Flight of the Raven Pt. 01

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Demonnox
Demonnox
147 Followers

why, and, like most things, I understood that she wouldn't tell me unless there was a need.

So I didn't bring it up again. I turned eighteen on the 20th of September 2012, a little over three months ago. I hoped that my mum would have opened up a bit after my eighteenth -- After all the years we'd spent together -- But she hadn't. I still knew next to nothing about my mother's past, my father, the reasons she had for my rigorous training and why we constantly moved around the country.

Sighing once more for good luck. Three's a lucky number -- right? I tried to stop thinking about my mother. I'd never been able to get anything out of her that she wasn't prepared to tell me, and it would do no good to dwell on the subject.

Wondering why Tony was so quiet I glanced over in his direction. Tony's eighteen like me, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends. The guy's pretty small, being probably around five foot three, which is painfully ironic due to having the surname 'Smalls'. That's right. The kid gets bullied as it is, but he also has a name which literally forces people to acknowledge his shortcomings.

Heh, shortcomings, man I crack myself up sometimes.

He wears glasses, has some pretty vicious acne spread liberally across his face, He's got short brown hair and he wears his school uniform 'correctly'. I've only been at Hargraves for a week, but I'm pretty sure he's the only pupil there still rocking the tie.

I managed to ditch the thing after first period at least!

"So," I said with a smile to Tony, "Got any plans for the lovely day?" trying to keep as straight a face as possible.

He looked at me like I'd just started eating the seat in front of me.

"Are you mad!?" he whispered to me with some force. "It's Monday! I have the same plan for Monday that I do for every weekday I've had to endure at this place. I plan to somehow survive to the end of the day!"

Yep. Intelligent. Not smart. I cringed at the missed signals and raised my hands to him soothingly. "Wooh, just kidding man. I fucking hate Mondays too, no worries."

His eyes became less frantic as he realised I had been joking. He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly and muttered. "Ah, yes I knew that."

Right...

A screeching voice came floating over to us from behind like a knife. "Wot the fuck are you talkin' about midge."

Well, my nick-name was 'New Kid', so honestly, I wasn't at all surprised that one of Tony's nick-names was a mispronounced version of 'midget' -- at least I hoped it was.

"Yea! Your so fuckin' loud all the time!" Holy crap, this made the first voice sound like an angel in comparison. It felt like someone had scrapped their nails across a black-board.

Ah. I hadn't been paying much attention to where we ended up sitting. I had been distracted by my mum's words from earlier. However, judging by that harpies wail of a voice, I deduced that we must be pretty near to the end of the bus. Two girls and their boyfriends sat on the three seats that were left at the back of the bus.

Yes, one of the girls was always sitting on their respective boyfriend's lap...

I spared a sideways glance at Tony; seeing that he had visibly paled and his lips were sealed tight. Hoping that his tactic, of trying to turn invisible, would work for him I carefully turned back towards the window. Praying, that my ears would survive the journey in one piece.

They Didn't. Fucking Mondays. What is it with Monday's being worse than every other day.

"Eh Midge!? You better not be ignorin' me!" Came that same high pitched screech from just behind us.

I remained looking out the window. Not really seeing the scenery, but remembering my promise to Mum. I may not have liked it, but there wasn't a lot I could have done -- even if I hadn't agreed to stay out of trouble for the day. I counted this as trouble. Well, I counted the boyfriends as trouble. I remember them looking more suited to be bouncers at some club than school pupils.

"Glasses, you better answer Kate before I throw you off the bus." The words sounded like gravel hitting rock from the guy that I assumed was Kate's boyfriend.

My appreciation of the insult 'Midge' shot up in comparison to his other nickname...

I had managed to position my head so that I could, kind of, see the back-row in the window's reflection. Kind of. It's not exactly Hi-Def, but it was good enough. The guy that had finished speaking was big, taller even than me and way wider. However, I couldn't get a good look at him as there was this stick of a girl on his lap; her painted face -- layered in cheap make-up and framed by messy, brown curls -- obstructing my view of her boyfriend's head.

So that was Kate. Then it clicked. I had seen her at lunch the week before. I remember Tony telling me that their group was called 'KFC' or some shit because Kate, Claire and their two boyfriends were always walking around school together. I think the guys are twins called Frank and Freddy. Or maybe Fred and Franky.

Urgh...

Seriously, the first letters of their names spelt 'K', 'F', 'C'; so they decided to call themselves a fast food franchise. I felt a little better about 'New Kid'. Compared to that, it was actually pretty inspired.

I tried to remember the conversation I'd had with Tony, during lunch the week before, when he was talking about them. He'd told me that they pretty much ruled the roost at school because the twins were so fucking huge and violent. Yea, I could definitely see how those physiques might put off any challengers. He'd told me something about Kate too. I think she was the niece of the headmaster, or maybe even his daughter.

That was it. I remembered. Kate was the Headmaster's daughter, and was renowned for being 'daddy's little girl'. If you pissed her off she would basically tell her Father that she saw you defacing the school, smoking, drinking or some other inspired lie about your activities.

I couldn't remember anything weird about Claire. I think she was just Kate's best friend and in a relationship with the other twin. I had no idea which one.

Tony still hadn't spoken. I guess he was hoping that he really would become invisible. Well, I suppose it was worth a shot. I kept my mouth shut too; continuing to not really look out the window.

Despite my eyes trying to focus on the window's reflection -- rather than the outside world -- I couldn't help noticing the dead-looking hedgerow that enclosed the front of Hargraves like some skeletal wall.

Holy shit. I checked my watch: six minutes. This driver was fucking insane! I'm surprised the bus was still working as we began to turn into the parking lot.

"Oh, you done it now Midge! Soon as we get off the bus I'm gunna fuckin' pound you!" Kate's boyfriend spoke up once more from behind us.

"Yea Freddy! Show him who's boss!" came that high pitched wailing again. Owww, my ears!

I decided to ignore the 'pound' comment. Wisely remaining silent. Instead of pointing out that Freddy's threat could've been mistaken as him wanting to bum-fuck Tony.

Well, at least I had the full picture of this 'KFC' now. Kate was with Freddy and Claire was with Frank. I almost smiled. Almost.

When the bus pulled into a bay and braked sharply, the driver was definitely either new or insane, Tony jumped up, managing to run straight into a guy getting out of his seat two rows further down. Being so small the guy was left standing, while Tony desperately tried to get off the floor to escape the twins -- Freddy and Frank -- who were walking briskly down the aisle, girlfriends in tow.

Sadly, I guess Monday isn't Tony's day either. The poor guy dropped his backpack. Trying to get off the floor at a speed faster than light. He turned, taking one look at the backpack, trying to determine if he would be fast enough to snatch it, and still make it off the bus without the twin's hands around his throat.

Evidently not he decided, turning and running again, to the front of the bus, desperately pushing past pupils to get out the doors.

Waiting for 'KFC' to pass my row -- I got up and followed them out -- stooping to pick Tony's backpack from the floor, and slinging it over my other shoulder. Thankfully, the twin idiots seemed to be so focussed on catching 'Midge' that they hadn't noticed me, or the dropped backpack that they'd walked over.

Unfortunately however, the girls had. The driver shut the door when I exited the bus; being the last one out -- beginning to reverse out the bay to park in an area reserved for school buses. Looking towards the entrance to this dump of a school. I began to walk towards the doors, while the bus picked up speed behind me.

Shit. 'KFC' were waiting at the front entrance of Hargraves. Well, at least it had stopped raining. The front of the school was ringed by a large hedgerow. Almost barren at this time of year; January pretty much destroyed English wildlife. The hedgerow surrounded the entire school, including the football field near the back and the parking lot at the front -- which acted as a sort of courtyard to the main building.

I slowed down, thinking quickly. I could circle round and use the back entrance. It's similar to the front, but opens out onto the football pitch instead of a car park. I quickly dismissed the idea. I was too close to 'KFC' to be able to simply turn and run from them.

I was jolted from my desperate planning by Kate's wail of a voice. "Drop the bag New Kid. And fuck off!"

Hmmm. Well I wasn't exactly happy about it, but it did offer me a simple way to keep my promise to Mum. Drop the bag -- don't get into any trouble with this group of very troublesome individuals -- and get on with my day.

Yup, the more I thought about it the better it sounded.

Sliding Tony's bag to the ground I began moving off towards the back entrance. Assuming 'fuck off' meant that I couldn't just walk past them through the doors they seemed to be guarding.

Thinking of what to tell Tony about his bag I was interrupted by a voice -- apparently they weren't quite through with me. Shit.

Claire chimed in from beside Kate. "Yours too New Kid. Drop it."

Halting I cringed, I couldn't drop my bag, I hadn't had any time to unpack it this morning due to the incident with the skylight, and I knew I still had my beloved training gear in the bag, under my books.

After my mum started teaching me various martial arts. I had wanted to become a ninja when I grew up. I would talk to her about it endlessly when I was little, and remained devout in my wish into my teens. She finally relented when I turned eighteen, and used my measurements that a tailor had taken a few weeks before. Under the false pretence of needing to rent a Tuxedo as part of my birthday present. To have a custom ninja-like outfit made for me. It was the greatest present I had ever received. Some people may get a car for their eighteenth, or money for a gap year. I got a fucking ninja outfit. It wasn't a true ninja outfit. We've always had to train in parks or fields. I can't remember ever living in a house with a garden big enough for us to use. This meant that my mum didn't want to attract, too much, attention by having me look like an actual ninja -- swinging a bokken around in a public area. Well, at least not more attention than we already drew.

The suit was pitch-black. Made of a soft fabric that was tight, but slightly elastic so as to allow me to move freely, while still being form-hugging. This prevented me from snagging myself on objects, and made less noise moving as there was no rustle of cloth against cloth. The fabric was tough too, I'd been been using it rigorously for a little over three months and had yet to notice damage of any kind on the cloth.

Instead of a ninja mask the suit had a hood, and a balaclava type piece of fabric attached to the back of the hood; which could be removed and attached to the front instead making a mask, while still looking like a normal hood if not assembled. There were areas of thin leather padding too; on the shoulders, back, lower legs, fore arms, and on the backs of the gloves. Thin enough not to look bulky, but still providing an added layer of protection. The suit was all one piece with a belt of black cords -- to separate the top from the leggings -- which were tight but not painted onto my legs. It had a number of differently sized pockets and compartments, some harder to find than others, which could be used to store a variety of objects.

The boots and gloves were separate, but blended in with the suit when worn to look like a single item of clothing. The long gloves were designed to have the suit's sleeves tucked into them, and black cords were used to tighten them to the fore arms. They were made of very fine, but tough leather that didn't impede grip at all. The long boots were also designed to have the suit's leggings tucked into them, and black cords were used to tighten them to the lower legs. They were a much thicker version of the leather that formed the gloves and the sole was thicker still with black rubber used to provide the best grip, and to allow for the most stealthy movement.

However, what I had truly fallen in love with the moment I saw it was the Raven. My namesake was stitched into the suit, a majestic raven, wings along the back of my arms, and the black beak being made from the hood -- so it looked like the beak was swallowing my head when the mask was assembled. It was absolutely breath-taking. A true work of art. My mother had given it to me. She never told me where she had gone to have it made, but I didn't care. It was mine and I fucking adored it.

All this presented me with a dilemma. On one hand I had promised my mother to be careful today. On the other hand I would cut my own arm off before parting with the suit. It wasn't just that I loved it so much. It was also that my mother had given it to me -- making it even more valuable to me.

I looked towards 'KFC'; at the two ugly chicks covered in bargain make-up, and the two huge, overgrown kids with half a brain-cell between them.

I decided I wouldn't cut off my arm to keep the suit. I would die before parting with it.

Having made my decision, I resolved to keep my promise. I wouldn't give up the suit, but nor would I get into a fight. I could always try and talk my way out of this situation, and if that failed. Run.

"Erm, aren't we already late for first period guys?" I said evenly. We weren't. I knew we still had a few minutes due to the crazy driver this morning. However, I was hoping that they'd fall for it.

"Okay, so what about the bus that's just pulled up. Eh, New Kid? They all late too huh?" replied Kate with a condescending look on her face and a huge evil looking smile plastered across her face.

Seriously? These fucking buses are already screwing me over, and I've only been here a week.

Although, the bus pulling in gave me a though. If I could stall for time, maybe someone would be able to get me out of this mess.

"What bus?" I literally almost hit myself on the head after muttering this piece of time-buying garbage.

"You tryin' to be smart 'New Kid'?" Frank growled at me. Pushing his chest forward alongside his twin, both somehow becoming even more menacing.

"Urgh...No...Sorry Frank." I kept calm and tried to eke out my responses. Hoping that would get me enough time for something positive to happen. Well despite it being bad, a bad plan is still better than no plan at all. At least, I hoped it was.

"What! I'm Franky not Frank. No one calls me that you little shit." Franky's growl went up a notch in intensity. Stepping forwards with his twin, Franky did not look too pleased with me.

"That's it Franky. Do him!" Claire shouted, like a cheerleader at a soccer game.

Kate piped up with a slightly more offensive. "Beat his arse Freddy. Fuckin' beat him!"

By this point I was really struggling to hold in my laughter -- at all the gay connotations that the girls had unwittingly started throwing around. Not that anyone else seemed to notice. Shame really. This shit was gold.

Well, at least I had a new nickname, 'Little Shit' was definitely a let down, but at least I might hear less of the 'New Kid' insults. Those were quickly getting old.

Getting old.

Oh man, I had to stop before I broke down laughing.

The twins had taken a few steps towards me, while I was deciding on a plan. I thought I'd better just improvise as they were taking some pretty large steps.

"Mr Hardy!" I shouted, waving over the twins head's towards the entrance. Mr Hardy was the headmaster of Hargraves and Kate's father. He was a decent guy from what I'd seen of him, but his precious daughter was able to make him believe all of her stories. Which led to a lot of unfair punishments.

The whole 'KFC' group turned their heads so fast I swear they'd come flying off.

I took the opportunity to scoop up Tony's backpack from the ground, and spun, running through the pupils that were by now all off the bus and making their way to the front entrance.

Shouts of, "That fucker!" "Shit!" and, "Your dead when I find you!" were heard as I pushed through the crowd of pupils from the bus and ran to the street.

Looking behind to make sure they weren't following me I checked my watch, and saw I had two minutes until first period. I would have to make my way around the hedgerow, to where it opened up onto the field, and go through the back entrance. 'KFC' would probably wait at the front entrance for me until a few seconds before class; hoping I would try and get back in through that side. At least, I hoped they didn't have the required brain-cell needed to wait at the other entrance instead.

Well, it was a two minute run to the other entrance. I'd better start running.

Fortunately, 'KFC' weren't waiting for me when I got through the back entrance, and I even made it to class on time.

CHAPTER 2 -- Fire and Brimstone

English, Math and History. Now there's a slow morning if I ever saw one. I briskly walked to lunch: bolting out of my history class when the bell rang.

I didn't share any of my morning lessons with Tony so I still hadn't been able to return his bag. Thus I was walking through the school still carrying two backpacks.

Walking into the cafeteria I quickly spotted Tony sitting, on one of the smaller tables, near the corner of the room. Alone. Looking pretty miserable.

Ah, right. I had his bag. Which meant he didn't have his lunch.

Sitting down next to him I smiled, handing him his bag.

"Decent day so far Tone?" I said. Luckily, he seemed to get the joke this time and smiled as well in thanks for returning his bag.

I had started calling Tony 'Tone' at the weekend during our gaming session -- he didn't seem to mind so I hadn't stopped.

"Yes, It's been fantastic. I almost crapped myself on the bus, had to make excuses for all three of my morning classes for not having books, homework or something to write with and I'm now on 'KFC's' most wanted list." He replied, looking around fearfully as if just speaking about 'KFC' would summon them to the table.

I tried to soothe him by saying. "Well, to be fair, I think if you are on their 'List' then you're pretty low compared to me. I just legged it from them before first period. After fooling them into thinking the Head was standing behind them."

"They sounded so pissed." I continued, laughing.

Tony looked at me like I was crazy. I'd been getting that look a lot recently.

"Luke, you really shouldn't push those guys. I told you last week about the punishments people get given after Kate makes up stuff about them and tells her Dad." he said, looking at me worriedly. "Not to mention what those brutish twins will do to you if they catch you."


"Yea, I remember." I muttered, sobering quickly. "But I didn't have much of a choice. Anyway what's done is done. We have Geography together after lunch right?"

Demonnox
Demonnox
147 Followers
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