"A nice punch in the nose would do him some good, won't it ?" asked Zaid to his friends who were laughing like lunatics. Joan walked into the class and the scene came into his view. As usual, Zaid was beating some innocent boy for 'fun' as he called it. This is it ! thought Joan angrily, his mind racing on different ways to teach a lesson to that pugnacious boy. He hadn't gotten into fights for such a long time that he almost felt tame. Almost.

" Zaid," he called out calmly, "Do you fight only with teensy little kids or also with those with bulk muscles?" 

The lunatics stopped their laughs, waiting expectantly for Zaid's retort while the others gazed at Joan, extremely bewildered. The class came to an unwonted silence, the same calmness that comes before the storm. It took a minute for Zaid to come back to his senses. He leapt forward towards Joan like an infuriated animal leaping on its prey.

" Oh, It's you ! What are you doing in a battlefield, boy? You are too young for this. Go back, " Zaid smirked, "Go back to your books, child. "

"Oh, " Joan dragged, his face lightened behind the humor . "Afraid now, are we?" Joan asked in his same cool tone. 

"Ahh, afraid ? " Zaid sniggered. "What should I be afraid of..., a boy with specs and books in his hands all time? " He laughed maliciously, turning to look at his gang, who forced a laugh.

"I must ask" Joan continued, " Are you really gonna have that beard and the moustache? You do know you look stupid with it, don't you?" And he knew he had done it. Those magic words... they turned the color of Zaid's face from pale peach to red and then still deeper. His breath became more laboured while his mouth worked hard to get out his words. His hand immediately went to his black moustache and twirled it.

"No, you don't dare talk about it," he snarled

" I think I just did," Joan replied, inviting a crowd of laughter.

Zaid glared at him, his eyes narrowed, looking sideways and he took the compass from the table and ran forward, his fist closed tight to it. It was not as if Joan was a bookworm...No, he spent most of his short span reading as many fight scenes as he could. Truth be told, he had been transferred from place to place because of it. Before Zaid could reach his target, Joan stretched his hand, tightened his fist, moved a step back to gather force, and punched Zaid's nose. 

The same day, Joan became a little celebrity before his mates, a trouble-maker before his teachers, while Zaid rested in his bed, peacefully. It took a week for him to recover.

                      * * * * *

Joan traveled through the ship, his face feeling the heavy storm, his teeth clattering more with excitement than the cold, his heart fluttering at the voyage while his legs stood stiff and tight, anytime ready to loose its hold and jump into the deep sea. Joan took a deep breath, his mind relaxed by taking in as much pleasure as he can. He remembered Jack from Titanic - his all time favorite movie, though  he would have preferred it better to see him alive until the end of forever. He repeated the dialogue aloud, " I am the king of the " - 

"Hey, big J" came a high-pitched voice, bringing Joan back to consciousness. 

"Uh oh, Noah, how the hell do you always interrupt my dreams ?" Joan asked, disgusted at himself that none of his illusions were true. He realized that he was walking through the gates of his school before he had dozed of.

" Oh, big J, I wan-" Noah started, his eyes excited as if he was meeting a star, but Joan interrupted, " Don't I tell you often enough that my name is Joan Morgue and I may be your bloody senior, but we had agreed that we were friends. So, if you don't mind, call me Joan and if you do mind, call me Joan anyways."   

Noah smiled. He had always liked Joan the most, always cool and humble. 

He said, "Okay, Monsieur Joan Morgue, I would like to conduct an interview - " And Joan interrupted yet again. " Oh please, Noah, what topic this time. Is it ' How Joan dreams even when he walks ' or ' dating advice '... Not that I am gonna share those secrets out in public, but please, don't come with those psychological topics, those little pieces of paper of my self-analysation are driving me mad." 

"Huh" sighed Noah, " Right then, see you later Big..., I mean Joan. He started walking away the other side, his face showed clear signs of dejection at his disapproval.

It took less than a second for Joan to pull Noah to his side and exclaimed " Oh god! See your acting skills. You better leave your stupid book that centers me as a hero and get into a drama club, you would become a star "

"Should I take that as a yes ?" he asked, his eyes glistening with happiness. He continued with a smile, " As I am not interested in showing off on stages, I would better carry on with my investigation and the book"

He turned back and started walking to his class, he shouted in his same squeaky voice, " See you at 5 in the usual place, Joan. I still claim that you are the most interesting person I have ever met "

 " Right " Joan murmured to himself, a smile extending on his face. He had a feeling that something was going to happen that very day.

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Eagerly waiting to give you the next one because it is going to be a little romantic ! Thank you Skull_Crusher05  for editing this story !