the wolf ; rigel wilde

vii. unwanted encounters

❝ Souls don't meet by accident ❞

present day
Rigel

Wanting to be awake and having to be awake are two very different things. I wanted to still be in bed, basking in the warmth of the sheets, but I had to be getting ready for my first day, much to my chagrin. Natalie and Raymond had been nothing but kind to me since the start of the adoption trial, but after to many trials with different families, I came to resent it, even though all the homes I had been in had been welcoming.

I didn't want to disappoint the Cuttermills, but I knew that at the end of the trial, I would turn the adoption down in the kindest way possible, and return to the orphanage. Even though being at Grave caused me pain and torment, it was the only place I had ever called home, and as you get older, you start to accept the fact that it will always be your home, whether its nice and comforting, or cold and depressing. And I too had accepted my fate; Grave would always be my home, and Mrs. Margaret won't stop at anything to keep me there.

"Rigel, are you awake? It's time to start getting ready for school dear." Natalie knocking lightly on my bedroom door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I got out of bed to answer the door. Throwing T-shirt over my figure, I opened the door to find the brunette woman smiling softly, "Good morning dear, did you sleep well?" Her voice was soft and calm, almost like she could read me bedtime story and I could fall asleep to the sound of her voice; she had the typical caring voice of a mother.

"Good morning. I slept very well, thank you. Give me ten minutes and I'll be down for breakfast." I spoke as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and raked a hand through my hair. She nodded in agreement, turning on her heels and descending the stairs. Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it, letting out a sigh, I never really enjoyed first days. They always came with the constant questions about where I was from and why I was here, and it pained me more every time when I would have to say that I was an orphan, and then came the questions about my parents.

I detested the fact that I could never answer that question. I never knew what happened to my parents, since the moment I was placed at SunnyCreek, and as I grew up, no one ever told me how my parents died. Vague memories of my mother play in my mind; in my dreams, but they're always elusive to the their passing. Even Mrs. Margret, who seemed to hold me to such high esteem in regards to everyone else, never told me about my parents, I was kept in the dark about my family.

After the ten minutes I had told Natalie, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. The smell of toast and coffee filled my senses as I rounded the corner. Natalie and Raymond were both awake, standing in the kitchen talking with a cup of steaming coffee in their hands. When they saw me, a smile spread across both of their faces simultaneously. "Oh you look lovely Rigel. See I knew it would fit him." Natalie nudged her husband standing beside her, who nodded in agreement. I thanked them quietly as I sat down to have breakfast, Natalie handed me a plate with toast and a generous cup of orange juice.

We all fell into comfortable silence, to my surprise, as we all ate breakfast. Raymond was leaning against a wall with a newspaper in his hand, humming along to a tune that I couldn't really catch. Clearing her throat after a few minutes, Natalie spoke up, "We should get going, don't want you to be late on your first day, Rigel." I swallowed the rest of my toast and downed the rest of my juice before quickly jogging upstairs to retrieve my bag before leaving.

The drive to Barnaby High School was peaceful, apart from the frequent honk of car horn outside the school. Built in the heart of Glenbrooke, stood a tall brick building, surrounded by houses and shops. Students filed into the school, the navy blue uniforms resembling the sea. I stepped out of the car, bidding good bye to the couple before ascending the steps to the entrance. As I walked in, a group of girls looked in my direction, their eyes following me.

Okay that's creepy.

I rolled my eyes as I continued into the building, looking around at all the groups of students lingering around the classrooms. Two boys were leaning against the lockers, talking in hushed tones as they eyed me. "What are you looking at, new boy?" The dark haired boy spoke up, making me halt and turn to talk to him directly. My legs carried me towards them and they puffed their chests out to see bigger, even though I was a head taller than them.

"What did you say?" I was doing everything in my power to stay as calm as possible, not wanting to disappoint Natalie and Raymond with a call from the school saying that I got into a fist fight with two guys on the first day. "I said, what are you looking at, sbalzo." And just with that word my fist went flying right into the guys jaw.

Gasps echoed around the hall as the blow took him to the floor, but in the blink of an eye he was back up, sending a punch in mu direction, which I dodged lasts second, but no so much as the next punch, that landed square on my jaw, making me stumble back in shock. A group of students had formed around us, some filming while other cheered their friend on. Amidst all the noise, the shout of a teacher made everyone fall silent as they shifted through the crowd. "I'm assuming you must be Mr. Wilde." The man was short, but his presence was bigger.

I nodded to the mans question, sighing in relief; I know how to start fights but not how to end them. He looked me up and down in what seemed to be a look of distaste, before sending me on my way to my designated classroom. Wiping the back of my hand on my cheek, a small shout of blood came with it, and I winced at the contact with the open wound. I quickly went into a restroom to assess my face and that it wasn't as bad as I thought; just a forming bruise on my cheek bone and a small open wound.

After I had washed the blood off my hands, I made my way to the classroom. The hallways were quiet, all the students already in class. I knocked on the door, waiting a few moments before a tall woman opened the door. "Ah welcome, bambino. You must be our new student. Take a seat where ever you like." All eyes were on me as I walked in, scanning the room for an empty seat. But the only thing that caught my eye, was a brunette girl staring at me with wide eyes, and that was when I knew I was fucked.