Fouls n charms

The day Thomas Murphey arrived at his new school was like any other common day.

The sun was out, shining from behind the…huge, imposing dark clouds.

There was a breeze in the air, though it was too strong the trees were bent almost to the ground.

The raindrops were fine and tinny, but they were falling horizontally and fast, pinching your skin.

And there was some nice shaking on the ground, caused by the blinding lighting randomly shooting in between the… huge, imposing dark clouds.

Fine, maybe, MAYBE, it wasn't that much of a normal day, but it wasn't that bad either.

Moore was pretty aware of it. He was in the middle of his usual daily patrolling -as he was the student council leader- when he noticed the first raindrops crashing against the hallway's windows, popping every time as if they were announcing a threat. By that time, he was already informed about the new guy's arrival, though they didn´t mention who he was nor why. Couldn't care any less. As long as this newbie didn't cause any trouble and didn't mess up with him and his kingdom, it was OK for him.

"He'll come by next Monday" The school principal said a week ago, at her office "I'm counting on you to guide him and help him familiarize with the new environment."

"I won't disappoint you." Moore replied in a simple tone, not letting his face show how uncomfortable he was with the idea. Babysitting a 17-year-old man? C'mon, he could do more than that. He had to do more than that, as he was very busy taking care of his role model student duties and stuff.

"I know you won't" the Principal smiled. She handed him a folder with some papers in. "In other news, this is the Easter Festival school's draft. Give it a look and feel free to…" Her voice dissipated in Moore's memory as the memory dissipated itself. No time to lose on minor matters. Back to the present day, he was having his usual daily patrolling, noticing the raindrops crashing against the windows, and giving every once in a while a look outside, waiting for the newcomer to come.

The storm soon became a fact. Lights went off, leaving halls and rooms rest under shadows and poor natural light from the exterior, shining every time a ray crashed against the ground, with a deafening rage. It was early in the morning, though outside was no hint of the actual time.

Thomas's car parked at the school's front gate, making a splash with the accumulated water at the edge of the street. Both the driver and passenger doors opened and both driver and passenger came out as if there was no storm outside. The passenger, a young boy whose face was impossible to see, waved at his companion, turning on his heels to head for the entrance. The driver, who appeared to be an old man, stopped him to hand him his backpack, and went back to his car, leaving just as fast as he had arrived. Now the boy was all alone, making his way through the wet slab floor, though he didn't seem to be concerned about this. He didn't seem to be concerned about anything happening around him. He was floating.

Observing from the second floor's window, Moore could have sworn he saw the boy floating and sparkling, unflappable, though it was hard to say with the fuzzy view. He rubbed his arm against the window to wipe the steam from his breath, only to find the boy still walking with a purposeful air, even smiling. 'Who the fuck smiles in the middle of a storm!?' he gently thought. The closer the guy gets to the entrance, the better Moore can see him. Was he not wet? Wait, why isn't his hair wet? Moore was confused. He turned around to see if there was anybody else in the hallway to come have a look, for him to confirm his crazy assumption, but there was no one. He turned back to the guy again, and as if he was called for it, the boy raised his sight and looked at Moore directly to the eyes, making him give a step back. His hair was waiving, a result of the breeze. 'Breeze!? Man, the fucking trees are falling down, why is his hair so unnecessarily cool?' He had such an elegant vocabulary. 'And what about the damn shirt, how can it be so perfectly tucked in and oscillate like that when it's pouring to hell outside?'

Who knows. But the dude did have a point. Why was this new person so invulnerable? Was it a mirage? Was it Moore's lack of breakfast and sleep? Was it the magic of novels? It certainly didn't make sense. Then the boy disappeared from his sight, which only meant one thing:

"He has been erased from existence."

No. Not that thing.

"Oh, he has reached the school entrance." Yes. The newbie was finally entering his new school, like on any other normal day any other normal student would.

This last thought brought back sense to Moore, slapping him on the face like an angry lover. 'Wait' he thought. 'WAIT' he thought again. Why wasn't there anyone a moment ago, when he reached for some witness eyes? Right, my kids, because classes had already started but he didn't notice because he was peering at the window like an idiot. He has never, ever, not even in his nightmares, been late for a class. Was this going to be the first time? No way. He was the student council leader, the role model, the prodigy kid. And though he has never failed to prove it, this time he was messing up. And it was all that kid's fault. Hell, he hasn't even met him and he already didn't like him.

'That kid…' A lover-thought slapped at his face again. 'Of course!' the genius roll was getting back at him.

He ran swiftly to the stairs and descended, heading straight to the school entrance. Once he had visualized his target, he slowed down and put on a composed act, walking serenely towards the group of people chatting at the hall, lovely and cool, as always.

"Mrs. Cassandra" the Principal turned back the moment a voice called her name, finding Moore on her sight. Smiling, he took a few steps closer with his hands on his back and bowed his head to greet everyone. Curiosity was stronger, so even if he had tried not to, his eyes instantly searched for the new face.

Thomas Murphey was standing there, lavish all over himself. He emanated a golden aura, making it impossible not to notice him. When he smiled, Moore surprised himself with goosebumps, realizing he had been staring too much; but, for a reason, he couldn't take his eyes off. Thomas was enchanting, with a captivating face that would make any girl wanna melt on his feet. But Moore was no girl, so he slapped his own face for real this time just to stop the nonsense inside his head, making everybody around him look at him weirdly.

Mrs. Cassandra broke the silence.

"Doron? I thought you were supposed to be in class."

Moore clenched his jaw when he saw Thomas biting back a chuckle. What was this knobhead laughing at?

"Oh, I just thought I could come to greet the new classmate." Moore smiled. A red hand mark on his left cheek. "I felt like I had, to make him feel welcomed."

"Caring and responsible, as always." Mrs. Cassandra and the school prefect gave him a proud smile. "But there was no need. We still need to clarify some prompts, then he can go straight to class. Once it happens, you can have him all for yourself."

Ha! To hell he will.

"Oh, that's a shame."Moore sighted, still rubbing his cheek "Now I kinda feel disappointed…but, that's the way it is huh? Well, who am I to judge the biggest authority in this school…" He shrugged, pretending disappointment. Oh, what a good actor he was! "Then I guess I'll head back, straight to class. I hope the teacher doesn't get mad at me now." With his hand on his neck, he peered askance to the principal, waiting for the response he had planned. He was hoping to use this whole scene as an excuse to be late, counting on the Principal's support over it.

"I'd like that very much."

A voice he had never heard before suddenly spoke with cordiality. The boy, whose name we all know is Thomas but nobody has told Moore yet, raised his hand to greet the council leader, waiting for a response. Moore did his thing, not without hesitating a little.

"I'd like it very much if you could please stay and help me with my orientation right now. I think I'll feel less nervous if you did." Moore's surprised face could not be hidden this time. Thomas was still grabbing his hand, strongly, even painfully. He had a weird smirk on his face, different from the charming one he had when Moore first saw him. It was like…like if this dude was looking at his prey, calculating how much time and effort he would need to make him burst. "My name is Thomas. Thomas Murphey."

A mighty thunder rumbled behind him.

"I'm looking forward to relying on you in the future."

The personality switch Thomas gave went from 0 to 100 in less than a chapter. But it seemed only Moore had realized it. He turned to the Principal and the Prefect, but there was no hint of concern on their faces, like if they were immune to Thomas' terrifying change of mood. Maybe that's what it was: a filter of realism only Moore could see. He also seemed to be the only one that had noticed Thomas' dry hair and outfit, as if he hadn't been in the middle of a pouring storm outside just a few minutes ago.

'Are we all seriously just going to ignore this illogical character description?'

"Uh, yeah. Moore, me." Convinced he had a demon at his very presence, Moore managed to get rid of Thomas' strong grip and tried to go on with his original plan. Everything was going perfectly fine until this scary dork ruined it with his intervention. But the Prefect spoke first.

"Well, if that's the case, then…" He looked at the Principal.

"Then I guess it will make no harm." The Principal continued. "You may come with us, Doron, dear. I don't think missing one class could affect someone like you anyway."

No. This wasn't what he had in mind. He only wanted an excuse to be late, but now he was going to lose the whole class. He has never, ever, not even in his nightmares, missed a class before. Was this going to be the first time? Yes, it will. And again, it was all this Thomas guy's fault.

He mentally wrote this on his list of reasons why he didn't like the new kid. At this point, he already had 2.

"So, shall we go?" and once said this, Principal and Prefect headed to the office, leaving Thomas and Moore behind.

Moore was stunned. Thomas was delighted.