"Emil?" the teacher's voice cut through the thick, heavy silence in the classroom. "Emil? Mr. Andersson?"
Emil's mind was now back in the classes activities, previously, only moments ago, his mind was wondering in the thick fog of his homeland, with lush grass that grew long and wild in acres and acres of uninhabited land.
"What? I mean, Excuse me sir?" He said quietly, trying to make his accent less noticeable.
"I said I hope you have a good year here at the Academy." Mr. Kirkland smiled.
Emil forced a smile back, too shy to reply to anything but a nearly silent "Thank you."
The class finished in what felt like hours, and Emil hurried out. He felt nervous. The school had too many people, and was much too crowded. It wasn't like his old school; they had well under a thousand. But now it was most likely double, maybe triple the size. The butterflies in his stomach refused to settle, much to his disappointment.
He gripped the handle of his brown school bag. Where was that stupid-
"Hej." He heard a voice call behind him. He swung around. "How's your first day, kiddo?"
Mathias, leaning on the door of his red Ferrari, waved at Emil with too much enthusiasm. Emil didn't know if he was mad or glad to see the Dane. Sure, he was loud, annoying and had an ego the size of a large blimp, but he had uses. He could drive Emil home from school if he got off work early enough. And well, quite frankly, that was about it.
"Dan. It was barely a day. I was only here for the second half of it." Emil said as he threw himself inside the car and onto a showy leather seat.
"Aw. That's so cute. Ice's first day! Your big Bro is so proud!" Mathias chimed, enjoying the fact that Emil was blushed red with embarrassment.
Emil looked out the students going across the pedestrian crossing. It made him feel quiet uneasy, seeing no familiar faces. He was all alone here.
He let his mind wonder again, not to the same place as in class, but to his old house in Denmark. It was quiet and out of the way, placed just on the outskirts of Copenhagen. It had one story, with enough bedrooms to house at least six, and was made of wood and brick.
He had become attached to the house in some way, living there since he was eight.
The news about the move to the States came abruptly, catching Emil off guard. His oldest 'Brother', Berwald had got a job in America and planned on moving in a month's time.
He was a doctor, and brilliant at what he did. A number of American Hospitals were desperate to employ the Swede, but he only chose one place, mainly for the fact it had many other jobs available in the area for the other people in the family and had an Academy nearby.
"How was the school? Like, the classes and stuff?" Mathias yelled over the roaring stereo. At some time in the ride Mathias had put on a pair of dark sunglasses (That he probably thought made him look sexy but In Emil's opinion he looked foolish).
"Big, I guess." Emil shrugged. He looked at Mathias. "Why wasn't Brother there? He was going to talk to the teachers or something?"
"He wanted you to go first before he set foot in the place. To see what it's like."
"What?" Emil shouted in surprise, "He sent me here without him so I could be… A test dummy?"
"Pretty much!" Mathias laughed, patting Emil with one hand and still managing to steer with the other.
They drove smoothly up their new driveway.
The house, to Emil, was a haven in comparison to his old one. It was made entirely of dark wood, double storied, and surrounded with giant oaks and wild bush.
When he first arrived, he fully expected to see a house that he would despise. He enjoyed the new house. But he couldn't tell Lukas that.
Mathias swung the door open and ran inside. "My lovely!" he bellowed, "Where are you, my sweet?"
He ran up to where Lukas was crouching beside the oven and gave him a forced embrace.
"Did you miss me?" He gleamed with joy even when Lukas pried himself from Mathias' grasp.
"You," Lukas said in a plain monotone, "Are an idiot."
He turned to His younger brother and stared for a moment. He didn't smile, nor did he frown. He just had the same emotionless expression that he always had painted on his face.
Lukas pushed the Dane further away from his personal space and said "Emil, you're home. I'm glad."
You don't look glad. Emil thought.
"Is the Academy as big as the pictures I saw on the website?"
"Yeah, but I felt real stupid being there. My accent sounds weird." Emil said, switching back to Danish.
"English, please." Lukas corrected his way of speech, "You won't get better if you keep speaking Danish."
"Lukas is right! Speak more English, Ice." As if on cue, Tino came pacing down the stair carrying a phone in his hand.
Tino was a short Finnish boy, only eighteen, but graduated even before Mathias and Berwald. He was currently studying at a nearby university (about something like law that Emil didn't really understand) about a ten minutes drive from the Academy.
"Oh Ice! You look so cute in your new uniform!" Tino walked over, straightening the white ribbon tied limply around his blouse collar.
Emil, no matter what clothes he was wearing, would appear scruffy. His uniform looked slept in, you'd expect he'd never used a comb, and his blouse was infested with cringles from only one day of school.
"It needs a little ironing," Said Lukas, running his hand down the front of his younger brother's blouse. "Or maybe a lot."
Emil did the typical teenage eye roll and took a tired leap onto the couch. He felt like he could sleep right there and then, he was so exhausted. It had been nearly two years since he had attended a real public school. It was so different to him, as if he had never been to a real school in the first place.
A blanket of light covered him with pleasing warmth.
For the first time since he stepped foot on a plane bound for The United States of America, he felt homesick. The House, his friends, Danish food, and the accents were thousands of miles away. What if he had refused to leave? If he had tied himself to a bedpost in protest or something, surely Lukas would have decided to let him stay. What if he could have made them stay and missed the chance?
He could feel the warmth of the sun through the window suddenly disappearing as something blocked the rays.
"You're not falling asleep there are you?" Lukas said, towering over his sibling like a skyscraper.
"'Course not." Emil scoffed turning away from his brother to gaze out into nothing.
"You should go up stairs to unpack. I want it at least half done by tomorrow." Lukas commanded.
"No." Emil replied simply.
"I'll sit on you." His brother warned.
Emil locked eyes with his brother. "You wouldn't dare."
Lukas cheekily raised his eye brow. "Would I?"
Mathias watched in amusement as the two had a stare-off until one of them cracked.
"Oh no," Tino whimpered, "They won't fight again, will they?"
"Nah, it's just brotherly love!" Mathias laughed, placing a heavy hand on the Finn's shoulder. "I think."
By the time they looked back Emil had risen from where he was laying and was on his way to the stairs.
"I'm going to unpack some boxes. Not because Lukas told me too. I feel like it." Emil stated.
"Sure." Mathias said before the youngest household member had departed from the room.
"Don't be a tease." Lukas said, casting a glare of 'hate' toward the taller man.
Mathias stretched out his arm and wrapped it around the Norwegian's waist, pulling him into his chest.
"Mathias. Don't touch me." Lukas sighed, thinking how he ended up in a relationship with such a great big oaf.
"Shh. Icy isn't here," He whispered into his ear, "No need to protect his innocence…"
Lukas struck a fist into his gut, knocking the breath out of the Dane. Mathias doubled over in a mix of coughs for breath and high pitched laughter.
"I told you." Lukas shook his finger in the air, turning around with a box of plates to unpack, "Don't do that now… Do that later."
Emil laid spread out on his bed, in a daze between slumber and consciousness. Boxes littered the room waiting to be opened and the contents to be put in their rightful places. An empty bookcase stood bare in the corner, soon to be filled with a large variety of novels, comics, and magazines.
The Icelander tossed and turned. His was mind full of loud thoughts that invaded the sweet silence of the bedroom.
Did his friends miss him at all? He didn't really miss any of them, except for-
'No. I mustn't think of that. I've left all of that behind.'He reassured himself.
He opened his eyes to stare aimlessly at the ceiling above him. He had a new ceiling, a new house, and a new country.
"It's a brand new beginning." Lukas had said. "A new start's good for everyone."
"A new beginning is good for everyone." he thought, shaking his head. …Maybe not for me.