The Commencement of Dietrich

6

Contentious hands breezed over a freshly placed tombstone. The cold gushes of wind nipped at the brittle fingers, making the man reach for his colourless gloves.

"You weren't supposed to leave so early. You were supposed to help me with, well, everything." The male admitted solemnly.

His eyes glazed over the grave, crestfallen. "Oh, Ed. I just don't know what to do. Don't you remember we were supposed to chase our dreams together. Find the woman of our dreams, or in your case, man." He sighed mourningly.

The bald teacher adjusted a vase full of begonias. He chuckled in a melancholic manner, " Your favourites. Can't have your grave looking shabby, can I?"

His face filled with anguish, an emotion that left the grieving brother clenching his fists, until a nasty white was bright on his knuckles.

"I will avenge you. I know Dietrich did it on purpose! I know he did!" He declared heatedly, gritting his teeth. " Those stupid pranks. He's always taken everything so seriously!"

A misty fog blurred out the glow of a girl slowly approaching. Her feet made neat, clean taps against the rocky gravel. " Mr. Bradshaw? Is that you?"

The exasperated man spun around, taken aback by the sudden presence of his student. " Yes, but, if you don't mind me asking, What are you doing here?"

She pointed at a tidy gravestone, a soft name lazily etched on. " That's my sister." Bradshaw immediately regretted his foolishly asked question.

"I'm sorry, Nicole." He offered, unsure of the correct way to respond to that. She shrugged her shoulders, an unreadable expression plastered on her.

Nicole's eyes settled on the writing on the tombstone, realization taking over her features. " Oh, I'm sorry for your loss." The female hugged him awkwardly, yet empathetic.

Embarrassed, Bradshaw fiddled with his peeling nails. " Um, I should go!" The young female exclaimed, and promptly sped away.

A classy girl greeted Nicole cheerfully at the entrance. " Hey! Wait. Why did you leave so quickly?" She queried, registering how little time the latter had taken.

Nicole sighed, " I ran into our teacher. Hold on, did you know his brother died?" She blurted out, appalled, hands moving in a ridiculous form. Lydia placed a finger to her chin, nails painted a pristine purple. " Hmm, I wasn't aware. He has been acting weird, if you would say that, lately though."

They both recalled his standoffish behavior, and unusual aggression towards disobedient students. The wealthy female face-palmed, how could she not have noticed it? She might have lacked math skills, but otherwise Lydia was exceptionally observant.

"I'm not sure how I missed that." She confessed, a loud ring coming off her wrist. " It's 10:15. I have to go. Don't forget to slay, queen!" 

Nicole waved at her friend, who had strolled away to an elegant, shiny limo. " Rich people." She rolled her eyes, amused. The girl treaded lightly on the coarse, jagged road, passing by a shabby church.

Her eyes lit up in excitement, eager to explore, until they spotted a girl with black tresses covering her face. Ruby swiftly retreated, blushing as she was caught absent-mindedly staring. The orphan slipped over a pale carnation in a frenzied dash to escape, landing firmly on her bottom. 

" Hey! You, up there! Are you okay?" Nicole called out, concern leaking through her Scottish accent. This riled Ruby up even more, alarm coordinating her frayed moves. " Uh, Stay back!" 

The distressed female cradled her battered and bleeding hand that support her fall. This was her moment, she's been longing for this opportunity for months. Disappointment mixed with adrenaline, and it left Ruby regretful.

" I'm coming up!" Nicole announced gently, however by the time she had climbed up the exhaustive stairs that lead in the direction of the garden, Ruby had fled to inside the safety of the old building. A feathery giggle sounded from behind her.

The girl peered at a snickering Ayla, who straightened out briskly. " And you are?" She sneered, becoming self-conscious. The orphan held their hands up in defense. " Chill out chica, it's just that you clearly don't know how to tell when someone obviously has a huge, major, and massive crush on someone." They clumped their hands together and raised their hand near their ear, while lifting their leg to the side to resemble a fan-girl.

She gaped with disgust, and Ayla continued offhandly, " That's Ruby, maybe try being less, straightforward. She's shy." They stuffed their bleak hands into their ruffled pants, and walked off without another word. " You get back here- Accusing me of such sin!"

The adolescent quickly caught up to Ruby, who was disguised under a table. " You're fine, she was just a little confused." She paused her self loathing to consider Ayla's words. The Maybe she still had a chance? The young female wondered as she rambled about the holy building.

Dietrich made a grunt as his stomach met a sturdy head. He instinctively hid the basement, closing the door behind him. " Hey? What brings you to this part of town?" Norman joked, attempting to conceal the secrets of the room behind him.

Ruby paled, haven gotten a shadowed view of the feeble boy laying delicately on a mattress. " Oh." She paused, noticing Dietrich's strained smile. " Um, I was- I was looking for uno cards!" The girl snapped for extra effect, making the pastor sigh with heavy relief.

" The uno cards are in Haythem's drawers. Don't ask me why." He let out a meaningless chuckle. " He thinks someone is going to sell them so they become rich, and not him."

Ruby forced a fake laugh, grinding her polished teeth nervously. " I should, er, go get them!" She exclaimed with false enthusiasm, circling around towards the bedroom.

The orphan couldn't comprehend what she had just witnessed. Dietrich was hiding Ashton? But, why? And if so, did that make him a bad person? She thought, plopping on her unmade bed. If there was one person who would have an answer, it was the sibling of the kidnapped male.

——————————————Authors Note

The next chapters will be more Dietrich centered, I just needed to introduce a few new characters that will sort of affect the continuation of this story. Also if you know Mr. Dietrich in real life, do not tell him about this.