Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sarah inhaled deeply, then slowly released her breath, a big smile on her beautiful face. Work had let her go early, and the day was one of the loveliest this summer had provided her. Summer in Silbermond was generally the height of perfection, always just hot enough outside to make an otherwise drab day gorgeous. Being that it was Monday afternoon, and her husband was still at work until far later in the afternoon, Sarah made a stop at the mall, to visit the wonderful candy shop contained within it. When she got there, Sarah got herself a candy apple - because who can resist? - and two gallons of ice cream for after dinner that evening. Smiling, Sarah paid the half-breed fox girl who was manning the till. Despite the fact that mixed-race people like her weren’t always accepted by the general public, it was illegal not to hire one solely because of this fact. They were good workers, and generally nice people - in fact, the only problem people seemed to have with them was the fact that they had animal features. Apparently, though Sarah never understood the logic behind it, having animal features was a sin against nature. Despite the fact that these mixed-race people were kind, gentle, and hard-working, they were seen as abominations. Sarah briefly wondered how the girl at the counter was treated by her boss, such thoughts always bothered her. Generally there was peace between them, no one would out-right attack them, but the silent ignorance and longstanding hatred would always be more popular than the Queen’s laws regarding the half-breeds. Then there was the fact that no one was sure where they originally came from; the anthropomorphic creatures such as the young fox girl seemed to be no different in personality from most humans like Sarah, but no one knew how they came to be in the first place. They were always there, and they would always be, but that didn’t mean people had to like them - they did, however, have to tolerate their presence.
Moving on in silent thought, Sarah decided to take a look through the racks of a couple of the less expensive clothing stores in hopes of finding something nice to wear for when her husband Tony got home from work. Well before Tony got home, however, their eleven-year-old son Alex would get home, and Sarah would get to spend time helping him with homework and talking about his day at school. Finding nothing of interest in the clothing racks, Sarah decided it was time to go home and start getting things ready. It was already one thirty in the afternoon, and she wanted to do some cleaning up before her family got home to make more of a mess.
The way home was through a maze of streets that Sarah could navigate in her sleep, past houses and plazas, storefronts and businesses alike on the outskirts of the suburbs - or what was as close to suburbs as Silbermond had - a giant patch of houses and town homes, dotted with various plazas and markets. One of them, she noted, was having a sale, and maybe she would check it out later on. The street she lived on, however, was purely residential, and was all three- and four-bedroom houses with large backyards and garages that had entrances to both the back yard and the house proper.
When Sarah pulled into her driveway, she decided that she would park the car and go in through the garage for a change. Leaving the little sedan in the sunlight would make the car hot and uncomfortable later on, and if she needed to go out, she wanted the car to be relatively cool when she get in.


Sarah put the ice cream in the freeze and made her way down the photographed-dotted corridor that led from the kitchen to the bedrooms. Passing the potted plant on the little table that her son loved to take care of, Sarah felt a strange chill down her spine, but put it off to the house being empty - Sarah always felt strange when she was totally alone in the house. Ignoring the strange feeling, she entered her bedroom and went to change out of her work clothes, which consisted of the Prellesian Army Nurse Uniform; a loose, white shirt with long sleeves, a pair of baggy white pants with no pockets, and a pair of special issue white shoes with the most comfortable insoles Sarah had ever had the pleasure to stand in for extended periods of time. She shirked the loose white top for a slightly tighter tank top, and the baggy pants for a nice, light pair of cut-off jean shorts, folding up her uniform and putting it in the laundry hamper. She was standing in front of the full length mirror on the closet door when she heard the front door open, and two voices enter the house. One of them she recognized as her husbands voice, but the other was an unfamiliar male voice. When she turned to go and talk to them, something grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the mirror effortlessly. It felt as though her whole body had been pulled through liquid sulfur at first, but she felt fine once she was through it.
Now, this is not a the kind of thing that generally happens every day in Prellesia, so it really threw Sarah off and turned her world upside down. On her knees, on the reflective, glassy surface of whatever dimension she’d been yanked into so unceremoniously, Sarah felt like her brain had just exploded. She looked around her, and saw only one other person there with her, in the strange, dark world within the mirror. Standing behind her she saw herself, or rather, she saw her reflection, her mirror image. The only difference between her and her doppelgänger, she noted absently in her shock, was that the other had no mouth with which to speak.
A demon, she thought, it’s got to be a demon. A scream welled in her throat, but before she could let it loose the mirror creature put its finger up to where it’s lips should have been and effectively shushed her, then pointed in front of her. Sarah turned, just in time to see what was happening on the other side of the mirror.
Tony opened the door to the bedroom, suspecting nothing of his wife having got home early, not having seen the sedan because it was parked in the garage for once, and behind him followed the other man Sarah had heard. Before Sarah had time to make sense of what was going on, this other man was kissing her husband passionately, and backing him towards the bed she shared with him at night. Between steamy kisses, clothing was removed, and Sarah remained on her knees, staring through to her own world with blank eyes and a very confused and broken heart.
No, no, she thought. This can’t be happening. In her shock tears began to fall down her lovely cheeks, and her vision blurred blissfully, blocking out the sight of her husbands infidelity. This isn’t right. This can’t be real. This is all a hallucination, or a nightmare. Please, God, don’t let this be real.
The reflection, or demon, or whatever she was, hunkered down and put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder. It’s all right, the expression of her face said, just listen, and you’ll understand why I did this.
When they finished their sordid affair for the moment, Sarah did listen very carefully to what was being said. Beyond the shock, beyond the tears, beyond the hurt and confusion, Sarah was furious to discover what her husband did when he thought she wasn’t around.
The other man cuddled up to her husband casually and asked him what they were going to do in regards to his wife. Sarah stared daggers into the little jackass, wondering what her husband even saw in him - he was small, feminine, and had a hooked nose that could connect firmly with a tank and pull it along. Tony played with his coarse-looking red-orange hair as he answered the question.
“Sarah?” he responded thoughtfully, seeming to chew on the question a little bit before continuing. “She can be taken care of. But I was thinking of something more final, more definite.”
“Tony, surely you don’t . . . ” The redhead laughed, lifting himself up a bit to get a better look at Tony’s face.
Being that Sarah wasn’t just a nurse in the Prellesian Army, but also a guard of the base, and had received all of the standard military training, she only took a few moments to decipher what her husband had meant. ‘More final’ was his way of saying he wanted to take her out, without actually talking about killing her. This sent Sarah into an almost explosive fury, and she began beating on the mirror’s surface where she could see back into her own world. No matter what she did, however, it seemed that they could not see or hear her. When she would think back on this later, she would be grateful for it, but at the moment it infuriated her all the more.
“But I do.” Her husband continued the conversation with an air of nonchalance, as if he were talking of nothing more than going out for dinner or taking in a picture at the local cinema. “Think, Danny; I’ve all the world to gain from it, with her being in the Army. All of the world to gain, and the Camisado Corporation behind me. The protect their executives, Danny-boy, with the best lawyers and all of their resources. We could share everything.”
“If you get caught red-handed, Tony,” Danny said, a strange seriousness to his words as he stared into Tony’s gorgeous amber eyes, “I had absolutely nothing to do with anything. I don’t agree with it, and I won’t help in it. What about your son, though?”
“Alex?” he asked, and smiled. “The boy is brilliant, I’m very proud of him. What about him? Of course I’m going to keep my son, raise him, and watch him do wonders in the world. I may even get Camisado to hire him on when he graduates, help him rise through the ranks. With the Corporation behind him, he would do everything he ever dreamed of.”
“It’s good to see you love your son so much, Tony.” Danny said. “But if he is so smart, there’s the possibility he might figure things out. What happens if he accuses you of something?”
“Alex wouldn’t do that - he loves his mother so much that he’d probably be too grieved to make any connections. If I’m there to comfort him and talk to him and help him cope, why would he accuse me of anything? All that would do would take away his other parent, and I don’t think any child so grief-stricken could even consider doing that to themself, knowing how much it hurts to loose only one parent.”
“I certainly hope you’re right, Tony.” Danny said. “It’s a risky game you’re playing, though. Be very careful, don’t let your poker face slip.”
“You don’t have to worry your pretty little head about that one.” Tony said, kissing that ridiculously hooked nose. “I’m so many steps ahead of Sarah that it would take magic for her to figure anything out.”
Oh, Tony, Sarah thought, the shock relieved a bit, but the tears still stinging her lovely azure eyes. Her fury was still smoldering below the surface, like an underground fire, nearly impossible to detect. Oh, you have no idea the irony of your statement, Tony. I’m not going to let you win, and my poker face is going to trump yours... You’re in for the worlds largest surprise, Camisado at your back makes no difference.
Still on her knees, Sarah slumped down towards the glassy surface of this world and cried silently.


Once her cheating, murderous husband and his hook-nosed lover had left and been gone a while, Sarah’s doppelgänger allowed her back to her own world, through the liquid sulfur that bubbled and sat molten between worlds. So many things were racing through her mind, about her husband, his infidelity, his plan to kill her. She knew nothing about how he would go about doing it, but that didn’t change a thing. What mattered was how she would prevent it, and what she would do to punish them for what they did and planned to do to her.
First, though, Sarah needed to gain actual solid evidence that he was cheating, and that he was, indeed, trying to kill her. How would she go about it? Would she kill the boyfriend, too, even though he didn’t approve? She had so many things to think about, so many things to occupy her mind, that she didn’t realize she had started punching the wall in anger. A few months back, she’d have put a hole in the wall on the first hit - she needed to start working out again, because she’d punched countless times, and the wall was still intact. This was a blessing, however, because it meant she wouldn’t have to explain a new hole in the wall, or move a photo to cover it.
In an attempt to get her thoughts straight, and calm her mind a bit, Sarah decided it would be a good idea to jump in the shower - this was, on an unconscious level, and attempt to cleanse body, mind, and spirit alike. As she’d showered, she thought and thought on everything, from hearing Tony come home to traveling back through the mirror after he’d left. She would have to plan and plot, plot and plan, until the right moment, and then? When she was sure of everything, when she had all of the details worked out and all of the proof that would be necessary to put her mind and heart at east, she would put her plan into action and she would hope to God that it worked. It was as simple as this; No one would kill Sarah Maria Redford if she had anything to say about it.
Not even, she thought, my god-damned husband.


After her shower, Sarah went into the kitchen to make herself something to eat. Food, her internal logic dictated, would help to further calm her, and would probably allow for her mind to come to terms with everything in such a way that she would be able to actually plan what she was going to do. While making herself a couple of ham-and-pickle sandwiches with mustard and mayo, Sarah became so lost in thought that she forgot it was almost time for her son to come home from school. Because she was so deep in her mind, she did not hear the door open, and did not realize her son was speaking to her until he touched her shoulder. Startled, Sarah jumped and looked at her son with true shock on her face. Looking back at her, she noticed his azure eyes, so like to her own, looking puzzled and worried into her own. He looked so much like her, her little genius, and she had never been more glad of that fact than she was now. Adding to his confusion without meaning to, Sarah wrapped her arms around her growing son and gave him a long, hard hug.
“Mom...?” He asked, hugging back tightly and nuzzling against her neck. “What’s wrong, Mom?”
“Nothing, Alex. I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking today.” Sarah released him, and held him at arms length, looking over what a fine young man he was becoming. She felt tears threaten her eyes again, and in an attempt to hide it, she kissed the top of his head, right on his soft, fluffy dirty blond hair. His hair was getting pretty long, she noted, and would have to remember to ask him if he wanted a haircut, or wanted to let it grow out. “I love you, Alexander. You know that, right? With all my heart.”
“Yeah, I know, Mom.” he replied, and flashed her his wonderful, lovely smile. “I love you, too.”


While Alex sat in his room playing computer games (his homework lay in the living room, half-finished - she’d said he could finish the rest after dinner), Sarah prepared a nice pot-roast, with baked potatoes and a garden salad. True to her word, Sarah kept the best poker face she could, and neither Tony, nor Alex, noticed how angry she’d been only a few short hours ago. For lack of anything else Sarah had the heart of a lion, and the courage to match.
When she called her husband and son to the table for dinner, the real test began. Keeping the pretense that things were well in all manners, Sarah replied to a question from Alex about how she was feeling. She claimed just to have a lot on her mind, what with work, and that earlier she’d had a headache, but she felt better now. Alex knew something was up, but he kept it to himself and allowed her to change to subject to school. He explained about how they had been playing with magnets and such in class that day.
Sarah ran her delicate fingers through her blond hair, listening to her son explain some of the better parts of his day. As always, he focused on the good things that happened, only touching lightly on things that had upset him. From a young age, Sarah had always taught Alex to focus on the good things that happened to him during the day, no matter how small, because focusing on negativity only bred more of the same.
“How was work, honey?” Tony asked her, seemingly out of nowhere. She almost said everything that was on her mind, but held back and smiled at her husband.
“It was good.” She replied, and screamed obscenities at him in her mind. “My replacement showed up early, and I was let go before I was originally scheduled. I browsed around the local mall for a while, but I didn’t find anything I liked... So I settled for ice cream, and came home.”
Sarah worked at a military base that was located just outside of town, as both a guard and a nurse, depending on how she was scheduled. Tony knew she sometimes got relieved ahead of schedule, so telling him the truth would help to keep up the pretense that things were a-okay. Leaving out what happened when she got home wasn’t technically lying, and if he didn’t ask, all the better.
“I want ice cream!” Alex mused, looking to his mother. Sarah laughed, and smiled, because her son had just changed the subject off of her without knowing she may have needed it.
Always like him to be so straightforward, she thought, and he’s so innocent about it, too.
“I figured you would, Ally.” She mused. “There’s a tub of mint chocolate chip, and a tub of bubble gum, in the freezer.”
“Yeah!” Alex pumped his fist in the air, and his too-long blond hair swished into his face, obscuring his dark blue eyes from vision, though she already knew the look of excitement in them well.
Thinking again about how much like her Alex looked - his dad having dark brown hair, and green eyes - Sarah laughed, amused by her son’s excitement over such a simple thing as desert.
“A mother always knows.” Tony mused, and Sarah flinched inwardly before getting up and collecting the empty dinner plates. How was she going to keep this up? She wondered as she made her way to wash up the dishes and portion out the ice cream. There was, she noted, a chance she may spread herself too thin in her efforts to gain proof, prevent her husband from killing her, and maybe kill him in the process. These thoughts followed her even to bed that night.


When Sarah opened her eyes the next morning, she was hardly able to believe that the events of the previous afternoon were little more than a hallucination, but she knew what happened, and at the very least, she would look into proving he was cheating on her. If she could prove that, the rest would have to have been real, too.
Her husband was in the shower, but her heart began to beat wildly, because at any time he could have killed her in the night. He probably wouldn’t do it himself, of course, because there was more of a chance he would be caught that way, but it still worried her to have to continue sharing a room with the man.
He would be out the door shortly after his shower, being an executive with Camisado meant he had to be there relatively early. The Camisado Corporation were into technologies, and were always making new electronics, weapons, home appliances, and such. In fact, they had a deal with the Queen’s Army, and supplied her base with everything from the latest guns and ammo to medical supplies. They had their fingers in everything, it seemed.
Oh s**t! She thought, when a small realization dawned on her. I have to guard this afternoon. I’d almost forgot, I have to be at work for noon today. Such tedium, patrol the grounds once every two hours and mostly just sitting around... Good, that’s going to give me time to think some more.
Sarah decided it was time to get out of bed, and dressed her self. She made her way down the corridor to the kitchen, slinking silently past the bathroom, other bedrooms, and front door. Alex would be waking up soon for school, and this morning she would take him in herself before going to the base library for a little reading. While considering how day-plan, Sarah prepared Alex’s breakfast, and some coffee for Tony.
Thanks to her original military training she was able to hide all signs of a problem from Tony, but she thought Alex might see better - he always was close enough to her to notice, no matter how well she tried to hide it. One day, if he chose so, he would make a very fine soldier in the Queen’s Army. She would never force it on him, though, it would be a decision he’d have to make himself..
Alex came into the kitchen and smiled at his mom - she was upset, he knew, but he wouldn’t mention it with his dad around, because from what he could tell, she didn’t want him to know. If he got a moment alone with her, though, he would definitely mention it. Until then he would pretend he didn’t see.
“Good morning, Mom.” he said, smiling and taking a seat at the breakfast nook. “Breakfast smells great.”
“G’morning, Ally.” Sarah replied. “French toast.”
Alex smiled, French toast was his favorite, of course. It also meant that she didn’t have to be in until the afternoon, and was going to bring him into school today; he’d get a chance to ask her after all.
When he sat down at the table his mother placed a glass of milk down for him, which he sipped from in anticipation of his most beloved breakfast food. When Sarah put down the plate of French toast on the table of the breakfast nook, Tony walked into the kitchen, his hair still slightly damp from his shower.
His dad came in, hair just beginning to dry from the shower.
“Good morning, Sarah, Alex.” he said, smiling. “How’s everyone this morning?”
“Fine.” Sarah replied, putting on an award-winning false smile. “My headache is completely gone, I’ve never felt better.”
“I’m good, too, dad.” Alex chimed in, between mouthfuls of his breakfast. “Got my homework all done and ready to go in my knapsack. Today’s gonna be a breeze.”
“Good, good.” Tony said, and ruffled his son’s hair. Alex hated when his dad did this, but he would never say so - he didn’t want to offend or hurt his father.
Tony picked up his cup of coffee from the kitchen counter and took a sip. Sarah always knew how to make the perfect coffee, even if she didn’t drink any of it, herself. “What’s your shift, hon?” he asked, feigning innocent curiosity.
“Guard duty from noon to nine.” came her reply, and Sarah made an oblique hand gesture as she continued on to say; “I’ll take Ally to school, and head in early to browse around the library for a while.”
“Alright. I’m cooking, then?”
“No, I’ll pick up take-out, tonight. Pizza.” Despite the fact that she knew it wouldn’t happen, she was paranoid of allowing Tony to cook anything for her. Better to spend thirty or forty dollars on take-out, which she knew Alex would be happy with.
“Awesome!” Alex exclaimed, as if to reinforce her thoughts. “Pizza rocks!”
He was more happy to get some time alone with her before school, but the pizza was good cover for his joy.
“You sure are easy to please.” Tony mused.
“Not really.” Alex replied. “I’ve just been having a pizza craving. Like mad, lately. Oh, go to that little place just on the edge of town, it’s right on your way when you’re coming home, and they’re pizza masters!”
“I see.” Tony smiled and Sarah nodded her approval of their sons choice. “Well, I’ve got to get to work. See you guys later.” On his way out of the kitchen, he stopped, turned back, and waved in a comical fashion. Sarah kept her fake smile on, but Alex genuinely laughed at his father.
Alex ate his breakfast as if it were the finest of restaurant foods, but Sarah mostly just picked at her own as though she were asked to eat a plate of deep-fried maggots. So when he was sure his dad was gone, he sighed and asked her a question..
“Mom, what’s really wrong? You’re hiding something. I can almost smell it, you know?”
“I’ve just been having a nightmare lately is all.” she told him, and though it wasn’t true, it also wasn’t a lie - the last however many hours since she’d been pulled through the mirror had been like the worst nightmare she’d ever had. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine in little while.”
“Are you sure?” Alex didn’t know which part was a lie, but he was sure she was lying to him about something. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt, but he knew she needed to trust him more, if she wanted to get through things.
“Yeah, Ally.” She said, and this time her smile was genuine. “I’m sure. Now get your butt in gear. You gotta get to school.”


In the car, on the way to his school, Alex couldn’t stop looking over at his mother. He had something to say, but was wracking his brain trying to figure it out. They were practically there before he thought of a way he could say it, but he didn’t want to just up and say it out of no where. They pulled into the parking lot, and his mother smiled a little awkwardly at him. Sarah had a lot of things on her mind, too.
“C’mon, Ally,” she said, pulling up in front of the school, “it’s time to go to class.”
He looked at her a moment longer, his eyes searching her for something. Sarah couldn’t understand why she’d never noticed how piercing her sons eyes were before; she almost got lost in them, but she was pulled back into the real world by Alex’s voice.
“You know, you can trust me, Mom.” he told her. “I’ll always be on your side.”
“I do trust you, Ally. I trust you more than anyone.”
“Then stop lying to me.” he said, and his voice cracked part way through the sentence. “Tell me everything, let me help you, in whatever way I can.”
“I can’t, yet, Ally.” she told him. “ I’m not entirely sure what is happening myself, I need time to make sense of everything... But when I can, I promise will.” She meant every word of it, and Alex knew. He smiled, and gave her a hug, telling her he’d hold her to the promise.
“I do promise Ally.” she replied, hugging him back tight. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, when I have it all sorted out.” she hugged him tight, and a tear fell down her cheek. “Now go to class, okay sweetie?” He nodded, and hopped out of the sedan. She watched him walk into the building, and then drove off to do what needed to be done.


Alex was still worrying about his mother when the bell for first recess rang, and he wandered out into the school yard to be alone with his thoughts near the back fence, beneath a shady tree. He was harassed on his way there by a boy from his class who was known to bully others.
“I saw you in the car with that lady.” The older boy said, and Alex turned to him, a scowl on his cherubic young face.
“That was my mother, Jamie.” He said, not in the mood for this.
“So you’re a mama’s boy, eh?” Jamie asked, a cruel grin on his face.
“Whatever, go away, man.” Alex said, turning to keep going.
“Don’t walk away from me, Redford.” Jamie said, speeding up to catch him by the arm. Alex, who’d taken some tae kwan do in his time, used this opportunity to flap Jamie onto his back and step on his chest.
“Look, Jamie, I don’t want to fight or argue.” He told him, acting, quite unaware, as though he were about ten years older. “If you come at me again, I’ll hurt you, though I don’t want to. Just let me be, man.”
Jaime was just a bit dumbfounded. No one had ever done anything even remotely like this to him before. It was true, though. Alex didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t really deserve it. Jaime was ignorant, it wasn’t his fault. But if he attacked Alex again, he would seriously regret it. Alex would take one punch, then break his arm, or dislocate his shoulder. Jaime could see it in his eyes, too, so he nodded and Alex removed his foot. He helped him up, and Jamie now wore the scowl on his face, with his slightly large, round nose and deep brown eyes that sparkled in a way that made Alex want to grin.
“Look, Jamie. I’ve got an idea. You and I don’t need to be enemies, so why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” Jamie’s scowl changed with Alex’s words, and no he wore a kind of stupid grin that made Alex was to laugh. “We can play video games or watch a movie or something, get to know each other. We might actually be friend, if you’re not a complete a*****e.”
“You’re a goober, but that sounds nice.” Jamie said, because inside he was secretly glad that someone was reaching out to him, and he craved friendship. “I’ll give my dad my backpack after school, let him know where I’m going.”
Alex smiled, and nodded. “I think we’re on the right path here, Jamie. Lets keep things as civil as possible, and see where this leads. You seem like you could be a great person, if you stop trying to force people into noticing you and fearing you.”
“Whatever, man. Just don’t get any gay-a** fairy notions about me, right? I’m a tough guy, you just got lucky. I’ll meet you in the hall after class. Maybe you don’t suck, maybe we’ll be friends, but lets not jump to any stupid conclusions just yet.”
“Sure, now just let me be...” Alex agreed, smiling. “I’ve got a few things to contemplate before the bell.”


Class was boring, but only because it was a lot of time wasted explaining math he understood almost instantly. He quietly made his way through the four homework pages that the teacher had given them before recess, because he was already finished the two pages of multiplication they were to do this period.
The teacher, Ms. Mendoza, was explaining, from what he gathered from listening absently, how multiplication is simply adding a number to itself many times. She gave an example. Five times eight. Alex lifted his hand as soon as the sentence left her lips.
“Yes, Alex?” she said.
“Forty.” he told her. “Because it works both ways, and eight fives is forty.”
“Very good.” she said, smiling. She clapped for him, each clap pushing her large breasts together, and Alex blushed involuntarily at seeing it.
Loving that he knew the answer she proceeded to ask him a series of other multiplication questions, all of which he carefully thought out and then gave the correct answer for. When she was satisfied, she clapped once more.
“Excellent.” Ms. Mendoza said. “If everyone got it as quick as you did, my job would be a breeze. Now, have we all got the basics? Good. Get to work on those pages.”
Alex went back to work on his homework. As he worked he wondered what was troubling his mother. Whatever it was, it was big. Something at work, maybe? Or something with her relatives? She was a strong woman so it must be serious. Maybe she was upset with his father... Or she might be pregnant again. This thought struck Alex into a division. On one hand, a sibling might be nice, but on the other, if it were true it was making his mom incredibly uneasy. He didn’t want it to be true, if only because he didn’t want that to be what his mother seemed so upset over. A new addition to the family should have been joyous, so he prayed silently that it wasn’t the cause of his mothers secret anguish.
He went through his homework methodically. Spell it three times without looking, use it in a sentence. Memorize the letters. He could write and spell incredibly. He had, in fact, been doing so for a few years. His mother had spent a lot of his childhood teaching him how to read and write, among other things, so he was already a little advanced for the lessons he was getting in school, but it was alright in a way. Alex enjoyed it because it proved to him that he already knew most of it, and what he didn’t know, he learned. He cycled through the words on the page, spelling and re-spelling, memorizing each letter and sound that came with it.
Jalapeño. Onomatopoeia. Misconception. Inconceivable... Right now all words had little meaning. His work was automatic, he wasn’t even thinking about it. His thoughts were like Scandinavia; ravaged by Fafnir in the guise of what was wrong with his mother. It was going to eat at him until he found out. Most boys his age probably wouldn’t have noticed, let alone given it so much thought, but Alex loved his mother very much, and would, in fact, have done just about anything for her if he thought it would make her feel better. In that respect, maybe Jamie Hurst was right about him being a “mama’s boy.”


Noon. Alex had eaten his lunch in silence, plagued, still, by thoughts of his mother. Now he was in the schoolyard again, sitting in the shade, and doodling in his notebook. He drew a lion-girl in a school uniform. She had big, bright eyes, a thin, curved nose, and huge, wild hair with two little ears on top of her head, sticking out from the massive mess which represented a mane. One hand was up like a paw, and she was smiling.
A girl from a grade below him who had an obvious crush on him came over, but he told her he wasn’t interested. She left him alone in a huff. He felt sorry she took it so personally, but he really wasn’t in the mood for younger girls right now. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to be home, laying down, so he could think in peace. Instead, his thoughts were constantly interrupted by the screams and odd conversations of his peers.
He got up to go in and use the washroom. When he was done, he grabbed his bag and left school grounds, to be truly alone with his thoughts. He would come back for Jamie later on, before school ended, and meet him out front. A slight change of plans, but he was sure the other boy would understand.