The Greatest Mecha

The next day, Alto woke up with a bit of a headache, but it was nothing he could not handle on his own. He knew if he had a mild painkiller, it would do the work just yet. He started his day by checking the mech designer protocol for any mission, but there was none given. He quickly cleaned up and headed out of his room with the books in hand.

The time he had gotten up was close to being the same time he had met Kram the day before. He had asked Alto to meet him at the same time the next day. Though he had not agreed to it because he was unsure what the bully wanted from him, he still felt inclined to go and at least hear what he had to say.

On his way, Alto thought about the note in the professor’s book. He doubted she had wanted him to see that. He thought if perhaps it was related to why she was staying on planet Soto with the mech division. He knew whatever it was about had nothing to do with him, but Alto’s curious nature persisted. Still, he thought it would be best to return the book as early as possible to avoid things getting ugly for him.

As he walked with the bundle of books in hand, he took a glance at his wrist comm device and saw the time. He was running a bit late to meet Kram, and that annoyed him.

Alto and Kram were never on good terms, so why was he now wanting to see him anyway? They never started as friends. Alto was just that one kid everyone wanted to step over, and Kram was the big boy who made fun of him. His stomach churned as he thought of what Kram might have in mind for him, but he knew it would not be physical. For as long as Alto had known Kram, he had never once assaulted him physically despite their bad falling out with each other.

Just then, Kram’s voice echoed over to him. "I’m telling you, he’ll be here any moment now. You know how late he usually is."

Alto tried to see who it was that Kram was speaking to. "Did he call someone to beat me up instead?"

Then Kram’s voice came directed at him. "Well, there he is. Speak of the devil." His voice sounded loud and bold, the energy that he always carried with him.

Alto gulped down, expecting Kram to make fun of him any moment then, but then a thought came to his mind. Why should he care what Kram thought about him? He was pursuing his own path, and Kram was here trying to slow him down. With that thought, he continued to walk forward with a confident stride.

"Hey Kram, why did you really want to see me?" Alto said in a bold voice, but Kram said nothing in return. Another voice spoke, one that caused his eyes to burst open.

"Al?" It was the same sweet, melodic voice he had fallen in love with three years ago.

Alto’s steps came to a sudden halt, his face freezing, his heart could be heard beating rapidly against his ribcage just at the mention of that voice. The emotion he felt was rather one of fear and agitation than one of love.