The Miracle Clinic

“It all went down in the 90s. Back then, a lot of things were different in the city.”

A teenager with white skin, long shaggy brown hair that’s all over the place, and bright brown eyes is making his way to school through a dark alleyway. He’s wearing a white bomber jacket that has an eight-ball design over his striped button-up flannel shirt, black pants, and white shoes.

“The main thing was that no matter how old or young you were…”

Behind the teenager is a group of several people who were all recently knocked out.

“If you wanted to survive, you had to fight for it.”

The young student exits the alleyway and makes his way towards Starlight High, however, he stops when he looks up and sees Aken Amnestor looking down at his bloodied fists.

“Though out of all of the fighters back then, there was one who stood out from the crowd. Not only was he a decent fighter but he had a talented mind unlike any other…”

“So before you say anything,” The young student defends himself, “They asked for it, and all my homework is done.”

"...and that man was Ivan Turnip."

Ivan Turnip smirks at Amnestor while Amnestor just sighs.

"I didn't assign any homework today," Mr. Amnestor states.

"Oh that's right, I guess I just confused tomorrow's homework with today's," Ivan cheekily replies.

Amnestor smirks as the two head into Starlight High.

"Back then, everyone knew that Ivan was the smartest student in his grade. He had several scholarships lined up for him and was a member of several clubs. He was someone many people had their eyes on…”

As Ivan is walking down the halls of the high school, he can see several other classmates glaring at him as he passes by.

"For better, and for worse."

_______________________________

Amnestor is sitting in a classroom supervising detention where several students, including Ivan Turnip, are spending their time listening to Amnestor lecture them.

"Now I see a lot of familiar faces here,” Amnestor scolds them, “Hopefully next time there'll be fewer of you.”

"Amnestor was one of the only teachers at the school who tried to stop the ongoing fights, however, most of his suggestions were ignored by everyone. Anything he tried to do to change the school..."

Amnestor looks to see that everyone present, including Ivan, are all uninterested. He sighs as he decides to stop talking.

"...would fall on deaf ears."

_____________________________

"But then one day, Ivan fought with the wrong person and..."

Mr. Amnestor is walking down the hall when he passes a large menacing figure. The person mumbles something under their breath before walking away, his clothes stained with blood. It’s only when Amnestor turns the corner does his body freezes.

Laying on the ground is Ivan Turnip, his legs bent inhumanely and his unconscious body covered in blood and bruises.

"....it would cost him."

____________________

As the days soon turn into weeks, then months, then years, and then decades, Amnestor sits in his office drinking coffee as his optimism, his joy, and his passion are stripped away. With the only thing he had left being a feeling of bitter regret.

"The incident left Ivan permanently in a wheelchair. It didn’t take too long for all of the scholarships to dry up and for him to drop out of high school. Ever since then, Amnestor never really acted the same. He may seem cold or uncaring on the surface, but deep down he’s still shackled down all of his regrets.”

_______________________________

In the present, Sally Everst finishes her story by saying, "But I guess that’s just life in a way. Things get taken away before they can truly blossom.”

Sitting on the couch is Ronnie & Marcus who both are processing the information they've heard.

"What happened to Ivan?" Ronnie asks, “And how was Dad a part of this?”

“Ivan’s still kicking around,” Sally Everst replies before immediately regretting her word choice, “Back then, your father was one of the few people who stuck with him, and he even helped him achieve his dream.”

“Achieve his dream?” Marcus asks as he notices Ronnie’s interest in the whole thing.

‘Well it’s not too far from here,” Sally Everst remarks, “How about I just show you?”

“Yes please do!’ Marcus begs.

Sally Everst smiles as she stands up and walks to the front door. She begins to put on her coat and grabs her purse before saying, "You kids better hurry up then because we're going to do a little shopping."

_________________________

Marcus & Ronnie look a bit confused as they look at the building that Sally Everst took them to.

"Are you sure we can find Ivan here?" Marcus asks.

"Of course, because he owns the place," Sally replies.

Marcus & Ronnie's confusion only grows as they stand outside looking at the run-down shop ahead of them. The windows are all cracked and covered with bars, the smell of old furniture reeks from the establishment, and graffiti has been sprayed all over the front of it.

“The Starlight City Bookstore,” Ronnie reads aloud from the sign, “So this is where Ivan is.”

After a bit of hesitation, Ronnie grabs the door handle and makes his way inside.

See You Next Chapter!~