The Secret Service: The Wings of Titania

Chapter 2: The New Student

 The school bell rung once, signaling the end of another lesson. I heaved a silent sigh of relief as I packed my stuff back into my rucksack and scooted out of the lab. The hallway was packed as usual. I carefully navigated the dangerous obstacle course, dodged a couple of females, ducked an incoming rugby ball to arrive unscathed and safe at my locker.

 'Hi, Warren.' He greeted me with a small smile, then turned back to what he was trying to do, unlock his locker. Savagely, he swiped his card, the red light blinked once, beep. Access denied. 

 'Having trouble?' I asked.

 'I have an important paper for next period and it's-' Beep. 'Stuck-' Beep. 'In here!' He said in exasperation, swiping several times so fast he could've set a new record, which all came out with the same unchanging beep.

  I pulled out my own card and swiped once, the green light blinked, and the locker clicked open its' door. Our lockers were those state-of-the-art, electronically monitored, digital access metal lockers that were almost impossible to break into. Only the headmaster had the master card, and he charged anyone who would use it. Which made me suspect if he was waiting for what exactly would happen to Warren.

'Dammit!' He cursed, banging the locker door in rage. He panted for a while, then, unsuspectingly, he pulled out a black card from his pocket and swiped it once, followed by his own card. This time, the locker shone green and opened. He looked at me nervously. 'You saw nothing, right?'

 I laughed. 'Absolutely nothing.' I winked at him. He grinned and started rifling through the contents of the locker. Warren was one of the nerds, like the ones really into books and don't socialize really much. He's the current holding president for the computer club, and though not many knew about it, he is one of the best hackers in our school. I only saw him around during locker breaks, but he was really the only person I could talk to without feeling awkward. 

 The school bell rung, and Warren shut his locker. 'Gotta' go, see ya'.' He waved once and was gone, leaving no trace of his presence except the breeze as he walked off.

                                                                                              ***

 Music was my next class, and I didn't exactly look forward to it. In our school, you have to choose between Phys Ed and Music when you get out of freshman year. Since I didn't want to get pulverized on the basketball court by Jake and the other madmen, Music was my best choice, but that didn't mean I would like it any better. 

 As I neared the music room, I heard the sound of a violin. That was a surprise, nobody liked going to music classes early. The melody was strangely familiar, I closed my eyes. My Way, an old favorite of dad's when he was still alive. There were no accompaniments, but by itself, the music was beautiful. It rose and fell, dragging me in. I walked forward and opened the door. And I saw him.

 His silvery blonde hair reached his shoulders, tied up in a loose half-up ponytail. His attire could be summed up in one word, dark. Everything was either black or white or silver, from his loose jacket that covered a t-shirt to his long pants and his sneakers. He looked so horribly out of place, a thorn amongst the roses.

 But the music spoke the opposite.

 He dragged his bow across the violin strings, the melody flowing like a spring from the rock. The music reached its' crescendo, reaching the pitch, his fingers trembling, finally exploding into a flash of color and emotion. He removed the bow, the last notes fading into silence. 

 He turned towards me, a teasing smile on his face. 'Well don't just stand there, applaud!' His eyes were amber. I froze, seizing up. Memories flashed through me, the fall to my own death, the marks on my wrist, the feel of the icy skin, the advice. 'Live,' The shadow had said. 'For there are many who wished for another chance.' 

'Mister Fischer?' Miss Helen, the music teacher inquired. The violinist was no longer looking at me. His attention was to the music score in front of him. Curious. I thought to myself. Very curious. 

 The bell rang moment later, and the violinist headed towards me. 'Is your name Kyle Fischer?' He asked. I noticed his eyes were actually blue, not amber. Strange. 

 'Yeah, who are you?'

 'My name's James Underwood, my sister Sophie told me I'd find you around.' He said, clutching his music files to his chest. So this was Sophie's brother, totally not what I had in mind.

 'Yes, I'm supposed to be your mentor in...what exactly?' It was the honest truth, as far as I remembered, Sophie didn't exactly specify what I was supposed to help him with. 

 'Uh, Latin, Spanish, the sciences and mathematics. But I think mathematics only would be fine, I have no mind for numbers.' He looked embarrassed, staring at the ground.

 'Okay, so...what time are you free during school hours?' I didn't want to miss my classes when I was supposed to be helping a newbie with his studies. 

 'Three hours before starting of class, lunch and three hours before the end of school.'

 'Um, three hours before the start of class. Do you mind the library?'

 'I don't.' He said.

 'Alrighty then, start tomorrow. Meet me at the entrance to it.'

 'Thanks.' He turned to walk away, but turned around to fix me with the same blue eyes as Sophie's. 'It was nice knowing you.' He paused once. 'Kyle.'