Chapter 1 - The first day.
Routine. I hate that word. The word suggests exactly what it means, something revolving around the same thing forever. You wake up, you make the same cereal and sit in the same chair on the same table, discussing the same topics with the same family. You go to the same school, do the same classes, same drama, same friends. Go home, have the same dinner, talk more of the same with the same family, go to the same bed. Wake up. Repeat. It's all quite endless, really. I've always wanted an escape, but it just seems that one simply isn't coming to me. I feel trapped inside my own life. Funny, right? It's your life, you're the one who is in control of everything that happens including your own emotions, yet you're held prisoner by routine and cycles of the same old things every day.
That particular morning, 28th August 2014, started out just like any other really.
"Mum, I can't find my school shirt." I groaned, as I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and staggered into her bedroom; somewhat resembling a zombie.
She sat up from her bed, "Bannister", she replied; and instantly returned to her pillow.
"Thanks." I mumbled and grabbed the shirt and wrestled with the fabrics as I attempted to pull it over my bed-head of wavy brown hair. I lazily fastened my tie and grabbed my back and out the door I went.
I had a pretty simple family and family home, it was just my mum and I. My dad had died when I was only 3 years old and so I don't really remember much from him. Just one hazy memory of me walking across the floor to his outstretched hands, and that's just about as close to a dad as I'll ever get. That doesn't matter though, sure it would be great to have a dad and to be brought up like just about every other guy out there but guess what? Life sucks and we don't get a say in the things that matter. We don't get a say in who our family are, we just put up with it the best we can. It's like eating out at a restaurant, you just have to hope that you get good food and if it sucks well; you're screwed. I accept that some things are out of our control though.
As I walked along the neighbourhood pavements, grey and cracked with wear, I took my phone out of my pocket and called my only close friend - Tyler.
"Hello?" A deep, raspy voice answered, stifling a yawn.
"Dude, have you like just woke up?!" I laugh.
"No. I woke up when you called me. We've been talking for at least a whole 12 seconds now. Now it's 16." he said.
"Whatever man, just don't be late to school. You know I have nobody else to talk to."
"Oh, the pain! The inhumanity! The plague of lack of conversation! Whatever will you do, Z? Alert the authorities! Get the Prime Minister on the line! Call the-" I hung up. This could go on for hours.
I crossed a few roads, bought a chocolate bar from the local shop and arrived at school. Surrounding me were wild packs of animals. In the corner, the mice, they would speak amongst themselves and keep private most of the time. They daren't look any of the animals in the eye for fear of being ridiculed. Strolling through the gate at the same time as me, the lions, in their sport jackets and surrounded by birds circling overhead. The lions strolled by the mice, eyeing them up and down to ascert their dominance. Their were other animals at our school too; vultures, kangaroos and baby kangaroos, sheep and even our own bear. Of course, there weren't really any animals at my school; I just saw it that way. It was a zoo. Or, it may as well have been considering nobody really spoke to me unless I spoke to them first. Even then, they wouldn't offer me more than a few words of exchange. I walked to my first class of the day and checked the time: 8:45am. 15 minutes early. Again. Routine.
A few mice were also outside the class and I observed them for a little while. They were discussing the latest release on the Xbox, I had the game too but if I spoke to them they would probably just make a quick remark about how inferior I am at the game compared to them, and so like always - I kept my mouth shut. I got out my books and sat cross legged on the floor, and looked over my notes for the upcoming class. First was English. I liked English. Well, I liked the teacher - Mr. Edwards - and I liked the control that it gave me when we did creative writing. They fascinate me, books, you can create an entire universe using only words. The further you expanded your vocabulary and literary canon, the more complex and deep your universe would become and the more immersed you can become in your own little alternative reality - to escape your own. Fascinating.
"Z!" a voice yelled.
"Hey, Tyler." I replied, not looking up from the book.
"Oh, you're always Mr. Grumpy aren't you, Zachary?"
"It's first thing in the morning. Would you like me to perform an Irish jig to entertain you, Lord Tyler?" I snorted.
"Well, it certainly wouldn't go amiss." he smiled.
"Go stuff yourself." I replied, still not lifting my head from my books.
"Suit yourself." Tyler responded, and reached into his bag and took out a sandwich, he opened his jaw wide and swallowed half of it in one go. Thats the thing about Tyler. We all have a thing. Harry Styles has his hair, Spock had his eyebrows, Michael Jackson had his moonwalk and Tyler had his food. I didn't really have a thing, at least I didn't think I did. I'm as unextraordinary as they come.
A few minutes later a tall man with in a charcoal suit with dark rings around his eyes and wild black, short hair turned the corner of the corridoor and strided gracefully to the classroom door, his keys jingling jubilantly in his pocket as he did so."Morning, Zachary", his deep, wisdomous voice boomed.
"Hi, Sir." I said, as I picked up my books and stuffed them into my bag - standing up as I did so.
"Good weekend?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. This is why I liked Mr. Edwards, he cared. Not like the bullshit I'll-always-be-there-for-you-I-care-about-you kind of care, I mean he genuinely made sure I was okay. Which I mostly was, I mean I had nothing much to complain about. But it was nice.
"Not so bad, Sir. You?" I replied.
"It was excellent, I discovered another book which will be right up your street." he smiled, his eyes crinkling as he did so.
"Great. I'll check up on it later. Thanks."
He turned the key and the door creaked open as I walked through and shuffled into my desk, which was located behind Tyler's, and set my stuff below my chair.
I should probably explain about the book thing and my strangely close relationship with Mr. Edwards. You see, I've always really kept myself to myself and I spend most of my time at home escaping my not-so-extraordinary reality by delving nose deep between the crinkled pages of a good book - it made me feel more alive. Mr. Edwards shared my same love for books and he was always showing me these neat little books that altered my perception on how I see the world; one time he loaned me his treasured first edition of The Catcher in The Rye and I spent the next few weeks seeing everyone as "phonies" and all of their empathies and sympathies came across as paper thin and bullshit. However, I digress.
The rest of the class slowly piled into the room and the desks began to fill. However, one desk towards the front of the class remained vacant and I knew who it belonged to. Lily Summer. Oh, how everybody knew Lily Summer. She was everything that everybody looked for in a girl. She was endlessly fascinating with every one of her quirks and idiosyncrasies; as each and every one of them added up to her unforgettable personality which unprecedently exceeded all expectations that anyone was to have in a "heart throb". She was a little different to any of the other girls at this school, she had always caught my eye but I had never caught hers. It was just like her to be late, but Mr. Edwards didn't mind - she always caught up in no time. She shares a love similar to mine for the subject of English, and I would often catch her with an old book under the desk, the spine bent out of shape as it had been read and re-read countless times. Okay, you got me, I was almost obsessed with this girl. But what boy at this school wasn't?
"Pick up your books and turn to page 17" Mr. Edwards announced, "today we will be learning about how we can
