It took Angeal a few days to summon the courage to ask his mother about military school. He had expected her to listen to his case, and then remind him of his duties here.
But none of that came. She listened quietly, then retrieved a letter from her dresser. Someone was also interested in sponsoring him, she said. She just had not known how to approach it.
He knew that she did not want him to go, but his mind was already set.
*.*
As it turned out, Lacey wasn't familiar with the script of Loveless. With a grin, she dared Genesis that she could memorize it before him. They purchased pocked sized editions of the play, bound in garish red leather.
Genesis practiced in his house.
Out loud.
Daily.
His parents could not wait for the year to be over.
*.*
The year came to a close too quickly for Genesis. On the train ride to the school, Angeal felt like he was sitting next to a storm cloud.
Genesis flipped through his little red book. "My parents suggested that I just break up with her. What kind of solution is that?"
Angeal did not bother to acknowledge him. It was just a repeat of the conversations over the past week, when Genesis started to sense the ache he was going to feel when separated from Lacey.
The train pulled into the city station. Outside, an older man stood with a sign marked Rhapsodos and Hewley. Facing away from the train was a tall thin student, with long, silver hair down the back.
"I was under the impression," Genesis said to Angeal as they got off the train, "that this was a boy's dormitory." At that moment, the student turned and leveled a stare at them. His face was lean, and certainly male.
"My name is Sephiroth," the boy said. "We'll be roomed in the same building."
"Whoa. My girlfriend would die for hair like that."
The older man looked back and forth at them, trying to decide if he should put them into the same car.
Sephiroth tipped his head and smiled slightly. "It's a curse."
Word Count: 356