Legacies: Inari Rising (A TVD Universe Fanfic)

Community Service (Pt. 1/3)

(Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience. I know I kept you waiting. Let's get to it. Apologies that this chapter is a bit long.)  

YEARS AGO

Parent-teacher days have always been chaotic affairs. From the endless small talk and niceties to the rush and pre-planning, to say nothing of the tempers and child-centric anxieties that could flare up at a moment's notice.

And that was just at ordinary schools.

As with everything at the Salvatore School For The Young and Gifted, Parent-teacher days were heightened by the dangers and uncertainties of the supernatural.

But in the end, all present were united by one mission: a safer and more certain future for their children—the future of the world's supernatural community. And that mission was enough to overcome centuries of adversity, to bring parents together from far and wide.

Except for the parents of one child.

Nolan stood on his toes, peering as far as he could over the bannisters of the lobby stairway. He had been standing there, on and off his feet, for the better part of two hours, awaiting the arrival of one man.

He hadn't shown up last year, but surely his dad had to show up this year, right?

But as the hours passed and the morning light faded, so did Nolan's hopes. By the late afternoon, the boy no longer stood with his arms around the bannisters but sat on the floor, his arms around his knees.

He wasn't coming. Again.

The pain and rumbling of an empty and disappointed stomach broke the last of Nolan's resolve, the boy stepping down from the bannisters and into the foyer, amongst the adults.

Some of the parents ignored Nolan, others moved aside to make room for him in the Great Hall, beaming at him with those fake smiles that adults liked making.

But the rest turned themselves and their children away from Nolan, glaring at the boy as though he were a leper.

Nolan shoved his hands into his pockets, the adults' gazes like acid on his skin as he marched down the hall.

Did they know about that explosion at the Old Mill last month?

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Nolan's ears caught some of the conversations around him.

"Is that him?" a man asked.

"Yes." a woman beside him hissed. "Evil little brat."

Nolan bit his lip, hunching his shoulders as if to raise them over his ears.

"How the hell did this shit even happen?" another adult asked in a hushed whisper, squeezing their son's shoulders protectively.

"My kid almost got burned!" another complained shrilly.

Nolan whimpered, his head hanging lower.

"I thought this school was supposed to be safe!" a man complained in a voice just above a whisper. "What the hell are we paying this Saltzman guy for anyway?!"

"Shush!" the man beside him hushed. "The kid might hear you!"

By now, the eyes of nearly every parent were upon Nolan. The boy bit his cheeks to stop his eyes from welling up, when suddenly, another child appeared in front of him.

"Hey, Nolan." the girl smiled, her two front teeth missing. "You look real unhappy, what's wrong?"

But before Nolan could answer, a woman in a black pantsuit appeared. She put her hands on the girl's shoulders and turned her away.