Chapter Two
Hestaphus
BAM! My life was over. I knew it. I was gonna die, on this sidewalk, outside the blasted orphanage, bludgeoned to death by my insolent room-mate. As my face was throbbing, I could see my life passing by. I remembered when I was little, I got my first horse. It was a pure-bred, as white as the moon. I loved to ride him, which introduced me to Kelping. It is a very competitive game. You ride on a horse, and you have to steal the ball from other people and put it in the goal. Of course, you can’t get down and pick it up, so you have a net on the end of the stick. I am the champion of Gluestrat, which is where I live. I also remembered my favorite servants. Father had too many to keep track of. Lily was the best cook. Harold cleaned like it was fun. I remembered my friends, who I miss the most. I was the popular boy. I had lots of friends. I’m not that bad looking, so I had some girls who fancied me. I was the main jock. I had all of that, until five months ago. That was when my father had abandoned me, while I was at Kelping practice. No one saw him go. I don’t really miss him though. I never saw him anyways. He spent all of his time either at work or in his study, which I was never allowed in. I saw my life for the last five months. Arriving at the dirty orphanage. The boys, much larger, being mean. And the “special” things I have discovered about myself. That first night, I discovered that there was a pool. I went for a swim. It was noisy, so I went underwater. I didn't know how much time passed since I was underneath, but when I came back up, all of the boys were gone. The moon was much higher than before. I, being as knowledgeable as I am, would estimate a good half hour had past. But that was impossible. When I got out, something equally as impossible occurred to me. I was completely dry. Not a drop on me. The next day, I went to dinner. It was so noisy, but it was more than just the talking. I looked at everyone, and it was like I could tell what they were thinking, like I could hear it in my head. Those memories passed, and I recalled this morning. I was just sitting on the curb of the street, watching the boys from my building and the girls from the one next door, minding my own buisness, when I heard my roommate yell,
“Hey! Pansy!” I ignored him. Big mistake. “What? Is Hest too smart to talk to us? You scrawny coward. Answer me, or I’ll beat the living daylights out of you!” I just continued to ignore him. I didn’t understand why he was yelling at me, and I didn’t dare look at his face. That seemed to only anger him more, which is when he punched me. In the face. Then the stomach. Then, when I was on the ground in a fetal position, he kicked me. Repeatedly.
“Oi!” I heard someone cry out, a girl. I had just noticed her, but I had sensed her, like a nagging feeling in the back of my head, since I had arrived. “Get off him!” She had a weird accent, like she was from Albania.
“Oh, and who’s gonna make me, you? You’re just a girl.” Ned, my roommate replied.
“Ya, a girl that’s dronk van and is gonna kick your gat if you don’t get off him.” Everyone gasped. Girls never cussed. Ever. But that’s what she did. She punched and kicked and did moves I’ve never seen before. He was bleeding and crying by the time she was done with him. I got up, with a bit of a limp, and walked over to her. My lip was bleeding and I was pretty sure I had some broken ribs and a black eye.
“Um. Thanks. I guess.” I told her awkwardly.
“Don’t mention it. He was being a bully. I just did what anyone would have done.” She replied.
“Well, no-one else did, so I don’t really think so.” She reached up her hand to wipe her forehead. Then I saw it. A necklace. It wouldn’t seem like much to most people. Just a simple leather chain with a green stone. But to me, it meant everything. “Where did you get that?” I asked, pointing to the the necklace.
“Oh.” she said. She seemed to be embarrassed. “It was a gift. From my mother.”
“How weird.” I replied. “I have one exactly like it.” I pulled it out from underneath my shirt and showed her. She didn’t say anything, just stood there. Then someone called us all in. “Well. It was nice meeting you” I said.
“Ya. Bye.” She replied. She isn’t very sociable, I thought as I went inside.
