Academy One Shots

Ghost Bird One Shot

This is a one shot for Ghost Bird, one of my stories. For some context, the guys are all actors in Ghost Bird, a hit TV show. They aren't part of the Academy because the Academy isn't real.

Nine little boys sat in a loose circle on the floor of Matthew's bedroom. With the rambunctious energy of sixth graders, they playfully shoved each other and generally created quite a ruckus. It wasn't until Matthew shouted for them to calm down that they quit yelling.

Everyone turned to face Matthew, who was their unspoken leader. While they had never formally discussed it, over the past six years it had become their custom to listen to the quiet boy. He had an air of control about him that lent anything he said a magnetic sort of quality. They trusted that he would keep them out of trouble but still find ways for them to have fun.

"I would like to welcome everyone to the first meeting of the Ghost Bird Squad," Matthew intoned formally. Remmy, a short and rather clueless boy, clapped politely. "We all know today's mission: Operation Junk Food Retrieval." At that, all the boys cheered wildly. Matthew's mom was on a new health kick and had hidden all the junk food in the house. They could have met somewhere else of course, but it was their tradition to gather in Matthew's cozy bedroom with its light blue walls and giant stuffed teddy bear sitting in the corner.

Timothy, known for his rebellious micro-mohawk, raised his hand. "I claim Nathan!" he yelled. The others began calling dibs, too, causing the room to dissolve into a cacophony of sound.

Matthew shook his head. "No calling people," he ordered. "We have to assign them by personality." There were a few groans of disappointment, but he was adamant. For the Ghost Bird Squad to be a successful Academy team—to be worthy of the legendary TV show—they had to portray the characters as accurately as possible.

"So who thinks they should be Kota?" Matthew asked. All the boys pointed at him.

"You, dummy," Remmy's twin brother, Alex, said. Alex had keen brown eyes that constantly observed everything around him, but he also had a wicked tongue that frequently got him in trouble at school. It wasn't really his fault, though; people were constantly picking on Remmy and as his twin, it was Alex's job to defend him.

Matthew nodded, accepting the position of power. He knew he should be Kota, but he had wanted to leave the role open in case anyone else really wanted it. "Victor?" he asked next.

The room went silent. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out who best suited the passionate musician. Caleb slowly raised his hand. "I can play a few songs on the recorder," he said. Matthew got up from the floor and rustled in one of his old bins before unearthing the recorder everyone had been required to buy in fourth grade.

"Show us," he ordered.

Caleb took the plastic instrument. He carefully lined up his fingers on the holes before holding it to his lips and blowing. A few wispy notes came out.

"Close enough," Matthew said. Caleb grinned, happy to have earned his friend's approval. "Silas?"

Everyone turned to look at Ryan, who was by far the tallest of the boys. His parents made him start kindergarten a year late, so he had another year of growth on the rest of them. Ryan, not one for excess talking, simply shrugged.

Before Matthew had time to announce Nathan, Timothy had already shot to his feet. "I want to be Nathan!" he exclaimed. Matthew groaned.

"Are you sure? I see you more as a Gabriel," he said. Timothy's crazy hair, slightly wild eyes, and constant bouncing screamed Gabriel, but Matthew wouldn't stop him if he really wanted to be Nathan.