The Fearful Institute

"Listen mom, I know you're worried about me and how I'm acting...but you don't have to take me to a Christian school for three months." Aleks says and crosses his arms in anger, he doesn't want to stay at a school that prays every night and thanks the lord for every meal. It's not his gig; his style is more of just eating the meal and then leaving it at that. They're almost to the school and he can see that it doesn't look like a simple building with outdoor lunch tables, it's more of an institute, and it has an old castle effect to it. His eyes widen in shock, he's not sure if that look is supposed to scare him...or make him feel majestic in an odd way. Either feeling he chooses that feeling of fear is going to circle around his heart...like a scar.

"Okay mom, how about we cut a deal...I change my attitude and you make pizza every weekend?" Aleks taps his mother's shoulder to lighten the mood and maybe change her mind to make him attend this rotten school. The looks like a prison now that he sees it up close, he has a feeling that the windows are hiding rusty bars and kids wrapped in strait jackets trying to find a way out of the torture. Why is he having all these horrifying thoughts, terrible thoughts that tell a doctor you're crazy? He has no idea, but the thoughts were killing him at the moment; telling him he's going to rot in that castle and only his bones will remain under his once occupied bed that had his secret rag doll at the edge. Aleks gets out of the car and stands in front of his mom, preventing her from grabbing his light luggage; he can't go...well...he doesn't want to, he can't just refuse to his mom. Aleks's mom stares down at him annoyed and pushes him out of the way. "You're going and that's final, I believe that you need to work some things out, the three months will fly by so quick...you won't even notice." She explains and sets his luggage at the front door and she drags him up the steps and forces him to knock on the tall wooden door. He looks down at his feet and holds his hands together behind his aching back from the four hour car ride; the door opens and there stands a nun dressed in white and black. In the movies he always saw them holding a ruler in their hand or a whip hanging over their shoulder; that must have just been the movies that were labeled "Rated R". A big smile is slapped on her face and she grabs his luggage with her old looking hands and he gives her a blank expression. Aleks glares back at his mother and she waves through the wind shield and shakes his head and shuts the door forcefully on the way inside.

"You seem upset Aleks, listen...I know you don't want to be here, but it's the best way to apologize for your sins." The nun says as she guides him upstairs to the room he will be staying with two other boys. His luggage is dropped on his hard bed that looks dented on the sides and in the middle. Aleks takes a look around; the walls aren't fully painted, the floor is uneven and they feel like they're going to break at any moment, weaker with each step that is taken.

"I'm not the biggest believer of the lord...Ms. Nun lady." Aleks says and walks around to the other side of the room behind the curtains that separate him from the other two boys. The nun tries to stop him, but can't find the words to say otherwise. He a boy sitting on his bed drawing skulls and dead looking trees, and then sees an oddly dressed boy; he almost seems like a...nerd. He squints and takes a couple steps closer before he notices his head turn to the side a little; Aleks knows that the boy can tell he's behind him. As frightened as he is right now, he's curious about this boy and his looks.

His style is completely different from the people he usually sees; it's more...dark and deceiving. And he really likes that, and what also brings his hopes up is that he's wearing a checkered belt that keeps his skinny jeans on that matches with a back shirt and a blue beanie in a Christian school. The boy stands up and turns around to get a good look at Aleks, a couple steps closer and the odd boy is right in front of him; their noses almost touching at the tip.

"Hi," he says in a quiet voice and Aleks takes quick and deep breathes as he tries to figure out what to say, even thought he can say the exact same word back to the boy.

"H-hi," Aleks says and he takes a step back, and the boy takes another step forward. Aleks soon figures out that the boy that seems to have a mission to stay close to him is interested in him.

"Nice sweater, I'm always fond of the color blue." He smiles and shows is slightly dented, but perfectly white smile at the boy that has one arm sleeved with tattoos. Aleks smiles at the comment and all he can do is nod his head, for some reason he feels nervous and shy around this interesting boy. He has no clue why, but it's something so crazy that he can't explain, even know what the hell it is.

"I'm Eddie, the weird boy out of the whole school." He says with no shame and walks over to his bed. His bed his covered with papers that have drawings of dead trees and fully detailed sunsets that look realistic. Aleks is amazed at how detailed the drawings are, he's never seen something so detailed that's been created by a young boy like him. "You don't talk much to you?" Eddie asks as he raises an eyebrow and pats the other side of his bed for Aleks to sit. Eddie looks over at the nun and she gives him an angry look; she walks out of the room and he can hear her footsteps grow quieter each second that passes until he can't hear them anymore.

"I'm just shy," Aleks whispers and holds his hands together, he's never been so anxious in his life. His stomach as butterflies flapping in circles constantly and his brain is off in wonderland where he thinks of a better place that holds all his dark imaginations in check. Eddie keeps a straight face and nods, agreeing completely with Aleks; right away he knew that the pale boy that has punk in his blood was going to be shyer than a little kid asking for free candy.

"I can tell, your cheeks are pinker then a spring rose and you're only talking in quiet whispers." Eddie says and shuts the curtain that separates his side of the room from Aleks's.

"Why are you here?" He asks and Aleks looks up at him from his fingers; he keeps picking at his nails all the sudden, he hasn't had this habit in the past.

"I made some bad decisions for a few months and finally my mom grew tired of them." Aleks smiles and tries to control him from picking more at his nails, he doesn't need them to bleed to be satisfied.

Eddie nods and walks back and forth on his side of the room, thinking about stuff that Aleks would never think of in his life. Aleks grows cautious of the boy and he crawls off the bed.

"I should probably go see the nun; she was talking to me about something before you started to talk to me." He says and crosses his arms and walks over to the edge of the curtain. Aleks looks back at the boy and notices he's not paying attention to him anymore, which is actually making him kind of sad.

He enjoyed the attention Eddie was giving him before he made that stupid comment about leaving now. Eddie grabs his notepad and flops onto his uneven bed and starts to sketch something out, but Aleks can't tell what it already is. And on that he goes on the other side of the curtain and catches the nun talking to another one of her, in a mirror...that's not normal, not sane.

"Oh, didn't see you there. Anyways this is where you will be sleeping...and word of advice..." the nun walks closer to Aleks and he takes a quick step back when she appears right in his face, "keep away from the boy, he's nothing but trouble and nightmares." She whispers and picks up part of her dress as she marches down the stairs to check on the other students...or inmates that are now stuck in this institute along with him.