“Clas5Es ar3 cAnc3lEd t0daY. WiLl tEaM d1sTRac7iOn pLEas3 c0Me To t.e oFfice.” The loudspeaker blessed us with hideous, yet glorious, news. I don’t hate school; I just really appreciate free time. “Al5O, J30n WOnWo0. Pl3aSe cOm3 to tH. o7fIce.” I enjoyed my five seconds of freedom.

In the office, Principal Nguyen and Aubrey were waiting for my arrival. S.coups, Hoshi and some golden-haired girl were also waiting. I assume they are “team distraction”.

“Sorry you don’t get a free day, but on the bright side: we get to help you with your powers!” The principal led us into a room with four seats that didn’t look at all pleasant.

“Are we sitting in those?” I asked.

“Yes, my child. It’s safer this way. My power can sometimes be.. a little destructive.” Aubrey twirled around the room.

“Team Distraction, it’s your mission to keep Wonwoo safe. Got it?” The principal passed out walkie-talkies to them. “Wonwoo, your mission is to unlock your powers and I don’t mean just a burst of luck. A thorny fingernail won’t save you forever.”

“I also made a tree grow!” I countered her.

“We don’t want you running on luck, do we?” she began strapping Hoshi into his chair. The chair looked like a mechanical abomination. It had a contraption that went over your head and looked like a spiky salon hair-dryer. The arms and legs of the chair contained leather straps to restrain us from moving. Once Hoshi was strapped in, Aubrey began to sing a song. I have no idea what language it was. Maybe Japanese?

“Your turn, Wonwoo.” Vi called me over. I sat in the abomination of a chair and waited as everything was being strapped around me. “Don’t worry too much, these guys will protect you.”

“Do I get a walkie-talkie?” my eyes were already covered from the hair-dryer-looking-contraption.

“No, you won’t need to communicate with anybody from the outside.” She said as she poked me with a needle.

The lights went on and the world was white around me. I was no longer strapped into the chair and I was completely alone. Forest trees began sprouting out of nowhere. The sky turned a shade of light blue and clouds became present. Tiny forest animal sounds began echoing all around me. The smell of wild fruit filled my nose. The golden-haired girl from team distraction appeared next to me.

“Uh, Hello. What do I do?” I looked around for Hoshi and S.coups.

“Practice your powers, that’s it.” She took a seat on the nearest fallen log.

“If that is it, why are you here?” I followed her.

“I have the ability to boost people’s power and remove their restrictions. I guess that makes me like a fancy potion you don’t have to drink.” She took out a mirror and began applying foundation.

“Can I at least know my fancy potion’s name?” I eyed the walkie-talkie attached to her belt.

“Megan. Now go play. In ten minutes come and get me.” She stood up and started walking away, still applying makeup. Why apply makeup if you already look good? Girls.

I looked around, in hopes of seeing Hoshi or S.coups but couldn’t see any signs of their presence. I guess I practice my powers? I stuck my hand out over the soil and concentrated on growing a flower. Surely enough, a stem began to sprout. Soon enough, the stem grew leaves and blossomed into a daisy. You’re pretty, even though you aren’t the flower I was trying to grow.

Squeak Squeak

I looked over my shoulder and saw two baby squirrels with their tiny arms extended.

“Aww, hey there, little fellas! What can I do for you?” I watched one of them point up to the giant pine tree next to me. At the top, baby pinecones were blooming. Such a strange place.

“You want pinecones?” I watched as they shook their tiny heads. I glanced back at the pine tree and saw that it had grown about fifty feet higher than when I looked at it previously. Does this place ever stop growing? Well, there is no way I can climb that high. Maybe I can knock one of them off with a rock or something.

I picked up a rock and looked back up at the pine tree, which had grown another fifty feet. I can’t throw that high. Maybe I can somehow make the branch fall?

“Alright, little guys. I am going to try and make the branch fall, watch out.” I glanced at the not so small squirrels. Somehow, they had matured into full-blown adult squirrels. Did I grow that daisy or did this world grow it for me? I focused my energy at the smallest branch of the still growing tree and watched it snap. As it fell, it grew larger and larger. It wasn’t that big before! I jumped out of the way as the branch fell onto the squirrels.

A cloud of smoke filled the surrounding area. As it cleared, the shadow of two massive beasts emerged.

SQUEAK!!! SQUEAK!!!

“WHAT DID YOU DO, WONWOO?” Megan’s voice came from the side of me. She ran over to me and picked me up.

“I didn’t do anything! This world keeps growing!” I told her and she glanced at her watch.

“I told you to tell me when it’s been ten minutes!” She picked up her walkie-talkie. “Hoshi, we need a quick escape. Scoops, calm Aubrey down!” She grabbed my hand and put her walkie-talkie back onto her belt.

The two giant squirrels sniffed around. They red glowing eyes reminded me of the spider’s eyes from Aubrey’s previous scenario. Is this where we die? Megan pushed me out of the way and backed up as a tree flew in between us.

“Pay attention, maybe?” She said and hid behind a tree. The squirrels knew where we were now, so hiding was useless. “We need to run, Hoshi is taking too long.” She rolled out of the way just as the first squirrel knocked her tree down onto the second squirrel. They aren’t that smart.

Before I could move out of the way, the tree next to me began to entangle its branches around me while the grass made me unable to walk.

“C’mon, we have to—dang it!” Megan took out her makeup kit and pulled out a stick of lipstick. She removed the cap and revealed a red blade. Quickly, she began cutting away at the branches but she wasn’t fast enough.

“Give it here.” Hoshi’s voice was heard before his body arrived. He took the sharp lipstick dagger and swiftly cut me free. “Hold on tight!” He grabbed the both of us and the scenery began to change. How fast was he going?

“I’m going to be sick.” Megan wrapped her arms around Hoshi and Hoshi almost let go of me.

“Whoops, sorry Wonwoo. I’m not used to carrying more than one person at a time!” he came to a stop in the middle of a desert.

“Why did we stop here?” I scanned the place for signs of life. The only thing that had any life was the cacti, but they looked half-dead.

“I guess Aubrey wants to sing a song about the desert.” He picked up his walkie-talkie. “Scoops, how about something a little more family friendly?”

“I don’t know what she is singing. How can I get her to make it friendlier?” a voice came through the other end. “I’ll try.”

A few seconds later, blades of grass began to grow from the soil-colored ground. Flowers of all kind began to blossom, adding a perfume aroma to the air. A stream of water trickled between me and the two of them, spliting us apart. Before I knew it, the area was a meadow with a giant river in the middle.

“This time, call me before ten minutes are up. Okay?” Megan said while still holding onto Hoshi. I turned away from them and sat down. What to do now? I looked around at all the pretty flowers.

A caterpillar crawled onto my foot and rested. Please don’t be evil. It curled up into a cocoon and turned into a butterfly, flying away into the sunset. SUMMON NATURE. DOES THAT INCLUDE ANIMALS?

I focused my energy on making a small puppy. I thought about the time when I was little and my puppy ran away from me. Bring me back my puppy, please.

Aruff! Ruff!

I opened my eyes and saw a small puppy with golden brown fur. I picked up the puppy and held it close, its fur hugging my skin. Nature is great. I looked up at the sun and saw it setting further. Has it really been that long?

“Megan, it’s been about ten minutes.” I glanced across the river and saw no signs of Hoshi or Megan. “Megan? Hoshi?”

Woof Woof

I turned back to my growing puppy. Oh, no. It’s happening again. Not my puppy! AUBREY YOU’RE SO EVIL! Before my puppy, or dog, could grow anymore, I concentrated on strapping it down with vines. The ground beneath the dog spit out thick vines that entangled the dog, causing it to whine.

“Megan, we need to leave, right?” Still no sign of her.

Grrrrraaawr

I turned to my once small puppy, who seemed to no longer be a dog either. Instead, a vicious black wolf with glowing red eyes took its place. The wolf began clawing at the vines, breaking itself free. I backed up towards the river, which had piranhas jumping out of it.

“Hoshi? S.coups? Megan? SOMEBODY HELP ME!” I screamed and closed my eyes as everything lunged at me. I felt bite marks form all around me and the pain slowly set in. This is it, this is where I die.

The sound of a sonic boom rushed passed me, stopping bite marks from spreading. I opened my eyes to witness a red moon in the sky and burned trees all around. The only pleasant sight was the one of Megan’s golden hair rush toward me in slow-motion. Her hand extended as she was holding her walkie-talkie.

“You don’t feel pain.” The voice of S.coups settled in my head. His voice soothed my wounds and soon, I forgot I was even in pain. The bite marks remained, but the pain faded. Megan took the walkie-talkie back.

“Tell her to stop singing; we need to take Wonwoo to the infirmary.” She reattached her walkie-talkie to her belt.

My vision went blurry as I watched a metal contraption lift over my head. I saw Principal Nguyen and Hoshi unfastening the straps that kept me tied down. The sound of Aubrey sobbing in the background confused me. Does she have control of her power? Or was this her restriction? I looked down at my half consumed body, yet felt no pain.

As soon as I was free from the metal contraption, Hoshi pushed my half unconscious body onto his back and ran to the infirmary room. The pain was slowly beginning to return. At the infirmary, a few nurses waited to treat me. What really shocked me was the sight of Jeonghan in a nurse’s gown. Why was he here?

His hands moved around my body and everywhere he touched, a white light radiated. The sensation of the light tickled and I burst into laughter. After the procedure was complete, Jeonghan informed me that I would need to stay in bed rest for two weeks.

TWO WEEKS? WHAT I AM GOING TO DO FOR TWO WEEKS?

QUESTIONS:

What are your thoughts on Team Distraction?

Are Megan and Hoshi an item?

What will Wonwoo do for two weeks???