Of all the belittling subjects I had taken in middle school, there is nothing more humiliating than P.E. 

Whether it's running laps around the dirty playground or kicking a soccer ball, I tend to avoid these dreadful things due to my scrawny build and awkward feet.

However, the class you had taken in middle school is nothing compared to Idlewild. In gym class, the students had learned Judo, jiu-jitsu, Capoeira, boxing, stick fighting, and weapon-wielding. 

They practiced their agility, durability, stamina, and endurance through rigorous obstacle courses and morning drills. 

But despite the brutal regime, the children had learned a lot because of Triton. 

Speaking of the old man, Triton swallowed the remains of his coffee. His pitch-black eyes gaze at God's tears flowing down the icy window. 

Curling close to her sweetheart Caleb, Brooke watches Triton closely. 

Ever since he had announced his former job as a school gym teacher, the children struggle to remember him. 

Though they can recall events in gym class, the children couldn't think back to the time when the old man teaching a lesson.

"Are you sure you were our school gym teacher?" she inquired. "Because I remember you were teaching AP Myth to the juniors."

Triton smiled proudly. "No, I was your gym coach. I think the teacher, you mentioned was Ms. Maelstrom." 

Johnny raised his eyebrow in awe. "Ms. Maelstorm taught AP Myth?" 

Irritated by his cluelessness, Nessa did an eye roll.

"No Johnny, it was the cafeteria lady," she replies sarcastically. "Of course, it was Ms. Maelstrom, you idiot!"

Johnny's face contorts. He tries to recollect the details, but his mind is blank.

"Jesus, don't you remember?" Nessa groans. 

"Not really, no."

"She was tall, very strict, and had this resting bitch face that irritated the crap out of me." 

Brooke and Caleb snickered while Triton gapes at Nessa in total shock.

He couldn't believe that this girl would look down on an exemplary teacher like Ms. Maelstrom! 

"Now, Vanessa." he scolds politely. "I am sure Ms. Maelstrom is a very nice person-"

"Seriously?" Caleb baffled, hastily cutting him off. 

Triton gazes at the boy in surprise. "What?" 

"Ms. Maelstrom is the worst teacher in the universe!" he moaned. "She's like Hitler or something." 

Nessa nods. "Yeah, I remember she would make us type five pages about the history of goblins." 

As soon as the lights switched green, Johnny moved forward. He encountered two adult ducks leading their soft yellow babies across the road and into the forest.

Brooke beamed at the sweet image, noting how adorable the innocent ducklings are. 

"Aw, I wish I had my camera with me!" she moaned. "I want to take a picture so I can send it to my parents."

Caleb glances at her in a strange way. "Where did you leave your camera?"

"I left it at the beach house." groaned Brooke. 

Catching up to their parents, the three baby ducks scampered into the grass, prompting Johnny to continue the journey.

"Don't worry, Brooke," he consoled. "Maybe you can find something else to give to your parents." 

After Triton is finished drinking his coffee, he asked Brooke how her parents are doing.

"They are doing fine," she beamed. "My parents are in Africa helping impoverished communities." 

"Oh," Triton nods, wiping the rim of his coffee cup. "Do you sometimes talk to them?"

"Well, we communicate with each other through letters," said Brooke.

Occasionally, her parents sent her photos of African villages, exotic animals, and lovely landscapes that fascinated Brooke. 

Other times, they would ask her about her school, friends, and her blissful relationship with Caleb.

Nessa scowled. "You're lucky. My parents would force Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes Johnny to keep an eye on me."

Calmly swerving the automobile to the right, Johnny menacingly retorts: "Perhaps it's because Mom and Dad don't trust you to look after the house when they're gone."

Nessa blissfully ignores him. "What about your parents, Caleb?" 

Triton sneaks a careful glance in Caleb's way. 

He would meet his adopted parents during school meetings, but somehow they prefer conversing on the phone due to their travels. 

"Normally, they call me or send letters," Caleb explained.

"What do your parents do again?"

"My mom works as a journalist while my dad is a police detective."

"Where are they now?" she asked.

"They are sent to Mexico to investigate the missing boys." 

Nessa turns her head to meet Caleb's bored eyes. "La Llorona? What is that?"

"In my Hispanic community, La Llorona is a malicious spirit who abducts small children and drown them in a lake."

"Why?" 

"No idea," Caleb shrugged once more. "Mom and Dad wouldn't tell me because I 'scare easily'."

Brooke giggles as she puts up her long, brown hair into a disheveled bun. 

"You do scare easily, Caleb." she recalled.

"I know, but still," he grunted. "I am capable of handling a demonic ghost-just, not killer clowns."

After she is finished tying up her hair, Brooke kindly looks at Caleb. 

"Don't worry, sweetie." she grinned. "If there is a killer clown on the loose, I will be more than happy to take care of it for you."

Caleb grins at her. "You are a total badass, babe. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Johnny slowly maneuvers around a white automobile whose driver is too stubborn to move the car.

"I have got to remind myself to stop watching scary movies with Caleb." he grumbled, steadying his feet on the dark gray pedals. 

"Why?" asked Nassau, whose ears listened to her brother conversing with himself. 

"Ever since we watched IT, Caleb didn't shower for three weeks." Johnny sighed. "And Brooke blamed me for it."

Nessa plucked a chicken nugget from the white box and ate it in two bites. 

"Maybe you two should watch a classic," she suggested. "Maybe Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Johnny wrinkles his nose. "What's that?" 

"It's an 80s classic. He'll love it."

Toes brush against the black carpet as Nessa removes her shoes and let the air conditioner cool her bare feet.

Underneath her legs are a ketchup-smeared sandwich wrapper settled in the plastic bag.

But just as Johnny makes a slow turn, the invisible current arrived and enticed the wrapper out of the car.

Like bullets, the aggressive rain stabbed the sandwich wrapper, causing it to perform numerous spirals in the air until it plunges into a nearby sewer drain. 

Sighing, Nessa rolls up the window and stares at the dark blue mist forming on the glass.

"When will this stupid rain end?" she grunted.

Triton shrugs his shoulders. "I have no idea. But I think the news said that it will be snowing next week." 

Putting the brakes on the car, Johnny gazes at Triton through the crooked rearview mirror.

"You sure it won't be raining next week?" he questioned. 

"Positive. Don't you kids ever watch the weather channel?" 

As if the toxic gas seeped into the window cracks, Brooke, Caleb, Nessa, and Johnny all wrinkled their noses. 

Of course, the children did not like watching the weather channel; and the main reason is that most weathermen often give false prognoses about the climate.

"We usually count on Brooke or Caleb to check the weather," Nessa explained.

"Oh, I see."

Speaking of Caleb, he thought of something funny. He laughed so hard Brooke was afraid that he might lose his voice.

"What's wrong, Caleb?" she asked.

"Do you remember that we used to call her, Severus Snape behind her back?" 

Brooke laughed, "To be honest, she was more like Severus Snape's ex-wife." 

"Or his mother," Nessa adds, wearing a huge smirk.

Setting down his coffee cup, Triton crossed his arms. 

"Do you kids always say bad things behind the teachers' backs?" he grunted. 

"Well, yeah," Caleb replies. "Depending on the teacher." 

Nessa, Brooke, and Johnny all bob their heads in response, earning a strange look from Triton.  

"Anyway, it's not your fault that your kids had forgotten me." he sighs. "Ever since the school has been shut down, I have been looking for work." 

Johnny stops near a red light. "Did that immigration job pay you enough?" 

Triton scoffs a laugh. 

"Oh please," he grunted. "My boss has me working night-shifts and pays me nothing but copper guineas."

Guineas are the currency mythical creatures use to purchase goods and supplies. They come in gold, silver, and bronze representing different classes. 

Gold symbolizes the wealth; silver signifies the middle-class and copper depicts the underprivileged. 

If you obtain gold pieces, then you have the luxury of owning businesses, eating lavish cuisines, and attend fancy establishments. 

Like gold guineas, silver permits the middle class to own a business and a house, but they do not allow middle-class men to enter a wealthy restaurant, building, or industry without credentials. 

And lastly, copper pieces are like pennies neglected in a piggy bank.

You can buy food and supplies with copper guineas; however, you cannot receive the privilege to own property, get a high paying job, or even vote. 

Frowning sympathetically at Triton's way, Johnny said: "That's bullshit, man. Your boss can't pay you copper guineas." 

"Yeah." Nessa agreed. "You seem like a hard worker." 

Triton snorts at their compliments. "Tell my boss that. I am sure he'd love to get a good laugh."

"Is it the reason why you quit?" asked Brooke. 

"Yeah," Triton says with a tired sigh.

"I was tired of my boss, but the only reason I came back is that I don't want that thing to hurt my friends." 

A blue vehicle soared past Johnny, who briefly eyes at the red dial shifting towards the E symbol. 

"Who the hell shot you, anyway?"

"Some cocky gangster who wants to get noticed."

Caleb's eyes bulged. "Whoa, wait a minute. . . a fucking gangster shot you?"

"I was heading to a bank when a guy walked up to me and asked me to give my money. I tried telling him to fuck off, but-"

"He shot you." guessed Johnny. 

Triton bobs his head slowly. "Yeah." 

"It's a good thing Brooke and Nessa got the magic touch." Caleb grinned. "Without these incredible women, you would have died." 

Brooke's cheeks begin to flush. 

"Oh, it was nothing," she says softly. "Nessa and I just like to help."

That's when Johnny shakes his head. 

Although his dark eyes were trained on the oncoming traffic, his ears were as sharp as a knife.

"Back at the hamburger diner, you and Nessa were incredible," he admitted. "It angered me that those assholes treated you guys like dirt."

Brooke and Nessa both nod in silence. 

It hurts that people treat their companions differently because of their abilities. But regardless, the girls didn't care what others thought of them.

Taking her hand, Caleb gazes at Brooke with tender eyes: "If you want to talk about it, I am right here." 

The young clairvoyant nods her head again, but this time she didn't meet Caleb's gaze. Instead, she asked Johnny where are they going.

"We are going to the train station," he explained. "If we are lucky, Triton here can take us to the scene of the crime."

Speaking of Triton, he scrunched his nose.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, Brooke had a vision of a girl getting eaten alive by an unknown sea monster." Nessa states as a matter of fact.

"And besides, while I was taking a dip in the ocean, I found something in the water."

Johnny looks at Nessa who reaches into her pocket and pulls out a sharp tooth belonging to a wild beast.

"It was after we took down the Kraken last night," Nessa explained.

She shows it to everyone in the car including the ex-gym instructor who analyzes the sharp, broken bone carefully.

"You kids took down the Kraken?" he hands it to Brooke, who studies the bone intently. 

"Yeah." Caleb grinned. "Badass, am I right?"

Triton didn't answer. He gives the tooth bone back to Nessa who slips it back into her pocket.

"Are your parents are okay with this?" he questioned Nessa. "You swimming near a dead Kraken?"

She frowned, "I saw something shiny in the water. I couldn't just ignore it."

Triton sighed, but didn't push it any further.

"We can go to my old workplace," he said in a reluctant tone. "but I want you kids to call your parents."

"What?" Caleb moaned. "Why?"

"Because they need to know what you are up to." Triton gazes at the gloomy clouds hanging over Venice Beach and told Johnny to stop the car. 

Confused, Johnny put the brakes on the silver-gray Toyota. 

"What's going on?" asked Johnny. 

"We're here." Triton opens the door and gets out of the car. 

Caleb peeked through the window and nothing but depressing clouds and endless rain draining the life of an empty street. 

"Where are we, exactly?" he asked Brooke. 

The young forecaster shrugs her shoulders. 

"No idea," she answered. "But let's find out." 

Collecting their garbage, the children left the car and found a trash can that was in front of a closed barbershop. 

After dumping the trash in the garbage can, 
the children collected their backpacks. 

Wiping down the fingerprints with a sterile napkin, Triton gathered the crumbs and tidied up the leather seats until they were spotless. 

As soon as he is finished eliminating the damning evidence, Triton accompanies the children by tossing the leather brown cowboy hat on his head. 

"So, where is the train station again?" Caleb asked, throwing his hoodie over his head. 

Triton indicates his right thumb over to the barbershop.

"Follow me." he insisted. "I'll take you to the station."

* * * *
Entering the obsolete barbershop, the four teenagers followed Triton to the men's bathroom. 

Fumes of hairspray and dust flew in Johnny's nostrils. The sinks were caked in rust and the white tiles were shattered like glass. 

Next to the row of blue bathroom stalls is a door-sized hole fit for a family of six. However, it has been boarded up by four large pieces of driftwood. 

"What the hell?" growled Nessa. "What kind of barbershop has a door-sized hole?" 

"The type that doesn't like intruders." Johnny chortled, unsheathing his sword. 

But just when he was about to strike, Triton stops him. 

"What's wrong?" a concerned Johnny asked, lowering his blade.

Triton sighed, "this type of wood was made to prevent intruders from entering the train station."

Caleb's eyes widen in amazement. 

"Let me get this straight: so, you are saying that this barbershop is like that closet from The Chronicles of Narnia?" 

If I was the main character of this story, I would tell Caleb that the entrance to the train station is nothing like The Chronicles of Narnia.  

First of all, everyone is aware that there are unusual creatures roaming across this earth. And second, not every story has a happy ending. 

But as much as I want to tell Caleb, I do not have the ability to inform the characters about what is going on. 

Truth be told, I am just an unpredictable man carrying out a promise from a late lover. 

Smirking, Triton shakes his head. 

"This entrance doesn't lead to an enchanted forest, Caleb." he responds kindly. "It leads to the Poseidon Express." 

He forwarded his steps towards the bolted slabs of wood and expressed a sigh. 

"I heard that this type of plank can withstand any damage from a sword, ax, and human strength."

Triton gestures the cracks around the hole, causing the children to rethink their tactics. 

"So, what should we do?" asked Brooke. 

"Shoot it, of course." 

Nessa cuts her eyes at him. "Wait, like fire our guns?" 

Johnny grunts sarcastically, "No, he means use a fucking grenade."

"Fuck you."

Triton clapped his hands together and backed away from the boarded entrance. 

"Alright, kids. Remember what the school had taught you all."

The reluctant teenagers all took out their guns from their backpacks, aimed them at the boarded entrance, and blasted the thick driftwood into fragile, wooden chunks. 

Sawdust and wood chips flew over their heads as the sounds of tinkling bullet shells sprayed the floor.

But just as the entrance was clear, the four youngsters heard a loud voice: "All ABOARD! Hurry up! The Poseidon Express doesn't like dawdling!"