"Hey daddy, can you tell us more about Moonland?" Yasmin pleaded after a while.

"Sure," Mohamad nodded. "Listen, Moonland is not what you think it is...it is a vast land once found by a great hero called Ramon, who went with his friends on a journey to find the land that made a surprising appearance."

"What is that story?" asked Yasmin, the subject now grabbing her attention.

Mohamed began: "It takes us back in time, about three hundred years ago. An asteroid was approaching Earth, and it was estimated that it will hit our planet in about a week and that Earth will be destroyed. But something extraordinary happened. No one ever imagined that this asteroid will actually stop midway and freeze in still air, but that's exactly what happened. Later on, it was found that this huge rock formed a flying island, known as Moonland today."

"Why did the asteroid stop in mid-air? Isn't there gravity pulling it down once it collides with Earth?" Bilal questioned.

"I'm no scientist, so I'm afraid I can't explain that. Maybe magic?" he laughed at his own joke.

There was a pause. Jack turned to Mohamad. "Then how did the moonwolves appear?"

"A unique species called moonwolves were found there, and they are called the guardians of moonstones. It isn't known how where they originated from."

"Oh...I heard they're dangerous. Why is that?" asked Yousef.

"They bite," Louis broke in. "Their bite is poisonous. Anything they bite will instantly turn inhuman."

Mohamad nodded his head in agreement then turned to the kids again. "Moonwolves are creatures that have only one purpose: to protect the moonstones. Once you have surpassed the moonwolves you will reach a place in Moonland...they say this place looks like it comes out of a fantasy book. There is magical water and a rather odd tree, a tree that has all types of moonstones growing on it.

"The theory behind moonstones is still not clear, but they are said to hold great supernatural power. Many don't believe that Moonland exits, but it has been proven that if you look at the sky at midnight and the moon is a full moon, Moonland will shine as bright as a star."

"Can I ask a question?" Malak asked and Mohamad smiled. "Why did they call it Moonland? Does it have something to do with the moon?

"I'm not sure...I don't know the details, but they called it Moonland because studies have shown that the rock it's made out of comes from the moon. And one more thing, the moonwolves...they are at their maximum power when a full moon is present."

Everyone thought hard. Moonland was a whole different world; it was very exciting but dangerous at the same time.

"Sir, I heard something about Moonland." Bilal mentioned, adjusting his glasses. "That there are humans who live there...but they aren't exactly human. I think they are monsters?"

"Yes, when a moonwolf bites you, you will gradually turn into an inhuman creature like Louis said before. But not all creatures are the same...and remember, not all of them wish to harm you."

Donia sighed and looked at the time. There was still some time left for the bell to ring.

"I heard that there's money of some kind," Jack told them. Mohamad nodded.

"There are various amounts of gold and jewelry in Moonland that you could sell at a very high price, but there's no real money there." he explained.

"Wow! So we can like go there and get these treasures then sell them and get so much money!" Jack suggested, his body filled with excitement.

"Yeah then use this money to pay the debt we owe the school," Bilal continued.

"That's a great idea!" Badr was getting really impatient.

"I agree," said Noor while nodding her head.

"That's great actually, but your parents should be still responsible for paying your loans," Mohamad said with an interested look on his face. Then he added afterward, "Have you heard of the magic water?"

"Me! My grandpa told me about it," Malak exclaimed. "It's so magical, it can heal any wound or disease."

"Correct," Mohamad responded.

"Wow, anything?" Jack asked, surprised.

"Yes, I told you that before!" Malak answered.

"Yea, well, but you didn't tell me it can heal the dead."

Malak stared at Jack. "I...I never said it can."

"It can't, I'm sure of that," Mohamad broke in.

"Oh well..." Jack whistled.

Yasmin stood there, just as shocked as all the other team members. She knew so little about Moonland, and she felt like she wanted to go there right now.

"Dad, that's amazing! I would love to go there, please, please, take us?" she turned to Mohamad, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Someday..." Mohamad's voice trailed off.

"Promise?" Yasmin nagged, her round eyes showing an expression of want.

"I...promise, okay. I never even went there...but you know?" Mohamad replied, turning to the kids. "I actually want to go there, too, someday. I promise I'll take you with me. But since you do not know how to defend yourself, I can help you with that."

"Oh, thank you sir!!" Malak and Badr beamed happily.

Mohamad smiled then turned to the other students. "Are you guys willing to go to Moonland, too? Do you accept to be taught martial arts and weaponry to defend yourself?"

"Yes, dad, I am!" Yasmin answered. She looked anxiously at the others, unsure whether they were willing to tag along.

Donia smiled at the kids. "You don't have to accept, it's actually better not to because Moonland is a very dangerous place, as you heard."

"It's okay, we're all coming," Jack decided as the others nodded in agreement.

"Yes! Great, we'll start right away!" Mohamad's voice echoed through the club room.

"A-are you serious? It's not safe for the children!" Donia protested.

"But if they insist then they can become warriors!" said Louis rashly.

"No!" Donia opposed, then she turned to Mohamad and continued, "You don't even know how to use any weapon! How are you going to teach them? Besides we don't have any weapons here!"

"Mom, calm down," Yasmin told her.

Mohamad looked at the kids with a serious expression. "If you kids want to go to Moonland, I'm sure you're all aware that it won't be that easy. That's why, I decided, that we are going to be using weapons from now on, and I'll teach you how to fight and defend with them." Mohammad explained.

"Isn't that illegal?" asked Bilal cautiously.

"It might be. But if you guys insist on going to Moonland, you can't go unprepared. In Moonland, there are moonwolves and other creatures you have to face. You might not go this year, or in the next few years. Actually, I suggest that you don't go during your school years. Wait until you become eighteen."

"If they're not going anytime soon, then that's fine," Donia announced.

"Starting next lesson, we are going to teach you weaponry," Louis concluded.

"Wait, you can teach weaponry? You?" Jack provoked.

"Yeah, what's so unusual?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Nothing..."

Louis glared at him. "Stop rolling your eyes, redhead. I'm actually really skilled!"

"Woah, okay, show me then."

"If there was a weapon I'd cut off your head. Don't speak to an adult this way." Louis pulled Jack's ear. "Look at all those piercings. What a punk."

"Hey! Don't make fun of my piercings! They're cool, ok?" Jack started, flushing. Everyone laughed as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson. Everyone packed up their belongings and went to bed that night, pondering over the mysterious island, Moonland.

The next day, Badr found himself sleeping in his English Literature class because it was nowhere near as interesting as Moonland. After the impatient teacher called him out numerous times, the lesson finally ended with Badr dragging himself outside the miserable classroom. He spotted his freckle-faced friend eating a seasoned chicken sandwich and waved to greet him. Badr sat down next to Fred to devour his own delicious burger.

Fred took his last bite before sighing in satisfaction. "Food is actually the best thing to ever exist!" he told Badr. Badr grinned in agreement after throwing the wrapper in the bin, but his eyes fell on Fred's build as he sat back down on the stairs. 

"Woah!" Badr exclaimed, his eyes examining Fred's figure closely. "You changed!"

"I did?" Fred chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah! Did you go to training camp or something?" wondered Badr.

"No! What training camp? I was just at home with my family," Fred answered simply.

"But...you lost weight didn't you?"

"I guess I did, yeah," Fred admitted. "I got thinner in first year because I've not been eating as much, Mom said I was 'malnourished'."

"What's that?" Badr laughed.

"Like...I don't know, not eating enough? Even though...you saw how much I eat," Fred laughed with him. "But I eat way more back at home in Rimor!"

"I get you," Badr nodded in agreement. "I just eat so much because my mom cooks such good food!"

"Right?" Fred's grass-green eyes shined as he spoke. "Mom's cooking is the best!"

Fred was a few inches taller than Badr which was highlighted when they stood up. Strolling around, they stared at the numerous buildings surrounding the school from the large balcony rail. Badr passionately explained all that he had learned about Moonland to Fred, who listened intently. All of a sudden, Badr turned to Fred and eyed him thoughtfully. "But...even though you lost weight, you actually don't look weak at all. You look really muscular!"

Fred smiled at Badr's compliment in awe. "Really? Thanks! I just felt too weak at the end of the school year, so I decided to work out in the summer. What about you? What did you do in the summer?"

"That's awesome! I just spent some time with my family because I missed them!" Badr responded, glancing at Fred's arms once more. "Wow, actually your arms are really huge!"

"No way, what?!" Fred's face was starting to blush. "It's not...have you seen other guys in our grade?"

"I don't care about the other guys in our grade," Badr stubbornly insisted. "Your body is so good! I want to be muscular like you soon!"

Fred coughed to cover up his embarrassment. Badr's compliment actually meant a lot to him; it made him really happy and nervous at the same time. "Th...thanks," he muttered loud enough so that Badr could hear. Badr grinned at Fred but his smile soon faded when the bell resounded from the entrance of the balcony.

"EW!" Badr scoffed. "I hate class! We have...ew MATH? No way, I'm gonna try to get sent out."

The corners of Fred's eyes crinkled as he laughed in response. "You plan to get sent out? That's a thing!?"

"Yes in math, because I can't listen to him talk and talk about I don't even know what!"

Fred kept laughing with Badr as they made their way slowly to their classroom, where he gave Badr one last charming smile and sat down in his seat. Badr got sent out in the first fifteen minutes of the class, and he shot Fred a playful smile as he left the class. Fred scribbled down in his messy copybook but he could not forget Badr's compliment.

Author's note: Hey guys, thank you for reading this chapter and reaching this far in the story. I'm happy to tell you that we reached half of the book, so I want to thank everyone who made us reach this point. Also, we recently hit our highest ranking, #172 in adventure, thank you so much to all of the supporters who made this happen! Thank you sooo much, we honestly can't thank you enough!  ♥ ♥ ♥

P.S: If you have any questions about this chapter, then just leave a comment and we'll try to make things clear! We hope you think Moonland is an interesting place! Also, do you relate to Fred in any way? Do you also struggle with body image?