Say The Word

Chapter 1- Introduction To Where It All Started

  He was quite the curious one, if I were to be honest, always lying on his desk with his head on the table, looking incredibly exhausted. Indeed, he did pique my interest quite a bit, looking so indifferent to people around him, to what was happening, to the whole world. His appearance made him unapproachable, his short yet unkempt hair with his expressionless resting bitch face was enough to scare even the toughest people around. His infamous death stare wasn't in favour of him either, it was really terrorizing, and especially for me who had witnessed it the first time. No one wanted to mess with him, there were rumours flying around, and I had heard many, despite only being in the school for only two weeks (Yeah, I was the new kid, shut up, if you were going to yell 'cliché' into the night as you're reading this.).

I wasn't quite sure why exactly he was so captivating to me, perhaps it was because of his aura or his weird obsession with wearing a jacket, even on a hot day, insisting that he was cold. It did not make sense to me, but somehow it didn't matter. All I wanted was to get closer to him; I wanted to understand why he was such an outcast in the school. I could never grasp the idea as to why he could ace all his papers when he was sleeping half the time the teacher was talking. He has never gotten into trouble with the teachers either, they just seemed to give up on him. Have I gotten many warnings about him? Yes. But, you know, its humans' nature to want to uncover things.

I refused to judge him based on what others had gossiped about him. Never had I wanted to judge anyone if I could, I never felt like I had the right to, it was simply not my place to judge.

Inhaling deeply, importing as much oxygen as possible into my lungs, I stood up; making my way towards him, the moment the teacher left the room.

"What do you want?" he did not even bother to look up. "You're hurting my eyes, and you're drawing too much attention. So, please leave."

Well, that was an incredibly hard please.

I looked at the direction of the classroom door; a dozen people who I had made acquaintances with throughout the two whole weeks were blocking the way. Waving to them, I pointed to the boy on the desk, trying to tell them I was going to make my first attempt to befriend the outcast.

Horror washed onto their faces, low-bustling whispering started to fill the space between us and them. I could feel their judgemental eyes on the both of us, isolating the desk we were at; it was like they were stranding us on an island. A million side eyes watching the both of us.

He looked up, shot them a death glare, and coldly spat out, "Are you done staring? I would like to be at peace. Leave."

That was the most I had heard him speak or, more specifically, his voice.

Nobody stayed, obviously, nobody but me.

He slumped back down, burying his face into his hands. His rasped voice muffled, "You should go."

"I'm Vastel," I sat down on the chair from the table in front, my back facing him, not wanting to make him feel more uncomfortable than he already was. "You are Cebario, right?"

"I know who you are; everyone does, just like how everyone knows who I am. What you just said was nothing but a waste of saliva and breath. I don't want anything to do with you so just go."

He shifted away from me, clearly trying to drive me away with his unfriendliness.

I didn't do as I was told. Silence surrounded us as I refused to move, laughter and muffled chattering from outside could be heard. Had I wished I didn't make a move? No, no, I didn't. I considered it as progress, getting to hear his voice more than five seconds was a really big step for me, it felt like a good start.

"Can you go now? Have I not made it clear enough that I don't want you here? Your presence is disturbing me. I'm trying to sleep," he said harshly, standing up. "If you don't want to leave, I'm leaving. It's recess, go do something better than waste your useless life."

He stormed out of the classroom, leaving his words hanging in the air.

I know I said I didn't want to judge him based on what others had said, but finding out what had happened to him from others isn't the same...right?

"So, you failed, huh?" a person in bright neon orange jacket over the school uniform stepped into the classroom. She had a high bun, freckles sprinkled over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She looked like she hadn't had any good sleep since the beginning of time (Not that I'm fraternizing her appearance with her yet-to-be-known private life.).

"How long have you been there?"

"Enough to know that he walked out on you," she shrugged. "You know, you aren't the first person to try, you're not the first person to get such a cold shoulder either. I don't think you'd be the last."

"So, uh, who are you again?" I tried not to panic at the sight of her.

"I'm Elmana, if you didn't know; I used to be really close with Cebby there. We use to be friends when we were younger, same school all the way."

They were on nickname basis? It was news to me.

"Okay, what do you want then?"

"Good question, Rotenberg. What do I want?"

I flinched internally at her tone and the way she said my dead last name.

"It's not Rotenberg anymore," I was unwilling to use that name. "My last name is Von Ludwig now. Just tell me what you want."

"I just want my friend back, that's all. You seem interested in him too, no? You didn't leave when he told you to multiple times, yet you didn't say anything when they looked at both of you like animals in the zoo. What is it that you want?"

"Look, I'm simply curious. He seemed lonely; I just wanted to talk to him. I didn't know how to respond to that many people just now. It was just sudden and I-"

"And you didn't expect it? You didn't expect that they wouldn't leave, did you? Honestly, that is the dumbest thing I've heard someone say. You should have expected it, he is clearly an outcast, it was obvious that people will talk."

"Okay, fine, yeah, it was dumb of me. But there's no way I could do it after school, right? He always leaves so early, and students after school are way wilder than they are during recess. I can't talk to him in the morning because he's always nearly late, I can't just waltz up to him while the teacher is just seconds away from entering."

She sighed, sitting on the desk beside me. "Look, I just want my friend back. I've asked many people in the past but they have let me down, I was hoping you wouldn't."

"What if I do disappoint you?"

"I'll just be sad and that's that, just losing more faith in trying to make sense of our sudden distance. I can't do anything, right? I've tried talking to him, but getting pushed away multiple times in a row by the one person you're trying to help isn't the best feeling."

Okay, I couldn't tell if it was sarcasm, she was being dramatic, or it was how she worked.

"But you still care about him?"

"Yeah, he's still someone I care about. So, please, try not to let me down."

"What's in it for me if I do help you?"

"You get Cebby as a friend, you get me as a friend, and you also get three favours from me, the Great Elmana. Or just Elly for short."

"Well, I am curious, no doubt."

"I'm assuming it's a deal?" she held out her hand.

I shook it (She had really soft skin, by the way, not to sound like a pervert but yeah). "It's a deal."