Pseudology

Ten

EDITED 2/8/13

Adrian and Morton returned to school within two weeks, their sombre suits shed and their school clothes back on. Shined shoes slapped the limestone slabs as they walked back to their rooms through the main building, passing through the Hall which was a large, Palladian style dining hall; finally, they reached the stairs and climbed.

Adrian was silent as they walked but Morton chatted lightly, keeping his dark eyes on his brother as they came to Adrian’s dormitory. 

“Do I have to go back, Morey?”

“Yes.” Morton hissed, trying not to sound angry. “Please, we need to go back to normal quietly.”

Adrian gave his brother a dark, angry look and folded his arms across his small, heaving chest. He nodded, picked up his suitcase from the floor, and walked into his dormitory as quietly as he could. He didn’t feel ready to go in there yet, but there was nowhere else. Taking a deep breath, Adrian shook his head and opened the door.

II

The ‘quiet’ idea hadn’t paid off because as soon as he stepped into the cold room, sharp, judging eyes focused and fixed themselves on Adrian. He stood up a little straighter, feeling his back ache under the pressure of the glares, and strode over to his usual bed which was positioned by one of the large, open windows.

“Hey, geek!” came a strong voice from the other side of the room, but Adrian ignored it. Many of the boys didn’t even know his name, so even if they weren’t trying to be mean, he supposed that they’d end up being nasty by default. Adrian noted the rooms dull, plain-duck-egg-blue colour with white detailing, much like the Breakfast Room at home. Mummy had loved the breakfast room.

The breakfast room was one of mummy’s favourites, and Adrian could tell because she always sat in their before and after breakfast, even though it was only meant for breakfast itself. She could often be found sitting on one of the pale green arm chairs by the bay window, which faced the driveway and world beyond the estate. A book was in her hand the day that Adrian had found her in the early summer, the day of the 14th of July, 1994.

“Are you alright, Adrian honey?”

“Yes, mummy. What are you reading?”

“It’s an Agatha Christie book; a murder mystery called ‘Murder Is Easy’. It’s one of my favourites.”

“Is it good?” Adrian asked as he stepped into the morning light, squinting a little and placing a hand over his eyes to shield himself. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and chinos, shirt tucked in but hair messy. “Should I read it?”

“I think you should, honey. Maybe you can read it after me-“

Adrian could feel the presence of someone, someone a little closer than normal. Adrian rolled his neck and turned around, his fists clenched. Handling interruption had never been one of Adrian’s strong points.

“Hi Adrian.” The voice belonged to a small, light brown haired boy who wore thick glasses and sturdy shoes- Adrian immediately thought of collapsed arches as he looked down at the thick laces and thick souls, the fibre of an arch-support sticking out around the edges.

“Um…hi.” Adrian muttered back, sitting down on his bed and unbuckling his suitcase. He was sure that the boy was in his Latin class, but he wasn’t sure why the boy was standing in front of him now, his tie a mess and his eyes clear and wide. What did the boy want? Adrian hoped that he wasn’t going to ask like all the rest did: his heart skipped when the boy did open his mouth. Damn it.