He walked into class just as tired and frazzled as usual. The only notable thing was the jacket he was wearing, then again it had gotten a little colder over the past few days. And while the boy had always acted as though the mere touch of a jacket would damn him to hell and only ever wore them when he would almost literally freeze otherwise, there was no reason to assume he hadn't just finally come to his senses when it came to the weather.

Yes, Danny was quite the puzzling student. He was practically failing, but when he was in class long enough to complete his assignments, he always got high grades. Send him home to do it and he got a C if he was lucky. Honestly, the in-class work he actually managed to finish was the only reason he hadn't dropped below his C average. Lancer watched to boy dash in and out of class on a daily basis, leaving only to return in worse shape than he'd left. Even with the dozens of detentions he managed to rack up, he was still constantly leaving. After a while, Lancer just stopped asking for a reason, realizing that the boy was going to make a run for it regardless of what he said. He simply resigned to having a detention form at his desk for Danny when ever he decided to show back up.

Lancer wasn't quite sure why he let the boy off so easily. Perhaps he'd just come to realize that whatever Danny was doing, he couldn't stop him if he tried.

Actually, he had tried once only to back down when Danny's shoulders squared and a look the teacher couldn't quite identify flashed in his eyes. Perhaps it was the green that the lights had caused to his eyes to turn for a second, but Lancer found himself backing away from the door and letting the boy pass.

As he saw what had to be the most confusing student in his teaching career walk in a little more jittery than usual, though, Lancer made it a goal to figure out what was wrong with the kid. And he'd be damned if he didn't find out.

I think I've had the start of this short story in my notebook for ages now...

I'm sick, bored out of my mind, and it's the anniversary of Danny... New personal challenge: Finish this story by the end of the day. This will be five chapters long and it'll be updated throughout the day as I finish each chapter. :)

Comments and feedback are as welcome as always! :D

Invisible One