Serein

Etherel University

  West walked to the roadside from a vehicle, bringing a dark blue backpack onto one of his shoulders. He finally reached the school after the hours in a boring train from his home. It was already dusk. He was still feeling the vibration of the train in his feet.

  A large slightly-folded tarpaulin between two poles alongside the very tall and widely opened black gate was drifted above his head. Silly animated students were printed on the corners of it to probably represent the students of the school and words in cranky font right on the center was saying,

  “Welcome To Etherel University, new students!”

  West's attention was now on a man who was sitting on the cemented floor right on the left side of the gate. The man appeared to be a student because of his torn up uniform. He was also holding a cigar on his right hand. He has this dark make up on his pale face, particularly around his emotionless eyes. His hawk-eyed glance rested on West and gave out a hint of what seemed to be . . . repulsion. West shrugged it off.

  He stepped on the concrete road that led to a massive building of old grey—or if it wasn't really because of the dimming sky. Then he heard birds chirping in the big bushy trees that lined on the sides of the road. Lampposts emitted figures of people by the entrance area of the school. He was surprised by the wide area of land. But it went off when he realized that the school was pretty average. The shade of the clouds have turned purple and peach as it highlighted the bars and roofs around the structure. Just after minutes, it would be completely dark. He could see people nearby chatting on the benches on the pavement and that's when he became conscious about the thing that made him different. Wishing he could hide the enigma completely, he pulled his maroon-colored hoodie over his jet black hair.

  “Never let anyone find out about it.”

  As his father's words echoed in his mind, he reached the top of the stairs, looking around, hoping a map would somehow appear in front of him. He slowly moved on to the entrance door which was wide open. Aside from being spacious and spotless like it wasn't even touched by dirt before, the interior was huge and above average. Anyone would be able to know the walls and floors' exact percent of smoothness and sturdiness just by looking at them. At that moment, it was so quiet. The weak lit bulb that was overhead suddenly started flickering off and on.

  “Massive lot. Cheap building.” An unfamiliar deep voice broke the silence. “Ain't I right?”

  West found his eyes on a tall and athletic guy who looked like his age. The guy has a Cheshire cat smile that seemed to make him look charming. He was holding a basketball. West's agreement only came off with a "yeah." He hasn't been able to talk with other people except his father. Luckily, the guy obviously knew how to talk with people.

  “Well, we all know Etherel is the cheapest private school there is. So new guy, what are you taking?” The athlete said, clapping the ball in his hands.

  “Um, Fine Arts.”

  The athlete tilted his head.

  “No, no, I was talking about what personal medication you are taking,” He said suddenly in a serious tone. Then amusement eventually spread over his face, as he noticed West's expression.

  “I'm just messin' with ya,” said the athlete, chortling, “Oh, by the way, I'm Joe. You're really lucky you met me first. No one else's helpin' you here. They all are swell-headed.”

  “I'm West. So where can I get my schedule slip?”

  After settling in, West was shown to his dorm. Joe told him that most people don't trust Etherel University because of the far distance from the city and how the teachers' cheap salary has affected their job. Not to mention that it wasn't a popular school. As for the moment, West couldn't get over the fact that it wasn't like his home anymore. But he knew he had to adjust.

  It was 11:08 pm. The crescent moon shone back at the boy from the Southwest. The boy stared back at it, looking for clues of peculiar cranky slit-shaped eyes on the umbra. West pulled his hood down, the cold wind hitting his exposed skin. He was sitting on a large rock beside an arcadian lake alongside an olive tree. The place he found was just alongside the entrance to the building. He couldn't sleep well because of the constant worries of what might happen next if he'd ever spill the real him. Everyone would think Zephyrus Warren was a complete monster. 

  Scientists would force him to sit on a lab chair in tight inflammable straps, or put him in an experimental chamber while keep changing certain low water temperatures and be assigned for an every hour routine of suffering.

  He sighed and clutched the bracelet on his right hand. All the memories of his childhood felt like a distant dream. He wondered what it would be like if he didn't had the curse. He would have memorized his mother's face on each angle, and her sweet smile. He had missed it and had gave himself fake memories to make himself feel better. But as time grew distant, these memories felt real to him.

  Real or not, it wouldn't change the fact that he had never met his mother.

  “Fiery slopes, I hope wind blows the hint of haze. . .” A beautiful and gentle voice suffused the arcadian night. West was searching around for the singing, bewildered.

  “–at's filling your face. Fiery slopes, I hope you sheer to the right road, dear.” The song triggered West's memory. He had been very forgetful to a lot of things but never to music.

  “Instead of haunted cheers.”

  It was always hummed by Lily during the times she'd spaced out. The song was an eccentric totem to her. West didn't knew where it came from nor heard it from anyone else. But he assumed that it was created by herself for him.

  West wearily sighed because he wasn't able to find the familiar voice's source. Unlike her, West gives up easily. Lily was the kind of person who wasn't willing to give up on anything that will bother her for a long time. But every time she's low-spirited, she would get all shockingly serious about getting out of the hole.

  The moonlight was reflected on the rippled water of the arcadian lake and he closed his eyes, perhaps he had only imagined the song. He stood up from the large rock and leaned over the ground, taking a pebble in his hands.

  It was in his motives to provide for his father. But he knew he wasn't living for him. West was living for himself.

  “This sucks.”

  He threw the pebble over the lake, causing the peacefulness to vanish in ripples. But he could do that. He could kill himself. Despite the fact that he had tried to do it many times, a thought would crop up covering his suicidal thoughts and make him doubt. What was the thought that made him doubt?

  A sound of a vehicle broke the deafening silence, startling him. He rattled and hid behind the tree. He didn't want to be seen staying up in the middle of the night. They would think he's doing something bad. Moments later, he peeked to find two figures on the top of the concrete stairs. The other figure was smaller. One of them was speaking. West couldn't hear what they were saying. Then he realized it was a mother and daughter. When the mother gave the daughter a hug, the daughter looked uncomfortable and didn't move a bit. Then the mother kissed her on the forehead and went to her car. The car drove away. The girl was still standing there in a teal shirt dress, staring at where her mother had last been.