Fear (TordTom)

Chapter One: Enter the School

Tom awoke with a start, his alarm clock blaring loudly into his ears. His whole body hurt, and he realized he must've transformed overnight. The corner he was in had a few claw marks on the wall, which confirmed his suspicions. He also realized that today was his first day of school, and his heart began to beat faster with the anticipation of a new start in his life, whether it be good or bad.

He crawled to his bathroom and used the toilet seat to hoist himself up. He brushed his teeth, then washed his face. Tom sighed as he looked into the mirror. His brown hair pointed up like his father's pineapple stalks, and his eyes were wide and black. When he smiled, there was a gap in his grin from losing his first baby tooth. He almost knew he was going to get picked on. He just had to try to control himself.

He rushed out of the bathroom and got dressed into his school clothes. A yellow collared long sleeve, blue jean overalls, white socks, and his black and white Converse shoes. He grabbed his blue backpack and went down the stairs, his teddy bear snuggled closely to his chest. Auntie had said he could bring a toy to his kindergarten school for show-and-tell, and he felt his teddy was the best option. It had been his first present from his aunt, and he loved it. It was soft, huggable, and it reminded him of the better times.

"Auntie, I'm ready." Tom said in a small voice as he came across his aunt. She smiled at him. In her white blouse, skinny blue jeans, and white Converse she almost looked like his mother. He had seen his mom wearing a similar outfit in one of the pictures his aunt had posted around the house.

"Don't be scared, Tommy." Auntie soothed as they walked outside. She grabbed his hand, but instead of leading him like a blind little boy, she let him lead her to the car. She opened the back passenger door and he crawled inside, slinging his backpack filled with school supplies and his teddy on his shoulder as he struggled. Chuckling, his aunt helped him inside. He buckled himself as she closed the door, and he waited as she climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

After a long silence and a bit of driving, Tom's aunt arrived at the school. It was cute little building with leaves and flowers and trees painted on the white brick. A pickup area was in front of the front office, which he could see through the windows. Bushes and trees were neatly trimmed and dotted the area. It didn't seem like a bad school, and Tom began to feel a little bit better about this. He was excited, almost, and he wanted to meet his classmates and potential friends. Then his jitters got the better of him, and he found himself dreading this day.

Tom got out of the car just as his aunt called, "Have a good day, sweetie!" His backpack was slung over his shoulder, and with a sigh, he trudged inside the school.

As soon as he walked in, he felt colder. The building inside was prim and proper. White tile made up the floor while a pasty white colored the brick walls. The front office was light and airy, with a lot of windows, giving anybody a clear view inside. A little sliding window was positioned in the far right, with a little bar, some papers, and a pen connected to a string of silver beads. He went over to that area, and the lady behind the window opened it as soon as she saw him.

She looked him over a bit, and her eyes widened slightly when her gaze traveled over his face. He felt uncomfortable and hot, despite the A.C blasting cold air almost into his face from the opened window. The lady must've recovered, because she fixed him with a sweet smile and said, "Hello! You must be Tom, correct?" When he nodded, she typed a few things into the computer. A printing sound followed that. She grabbed the piece of paper that was spat out of the printer and handed it to him. "Room 11. This hallway on the left. Oh, and if you have any questions after the day has ended, my name is Mrs. Adell. Now, have a good day, Tom!" He smiled slightly. Maybe he had judged the book by its cover, but as soon as he opened it, he had liked it very much.

He walked down the hallway to the left and admired the bulletin boards. All of them had a similar theme, but each one was different. Some were simple and sweet, while others were big and bold and must've taken a lot of time to put up. He stopped in front of one particular one that he liked a lot, and he gazed at it in awe. It was full of silver and gold ribbons, with a large wolf, which must've been the schools mascot. Tom could feel himself gaping at it, so he snapped out of his trance and came face-to-face with another boy.

He was a little chubby with soft looking brown hair and green eyes. He had a green long sleeve and undershirt and a bright green t-shirt on top. His khaki pants were the tiniest bit baggy, and he had white shoes, which almost matched with the tile underfoot. He stood a bit taller than Tom, and the smaller boy shivered. Only a few minutes in this school and he was already going to get picked on.

"Hi." The boy said, smiling, which surprised Tom. "Are you looking for a room or the restroom? Well of course you're not looking for the restroom, you don't have a pass and-"

"I'm looking for Room 11." Tom squeaked. The boy's eyes widened, and a grin formed on his face.

"Wow, we have the same class! That's soo cool! You seem awesome!" Tom stepped back a little. This kid thought he was awesome? It made Tom's face glow with pride.

"Can you show me where it is?" Tom asked politely. The boy nodded frantically.

"Of course! I was gonna go to the restroom but this seems WAY more important! Woah, has anybody ever told you your eyes are so cool? I wish I had eyes like that! Matt always tells me I have nice eyes, but wait until he sees yours!"

"Um-" Tom gulped. He felt overwhelmed by the boy, but at the same time felt safe. The boy reminded him of his father, always rambling about something or someone, and giving compliments to anybody he saw.

"Oh by the way, my name's Edd! What's yours? I mean, yours must be way better than mine, and-"

"I-it's Tom..." he said.

"Nice to meet ya, Tom!" Edd exclaimed. He grabbed Tom's hand. "C'mon, I'll take you to class!" He let go of Tom's hand and began to walk down the hallway, whistling a little tune.

Tom smiled slightly. At least he had made one friend. But he didn't know if the others would like him, and this Matt that Edd was talking about seemed as if they might be close. If Matt didn't like him, then Edd probably wouldn't anymore either.

Clenching his small hands into fists, he tried to look a little tough. When he acted big and mean, he felt big and mean, and that made him less afraid of things.

Yay, the first chapter is done!! Make sure to vote and comment your opinions!