Megalopolis - Table of Contents

“BRR-KR-KRR-KROOM!” A brilliant streak of light flashed through the gloomy autumn sky, dazzling the pedestrians on Abbotsbury Road. In the soccer field next to the walk, some teenagers were playing the usual game of soccer, like they did almost every day. John Calren, a fourteen-year old, was just about to drive the ball forward when the flash momentarily paralyzed him and the rest of the players. A slight drizzle grew into a heavy downpour, and nearby pedestrians strolling by Holland Park drew umbrellas and ran for cover. John yelled to the rest, “Let’s get going, guys!” The wet, dripping lot agreed and started to go home. George Welbeck, a burly fifteen-year old, called back, “Same time, tomorrow, Calren!”, to which John replied with a nod and a wave of his hand as he hurried to get his bicycle.
He hastily fumbled with and finally opened the lock, then got on his bike and raced back, full speed, to his home. The rain was pouring very heavily now, and John looked like he had taken a very long shower, with his clothes on. He gruffly knocked on the door of his house, and his mother, slightly tensed, opened it and ushered him in.
Upon his entrance, she asked, “What were you doing in the rain for so long?”
To which John replied, “Oh, you know, the usual game. I just got delayed because of the rain. It was hard to ride the bike on the slippery pavement.”
“I was getting worried! Anyways, dinner’s ready, you’d better get fresh quickly,” replied his mother, who then hurried back into the living room, where he heard the faint, almost indistinct crackle of a television turning on. His dad was probably getting ready to have a look at the nightly news. John had a keen ear for even the almost inaudible sounds, just one of his many talents.
He tiredly slopped up the staircase, clothes dripping wet. After taking a quick shower, John came back down into the living room. He was a considerably drier and a much less gloomy person now. The journalist on the news channel was talking about a disease outbreak in south-western Scotland, just south of Glasgow. Pictures of dead cattle and livestock came on the screen. He listened to the news for a while, and after he no longer found it interesting, went into the dining room, where his sister was hungrily gulping down the hot soup. It was an uneventful day for John, and it had been a particularly uneventful week as well.
He ate quietly, and after he was full down to the core, washed the dishes, and then proceeded to walking back up the stairs into his room. “Good night, John!” his father replied. John answered with slight murmur and ambled up. It was a long, deep sleep he had, the first in many days, and he felt better already when he woke up.

- - - - -

Two seventeen-year olds held the doors to the school open as a sea of students marched in to the building like a motley regiment. A slightly irritated John Calren was walking next to his friend James Rutford. James could not stop talking about the “amazing things” he saw on his vacation to Germany. Even less amazing was just how long he had been saying it. It was probably two days since he had been hammering John and the rest of the clan with his great epics of scenic adventures in the foreign land. Now, John was getting agitated. They settled into their seats at their classroom. Fortunately, James sat in the back, and John sat next to an amiable William Sciger. William was originally from Australia, but his parents moved to England two years ago. Ever since then, John had been very good friends with him and his brother, who was a seventeen-year old he sometimes saw in the school. John had a rather large group of friends. They sat together at lunch, discussed the same issues, and laughed at the same jokes, and were a very close-knit and organized group, where everyone helped each other in time of need. John was a sort of leader, and although he never thought himself to be one, he was a very sociable and people-friendly person. Many also commented on how well a strategist he was. He had often ended fights, lead his team to victory in soccer games.