Never Too Late

First Encounter

Briggan woke in the usual mood and he sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He noticed the abnormal silence in the room. Odd, he noted. It only took a glance around to find what had transpired. He'd woken himself an hour before his alarm was programmed to do so. Getting out of his bed, Briggan gathered up one of his outfits and headed to take a shower.

Once in the bathroom, he turned the shower on and waited a few minutes while he undressed and waited for the water to heat up. Briggan looked in the vanity mirror, staring at his reflection. Being a wolf at the age of sixteen, he gazed closely at his platinum fur and cobalt-sapphire-hued eyes. He traced the lines of his contours in his mind. God! I still look so much like her!

By this time the shower was plenty steaming, so Briggan stepped into the hot stream of water. Once in, Briggan's body began to relax. This here was a simple pleasure that was a rare gift in Briggan's case, and he would enjoy it as long as he could. It was here that Briggan could forget all of his troubles, albeit for a very short time, and soothe his sour spirits.

Briggan stayed in a little longer than normal and when he did come out, he felt much more content than was expected from him. Briggan didn't make too much of a mental note of it so as not to spoil the moment. After all, he didn't know how long this would last. He wanted to savor the feeling.

Mastace was a little later than he would have liked. He blamed that on the temperament of his mane, which was shorter than other lions his age. It wasn't that it grew out slow, but that he often had it trimmed so that it came down to the nape of his neck and it does not come around to the front. His father didn't understand why he was so adamant about keeping it that short, but they chalked it up to expression of individuality. Even with its greatly diminished size, it was still greatly difficult to maintain. So now he was late. Groovy, he thought. It's only my first day here and I'm already getting behind. This is going to be easy...

Briggan left his house earlier than anticipated, giving him an extra half-hour. Not wanting to stay in the open for too long, Briggan made his way straight to school. Getting there quickly was simple enough. He lived nearby, making it better on him. Luckily, due to his earliness, he didn't have to deal with the typical amount of traffic.

The school building appeared gaunt with its weathered brick-faced structure. A marquee rose proudly from its post, displaying the name of the facility with a distinguished sense of honor: Thomas Nelson Senior High School. The walls had been repainted over and over due to delinquents vandalizing the school every year. Despite its seemingly diminutive size, it could fit an astonishing number of students and faculty.

Briggan made a straight shot to the back schoolyard. He wanted no one to be alerted of his presence, and others didn't want to know he was here. That was the mutual unspoken agreement between him and the rest of the world, and everyone preferred it that way. At least, no one objected. This was the way things were for a long time, and it was sure to stay that way.