Halo And Horns

Chapter 06: Lost

- 2004 –

Three years passed since that night. A night full of horror and feelings of betrayals as well as a feeling Nick had never felt before. Understanding and love from two parents. Nick gave Henry and Susan a chance after their little speech, hoping what they said were all true, he put all his trust in them. He had his guard up for almost a year but as time went by and he saw how kind they were and how much they loved each other as well as loved him as if he was their own, seeing how much they smiled, made him forget almost everything he had experienced. Of course, he didn't completely forget. He forgot how his father looked like, all he could recall was his faceless corpse. He remembered his biological mother well enough. He would pray for her at nights when he couldn't fall asleep. He still had nightmares and sometimes he still saw his father and the lady. He'd gotten used to it. They never harmed him in anyway and they only appeared when he was unhappy, which was hard to be when he was around his lively new parents.

Susan was a teacher and Henry worked in an office of some company; Nick didn't bother asking where. Susan being a high school teacher, decided that it would be best to home school Nick until he was ready for middle school. And she was a fantastic teacher. Nick didn't miss school or the people there at all, just Sam, sometimes. He had told them about Sam, his best friend. His only friend. They offered to go back to the US and meet him but Nick had refused. Henry told him after that, that he'd make tons more friends when he started school again. Until then all his friends consisted of friends of Henry's and Susan's. Older but all kind people. Mostly their colleagues.

Finally, it was the day he started middle school. Nick was no longer the 9-year old boy who was too embarrassed and shy to talk to his parents. He was grown up now. His blonde hair now a shade darker than it was three years ago, his features sharper and he became a whole foot taller. He was nervous as well as excited. So far everyone he'd met since moving, were all kind people unlike in his old City where everyone seemed to be rude and had some kind of ill intention.

Henry had his car parked in front of the house and was waiting inside of it as Nick ran down the front yard, flipping his backpack over his shoulders as he went.

"Nervous?" Henry asked, looking at him with his gaze steady.

"A little. I'll be okay, dad." Nick answered, returning his stare with an added smile.

"I'll be fine, dad! I swear." Nick repeated as they got to the school, smiling reassuringly at Henry before exiting the car and slamming the door shut a bit harder than he'd meant to. "Sorry!" he apologized, and turned away as Henry threw up a hand as if to tell him "It's okay."

Turning away from his dad, Nick stared up at the school that loomed over in front of him. It was smaller than the one he used to go to but big nonetheless. He'd seen the school from outside before when he went around town with his parents but had never been inside. Now, he stood with his thumbs hooked on either of the straps of his backpack which hung on his shoulders and stared at the building which people of different ages were spilling into. Looking around, he saw that he was about the only one who was there alone. Most of them were walking in, huddle up in groups or duos. Older students, some of them holding hands. Couples. He thought to himself.

Without further ado, he also walked in, looking around curiously. He walked through a set of large doors which were kept open and it spilled into a great hallway with rows of corridors on either side. He followed the students, who he thought were his age, into a corridor with sets of classrooms. He looked for the class he was supposed to be in, there was a board beside the doors, outside the classrooms, stuck onto the wall, labelling which classroom it was and at the far end of the corridor, he fortunately found his.