The First and Last Kiss Read Online Free Page B

have you forgotten?”
    “Someone from Lowsunn has been there? At the edge of the planet?”
    “That will be enough questions from you,” Mr. Young snapped, his eyes darting amongst the other faces for their reactions. Though they appeared squeamish, they kept their focus on him. Isaac raised his hand again.
    “I said no more questions.”
    “I don’t have one.”
    “Then what is it?”
    Isaac smiled through his mesmerizing blue eyes and ice-breaking smile. “Aidan has one.”
    “Can’t Aidan speak for himself?”
    “He said you wouldn’t call on him if he raised his hand.”
    The audience chuckled and a few of the Elders in the far back began shushing. From the crippling glares they unleashed on Mr. Young afterwards, it was obvious that they were going to intervene if he didn’t take control soon. Why he had called on the child in the first place was beyond their comprehension.
    “Okay,” Mr. Young said with a scowl, pointing to the young man with the spiky black hair. “Fire away.” It was a risky move, allowing Aidan to speak – but if he was able to maintain order during their exchange, he would have gained respect in the eyes of the Elders. A privilege that few possessed.
    “Well, I was thinking,” Aidan began with a sly smile. Many in the audience turned around to watch him complete his sentence. “If we’re supposed to hold off on our Yen –”
    “– here in Lowsunn we call them wishes, Mr. Serafino.”
    “I don’t understand why. The rest of the world calls them Yen, but that’s not what my question is about. What I want to know is why we don’t get to use these ‘beautiful curses’ the way we want to, while the Elders and even you - gets to go wild.”
    “I don’t follow.”
    “Take this schoolhouse for example. You used a Yen three years ago to turn it into this major interactive experience, and yet you’re the only one who knows how to control it. It’s impressive, but isn’t it a waste? All it does is help you.”
    “It enhances the learning experience and improves the quality of my lessons.”
    “Which are still boring, which is why your attendance is low. The only time anyone comes to your sessions is to hear about Advent, otherwise, no one bothers. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
    “I don’t need to justify myself to you,” Mr. Young huffed, feeling the angry, raised eyebrows of his superiors. “Who are you here with anyways? Does your mentor know where you’re at?”
    “Does it matter?” Aidan said. “What you fail to remember is that we are free to choose which courses to attend. This isn’t a school. It’s a simple, scared little town that keeps people in line by dangling small comforts over their head. It does little to prepare us for the outside world. A world that each of us will be forced to encounter whether we like it or not. If it wasn’t for the strike system, no one would even bother getting out of bed.”
    “Once you choose a class to attend, however, you are stuck there,” Mr. Young’s face started to redden. “If you’re skipping an evening class to attend this presentation, then you know that I must hand you over for disciplinary action. Given that you already have two strikes against you, you know what that would mean, don’t you?”
    “I don’t need to think about it,” Aidan said, his lips in a flat line. “Especially since I’ll be leaving.” He began to worm his way to the door when a shout nearly stopped him cold.
    “You stay right there!” Mr. Young barked as the few Elders standing in the doorway made sure to form a trembling humin barrier. They looked down at him in disgust but Aidan challenged them silently, one at a time, with no expression on his face. Then he shifted his gaze back to the forefront and gave the science/history teacher a declaration.
    “Let me out right now or I’ll burn the entire schoolhouse to the ground.”
    He said it with such conviction that Mr. Young nearly fell over in shock. The Elders in the