I hurried down the hallway as the bell rang, signaling for the start of first period. As I entered my History class, I quickly took the seat next to the window since it was my favorite spot. It wasn't long when Ms. Halia entered the class, alarming the students with the loud noise of her heels against the tile floor. Her hair was worn in a bun and she wears square glasses.
She dropped her books on the table, rubbed her hands together, and sniffed the air as if she took out cookies from the oven and appreciate its aroma. "Who's ready for today?" She asked in her thin voice that did not match her meaty appearance, but she's nice though. She discusses the lesson well and she is always cheerful, she rarely gets mad.
The class answered with forced enthusiasm. It's hard to be energized when it's the last period before lunch. But she didn't mind our tone. She waved at someone from the door, causing us to glance at the direction. "Come here. Don't be shy," she said.
Drev appeared out of the door as he ran his fingers through his hair with his bowed as usual. He glanced around the room before walking right in the middle of the class, then he looked around. His eyes fell on mine, which seemed to give him the courage to introduce himself as what Ms. Halia requested for I might be the only one he recognized.
My jaw dropped. What is he doing here?
I didn't hear what he said. All I heard was Ms. Halia saying, "So, class, this is your new classmate." She motioned Drev to take a seat. "Please take a seat so we could start the class." She smiled at him.
As Drev walked up to the vacant seat at the back of the class, I couldn't help but hear the whispers of everyone about how amazing his eyes are. Some I heard gasped and murmured as Drev looked at them. I thought, "So I am the only one who thought his eyes are, uh, not okay?" But yeah, I am starting to get used of them now and maybe someday I could appreciate his eyes just like everyone does.
I glanced at his seat, he is looking back. He smiled and gave me a small wave, I didn't respond, I turned to Ms. Halia as I shook my head in disbelief. What is going on?
When Mr. Halia dismissed us, I hurriedly placed my things inside my bag, then I walked up to Drev who was just standing by the side of his seat with both straps of his bag hung on his shoulders as he waited for me to exit the class.
I spread my arm to him. "Give me your study load." I hid my irritation as he fished for the paper in his bag. I hate the fact that my parents are paying for his education. My eyes widened as I realized he shares all of his classes with me. I shoved the paper to his chest which he caught without a word, looking at me in confusion as if my irritation was as hard to read as the Glucan's code.
Well, I'm sure it was manipulated by my parents. These past few days, they were giving me hints:
"Grassi, don't you think we should send Drev to school?"
"Drev has to learn things."
"You need a permanent classmate."
Yes, why not send Drev to Kraksen level like Nuvian's school instead of Fredran?
I went out of the room, Drev tailing me behind like a kid brought to a zoo for the first time he wouldn't stop glancing around with his pale hands resting on the strap as its color contrasts the dark shade of his bag - Nuvian's old bag. Now, I'm given another duty of babysitting him in school. What next? Explain to him what locker is?
He kept up with my pace. "What is that thing?" He asked, pointing to a locker over his shoulder right behind him as he glanced back. Told you so. I'm glad his voice is whisper-like, I don't want people to know that I hang out with this ignorant guy.
I halted to a stop and turned to him, looking around to check if somebody was eavesdropping. I exhaled deep, rolling my eyes before answering. "We call it locker, it's where we put our things and it has a lock, obviously." I tried my best to stay calm. "Look, why are you here?"
"I--"
I didn't let him finished, I grabbed his cold wrist as I led him to the empty music room filled with different instruments. It was hard to talk in the hallway since he is an eye-catcher. Nobody passed by without looking at him. I don't know if it was his eyes, his hair, or everything.
The room astonished him, eyeing each instruments with admiration. It must be a great admiration for I could feel it despite of his unchanging expressionless face. He went to the guitar, studying it for a moment before helding a hand to it, glancing at me with his so-Drev smile. "A guitar, just like Nuvian's." He plucked the strings gently, it sang after his touch and he plucked it again. He turned to me and I cocked a brow at him. "Do you play this too, Grassi?"
I sighed. "No," I lied. I mean I could, but not good enough for me to say yes whenever someone asks me if I could play. But I don't really have a favored musical instrument, I once had piano lessons when I was 10 but I quit because I got tired and my hands were too small to reach for erratic keys. I grabbed him away from the guitar and made him sat on one of the orchestral chairs. "Don't touch anything!" I said when he was about to touch the cello. He is a curious kid, why does he don't act like his age?
He eyed me. "Are you mad?"
"Can't you tell?" I growled.
He shook his head, not saying a word. I slapped my forehead and groaned. "Okay, I'm not mad." Which of course I am but he is my parents' pet and it was probably my parents' choice too that he schools with me. And I respect my parents so much. "No, I'm not," I said again, but I wasn't telling him, I was telling myself, convincing at the same time that I shouldn't be mean to Drev since he looked soft and vulnerable. "Why are you here in my school?"
"You parents asked me if I want to learn and I nodded. So they sent me here. They said I will now go to school with you. I love it. They teach history, but it wasn't the correct one, but I think it's nice to learn mistakes too."
I laughed. "Learn mistakes?" This time he reached again for the cello, I didn't stop him. But as he caught glance of my rolling eyes, he rested his hands to his lap and looked down.
He nodded. "Sergeant Ford's last name is not Avustie. It's Agustine." I rolled my eyes at his joke. "I always see it in my dreams. He is talking to me, and his name's written on his uniform," he added.
Strange boy. "Agustine, like yours?" I mean I don't believe him of course. There's a portrait of Sergeant Ford in the town museum and his name was clearly embroidered on his uniform: Sergeant F. Avustie. "Dreams are daydreams of your brain."
Drev fell into silence. It was a moment before he replied, "Maybe". I scoffed because he could just agree with me yet he was being honest with his reply. Honest, really?
A sudden hit of curiosity got into me. "Tell me about you, everything about you. Stop hiding things, will you?" There was a tone in my voice, 'Stop your bullshits, tell me the truth, and I won't be a smarmy to you.'
He shook his head. "I-I can't remember. Only fragments of it." He held his hand to the place where the bandage was. "But it's not because of this, I'm sure of it. And my memories appear on my dreams or when I do things that have something to do with the past."
I stood up. "Okay." But I didn't agree with him, I just said it because he was always been like a toddler, and a way to shut up toddlers was to agree with them. The memories he claimed to have because of the things he saw in his dreams weren't real. He was 16, not hundreds of years old. I dreamt that I could fly, but look, there was just no way.
I sat with Drev during lunch together with my friends. Femke and Saleri would glance at me, as if asking where I got this good-looking boy from. I shrugged at them and hoped that Drev wouldn't say anything stupid. Thankfully, he ate in silence, but obviously uncomfortable because of the stares from the two girls and Femke's gay twin, Verie. Drev kept his head low, gazing straight to the food.
Verie cleared his throat. Although he was gay, he didn't wear or use girl things. But he wasn't muscular and his face was feminish which made him mostly mistaken as a girl with boy cut hair, except when he talked. His voice was way deeper than Dad's, it never matched his face. "You can have my fries," Verie offered when Drev finished his plate now smudged with gravy.
Drev stared at the plate for a moment before looking up at our faces. I heard Femke say under her breath "Oh la la" and whispered how hot he was before she insisted Drev to have Verie's lunch. "He always skips lunch, he'll be fine," she said, referring to Verie, in which Verie nodded in response.
Drev took the plate. "Thanks," he replied. When can I hear his real voice? He was always whispering. He attacked the burger and coughed, putting down the bitten bun back to the plate, a leaf of lettuce was hanging from his lips. "I don't like leaves," he said in between dry coughs. He dropped the hanging lettuce from his mouth to the table.
Everyone in the table laughed except me. I was still not amused of having him around. I know he seemed to be liked by everyone especially by the girls, even the juniors, but I didn't care about that. I needed to know him more. I was not convinced that he couldn't remember things. I couldn't be blamed with my obsession to know his story. He lives with us, it was my right to know.
"So," Saleri started, placing her cheek on her knuckle and throwing a flirtatious glance, something she was good at. "Tell us everything."
Drev played with the fork with his single hand, passing it on the spaces between his fingers until it reach his pinky and he would pass it again until to the thumb. "Like what?" he asked. The light that illuminated the cafeteria made his pale skin looked bleached. Saleri had the same coloring but she used spray tan, tons of it.
I was a bit surprised of the coldness on Drev's tone, clearly unaffected of Saleri's wheedling. And Saleri was someone who could get any guy wrapped around her finger so maybe it was a first for her to get "rejected". No, maybe Drev just really has an underdeveloped brain, not creating the hormones so Saleri's sex appeal didn't budge him.
Instead of replying to Drev, Saleri turned to me with a patient smirk. "Your landline not connected to other telephone?" Her accented broken english was found attractive by boys. I don't really know Saleri much, we just became friends six months ago when Verie introduced her from his history class and since then she hangs out with us.
I shook my head. "No, why?" The glances on Drev from other tables were making me uncomfortable that I barely touch my food, although my stomach was grumbling in respond of the delicious smell of different foods mixed up together.
Saleri let out a toothy grin. "I like give Drev call, talk in the telephone without someone's ears being nosy." She smiled at me and I returned a forced one. I considered her a friend but something with her personality that I didn't like, I'm just trying my best to get along with her because she's my friends' friend. "Great?"
I nodded. "Well, you can call him anytime you want as long as my parents are not using it, and don't worry, I doubt someone will be nosy," I assured her, making sure my tone of dislike wasn't obvious.
I took out my pen and wrote the number on neat napkin which she gladly took, placing it inside her chest. She claimed that she has a bra pocket but I thought the bra was the pocket itself. I didn't mind though and just glanced at Drev who seemed to be oblivious of what was happening, occupied of sticking out the lettuce to the corner of his plate and was being watched by the twins with amusement.
"I don't have that thing. Your parents only drove me here this morning," Drev said as he followed me right after class and realized it was time to go home as I sat on my bicycle.
I rolled my eyes, looking around and watched as everyone got into their own rides: cars, skateboards, bikes, and motor bikes. I bit my lip in irritation to control myself from shouting at him. Weirdly, I don't even know myself if I dislike him or not. "Get in the back." I motioned to the passenger seat behind me.
He just stared. "Where?" He frowned, adjusting the straps on his shoulders. He reminded me of those kids from their first level of school who keep clutching on both straps of their bag as if holding on for their life, praying they wouldn't end up as one of those kids who get bullied. Disturbing to see such habit of holding onto the straps when he has such pretty face, he could gain a big amount of confidence by just walking through the hallway with all the girls hoping Drev would approach them and talk, I could see it in their eyes. But somehow, the clutching fits him because of his innocence and ignorance.
I sighed for more patience. "Here." I reached behind to tap the seat, groaning in the process as I moved my body. I can't believe he doesn't know where the seat is. From what planet are you? "And this thing is called bicycle. And I named her Iris."
"Okay." He sat, and the bike adjusted to his weight. "I had a sword and I named him Iris, too. I don't why I had one, I just remember."
I rolled my eyes, almost mouthing 'whatever'. I checked the tires, it flattened a little but far from bursting so I positioned my feet to start pedaling on our way home.
"You know you're heavy, right?" I asked Drev in between gritted teeth as I bear his weight. His legs were positioned on one side, bridal style. He had to bend it in a certain angle so neither he touches the ground with his feet nor make me fall off to the side where his feet are because of the unbalanced weight. I didn't know why he chose such way of sitting when he could sit like riding a horse, easier and safer.
"What?" He replied. I glanced at him through the rearview mirror that Dad attached to Iris for safety, made my bike weird-looking but I have gotten used to it. He was smiling at the view of the wheat field stretched on both sides of the road, his dark foreign hair flapping in the breeze.
I didn't answer him. "Hold on tight," I said to prepare him to the coming slope, afraid he might fall off and my parents will get mad at me for not taking good care of their lucky charm. The road went to a slope, so I stayed my feet still on the pedals and idled. The speed increases, and I breathed in the air and let it ruin the hair I styled for Relis.
I caught glance of him from the rearview, he was looking back at me then he gave me a smile. The smile we normally do, not his shy smile. I rolled my eyes at him in response.
