My Life as a Dragon

Scales

The alarm clock goes off in a messy room with Lance laying on his bed with the covers on the floor. As the alarm clock gets louder, Lance reaches over to it and turns it off by throwing it onto the floor. The warmth of his bed made it difficult for Lance to open his eyes and get up. It's as if an anvil was on his chest, refusing to let him get out of bed. Eventually though, he was able to bring out enough strength to resist the temptation of his his bed and sits up. He slowly rubs his eyes and bends down to pick up the alarm clock.

"Seven fifteen. I'm getting better. Last year it always took me like thirty minutes to get up," he says with his hand resting on his face.

This type of morning was a regular routine for Lance. So he always makes sure to set his alarm to go off an hour before school. He looks at himself in the mirror as he waits for his eyes to adjust, "Why do I always change in my sleep?"As he gets dressed he makes his way to the kitchen. While making his way to the kitchen he glances by his parents room. The door is wide open with the room looking completely clean and neat. It was as if it's been empty for quite awhile. Once at the kitchen, he looks around and sees nothing but empty space. Lance scratches his head as if the silence made his skin crawl. He walks over to the fridge and grabs a couple of soft boiled eggs. Lance usually doesn't have enough time to make breakfast so he likes to buy soft boiled eggs as a quick solution. He makes his way to the front door and before leaving, looks back. Still empty and quiet.

As he makes his way to school, while eating his eggs, he sees in the distance Axel. Axel is an easy person to spot with his green hair. The two have been friends ever since Lance moved to the United States about three years ago. Lance was originally from the UK but surprisingly doesn't have an accent that would give this away.

"You're up early," Lance says as he wraps his right arm around Axel's neck from behind.

"My dad had a meeting today so he couldn't drop me off."

"I don't get why you don't walk more to school. It's only a short walk."

"Dude, can you not like chew your food so close to my face. I don't want to smell your eggs. And I like sleeping in. Unlike you. I can get out of my bed in under five minutes."

"Hey, sleeping is how I keep my good looks." Lance says as he runs his fingers through his hair.

"So is that why you take naps throughout all your classes?"

"I don't hear the teachers complain," Lance says as he finishes his breakfast.

"Because by some miracle, your grades never slip under an A+" Axel says as he playfully glares at Lance. "By the way, your parents home yet? It's been like a month now."

"They run an important business that requires them to travel a lot. I'm used to it by now."

"You live the dream man. Parents are never home, you got money, looks. Kids our age kill for that lifestyle."

"Heh...yay..." Lance replies with as small frown.

Lance doesn't actually find his lifestyle as something to be proud of. Having money is nice but not something he gloats about. It's not something he is especially proud of. It's not his money, it was given to him. So he only uses the money on necessities. He wears clothes from thrift stores, uses outdated smartphones, and has a decent laptop for school. You can say he is like a minimalist.

As the two make it to school they spot a few other kids near the the entrance. One of them spots Axel and Lance as they got closer.

"I was wondering why you weren't here yet," Arthur says towards Axel. Arthur is like Axel where he stands out pretty easily. He dies his hair white and wears fake glasses as a fashion prop; he likes to stand out from the crowd.