Hollow's Grove (The Revised Version)

Chapter Three: The Brochure

I yawned and leaned back into the bench. My mother was nowhere to be seen. I had been sitting on the bench for over an hour. My eyes scanned the never ending sea of people. I saw no sign of my mother. She had promised that she would be only a few moments. I gave a swift glance down at my wristwatch, my eyes widened at the time. It was nearly five in the afternoon.

We had got to the mall at eleven in the morning. I had spent my entire day sitting on a bench in a stuffy, crowded mall. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Mum had dragged me along on several shopping trips. She had made me buy new shoes, new pants and new shirts. She said it was because she was finding a lot of my clothes were going missing lately. I had nearly choked on my saliva when she had told me she found a claw mark in one of my old shirts.

I groaned, shaking the dismal thoughts from my mind. I needed to clear all thoughts from my mind. There wasn't time to think of the outcome if mum ever discovered what I was. She was missing, I hadn't seen her for almost two hours now. I glanced wildly around the mall aisle. It was like the crowds were growing every second. People surged down the aisle. I sighed and leaned back, she was nowhere to be seen.

My mind becomes dangerous if I can't figure something out. I began to imagine horrible outcomes and reasons as to why mum wasn't back yet. I had to get up off the bench and go look for her. I looked around, making sure I wasn't about to walk away and miss her. I still couldn't see her. I slid off the bench, and slipped into a large crowd that was passing by. No one had noticed the extra person they had just gained.

I was able to escape the group near the foodcourt. They had dispersed, heading their separate ways for different food counters. The foodcourt smelled delicious. My stomach rumbled loudly, reminding me that I hadn't had anything too eat in a while. There was no time for stopping though, I had to practically drag myself away from the foodcourt. My mouth watering as I passed several burger stops.

I knew that once I found mum I had to remind her about getting us something to eat. I began to walk down the rows of shops. Pushing past vendors and ogling buyers. My ears were tuned to my surroundings, listening for any sort of recognizable sound of my mother. I gazed around, with hope in my eyes. I saw nothing but shops that were packed, benches, an escalator that led to the second floor of the building and a sign for washrooms.

I groaned, this was getting ridiculous. I made my way down several more rows of stores before I heard something that made my heart leap for joy. "Well, I don't know. How much is the tuition for each year?" It was my mum. I began to sprint towards her voice. Sure enough there she was, just down the way. There was a man dressed in a black suit beside her. I slowed, my eyes narrowing. What was this about?

I made my way towards them, I reached my hands into my jean pockets. I grabbed ahold of my house keys, making sure that I had something to defend mum and myself with. As I got closer, I noted that mum had something in her hand. I stopped, it looked like a brochure. Just as I got right up to where they stood, the man spun around his gaze transfixed on me. I couldn't help but gasp. His eyes, they were a light turquoise. That though wasn't what made me gasp. Was it just me or did it seem like they were glowing ever so slightly.

Mum turned around as well, noticing the man had swivelled around. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. "Oh, here is he now actually. Mr. Macmillan, I would like you to meet my son, Tobias." I stood there for a few moments, trying to determine what was happening. I must of had a shocked look on my face because Mr. Macmillan began to laugh. "It's alright lad, I am not going to bite." He had a thick Scottish accent.

He reached his right hand out in greeting. I slowly pulled my right hand of my pocket. My left hand was still wrapped around my keys. As we shook hands, Mr. Macmillan turned his attention back to mum. "Yes, as I was saying earlier, your son would feel right at home at Hollow's Grove." My jaw dropped. Were they discussing a school? I pulled my hand away from Mr. Macmillan, my face twisting with fear. "What's Hollow's Grove?" I asked. I couldn't help but hear my voice crack.

Mum stared down at me, her eyes wide. I could tell that she was not impressed that I had butted into the conversation. Mr. Macmillan smiled, his canine teeth were unbelievably sharp. "Well, it's a boarding school. I heard about how you dropped from your education Tobias, how would you like to finish it?" His smile seemed to widen as he asked the question. I shook my head, "No thanks, I am perfectly happy with my choice of not going to school." Mum frowned as I said this. She had hated the fact I had left my education early.

"I think that it would be a great thing for him to finish his schooling, maybe even earn a degree." She said quickly. I felt my heart sink, once mum had an idea in her head, there was no stopping her. Mr. Macmillan beamed. "Perfect, I have already given you the brochure," he glanced down at the silver wristwatch across his right arm. "Well, I must be off. Have a good evening." With that he spun on his heels and headed down the aisle.

Mum and I stood there for a few more moments. We stood there, watching Mr. Macmillan's figure shrink into the distance. Finally mum turned and glanced around. "Wow, I had no idea that I had been talking with him for so long. We should get going Toby." I had no objection to leaving. I was hungry, tired, we had wasted an entire day here. She began to walk down the hall, I couldn't help noticing that she walked with her head held high. This was an opportunity for her, I knew that she was going to take it, whether I wanted to go or not...