Tala woke up to a ringing sound. Rubbing his eyes drowsily, he took in his surroundings. White walls, benches, blackboard and finally a furious Ms. Kim.
Wait what... MS. KIM!
"AAaaHHH" he nearly jumped out of his skin. Laughter erupted across the room. His History teacher stared daggers at him and shouted at the top of her voice, " students Mr. Ivanov has set a new record! A whole period has passed and he has finally woken! Let's have a loud round of applause for our sleeping beauty!"
The children didn't waste a second hesitating.
As for Tala, he was wondering why Kim Gibney taught history instead of theatre. Miss Kim was so engrossed in lecturing him that she didn't even notice the next teacher entering. Obviously, she gave him detention before leaving. Now you can sleep peacefully, thought Tala.
It wasn't that he was a bad student. In fact, Tala was pretty sure that if he put his heart and soul into it, he could excel in history just like he did in English, arts, and science. But somehow the idea of learning about somebody's story when you couldn't grasp a part of yours sounded ridiculous to him. That thought was depressing, he further wondered what was the point of all these years of education if that happened again… No, he assured himself, dad would never let it happen again.
When the bell rang, the class dispersed for lunch. Tala felt like a ghost floating around alone. He made his way to the bench where his other 'friends' were laughing and talking about the latest movie and other stuff he didn't give a hank about. Occasionally they would include him in the chatter and he wound put up the act of truly enjoying himself, but he was mindful of the fact that if this bench were smaller, then he should be the one to leave. He was always the third wheel; the expendable one.
School dragged by and was finally over at 4. His earlier gloom had somewhat disappeared. Today he had another session with Henry. It was funny how he had to make an appointment to meet his foster father. But as he always said, "business was business", moreover he would need all the lab equipment for this session. He didn't feel neglected. The formal conversations he had had with Henry were the closest thing he had ever known to care. Starving people eat anything, the quote popped up in his mind, but he let it slide. Henry was a good provider. That was all that mattered. He had to be more grateful.
Hiwatari slithered freely on the NYC pathways. There were people all around him, people who walked merrily thinking about dinner, ignorant of certain death that lurked amidst them. He didn't try concealing his face, it would still take a while till Ray returned for his next watch and spotted the bleeding corpse in his empty cell. Escaping had been easier than he had anticipated. Those authoritative fools had underestimated him. He had figured the way out within the first year of his confinement, but then there had been no need for escaping. Food and water were served and there was peace. But now he had a mission. A purpose.
A lot had changed within 7 years. He couldn't identify most of the buildings, so by pure intuition he walked towards the subways. He was surprised at how hungry he felt. not for food, but for answers. Since hearing the man's story Kai had been driven purely by revenge. But deep down, beneath all those twisted lies and barriers, had bloomed a new feeling. Hope. Hope that somewhere he was still alive. Kai had never been a believer, but knew that if there were any truth in karma, there was no reason for that fiend to be alive and his friend dead.
His legs had carried him to the station just in time to see the metro doors open. People poured out of it. He moved to the side and was engaged watching and observing a passerby when a sudden flash of red caught his eye.
Thump!
"Ouch! Sorry sir"
Kai didn't dare breathe. Standing before him was a young boy no older than 16. His hair was flaming red and even amidst so many bystanders, something about him stood out. Was it his pale skin, unfazed gaze or the serene spirit that he carried himself with that made him a cut above? It was anybody's guess. But what had caused Hiwatari to stop dead in his tracks were those eyes. Icy blue crystals which he could recognize even on his deathbed. Eyes that had once been his only solace… As the crowd moved, the person of his admiration was pushed out of view. But one word was etched into Kai's mind...
TALA.