Fools

One

It was eight years before Ralph returned to school. Eight years of living with his aunt in the United States. Eight years since he'd found out that he lost his parents in the war. Eight years since he was rescued from the island. Eight years of trying to stop himself from having flash backs of the island when seeing certain things.Eight years since he'd been in his home country. He missed England, though he wouldn't admit it.

Before the island, Ralph was almost always outside. He enjoyed the fresh air and the grass under his bare feet. After though, he spent most days inside his room. At first it was because he had forgot what it was like to be around a lot of people. He had forgotten how to act properly, but it soon turned into a habit. He spent most of his days reading books and playing with his aunt's dogs. He hardly went outside unless he had to. His aunt labeled him a "hermit" because of it, but he didn't really care. It was better to be a hermit than a savage. At least, that's how he saw it.

"Ralph, it's time to get up." His aunt called up the stairs. Today was Ralph's first day back to school. Though he was excited the week prior, when he heard his aunt's call, he was undeniably nervous. Anxious even. Ralph got out of bed with an annoyed sigh. He had been up for an hour, trying to talk himself out of bed. When his aunt called out to him, he finally had a reason.

This was the fifth school Ralph was going to try to go to. He hated school, not because of the learning component, but because of the people. He was bullied because he acted different than the other kids. He didn't like to be touched and he hated changing for gym class. He didn't like being outside and he couldn't go in the woods without remembering the cry of Jack's hunters. Upon changing, Ralph cringed at his school uniform. Grey slacks and a white button up shirt with brown shoes. He thought that America would have better school uniforms or something less bland, but he was wrong. While buttoning up his shirt, he saw the familiar scar that Jack had left when he hit him with the spear. The thought made Ralph cringe and shiver, just knowing that if Jack's aim were any better, he'd been dead a long time ago.

The bus ride to the high school was anything but peaceful. Children were yelling and jumping from seat to seat. The driver did his best to calm them down, but nothing seemed to work. Ralph sat in the back seat and watched everything going on outside the window. It was a cloudy day, there were small puddles from the previous night's rain on the concrete. There was a slight chill in the air, encouraging most of the students including Ralph to wear their jackets. The bus driver reached the last stop before the school.

"Get out of my way, would you?"

Ralph felt his blood go cold as another student spoke to him. His heart hammered in his chest as he tore his gaze from the window to meet the eyes of the red headed savage who nearly killed him. Ralph had hoped that he'd never have to see Jack again, but there he was. His red hair was cut shorter, leaving the top long to be slicked back with hair oil. He was a lot taller now, still taller than Ralph. He was quite muscular while Ralph was small and almost concerningly thin. Jack looked down at the fair boy with an intense glare. Ralph got up and was quick to move to the seat ahead of Jack, doing his best to avoid eye contact.

Why was his luck so poor? This school was supposed to be different. He was supposed to start out here with some hope that he'd be able to get over what had happened on the island, but he was wrong. So very wrong. Knowing Jack was at the same school as him would only make it worse. What was he going to do? Ralph sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, it was already going to be a long day.

Jack took the place of the familiar light haired boy. He tried to remember where he had seen him before, but he couldn't quite remember. He furrowed his eyebrows, thinking back as far as he could, but all he could think of was that god forsaken island. Was it one of the littluns? He looked small enough. Maybe he was just imagining things.