‘A boy?’ she eyed her suspiciously.

‘Yeah, he…eew! Mom, no!’ she had noted her mother’s apprehensive look.

‘Good,’ she let out a sigh of relief. ‘Boys are trouble.’

‘And yet you married one.’

‘Sweetie, I married a man. That’s what you need…at least twenty years from now. Anyway, what about this “boy” is troubling you?’

‘Well, some of the kids were picking on him and…’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. I guess he may be a little awkward…’

‘Awkward?’

‘Different. He’s different. He sits alone and he’s a bit of a klutz…’

‘Stay away from him.’

‘Mom?’

‘I said keep your distance, Claire,’ she spoke sternly. ‘He seems like the sort of enigma that hails Charles Manson a hero.’

‘What really vexes me about him is that he didn’t lash out when they bullied him or cry as most kids would do. It’s almost like…’ she also frowned, but thoughtfully, ‘like…’

‘Like he’s been through worse?’ suggested her mother.

‘Yeah, yeah, how did you guess?’ asked Clarissa.

‘I once learnt with a kid like that in college, Claire. She was a girl though. She was the quiet type: kept to herself, didn’t talk to no one, preferred her own company and all the other descriptions necessary for defining her type. Turns out the reason she acted like that was because she had attempted suicide and was caught. And she became ashamed and was overwhelmed with guilt. The poor thing hung herself in her dorm before the break of the first semester.’

Clarissa laughed, ‘I doubt this kid is the suicidal type, mom.’

‘All the same, Claire. I want you to steer clear of him, you hear me?’ she firmly warned her.

She shrugged carelessly, ‘I never even wanted to be friends with him in the first place.’ She looked at the table. ‘Now, shall we eat or are we going to stand around and keep talking about weirdoes and your prehistoric college years?’

‘Goodnight, Aunt Janice,’ Sineas yawned as he made his way into his room. She yelled an almost inaudible “goodnight” from the living room couch. He fell onto the bed, his hands behind his head and his eyes to the ceiling. His mind was at work but he was not quite sure what it was working on. The day had been too long and boring. What bothered him was that his aunt expected him to repeat this same routine for the whole year.

He breathed in deep the fresh, smooth breeze sneaking in through the window. He loved to leave it open especially since it was summer and the searing heat advised him to do so.

His room was still dark. He had often tried to remind his aunt to buy him light bulbs ever since he was six years old. Asking turned to pleading, pleading turned to begging and finally, he began to get accustomed to the darkness. He had finally told her that he didn't need the lightbulb anymore. He was now used to the dark. Each time he peered into its nothingness he felt at home. Nothing to see. Nothing to acknowledge and nothing to consider.

Fatigue advised him to get under the covers but he knew that if he closed his eyes, in a split-second, Aunt Janice would be banging on the door telling him to get ready for school. He grumbled. He tried not to think about it. He took his cell phone out of his pocket. 9:05 P.M. ‘Nine more hours,’ he murmured. Yes, nine more hours and she would be at his door telling him to go take a shower, come down for breakfast and off to school. This was the nightmare he was to repeat for 264 days, approximately.

‘So this is what the cat dragged in.’

Sineas sighed in displeasure. ‘I don’t have time for this. I’m tired.’

‘Neither do I, Sin, but we’re going to talk about this whether you like it or not. So, give me your best shot.’

‘First day of high school was no better than hell.’

‘Pop quiz?’

‘No. I found out I’m going to be learning with a bunch of mindless idiots for the next two years.’

‘And you’re not an idiot? *Laughter*'

‘Did you forget my IQ test when I was fifteen? I clocked at one thirty-four. That’s way past genius level.’

‘Yes- back then. This new school of yours is going to dumb you down to sloth speed.’

‘Tell me about it!’ Sineas grunted.

‘Did you at least make friends? They say friends are a key and even an essential part of life, you know.’

‘I don’t think friends are what I need right now.’

‘Good. Because I’m the only one you need.’

‘Or the only one I need to get rid of.’

‘Careful now, Sin. That attitude is the main reason why you don’t have friends.’

Sineas shrugged indifferently.

‘Hey, I’ve got an idea.’

‘What?’ he frowned.

‘Take me with you to school tomorrow.’

He flipped onto his buttocks, ‘No, no, no, no, no, I don’t want you to further ruin what’s already a bad thing for me,’ he objected.

‘If you take me to your school, Sin, I promise to turn your hell into an oasis.’

‘You talk too much.’

‘And you talk too little. Come on, Sin, anywhere is better than here.’

He laid his head back onto the bed again.

‘Is that a yes?’

He rolled onto his side and shut his eyes.

‘I’ll take that as a yes.’