Six of Crows in Middle School

Monsieur Kaz Brekker

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Kaz woke with a groan as his alarm clock continued with its ceaseless beeping. "Five more minutes," he muttered, forgetting the clock was a clock, and not, in fact, a human. Finally, Kaz pushed himself to a seated position and hit the button to stop the alarm. You're already awake. Might as well get up, Kaz thought as his rebelling body tried to lie back into the bed. 

You better wake up, Kaz thought again, Or I'm gonna whoop your ass. That got his body moving. It knew Kaz's brain wasn't lying. 

Kaz limped into the bathroom and splashed water on his pale face to wake himself up some more. He brushed a hand through his oily hair and stumbled back into his room to get ready for school. 

Kaz sighed as he sat on his bed to put on some pants. Seventh grade was a living hell. It is for everyone, but for Kaz especially. He forced himself to get good grades in subjects that didn't even matter, like science and social studies. It's not like Kaz wanted to be a physicists or an archaeologist or whatever. 

But the teachers needed to trust him. It was the only way to do... things... without getting in trouble. "Work the system," he always said.

Wait. When have I ever said "work the system?" Kaz thought questioningly to himself. Now, he answered. With a shrug, Kaz pulled on his boots right when his phone started buzzing. Kaz sighed and picked it up. His friends were idiots. Why was he even friends with them?

7:20 am

Jesper: Yo Kaz!

Kaz: What is it

Jesper: Ur still meeting me at the bus stop right?

Kaz rolled his eyes as he answered.

Kaz: Ive been meeting u at the bus stop since 3rd grade. Why would I stop?

Jesper: I dunno. Just making sure.

Why was Jesper so annoying? Kaz shook his head in annoyance as he grabbed his metal cane from the bedside table. Before we continue, let's pro con this cane thing.

Pros: Permanent sit out of gym free card, everyone gets out of your way in the halls, can be used as a weapon, etc.

Cons: A constant reminder of the poor job the doctor did at setting your broken leg, people underestimating you, etc.

Kaz smiled slightly at the constant sound of his thumping cane as he walked down the street toward the bus stop. He'd had it since second grade. The summer before, Kaz was being idiotic and fell off of the roof of his house. He landed on his left leg, and broke it. Kaz's brother, Jordie, rushed him straight to the hospital. There the doctor set it, and wrapped the leg in a cast that was to stay on for the next six months. Yeah, it was that bad of a break.

When the cast finally came off, the doctor realized he set it wrong six months before. It was impossible to fix after so much time, so he made Kaz use a cane. For the next year, Kaz felt resentment toward the doctor, and ashamed about the cane he was forced to use.

Until Jesper.

The second Jesper saw Kaz sitting alone on the playground, he ran over and plopped himself next to the black-haired boy. "I'm Jesper," he said, waving his hand in greeting.

"Kaz," Kaz responded, confused. He had never talked to Jesper before, as they were in different classes, but he had seen the boy in the hallway at one time or another. 

Jesper pointed at Kaz's cane. "What's that for?"

Kaz immediately clammed up. "I-it's nothing," he said, blushing fiercely. That was before he learned to control his emotions. 

"Well whatever it's for," Jesper responded, "I think it's really cool. I mean you can use it as a weapon! Look!" Jesper pulled the cane away from Kaz's gloved hands and swung it around, accidentally hitting himself in the shin. "Ow!" he shrieked, and Kaz fell to the ground laughing.

Kaz remembered this well, and he waved as the Zemeni boy came into view around the corner. Jesper waved back enthusiastically just as the bus came to a screeching halt in front of him. "Hurry up, Kaz!" Jesper yelled as the bus doors opened, "You're gonna miss the bus!"

Kaz shook his head. Jesper really was an idiot. But he quickened his footsteps anyway, for his friend's sake rather than his own.