1 Time is of the essence

"What is your reason? Do you need reason? To find a reason, or to make one. The path you choose, will lead you to complete satisfaction or utter discontent. Choose wisely, or forever remain unanswered. You have one life. Don't waste it."

Alarm rings at 8:30 in the morning. The alarm is stopped by a boy. The boy is called Kassius Moore, a 16 year old with rough hair, light complexion and grey eyes, one a bit shade darker than the other. He is about 5"8. He wakes up a mess, falling off his bed.

Kassius: "Ugggh, what time is it?"

He squints his eyes and looks at the alarm.

Kassius: "What the f-"

Kassius explodes out of his front door, running outside half ready with a brush still in his mouth, his shoes being used like heels and his shirt half done. He puts on his clothes properly and throws his toothbrush on the side of the road. Kassius runs through the streets, avoiding obstacles in his path.

Kassius (narrating): "My name is Kassius Moore. As you can probably already tell, I'm in a rush so let's make this quick. I'm a thief. I steal. And I'm pretty good at it. And I'm not the only one. In order to survive, we learn how to steal. Simple as that. You see, I'm a "student" at Furantur Institution. Well, less like a student and more of a member. Over at Furantur, we learn different things that would help us become better thieves. And at the end of it, we have an exam, to see if we are prepared to go into the world as a thief. But the graduation rate is so low, you can find adults still taking the exam. 'Why do you need Furantur? Can you not just be a thief on your own?' is what I asked myself. But it's not that simple. I'm practically broke and on an Island-territory. The only way I can even get to the main continent is through Furantur. Speaking of the exam, it's today and the exam is at 10 AM sharp. I'm late because it takes me about an hour to get to school with normal transportation since it's all the way in the main city. My home isn't too far but it's quite the trip. So now I have to get there as fast as I can."

Kassius arrives at the train station and has boarded the train. He observes an old man getting fined and kicked off the train for not having a transport card. Kassius looks to the adult man next to him.

Kassius: "Would hate to be him right now."

Adult man: "..."

Kassius: "Tough crowd today. Okay, now where is my wallet... Huh? Where'd it go? I could've sworn I had it on m-"

He looks outside the train door and sees 4 kids, all of whom are wearing masks; a fox mask, a clown mask, a monkey mask and a rat mask. The one wearing the fox mask waves his wallet, taunting him.

Kassius: "No, no, no. Not today. Why does it have to be today!"

He looks at his watch and the time is 9:10 AM.

Kassius (in head): "I can't leave this train. It's the only one for the next 30 minutes. If I leave it now, I'm screwed."

The kids start running out of the train station and Kassius was sweating. The doors start closing. Kassius jumps through the door before it closes and the train leaves the station.

Kassius: "Dammit! Of course it had to be today!"

Kassius is chasing the children and they run through an alley. The children push a garbage dumpster in a way that it blocks the path. They climb over a fence nearby and continue running. Kassius leaps on the dumpster then flips over the fence. He continues chasing the kids. They reach a road and the kids split up into two pairs.

Kassius: "Dammit! Obviously they want me to go for the kid with the fox mask... but what if he really has it and I go for the others? No, this is no time to think this deeply. I have to choose one. Uhhhh... Uhhhhhh... tsch, Fine."

He follows the pair that had the kid with the fox mask. As he chases them they reach a road but the kids had crossed before the lights went red. Kassius runs on the road but out of nowhere, a bicycle hits him and he tumbles.

Cyclist: "Whoa! Sir, are you okay?"

Kassius (in head): "God, why me?"

The kids run to a nearby playground but are approached by two adult men.

Man 1: "Look at this" *snatch* "A nice little wallet."

Fox mask: "Ayy! Give it back! We stole it first."

Man 2: "And I care, why? Besides, you should've been more careful. Guess this is ours for the taking. Go play at the park with your friends. You wouldnt want me telling the police you stole this, now do you? Hahaha!"

Kid with clown mask: " Give it back!!!"

The kid with the clown mask runs towards the thief but gets kicked back.

Kid in fox mask: "Demetri! You assholes!"

The kid in the fox mask tries attacking too but he's also kicked to the floor.

Man 1: "Hahahaaaa. Now, let's see what we have here. Hmmm? It's empty."

Kid with fox mask: "The belongings are with our other friends, long gone now. Looks like you lose."

Man 1: "Hahaha haha. Not a bad trick. However..."

The other two kids come out of hiding and grab the kid in the fox mask.

Kid in fox mask: "Huh? What's going on? What are you guys doing? Let go off me!"

Man 1: "You see kid, you're out of your league here. Your friends here, they understand that. So they were obedient in order to survive. If you were smart like them, you'd do the same. Now maybe we ought to discipline you so you'll learn. Stand back."

The man starts punching the kid in the fox mask.

Kid in fox mask: "Some... bod-" *crack*

His mask cracks in two.

Kid in fox mask: "He...lp..."

Man 1: "Hahahaaaa... huh?"

Kassius flies in and hits man 1 with a flying kick to the head. Man 1 is sent to the floor and passes out.

Kassius: "Looks like everybody is here."

Man 2: "Johnny! Why you!"

Man 2 tries to throw punchs and kicks at Kassius but he dodges and blocks quite easily.

Man 2: "Take this!"

Man 2 throws a punch at Kassius.

Man 2: "Hu-"

Kassius immediately dodges and hits him with a counter uppercut. Thief 2 is down on the ground, unconscious as well. The two kids that were holding the kid in the fox mask stand scared.

Kid in fox mask (in head): "Whoa!"

Kassius: "Listen. You've already ruined my morning. Hand over my stuff or you'll end up like those two."

The kids give him his belongings back and are shivering as doing so. They run off after giving him the wallet. Kassius starts putting his stuff back in his wallet.

Kassius: "Dammit all. Now I have to find another way to get to Furantur..."

Kid in fox mask: "What about us? We stole from you too. Are you gonna fight us too? I ain't scared of you."

Kassius: "Really, Mikey? I'm not fighting you. I told you what I had to do today."

Kid in fox mask: "Who's Mikey?..."

Kassius walks up to him and removes the mask off of his face.

Kid in fox mask: "What? Are you chicken of a little fight?"

Mikey, a kid with a short afro, dark complexion and brown eyes. He is about 4"9.

Kassius: "Cmon man. You AND Demetri. Why now?"

Mikey: "Because you promised to finish the training. So fight me."

Kassius: "I'm sorry but I just don't have time to finish it."

Mikey: "But you said you got taught in a year."

Kassius: "I never said I was as good as my teacher."

Mikey: "Fine then. Leave. We don't care, right Demetri?"

Kassius walks up to him.

Kassius: "It's okay to be upset you know? But don't let my leaving do that. It's not like I'm dying or anything. You'll see me in the future, when you become the richest thieves like you said, right?"

Mikey: "..."

Kassius: "Anyways, do you know the time? I kind of lost my watch helping an elderly woman cross the road. Those old heads..."

Mikey: "It's 9:20."

Kassius: "OK. I actually have to go now. Remember to do as I taught. Don't slack off. And here."

Kassius hands him a card and Mikey takes it.

Kassius: "Tell them Kassius Moore suggested both of you. Otherwise you won't be allowed to apply."

As Kassius is walking away, Mikey walks up to Demetri.

Mikey: "Demetri, you alright?"

Demetri: "Kind of... Whoa! Where did you get that money?"

Mikey: "Looks like he underestimated me."

Demetri: "Hey, Where's the watch? I thought you had it."

Mikey: "Huh? It's gone?!"

Kassius is running on the side of the road.

Kassius: "I'd say that's a fair trade, don't you think so? Hehehe. Fits perfectly too."

The time is 9:25 AM and Kassius is on the road next to a gas station.

Kassius (in head): "Taking the train is a no go. I won't make it in time since I'll have to wait for another train. What should I do?"

Kassius sees a man on a motor cycle parking. The man on the motor cycle starts walking with a woman in the direction of Kassius.

Kassius: "Guess my luck is turning around."

Kassius walks towards them, whistling and humming. He bumps into them.

Woman: "Ahh!"

Motor cyclist: "Ughh! What's your problem kid?"

Kassius: "I'm so sorry. That was my fault. Please don't hurt me. I'm so clumsy. Here, have $20 bucks. I'm sorry for disturbing you.

Motor cyclist: "Uhhh... alright."

Kassius: "I apologise again. Have a nice day."

They walk away from Kassius.

Motor cyclist: "I wasn't even going to take money from the poor kid."

Woman: "Talk about stupid hahahaha."

They enter the station shop. Kassius stands up and dusts himself off. He rattles the keys in his hand.

Kassius: "$20 bucks for a motorcycle? Today is a good day after all."

He turns on the bike and starts driving. As he is driving he checks his watch and its 9:30 AM. He has half an hour to get to school and its around fifty minutes away. We see Kassius speeding on the roads, taking shortcuts and cutting over paths that he shouldn't.

Random car on the road: *honks* "Hey watch it"

Kassius: "Sorry!"

He drives through a playground.

Kassius: "Out of the way."

Kassius manages to avoid harming the kids. Kassius enters the main city.

Kassius: "Whoooooooo... Huh? Why am I slowing down?"

Kassius looks down at the gauge.

Kassius: "Empty?! Of course this happens now!"

He reaches a nearby gas station in the main city. He fills the bike.

Worker: "Cash or card?"

Kassius looks in his wallet and sees that he has no cash or card on him.

Kassius: "On my tab? Hehehe."

He starts running down the road and checks his watch.

Kassius: *pants* "Damn, 9:55 already. Gotta be quick... huh? What's all that commotion?" Kassius turns to the street and it's crowded.

Kassius (in head): "The school is right there. But it's too packed. Not trying to get robbed right before I make it to the gates."

He looks around but seems to find no path on the road for him to travel safely.

Kassius: "Hmmm... Ahh. That might do the trick."

Kassius climbs a lamp post on the side of the road.

Kassius: "Maybe if i swing from each, I can get across the street without getting robbed... again"

He swings up and down to gain momentum and flings off. He glides through the air and tries grabbing the next but he falls and lands on the ground, causing a scene.

Kassius: "Argh... why did I try that?"

Kassius stands up and with all the space made, he just starts jogging towards the building. He goes by the crowd and finally makes it passed them all. He rushes towards the gate and he is on the path directly in front of the building.

Kassius: "Crap! It's closing already?!"

He runs.

Kassius (in head): "Cmon"

And he runs

Kassius (in head): "Today is the day."

He sprints his fastest and jumps through the gate,

Kassius: *pants* "Yes.. I made it."

Kassius (narrating): "You can only get away with so little in a given amount of time. Thats why it's the golden principle; Time is of the essence. Anyways, my time for narrating is over. This is the story of Kassius Moore, the infamous thief across the globe. I won't say much more but life got interesting for me after this point."

Kassius is dwarfed by a building, with the word "Furantur" on the front.