The Other Side Of Me [Sequel to Faen's Child]

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I knocked on the door, unsure of what to expect. Would my Training Master meet me at the door, or would Brother Noel meet me? I had ended school not long before this, and I was frankly looking forward to some man time that I would share with Brother Noel. I knew he would most definitely ask me about how I was coping –and the problems and everything that I was facing.

But I guessed I had to make Brother Noel my confidante. Even if I knew he was spy for my sister. Brother Noel would definitely listen to my woes like an understanding girlfriend. Brother Noel had always giving me the impression that he would always be strong, and he would always protect those he loved. It was really a pity my sister didn’t choose him.

I waited for a long moment but the door didn’t open. I knocked again, starting to feel fidgety. Like I said –I was a hyperactive kid and standing still waiting for a door to open was not my forte. My fingers began to rub the loose material of my pants, and I began to shift my weight from one side to another, my feet tapping away to a loose melody that I had singing in the background of my mind.

The door still didn’t open, and it would be rude of me if I just opened the door like that, but I couldn’t stand still. Searching for an outlet to dismiss my excess energy, I traced the outline of the doorknob with my fingers, and then scratched a faint outline of the same doorknob on the plaster beside the door with my nails. It was until I was done with the entire outline that I realized I had just vandalized. Worst, I had just vandalized right outside my Training Master’s room.

I cursed myself for not bringing my small set of keys. Every hyperactive kid would learn –at one point of time in their lives –that they would eventually pick up a special item that would take their attention when they were feeling fidgety, and for me, it was a set of keys I’d pick pocketed away from some old dude on the street. Up till now, I wasn’t sure what doors the keys opened, but no matter what, I had always been able to channel my excess energy to moving the keys around its ring, arranging and rearranging them just to take up my attention.

I was just about to leave when the door was finally jerked open, and Noel Cypher looked surprised to see me still at the door.

“I thought you’d already left. I’m sorry for the delay; I was busy marking papers. Come in.” He said, and I couldn’t decide if it was the Training Master side of him that was addressing me, or the concerned Brother Noel side of him that asked me to come in. Still, I nodded and walked in, praying that he wouldn’t see the result of my vandalism.

His room wasn’t very impressive –just a normal room. Okay, it had adjourning rooms to the kitchen, other room. Okay, it was his ‘quarters’, basically his home in the middle of the school. Still, it was the quarters of Brother Noel, and it looked grand for a Training Master like him. Neat photos hung on shelves, books neatly kept. The tables were clean of junk and kept clean. It didn’t seem fit for a single man to be living here. I knew Brother Noel was neat, but I didn’t expect him to be such a cleanliness freak.

“Make yourself at home, Raun. I hope you don’t mind instant noodles, because there’s nothing else in the fridge, and I haven’t had time to pick up any food at all.” Brother Noel closed the door after me, and then overtook me to the kitchen.

“It’s okay, Brother Noel. I don’t mind instant noodles.” I replied as I took a seat at the armchair facing the kitchen while I watched him busy himself with the kettle.

“AGAIN?!? It’s been three days, Noel. I’m sick of instant noodles! I thought you would offer your guest something better!” A new voice shouted from one of the rooms, jolting me a little in my seat. I hadn’t expected for Brother Noel to be staying with someone else…