Welcome back, Readers!

I hope you're enjoying the story so far! Big thanks to everyone who's followed and favorited and left a review on this story so far; you guys just made my day!

This chapter takes place after the 'Turf' episode, during the time that Demona's locked up in the Labyrinth before Thailog breaks her out in October [so, this is around the end of August 1996].

Anyway, here's the next chapter of the story, which focuses more on Elijah tackling the next phase of his move to New York: High School. I hope you enjoy it!

New School and A Familiar Face

[NOTE: Signed conversations will be in italics unless otherwise stated.]

"Now you try," Elijah told Brooklyn, sitting on the library rug across from the gargoyle, demonstrating the hand gesture once more.

The white-haired gargoyle hesitated a moment before opening his hands, palms facing himself, the middle fingers bent forward from the large knuckle. He placed the tips of the middle-finger claws on his chest and then flipped his hands so that the middle fingers were pointing upwards with the palms facing up. "What's up?"

Elijah grinned and nodded his approval; while gargoyles only had four fingers on each hand, there were still some signs that they were able to do, and he had taught Brooklyn several signs and basic grammar, and the winged creature had caught on pretty quickly. At first, Elijah was not too keen on teaching anyone to sign, especially a curious gargoyle with eight fingers, but over time, he grew to enjoy the small lessons they had whenever Brooklyn visited. Especially since the gargoyle was starting to be able to understand him whenever he signed.

"Good job," he signed back, earning a relieved grin from the crimson gargoyle. "You're really improving."

"Thanks," the gargoyle replied, pressing his flat right hand to his mouth before lowering it in the boy's direction; he also mouthed the words he was saying, so the deaf teen could understand what he was saying in case he got a sign wrong. He then looked over at the two veterans, who sat on the other side of the library in their usual chairs playing a card game, then back at him.

"Say something about them," the younger gargoyle mouthed silently, probably not sure of the right words to sign, or unable to physically sign them.

"Fine," Elijah replied, looking over at the two adults before turning back to his gargoyle protégé. "Who do you think's gonna win? Sign 'H' for Hudson and 'R' for my uncle."

"Hudson."

"Why?"

"He's older," Brooklyn signed slowly, making sure he got the hand movements right. "More experience."

"But he hasn't been playing cards for most of that time," the boy signed back. "My uncle's been playing for years! I think Jeffrey's gonna win, but maybe I'm biased."

"You are."

"Well so are you if you think Hudson's gonna win!"

"What did ye say," Hudson asked curiously, now noticing the duo's silent conversation.

"Just saying hi," the teen replied out loud, looking at the older gargoyle and his uncle with an innocent smile. "Again, I could teach you two a few signs if you'd like if you wanna know what we're saying."

"Maybe some other time, lad," the gargoyle replied as he and his opponent placed their cards on the table at the same time, grinning as he took both cards. "I doubt I could remember all of those hand gestures as well as Brooklyn can."

"And I'm blind," Uncle Jeffrey spoke up, cracking a small smile. "I'm not exactly a model candidate!"

"Ha ha. You keep telling yourself that, Helen Keller," Elijah replied sarcastically, turning back to Brooklyn and signing the word "Crazy."

It had now been a month-and-a-half since his heart-to-heart with his uncle, and the teen had now become used to Hudson and Brooklyn, who were the only gargoyles that came to visit his uncle and him. Hudson usually visited three or four times a week [depending if Celebrity Hockey or some other mind-numbing show was on back at his castle home], while Brooklyn usually visited once or twice a week. Besides these two gargoyles, the teen had not met any of the other Clan members, but the promise of meeting them was always a topic of conversation between the four of them.

Elijah, meanwhile, was doing much better than he used to be. He was surprised that reading a children's mystery book from the 70's could be what he had needed to cheer him up and help him get used to his new home and friends; by the time they finished The Westing Game, he felt like he ha been doing it for years. They had started a second Raskin book by now, reading a few chapters each night before the two teens worked on ASL while the veterans either talked or played some sort of game.

Whenever Hudson was the only gargoyle present, he would tell stories about life in Scotland in the 10th century, the boy listening with avid interest while his uncle took notes for his next novel. He also told him about their time in New York since waking up from the spell, talking about how they acclimated to life in a new century, as well as the constant adventures and fights the Clan seemed to find themselves in. It was like a fictional story his uncle would come up with, but it was all real, and Elijah loved every second of it.

Throughout the past month or so, he had grown to trust the two gargoyles and his uncle, and they were also returning that trust by being his first friends in New York. However, there was something tomorrow morning that they would be unable to help him with.

"Are ye ready fer school tomorrow, lad," Hudson asked, placing a card on the table as he tried to beat Jeffrey at War.

"Thanks for reminding me," Elijah grumbled, taking another sip of his iced tea. "Do gargoyles have to go to school?"

"We're taught by the Clan as a whole," Brooklyn explained. "Everything we learn, we learn from the collective group of gargoyles: hunting, gliding, history and fighting. Stuff like that"

"Really," the teen asked, amazed by this revelation. "That's interesting. What about your parents?"

"We aren't raised by our parents. Parents contribute eggs to the Clan, and everyone takes responsibility of them as a whole. All hatchlings born in a certain generation are rookery brothers and sisters, and the adults take responsibility for raising all of them; we don't really distinguish by blood, so we as a Clan are one family."

"So… you don't know who your parents are?" The two gargoyles looked at each other, waiting for the other to say something; Elijah could tell that he had probably hit a sore subject.

"We… It doesn't matter if we knew our biological parents or not," Hudson eventually said. "What matters is that all of our young are raised and loved, and is that not what is really important?"

"I… I guess so," the teen replied, deciding to drop the subject matter. His uncle, obviously sensing the discomfort in the current subject, quickly spoke up.

"Elijah, if you have school tomorrow, shouldn't you be in bed," he asked, feeling his watch. "It's nearly 10:30."

The deaf boy gave a small groan. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. You can't be making a bad impression on your new classmates and teachers by falling asleep in the middle of class."

"I know, I know," the teen replied, getting up and going to the door. "Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight," Jeffrey and the others chorused as the boy opened the door. Instead of leaving, however, he closed it behind him and crept back to the couch, holding a finger to his lips so the gargoyles would keep quiet. He quietly settled onto the couch, giving his uncle a wary look, then finally grinned triumphantly.

"You know I would have heard your footsteps in the hallway if you had actually left, Elijah," his uncle said in a slightly patronizing tone, not looking up from his game as he placed one a cards on the table [the cards had Braille dots in the corners so he could tell which cards were which]. The teen gaped at the blind man as Brooklyn started laughing.

"Nice try, dude," the young gargoyle snickered.

"It was a good effort, though," Hudson added, smirking as well.

"Do I need Gilly to escort you to you room," his uncle asked, chuckling a little as his seeing-eye dog lifted her head.

"I'm good," Elijah said quickly, going to the door. "Leaving for real this time." And he did, quickly saying good night to the two gargoyles [as well as signing, "Tell me who wins tomorrow night," to Brooklyn] before stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him.

He's good, he thought himself as he made his way towards his bedroom. Guess it's that whole thing where his other senses are heightened because he's blind.

As he reached his room, he was reminded of his upcoming classes tomorrow as he spotted his backpack by his desk. Of course, he had seen in movies and TV shows that portrayed what being the new kid was like, but he had two extra reasons to be nervous, and they were currently resting in his ears. For a moment, he considered going without his hearing aids tomorrow, but knew that he would not get far; high schools were crowded, and if someone asked him a question outside of his line of vision, then he would not be able to hear them. Plus, he knew that his teachers would probably know about his disability before hand and mention it to the class.

Already, he missed his old school back in Galveston. There, everyone already knew he was deaf, and they had all been in the same classes since Kindergarten. Heck, all of his friends besides June were normal, at least in the sense that they could hear and did not have any major disabilities. Here, he would not only be the new kid, but he would also be the subject of discussion due to his deafness, and a possible target for bullies. He took out his hearing aids, set his alarm for the morning, and got ready for bed.

Well, he thought to himself, there's no getting out of it; I just gotta keep my head down and try not to stand out too much.

[][][]

The next morning after a quick breakfast, Elijah pulled his bike out of the garage to make his way towards Weisman High School, which was about a ten minute ride down the road. As he left the back driveway, he noticed two extra gargoyles statues perched on the wall, each acting like they were attacking anyone who tried to intrude, though he noticed that Brooklyn's left hand appeared to be in a thumbs up.

"Very inconspicuous," the teen muttered, though he could not help but grin as he passed them, heading towards the town.

Once he was in town, he stopped across the street from the school, looking at the other students that milled around as they made their way into the school. The building was two story, made of a red brick that glowed in the sunlight, and looked like a regular high school. He self-consciously ran a finger over his right hearing aid, wishing that his hair were long enough to cover it.

"Here I go," he muttered, walking his bike across the street, parking and locking it at the bike rack before making his way inside.

Elijah was relieved when everyone did not immediately turn towards him, pointing out his hearing aids. The front hallway was crowded, and most students were facing away from him, lined up in front of some tables where other students were handing out schedules and maps to the school. Trying to move quickly so no one could get a good look at him, he walked over to the line with last names "Q-T." Looking around, he noticed most people were talking with their friends, and those that were not were keeping to themselves, just like he was doing. He couldn't tell if anyone had notice his hearing aids, but he looked around every once in a while as he slowly made his way to the front of the line.

"Last name," the girl behind the table asked, head bent down as she looked through a box of folders.

"Robbins, Elijah." She started to run her fingers through the folders in the box, searching for his name.

"And… here it is! Welcome to-" The girl's greeting cut off as she looked up at him, and Elijah could not help but gape at who it was.

Blockbuster girl had returned.

It had to be her; the same curly brown hair, the same shocked expression on her pale face, and the same green eyes as well. He had not seen her since their last meeting over a month ago, and he had forgotten all about her until now; he had been a little preoccupied with the gargoyles to care about a random Blockbuster worker. It made sense that she was here, since this was the only high school in the area, and she looked around his age as well.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, not sure of what to say, but the girl eventually looked away, blushing a little as she held out his schedule and map to him.

"Welcome to Weisman High," she muttered.

"Thanks," he replied quickly, taking the papers and walking around the table into the school before anyone else could notice. He eventually stopped by a clump of lockers before looking back at the row of tables. She was thankfully not looking back at him, and he hoped that no one else had noticed their brief recognition of one another. He did not know why, but he felt embarrassed at how he had treated her the last time he had seen her.

Just ignore her, he told himself, opening the folder with his class schedule, school rules, and a layout of the school. Just focus on getting through today; it's a big school, and it's not like you'll see her again.

[][][]

The day went well, at least in Elijah's opinion.

Naturally, people eventually noticed his hearing aids, but other than that, nothing bad really happened to him. No one called out his lack of hearing, or tried speaking loudly to him as if he could not hear him; a few teachers gave him second looks after calling his name during roll call, but they did not press him for details. Even in Gym, when he had to give the coach a note excusing him from any activities that could possibly damage or knock out his aids, no one gave him any trouble. Maybe he had overreacted a little bit when he assumed that anyone would try to mess with him, but at least the school day was over and nothing embarrassing or humiliating had happened to him. Plus, his classes were interesting, though he would miss taking a Texas History class.

Walking over to the bike rack, he bent down to unlock it when he felt a shadow fall over him. Fearing the worse, he turned around, jumping a little when he saw who it was.

"Uh… hi," the Blockbuster girl started, awkwardly standing nearby, her backpack slung over her shoulders. Elijah straightened up, not sure of what she wanted, but also feeling a little guilty for what he had done the last time he'd seen her.

"Hi," he said, trying to remember what her nametag had said. "Amanda, right?"

She nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah. I recognized you earlier and I… Look, about what happened earlier this summer and all of that-"

"It's fine," he said quickly, shifting his feet a little where he stood. "I… I was in the wrong, getting mad at you and all of that, no matter what you did."

"But it was totally my fault," she quickly replied. "I shouldn't have treated you that way, and I wanted to apologize the next time you came back to the store, but you never came back, and-"

"It's fine," he assured her again, just wanting to leave, though he felt somewhat relieved that she was not mad at him. "I just… let's just pretend it never happened. Okay?"

"F-Fine," she stammered, nodding her head so her hair shook around her. "You… You're Jeffrey Robbins' relative or something, right?"

He turned back to her, just wanting to leave in peace; he already had a bunch of reading for English, not to mention other homework from his other classes [apparently they jumped straight into schoolwork here in New York].

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "He's my uncle."

"I figured that, since I doubt he would suddenly have a child; he's lived by himself in that house as far as I could remember."

"Cool…" They lapsed into an awkward silence, and Elijah wondered if he should say something. "So… have you lived here your whole life?"

"Yeah." Amanda nodded. "Born and raised. But I take it you're not from around here, given your accent, and… the fact that I'd never seen you before this summer." She was kind of awkward, but she still seemed sincere, brushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Yeah. I'm from Texas."

"Really? Where in Texas?"

"Galveston Island."

"I've heard of that place; wasn't there a big hurricane there in 1900 or something?"

"Yeah… Pretty bad stuff."

"Cool. I mean, not cool, because so many people died and all that." Her face blushed and she shifted her feet as well before finally looking back up at him. "Well, it was nice meeting you, uh…"

"Elijah," he told her, holding out his hand for her to shake, then realizing how stupid it probably looked, but she was shaking it before he could take it back.

"Elijah," she repeated, giving him a small smile. "Nice to meet you, officially. Sorry again for earlier. See you around." And then she walked away after that, leaving him standing by his bike, wondering if he just had that conversation with her.

I know I wanted to apologize to her, he thought to himself, unlocking his bike chain and putting it in his backpack. But did it have to be so awkward? Did anyone else see it?

He looked around, and was relieved to see that no one appeared to have been looking in his direction. Continuing to look around the area, he noticed Amanda was already on the other side of the street, chatting with some of her friends, bubbly and full of life. It was obvious that whatever she wanted to say to him, she had said it, meaning that they would have nothing to do with one another in the future.

"And I'm fine with that," he told himself, climbing onto his bike and heading for home. "We're even now."

And that's it for this chapter! I know there wasn't a lot of action or gargoyles this time, but the next chapter's gonna be Elijah meeting the rest of the Manhattan Clan, so it should be interesting! Also, if you're asking if there's gonna be ANY action in future chapters, I guarantee that there will, but that it will build up, since the story's from Elijah's perspective, and because I don't want to rush this story.

I hope that having the whole signed conversations in italics isn't too confusing. I usually italicize a few spoken words for emphasis, so I'm trying to distinguish when Elijah and Brooklyn are signing and stuff.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well as the story so far! As always, please favorite and follow the story if you liked it and want to be updated on new chapters, and feel free to leave a review with your chapter/story comments as well.

Have a great and safe weekend, and see you next time!

-aggiefrogger

Note: I do NOT own Blockbuster, New York, or War in ANY way, shape or form!