2298
Milky Way Galaxy
Planet Earth
Desert Sands, Nevada
Desert Sands Prep Academy
_________________________

If anyone had a self-assured hubris, it would be none other than Varian Cohan. 

He stood at the bottom of the climbing rope that scaled up the ceiling of the gym at Desert Sands Prep Academy. 

He pulled his neck length black hair into a ponytail while his brown eyes looked at the perfectly shiny golden bell ten feet in the air on the rope.

He smirked as he glanced over to his PE teacher, Ravello Ramirez, who held the stopwatch in his hand.

Varian was about to ace yet another thing he was overqualified to handle at this dumb little prep academy for the so-called brainiacs and child prodigies, none of which compared to him. If he had been given the choice, he would have completed the curricula in a matter of days, instead of slogging through the school years like every regular person. 

Ravello's brown eyes focused on the stopwatch only to glance up at Varian for a brief moment. He was his least favorite student and in his 30 years at the academy, no one held a candle to Varian.

Varian was no doubt special. That was the only word most people could say for someone like him. Most admired his brains and wits, but not his personality or him as a human being in general. That included his teachers, like Ravello, who had to have a high tolerance for people like Varian.

Ravello furrowed his brows with a frown on his lips. "Cohan, it seems you're the first . . . again to attempt to do the rope climb today." He spoke with a flat voice. "Ready?" He pressed the stopwatch making the clock count down. "Go!"

As soon as Ravello had uttered those words, Varian jumped onto the rope and was scaling it like no one's business. Each hand over hand brought him a great distance, his muscles flexing with each grip.

In a matter of seconds, he rang the bell and dropped from the top, firmly planted his feet onto the foam mat with one leg tucked, the other stretched out and a hand on the mat. "Beat that," He spread his arms open wide and puffed out his chest.

Ravello sighed and looked at the stopwatch. "Twenty seconds, Mr. Cohan, I don't think anyone will be beating your time," He said, marking it down on the paper on the clipboard in his other hand. "As usual." He mumbled under his breath.

Varian puffed out his chest as a grin grew on his lips. He was proud he had left his classmates either with jaws gaping and wide eyes or furrowed brows and death glares. All of which he was all too pleased to accept, whether they were happy or not for him.

Ravello frowned deeper the more prideful Varian had gotten. "Okay, Cohan, depuff your chest and sit down over there by the bleachers. We don't need another repeat of last week, none of us want to deal with any more bloody noses and fist fights." He sternly told Varian. 

Varian recalled the exact experience he was talking about. He had been in an all-out brawl with one of his classmates, who wasn't here due to Varian breaking his nose and ending up getting an infection. That kid was still in the hospital, thankfully no one pressed charges and just chalked it up to boys being boys. 

Hara Karnuche narrowed her brown eyes as she fingers one of her black pigtail braids around her fingers and growled. "I can't stand him! He's such a show-off!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at Varian. 

"Not only is he good at everything he does, but he also has a major pride problem and is a bad boy, not your classic bad boy, just a grade A bully. What are the odds that the smartest kid at school is also a troublemaker?" She added with a huff, tapping her foot rapidly on the floor.

Logan McDonie tucked his brown hair under his beanie. His blue eyes glanced from a smug Varian to a heated Hara. "At least he breaks the stereotype. You gotta give him some credit for that." He told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't smoke or drink, he has a 1963 Red Pontiac Catalina - that is like a few centuries old and specially made hy his own hands, instead of a motorcycle - and he's never shoved anyone's head in a toilet."

Hara glared at him and huffed, letting her braids drop to her shoulders. "Who cares about stereotypes? This is Varian we are talking about. He's your average stereotypical bully mixed with a wannabe bad boy." She roars, crossing her arms. "He's making a mockery of everyone."

Logan threw her a mono expression, shaking his head. "Making a mockery of us?" He wouldn't go that far since it wasn't his fault he could ace anything in a matter of hours. "I mean, he can't help that he's a natural at everything unlike us. Yes, it's annoying, but that's just how he is." He replied, looking to the front line.

Hara glared at Logan and his pathetic defense for the most hated boy in school. "That's just it, most don't try to be smart and try and fit in, he doesn't do that. He has a superiority complex. I'd love for someone to knock that down a few bars." She said, ignoring Varian and his glares to ear. "I swear that boy has super hearing."

Logan turned and looked at Varian who gave both him and Hara a rude gesture with his hands. "I agree. He must've have, because we are quietly talking and yet he knows we're talking about him. He's scary." He shuttered and pulled his eyes away from Varian and back at Hara.

Ravello looked at his stopwatch as the next student dropped to the floor after scaling the climbing rope. "Burford, 47 seconds, not bad." He smiled, impressed with the time since it seemed that Sunni had been practicing her upper arm strength. 

Sunni Burford grinned ear to ear as she clapped her hands. "Yes! Two seconds less than last week!" She beamed, her short red hair swisher with her moments as her blue eyes sparkled. "Ha, take that Cohan. I am slowly gaining my time and will smash you!" She called, walking over to the bleachers. 

Varian threw his head back and dryly laughed at her comment. "Oh please, you couldn't beat my time if you had help. Face the facts Burford, you, nor anyone here will be as good as me. I can't help you're weak and slow and short and built like a deformed potato that came out of the bottom of a mystery stew." He cooly said, leaning back and resting his elbows on the seats behind him.

"Varian!" Sunni's livid voice pronounced each syllable in his name. If steam could come from her ears right then and there, it would have how hot her blood was boiling at his words. "You take that back!" She yelled, jabbing her finger at him with narrow eyes and a death glare.

Varian smirked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his tights. "Aww, the little corpulent kitty is bearing her wittle teef and claws," He mocked in a childish voice, enjoying taunting her. "I'm not taking it back. I can't take back what's true. I'm simply saying facts and if you don't like facts then you should probably forget about being an attorney."

Ravello knew what could come next if he didn't step in. Sunni and Varian would be in a fistfight, a normal occurrence for Varian, but not for the normally cool Sunni. "Okay, okay, Burford go sit down away from Cohan and Cohan, keep to yourself and stop offending your classmates." He yelled at the two.

Sunni gritted her teeth and dug her nails into her hands. She sucked in a deep breath and counted to five before breathing out. She walked over to the bleachers and matched herself to the top and sat down, far away from Varian.

Varian watched her like a hawk. His eyes and smirk mocked her, just goading her to try something. There was just something about people like Sunni that amused him, mainly how they reacted. She was easily riled due to her sensitive nature. He didn't say another word, just focused on the others who one by one, tried to beat his time.

Ravello heavily sighed, shaking his head. He was disappointed in Varian for his actions but knew his hands were tied and he couldn't properly discipline him. "Okay, Crawford, you're up next." He called to the next kid in line.

Hara pulled her eyes away from Varian, who continued to silently taunt Sunni with his occasional glares and smirks. "I can't believe he can get away with practical murder and somehow he just gets a warning all because he's rich and his dad gives this academy money." She whispered with clenched fists.

"In the world, the rich can do whatever they want, it's just how things work. But, on the bright side, you can always hope that karma comes and bites him in the butt? Isn't that what Summer Dawn says?" Logan inquired with a grin while crossing his arms over his chest.

Hara knew he was correct, that was something their other friend would say. She was big on the yin and yang, everything balances out in the end. "I suppose so. What's her deal anyway? Why isn't she here with the rest of us?" She asked, having not seen her all day.

Logan tried to recall, wracking his brain for the answer. "Oh, last night she told me she wasn't feeling quite well. I think she said . . . " He paused and looked around, lowering her voice to a barely audible whisper. "The red peony has bloomed this month."

Hara placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "She's on her period, Logan. You'd think you'd be used to that since you are three older sisters." She commented, reminding him he was the youngest in his family.

"That might be but I still get queasy around blood, especially other people's blood. My own blood doesn't bother me," Logan weakly threw her a smile, giving a sort of awkwardly embarrassed laugh. "Unless it's a huge amount."

Hara turned back around and faced the person in front of her. "I remember all the times you fainted when you scraped your knees or got a paper cut." She reminded him, something she did often.

Logan frowned a little bit, not because of what Hara said, but because of the memory. "I was in elementary school, and it's not my fault blood triggers me." He defensively said, putting his hands in front of him.

Ravello clicked his stopwatch and seemed impressed with the time. "Rodriguez, impressive. 24 seconds. I must say, hopefully, by the end of the semester you'll beat Cohan." He smiles at the young boy. "Hopefully someone can put a dent into his ego."

Leo Rodriguez Cheshire grinned at the praise Ravello had given him. His brown eyes twinkled as he ran a hand through his half-shaved black and blonde tipped hair. "Thank you, Teacher. I've been practicing in my spare time to be able to ace all the sports I throw myself into." He boasted proudly, throwing Varian a smug look.

Varian snorted, rolling his eyes at how smug Leo was. "Pfft, please, spare me the haughtiness. You know as well as I, Rodriguez, that you'll never be at my level since that would mean you'd need to grow a few thousand brain cells. You're just fooling yourself with false confidence." He mocked in his own haughty voice.

Leo's eyes narrowed as he held himself back from marching over to Varian. "Fooling myself?" He rolled his eyes, knowing that Varian was simply trying to get a rise out of him and he wasn't going to allow him to have the satisfactory. 

Varian didn't exactly like Leo ignoring him, or anyone for that matter. "Yep, your fooling yourself, because you're just full of crap that the toilet is jealous of your existence." He commented sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ravello sucked in a deep breath. Something must've happened for Varian to start acting this way. "Cohan, last warning. Pull this stunt again and you'll be sitting in detention until supper." He threaded, his voice stern and his eyes unwavering, he was meaning business. 

Varian clenched his jaw for a brief moment before relaxing. "Fine. I won't do it again." He vowed and sat back down with a smirk still on his lips. 'Unless someone starts it first then I'll gladly finish it.' He thought to himself.

Ravello pitched the bridge of his nose, silently praying this didn't happen again. "Just focus on graduating high school and forget what others think. It isn't worth it to get into fights over someone else's opinion of you." His eyes swept over the whole class, signaling he wasn't only speaking to Leo.

Ravello's eyes looked at the next kid in line. It happened to fall on Hara, who was beaming like the shining sun. "Karnuche, it seems you're next to scale the rope climb." He flatly said, looking down at the stopwatch in his next.

Hara grinned widely when her name was called. There was a certain twinkle in her eyes. "Mr. Ramirez, may I use my new invention to scale the rope climb? I haven't had a chance to use it yet and I think it is very effective." She asked excitedly, bouncing on her feet.

Ravello shook his head with pursed lips as she spoke. "No, this isn't mechanics class. You can't use technology to do the work for you. You have to use your strength and muscles, not - whatever you want to use instead." He explained, knowing this was a normal occurrence.

"Fine," Hara groaned and sluggishly made her way to the rope. "If I fall, it's your fault. If I can't move my arms for the rest of the day, it's your fault." She flatly said, throwing Ravello a boring look. "If I get detention for not being able to do my school work, it's your fault."

She grabbed onto the rope and tried her best to climb up. One hand over the other. That was what she focused on. Once she was two feet off the ground, she struggled to climb any higher, her muscles began to feel like jelly. She moved her hand up a few inches, trying to slowly inch her way to the top. 

Unfortunately, she had only made it another half a foot more before her hands started to slip. "Uh oh," She mumbled, trying to hold on with her feet. She tightened her grip on the rope, only for her sweaty hands to slip. "Ah-" She yelped as fell through the air and landed on the foam mat beneath her. 

She gasped for air as she rolled on her side, trying to find her breath. Her chest felt heavy and tight, like none of the air she was gasping in was staying but going right out. Her eyes watered a bit which she wiped away with her hand.

Ravello rushed over and next to Hara. "Karnuche, are you alright?" He asked, a hit of worry laced in his voice. She hadn't fallen too far and when she gave him a thumbs up he sighed. "Go sit down." He stood up and pointed to the bleachers.

Hara, with Logan's help, made her way over to the bleachers and sat down. "Goodness, that was a long way down." She groaned, rubbing her back with her hand. "Thankfully I didn't seriously hurt myself."

Varian snorted at her comment, shaking his head. He had always known she was dramatic, but that was a whole new level. "It was only seven and a half foot, that isn't very far to fall to hurt you. Unless you count a broken fingernail! The horror!" He teased in a baby-like voice, followed by a laugh.

Hara narrowed her eyes at Varian and reached over and punched him in the arm with all her might she could muster. "So what? I still fell and got the wind knocked out of me. I'm not perfect." She spat back, crossing her arms over her chest. "So, please, shut up." She snarkily said, throwing some loose hair out of her face.

Varian rolled his eyes at what Hara had said. Truthfully, her words didn't phase him at all since he wasn't going to shut up. "I am perfect. Not everyone is as perfect as me, it's true. It's a pity, to be the only one of my kind -" He dramatically said followed by a laugh.

Leo rolled his eyes and then narrowed them at Varian, and met eyes with him in a challenging manner. "Okay, okay, we get it. Don't rub it in, okay? Just leave us alone, we don't want your cockiness." He quickly interjected, earning a nod from the others.

Varian rolled his eyes and stood up, giving his shoulders a shrug. "Whatever," He said without giving them a second look as he climbed down the bleachers. He left the gym, ignoring Ravello's calls or threats for him not to leave.

Ravello sighed heavily once the doors slammed closed. "Now, the rest of you, I expect you to try your best and climb that rope. I want you all to be done by the time the bell rings and anyone left, you will be running laps next time until PE is over." He said, looking at the line of kids still waiting. "McDonie, you're up."

Logan walked up to the climb rope and pushed up his special athletic glasses. He shook his arms as he looked over at Ravello who had started the stopwatch. He made sure to carefully calculate where his hands would be and how fast he needed to go, as well as how he felt could help him.

He felt like a spider, except without the eight long legs. He reached the top and rang the bell sliding back down the rope and planting his feet on the floor. "So, how well did I do? Did I beat my time?" He asked without hesitation before Ravello could even look up from his stopwatch.

Ravello looked at the rest of the class then back at Logan, holding the stopwatch out of his view. What was he going to say? He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to tell the truth either. "Well, your time is unlike anyone's here." He awkwardly and skeptically replied.

Logan's eyes grew wide and an even wider smile grew on his lips. If that meant what he thought it meant, then he was awesome! "Did I finally beat Varian?" He blurted out without letting Ravello any time to finish his words. 

Ravello's sheepish smile wavered at first then turned into a frown. "Oh no, not like that. Your time was four and a half, the longest time here." He hesitantly replied.

Logan frowned at it and felt like his heart shattered into a million pieces. "What? That's impossible? It felt like a few seconds! Let me see." He exclaimed, wanting to make sure Ravello wasn't pulling his leg which he was prone to do some days.

Ravello showed Logan the time and shook his head. "Sorry, McDonie. Your careful calculation burnt precious time instead of just following your instincts. Sometimes, you can't rely on timing everything perfectly, sometimes we just gotta dive head first in without a second thought." He hoped that bit of wisdom stuck with the kid. "Maybe save the calculation for science."

Logan sighed heavily and pivoted on his heels. Those words rang through his body. "Okay," He mumbled, his shoulders slumping forward as he scuffed his feet on the floor. "Is the calculation so bad? It has always worked before."

Hara could barely pick up as Logan had whispered as he sat down beside her. "I think you did fine. There is always a chance that you could make one wrong move and meet your demise. At least you were careful and that goes a long way." She encouraged Logan with a smile gracing her lips.

Logan looked up and netted Hara's eyes. He was touching she was trying to cheer him up. He often did that with her and it was always a good thing to have a friendship where both sides played their parts instead of putting the burden on one person. "Thanks." He said, a small smile growing on his lips.

As PE drew on, one by one, the whole class was finally finished by the rope climb by the time the bell rang. "You all did well today. Remember that the lesson you have learned here today can be applied to the real world. Go get cleaned up and off to your next class." Ravello said, making various motions to his class.

Hara stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, Logan. That is where we parted until class is over." She said, watching the others walk towards the locker room. "And our weekend begins, yay!"

Logan grinned, excited about the weekend and the free time he would have. "Oh, yes. I probably will go visit my sisters and have lunch with them tomorrow as we always do. What about you?" He asked, climbing down the bleachers.

Hara followed after him and sighed heavily. "I will have to spend time with Squirtine, and we will probably have to video chat Mom and Dad for a good half of the day." She replied, crossing her arms. "Not that I don't love talking with them, it's just spending my days watching her." She grumbled under her breath. 

Logan chuckled at how she referred to her sister and how their relationship was. "It'll get better, I promise. Just ask my sisters, I was like Chenoa when I was her age and my sisters were like you. Things got better as we grew up. We matured." He nudged her with his elbow.

Hara cracked a smile. He had a point. Her sister was a tween, she was in that awkward phase between a child and a teenager. "Yeah, she's insufferable. But, at the end of the day, I love her. She's my sister no matter how much she gets on my nerves."

Logan returned the smile Hara had given. "If you ever need big sister advice, my sisters are willing to give it." He nudged her with his elbow. "Also, the key is to tell embarrassing stories to others, specifically about them being babies. My sisters do that all the time." He offered.

Hara snorted and shook her head. "Yeah, I have way too many of those but I'm sure she has that many of me. But thanks for the offer, if I'm desperate enough then maybe I'll ask." She said, waving to him as she went into the girls locker room.

Logan understood that giving a nod he gave her a two-finger salute. "Sounds like a plan. See you after." He called to her as he went into the locker room. 

🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑☀️🌑

A/N:
I will say, this took quite a while to finish. I suppose I lacked ideas, but then I realized I needed to introduce some rivals of Varian who will come into play much later into the series. Also, it goes to show how troubled Varian really is, especially with his taunting nature.

Plus there are many more diverse people, including the president, which I can't wait for you to meet, but they won't come into play until a few books later, like the last book XD I don't wanna spoil anything.

Oh, and creating the alien races is way harder than it should be. Thankfully the world is filled with weird creatures (thanks God for His amazing creation) and they have become the basic ideas for alien races. I mean, the ocean is filled with the most odd creatures and so is the insect world (thanks Jungle Juice (webtoon) for making me interested in insects).

Chapter Talk:
Varian is really fun to write. Even though he's a genius, he'll have his own struggles, which will come to light throughout this series. I mean, all the characters will have their own troubles and struggles, I suppose I enjoy writing it. Maybe it's because I can't work through my own struggles so making my own way through them and figuring it out through writing helps me in that way.

Fun fact: his original name was Alexander or Alex for short, but then I didn't really like it so I changed it to Westly or Wes for short. But that didn't seem to fit him. Then I was browsing pinterest and happened upon some Tangled the Series stuff and I remembered my alchemist baby Varian and I'm like yes, I love that name. I don't recall ever hearing that name before the Series.

Thanks for reading!