Chapter 4 is here!
In which a little bit of background information is released about on of our characters and I spend the whole chapter on a single point in the story line.
As Toby walked into the school the next day he made sure he had all the equipment he needed in his bag, as well as checking his wristband was on. It was a while before any of the students showed up so he strolled to his assigned art room. He sat in a secluded spot and pulled out his iPod for some amusement before pulling out an art book and began sketching. He'd already met the art teacher for this room so all he had to worry about was meeting the students.
Some time passed and students began flowing into the corridors, the sound of hundred's of voices distracted Toby and he began to daydream. At first it was him and Bear Grylls frolicking through fields of flowers but it quickly became dark. The face of the murdered assassin from the previous night came to mind. Suddenly his daydream turned from flower frolicking to darkened hallways. Blood covered the walls and floor, bodies were scattered out on the floor. A noise echoed through the bloodied corridors and he ran towards it with the intent to kill. Outside his daydream, Toby got the urge to kill. His body was on automatic, his mind still trapped in its daydream. It would be easy, the students outside will have had little to no combat training. He began to rise from his seat. A faint burning in his eyes indicated that they had changed colour. He could easily do it. Nothing could stop him. Not a thing. He could overpower over half of them and not break a sweat. Easy.
The ringing of a bell snapped him out of his daydream and into the real world once again. He gulped and sank back down into his seat, scared that he'd almost gone on a killing spree. What if that bell hadn't gone off when it did? What would have happened to him? Would Kim have . . . ? No, he thought, don't think like that. Kim would never do that to me! She would rather die than kill me for an accident. This is why he hated going on missions without Kim. She always made sure that nothing happened to him and vice versa.
With a trembling hand, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a chain with a locket connected to it. Toby pulled it over his head and felt calmer almost immediately. It had been given to Toby by his grandmother when he was a toddler. But unfortunately she had been killed shortly afterwards. He had been parted with it for many years but after he had met Kim, he had retrieved it and hadn't parted with it since. It always helped him calm down. He held the locket in his hand and closed his eyes for a few moments. After letting out a shaky breath he opened his eyes,let go of the locket and resumed his sketching.
Cece walked into her Art class, Rocky didn't share this class with her which saddened her slightly. As she made her way over to her usual seat, she noticed a boy she'd never seen before sitting by her seat. He had his eyes closed and his hand clenched slightly in front of him. After a few seconds he had unclenched his fist and opened his eyes before leaning forward slightly. Upon closer observation, she realised he was drawing something.
She stood next to him and he looked up at her "Oh, I'm sorry" he said, "Am I sitting in your seat? 'Cause I can move if that the case!" He went to stand up and Cece help her hands up.
"No, no! It's fine. No one sits there anyway." she reassured .
"You're sure?" he asked, head tilting slightly.
"Yep, I'm sure." Cece sat down next to him and held her had out. "I'm Cece Jones, you are?"
"Toby Ryanger. It's nice to meet you Cece." he replied, shaking Cece's hand. Cece took in his appearance. Shoulder length brown hair and matching brown eyes,
"So are you a new student here?"
"No, I'm here for an apprenticeship. I was home schooled in England and took my end of school exams early. I travel around a lot and decided to stay in Chicago for a while. I heard that the Art Institute here is pretty good."
"Interesting. And I wish I could tell you it's good but I've never been."
"I'll have to make sure to go before I leave. Would you like to come with?"
"Uhh, sure. I don't see why not."
"Great! Oh, I'll be right back. Mr Bitterman seems to be motioning for me to go over to him." He hopped over the table and walked to the front of the class.
She watched as he spoke to the rest of the class. There was something about him that seemed . . . different. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't put her finger on it. But despite that something, she felt as if she could trust him.
Toby smiled internally, by getting Cece Jones to accompany him to the Art Institute would help him get more information on Rocky which would help his mission in the long run.
Also he could see if one of the girls liked the other and if so, he'd try get them together because to him, they'd make a great couple. That and he loved to play matchmaker.
As he stood in front of the class and introduced himself, he tried not to smile at the thought of getting Rocky and Cece together. He managed to keep a straight face and made his way back to Cece and his art book. As he looked down at the paper he realised he'd been subconsciously drawing a pentacle. The star sitting in a circle had great detail in it. "Woah" Cece said, as she looked over from her own work "You're an amazing artist!" Toby smiled shyly.
"I guess . . ." he answered. He put a few last details onto the symbol and turned to a new page.
The rest of the lesson consisted of Toby and Cece talking with Toby occasionally wandering away to see what other people were doing. That was the part of the reason he was in the school in an apprenticeship after all.
During their conversation, Cece brought up the subject of Damien and Toby immediately snapped to attention but feigned ignorance in order to possibly gain any new information. When Cece said there was something not quite right about him, he became automatically intrigued especially when she said that no one else seemed to notice what she did. But when he'd asked she told him that he would call her crazy, even after he promised he wouldn't.
He decided to ask her about it again at a later date.
At the end of the lesson, the two found themselves exchanging cell numbers after getting on so well and promising to meet up after school so he could meet Rocky.
Toby found himself wondering what it was about Cece that made her see Damien in a different light than all the other who had met him and Cece found herself wondering if she could trust Toby enough to tell her that Damien wasn't human without him laughing in her face.
Yet again this chapter is late. This time you can blame Russell Howard's good news for distracting me so much.
And in case you were wondering, yes jp that was the Wican pentacle you did for your art homework last week.
Note: the 'g' in Toby's last name is pronounced as a 'j'
Final note: Reviews make me giddier than a chipmunk on drugs. They are much appreciated.