K I N G

p r o l o u g e

Eccedentesiast
noun
A person who hides their pain behind a smile

Neil's POV
He sat in the open window with a cigarette held firmly between his fingers. Lazily, he took a drag from the stick and inhaled deeply as his lips wrapped tightly around it. There was something therapeutic about the way the smoke filled his lungs, the way the nicotine pumped through his veins.

A thick cloud of fog covered Welton Academy. The grey, bleakness of the earth faded into the colorless sky and Neil found himself unable to distinguish the two. A cool breeze blew into the room causing goosebumps to form on his naked skin. Neil traced them softly. He was strangely mesmerized at the way his body reacted to the world around him. A world he felt he fought against every moment of his life. A world that threw obstacle after obstacle in his way until his dreams were so far out of his reach that he was left stranded in the dust.

Neil's throat closed as he was suddenly over taken by a plethora of emotions. He felt things too intensely.

You're too sensitive. He could hear his father scolding. Man up and stop acting like your sister.

Neil inhaled sharply and gazed once more out the window. His father was the last thing he wished to think about. So, instead, he pressed the cigarette to his lips. Again and again. Cigarette after cigarette. He burned through them all until he was on his very last one. Neil grunted in contempt because he knew he'd have to ask Charlie to nick him another box. He raised the nub to his mouth to take one last drag when the door slammed open, frightening Neil causing him to jump at the sudden noise. The cigarette slipped through his fingers and disappeared into the fog below. Cursing quietly, Neil turned to see who had caused all the ruckus. Surprisingly it was Todd who stood in the doorway with a small blush coloring his cheeks.

"Sorry," he mumbled meekly.

Neil shook his head and smiled brightly at his roommate and friend.

"It's okay Todd. Say why don't we see what the others are up to?"

"But I--"

"No excuses this time! You shouldn't be so cooped up in our room all the time. It's bad for your health!"

Todd didn't fight Neil, but watched him with a cautious frown. Neil ignored him and his
looks of confusion as he continued to smile at his friend.

Just keep smiling. He thought.

And he did.