The note slowly fluttered onto his desk- delicately, like the butterflies Mai used to be so obsessed with, that she would lay outside in their tiny yard and wait until she saw one, and then she'd talk to them in a smooth, gentle voice: "Hello, butterfly- how are you today?" "Hello, Mr. Butterfly- or are you Mrs. Butterfly? Er, butterfly- do you ever get tired from flying so much?" "Hello, butterfly- don't you love being free to fly. My, I'd love that so much..."
Either that, or that poerty analysis class was really getting to him.
Small fingers trembling, he slowly unfolded the note- it wasn't like he was expecting there to be a bomb in there or something, but he couldn't help that habit of doing everything that way- slowly, carefully. Even the simplest things. People noticed it, too.
"Is there something wrong with him? A nervous disorder? Sir, are you sure- someone his age shouldn't be that way... do you have any ideas? Sir?"
Sprawled across a torn paper- the back of an assignment, probably- he saw it. He squinted and read it again. He vlosed his eyes and took a deep breath, then read it again.
Library. Tomorrow night. I know why you're here- dead stepmother, scared her off with some light display and she fell down two flights of steps and died. Show up.
-C
The minute he realized that, yes, the note was real, he stared. Simply stared.
Even Mai, his sister, didn't know what had happened that night. He didn't even rememember all of it himself- another fight, huddling in a closet because he was too afraid to go out, shouting, something breaking, light, the door breaking- people screaming, a muffled thud, curling up to protect himself as a man over him yelled and screamed and wept of all things-
And then he and his sister being shipped out instantly.
Right then and there, Thuan Vong, who knew he wasn't breave, who never tried to fool anyone into thinking that, who apparently killed his stepmother, who was small enough to pass as a nine year old when he was four years older than that, knew that he had to do what had been said.
Because how could anyone know, if he didn't himself?