"Shh...there, there, dearie, it's all right," the nurse said, rubbing Mihael's back. "Just let it out..."
"It's...it's not all right!" he sobbed. "M--my mommy just d--d--died! Now she and my daddy are both gone!"
"I know, hon," she said, holding the boy in her arms. "We'll find a place for you to stay, where you'll be taken care of..."
"B--but I don't want to go anywhere else!" Mihael cried. "I want my mommy and daddy back!"
The nurse sighed. "I know you do, Mihael, but that's not possible. I'm sure you know that. It's hard losing a parent...but both, and at your age...you shouldn't have to experience such a thing so young. You should have the chance to be a kid, and not have to grow up in circumstances like this..."
"M--my dad did say that I seemed...mature for my age..." Mihael said. "He and Mom always talked about how smart I am too...but I never started school or anything..."
The twenty-something year old woman smiled warmly at the child. There was a school nearby that she knew of--a lot of people did, actually--where she thought Mihael might fit in. It was an orphanage for exceptionally bright children. If only she knew exactly how smart Mihael was...
"Hey," she said suddenly. "Are you hungry? I can get you something from the vending machine down the hall, if you want..."
"Um...okay!" he said, smiling for the first time (it was a little smile, but a smile nonetheless) since he'd been inside the hospital. He actually didn't realize just how hungry he was until she'd said something (even though he hadn't eaten since he was back at his house), and the thought of food made his stomach growl. The nurse giggled and took Mihael by the hand and led him out of the room. When they made it to the vending machine, the small boy looked up at the vast array of snack items--okay, so there wasn't a whole lot to choose from. Three types of chewing gum, chocolate, and one bag of salt and vinegar chips.
"Well, darn," the woman said. "Looks like they need to stock up again...badly..."
"It's okay," Mihael said. "I see something I want."
"Um, are you sure? Because I can take you down to the cafeteria where there's a bigger selection if you--"
"C4, please!" he said with a grin.
"Um...well, okay," she said, putting the necessary change into the machine and punching in the code. The machine dispensed a chocolate bar, and Mihael reached his small hand into the slot to grab it.
"Thank you, miss!" he said, unwrapping the candy.
"No problem, honey," she replied with a nod, but felt a little uneasy about him only eating that. He had to be hungrier than that, and someone that small needed more than roughly 2 ounces of chocolate to sustain himself. But he seemed to really enjoy the treat, so she decided not to say anything.
"Well hello there, little boy. Where are your parents?"
"They're dead," the blonde boy replied simply.
The man at the desk looked at the child. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry...but if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"
"I was told to come here. They said something about me having to take a placement test..."
"Ah. I see," the man said. "What's your name?"
"Mihael Keehl."
"Okay, Mihael," he said, turning away from him and facing a file cabinet. He searched through some papers before grabbing something and closing the drawer. "Here you go." He handed Mihael a packet of about 3 pages stapled together. Mihael took the papers and headed down the hall towards the room pointed out by the man. He was supposed to take this placement test to see where he should go to school. When he made it to the testing room, he walked inside and noticed one other boy, with red hair and about his age, on the far side of the room. Mihael was rather shy around strangers, so he sat by the door and acted like he didn't see him.
Ten minutes into taking the test, Mihael laughed silently to himself. These questions were easy. Apparently they were supposed to be just above the typical grade level for his age, but he had no problems whatsoever answering them. The man who had walked in on him every now and then to check on him didn't even distract him at all. In fact, he was already over halfway through with the test. He finished the rest of the questions and checked his answers a few times before setting his pencil on his desk. For some reason, he felt compelled to glance over at the other boy; he was apparently finished as well, and was now playing with his Gameboy. It made him wonder if the man at the front desk had accidentally given both of them the wrong test.
Soon, the man walked in on the two boys again. He seemed surprised that they were on opposite sides of the room, however, and hadn't seemed to notice each other's presence.
"So, I see you're both finished with your tests," he said. Mihael looked up at him with an eager smile, and the other boy glanced up from his game to let him know he was listening. "Since there are only two of you, I can grade them both right now. If you'll hand them to me, please..."
Mihael and the redhead got up from their seats and grabbed their tests. They walked up to the man, handed him their papers, and barely glanced at each other before returning to their seats.
Ten minutes later, the man had finished grading the boys' placement tests. He was floored by their results--neither of them had missed a single question. And the fact that they had seemed to finish the test in just over half the typical allotted time was even more shocking.
"Wow, you boys...only every now and again do we get results like yours," he said. "Both of you are very bright for...five?"
Both boys nodded.
"I think I know exactly where you two belong...well, you're both free to go."
The blonde and the redhead got up again and headed for the door. This took less time for Mihael than for the other boy, since he was seated closer to the door. He had just made it to the end of the hallway when a voice called for him.
"Hey!"
Mihael turned around to see that the boy he had taken the test with was behind him.
"What?"
"I, um...I didn't catch your name," he said, putting his Gameboy in his pocket. "My name's Mail. Mail Jeevas."
"Oh," Mihael said. "I'm Mihael Keehl."
"So I guess they did give us the right test...he probably would have said something otherwise," Mail said. "I thought surely it was a mistake, from how easy those questions were..."
"Oh, you thought so too?"
Mail nodded.
Mihael grinned. "So, from the way he was talking, we'll probably be classmates, huh?"
"Yeah, maybe...hey, I should probably get going..."
"Yeah, me too...bye!"
"Bye..."
As the two boys parted ways, Mihael turned away and smiled even bigger than what he let Mail see. He wasn't one for showing his emotions so blatantly. Soon, a car pulled up. It was his foster father; he had been living with him and his wife for the two and a half months since the passing of his parents.
"How'd you do?" the middle-aged man asked, not seeming to care much, making Mihael wonder why he even bothered asking.
"Um...they said I didn't miss any," he replied, picking up the chocolate bar in the back seat that had been placed there for him. He hoped that this piece of news would be something that would make the man actually praise him for once. No such luck.
"That's good. Maybe they'll find you somewhere else to live now," he said. "I mean, somewhere better..."
Yeah, Mihael thought sarcastically. That's exactly what he meant...