Page 83 of Elemasters

“Ugh, you bringed me to school?” child-Dustin groaned, climbing off his older self’s back and crossing his arms, “this is stupid!”

“Hey grouchy, I didn’t bring you anywhere. I’m just following the random fire portals trying to find our way out of here,”

“Well then Mr. Duck Butt, I guess we gotta go inside!” the kid stuck out his tongue and sprinted off ahead, running through the school’s open doors without a second thought.

“Reason 457 why I’ll never have kids,” Dustin groaned, chasing him into the building. He’d expected to walk into the lobby, past the mural of rainbow-colored train cars and hand-print paintings from the kindergarten class like he remembered. But instead, he was in Mrs. Wilson’s class, standing over a group of 2nd graders sitting in a circle.

He immediately spotted himself and Chris, sitting next to each other and looking down at a crudely drawn picture of Batman fighting Godzilla.

“Are you DUMB?!” little Chris’s voice rang out, playfully bonking Dustin on the back of the head like a TV with bad reception, “no way Batman would EVER beat Godzilla! You just said that ‘cuz he’s your favorite!”

“No!” kid Dustin fired back, crossing his arms defiantly and sticking his nose in the air, “Batman can beat anybody dumb-dumb! He got a anti-Godzilla Batarang in his belt!”

“Boys, settle down,” the sudden deep and steady voice of Principal Lawson interrupted their eternal dispute as he stepped into the room, alongside another teacher, Ms. Lennon. That’s when the memory clicked in Dustin’s head; this was the day he was selected for Excelsior Program, advanced placement for elementary kids.

“Hi, uh… which one of you is Dustin?” Ms. Lennon began. The twins looked at each other for a brief moment, before shrugging their shoulders and refusing to comply like they always did when someone couldn’t tell them apart. Luckily for her, Mrs. Wilson stepped in.

“The left one,” she clarified, exasperation clear in her voice.

“Ah, okay. Well Dustin, I have some good news! You’re going to be joining my class! It’s for extra smart boys just like you, to learn new skills and make new friends. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Ms. Lennon continued, however her expression dropped the second she remembered that Chris existed, “oh uh, not that you’re not smart too!”

“So… I don’t get to come?” Chris asked, his lip quivering as he looked between Dustin and the teacher. Before he could start crying, Principal Lawson put a supportive hand on his back.

“No need to be upset Christian, it’s good for twins to get some time apart. Besides, we have something special for you too! It’s called an IEP, an Individualized Education Plan. It’ll help you in some of the areas you’ve been struggling,”

As Dustin watched the scene from his childhood unfold in front of his adult eyes, he felt his heart turn to ice. He barely remembered this moment, but seeing it from this new perspective was heartbreaking…

Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to process it before the room shifted right before his eyes, now leaving him standing in the blinding sun on a grassy field.

Once his eyes adjusted, he realized he was standing on the soccer field behind Anna May Wong Middle School, right in the middle of an intense game.

He instinctively flinched when a soccer ball came flying at his head, but before it made contact, something stopped it with a satisfying plunk.

He opened his eyes to see none other than Chris, now about thirteen years old standing in front of him triumphantly, his black locks fluttering in the steady breeze. He looked over his shoulder at Dustin, who had unknowingly reverted to his pre-teen self as well.

“You good little bro? Almost took a nasty hit.”

“Y-yeah, I’m good. Thank you,” Dustin mumbled without even meaning to, like his mind was naturally following a script; truly reliving this memory instead of directing it.

“Don’t even mention it. Now excuse me while I get some payback on that ass-dick for almost hitting you on purpose. Hey Spinner! DON’T RUN FROM ME BITCH!”

“Wait, Chris don’t! You’re gonna get in trouble again and…” but before Dustin could even finish that thought, Chris was sprinting across the field and tackling the much taller boy to the ground, forcing his head into the sod to the point that he was literally eating dirt.

“When you’re finished with your lunch, apologize to my brother!”

The abrasive sound of a whistle cut through the air.

“Christian Ying! Damn it, this is your third strike!” Coach Boles stormed over, dragging Chris off Spinner by the back of his collar, “we’re calling your parents, and you won’t be lucky enough to avoid suspension this time,”

Dustin hung his head as Chris was escorted past him… and he was trying so hard to avoid eye contact, that he almost missed Chris’s pleading glance. Silently asking Dustin to say something, anything to defend him.

Dustin didn’t. He couldn’t form the words. He never could.

When he finally looked up again, the soccer field was gone. He was now inside the familiar walls of Kochiyama High, but the banner on the wall was welcoming students for the 2002-2003 School Year… freshman year.

“Hey, focus!” a deep voice and a dainty hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his daze. He turned and saw Logan, wavy golden hair and freckled skin that no one had ever seen on an East Asian kid, smiling widely and holding up a flyer that read “COLORFUL TRAUMA” in letters that looked like a ransom note, “we’re supposed to be hanging up flyers for our first gig, remember? My big sis said she’ll play with us but only if more than thirty people show up,”

Right… they were playing at Tony’s Pizza that Friday, and Lola had promised to be their drummer.