The King & the Brother

Chapter 4

     The boys had gotten used to cleaning the kitchen, They expected the daily coating of food viscera and towering plates, it didn't seem so bad anymore. They gladly picked up their tools of choice and got to work, Jabez hoped to himself that their good work attitude would alleviate the lockdown.
   As Jabez chatted away, his friend listened and occasionally piped in with his own thoughts. Jabez thought that talking was a good way to pass the time as they cleaned, Cessair felt listening to Jabez was the best thing to pass the time, he appreciated his carrying of the conversation as it wasn't his forte.
    Unbeknownst to the boys, Cecilia was pinned against the wall directly next to the kitchen doors which featured several small, grimy view ports into the room. She was occasionally peaking in on the two, observing them work and converse. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, she would have to enter to do that and she didn't want to give her position away. Cecilia continually tried listening in on the boys' conversations as the day progressed, breaking near the end of her rounds to peer through the viewing ports.
    The boys finished cleaning around their usual time and being punctual as always, Cecilia came to collect them with anger radiating from her before she even opened her mouth. 
     She sped through her usual rigorous inspection and immediately confronted the teens, "Ya boys are on lock down! Who said you could be conversatin' in here?" She shrieked, her voice was like an assault on Cessair's ears. As the look of protest arose in their faces, she would strike again, "Don’t even try ta deny it, I watched ya slackers all day! If ya can finish while gabbin, ya can finish alone. You'll go to the activity room tomorrow while Jabez handles the kitchen himself." Jabez immediately looked over to his friend, heartbreak and surprise in his eyes. Cessair grumbled to himself, trying not to speak out of turn. 
"Hurry up and get yer scraps and get to bed, don't you dare waste my time!" She shoved the boys forward toward the hall, indifferent to Jabez's sniffling and restrained tears. She dropped them off in the dining hall to collect their meal from the night, they were glad she was gone.
    Just bread and cold gravy for the boys tonight, Cessair gave the majority of his meal to Jabez since he knew he likely wouldn't eat most of it. He figured Jabez could use the extra strength since he had to take on a two person job on his own tomorrow. He could see in Jabez's eyes that he was scared, ever since they became friends Jabez would glue himself to Cessair's side at every given opportunity. Jabez already found the isolation from the lockdown difficult, he wasn't sure how he wasn't going to make it through the rest of it's duration.
    The two were approaching the intersection of halls where they would have to separate. The lumps in their throats grew so large it felt like they might choke. Every step felt like they were stretching a long rubber band and it came snapping back as soon as they said their goodbyes and walked away.
   Cessair entered his empty room, the little drawings he had done in the dust on his window had finally disappeared. He set his bowl down on the small crooked nightstand that doubled as his dresser then went to flip on the light. The room filled with a yellow light and a sudden white spark would take its place, then the original dimness of the room would take back over. He would have to get used to the dark, the lightbulb wasn't likely to be replaced anytime soon. Repairs were rare and they weren't handed down to the troublemakers first, he had a better chance of being assigned to a new room than getting a new lightbulb. 
   He sat on his bed, having the usual debate on whether he can stomach a bite or two. Same as the last few nights, he decided against eating and the bowl would go to the ants until morning. He was glad he made the right choice of giving Jabez his food, he felt guilty enough wasting the small amount of food he kept.
    Jabez's room was identical in layout to Cessair's but his window was up against a wall of one of the portables left over from the two decade old Orphan Rush. When the Kingdom was invaded many children were left homeless, all the Orphanages were overwhelmed with how many kids were coming in. Portable buildings were constructed for the overflowing kids to stay until new placement was found for them. 
    The portables were cramped and didn't have very good ventilation, without the necessary quantity of staff, many of the children became extremely ill and a vast majority died. The cleanup was strenuous and many more died in the effort. Jabez hated having his window blocked, let alone by a building haunted by a hundred or so orphans. 
    He had difficulty eating, the lump in his throat was filling his appetite. He really appreciated his friend's gesture of giving him food, so he made sure to nibble on it throughout the night. He eventually finished his bowl and found what comfort he could in his bed, sleeping was the only easy thing about his room. The portable acted as sound insulation and he could barely hear the outside city, unlike Cessair's room.
     Cessair woke up with the regular stomach pain, he dreaded the idea of working in the activity room. The kitchen wasn't a walk in the park by any means, but at least he could socialize with someone similarly minded at least. He was either going to be alone like Jabez, or even worse, shoved into a room with some other stranger.
    He picked himself up and dropped off his ant infested bowl at the kitchen before heading to the activity room. He didn't use the room too often himself, the room smelled of mildew, the bathroom on the floor above had a leak, leaving a growing stain in the ceiling. On rainy days, it was enough to cause it to leak down the walls, leaving the thin slime that coated the floor. The tables had been covered with so much graffiti that Cecilia had taken them out and moved them to the 'Observatory' Cessair liked so much.
     For an activity room, it was extremely lacking in things to do. There were a few board games but all were missing critical pieces, and the books they had weren't fairing much better, a majority of the important pages were missing; leaving the stories to become little more than scrap paper for the younger children to scribble on. The room was mostly used for rough housing and throwing around the remaining pieces of board games.
    Cessair lazily walked down the halls until he eventually reached the activity room, to his dread, someone was already inside cleaning. He didn't recognize the boy's matted brown hair or his chubby cheeks. They looked at each other when he entered the room but didn't exchange words.
   Cessair would get started picking up the scattered board game pieces, but he couldn't help but feel like the other kid was watching him. Whenever he checked this fact the boy was seemingly focused on his work, so he ignored the feeling the best he could. 
     After a few hours of cleaning, the short chubby boy would finally speak up, "You're friends with that Jabez kid, right?" Cessair realized he probably felt watched because this kid recognized him, his stomach began to hurt more as an increasing feeling of dread took him over.
"That's kids a fuckin weirdo. What's wrong with him?" He asked as if it were an innocent question,    
     "He's not weird." He spat back, irritation clear in his voice.
     "You must be just as much of a freak then. That 'L' on your eyebrow must stand for loser. Maybe 'Lemon'. I think I like that better." He snorted, spurting into a chuckle. Cessair's anger sprung into action at the clear jab at his scar and the insult of his friendship. All children, especially orphans, can have a tendency to be cruel and the orphans at Huxley were some of the worst. Since there wasn't much to do and kids felt trapped in a continuous state of abuse and abandonment, they had a lot of built up anger. Their anger couldn't be taken out on the adults who subjugated them, so it was usually directed towards their peers. 
    Cessair approached the chunky heckler and shoved himself against him, his chest bumping into his face as he spoke down to him in a strikingly calm tone, "If I hear you say another fucking word, I'm going to shove these marbles down your throat." The boy backed up, seeing that clenched fist full of various sizes of glass beads. He swallowed a mouth full of saliva and quietly apologized before returning to his work. He didn't speak up or even look in Cessair's direction the rest of their time together. Cessair's stature made it easy to intimidate most of the other kids here. He tried to not make a habit out of doing so, but it did get him and Jabez out of more than a few sticky situations and he tried to reserve it for those moments.
   Cessair walked slowly back to his room hoping that he might cross by Jabez. He knew however it was hopeless, there was no way Jabez was done cleaning the kitchen all by himself. When he got back to his room, he couldn't stop feeling guilty that his friend was alone and the horrible words his work partner had said, it kept him awake most of the night.
   Jabez finished extremely late compared to usual and was sent to his room with dinner. The one silver lining of his night was that he was so exhausted, he managed to fall asleep shortly after collapsing onto his worn bed.
    Jabez would have another gruesome dream, but when the morning came this would not bother him. He felt excited to tell Cessair what he remembered, only to be quickly bombarded with disappointment and anxiety when he realized he wouldn't be seeing him today. He ate the breakfast Cecilia dropped off for him and began making the trek to the kitchen.
    Cessair woke up and denied breakfast, already aware of what he was going to deal with today. Today he decided it might be better to get to the activity room early so he could get as much done before the other boy came in. He didn't mind the extra work so long as he didn't have to be around someone so repulsive as long. He was pained to see that the boy was already inside the room, it looked like he just arrived.
   He was frustrated he didn't just accept the meal and pretend to eat in his room so he could have come in later like yesterday. Now he was going to have to spend the maximum amount of time with him. When Cessair walked in, they met eyes for a second before the bully shot his eyes down. He was remaining quiet and Cessair was glad that it seemed he would get through the day without an unpleasant interruption.
    They went through the same steps as yesterday but Cessair could tell he was letting him take the lead on most of the work. He didn't mind as long as he stayed quiet. The tension and the absolute silence made the day drag on and on, but when the end came Cessair felt like he could practically sprint out of the room despite the void in his stomach.
   The two went their separate ways but Cessair couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched again. The halls weren't very busy, he didn't see anyone that would be interested in him, not even Cecilia. He cautiously continued into the dining hall and grabbed a plate of leftovers hoping he might be able to eat tonight. He carried the sloppy plate out of the dining hall making sure to not spill the watery gravy, upon entering the hall a massive weight was smashed into his side. He crashed onto the linoleum  just after his plate of food which was unevenly distributed between his clothes and the floor.
   When he turned around, he saw the chubby boy from the activity room and his apparent friends. One of which was a boy not much taller than his other friend, but it looked like all he did in his spare time was workout. He looked about Cessair's age but had probably twice the muscle mass, his weight was enough to knock Cessair back a few feet. He didn't have much more time to examine what was happening to him before the group began kicking him, one of them even slipped in the gravy which only led to harder kicks. The boys ran off after hearing noises around the corner, Cessair was too weak to pick himself up. Every bone in his body felt bruised and every movement sent another spike of pain through it. Another group of orphans came around the corner and spotted Cessair in a crumpled pile on the floor, they quickly turned back down the hall and went the long way. Many more orphans would pass before another staff member finally collected and brought him to Cecilia. Orphans who have been around a while aren't very likely to report when they see something wrong because they knew they would be lumped into the punishment.
    Cessair was still dazed when Cecilia began addressing him, "Whatcha get yerself into?" She had to admit even she was surprised to see him like this. It was clear he was still adjusting to the upright world. She pestered him further until he was eventually able to mumble about the group of boys who ambushed him. When she was able to get enough information out of Cessair to realize it was the boy she had paired him with, she seemed to be taken aback. She questioned his memory of things but he never changed his story, even Cecilia couldn't escape the guilt she was beginning to feel.
   "Well get yer wits about ya, you're not done today." She said suddenly, standing and grabbing Cessair by the shirt, dragging him down the hall. He wasn't sure what direction he was headed but he didn't have much choice in the matter, before he knew it he was slung into the kitchen again, it seemed pretty messy considering how far along they would usually be around this time. Jabez is a hard worker, but it was clear that Cessair had handled most of the workload.
   "Jabez hasn't been able to complete his work on time since you left. The kitchen can't keep being delayed because he's too worthless to get the job done." Jabez looked like he had been crying, but he seemed delighted to see his friend until he spotted the dried blood on Cessair's face. "Help him finish and since ya can't get along with nobody, I guess you'll have to stay and help in the kitchen from now on. Now get started!" She snapped, "And don’t be chatting up a storm this time!" She was quick to add before leaving.
   Jabez immediately ran to his friend, concerned over what happened. "Did Cecilia do this to you?" He asked, shocked.
     "No, please don’t worry about it. I'm just glad to be here honestly." He didn't want to drag down the moment, he never expected Cecilia to drag him to his friend, even if a workload was included. Jabez wasn't satiated with his answer but had no choice but to move forward, they cleaned and despite the warning had a conversation that even Cessair participated in. Although his day had been horrible, this small moment with Jabez was the highlight of his week.
   Contrary to what they wanted, there wasn't much work left in the kitchen, so the boys had to return to their rooms fairly soon after reuniting. They said their brief goodbyes and solemnly walked back to their rooms. Jabez reached his room uninterrupted, but Cessair happened to spot the same group of boys from earlier blocking the hallway further down. They were  all hovering around a box and they all seemed pretty excited about it. He stayed back a moment and waited for them to disperse, not wanting to get into another confrontation. The happiness that radiated from the group felt like salt being poured over his wounds. They all continued giggling and exclaiming over whatever was in the box before finally settling down a bit and heading into their respective rooms minutes later. The boy from the activity room ended up taking the now closed box into his room, Cessair never even caught a glimpse of its contents. He finally felt safe to venture down the hallway into his room, but he took a mental note of his aggressor's room, wanting to avoid him as much as possible.
   Cessair was able to get a few bites of bread down while the conversation with Jabez was still fresh on his mind but he would quickly fall back into his hollow rut. He knew the bread would keep for another day or two so he wrapped it up hoping he might be able to eat it before the ants got to it. He was exhausted enough to fall asleep but he wouldn't get any rest with his aching body waking him with every turn.