They all turned around to see Badr and Yousef, appearing very irritated. It was Yousef who spoke and he had his hands in his pockets. His posture was very rigid and he had narrowed his eyes as he was trying to seem very frightening.

"G-guys! I thought-" Malak gasped.

"Oh look who came, the losers," Yahya jeered loudly.

Badr and Yousef exchanged glances with each other, confused. Why the heck was Yahya with these guys?

"What?" Yousef was baffled. "Why are you with them?"

"Because you suck, that's why," Yahya smirked.

"Wha...?"

"You're boring, you and that animal over there. Go somewhere you belong, like a mental hospital."

Laughter erupted from his friends, and Yahya's smirk widened.

"Oh really? What makes you say that huh?" Yousef questioned, while holding Badr back from hitting Yahya.

"Let me hit him!" Badr struggled while Yahya just stared at them, unamused.

"Get a life," he spoke.

"You get a life!" Yousef yelled. "You and your dumb 'friends'! Is that what you choose after all?"

"Problem?" Zach stepped forward. He was ready to beat both Badr and Yousef up. He was about twice the size of them which made him seem very threatening.

"Oh, get out of the way, you don't scare anyone," Badr responded bravely. Zach shrugged.

"Well weaklings like you are about to be scared of me."

Yousef turned to the other guys while Badr and Zach argued noisily.

"You pathetic morons! Who started this? Who insulted Malak? You? I bet it's you," he announced, pointing at one of the guys.

"Me? I didn't do anything, I swear..." Nader defended.

Yousef furiously searched for another victim. "You!" he shouted at the dark-skinned guy named Awad.

"Not really..."

"Then who, you retards? What did she do to you? Nothing! Stop making fun of her! She's had enough." Yousef's voice was starting to shake because of the intimidating looks he was receiving from them.

"Chill, Yousef," came a voice from Yahya.

"And you! Why are you hanging out with these types of people?"

"Is it your business?"

"It is!"

"It isn't, now go."

"No way. I'm not letting you get away with this."

"Get away with what, huh? You were never my friend anyways!" Yahya raged. It took a few seconds but then he calmed down. "Whatever. I'm leaving."

"NO!" Yousef angrily shouted.

He grabbed the collar of Yahya's shirt then protested, "You're becoming one of them! Don't."

"I can do whatever I want," Yahya responded with a dark face. Malak and the rest of the guys stared at the two of them, and even Badr and Zach stopped arguing and watched the scene.

"Then do whatever you want," Yousef replied, glaring at Yahya. "Just make sure that you're picking the right thing."

He smacked Yahya on his face and took a step back. Yahya stroked his sore cheek.

"Fine then, shorty," Yahya smirked.

Badr, Malak, and the rest of the guys watched as Yousef and Yahya started a heated battle. Yousef swung forward and punched Yahya right in his stomach. Yahya was about to trip but then got a hold of himself. He scratched the back of his head and gazed back at Yousef.

"This guy..." he muttered before swiftly moving forward and pushing Yousef on the ground. He smirked as Yousef struggled to get up.

"That new face you're making...I HATE IT!" Yousef shouted angrily at Yahya while raising his fists. His body was shaking with fury.

"Stupid person," Yahya told him while flipping his hair sideways. Yousef's muscles stiffened in response.

"STOP IT GUYS!" Malak moved towards them and ordered them to stop. Yahya's friends, Kamal and Anas, snickered at her. But Yousef and Yahya didn't bother to listen to her. Instead, Yousef quickly advanced near Yahya and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt to push him aside. Yahya rotated and swiftly directed his fist towards Yousef's cheek, but Yousef avoided it. Many people had gathered to watch the fight between the two boys, but no teacher was visible around the area to stop it.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" Loud screams from the boys watching the match resounded.

Yahya breathed heavily and moved over to grab Yousef's shirt from the middle almost ripping it apart. This made Yousef stumble and almost fall because Yahya was still gripping it while storming backward.

"Traitor!" Yousef shouted, kicking Yahya so that the raven lost his balance.

Yahya was so shocked at what Yousef said that he didn't even get up. Yousef's eyes started slightly watering as he yelled again.

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE? YOU THIEF! I EVEN FORGAVE YOU! YOU UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF-"

Yahya's jade green eyes widened a little but his mouth immediately barked "SHUT UP!"

Yousef approached Yahya while he was still on the ground. Yousef knelt on top of him while pinning him to the floor. He started punching Yahya's cheeks over and over while repeating: "Traitor! Traitor! TRAITOR!"

The ridges of Yousef's neck became dangerously pronounced as he repeatedly punched Yahya all over. But Yahya took advantage of the moment Yousef's grip loosened and severely pushed Yousef off of him. Yahya triumphantly stood up, wiping the dust off his pants.

"Pathetic," he whispered at last, with a coldness in his eyes.

One of Yahya's friends, Essam, who was the same size as Zach, came over to him and patted him on the back. "Let's go, dude." he announced finally. The boys nodded then walked away.

"Go pay the debt you owe the school or something. Poor peasants," Zach scoffed at Badr, Yousef and Malak.

The three were speechless but Yahya and Awad stopped walking and turned around.

"Hey, Zach, that's rude you know! We can't afford to pay either!" Awad remarked.

"Yeah, and don't just call them peasants. They're people, just like you," added Yahya.

Zach glared at the two boys. He spat at Malak then left with the others.

Yousef shut his eyes tight; he didn't want to believe this was happening. Badr shook his head and sighed then looked at Malak, who smiled regretfully back at him. They both paced over to Yousef.

"Yousef..." Malak managed to say before Yousef opened his eyes.

"WHAT?" he glanced at her, irritated.

"N...nothing...I just wanted to apologize because this is my fault. I'm so sorry..." her voice faded slightly, almost like she was choking.

"It isn't, don't apologize. It's that traitor's fault and none other," Yousef disputed.

"What he said is right!" Badr agreed then touched Yousef's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Perfectly fine, yeah," Yousef rolled his eyes. Badr noticed his sarcasm and shook his head. Yousef's clothes were covered in dust and his elbows were cracking. Malak spotted the red marks on his neck and arms.

"Oh well. It isn't like he's the funnest person to be with," Badr pointed out. "Quite boring, no offense or anything."

"Badr..." Malak started. "Is funnest even a word?"

"Oh, it isn't? Sorry then!" he laughed.

Yousef shrugged then added a little more calmly, "I helped him so many times before! And this is how he acts towards me?"

"Who?" Badr asked. Yousef groaned.

"YAHYA! STUPID! I'M TALKING ABOUT THE TRAITOR!"

Badr stepped back in defense. "Sorry, sorry, I forgot!"

Malak wondered why Yousef was acting so angry. Maybe his relationship with Yahya was so important to him? She gaped at the sky above. It's horrible to lose a dear friend, she thought.

That night, Yousef didn't feel like sleeping. Actually, he didn't feel like doing anything at all. He just wanted to hit Yahya constantly and curse him with all the words he could think of.

That's when the thought struck him. Maybe Yahya didn't consider Yousef as a true friend...maybe he just wanted to become popular. Yousef quickly got out of bed and gulped a huge amount of water in attempt to calm himself down. These thoughts weren't true, he knew they weren't.

Maybe they were, he thought. Maybe it wasn't Yahya's fault, maybe it was his. He walked over to where Badr was sleeping, at the bottom bunk bed. Yousef tried to figure out what made them friends. He exhaled sadly as he thought of the way he treated all his friends up until now. Yousef felt guilty; he was quite distant to Badr at first. And he made the mistake of easily forgiving Yahya for stealing his bag.

The next day, Yahya trotted behind his friends in the break. The truth was, it hurt his feelings to fight with Yousef, but he knew it was for a good reason. He sighed.

"You okay, dude?" Awad asked.

"You seem a bit down since yesterday!" their tall friend Talia remarked. "Is everything alright?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Yahya assured them like it was no big deal.

"Who was that guy anyways?" Basma's best friend, Haya, broke in. She found a place to sit on the benches behind the cafeteria.

"Some...guy," Yahya answered.

"Oh I swear that blondie has some anger issues," Zach remarked, munching a chocolate bar.

"Yeah," Awad agreed sarcastically. "Look who's talking!"

Zach punched him in the face. "Shut your mouth."

The boys all laughed. Basma rolled her eyes. "Don't punch him, it's not funny, he will need a lot of skincare products to remove the bruise."

"Which he can totally afford," giggled Haya, examining her dark nude nails. "Anyway, let's plan for Rana's party."

Yahya chuckled faintly then sadly wondered when would be the next time he would be able to talk to Yousef and the others again. Probably never, he thought.

Officially becoming friends with Badr and Yousef had certainly made Malak's mood more cheerful. But the girls did not stop speaking badly about her, and that day she happened to listen to two girls talking about her.

"Hey, hey isn't that Malak? Should we invite her to the party? Do I give her a card?" Rana, a skinny girl with bony arms, asked her friend Tiana.

"No...No! She's different from us!" Tiana twirled her curly hair.

"But all the girls are invited...so wouldn't she feel left out?"

"No! Look if Basma knew she'd kill us. She doesn't want trash girl in there. She probably doesn't even have a nice dress," Tiana replied with her nasal voice.

"Ah okay then; if she smells like trash, then no thank you," Rana put the card that she was planning to give Malak in her pocket. Malak was a little hurt from the words she heard but nonetheless carried on her day normally.

In the afternoon, Yahya dreaded the thought of going to the club room since he knew Yousef would be there. He slowly walked across the hallway to the room. Every step he took made his heart drop heavier each second. His hands sweat as he touched the handle of the door. It slowly swung open.

Upon entering, he breathed a huge sigh of relief as he realized he was early. He sat on a chair nearby and rested his head on the table. Soon, he dozed off to sleep.

"Should we wake him up?"

Yahya groaned as he heard voices. He opened his eyes.

"What's...wrong?" he patted his soft hair. Malak and Yasmin were peering at him.

"Oh, he woke up!" Yasmin announced.

"You must be very tired but today is important. Make sure to sleep later." Mohamad smiled.

Yahya nodded apologetically then turned to Malak.

"How long did I...sleep?"

"I don't know, maybe...ten minutes?" Malak stated. Yahya noticed that she looked kind of uneasy talking to him.

"Oh, by the way," he whispered to her once Mohamad started talking about what he was planning to teach them. "I'm...sorry."

"Huh? Oh, no, no need," she hesitated. Yahya groaned.

"Look, I'm saying sorry because I laughed at you before."

"No problem," Malak smiled sweetly.

From the corner of Yahya's eyes, Yahya saw Yousef glaring at them, face scarlet expressing his rage.

"So...can you tell us for real where we're going and when?" Badr was asking Mohamad.

"I'm sorry for not telling you before," Mohamad apologized. "First I have a question. You want to train so you can be able to go to Moonland, correct?"

The kids nodded.

"Okay, what do you need in order to train?"

"Weapons..?" Bilal put in.

"Correct, we need weapons. Does anyone know from where we acquire these weapons?"

"The weapon shop...? If that even exists.." suggested Jack and Louis shot him a look of disgust.

"It doesn't, dumb redhead. Shops like that are illegal here."

"I'm not dumb, and stop calling me redhead!"

"Does anyone else know?" Mohamad interrupted before the argument continued.

"I know," Yahya announced. "There is an island in the far south of Albasea, Estermage Island. There are weapons there that we could get from the pirates who live there."

"Excellent!" Mohamad expressed happily. Yahya smirked at Badr and Yousef. They gazed at him with jealously in their eyes; how come Yahya knew so much?

"Just like Yahya just said, we can get these weapons from Estermage Island. That's where we're going first. And don't worry, it's not that dangerous," Mohamad finished.

"We will be going soon enough, so be prepared!" Donia added with a smile.

"Cool! Are we going now? I'm ready!" Badr stood up.

"No Badr, not today..." Yasmin chuckled.

Badr giggled. "Hahaha, I guess I'm too excited!"

Malak laughed. "So..do pirates actually live there?"

"Of course they do," Louis answered.

Malak stared at her feet. "Can't believe they actually exist..."

"You have to be cautious," Wael warned. "Pirates are very close-minded and they hate outsiders. You never know, they might attack you."

"Tell me," Badr leaned forward to talk to Murad. "Did you go to a weapon school? Like a school that teaches you how to use weapons? When will you teach me? I'm ready now, if you want!"

"I didn't go to a school like that, no," Murad clarified. He examined at Badr closely; the boy's positive attitude enthralled him. "We need to get weapons from the island. That's why we're going. After that you will learn how to fight with weapons."

"I can't wait!" Badr grinned. Murad smiled faintly.

"But how come you know so much?" Bilal queried. "You must have trained a lot."

"Listen," Mohamad stood up. "Wael and Murad are from Alin. They have trained for many years to become strong."

"So Alin people train hard?" wondered Badr.

"I heard they spend their whole life on training," Yousef informed Badr.

"Being from the city Alin is hard; it's very strict," Louis explained.

"But their leader died...didn't he?" stated Bilal. Wael nodded gravely.

"Abbas was a very reliable and brave leader..." he smiled a little. "But after that tragedy happened..."

Badr gazed at Wael. "What happened?"

"You don't know anything do you?" Yahya spat out. Badr rolled his eyes.

"What's your problem?"

Yahya yawned and stared at the ceiling. He seemed rather annoyed.

"Well, the bell's gonna ring now," Noor checked the clock on the wall.

"Okay, let me say this quick!" Mohamad clapped his hands while the kids grabbed their bags. "After your term one final exams we will set sail for Estermage Island."

"Next month we have our finals," Yasmin told Noor, who rolled her eyes.

"I can't wait until it's over."

Author's Note: OMG! WE JUST HIT 2K READS! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! AND NOW THE HIGHEST RANK WE REACHED IS #115 IN ADVENTURE!!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Actually, we were kind of experiencing a writer's block in this story. We even changed some things in the previous chapter 'Trash Girl' because it wasn't how we wanted it to be. So we wanted to just give up...but because of you guys' support, we reminded ourselves that we need to try harder.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Let me know if you have any concerns about it in the comments below. Also if you think we missed out any important details, don't hesitate to tell us!

Until next time then!