When ones steps into a new place, there's a silent thrill that races within your body. However, all that thrill is also wrapped up in the anxieties that teenagers usually encounter. These were the thoughts that clouded John's mind to the extent that it almost made him visibly dizzy. His father cleared his throat and made a notion for him to leave the truck.
However, leaving the truck meant more than simply the action of leaving the truck. His hands traced the linings of the leather seat he sat in. His father was never one for words. He was a quiet strong man. It inspired John to be a better person in such a dark world. When his mother suddenly passed, a different side of his father surfaced. During these last two years, it pained John to wake up during the night. To John the darkness was no longer a fear of his. It was only a source of sorrow as he stares up at his ceiling, hopelessly waiting to hear his mother's breathing from the adjacent room.
He never does hear it, he only catches the barely audible whimpers of his father. Those are the only times he ever saw his father break down. He wonders whether one day he will find someone who is such an important in their life that can break him as a person so deeply.
Now he sits in the seat where she always sat.
He turns towards his father and asks quietly, "When will I visit you?" Silence then came. The soft blue glow of his father's eyes stared back. Then he feels the embrace of his father, causing a small pain in his shoulder due to the position of the arm rests.
His father muffled through his cardigan, "It's a risky job son. I'll try and visit in the summer while you stay with Harriet at her flat."
John only looks down after the embrace and grabs his backpack. He breathes in the air of the truck one more time as he climbs out and shuts the door. The looks at the window just at the right time to catch his father's lips saying "I love you."
He stares as the last view of the truck fades into his memory. Then a splash of reality hits him almost as hard as the tall fellow who suddenly bumps into him. His face forms a face of disgust as he walks away with his head held high. John catches the words, "Fucking twat.", as he collects himself. He simply sighs "damn boarding school" as he follows the crowd of students.
Walking through the doors of "St. Barts Boarding School" was a leap into the unknown. As he walked inside he noticed the floor was spotless. The whole entire school was grand. Quality at its finest. A football rolled to a stop at his feet. He kicked it up and caught it up with his hands. He smiled to himself for the little trick.
A loud yell came from behind him. "Oi. Could you do that again? Those were skills!"
John looked back to the source of the yell to see three students looking at him. One of them was the rude bloke that bumped into him not to long ago. The one in the front of the trio had a dazzling smile gave off a feeling of kindness. The bloke walked up to him and repeated his statement, smiling and edging him on.
John only turned a shade of pink in embarrassment. He dropped the ball again and performed the trick again, managing to balance it on his head. The boy placed a hand on his head and pushed his hair back while letting out a whistle, "We need someone like you on our football team. That was talent. What's your name eh?"
John laughed, "If there's a spot open, I'll see if I can manage it with my time. My name is John. Watson, John Watson."
At this the boy howled in laughter, "You sound like the headmaster! Why so formal John?" He stopped for a second and began to mock John, "Why mister, my birthname is Gregory Lestrade. Ruler of the schools football team."
From behind Gregory a sneer came from behind, and John knew where it had come from.
"Don't talk to that bastard Greg. He's the fuck who ran into me in the morning."
Greg frowned for a bit and then turned around to answer the boy. "Shut up Anderson . John here is going to get our team places!"
Anderson simply scoffed and walked away holding the girl who accompanied him by the waist.
"Don't bother with Anderson and Sally. Bit of narcissists if you ask me. I was looking through papers in the office. Now that I know your name, I see that you're the new kid here!"
John meekly smiled and let out a long "yeah..."
Greg put his arms around his shoulder and with his other arm pointed in all directions. "I know every bit of this school. Including the people here eh ? You can ask me anything about this place anytime."
John had one question on his mind. He felt that his first impression wouldn't go far with this question. But it was an emergency.
"The loo? Where is that?"
Greg laughed once again. "I like you John. You're pretty straightforward. It's down the hall to the left. Hey, if you feel alone at lunch just come sit with my friends and I. I'm sure they'll adjust to you."
John smiled politely and yelled out to Greg as he headed towards the loo, "I'll see if I can Greg!"
A friend on the first day. A popular one at that. That's fantastic.
He pushed open the door to see an unkempt bunch of dark curls on the sink.
Oh. The curls belonged to a body. A body whose face was extremely close to the sink. John was about to shake him up when the boy stood up. John and the boy locked eyes for a bit. During that bit he saw that the bloke had some white powder on his nose. John's gaze averted to where the blokes head was. There he was the remains of a line of cocaine.
John realized the bloke was still staring down at him. Staring down since he was so tall. Tall and dressed quite nicely. Looked like he was loaded with cash. Not breaking the gaze the lad collected the remaining drugs and placed them in the pocket of his trenchcoat.
John decided to break the silence and decided to talk about the elephant in the room.
"..You've gotten coke on your scarf."
The lad tilted his head a bit and brushed the stray white powder off of his crimson scarf.
"Thank you John. I'll be seeing you soon. This is a habit. Along with my playing of the violin in the dead of night. I'll see that you get accustomed to it."
He then adjusted his scarf and walked right out of the loo.
John was dumbstruck. How did he know his name? Is he friends with Greg or something? What does he mean get used to his habits? He's probably never going to lay eyes on him again.
This was enough to make John walk right out of the loo and go straight to his first class.
Chemistry. How exciting.