The Nemesis

Kelvin tried his best to remain inconspicuous every time he left the house. He wore nondescript clothes and combed his hair neatly, kept his head down as he walked and tried his best not to look curious about anything. Unfortunately, his efforts failed him today.

"Congratulations, Mr. Walther!" Mrs. Pinkney, the principal of J. Ryan Tate Elementary School, approached him as he walked past the front office. She seemed especially peppy today, which didn't bode well for Kelvin in his opinion. "You've been chosen to serve as a student mentor in our new School Ambassador Program."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you'll be assigned to mentor a new student when they enroll. You know, show them around, tell them how to get lunch tokens and all that. In fact," - that 'in fact' was quite enthusiastic, and Kelvin knew he was in for it - "we have a new student starting this morning, so he'll be paired with you for the day. Just show him the ropes. Who knows, maybe you'll even end up friends."

Mrs. Pinkney left without waiting for a response from him, and Kelvin sighed. This should be considered child labor, he thought. In the nine short years he'd been alive, Kelvin had already come to realize that he didn't much care for other people, and he really had no need for friends. He just wanted to be left alone. Kelvin trudged on to his classroom, but before he could reach his desk, Mr. Miles pulled him aside and stood him in front of a scared-looking redhead with pasty skin and wire-rimmed glasses.

"Kelvin, Ray. Ray, Kelvin." The teacher had them shake hands as he introduced them. "Kelvin will be your mentor for the day, so stick close to him, and he'll be able to answer any questions you might have."

Kelvin nodded his head at Ray, then turned toward his desk to find something more interesting to do. When he arrived at his destination, he was almost surprised to find that Ray had followed him. "So...this is your seat then?" Ray asked, grabbing an empty chair from nearby to pull up to the desk.

"Yup." Kelvin opened his desk to get his math book, but found a handwritten note in it's place instead.

         I have your precious math book. Put your lunch money in the second cubby to the left by 10 a.m. or you'll never see the book again.

Kelvin rolled his eyes, but Ray gasped, and his skin paled to a shade Kelvin could only describe as transparent. "Are the bullies here really this bad?"

"Just one, but don't worry about it," Kelvin responded as he crumpled up the note and placed it purposefully in the trash can. He made sure not to look toward the perpetrator. He didn't want to egg her on.

"What's going on here?" Ray asked when Kelvin returned to his seat. "You've barely spoken two words to me since I got here, there was a ransom note for your math book stuffed in your desk, and there's some girl who's been staring at us and laughing for the past five minutes."

"Yeah, that's my sister, Kelsey. She does that a lot. Don't mind her." Kelvin sat down with a sigh, but yelped immediately. He sprang from his chair and looked down to see a thumbtack rolling around on the plastic. The laughter increased, and Kelsey made her way over to the pair.

"You seem to doubt my intentions, Kelvin," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I just don't care. Please leave me alone."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, dear brother. You see, you are my sworn nemesis, and it is my duty to defeat you."

"Stop calling me your nemesis, weirdo, and just go away."

"Oh you won't escape me that easily." Kelsey lowered her voice to a whisper. "I will destroy you." With that, she returned to her desk and sat down.

"Why is she acting like that?" Ray asked, scanning his own seat before sitting down next to Kelvin.

Kelvin shrugged. "It's her life's aspiration. She wants to be some kind of evil overlord." He pulled a book from his desk and started reading, hoping that the conversation had come to an end. This kid was annoying him.

"What do you want to be?" Ray interrupted, eliciting another sigh from Kelvin. He didn't answer, but simply held up his book. The Idiot's Guide to Mortuary Science. At least the dead didn't talk.



Word Count: 748