Godsgrave: Village of sin

Chapter 1: the beginning of the end

Slim rays of sunshine flitted through the classroom window, specs of dust floated lazily past, taking on a golden like hue that Tom observed with keen interest. As he watched the golden flakes make their descent to the dull grey floor below, he became aware of the irritating poking sensation in his ribs.

Tom dragged his unfocused gaze away from the window and turned towards the figure sitting beside him, the one who had been poking him for a solid 5 minutes. Elija grinned at him with an almost inhuman smile, his dark hair was tied into a knot behind his head leaving the shaved sides of his head exposed. His tanned face and angular jaw that often caught the attention of girl was now facing Tom, blinding him with one of his classic grins.

As Ms.langstrom turned her back to write up the next chemical formula, Elija leaned in close to Toms face to whisper some hilarity, probably about how this class seemed to drag on for eternity. But just then Ms.langstrom turned her bleary eyed vision on the two boys, obviously hoping to put them in their place, she asked in a shrill voice "can I assume that if your talking mr.Tanner, you already know the rest of the formula?"

Like a whip had been cracked he sat bolt upright and gave one of glossy trade mark grins. "But of course ms" he replied, in an only somewhat smug tone. Tom continued to tune out the world around him and instead watched one of Elija's many performances. For as long as he could remember being friends with Elija, he had always had this innate ability to slip into any role, almost like sliding on a mask and showing a person what they wanted to see.

Elija was a well known for being one of the smartest kids, his ability to improvise was unparalleled. As he finished rattling off what could have only been the correct answer with a witty flourish, his body language became relaxed and loose once more. Ms.langstrom, obviously displeased at her failed attempt to catch out the easy going teen, moved onto Tom, "mr.harrow, I expect that you too were paying close attention to the formula." She said in a condescending tone, "if so, then please inform the class of the reactants that pair with the formula."

Toms mind scrambled to find the answer, his eyes darted to Elija for help,unfortunately,he was watching this with as much amusement as the rest of the class. "The reactants would beeeeeeeee, uh, the, um" he tripped over his words, color flushing his pale face, suddenly the answer came to him in a flash of inspiration "bathroom, I need to use the bathroom." Tom stood up from his desk and exited the room in what he hoped looked like graceful and well planned transition.

Elija later informed him, that it was not.

Closing the door behind him with an awkward bang that echoed through the empty corridors of Godsgrave prep. He strode down the long hallway adorned with posters and lockers, Tom figured that with only 20 minutes left of class on a friday afternoon he would be able to hopefully slip under the radar that was ms.langstrom's chemistry class. Making his way into the bathrooms he caught sight of himself in the mirror. His white shirt with his top button undone clung tightly to his slim body, his short cropped black hair was tousled and messy per usual. He gazed at the grey irises of his reflection, taking in his green and white striped tie that hung loosely around his neck.

Tom used to hate the way his round face and short hair, coupled with his small stature made him look significantly younger than he actually was, but ever since his 16 birthday a few months ago he hit a growth spurt, his legs along with the rest of his body got longer, his face shed some of the excess fat that his friends used to tease him about. By friends he really meant Elija.

Taking one last look at his reflection Tom walked back out of the bathroom, his journey back to his chemistry class took him past principal crowes wood paneled office, he immediately took notice of the short haired redhead sitting outside it. Her pink glossy jacket with the upturned collar and floral japenese design stood out from the rest of the plain school uniform she wore underneath. As Tom walked by, his mind raced with greetings and scenarios, he finally decided on a casual wave that turned ultimately turned into a shy hand spasm.

The girl, grace, as he knew her, quirked an eyebrow and gave a small, tight lipped smile in reply. Quickly speeding past the office in an attempt to flee his awkward attempt at a greeting, he rounded the corner and inwardly groaned at the encounter. Grace was the schools,....rebel for lack of a better word. Although not the traditional clad in leather punk, she often challenged the schools policy about uniform and just about anything else, resulting in trips to principle crowes office. most likely caused by her attempt at a strike to stop the use of frog cadavers in the lab, what made her so against crowes's rules was unbeknownst to everyone . Maybe it has something to do with her mom being a teacher.

Still recovering from his awkward encounter with grace he entered the classroom as quietly as possible before seating himself next to a bored looking Elija who was constructing some type of slingshot made out of paper clips and rubber bands. Seeing his friends subtle entrance he perked up. Tom slid into his seat hoping he had avoided the teachers wrath. After a few moments of relief however, ms.langstrom locked eyes with him, almost as if he had never left.

"Ah now that you have returned from your...break, would you kindly inform me of the reactants?" Tom opened his mouth but nothing came out, he shut it and cast his eyes downwards hoping for mercy.

Elija, who's amusement had been building since Tom walked in, couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a series of gasping laughs under his breath.

Tom rolled his eyes, he was about to ask the teacher to repeat the question when suddenly his world was consumed by a harsh, blinding, white light that screamed in his head.