Hey there, people! Another chapter UP! Ahem. Anyhow, the beginning of this
chapter is REALLY important, and even though it doesn't really make sense
right away, everything will come together eventually. I hope. And thanks
for the reviews!
Chapter 8- Commotion
The boxes had been stacked up in small blocks, all of which were threatening to topple over at any second, much to Cy and his workmate's dismay. All of the hired workers had hurried off several hours ago, before the team who had employed them could catch them doing such a poor job. But what was done was done, and Cy didn't have any more time to waste- the order for these canisters were high and important, and the monster demanding them was anything but lenient.
He stood amongst the rest of his fellow workmates, all of which had been hired by the same hostile Boss. What their Boss actually planned to do with the canisters, no-one really knew, except for Cy, that is. The Boss had confided in him, and him only, in exchange for undeniable support and commitment for the company and cause that he was dedicating his life to.
As the line of workmates, one of them Cyrus, another Mr Stefani, and several others, gawped up at the stacks upon stacks of boxes before them, they all sighed in unison, looked around themselves as though they were mentally asking each other the question 'what now?' and departed without a word, too tired to bother to engage in conversation. Cy, however, stayed where he was, still staring up at the boxes of canisters. Another figure stood beside him.
"Don't worry, Cy," a feminine voice spoke. "The Boss'll be happy. I'm sure of it." He faced her.
"Well, he should be. We've all worked hard for him recently, especially you and your brother." He put an arm around her, motioning his hand in an arc slowly. "And the boss'll reward us...with a brand new world..." She shrugged his arm off of her shoulders and began to walk to the hall's double doors.
"Get off, Cy." Cy jogged up to her, desperation rapidly flashing across his face.
"Whoa whoa whoa, where ya going, toots?" She ignored him, pushing him aside to get to the door. As she grasped the handle, he grabbed her roughly from behind, pulling her away from the exit, and managed to lift her small frame off of the floor, her feet dangling. She was unexpectedly strong though, and used her tail to give him a sharp slap on the face. He immediately dropped her, astounded at her actions, and rubbed his cheek tenderly.
"I don't want any more of this, Cy. I don't think of you like that, and I never will." She narrowed her heavily-bagged eyes. "Live with it." Cyrus sighed dramatically, pretending to pity his companion.
"Tut, tut, tut. Don't you understand? I ALWAYS get my way, no matter what I have to do in turn." Shaking his head slowly, he closed his eyes and faced the ground. Then, in one swift movement, his hand rose, seized the girl by the neck, and pushed her towards a wall, banging her head against it. She groaned in pain quietly, tugging at Cy's hand to try and make him release his grip. He smiled, and then chuckled maliciously.
"Always." Leaning close to her face, he lifted up his pair of sunglasses with a spare hand, and, after some consideration, let her go. She sunk to the ground, coughing and breathing deeply. Cy knelt down beside her, still smiling.
"On the other side of that wall are students, all of them rushing to classes, lectures, all working hard. One of 'em's Randall. Randall- the only one in the whole of this building that actually has the ability to stop the plan. But, luckily for us, he doesn't have the motive. Yet." Cy leaned even closer to the girl, and, as a reaction, she moved her face away from his, trying not to make any eye contact. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, grinning shrewdly. Flinching and trying to shuffle away from Cy, the girl struggled to get up, but the raven-coloured lizard-monster pushed her back down on the floor. He kissed her once more, his rank breath passing over the girl.
"The thing is, knowing my brother, he'll find a motive which is, nine times out of ten, me. If he finds out more than he should know, I can guarantee you that the plan'll be over in a matter of hours." A tear trickled down the girl's face. "So, I want you to keep him...preoccupied, shall we say. Give Randall the one thing that he has lived most of his life wanting- someone who loves him." The girl's eyes seemed to be amplified, her breath quickening.
"But that's wrong-"
"I don't give a damn what's right and wrong. Just do whatever you can to stop him from getting involved. And, while you're at it, make it convincing. Believable. We don't want any of those friends of yours figuring things out, now, do we?" He tapped a claw on the side of the girl's head. "Just use that lump of grey mush that's in there, and everything'll be alright." His jokey tone turned more sinister, more fearsome. "But if I hear that you're being more serious with Randall, I'll kill him AND you with my own claws." He raised his tail gradually, brandishing the three spikes that were at its tip, arranged like the fronds on his head. "I don't want you forgetting that you're my girl. And mine only."
Slipping his sunglasses back down to their usual position, Cy got up and leisurely strode out of one of the back doors of the hall. A shaft of light momentarily shone into the disused hall, and then disappeared.
The girl lay in a small heap for several minutes before rising to her feet and walking out of the hall herself. She shut the door firmly behind her, leaving nothing but silence. But that silence didn't last for very long. A rumbling echoed in the depths of the hall, followed by a loud CRASH! The canisters rolled out of their boxes as containers came tumbling down, and many students who had been near the South House Sports Hall at that moment in time looked about themselves, wondering what was causing all the racket.
Soon after, the dust settled. No-one suspected that the commotion might have come from the Sports Hall which was currently being "renovated." But, rumours spread, some coherent, others mindless babble. But if they had all known what was REALLY behind all of this, then their thoughts would have changed about the highly-respectable, top-class Crynferse University that they were currently attending. And they would have changed quickly.
****************
Randall and Jay walked along the busy corridor heading towards the South House Form Room that they had been assigned to upon arrival, students brushing by them, all in a hurry. A large arch raised above them, behind it a door. They shoved it open, but nobody else noticed them as they shared a large sofa at the back of the warmly-lit room. Before sitting down though, Randall went over to the opposite side of the room which had rows after rows of bookshelves, all laden with dusty, cob-web covered books. Randall scanned the shelves, and, seeing a certain book that caught his eye due to familiarity, took what he had wanted (A Collection of Edgar Allan Poe) and plopped down next to Jay, who had also collected a piece of reading material- the Crynferse Newspaper.
"So, Ran," he began, sounding quite absent-minded as he delved into the news. "What happened with the nurse? Ya didn't get a chance to tell me during sports."
"Nothing much."
"So, was she nice?" Jay asked, looking up from his newspaper.
"Who?" Randall also looked up from what he was reading.
"The nurse, you dummy!"
"Oh. She was fine. Seemed nice enough, y'know." He looked back down.
"You sure you're okay, Ran? I mean, you missed two whole lessons ya lucky sod, but you don't seem to be talking much or anything."
"Do I ever talk much?"
"Well, no, but-"
"There ya go then," Randall said smugly. The creaky door of the Form Room opened again, and another student entered, heading directly for the Boy's Bedrooms, but Jay called him down.
"Hey there, Xen! Ya wanna take a seat?" Xenon shook his head, but felt that he should be polite, and managed a weak, half-hearted smile to keep Jay happy.
"Thanks anyway."
"Hey, no problem! See ya in the morning!" He nodded shyly, and left the room without a sound. Instead of carrying on reading, Jay turned towards Randall, facing him, ready to start up another conversation.
"What is it with that Xenon guy? What's wrong with him?" Randall had previously made a note in his minds to ignore Jay when he was talking about something for the sake of it, but this comment made Randall cease reading and give Jay a cold look.
"Just coz he's a bit shy and doesn't want to talk all the time doesn't mean that there's something wrong with him."
"But he's got that weird look in his eyes," Jay continued to protest. "That sorta blank look. He gives me the creeps, even though I don't really want him to. Don't get me wrong; I-I wanna be friends with him, I mean, the more friends the better, right? It's just...oh, I dunno. I can't really explain it."
"I guess I know what you mean."
"Maybe we should just avoid him." Randall leaned forward in the sofa, putting the book down on a small side-table after carefully folding the corner of the page that he was on down.
"I don't think so. No, if ya ask me that would be kinda cruel. It isn't his fault that he's like this."
"How do you know?"
"I don't really. I just can't imagine someone being like that 24/7, every day of their life, that's all. Something's happened. It's just a matter of finding out what." Randall's tone sounded as though it was the final note of this conversation, and, as he picked the book up once again, Jay resumed his reading of the newspaper. But, unexpectedly, Randall continued a little longer, much to Jay's pleasure- he was enjoying this little talk; for once, he and Randall were having a proper, two-way conversation.
"But maybe we should keep our noses out of this one. I know what it's like to have people trying to find out stuff about you, stuff that you don't want them to know, stuff that's...well, secret. And it can be VERY annoying." Randall's eyes seemed downcast, and Jay was about to ask him what the matter was when he realized that Randall had returned to his book.
"You don't mean me, do you?" Jay asked diffidently, which was quite unlike himself. Randall smiled lightly.
"No. Different people, different situation...different time. But that's in the past...and hopefully not in the future." No-one else was in the room apart from them by this time; most had left to explore the university, some had just retired to bed. Randall liked that feeling- of there being no-one else in the room other than Jay, a friend. It was sort of like being alone, but without the emptiness that was included if being by yourself had not been your choice, sort of like being semi-alone.
He sat back comfortably in the soft suede chair, relaxing and rewinding after a tough first day. Luck had had it that Randall had missed the one lesson in which any homework had been given, and he felt pretty pleased about that, even though it had only been a small task. He took a steep breath, and then blew it out, his happiness levels at a definite high. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't been this happy for a while, at least since the last time he had seen Marie...
The silence was snapped in half as a group of girls entered the room, squealing and tittering between themselves. Randall didn't bother to look up- he knew who it was. Yet, something in the depths of his mind screamed and wailed at him, trying so hard to convince him to check if she was there. Randall glanced up quickly, but even though it was just a quick peek, the girls had noticed. But at least she wasn't there. Jay, in the hope of distracting Randall and proving to the girls that neither of them cared about their presence, started to talk to his friend.
"Did you hear about that big commotion near the Sports Hall? Supposedly, according to the Professors, that is, there was something wrong with the back-up valve for the electricity. But, boy-oh-boy was everyone in our class scared! Especially since our next lesson had been sports and-"
"Don't you EVER shut up?" a girl demanded in a highly fake American accent.
"Yeah, like blah blah blah! Bo-ring." Randall stood up, surprising the girls a little bit and making them wander what he was going to do, and went around them, across the room, putting the book carefully back on the shelf. He began to make his way to his room, too tired to bother to have a scuffle right now. But the girls refused to let him go without making sure that they had made their mark.
"Do you know what I think is REALLY disgusting?" Randall put a hand on the doorknob, turning back for a second to see Jay getting up. The girl carried on.
"That they even LET monsters like you here. It's a sure sign that this Uni is going waaay down-hill. My daddy once said to me that your lot are scum, and that you're murderers. He said that you're not to be trusted because you stab people in the back, literally." Randall paused, and breathed in deeply, telling himself to calm down. Sensing how tense Randall was, Jay went over to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. The girl that had been talking- the short stocky one with an INCREDIBLY bad taste when it came to dresses- strode over to Randall, a sneer playing over her lip- sticked lips.
"And I believe him. You're hurting our friend, and I'm not going to let you carry on. If you say anything mean to her," She poked a finger at Randall's chest. "Then you'll have me to answer to." Jay snorted.
"Oooh, we're sooo scared, huh Ran?" Randall narrowed his eyes at Jay, making him take his hand off Randall's shoulder, and then turned towards the girl. She grinned at him, her long locks of hair swaying slightly. Randall folded his arms, the insults bouncing off of his confident stance.
"Oh, I wouldn't go around saying things like that if I were you. Uh uh. Coz you wouldn't be very popular any more, and I know how much your reputation means to you; after all, it's all you've got."
"Just leave Zephyr alone, and we'll get along just fine. Actually, we wouldn't- I wouldn't like to be seen fraternising with a scaly." Randall was lost for a second.
"Zephyr?"
"Don't play dumb; you know what we're talking about."
"I don't play dumb. And I can guess you don't either- you're probably like this naturally."
"You're just a worthless pile of slimy scales. But if you hurt our friend again, I'll make you a lot less than that. IF that's possible."
"Hey, sure, I'll do whatever you say, especially since I have NO IDEA what you're talkin' about. But, yep, sure, your wish is my command. Who am I to question such a stuck-up little tart like you anyways?"
"I'll tell you who you are. You are the base of society, right at the bottom. You're our doormat." She turned away, clambering out of the room and shuffling up the stairs leading to the girl's bedrooms, her pose following after her, all complementing her success. Once they were out of earshot, Jay turned to speak to Randall.
"Hey, Ran...Ran? Randall?" But Jay was too late- his friend had already gone.
******************
"Hey, here you are!" exclaimed Jay, spotting Randall just getting into bed. "We're not very popular with that lot, are we?" Randall didn't bother to answer; he just slid into bed, wrapping the covers around his scaly body, suddenly feeling weirdly ashamed of himself, as though he was embarrassed that he was...well, him.
"But that's the way life goes, right?" Randall turned over, staring at the blank wall in front of him.
"Yep," he replied weakly, not managing to hide the sadness in his voice.
"But Randall?" Jay continued, climbing up the rickety ladder and landing with a soft thump in his own bed. "I know this might seem a stupid question, but why is everyone like that? How are you so different to everyone else? I mean, when I first saw you, I didn't suddenly go "oh, look, Randall's a scaly, oh my gosh!" like everyone else seems to be doing. I don't get it." There was no reply. Jay figured that Randall must have fallen asleep- it had been a tiring day, after all- so he relaxed, not saying another word, and gradually falling to sleep himself. But Jay had been wrong- Randall wasn't asleep, anything but. He had tried to, of course, but there were too many things on his mind for him to be able to rest easy that night.
The thing is, Randall didn't really 'get it' either. But he had learned to live with it; growing up with it, and having had to deal with it for pretty much all of his life, he had gotten used to it, ignoring the patronising comments that he had received from day to day, blocking it all out, even though what he had really been doing was bottling it all in, holding and containing it within himself. Until now. And that, he just didn't understand. Why did he suddenly have to be so affected by the...discrimination (he shuddered even thinking about that word, but there was nothing else to call it) right now, of all times, especially since this was meant to be a fresh new start, the beginning of an era?
"Maybe not, then," he thought sullenly, getting himself into a little bit of a state. "Maybe this is how the rest of my life's gonna be." Randall was feeling a bit depressed by this point, but that wasn't going to help him get some much needed sleep, was it? He made his mind shift to other, more pressing, matters.
Zephyr? A weird name. But, then again, she HAD seemed a bit of a freak.
"No, no don't use that word," Randall scolded himself mentally. "She's just a bit different. Like me, I guess. But there's gotta be a reason for what she's said to me. What do those girls mean by 'hurt' anyways? She wasn't hurt the last time I saw her. But now, all those girls think that I'm the one being horrible to HER....boy, they've got THAT wrong...Zephyr?" Randall snorted. "What kind of a name's THAT? A friggin' stupid one, that's..."
As Randall finally fell asleep, his demons awoke, on time as usual, and began doing their job- tormenting.
Chapter 8- Commotion
The boxes had been stacked up in small blocks, all of which were threatening to topple over at any second, much to Cy and his workmate's dismay. All of the hired workers had hurried off several hours ago, before the team who had employed them could catch them doing such a poor job. But what was done was done, and Cy didn't have any more time to waste- the order for these canisters were high and important, and the monster demanding them was anything but lenient.
He stood amongst the rest of his fellow workmates, all of which had been hired by the same hostile Boss. What their Boss actually planned to do with the canisters, no-one really knew, except for Cy, that is. The Boss had confided in him, and him only, in exchange for undeniable support and commitment for the company and cause that he was dedicating his life to.
As the line of workmates, one of them Cyrus, another Mr Stefani, and several others, gawped up at the stacks upon stacks of boxes before them, they all sighed in unison, looked around themselves as though they were mentally asking each other the question 'what now?' and departed without a word, too tired to bother to engage in conversation. Cy, however, stayed where he was, still staring up at the boxes of canisters. Another figure stood beside him.
"Don't worry, Cy," a feminine voice spoke. "The Boss'll be happy. I'm sure of it." He faced her.
"Well, he should be. We've all worked hard for him recently, especially you and your brother." He put an arm around her, motioning his hand in an arc slowly. "And the boss'll reward us...with a brand new world..." She shrugged his arm off of her shoulders and began to walk to the hall's double doors.
"Get off, Cy." Cy jogged up to her, desperation rapidly flashing across his face.
"Whoa whoa whoa, where ya going, toots?" She ignored him, pushing him aside to get to the door. As she grasped the handle, he grabbed her roughly from behind, pulling her away from the exit, and managed to lift her small frame off of the floor, her feet dangling. She was unexpectedly strong though, and used her tail to give him a sharp slap on the face. He immediately dropped her, astounded at her actions, and rubbed his cheek tenderly.
"I don't want any more of this, Cy. I don't think of you like that, and I never will." She narrowed her heavily-bagged eyes. "Live with it." Cyrus sighed dramatically, pretending to pity his companion.
"Tut, tut, tut. Don't you understand? I ALWAYS get my way, no matter what I have to do in turn." Shaking his head slowly, he closed his eyes and faced the ground. Then, in one swift movement, his hand rose, seized the girl by the neck, and pushed her towards a wall, banging her head against it. She groaned in pain quietly, tugging at Cy's hand to try and make him release his grip. He smiled, and then chuckled maliciously.
"Always." Leaning close to her face, he lifted up his pair of sunglasses with a spare hand, and, after some consideration, let her go. She sunk to the ground, coughing and breathing deeply. Cy knelt down beside her, still smiling.
"On the other side of that wall are students, all of them rushing to classes, lectures, all working hard. One of 'em's Randall. Randall- the only one in the whole of this building that actually has the ability to stop the plan. But, luckily for us, he doesn't have the motive. Yet." Cy leaned even closer to the girl, and, as a reaction, she moved her face away from his, trying not to make any eye contact. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, grinning shrewdly. Flinching and trying to shuffle away from Cy, the girl struggled to get up, but the raven-coloured lizard-monster pushed her back down on the floor. He kissed her once more, his rank breath passing over the girl.
"The thing is, knowing my brother, he'll find a motive which is, nine times out of ten, me. If he finds out more than he should know, I can guarantee you that the plan'll be over in a matter of hours." A tear trickled down the girl's face. "So, I want you to keep him...preoccupied, shall we say. Give Randall the one thing that he has lived most of his life wanting- someone who loves him." The girl's eyes seemed to be amplified, her breath quickening.
"But that's wrong-"
"I don't give a damn what's right and wrong. Just do whatever you can to stop him from getting involved. And, while you're at it, make it convincing. Believable. We don't want any of those friends of yours figuring things out, now, do we?" He tapped a claw on the side of the girl's head. "Just use that lump of grey mush that's in there, and everything'll be alright." His jokey tone turned more sinister, more fearsome. "But if I hear that you're being more serious with Randall, I'll kill him AND you with my own claws." He raised his tail gradually, brandishing the three spikes that were at its tip, arranged like the fronds on his head. "I don't want you forgetting that you're my girl. And mine only."
Slipping his sunglasses back down to their usual position, Cy got up and leisurely strode out of one of the back doors of the hall. A shaft of light momentarily shone into the disused hall, and then disappeared.
The girl lay in a small heap for several minutes before rising to her feet and walking out of the hall herself. She shut the door firmly behind her, leaving nothing but silence. But that silence didn't last for very long. A rumbling echoed in the depths of the hall, followed by a loud CRASH! The canisters rolled out of their boxes as containers came tumbling down, and many students who had been near the South House Sports Hall at that moment in time looked about themselves, wondering what was causing all the racket.
Soon after, the dust settled. No-one suspected that the commotion might have come from the Sports Hall which was currently being "renovated." But, rumours spread, some coherent, others mindless babble. But if they had all known what was REALLY behind all of this, then their thoughts would have changed about the highly-respectable, top-class Crynferse University that they were currently attending. And they would have changed quickly.
****************
Randall and Jay walked along the busy corridor heading towards the South House Form Room that they had been assigned to upon arrival, students brushing by them, all in a hurry. A large arch raised above them, behind it a door. They shoved it open, but nobody else noticed them as they shared a large sofa at the back of the warmly-lit room. Before sitting down though, Randall went over to the opposite side of the room which had rows after rows of bookshelves, all laden with dusty, cob-web covered books. Randall scanned the shelves, and, seeing a certain book that caught his eye due to familiarity, took what he had wanted (A Collection of Edgar Allan Poe) and plopped down next to Jay, who had also collected a piece of reading material- the Crynferse Newspaper.
"So, Ran," he began, sounding quite absent-minded as he delved into the news. "What happened with the nurse? Ya didn't get a chance to tell me during sports."
"Nothing much."
"So, was she nice?" Jay asked, looking up from his newspaper.
"Who?" Randall also looked up from what he was reading.
"The nurse, you dummy!"
"Oh. She was fine. Seemed nice enough, y'know." He looked back down.
"You sure you're okay, Ran? I mean, you missed two whole lessons ya lucky sod, but you don't seem to be talking much or anything."
"Do I ever talk much?"
"Well, no, but-"
"There ya go then," Randall said smugly. The creaky door of the Form Room opened again, and another student entered, heading directly for the Boy's Bedrooms, but Jay called him down.
"Hey there, Xen! Ya wanna take a seat?" Xenon shook his head, but felt that he should be polite, and managed a weak, half-hearted smile to keep Jay happy.
"Thanks anyway."
"Hey, no problem! See ya in the morning!" He nodded shyly, and left the room without a sound. Instead of carrying on reading, Jay turned towards Randall, facing him, ready to start up another conversation.
"What is it with that Xenon guy? What's wrong with him?" Randall had previously made a note in his minds to ignore Jay when he was talking about something for the sake of it, but this comment made Randall cease reading and give Jay a cold look.
"Just coz he's a bit shy and doesn't want to talk all the time doesn't mean that there's something wrong with him."
"But he's got that weird look in his eyes," Jay continued to protest. "That sorta blank look. He gives me the creeps, even though I don't really want him to. Don't get me wrong; I-I wanna be friends with him, I mean, the more friends the better, right? It's just...oh, I dunno. I can't really explain it."
"I guess I know what you mean."
"Maybe we should just avoid him." Randall leaned forward in the sofa, putting the book down on a small side-table after carefully folding the corner of the page that he was on down.
"I don't think so. No, if ya ask me that would be kinda cruel. It isn't his fault that he's like this."
"How do you know?"
"I don't really. I just can't imagine someone being like that 24/7, every day of their life, that's all. Something's happened. It's just a matter of finding out what." Randall's tone sounded as though it was the final note of this conversation, and, as he picked the book up once again, Jay resumed his reading of the newspaper. But, unexpectedly, Randall continued a little longer, much to Jay's pleasure- he was enjoying this little talk; for once, he and Randall were having a proper, two-way conversation.
"But maybe we should keep our noses out of this one. I know what it's like to have people trying to find out stuff about you, stuff that you don't want them to know, stuff that's...well, secret. And it can be VERY annoying." Randall's eyes seemed downcast, and Jay was about to ask him what the matter was when he realized that Randall had returned to his book.
"You don't mean me, do you?" Jay asked diffidently, which was quite unlike himself. Randall smiled lightly.
"No. Different people, different situation...different time. But that's in the past...and hopefully not in the future." No-one else was in the room apart from them by this time; most had left to explore the university, some had just retired to bed. Randall liked that feeling- of there being no-one else in the room other than Jay, a friend. It was sort of like being alone, but without the emptiness that was included if being by yourself had not been your choice, sort of like being semi-alone.
He sat back comfortably in the soft suede chair, relaxing and rewinding after a tough first day. Luck had had it that Randall had missed the one lesson in which any homework had been given, and he felt pretty pleased about that, even though it had only been a small task. He took a steep breath, and then blew it out, his happiness levels at a definite high. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't been this happy for a while, at least since the last time he had seen Marie...
The silence was snapped in half as a group of girls entered the room, squealing and tittering between themselves. Randall didn't bother to look up- he knew who it was. Yet, something in the depths of his mind screamed and wailed at him, trying so hard to convince him to check if she was there. Randall glanced up quickly, but even though it was just a quick peek, the girls had noticed. But at least she wasn't there. Jay, in the hope of distracting Randall and proving to the girls that neither of them cared about their presence, started to talk to his friend.
"Did you hear about that big commotion near the Sports Hall? Supposedly, according to the Professors, that is, there was something wrong with the back-up valve for the electricity. But, boy-oh-boy was everyone in our class scared! Especially since our next lesson had been sports and-"
"Don't you EVER shut up?" a girl demanded in a highly fake American accent.
"Yeah, like blah blah blah! Bo-ring." Randall stood up, surprising the girls a little bit and making them wander what he was going to do, and went around them, across the room, putting the book carefully back on the shelf. He began to make his way to his room, too tired to bother to have a scuffle right now. But the girls refused to let him go without making sure that they had made their mark.
"Do you know what I think is REALLY disgusting?" Randall put a hand on the doorknob, turning back for a second to see Jay getting up. The girl carried on.
"That they even LET monsters like you here. It's a sure sign that this Uni is going waaay down-hill. My daddy once said to me that your lot are scum, and that you're murderers. He said that you're not to be trusted because you stab people in the back, literally." Randall paused, and breathed in deeply, telling himself to calm down. Sensing how tense Randall was, Jay went over to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. The girl that had been talking- the short stocky one with an INCREDIBLY bad taste when it came to dresses- strode over to Randall, a sneer playing over her lip- sticked lips.
"And I believe him. You're hurting our friend, and I'm not going to let you carry on. If you say anything mean to her," She poked a finger at Randall's chest. "Then you'll have me to answer to." Jay snorted.
"Oooh, we're sooo scared, huh Ran?" Randall narrowed his eyes at Jay, making him take his hand off Randall's shoulder, and then turned towards the girl. She grinned at him, her long locks of hair swaying slightly. Randall folded his arms, the insults bouncing off of his confident stance.
"Oh, I wouldn't go around saying things like that if I were you. Uh uh. Coz you wouldn't be very popular any more, and I know how much your reputation means to you; after all, it's all you've got."
"Just leave Zephyr alone, and we'll get along just fine. Actually, we wouldn't- I wouldn't like to be seen fraternising with a scaly." Randall was lost for a second.
"Zephyr?"
"Don't play dumb; you know what we're talking about."
"I don't play dumb. And I can guess you don't either- you're probably like this naturally."
"You're just a worthless pile of slimy scales. But if you hurt our friend again, I'll make you a lot less than that. IF that's possible."
"Hey, sure, I'll do whatever you say, especially since I have NO IDEA what you're talkin' about. But, yep, sure, your wish is my command. Who am I to question such a stuck-up little tart like you anyways?"
"I'll tell you who you are. You are the base of society, right at the bottom. You're our doormat." She turned away, clambering out of the room and shuffling up the stairs leading to the girl's bedrooms, her pose following after her, all complementing her success. Once they were out of earshot, Jay turned to speak to Randall.
"Hey, Ran...Ran? Randall?" But Jay was too late- his friend had already gone.
******************
"Hey, here you are!" exclaimed Jay, spotting Randall just getting into bed. "We're not very popular with that lot, are we?" Randall didn't bother to answer; he just slid into bed, wrapping the covers around his scaly body, suddenly feeling weirdly ashamed of himself, as though he was embarrassed that he was...well, him.
"But that's the way life goes, right?" Randall turned over, staring at the blank wall in front of him.
"Yep," he replied weakly, not managing to hide the sadness in his voice.
"But Randall?" Jay continued, climbing up the rickety ladder and landing with a soft thump in his own bed. "I know this might seem a stupid question, but why is everyone like that? How are you so different to everyone else? I mean, when I first saw you, I didn't suddenly go "oh, look, Randall's a scaly, oh my gosh!" like everyone else seems to be doing. I don't get it." There was no reply. Jay figured that Randall must have fallen asleep- it had been a tiring day, after all- so he relaxed, not saying another word, and gradually falling to sleep himself. But Jay had been wrong- Randall wasn't asleep, anything but. He had tried to, of course, but there were too many things on his mind for him to be able to rest easy that night.
The thing is, Randall didn't really 'get it' either. But he had learned to live with it; growing up with it, and having had to deal with it for pretty much all of his life, he had gotten used to it, ignoring the patronising comments that he had received from day to day, blocking it all out, even though what he had really been doing was bottling it all in, holding and containing it within himself. Until now. And that, he just didn't understand. Why did he suddenly have to be so affected by the...discrimination (he shuddered even thinking about that word, but there was nothing else to call it) right now, of all times, especially since this was meant to be a fresh new start, the beginning of an era?
"Maybe not, then," he thought sullenly, getting himself into a little bit of a state. "Maybe this is how the rest of my life's gonna be." Randall was feeling a bit depressed by this point, but that wasn't going to help him get some much needed sleep, was it? He made his mind shift to other, more pressing, matters.
Zephyr? A weird name. But, then again, she HAD seemed a bit of a freak.
"No, no don't use that word," Randall scolded himself mentally. "She's just a bit different. Like me, I guess. But there's gotta be a reason for what she's said to me. What do those girls mean by 'hurt' anyways? She wasn't hurt the last time I saw her. But now, all those girls think that I'm the one being horrible to HER....boy, they've got THAT wrong...Zephyr?" Randall snorted. "What kind of a name's THAT? A friggin' stupid one, that's..."
As Randall finally fell asleep, his demons awoke, on time as usual, and began doing their job- tormenting.