

"I'm quite possibly in one of the best moods I've been in for a while, if you haven't noticed already." He gestured to the name badge shining in the sunlight.

"Looks like you found something else to gloat about," Dre said. "Is this why you're having this meeting?"

"Partly to gloat, partly to introduce the new VP."

Why does that not surprise me?

Dre and Megumi cut through the line of students and walked to the back of the cafeteria. The basketball court rumbled with the low murmur of students. A pedestal stood in the center of the court, and the stairs leading to the court was blocked off by a teacher. Dre thought it was kind of counter-productive considering that if someone really wanted to get to the makeshift stage, all they had to do was jump over the barrier at the first row of chairs.

This school has issues.

Over the low roar of the students, Dre and Megumi barely heard Kim calling them at the middle row of the stands. She, Michael, and Keiko sat in the stands beside them, midway up the bleachers. They both strode up the stairs, dodging the various students standing in the middle of the stairway. "Hey guys," Dre panted.

Kim and Keiko both cheerfully greeted him. Michael, however, didn't look up from his book.

"Do you have any idea why we're here?" Michael said from behind his book.

"Dre says it's to hear McManus gloat about him becoming the new principal," she said as she and Dre both sat with the small group. "Normally I wouldn't believe him, but I've seen how much he gloats. The guy can gloat about finding fifty cents in his pocket."

Should I be offended by her not normally believing me?

McManus took the stage down at center court. "If I may have your attention, please." The students quieted down. "As you all know, our former principal, William Dixon, has been released as of last Tuesday for physically attacking one of our students. For the last week, the P.H.S faculty has been hard at work to find a more suitable principal, and well-" a smug smile crept across his face. Oh, God. It begins. "Let me be the first to introduce you to your new principal. Demetrius McManus, at your service. I believe that I am qualified, heck even overqualified, to lead you all to a brighter and better future. I mean, I've been able to do Dixon's job while still being able to be more than proficient at my own. That's quite an achievement, if you ask me."

Dre exhaled. "Yep, I was right."

"Where are you going?" Kim asked as he stood up.

"Outside, out of fear that his smugness will suffocate me."