"You will love it here, Alan," said his mother. "You'll see."

"I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends here at Kadic," said his father.

Trust them, said the Voice in Alan's head. I can assure you that you will have a great time.

I doubt it, thought Alan Kimyōna as he was shepherded through the gates to his new school. His parents had had to move to France to find jobs. They couldn't leave him at his old school in Japan because all his relatives had either moved away or passed on. But they were caring parents who didn't want their son to be shifted from school to school every time their jobs relocated them. Obviously, they thought the best option was to enroll him into a boarding school. Alan despised this decision because now he couldn't even see his parents every day, the last of the people he knew.

"I understand that you just moved here from Japan," said Mr. Delmas, the principal of the school. "We have another Japanese family attending Kadic Academy. If you think it would help your son feel at home, I can introduce their youngest student."

"That would be very helpful, thank you," said Mrs. Kimyōna.

A few minutes later, a young boy showed up from the lunchroom. The principal held him by the shoulder. "This is Hiroki Ishiyama. Hiroki this is Alan Kimyōna. He will be in your P.E. and art classes. I would like you to give him a tour of the school. Mr. and Mrs. Kimyōna, if you could follow me we will complete the enrollment paperwork."

Alan watched his parents follow the principal to his office, feeling as if his fat was being sealed for the worse. He then turned away to follow his tour guide.

"So Alan, How long have you been wearing an eye patch?"

"All my life, so about 11 years."

"Why?"

"Don't ask. Can I go to the dorms? I want to know where I'm sleeping tonight."

"Which room?" They were on their way across the campus.

"37A."

"You're dorming with Jeremy?" Hiroki looked shocked.

"Belpois? Yes."

Hiroki was confused. "He's in the 9th grade."

"So am I. I've skipped three grades."

They arrived at the building that would serve as Alan's home for the next nine months of torture. Hiroki left to finish the rest of his lunch while Alan went upstairs to find his new bedroom. Alone again, Alan thought, or as alone as I'm ever going to be. He came up to his room and knocked five times.

"Come in," said a familiar voice.

Alan opened the door to look into his parents' faces. There was a fold-out bed and a pile of his boxes squeezed in the corner of the room. Might as well put up a neon light that displayed the word 'INTRUSIVE'. Other than the things around the room, there was no sign of his roommate.

"Did you have fun touring the school?" asked his father.

"Not especially."

"We should be off. We can't be late to our first day at work. I hope you have a great time." His mother bent down and gave Alan a quick kiss on the forehead before walking out the door.

"Do well in class; be safe; have fun. And don't forget our little secret." His father tapped Alan's eye patch before handing him the keys to the dorm and following Alan's mother out the door. He was gone, leaving his only son with his Voice, an empty room, and a feeling of loneliness that deepened the depression of losing his old friends at his old school.

Don't worry, spoke the Voice, This is a great school. I should know. I taught here once.

Stirred out of his depression enough to be curious, he asked the room, "When?"

Up until about 11 years ago.

"Around the time I was born?"

Yes.

A question popped into his head that was so obvious, he wondered why he hadn't asked it before. "How did you get into my head, Mr. Hopper?"