[Kura]: 673.Long Stories.Coughlin's School.Chapter 1

   The room was nothing to look at. Plain, unadorned white walls with a small window facing the outside world and an unimaginative gray carpet on the floor were only the start. Two small beds were set next to each other, separated by a tiny brown bedside table that stuck out oddly from the blah of everything else around it. There seemed to be two slim closet doors on opposite sides of the room, but they were also dull to the eye.
   Cahal yawned just looking at it all.
   His black duffel bag lay unopened on the right-side bed, but he himself stood surveying the drab interior of what he would call 'home' for the next ten months of his life. His black eyes drifted hungrily from object to object, almost willing a speck of color to appear. But even the world through the window failed to obey his wish, as it was growing dark and gray storm clouds had been about all day anyway.
   "Well this is cheery." He muttered to himself as he flopped with a huff onto his new bed, shoving the bag over to make room. Vaguely he wondered who his room-mate would be, but part of him didn't much care. He was not the social type, never had been, and wasn't planning on changing that simply because of this silly school he'd been shipped off to.
   Coughlin's School was a far cry from the sheltered home life he'd lived for all of 17 years. Why his parents had suddenly decided they didn't want to deal with him anymore remained a mystery to Cahal. Then again most things his parents did made very little sense. Being raised by a mediocre-at-best witch and a demonic father (in both personality and race) made for some very strange decisions on their part. This was just another notch on the long list of poor parental choices, which began with them having a child in the first place.
   From an unusually young age, Cahal had always wondered why his parents had had him. It defied reason. They were a terrible match and their fights were violent and magic-fueled. Not exactly a child-friendly environment. He had largely been ignored, which was one reason for his silent nature, and had somehow managed to never go to school. He was far from ignorant, though. He had self-taught himself many things by escaping to a library near his home. His mother had at least taught him to read, but that was about all. His father seemed to refuse to acknowledge his son's existence, and once Cahal could do most things for himself (around the age of eight), so did his mother. He was therefore very alone for his entire short life. He didn't really understand society and other people, and because of his blasphemous heritage no one at his library refuge would go near him.
   He got used to it, though. And from what he read, he wasn't missing out on much.
   But this? This strange boarding school in the middle of nowhere? Why was he here now? It was a little late to decide that maybe your child should get some sort of formal education, wasn't it?
   He had managed to get out of the opening ceremony, somehow. Being used to escaping the notice of others came in handy sometimes. According to the ever-smiling headmaster during his speech, this time was supposed to be spent forming 'brotherly bonds' with fellow students. What a load of crap. Cahal snorted out loud at the thought. He had already set his mind to slip in and out of this school as unnoticed and unhindered as he had all his life. No bonds for him, thank you very much.
   He had just been reaching for his old duffel bag to pull out one of his many sketchbooks when three short knocks came at the door. His outstretched, pale hand froze and he turned to look at the door in surprise. The ceremony couldn't be over yet, so who was that? Had his quick escape been noticed after all? He stayed silent, hoping whoever it was would leave. But, as always, he would have no luck tonight. The handle turned, the door swung open, and in stepped a tall, very thin figure. As he stepped further into the fluorescent-lit room, his features became visible. And it was a 'he', one about Cahal's own age from the looks of him. He had ruffled, short, dark brown hair that fell over his forehead, just above his bright hazel eyes. At the moment he had an easy-going grin on his face as he surveyed Cahal sitting stunned on the bed.
   "So you must be my new room-mate." The other boy said, moving further into the room as he shut the door behind him. "Forgive the lack of decorations," He gestured to the drearily blank walls, "But they make us take it down for the summer holiday."
   When Cahal didn't make any reply, but only stared at the boy with wary pitch black eyes, the boy went on. "Name's Justin. Yours?" He flung himself onto the other bed, which creaked in protest, and leaned on one elbow, his grin never flickering. As he fell, his hair moved some to reveal very pointed ears. Cahal noticed, but didn't make a remark. He wouldn't pry.
   "Cahal." He replied.
   "Nice name." Justin laughed, but it was hard to tell if he was mocking or not. "I haven't seen you around before. This your first year or something?"
   "Yes." Was Cahal's short answer. He couldn't tell what to make of this boy. He seemed friendly, but that grin was unnerving. And Cahal was unused to such behavior anyway. If Justin had shunned him completely, he'd have had no problem.
   "Ah. Well, I'm a Senior here, so if you need anything just ask. What level are you?" Justin asked curiously.
   "Senior."
   "Excellent, excellent." Justin seemed truly pleased for some reason and a strange light passed quickly in his eyes. "You know, you should really lock the door." He said suddenly.
   "Why?" For the first time Cahal's expression changed from passive to one of mild confusion. The thought of someone unwanted coming in hadn't crossed his mind.
   "Are you serious?" Justin raised amused eyebrows at him. They disappeared into his hair and Cahal almost smiled. "Where were you raised? A barn?"
   "A forest, actually." Cahal replied seriously.
   Justin was speechless when he realized the raven-haired boy before him wasn't joking. He coughed after a moment, "Well...I suppose you can be forgiven then...Though why a forest?" He asked bluntly. He might be some things, but Justin was certainly not shy with questions.
   Cahal shrugged. "Parents. It's away from people. Secluded." He surprised himself. In the past few minutes he'd already talked more than he had for several weeks.
   "Oh, mystery boy, I see." Justin grinned widely. "Your parents hippies or somethin'?"
   "No. A demon and a witch." Cahal's eyes widened and he slammed his mouth shut. He'd never told a soul that. the townspeople had known through rumors of the few who'd ventured to their half-hidden house in the middle of the huge forest. But he'd never actually spoken it out loud, much less to a human being- or whatever Justin was.
   At the moment the other boy only looked amused at Cahal's expression. A brief flicker of surprise had passed across his face at first, but now he was grinning again. "Don't worry about it. You're not the only one with a screwed up heritage." He said soothingly, "I'm actually half-fae, if you can believe it." He pointed to his ears, which twitched slightly in response. "A lot of the boys here aren't exactly...normal. But don't let an administrator know." He warned ominously, suddenly serious. "They frown on any sort of magic or unusual abilities. I personally think they're just jealous, but," He shrugged, "It's easier just to keep it quiet."
   Cahal nodded, looking a bit more relaxed now that he knew someone else had an inkling of what he felt. Against his better judgment, he found himself liking this strange boy. It was such an alien feeling, to actually having something like a friend, that he nearly panicked. This emotion had had no place in his life, and now suddenly here it reared its strange head. As far as he could remember, only watching birds had made him feel something like this before. He was very fond of birds, especially birds of prey, ravens, and sparrows. Those were his main drawing interests and one of the very few things that actually made him happy. But to feel that for another person? He hadn't thought it possible.
   "You know, when you go into your own thoughts like that, your eyes go very black. For a minute I thought the light had gone out." Justin smiled slightly, and it widened as Cahal's cheeks flushed a bit with embarrassment. "And is there any particular reason you've decided to skip out on all the "bonding" downstairs?" The way Justin changed subjects so quickly was another strange thing for Cahal.
   "I'm not really the...Sociable type." He replied quietly.
   "Yeah, sorta guessed that. Myself? I just don't like to buy into that fake stuff the adults think will solve all the problems. I know who I want to know and five minutes in an overcrowded room half-filled with excitable Freshmen boys is not going to make me any lasting friendships. But the adults do what they want. It's not as if we have a choice, eh?" His voice had grown oddly bitter, and the soft light in his hazel eyes had gone hard. Cahal felt he must be missing something here. But maybe he just didn't know that this was how to think of adults.
   They lapsed into silence for a moment. The silence was then broken by the pounding of hundreds of eager feet as the inhabitants of the lower dining room were released to discover their own little rooms. Both Cahal and Justin glanced at the electric clock on the bedside table. It was much later than they'd thought.
   "I'm going to go find a few people. You alright by yourself, mystery boy?" Justin's grin was there as ever, his eyes dancing again.
   Something resembling a flicker of a smile flashed across Cahal's face and he nodded. "Yeah."
   Justin hopped lithely from his bed and walked out of the room, laughing to himself. The door swung shut behind him, but Cahal never thought to lock it.
   His mind was already wandering again. This year would be much more different than he had assumed. The plan of going through this school without notice was already changed and shattered by the introduction of someone he could only assume to be a friend. Though it was only one person, he had the feeling Justin would fix that problem soon enough. The laughter and chatter of other boys drifted to him through the closed door; he almost grimaced. Did he really want to know so many people? The thought made him nervous and he lay back on the bed, frowning. Even as his mind buzzed with the possibilities, both pleasant and otherwise, his eyelids began to slowly fall. And then his thoughts too slowed and he drifted to sleep without even realizing it, forgetting everything in dreamland. Justin did eventually come back in from his excursions. When he noticed his room-mate fast asleep, he closed and locked the door quietly with a smile and prepared for bed himself. Once ready, he climbed under the sheets and reached out for the light.
   "Goodnight, Cahal." He said quietly, then turned over and fell asleep as well. Cahal remained oblivious to this, though a faint smile touched his lips.