Realm of Noah

Chapter 9

12th November 2019

NOAH

Golden rays of sunlit flooded through the narrow slits of eyes, blinding me completely with its radiance. I pulled my quilt over my head, and turned away, grumbling about how I didn't have the energy to wake up this early.

Right on cue, my alarm began to chime loudly, like it had summoned all the bells in the world to reside in my room.

Mildly irritated, I snoozed the clunky device, wondering why on earth I'd set an alarm in the first place.

And then I sat up so fast, remembering what day it was.

My first day at Greywood High.

I nearly fell out of my bed, before scrambling over to the bathroom to freshen up. If I were a Spirit, I needn't have dealt with all these annoying daily habits that only wasted time. But, I was a stinky human now, and unfortunately, I had to brush my teeth, shower at lightning speed and comb my hair, hoping that I looked presentable enough on my first day.

If I had it my way, I would've donned on my leather jacket and a cool pair of shades. However, I was supposed to blend in with the crowd, which made me choose my dark blue hoodie with a pair of faded jeans and black sneakers.

My hair was messy and even messier as I'd attempted to comb it for fifteen minutes. Finally, I gave up, impatiently throwing away my comb, and accepting my nasty case of bed-hair-itis.

If only I had hair gel.

The door creaked slightly, and in walked my bad-omen called Johannes. He was wearing a nightcap upon his balding head, clutching an ancient candle in his hand. He hadn't even opened his eyes completely, and yet, there was an unmistakable frown upon his nasty face.

"Boy, what are you-" He squinted at me, surprised that I was up already.

"Yeah, I'm finally going to see Renee, and you can't stop me!" I grinned like a child, glad to finally get rid of his overbearing ways.

"Hmph, you assume that I derive no greater joy in seeing you away from your lady love-"

"Don't talk and ruin my good mood," I sighed tiredly. "Please Johannes, just shut up for once."

And before his temper could boil and crash into waves of terror, I raced out of the apartment, flushed with serotonin.

I was finally, finally, FINALLY going to see Renee today.

*****

All that I'd wanted was to blend in with the crowd.

And yet, the new student is always an intricate mystery.

I didn't know why, but the students had no trouble ogling at me, their pointed stares making me reach the heights of awkwardness. It was like being scanned by a thousand cameras, each dissecting my brain and trying to figure out what kind of person I was, and if I'd fit in or not.

I couldn't help but wonder if there was something highly unusual about my appearance. Maybe I'd done some blunder at being a human, like wearing my shoes on my head, or donning shining white robes, Spirit-Realm style, to blind my human classmates for eternity.

But I hadn't.

As I walked, I compared my sneakers to that of another guy, my hoodie similar to what another student wore, my hair not outrageously messy as this other girl's, my face clean-shaven like the rules had iterated.

I looked normal, even maybe boring, and I couldn't understand why I was being stared at like I was a statue who'd magically walked out of a museum.

If only I could find Renee...