Two Birds On A Wire

ch 01

Ivan's alarm buzzed incessantly, breaking the silence of his room. He groaned, reaching out to silence it, and then lay back, staring at the ceiling. He felt annoyingly exhausted.

He could hear birds chirping outside his window . The first week of school had been a lonely stretch, each day feeling longer than the last.

He missed Johann, who had always been there to make things bearable. Now, they were in different classes, and Ivan felt adrift. He never realised how much he relied on his best friend until the boy was pulled away from him.

After dragging himself out of bed and through his morning routine, Ivan grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs. His mom was already in the kitchen, bustling around with breakfast. He loved the aroma that filled the place, he smiled as he saw his little sister dozing off on her chair beside the kitchen counter.

Ivan's mom noticed him as he pulled out a chair for him to sit and she greeted him with  a cheerful "Good morning," but he only managed a half-hearted grunt in response.

Just the thought of going to school made him feel uneasy. He knew acting like it didn't bother him wasn't going to make it any better.

Outside, the crisp morning air did little to lift his spirits. As he walked to school, he watched groups of students chatting animatedly, their laughter carrying on the breeze. It seemed everyone had effortlessly fallen into place, except for him.

He still felt like an outcast.

When he arrived at school, the hallways were buzzing with activity. He saw Johann in the distance, surrounded by his new classmates, laughing at something someone had said. A pang of jealousy and sadness shot through Ivan.

Though Johann seemed to have been immersed in whatever conversation they were having, his eyes were quick to notice Ivan ,even from a distance.

Ivan saw him looking his way and he waved at the boy. Johann waved back, but it wasn't the same. It felt like they were in different worlds.

Ivan headed to his class, sliding into his seat at the back of the room. He sat through the first three periods, wishing that time would actually fly. The whole class heaved a genuine sigh of relief when the school bell rang. It was physical Education time. A time when you could just sweat away all your worries.

And yet, Ivan felt nothing less to any enthusiasm as he was never really a fan of sports.

"Aren't you gonna join us downstairs?" One of the kids asked as they left the classroom and Ivan faked a smile, giving the boy a nod.

He vaguely wondered how long he was going to live like this. His classmates probably think of him as a psychopath, it has been a week since school started and the only time he spoke to any of them is when the teacher conducted a debate in class the last day.

Ivan hopped down the flight of stairs and out to the school play court and the kids were already deciding on teams.

"Hey, you, come on. The game is about to begin!" Someone, Ivan never bothered remembering the names of his classmates, said as they waved at Ivan.

"Nah, I'll just sit out on this one" Ivan said as he walked to the side lines.

The other kids tried hard to persuade him to play. But he wouldn't budge. Ivan would rather be called a chicken than get himself all sweaty and smelly. Also, he never really bothered to try and learn the rules of soccer, which the boys were planning to play. He would only be a burden. He enjoyed watching the others play more.

"Hey Ivan" Ivan heard a feminine voice call out and his head jolted up. He saw two girls towering over him, one of them dusting the spot beside him for them to sit.

"Hey" Ivan too greeted, feeling a bit awkward at the sudden friendly gesture. He didn't remember being acquainted by them in anyway other than just being classmates.

"So you are not gonna play?" One of the girls asked, her smile never leaving her face as she watched Ivan with a relaxed expression.

Ivan just passed a smile as he felt all tensed up all of a sudden. He was never a good social being and was never good at making conversations. He felt the immediate urge to get out of that place.

"I'm Nora" the girl beamed as she sat down beside him with her friend. "Daya" the other girl introduced herself with a smile and Ivan returned the smile with a nod.

Nora made a smirk as she watched the boy. "Don't you ever talk to anyone or do you just smile and listen?" She felt amused.

Ivan, being the A-class awkward guy he was, smiled at it again, this time, a little sheepishly, and the girls laughed heartily.

They talked about random stuffs and Ivan just listened, nodding every now and then to make his attention clear and frequently replied with simple answers which were mostly a yes or a no, when it was really necessary. Nevertheless, he didn't find the conversation any tiring. He actually enjoyed the company and was glad someone was actually talking to him.

They would have talked for a little more, but all three of their heads jolted up when an uproar of panic rose in the air.

"Hey, you, duck!" Someone yelled at the top of their lungs Ivan's eyes went wide.

He felt too stunned to move as he watched the football speed towards him at full speed.

He heard shrieks and yelps as he fell back on the ground with a thud. A lot of voices filled his head as he felt darkness consume him. He tried to listen to those voices, but the ringing in his ears was too loud for him to hear anything else, and soon, he fell into an abyss of darkness, pulling himself into a deep sleep.