Airship

July's skies were growing hotter by the day.

Sunlight poured in through the window, heavy with summer heat. Some unknown insects shrilled at the top of their lungs, making the afternoon even more sleep-inducing.

A few teenagers had gathered at the entrance to Wu Ming's residential complex, looking extremely excited.

"Hey, Philip, is this your girlfriend?"

Alice had clearly made an effort to dress up, accentuating her feminine features. Her stocking-clad thighs drew more than a few lingering stares from passersby. Seeing Philip come out first, she immediately greeted him.

"No! Let me introduce you. This is Lanny, my... my good friend!"

Philip hastily tried to explain, only to be met with an eye roll from the tall girl beside him.

"I'm Alice. Nice to meet you!"

"I've heard about you from Philip. Congratulations on graduating!"

Lanny replied with a smile.

"Oh! Philip, you actually brought your girlfriend along!"

The exaggerated exclamation made Philip roll his eyes. "Lanny, this is Vidi. He's got a screw loose, so just ignore him!"

"Heh, you little—"

Vidi put on a leering grin, but said nothing more.

"Looks like you all got here first!"

Just then, Wu Ming came out of the residential complex with a travel bag in hand. Two people followed beside him. "Is Philip the only one who brought someone along?"

"You're..."

Alice and the others turned their attention to the two people beside Wu Ming. They recognized the petite girl, Angelina, naturally, but the other one was a big boy who clearly wasn't Brandon. He was several years older than Brandon, and his face looked strangely familiar.

"Don't recognize me? I'm Navi!"

Navi spoke in a deep voice. "Your classmate from elementary school!"

"Oh! That's right, Navi! It's you!"

Vidi laughed loudly, covering up his earlier awkwardness. "What are you