Shifting Fates

His face pointlessly concealed by folded arms on his desk, Rondrio strove intensely to ignore the constant poking of his right ribs by the girl sitting in the desk next to him. “C’mon, Ronnie,” she pleaded in a voice that grew more irritating with every passing day. “Just tell me if you like Lashay. I’ll hook you up with her.” Finally lifting his head for the first time since Ms. Oliveira left the room, Rondrio leered at the girl out of the corner of his eyes. “Either call me Ron or RW. I’m not tellin’ you again, Reneé. Now leave me alone.” He had barely managed to keep his voice under a shout, but he could already feel some of his classmates’ eyes aiming in their direction. All he wanted was to be undisturbed in his “turtle” state until the bell rang. Before he could bury his face in his arms again, Reneé unexpectedly snatched his right arm from under him. Rondrio’s forehead smacked the desk hard enough to rattle his thoughts for a few seconds. Reneé quickly released her grip. “Ronnie, I’m so sorry!” Rondrio rubbed his head while finding it completely impossible to ignore the snickering around him. Reneé apologetically reached for his hand, but he withdrew just as quickly. “Don’t touch me!” he sniped uncontrollably. With a combination of shock and embarrassment washing over her face, Reneé quietly sank in her seat, her sandy eyes avoiding his direction. Despite her expression, Rondrio couldn’t ignore his frustrations long enough to force an apology. “Who was shouting in here?” asked Ms. Oliveira as she reentered the room with creepy suspicion. It felt like her eyes burned a hole in the back of his head, but Rondrio wouldn’t dare turn to see for himself. Before someone had a chance to snitch, the final bell rang. Rondrio exhaled and shoved his notebook into his backpack like his classmates did with their items. By the time he zipped it up and glanced back for Reneé, she had already hurried into the hall. His shoulders sank. “Screw it,” he muttered. “I’ll apologize tomorrow.” He wouldn’t dwell on it. He shouldered his backpack and stepped into the student-filled hall. His russet eyes uncontrollably scanned the crowd of fleeting students for Reneé before he caught and silently berated himself. Letting this incident plague his mind would completely distract him from studying while waiting for his mother to get out of her weekly teachers’ meeting. Shaking his head free of distractions, Rondrio weaved through the foot traffic and headed for the end of the hall that exited to an outdoor walkway connected to the north hall. Not many students took this path to get to the courtyard so it surprised him to see a girl standing in its center. She had the straightest, black hair reaching just below her shoulders that nearly blended in with the black tee she wore. If her navy blue jeans were any indication, she hid a slender frame under her clothes. Yet something seemed off about her. She stared silently at the school building but didn’t carry a single folder or textbook. “What’s school like?” she asked out of the blue, confirming his budding suspicion. Rondrio frowned. “You decide to skip the first week or something?” “Just answer the question,” she snapped. Feeling his frown shift from curiosity to another emotion, he looked off toward the north hall. “Irritating… and it’s only week one.”

The girl turned, her hair whipping around like she’d just stepped out of a shampoo commercial. Still, the dark narrow eyes, small round nose, and thin lips made him wonder why he didn’t detect the slightest Asian accent to match her features. “It could be worse,” she said, making him realize her words were wrapped in sadness although her face barely showed it. He didn’t realize the desire to attend school could infect a teenager. It was a depressing thought. She spared him the smallest glance. “Don’t take it for granted.” Nodding slowly, he responded, “Riiiiiight…” He adjusted his backpack, thinking it would be best to leave the crazy girl alone before she started spouting nonsense he had no patience for. Walking around her, he hoped she’d remain silent. However, as soon as he passed, a strange chilly breeze brushed the back of his neck and sent a severe shiver down his spine. He glanced back, half expecting the girl to have disappeared like a ninja in the movies. No such luck. She still stood motionless, staring at the west hall as if something spectacular was about to happen. After a second, he shook his head and continued inside the north hall. A number of stragglers still walked the hall, heading for the courtyard beyond the east exit. After a quick scan, Rondrio realized he didn’t recognize any of them. He sighed lowly and casually followed behind them. Making the transition from middle to high school was not off to a good start. Not only was he forced to be surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar faces, but he didn’t have a single class with any of his friends. At least two of his teachers probably already assumed he was anti-social or something, not that it really mattered. As long as he stayed focused on schoolwork he could stay off everyone’s radar. Of course, that hadn’t worked with Reneé yet. That girl had kicked off the first day by sitting in his lap and introducing herself. Part of him had wanted to shove her onto the floor, but that would’ve caused a scene he didn’t want. He’d chosen to act only mildly interested, and that had worked… for the most part. Reneé had eventually left him alone until this morning when she chose to go on a cupid kick. Rondrio stopped at room five and peered inside to find his mother organizing papers on her desk before slipping them into a thick, blue folder. The slightly graying haired lady looked up at him with a smile. “Hey, honey. How were your classes?” “Bleh…” He dropped his backpack on the floor near the closest desk and fell into its seat. “I’m just gonna read until your meeting’s over.” “That bad, huh?” Mrs. McMillan grabbed her black, leather purse from the back of her chair and shouldered it. “A guy is supposed to bring a new computer in here. Tell him I want it set up in the back.” She gestured toward a cleared spot on a long, narrow table against the back wall. The space was between a stack of unissued textbooks and a row of neatly arranged government reference books. “And can you check it out when he’s done? Make sure it’s running everything it’s supposed to.” Rondrio nodded before reaching down to unzip his backpack. With her hurrying out of the room, he figured he had nearly a half-hour of undisturbed reading. Pulling out his World History text, he flipped to the beginning of the first chapter and forced his attention onto the page. It didn’t take as long as he’d thought to remain focused on the mildly interesting reading. The halls had fallen almost completely silent until the last bell rang, signaling the last bus leaving the campus. It broke his attention briefly and caused him to glance at the clock high on the wall behind his mother’s desk. Before he could read its hands properly, he heard a loud electrical bang in the hall, followed by someone shouting and the clanging of metal against the floor.

He jumped out of his chair and ran into the hall. Gazing back the way he’d come, his eyes first locked on thick, dark smoke billowing from the wall where the hall clock used to hang. Then he noticed the pair of bodies lying on the floor next to the shattered clock’s remains. Sprinting towards them, Rondrio wondered what had caused the clock to shatter. “Are you alright?” he asked after nearly sliding on his knees next to them. Rondrio immediately recognized the groaning man lying face up as one of the janitors working the halls all week. But the girl partially lying on top of him hadn’t made a sound yet. He pushed back her sprawled black hair and inhaled sharply upon seeing a fresh wound near her left temple. “Hey…” he urged while gently shaking her shoulder. “Come on, wake up.” After a moment, he recognized her as the same Asian girl he’d passed minutes ago. “Help her! She’s bleeding!” he shouted before noticing teachers already approached them. Waking up with a splitting headache was nothing new, but why did this time hurt so much more than before? As she forced her lids apart, bright light barged in and assaulted her sensitive eyes. She flinched and caused a sharp throb in the left side of her head. “You probably shouldn’t try moving your head.” Her eyes slowly adjusting to the light, she blinked rapidly and tried guessing where the unfamiliar voice came from. Her vision cleared enough to make out a plain white ceiling with humming fluorescent lights overhead. Combined with the sterile smell of cleaning chemicals she hated so much, it could only mean she’d landed in a hospital somewhere. Her head throbbed. She wanted to look around the room, but the pain was more than she wanted to handle. “Hurts so bad,” she weakly muttered. “What happened?” “Far as I can tell… you got brained by a renegade clock.” It took a moment to understand his statement. When she hazily recalled shoving the janitor out of the way, her eyes widened. “That guy…” Footsteps slowly approached the bed. “He’s better off than you apparently. Looks like the clock managed to only kiss your head. His took the worst from the floor.” Suddenly, a male’s face slid into view to her right, and he didn’t appear to be a doctor. “Did you push him outta the way?” “You…” she muttered after recognizing him as the boy she’d spoken to at the school. “Why… are you here?” He shrugged. “The name’s Rondrio. Didn’t really have anything else to do. Plus, no one knew who you were. I figured I could sit with you until night, in case you woke up.” “Kaname.” She blinked. “It’s night?” He looked back. “It’s after 9:30.” When he looked at her again, he wore a smirk. “You know that you snore?”

“I do not!” she snapped, her voice clearing up considerably but her head throbbing more. “Shut up! You’re making my head hurt!” “Stop shouting and you might be okay.” He smiled briefly, allowing her a moment to wonder why he’d gone through the trouble of sitting with her. “So who should I call to pick you up?” Kaname silently stared at him. It had been a while since she’d met someone so nice, but it wasn’t worth the risk. She frowned. “I can call my own family. You just want my number so you can try to call me later.” She watched his expression shift to confusion and then disbelief in just a couple seconds. “Don’t flatter yourself!” He quickly disappeared from her sight, and she could hear rustling sounds before a very audible zipper being yanked along its tracks. “Tell you what I do want though. I wanna get the heck out of here. Can’t stand hospitals anyway, and I like you better when you’re snoring.” Her mouth unwillingly fell open. “What did you say?” The urge to jump out of bed and clobber the back of his head was overwhelmingly strong, but the headache severely tamed her actions. She could only loll her head aside, bringing him back into view. “If I ever see you again…” “Please,” he interrupted, “you ain’t gonna do a thing but wind up back in here.” “UGH!” she groaned. “You make me sick!” He squinted his eyes and stuck his tongue out before lifting a scarlet and black backpack to his shoulder. “See ya!” As he left the room, she started to get the last word when her heart beat twice in one instance. Her eyes widened. She gripped her chest. “No,” she whispered. “Please not yet…” Darkness slowly clouded her vision as wisps of unconsciousness slithered into her mind. Although she resisted with all her strength, her mind slowly began to shut down in preparation for yet another horrible nightmare. Kaname blinked. She rubbed her eyes, clearing the last bits of haziness from view. She glanced around, realizing she now stood on a bright beach filled with energetic people. The area didn’t look familiar, and it was hard to believe that she would willingly come to a place so populated. However, when she glanced down at her body, it was covered with a dark blue bathing suit that had a flame design circling her abdomen. She’d never seen the hideous thing before, and why would she willingly wear it. “Forget this,” she mumbled. “What time is it?” She checked her wrist, but the watch she always wore was missing. “No… Can’t tell when...” Frantically looking around for a watch, Kaname quickly realized people who came to the beach didn’t usually make a habit of bringing electronic devices near the water. “Which means the closest clock might be in someone’s car.” As soon as she whipped around to spot the parking lot, a small brunette-haired child wearing a pink, frilly swimsuit ran across her path, kicking up sand while dashing towards the water. The little girl was too busy giggling to even apologize for nearly stepping on Kaname’s foot. Despite that, the momentary distraction allowed Kaname to notice a lifeguard tower a few yards behind her. Maybe it had a clock. She ran for it, avoiding a couple Frisbee-throwers and castle-builders along the way. When she reached the tower’s ramp, she immediately demanded, “Quick, give me the time!”

The bald, red trunks-wearing man leered at her. “Is that how you ask a question?” “Hurry!” Before the lifeguard could fully get out of his seat, they heard a scream from the water. Kaname looked back. Somehow, the waves had managed to carry a child near the edges of the safe zone. The little girl was either too scared or not strong enough to swim back to shore. “But it’s not him,” she whispered to herself as the lifeguard ran past. While trying to remember if she’d met a little girl recently, Kaname ran after the guy. They both dove into the chilly waters and swam as fast as they could. The waves pushed against them the further they swam, but soon the girl’s cries overcame the lapping waves. “I gotcha, kid,” the lifeguard said as he swam next to the girl and kept her afloat. “Are you hurt?” “No,” she whined before Kaname drifted next to them. “Hurry,” Kaname said. “Let’s get her out of the water.” “Dang, you two are fast.” Kaname’s heart beat twice. She turned around and saw him… that boy from the hospital. He drifted up to them. “I was in the water before either of you,” he continued, “and you still beat me out here. That’s incredible.” “Oh, God.” Kaname panicked. “Get out of the water!” She urged both the lifeguard and the boy to start swimming. Puzzled, the boy let the lifeguard and the child pass before scanning the deeper waters for some threat. All appeared calm. Frowning, he began swimming back to shore. On his second stroke, something clamped on his left leg and snatched him under the surface of the water. Spiking pains ripped through his leg as water forced its way down his throat and into his lungs. He struggled desperately to break free while fighting for another breath. He was dragged deeper, away from the light an instant before sharp rows of teeth snapped shut around his head. Wailing and soaked with tears, Kaname sprang up. She swung violently, but her hands only cut through the air. She opened her eyes, expecting to be surrounded by water. The blurry room was dark and quiet. After wiping away tears, she flung back the sheets and examined her left leg. Besides feeling incredibly sore, it was fine. No wounds nor scars. Moments later, a nurse rushed into the room and flipped on the lights. “Are you okay?” Still trembling and unable to think straight, Kaname couldn’t respond. She stared vacantly at her leg. How could she have cursed that boy to such a horrible death?

The morning air was cooler than he expected. Rondrio zipped up his lightweight, scarlet jacket and pulled its hood over his head while waiting for the bus to arrive. He had been silently practicing his apology to Reneé all morning. If he could get that done on the bus before reaching the school, maybe he could get his head clear. Somewhere between her and the strange Asian chick from yesterday, he had lost all focus on this new school year. He wondered how that girl was doing anyway. As the yellow bus pulled up to the corner, he and two other high schoolers he had been waiting near grabbed their backpacks. The bus stopped. Its door slid open with a squeak. Rondrio’s foot touched the first step, and the world turned white. His eyes darted around. The bus and students had amazingly vanished along with everything else. “Where…?” “The fire seeks you…” The voice that echoed all around was the softest, sweetest whisper that had ever reached his ears. Before he could ask what it meant, he’d blinked and found himself staring blankly at the bus driver. “You gettin’ on or not?” the driver impatiently asked. After taking a moment to blink again and ensure the world wouldn’t pull a second vanishing act, Rondrio nodded and stepped past him. He didn’t have to scan the seats in search of Reneé as she was already gesturing for him to sit by her with a wide grin on her face. Curious as to why she was in such a good mood, he cautiously strolled to her seat and waited until she shifted to the window. As soon as he lowered his backpack from his shoulder and sat down, Reneé quickly yanked his hood off and kissed the bruise on his forehead. “I’m sorry for tickin’ you off, but don’t ever snap at me again, okay?” Rondrio frowned. What just happened? “It started off like an apology, but now I’m… not sure what that was.” The bus driver shifted gears and began to pull off. She smirked. “It was a Reneé special. That’s all you need to know.” She nodded towards the front of the bus. “Why did you pause before gettin’ on? Scared of me?” “Whatever.” But what was that voice he’d clearly heard? He couldn’t make sense of what happened even if he wanted to believe his eyes had suffered temporary blindness. He had been squinting more lately… maybe that “white-out” was a side-effect? Rondrio rubbed his eyes and blinked them clear. “By the way, did you have any classes with an Asian-looking girl this week?” Reneé frowned. “I don’t think I’ve seen an Asian girl anywhere at school.” Now that he thought about it, that girl didn’t have a single book on her. Maybe she wasn’t a student after all. But then why was she on campus? The clock maybe? Could she have caused it to malfunction somehow? “Wonder where she was then,” he accidentally muttered loud enough for Reneé to hear. “Where was who?” He shook his head. “Nevermind.” In any case, he hoped that girl was feeling better and not around any clocks that could brain her again.

The rest of Rondrio's morning progressed fairly normally. He and Reneé had arrived at the school and went to homeroom. He was surprised she hadn’t met her friends in the cafeteria and ate what passed for a wholesome breakfast. Apparently, several other students had chosen to skip morning food as well. Nearly a dozen classmates sat scattered about the room and desperately pieced together homework answers for whatever early classes they had. Rondrio smirked while setting his backpack on the floor next to his desk and settling into his seat near the back of the room. Reneé sat near a window three rows away, his eyes following her every step but his thoughts on the Asian girl again. He wished he could have gotten her name at least. That weird girl really puzzled him. Maybe it was better he didn’t get her name. “Hey, Ron.” Rondrio broke free from his thought and looked up. The slender, light-brown skinned teen approaching him wore a confused expression. “What up, Pat?” Patrick Willis shook his head. “Dude, we were lookin’ for you yesterday. We’re headin’ to the beach tomorrow, and a couple of the girls wanted to know if you were comin’.” “Eh… the beach ain’t really my thing.” However, the thought of seeing Lashay or Reneé in a bathing suit did make him quickly reconsider. “Wait… Who asked?” “Uh, Khesha and… Martina, I think.” Rondrio accidentally shuddered as the image of Khesha in a bikini flashed through his head. Even if he could ignore her… unappealing, round-ish figure and her heavy lisp that tended to hurl projectile spit in five directions at once, he could not ignore her annoying habit of always trying to gain his attention in very loud, very public ways. “I’ll think about it.” “A’ight. Lemme know before tonight.” Rondrio nodded and pointed at the door. His homeroom teacher, Ms. Shield, had just walked in… which meant that was Pat’s cue to beat it before she got bent out of shape. Rondrio almost wanted to see Ms. Shield get steamed this early, but his eyes widened upon realizing who followed the teacher into the room. “You!” he accidentally blurted out. The Asian girl immediately spotted him and marched directly to his desk. “There you are. This is the third classroom I’ve been in.” Rondrio narrowed his eyes. Was this the same smart-aleck from last night? She looked almost relieved to see him. He wasn’t buying it. “What do you want now?” “I need you to stay away from beaches until I say so.” Quick, blunt, and annoying again. This time, she’d gained the attention of everyone in the room, including Pat who had stopped to see if he would get an answer prematurely. Rondrio frowned deeply. He leaned aside so Pat could clearly see him around the girl and answered, “Count me in.” “Gotcha,” Pat responded while quickly heading for the door.

The girl whipped her head around to Pat and then back to him. “In what? What did you just do?” Rondrio folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. “I’m going to the beach tomorrow.” It took all the control he had to not laugh at the dumbfounded look that popped up on her face. “What did I just say? You can’t go to the beach!” Rondrio sprang up from his desk. “You ain’t the boss of me! And don’t you ever tell me what I can’t do!” “Excuse me! Married couple in the back!” Ms. Shield hadn’t moved from behind her desk, but the scowl across her face made Rondrio glad she hadn’t. “The only one who shouts in this room is me! And miss, you don’t belong here! So I suggest you leave before I make you leave!” The girl stared into his eyes a few seconds longer. Rondrio sensed something beyond her frustrations, but he couldn’t comprehend it before she turned and stormed out of the room. He didn’t even give her a chance! The idiot blatantly—purposely—ignored what she said! Kaname huffed. She had to calm down before confronting him again. No matter what, she had to talk him out of that trip by tonight. That didn’t give her much time to convince him, but maybe if she could hang around campus until lunch… She stopped when her eyes locked on the door to the principal’s office. Maybe there was a safer way to buy time. She yanked the door open just as a tall, balding man had reached for the opposite knob. He gazed at her as if he was trying to recall her face. “Sorry,” she hurried, “but are you the principal?” The man adjusted his gray, plaid vest and peered down at her through bronze, horn-rimmed glasses. “Principal Lockwood. And you are?” There were really people named Lockwood? She blinked and then blurted out, “I want to enroll here.” His face growing concerned, the man looked up and down the hall. “I don’t see your parents. Are they outside?” The question knocked her off guard. Of course he would ask that. She should’ve gotten over it now, but every time someone mentioned her parents she would choke up and lose focus. Kaname quickly shook her head. “I’m alone.” She could see his mind trying to work through the confusion and concern. Lying had become easy over the years, especially when she knew someone’s life was at stake. The hard part was telling a convincing lie people had less of a problem believing. She needed to come up with a better one and quick. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Kaname Watanabe,” she answered while he ushered her into the office. Did he really believe her? To their left, a woman wearing narrow glasses and her black hair wrapped up in a small bun sat at a cluttered desk, typing furiously on the computer without giving either of them the slightest attention. Principal Lockwood—the name wasn’t growing on her—led her to his main office which was beyond the secretary’s desk and to their right. The room was only big enough to comfortably house the principal’s wood desk and chair, a pair of cushioned seats facing them, and three identical, gray file cabinets along the wall to the right of the entrance. After he invited her to take a seat, Lockwood went through the routine she pretty much expected… asking about her parents’ contact information and when would be the best time to get in touch with them. She thought it nice to tell him they were a constantly busy couple instead of saying she had no parents. The closest thing she had to a guardian was a grandmother in California whom she’d only heard about. However, none of that mattered seeing as how she only wanted to buy time until classes changed. If she could catch that idiot in the hall, then maybe she could convince him… somehow. The real problem was getting him to listen. As frustrated as she was with him, he had to be more so with her. So how could she get him to believe her? The bell rang. Kaname hopped up from the seat. “Hold it,” Principal Lockwood warned. “Since you are alone, I can’t allow you to wander around the school. You’ll have to be escorted off campus.” What? No. This may be my last chance to stop it. She sank back into the seat. “I understand, sir. But before you have me escorted, can I ask a favor?” Rondrio twirled a pencil while half-listening to his algebra teacher explain real and imaginary numbers at the chalkboard. A lot of things felt imaginary lately. That stupid girl had the nerve to forbid him! He couldn’t help but get irritated when someone other than his parents tried to tell him what to do. This was worse, seeing as how he didn’t even know the girl’s name. Then there was Reneé’s kiss. Sure, it was just a peck on the forehead and he was probably making a big deal out of nothing, but he couldn’t stop replaying the moment in his mind. Idiot. I bet Reneé hasn’t thought about it at all. Silently sighing, his eyes drifted toward a nearby window. Getting worked up over these girls didn’t make sense. He was smarter than that. He just needed distracting classwork to calm down. That was it. The sooner he got his mind off people, the better. He turned his attention to the unanswered equations on the chalkboard as the pencil slipped from his fingers. It bounced off his open textbook before he caught it, but had the pencil not dropped, the folded piece of paper on his book probably would have gone unnoticed. He quickly frowned at Lashay Martin, a chestnut skinned girl sitting to his right. She stared back with an almost worried look. As quietly as he could, Rondrio unfolded the paper and made sure the broad-shouldered jock in front of him was the perfect shield from the teacher’s eyes. After getting it opened, the note within read, “You okay? You look mad.” Rondrio shook his head. He quickly scratched a response when Mr. Davidson interjected, “Taking notes, Mr. McMillan?” Rondrio’s eyes shot up. Out of reflex, his eyes darted across the room before realizing Mr. Davidson hadn’t moved from the chalkboard. “Detailed,” Rondrio responded while only glancing at the simple equations.

Mr. Davidson nodded. “Make sure you’re not giving them.” When Rondrio nodded in response, Mr. Davidson returned his attention to the chalkboard. Rondrio glanced over at Lashay who was suddenly very interested in her algebra book. He smirked. He’d only known her for a few days, but she didn’t seem the type to be heavily interested in equations with letters. She was cute though, which made him wonder if he’d made a mistake ignoring Reneé’s offer. Hmph… as if that mattered now. He scribbled a one-word response and started folding the paper when the bell rang. Students immediately shoved books and folders into their backpacks. Rondrio dropped the note into Lashay’s open pack as she was preoccupied with slipping papers into her folder. She would find it eventually, but at the moment, he chose to stay focused on the freshman beach tradition. Quickly clearing his desk, he zipped his backpack and hurried toward the door. He only had five minutes to get to English class at the opposite end of the hall, but maybe if he checked the snack machines in the main lobby first… It’s worth a shot anyway. I really don’t wanna wait ’til last period to ask Reneé if she’s goin’ to the beach. Heading up the hall toward the lobby, Rondrio searched the growing crowd of students carefully. Why couldn’t he remember what she was wearing? Near the principal’s office, the hallway branched to the left, leading directly into the lobby. He followed a small group of students heading in that direction when someone yanked hard on his right arm. Thrown off balance, his backpack slipped from his shoulder and nearly made him fall. Fortunately, he steadied himself before that could happen, but he was instantly curious to who wanted his attention so badly. A scowl immediately covered his face. “Oh, what the heck! You a stalker or somethin’?!” “What are you doing?” Principal Lockwood asked while taking hold of that same dang Asian girl who somehow managed to stick around school through first period. “I’m serious,” she said. “You can’t go to the beach.” How had she not been kicked off campus yet? Rondrio jerked his arm, but the girl wouldn’t let go. “Get your hands off me!” “Only if you—” “Shut up! I’m going!” By the time Rondrio realized he had been slapped square in the face, his own fingers had curled into tightly clenched fists and the principal stood between them. Through simultaneous chants of “ooh,” several students surrounding them stopped to provoke the thoughts screaming in his head. Punching her in the jaw felt like the only way to respond… but her face. Her eyes. Even though she looked mad and ready to slap him again, she was doing everything she could to keep tears from escaping her eyes. What was this chick’s malfunction?