Phantom Hunters | Saphir Casters Academy

15 | Trepidation of the Unknown

XV | TREPIDATION OF THE UNKNOWN

    In spite of himself, Kael couldn't stop his eyes from wandering to the large chests surrounding him. He didn't know where to look, so his gaze flitted from girl to girl, trying to find something other than their bosoms to stare at. It really wasn't his fault that they were crowding him when he was much shorter than they were, effectively swamping him with their curves. Not to mention the fact that they practically shoved each other onto him.

    "Let me talk to him!" a girl said, pushing away her blonde friend.

    "No, me first!"

    "Ugh, get out of my way!"

    "I was here first! Come on, guys! Get in line!"

    Kael stood, petrified by the older girls. What did they want from him? They had crowded around him as soon as he'd stepped out of class. And to his dismay, his friends had abandoned him with large grins and fits of laughter.

    "Girls! We're all here for the same reason. Let's just ask and we'll all listen to what he has to say."

    Kael gulped, hating the feeling of being cornered. He tried to stay calm.

    "W-what is it?" he asked. He almost cowered under their fierce stares. For some reason, they reminded him of a pack of wolves staring at their prey.

    A girl with dark purple hair stepped up to him. Kael was relieved to see that she didn't have the curves the rest of the girls did despite being a third year, indicated by the ID badge that hung around her neck.

    "You're Smaradine, right?" she asked, twirling her long hair around her finger.

    Kael nodded vehemently, hoping she'd go away if he gave her the answer she wanted.

    "Good." She leaned forward. So much that Kael could feel her breath on his cheek. "So you're Kly's brother."

    Kael repeated his previous action, still unable to speak properly. Did they have something against Kly? The dominance exuding from the girl kept Kael locked in place. He almost expected her to grab his collar.

    Then, her ferocity dissolved like butter. The wrinkles on her forehead smoothened out, and her pink lips turned up into a dreamy smile. She clasped her hands together, her dark eyes lighting up with what Kael could only describe as admiration, and raised a leg as if to look more feminine.

    "You've got to tell me all about him!" she said, her voice much higher in pitch than before. "What's his favourite snack? What are his hobbies? What are the places he likes to go the most? Come on, spill! Tell me everything you know!"

    "I-I-I, well, um..." Kael couldn't concentrate with the rest of the girls drawing closer to hear his reply. "Uh, I don't, er, I'm not sure I really..."

    Kael faltered. Information — or lack there of — flooded his mind with questions. What was Kly's favourite food? What did Kly do in his freetime? How did Kael not know? He felt something in his heart break. Again, the realisation that he knew practically nothing about the person he admired the most hit him hard. His shoulders slumped, and his mood dampened enough to drown out the mumbles coming from the circle of girls.

    "Um, I gotta go..." he muttered, pushing past them without caring that they were still pouring out questions. Questions that Kael could not answer.

    "What? Hey, wait! You didn't tell us anything!"

    Ignoring them, Kael broke into a run down the hall. Instead of moving to his next class, Kael sprinted out of the education building and towards the Silver Wolf Den. The scorching sun above beat down on him, and sweat began to drip into his eyes, but he refused to stop. He was fueled with determination, anger, and desperation. He hated that his only surviving family member was practically a stranger to him. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.