MAGICS: Alone (Book One)

1

Kai did not like mornings. Mornings meant he had to forcibly pull himself out of his dreams, ones that varied depending on whatever book he'd been reading the night before, and mentally prepare himself for the long day ahead of him. Mornings meant dragging himself out of bed and physically getting ready for the long school day. Mornings meant listening to his father sing, loudly and off-key, in the hallway to get Kai to hurry up. 

One of the best things about mornings was hearing Haley, much too late, shush her husband fiercely. It made kai smile to hear his mom hiss a loud, "Shh, for heavens' sake, Falte!" Half the time, Falte completely ignored her and would still be singing when Kai opened his door. 

Though, as soon as Kai emerged from his room, the little smile would be gone. There were normally two reasons for that. One, because Falte was right in front of the door, ready to take Kai's hand and start playfully dancing with him while the off-key opera continued. Or two, because Kai knew what was in store for the rest of the day.

Kai was not the most liked kid at school. Most people generally avoided him, but there were always those few. Of course, he knew there were always going to be bullies who were awful for literally no reason, and those kinds of people didn't really bother him. They tried to, certainly, but their tactics for bullying would almost be laughable if they weren't so annoying. 

It wasn't those types of kids that made the school day a nightmare. It was the ones who taunted him with things that made sense. The ones who knew how to strike deep, how to hit home with their words. The ones who brought all of his biggest insecurities into the light and kindled their flames. 

Kai wished they hadn't moved. He still would be homeschooled then. Because he lived in such a small town, their school was a huge combination of middle and high school. If he stayed home, he wouldn't have to deal with so many kids. He wouldn't have to worry about talking to people, being talked to by people, and all the idiots who thought it was fun to shove others under their feet. He wouldn't have anxiety attacks between, and sometimes during, each class because there was too much noise, too many people, or too many stares. He wouldn't have to plan out each word to his teachers when it came time to turn in assignments. He wouldn't need to hold his books, food, or drawings close his to his chest protectively. He wouldn't have to skip lunch because his stomach was in knots. He wouldn't feel sick because at any random point someone could try to talk to him. 

For Kai, mornings were the worst. He wanted to read instead of hearing Falte's annoying opera. He wanted to draw instead of going to school. He wanted to listen to music instead of a lecture. He wanted to sleep instead of waking up before the sun even rose. 

If you ask him now, Kai will tell you that he would give anything to go back to those mornings.

Especially this morning. 

As per usual, when Kai woke up, Falte's soft tenor voice was singing a tune out in the hall. Kai blearily slapped the surface of his dresser several times before he managed to turn off his blaring alarm. Shoving his thick, dark hair out of his eyes, Kai lifted himself up onto his elbows and took a breath to yell the customary, "Daaaaaaad!" but stopped short. 

It sounded like Falte was just genuinely singing to himself that morning. Even though the shouting was normally a joke, simply to let Falte know that his efforts weren't in vain, Kai didn't need to yell at his dad for enjoying himself. 

As Kai got up to change, he realized that Falte wasn't singing to himself. It was Haley's birthday. He had to be singing happy birthday to her. Kai smiled softly. What a way to wake up: your husband singing you happy birthday first thing in the morning. 

Oh, right. Kai's thoughts did a loop-around. Today was Haley's birthday. Kai had to remember to get her painting out of the shed when he got home from school. He'd been working on a painting of their family - just the three of them, a perfect family triangle - for months. He hoped it would be dry enough by this afternoon.