The Tale of Zaharos

Chapter 15: I want answers

"Wake up, Dean. You'll be late for school," a shrill voice said from somewhere near.

"Please Erika," Dean mumbled. "I promise I won't be late," he murmured sleepily.

"I'm not Erika and you have to wake up, sweetie."

"Leave the boy alone, they never teach nothing in the first period," another voice said from bellow.

Dean's eyes opened wide with surprise. He ran to the door and nearly bumped into someone.

"Mum?" Dean asked, his eyes still blurry from sleep. "What are you doing here?"

"They gave us the morning off and we thought it would be a nice surprise to wake you up for a change," she explained.

"Dad's here too?" Dean asked incredulously. His parents had stopped waking him up since he was seven. They worked early in the morning, came home to prepare lunch, slept for a couple of hours and then went back to work from eight until midnight. The good thing about their jobs was that they usually didn't have to work on the weekends and they had a lot of holidays, so they had more than enough time to talk to Dean's teachers and learn all about his love for the school's lessons.

"I'm here, but the omelette won't be here for long," Dean's dad replied.

Dean ran downstairs to find his dad eating a delicious-looking (and delicious-smelling) omelette. "Where's Erika?" he asked.

"She left already," his mum replied.

"To go to school," his dad added. "You know... School?"

"The big guy with brown hair working in Mr Snowflake's sweet shop? I knew he was a bit too nice to her!" Dean replied. His mum just laughed.

"No, the other school," said Dean's dad. "The one you'll also have to go to. The place you're supposed to be learning things and putting that head of yours to use."

"The dull, to-be-demolished building with the creepy creatures they call teachers?" Dean replied between bites of omelette. "I would rather work with Mr Snowflake's attendant."

"I didn't know he had an attendant," Dean's mother noted. "That man has too much pride to accept help, even if he needs it."

"He doesn't have an attendant," Dean admitted. "I made that up."

"Mr Snowflake is a good man, but his sweet shop, it's something special to him. He wouldn't trust anyone to run it. He wouldn't even trust someone to lock it," his dad added. "Now you better get ready for school. That math teacher of yours keeps on lecturing me about how you're always late for her class. Like you're late only for hers! Ha!"

"Don't encourage him!"

"I'm not encouraging him, I'm telling him not to be late!"

"I won't be late today, dad," Dean said, running upstairs to change clothes. "Don't worry."

***

The bell had rung and Mrs Calliope was already in the classroom when someone stormed in.

"Dean, why are you late again?" the teacher asked instinctively.

"I'm here," Dean said, already sitting in his usual seat at the far corner of the classroom.

Mrs Calliope turned around surprised, to find Eliana hastily taking her seat next to Sidonia.

"I'm really sorry I'm late, Mrs Calliope," Eliana said, her voice polite but her tone low, almost hypnotic. "It won't happen again."

"It's okay, dear," Mrs Calliope replied. "Now, eyes on the board. Who could tell me the answer to the first question."

"Yes, Veronica."