literature

Colorblind Ch.1: Newcomer

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I hate math class.

Amy doodled around the edges of her paper, mentally preparing herself for her least favorite period of the day.  

Same old, same old, she thought, sighing as her pencil scratched out random designs.  Just like math.  Nothing but the same boring old problems again and again, day after day after day...

She glanced upwards when her fellow classmates filed in from the hallway.  An unfamiliar face caught her eye.  The newcomer stood frozen in the doorway, his bright green eyes sweeping the room with a mechanical accuracy.  He towered over the other boys present, six feet at the very least.

After completing his inspection, he snatched a class-copy textbook from the bookshelf and smoothly claimed the desk closest to the door.

Three seats away, Amy counted. Two to the left, one forward.

"All right, class," Ms. Rabon chimed.  "It's time to get started on today's lesson."  She began to draw diagrams on the whiteboard, followed by explanations of each.  Absorbed by her recent break in the monotony, Amy paid barely any attention to the lesson.
The newcomer pulled a palm-sized notebook out of his cargo pant pocket.  He flipped it open, eyes darting across the tiny writing as he added more writing of his own.

Taking notes? Amy guessed.

The teacher put down her dry-erase marker and took a seat.  "Now, turn to chapter nine and complete problems one through thirty."

The newcomer was already there, paper at the ready.  He used no calculator, and he wrote with his eyes closed, briefly opening them to squint down at the problems.  His pencil was constantly in motion, darting across the page without making a sound.  After a mere five minutes, he closed his textbook.

Mrs. Rabon coughed lightly.  "Ahem.  Young man?"

The newcomer drew a quick breath and looked up.

"You are already finished with the entire assignment?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he breathed.

"May I see it?"  The teacher held out her hand.

He hesitated, then slid out of his chair.  He gingerly placed his paper on the teacher's desk, who examined his solutions in earnest.

"Remarkable speed...but you need to show your work.  And, also," she lowered her glasses for emphasis, "please write your name at the top of your paper."

Someone snickered; their target blushed.  Mrs. Rabon snapped her fingers once, and the room silenced.

"First name and last, mind."

"Oh."  He reclaimed his worksheet, dropping it into the trashcan as he returned to his seat.  "My apologies."

He quietly retrieved another sheet of paper from his desk, then flipped his textbook back to the appropriate page as he began to rework the problems.

Ten minutes passed.

Amy snuck a glance towards the apparent prodigy.  His book was closed, but he stared anxiously at the top of his paper, fidgeting with a gold chain he wore around his neck.  

Checking his work, maybe?

But that couldn't be the case.  By the end of the period, he hadn't moved an inch, eyes locked onto some immaculate detail.

"Amy, could you please gather everyone's papers?

A few students held theirs high, while others hurried to finish.

To her own horror, Amy looked down to see her own paper was blank.  She'd been too distracted to solve little more than a single problem.

She sighed, pulling the completed assignment out of her binder.  

Good thing I always work ahead.

Amy proceeded to collect the other students' worksheets, deliberately saving the newcomer for last.  She hovered over his shoulder, curious to see what had hindered him for the past hour.

His paper was the embodiment of perfection.  A math teacher's dream.  Every line was straight, every number legible... In fact, if it hadn't been for the lined paper, Amy could have sworn that it had been typed on a computer.

Her eyes were drawn to the top of the page, where the tip of his pencil rested.  A single, four-letter word resided there, written in flawless script.

Shad.

Amy tapped him on the shoulder.  "Excuse me?"

He jumped, whirling around in his chair.

"Yes?"

"Are you...done?"

He glared at his paper for a moment, then mumbled, "I suppose I'll have to be done..."

With a flick of his wrist, he wrote something additional next to "Shad", then handed the assignment to Amy.

As the students filed past her, Amy made her way towards the teacher's desk, reading what he had transcribed a few seconds earlier.

Nightslayer.

His name was Shad Nightslayer.

Was this some sort of a joke?

Amy shuffled the papers and placed them on Mrs. Rabon's desk, then turned to confront the new kid.

He was gone.

Amy scanned the room, catching only a flash of dark hair as he fled the classroom.  She gathered her books and stuffed them in her backpack, swinging it over her shoulder as she scurried out of the classroom.

~ ~ ~

Fortunately for her, the next period was lunch hour.

Amy's hazel eyes swept the vicinity, looking for...

Found him.

He sulked alone at the far end of the room, brushing his dark hair out of his face.  He jabbed methodically at his food, as though lunch were nothing more to him than another monotonous school assignment.

Amy navigated her way through the chaotic cafeteria, until she stood directly in front of him.

He didn't even seem to notice her.

Unamused, Amy placed her lunchbag on the table and took a seat.

"Hi."

Green eyes flicked upward in acknowledgment, only to look away within a matter of milliseconds.

"Hello."

"I'm Amy.  You?"

Silence at first, then: "Shad."

"Shad Nightslayer, I'm guessing?" Amy prodded, her voice only half-sarcastic.

His face burned red, and for the first time, he showed a hint of emotion.

"Do not call me that."

"You wrote it on your paper, didn't you?"

Shad glared at the wall, mumbling under his breath.  "It's not like I had any other choice..."

"So it is your real name."

"Depends on your point of view."

"That's not an answer."

"Who said I ever offered one?"  Shad picked up his tray and stood, shoving his chair under the table.  "I'm going to class."

Amy pointed to the clock mounted on the wall behind him.  "There's still another half-hour left until lunch is over!"

"I don't care."

Amy rolled her eyes as she grabbed her lunchbag, struggling to keep up with him.

What is with this guy?

Shad dumped his tray of uneaten food into the trash, escaping from the lunchroom.  Amy caught the door before it slammed shut, then sprinted down the hallway.

"What is your problem?" she yelled, her echoes bouncing off the empty corridors.

Shad spun around.  "Why do you keep following me?"

"Answer my question first."

"I have lots of problems," he stated.  "And quite frankly, I don't think you'd want to hear any of them."
"What if I did?"

"I don't feel like sharing them."  Shad crossed his arms.  "See you in chemistry."

Amy blinked; he was already at the opposite end of the hallway.

"Wait up!"

She trotted after him, his tall stride forcing her to take three steps for every one of his.  He swiftly ascended a flight of stairs, with no clear intent of slowing down.

"Why...do you have to be...so-"

Shad froze midstride as he rounded a corner, causing Amy to bump into him.  

"Quiet," he breathed.

Amy shook her head, unhindered.  "-so darn defen-"

"I said, quiet."

Shad pivoted on his foot at a right angle so that he faced the wall.  His slender fingers probed the area, searching for something.

"What the heck are you looking for?" Amy whispered loudly.

He silenced her with a fierce glare, continuing his examination until some unknown trigger caused him to flinch away.

"We need to move."

"What?"

"Now."

Shad directed her around the corner from whence they came, poking his head out to keep an eye on the deserted hallway.

"What are you doing?"  Amy demanded.

Shad's eyes flicked in her direction, and a tiny smirk tugged at his lips.

"Saving your life."

His nonchalant countenance turned grave.

"Countdown."

He held up a hand, fingers representing the seconds left.

Five...four...three...two...one...

BOOM!

Shad clapped his hand over her mouth as Amy let out a shriek, only to release her when the fire alarm blared over any noise she could possibly make.  Sprinklers throughout the building switched themselves on, dousing the pair as Shad dragged a dazed Amy away from the explosion and into an empty classroom.

"What...happened?"  Amy asked, shaking her head to clear the ringing from her ears.

Shad locked the door, then turned around, examining her from head to toe.

"Are you okay?"

"I...think so..."

"No injuries?"

"My head hurts..."

He silently inspected the area, flipping her brunette hair around as necessary.

"No cuts or bruises.  Probably just a headache from the air pressure exerted by the explosion."  Shad popped out a pair of noise-blocking earplugs from his ears.  "If it's any consolation, I have one too.  But other than that, you're fine?"

Amy didn't catch anything except his first and last sentence.  

"I guess...I'm okay..."

Bang, bang, bang!

Sharp raps sounded on the door as someone forcefully jiggled the knob.

"Open up, Nightslayer!"

Shad's eyes widened.

"They found me."

"Who?" Amy asked.

He shook his head.  "Come on!"

Shad dashed to the row of windows lining the opposite wall, fiddling with the lock on one of them.

"Stuck," he muttered.  "Out of all the windows in this whole darned building..."

His hand hovered over the lock, which promptly exploded into tiny bits.

Amy gawked.

"Did you...just..."

The wooden door smacked against the linoleum, interrupting Amy midthought.

"Freeze!"

She turned around, scarcely breathing.  

A man in a plain, white uniform stood in the doorway.  In his hands was a pistol, and it was aimed directly at her.

Who are these people?  Police?  SWAT team?

"You!  Nightslayer!"

Shad stiffened behind her.

"Yes?" he answered, his muted tone no less different than when he had answered the math teacher a mere hour ago.  Then he whispered under his breath, "You should run while you have the chance; this doesn't involve you."

"He's blocking the only exit," Amy mumbled.  Obviously.

"Not the only one..."

Bang!

Both Shad and Amy flinched as the man fired a warning shot, only a few feet to their right.

"Are you going to come peacefully this time, or are you going to make things difficult?"

Behind her, the sound of metal gliding against metal sent shivers across the back of her neck.

"I'll handle this."

Without any warning, the hilt of a knife embedded itself in the man's shoulder.  He fell to the ground, dropping his pistol as he howled in pain.

Seemingly of their own accord, both the knife and the pistol flew towards Amy.  She ducked, but they angled high, whooshing above her head.

"Time to go."

Stunned, Amy turned around to see Shad perched on the windowsill.  The pistol lay crumpled at his feet, metal bent as if it had been run over by a car, or maybe even a semi.  He plucked a few tissues from a nearby dispenser, using them to wipe off his bloodied knife.

Wait...that's not a knife.

The double-edges of the blade were smooth, glinting silver when the light hit at the right angle.  The hilt was wrapped in black leather, like a miniature sword...

Amy gawked in realization.

It was a dagger.  A real dagger.  As if he were some sort of ninja, or assassin, or--

Shad slipped the dagger into a sheath, which he quickly concealed in his pocket.

"Goodbye, Amy.  It's been a pleasure to meet you."

He poked his head over the windowsill, examining the school courtyard below.

"Wait!" Amy tugged on his sleeve.  "Are you going to...jump?"

"Precisely."  He nodded once, as if committing suicide was a common, everyday affair. "You'll never have to deal with me again."

Amy peeked down to see just how high up they were.  "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Stop!  There he is!"  More uniformed men crowded the doorway, all of them carrying pistols.  "Hurry and capture him before he--"

"I'm sorry," Shad whispered, wrapping his arms around Amy's midriff.  

"For what?"

"This."

Before she could react, he threw himself off the windowsill, taking her with him.
MAJOR EDIT: Added...a lot at the end. For some reason, I can never seem to get the first scene right. Feedback?

Long, huh?

Cameo alert...Mrs. Rabon was my math/science teacher back in 4th grade.

Opinions, please~~~

Full story ~> [link]
Prologue ~> [link]
Chapter 2 ~> [link]
© 2008 - 2024 MatthewHalo
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HuntressArtemis's avatar
I was under the impression that math was first period. But when you said lunch was next it really threw my off.
And does Amy have any friends at school? It seemed a little odd that she immediately went to sit with Shad.
What time of year is it? Beginning or mid?

I really enjoyed the add-ons! Keep em' coming!