Chapter 23: Chapter 7: Temperance

Duncan was now strolling through the halls of his high school. He was carrying his usual backpack, with one hand clutching the strap and the other wrapped in bandages. When he entered the corridor, he noticed that everyone was staring at him, notably at the injury on his arm.

He ignored the looks and muttering; teens have an uncanny capacity to gossip. He could tell that virtually the entire school was aware of the incident two days prior; he could almost envision Captain Stacy coming through the school corridor with the principal, loudly informing the principal of Duncan's condition and the students accidentally hearing it.

Duncan could only sigh as he came to a halt in front of his locker. He opened the little compartment and placed his items inside before taking a few books to class.

Physics was his first class, which was also held in a lab.

Before approaching the lab where he was supposed to be, the boy passed past a mob of teenagers.

As he walked in, everyone within turned to face him. He could see Gwen seated in front, but she wasn't his Physics lab partner; the teacher chooses each student's partner in this class.

Duncan strolled to the back of the classroom and sat next to his lab partner, Peter Parker.

"What happened to you?" Peter inquired, surprised. He appears to have missed the news.

"Can't you tell?" Duncan replied cynically. "I had an accident."

"Well, what kind of accident?" Peter inquired once more.

"I got shot in the arm before killing the guy who did it," Duncan remarked casually.

"W-What—"

Miss Warren, the teacher, entered the room before Peter could say anything else. She continued to greet the students and began the class right away.

"Are you serious?" Peter inquired, ignoring the teacher speaking in front of him.

"Dead serious," Duncan said bluntly. "I stabbed the man in the throat with a kitchen knife. When he struggled to breathe, he made a gurgling sound."

Duncan chuckled a little when Peter flinched at Duncan's comment. "I'm joking, of course; it's just glass."

"G-Glass?"

"Yep." Duncan made a hum. "Glass. Don't worry about it."

Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "That looks painful."

"Well, after an hour or two, you get used to it." Duncan shook his head. He then chose to switch topics. "Did we get homework yesterday?"

"Just biology," Peter replied. "You and your lab partner need to write an essay about important biological molecules."

Duncan's brow furrowed. "An essay in the second week?"

Peter shook his head. "It is what it is."

Suddenly, the voice from the front of the class became more audible. "Mr. Plagmann, Mr. Parker, do you have anything to say to the classroom?"

Miss Warren had yelled their names, causing them to flinch.

"N-No, Ma'am," Peter mumbled.

Miss Warren gazed at them both and sighed sadly. "Mr. Plagmann, the principal wants to meet you after this class."

Peter made a funny grimace toward Duncan, but Duncan only nodded. "I'll be there for sure, Miss Warren."

After that, the lesson went on as usual, with no interruptions.

—

Duncan hurriedly said goodbye to Peter and walked right out of the room at the end of the class. He was about to head towards the principal's office when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

When Duncan looked around, he saw Gwen staring at him.

"You okay?" she asked, looking at his bandaged arm.

Duncan made a hum. "A lot of people have asked me that in the past two days, and to be honest, it's becoming annoying."

"Fine, I'm not going to ask you that anymore." Gwen let out a sigh. "Heard what happened from my dad, you sure are something."

"You're the one who spreads the rumor, too?" Duncan joked.

"God no." Gwen shook her head. They both proceeded to stroll down the corridor. "Some girl theorized stuff about that incident; it quickly spread, though it's not that far from the truth."

"Teenagers frighten me," Duncan whispered.

"Aren't you one as well?" Gwen laughed. "Anyway, are you free after school?"

Duncan gave her an odd look. "Why do you ask?"

"Homework. Parker must have told you." Gwen said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, can't we do it later or something? The deadline is like, a week from now."

"The quicker the better." Gwen tilted her head. "Do you want to do it after school or not?"

"Okay, fine." Duncan let out a sigh. "Where?"

"I'm not sure... there's a diner nearby, you wanna go there?"

"No… how about the hospital?" Duncan proposed.

Gwen was perplexed. "Why the hospital?"

"My mum is still there, and you know, learning biology in the hospital, it correlates right?"

Gwen just rolled her eyes in amusement. "Very funny... Just text me the room number and I'll go there."

"But… I don't have your phone number." Duncan stated such.

"Oh, yeah." Gwen murmured this before raising her hand to Duncan and opening her palm as if to ask for something. "Give me your phone."

Duncan then gives Gwen his phone, which she uses to register her phone number.

"You don't have a lot of contacts." Gwen whispered as she handed him back his phone. "Well, I guess I'll see you later. Bye."

Gwen soon left Duncan alone, proceeding on to her next class, while Duncan paused in front of the principal's office, staring at his newly given phone.

"No rank up, huh?" he mumbled to himself, disappointed.

—

Duncan sat in a medium-sized room, in front of a very well-decorated desk. He was seated directly in front of the principal. Morita was the principal's name; he was an Asian-looking man, a little short in height, and he had a serious expression on his face.

The principal inspected Duncan's expression with his hands on the desk. He then exhaled deeply and spoke out.

"So, Mr. Plagmann, I heard about your situation from the Police Department; it must have been difficult for you during the last few days." The principal consoled.

"It's a little exhausting." Duncan said, a bit suspicious of where the conversation was going. "What's this about, Principal Morita?"

As he reclined back in his chair, the principal sighed. "The police suggested that you go to counseling; taking someone's life isn't something you can get rid of for the rest of your life, Mr. Plagmann."

"Therapy sessions?" Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"Because our staff lacks the necessary skills to handle your case, the school board agreed to hire a psychologist for you so you could attend the sessions after school," explained the principal. "You may get it at the nurse's office."

"Is it mandatory?" questioned Duncan, a bit annoyed.

"Well, your mother is a cardiologist; certainly she knows how vital mental wellness is to your overall health." The principal smiled.

"Well, how many sessions do I need to attend?" Duncan inquired once more.

"How about twice a week for one month? How about that?" asked the principal.

Duncan could only grunt in resignation. "Fine. Let's say I go to those sessions. Will the session's content be disclosed to others?"

The principal laughed. "Of course not, Mr. Plagmann; I can tell you that your therapist will be as professional as they possibly can be."

Duncan's pupils constricted. He could tell the principal was lying because of his Justice Arcana ability. He could tell there was something fishy going on.

"Alright, fine, I agree to the counseling," said Duncan. "It's not going to start right now, is it?"

The principal exhaled a sigh of relief. "No, the sessions will begin tomorrow; after that, you can discuss when you want to continue with the therapist."

"Great, thanks," Duncan answered halfheartedly. "May I leave now?"

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The teacher nodded. "Of course, you still have time to get to your next class."

After that, Duncan left the principal room, leaving towards his next class.

—

Duncan sat near the window of his mother's hospital room. She hasn't woken up yet, which is concerning, but the doctors have assured him that she will be OK and that she is simply recuperating her stamina.

Duncan reflected on the "therapy sessions" that Principal Morita had assigned to him. At first look, it appeared logical that a teenager who had killed someone would be urged to go to therapy by the police, but he kept wondering if the principal lied about the contents of the sessions being released or not.

He'd asked the inquiry half-heartedly since he knew it's just basic decency and a regulation that therapists don't reveal their patients' statements, but it turns out the principle was lying.

Is he simply reading it too much? Or do the cops want to find out more about him?

Then there's the issue of Wilson Fisk wanting to complete the job with him and his mother. He had failed to murder every guest at that wedding; perhaps he will be more cautious and place a bounty on his and his mother's heads.

But then again, maybe he won't continue pursuing Duncan and his mother.

His thoughts were then abruptly interrupted by a knock on the hospital room door. He checked his phone's clock and saw that it was almost 5 p.m.; it was time to meet with Gwen.

Duncan approached the door and pushed it open. Gwen was standing awkwardly in front of the room, uneasy due to the hospital atmosphere.

"Hey, yeah, this isn't a good idea," she mumbled. "It's strange to tell the receptionist that I want to see your mom, even though I don't know her and just want to finish my homework."

Duncan shrugged. "You, on the other hand, wanted to finish it as fast as possible. If you can only wait a few more days, we might be in a different scenario right now."

Gwen let out a sigh. "Fine, whatever, let's just get this over with."

Gwen was taken aback by the size of the room the moment she stepped inside. It was meant to be a hospital patient room, but it was surprisingly large. She could see couches around the corner, a TV, and another room going to the actual patient.

"I didn't know that there was a hospital room like this." Gwen muttered. "Is your mom in there?"

Duncan sat on the couch and nodded. "She hasn't woken up yet, but if you want to meet her, sure."

"Well, I brought her some flowers," Gwen explained. "But if she hasn't woken up yet, then I'd rather not disturb her."

"OK, just put the flowers on the table," Duncan responded. Gwen did exactly that before joining Duncan on the couch.

Duncan hurriedly opened his laptop, opening a Word file to complete the essay once they were both comfortable.

"So, first, we need to know what the most important molecule in biology is, and then we can expand on that." Gwen elaborated.

"Well, that's simple," Duncan said. "Carbohydrate, protein, lipid, and nucleic acid."

Gwen was surprised. "Did you conduct any preparatory research before I arrived?"

"No, my mum taught me basic biology last year." Duncan shook his head. "Anyway, you can do the opening of the essay; I can do the rest if you want."

"I- okay…" Gwen muttered. "Just make sure the citations are correct."

"Alright…"

They both then began their work. They've divided the task in half, with Duncan voluntarily taking on the heavier of the two. They went on for almost forty-five minutes, and by that time, Gwen had already finished her portion.

Meanwhile, Duncan was completely engaged in writing the essay, and Gwen was unable to speak with him during this time, so she could only roam around the hospital, admiring the quite luxurious hospital room.

She peered out the window and noted that it was now strongly raining. She considered how she would get home if this continued, but eventually abandoned her thoughts for her future self.

"Duncan?" She made an attempt to elicit a response from the boy.

Duncan only hummed, indicating that he had heard her.

Gwen couldn't think of anything to say, so she just said, "Never mind..."

The girl eventually ran out of things to view in the place and returned to the couch. She sat down on the couch and opened her phone; it was now close to 6 p.m.

She looked up to see Duncan still concentrating on the essay. She looked at his face, his glasses reflecting the words he had entered on the screen. She found it difficult to imagine that this boy had killed an adult just two days before, yet he appeared... undisturbed.

"I know I said I wouldn't ask, but I can't help myself," Gwen explained quietly. "Are you truly okay?"

When Duncan heard those words, he instantly stopped typing. He turned to face Gwen, his glasses still reflecting the document's wording. "What do you mean?"

"My dad said that killing a human being scars you, and you're still what? Fourteen years old?" she continued.

Duncan was perplexed. He positioned his laptop on the table in front of him and concentrated on Gwen. "Well, it is what it is. Even if I cry about it, the memory will not go away. I only consider the present. I survived that hellhole, as did my mum, and I can still communicate with you and other people. It's a better fate than the other guests that died in the reception room."

"Is it really that bad?" Gwen inquired quietly once more. "The accident, I mean."

"I mean... yeah..." Duncan let out a sigh. "Bodies all over the place, blood on the carpet, screaming and shouting... you name it."

"And my dad was there?"

Duncan gave a nod. "Yes, in the aftermath. He was the one who questioned me after I left that place."

Duncan saw the girl's expression; she appeared anxious and fearful.

"You don't like that your dad is a cop?"

"Well, I think it's an honorable work, so no," she said, a little weakly.

Duncan could tell she was lying.

Gwen narrowed her eyes as the boy giggled at the sight.

"What?" the girl asked, irritably.

"You're terrible at lying," Duncan replied. "You should talk to him about it; he'll probably listen to you. Maybe you could sort it out."

Gwen murmured. "I guess I'll try that... though I doubt he'll do anything about it,"

"At least you tried," Duncan replied as he grabbed his laptop once again. He was ready to continue typing when he heard a loud sound that sounded like chains coming apart again. The boy flinched, but then weakly smiled at himself.

The boy concluded his work around 20 minutes later. Gwen had offered to be the one to put the finishing touches on the essay and submit it; Duncan easily agreed, and the file he was working on was transferred to Gwen's laptop.

Duncan peered outside; it was still raining, so he returned his attention to Gwen. "How do you get back home? Outside, it's still raining."

"I can call my dad, but I think his shift doesn't end for another couple of hours."

Duncan let out a sigh. "All right, I'll call Paul."

"Paul?" Gwen inquired, puzzled.

"My mother's helper. He's usually the one who drives us around." Duncan then called Paul to the hospital.

—

Duncan was now in the hospital drop-off zone. Paul and his car came to a stop near the hospital's front door, and the passenger door was opened as Gwen entered.

Duncan dove to match Paul's stare, and his head entered the car through the window. "Just listen to her directions and you'll be fine."

Duncan frowned deeply as Paul smirked at him the entire time.

"What?" Duncan inquired.

"Kid, it's only the second week of school." Paul grinned.

"Jesus, it's not like that, Paul," Duncan remarked. He turned to face Gwen, who was staring at him with amusement. "Ignore him; he's always this way."

"Sure." Gwen laughed. "See you at school."

Duncan hummed, and his head exited the car. Paul then drove away, leaving Duncan alone at the hospital's entrance.

Duncan took a deep breath as the cold wind of the rain hit his face, then turned back to the front door and entered the building.

When he returned to his mother's room, he opened the Apocryphon and examined the words added underneath the Temperance Arcana.

[II: The Temperance had recognized thee as a friend, granting thee the mind of the enlightened.]

Duncan lifted an eyebrow. "The mind of the enlightened? What's that?"

The boy was simply too weary to consider the significance of those words, so he unsummoned the book and went to bed.

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