Pavane for a Lost Boy (Or Rather, How to Survive Loss after Rejection)

Chapter Twelve

A/N: Play song above as you read part one of this chapter.

It's amazing how the last couple of days of summer vacation can fly by without warning, especially for a foster kid of my caliber. And after the events from Ryan's barbeque (which had me convinced to stay away from both Ryan and Jillian Kendrick), I was lost in a sea of final preparations for my big debut at Pacifica Glades High School of the Arts (The same school where my foster brothers would attend as my fellow juniors) with immunizations at the doctor's office, dental appointments, back-to-school shopping, and even family time in the evenings all to get us prepared for what's ahead.

And it was now Monday morning as everyone was getting dressed for work (Joel and Taylor) and school (me and my foster brothers). And while the boys were excited to begin their third year, I wasn't too keen on being seen in the spotlight at my new school. I mean, I was used to being faceless in the crowd back at Frederick Douglass High as everyone usually left me alone while I focused on my schoolwork. And I was definitely grateful for not being used as a punching bag by the jocks or target practice by the gang-bangers. While I had no one around, I was grateful for being left to my own devices.

But with me attending one of the most-prestigious schools in Texas and living in the rich side of Fort Worth, you can pretty much guess that I was definitely feeling jaded as I finished getting dressed in my newly-acquired Tommy Hilfiger ensemble.

What if things are worse at Pacifica Glades than they were at Douglass High?

Would all the students brush me off or use me as their whipping boy and punching bag?

Would I even be given a chance to be taken seriously?

"Demario?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to see both Joel and Taylor coming inside my bedroom as I stared down at my reflection in the mirror. "Sorry, lost in thought," I muttered as I smoothed the invisible wrinkles out of my Henley shirt. "I'm a little nervous about my debut at Pacifica Glades, to be honest."

"That we can tell," Joel hummed as he stood on my left and his husband took to my right. "But as everyone tells you, Demario; you'll need to hear this again: this is your moment to spin the straws of your life into gold and let yourself shine like the stars."

"That's right," Taylor noted. "And remember the goals that the judge told you to take on as you begin your junior year: to make new friends outside the ones you made so far, join a few clubs to enhance your student resume for college and to gain connections, and be more of a participant in classes rather than being in the background. You need this new beginning more than you ever know, boy. Your family has done you wrong in so many ways that you felt like you had to hide everything to gain approval, only for them to continue to treat you like trash. This is your moment, Demario. Show the world who you can become."

I nodded as Joel fixed the back of my collar. "I just don't know if anyone will even give two cents about this nervous wreck right here," I commented.

"They will, Demario. And you're not a nervous wreck," Joel replied, giving me a fatherly stare while his husband handed me my music player. "Remember to speak life into your beig and encourage yourself. Play some music on your iPod and relax a bit before you get ready for school."

My foster dads left my room as I continued to face my reflection, knowing that what they said was the truth. Sighing heavily, I grabbed the headphones and found a simple song by The Winans to help me relax before I began my debut. Because I could use all the encouragement that I could get if I wanted to have somewhat of a successful school year.

***************

Thirty minutes later, I was in the large and Spartan-themed office of Principal Dominic Callaway (an athletic middle-aged man who surprisingly had some youth in him from his sable brown hair that he kept trimmed to his steel-gray eyes) as the  principal in question and the vice-principal (who was also his wife) were waiting for me. "On behalf of everyone here at Pacifica Glades High School of the Arts, we'd like to give you our deepest sympathies after the loss of your parents and siblings," the former stated as I sat down on the leather chair that faced his desk, the man and his wife behind and giving me comforting grins. "Judge McGillivray and everyone else has thoroughly given all the faculty and staff members your backstory regarding them and your attempt to end your life after being abandoned and orphaned and we'll make sure to help you come out of your shell and thrive as a prominent student here."