"She told you not to wear those shoes" I rolled my eyes "They're way too big"
"She shouldn't have bought them for me if I'm not allowed to wear them then" He threw back, stepping with his small legs at more height than normal
Walking alongside Luke towards school 2 blocks away was a daily chore. I missed the days I would walk alone, but at times like these, I enjoyed the amusement.
"What's wrong with you?" Skyler laughed as she appeared from her house, staring at my brother who struggled to keep up
"Mum bought me shoes that are too big" He grumbled
"Why did you wear them then?" She placed an arm over his shoulder, slightly leaning down to his level
I allowed a small laugh out, shaking my head as she told him only what both my mother and I had.
Luke quickly shrugged her off once he caught sight of his friend Willis waving from the front of our school.
"He's crazy" Skyler sighed as we watched him run, his feet dragging
"Mum was going to take them back, but he insisted they would be fine"
"At least he looks cool" She shrugged
"That's what it's all about in high school, remember?" I joked
"Until you reach final year, then most of us learn not to give a crap" She smiled, nudging my shoulder with hers as we entered Dainsbury High School.
Monday mornings were difficult, not just for me, but for every student who attended our public school. Not only because we were recovering from a weekend of parties and alcohol, but because we were well aware that the homework due, had not been done.
Skyler and I were about as average as you could get. We remained inside the middle of the school social hierarchy, our grades were basic and our appearance and wealth balanced on a healthy scale.
Perusing routine, we were met with the rest of our friends, Dayton, Paisley and Cara who waited at the entrance of hall A.
"I love that jacket" Cara glanced me over, walking alongside me "I've never seen it before, is it new?"
I nodded "I couldn't sleep last Tuesday night, so online shopping took over" I told her, admitting to my developing habit.
Cara and I had many classes together, we spoke on a more personal basis probably more than I did with anyone else in our group. I hadn't chosen to classify myself as having a best friend, I didn't enjoy placing that expectation on one person in particular. Instead, I had many close friends, all valued for their each individual qualities.
Dayton and I had a few classes together, his advice - mainly with boys - was always useful, and I put that down to the beautiful relationship he had with both his single mother and his girlfriend Paisley. Paisley was beautiful, strawberry blond hair, blue eyes and stunning ivory skin. She was the go to when it came to information, she knew everything, things that hadn't even circled through school yet - props to her private investigator father.
Cara was all about the fashion, always dressing in new outfits that had surfaced online or on her favourite Instagram pages. Her flare was inspiring and her confidence was equally as inspiring. It was easy to see why she was so confident, with long chocolate brown waves, big green eyes and a gym body to kill for, she had little to be insecure about.
Then there was Skyler and I. We were strikingly visually similar. Straight brown hair, brown eyes, a thin figure with average curves and lightly sun-kissed skin. We weren't the best with fashion, or gossip, or advice, but we were good for our down to earth, at ease nature, we were a good pair of ears when needed. The only difference between Skyler and I, was the length of fuse with temper.
Mine was shorter, but only when completely necessary.
At 8:55am, the bell sounded, a warning that in 5 minutes, class would begin.
Through the chatter and echo of voices in the wide busy main hall, I listened to what Paisley and Dayton were discussing in our circle - their next date night.
I stood silently, holding my thick maths book against my chest, chewing the inside of my cheek.
"Lets go" Skyler linked her arm into mine, our first and only class together every morning at 9am.
We began moving towards our math room down the end of the hall, when suddenly the air grew cold and silent.
Conversations and movement halted, pausing as only whispers developed throughout the long space.
"What the hell" Skyler dragged out, all eyes drawing in on the cause of quiet
Standing towards the end of the hall, was Danny Newscot, alongside him, his younger brother Andy Newscot.
My reaction was no different than any other student seeing what they were.
They were taller than the last time I had seen them, their faces changed, their presence unexpected.
It had been about 6 months since I'd encountered the boys. Danny - who was my age - stood at the power tool aisle at my place of work. He looked lost, unsure of what he was searching for with his brother beside him, equally as confused.
I stood at the end of the same aisle, keeping them in view, hesitating on approaching them. I knew that I needed to offer them help, it was my job, it was what I was paid for, but it was the Newscot boys, the family that had torn themselves from community for years.
Eventually, with a sigh, I moved towards them.
"Did you need any help?" I asked casually, my hands in the front of my forest green apron
Danny's head snapped up, almost taken back in surprise of my approach.
"Oh" He stumbled, his eyes only briefly making contact with mine "I'm just after a replacement piece for my fathers power drill" He slowly spoke, deep and distant
I nodded, holding my hand out for the metal piece I could see clasped tightly in between his long pale fingers.
Watching carefully, while taking in his features, he hesitated, glancing at my open palm.
His hair had been trimmed around the sides, short, but the top untouched, tousled and slightly sagging to the left side. He was tall, taller than me by more than 10 inches, nearing six foot easily despite his age.
Expectedly, his skin lacked colour, having been sheltered and kept indoors for the last 18 years.
Despite being held back from modern society, he wore the latest khaki black pants with pockets on the sides, tight around the ankles. He matched with original worn black converse and a tight fitted navy T-shirt. His younger brother held the same facial features, only more supple, chubbier.
Waiting patiently, Danny released the piece, dropping it into my palm with noticeable caution.
I gave a small smile, attempting to ease his rigid position.
"Why are they here?" Skyler questioned quietly beside me as we stared
Suddenly, the shrill sound of 9am rang, pulling all eyes and bodies out from the trance they held on the Newscot boys. Students rushed on their feet, darting to make it to class before being pronounced as tardy.
Skyler and I were no different, only our view became clearer as we neared them, bearing our classroom. Danny gave his brother a squeeze on the shoulder, who then waddled off from his towering sibling.
"Rumour has it" Voices began around us, the speculation beginning.
Walking into class, our eyes remained on the tall figure that had moved hastily ahead of us, taking a quiet seat at the back of the small room.
"I dare you to sit with him" I heard Pete behind us laughingly joke to his burly friend Matt
"100 bucks" Matt bargained, soon followed by the sound of their palms quickly hitting one another.
Everyone knew the rumours, everyone knew the stories that came with the Newscot family. They weren't the kind of family that you messed with, they were the kind you were taught early on to stay away from.
Skyler and I made our way toward our seats, the row directly in front of where Danny was now sitting.
My ears pricked up, and I could hear that someone, who I assumed to be Mathew, sat beside him, asserting his dominance with a gruff clearing of his throat.
"Hey bud" He began as Mrs Clareton entered the room, she herself running late for her own class while she fumbled with her backpack and textbooks
"This is weird" Skyler shook her head, setting up her note book and pen for the lesson
"Way weird" I agreed, mimicking her movements as I did my best to keep focused, keep my head on the reality in front of me.
In a sense, I wished that Mrs Clareton was a more strict and cut-throat teacher, intent on keeping order and silence during her lesson. I knew that whispers would continue, taunting and rumours filling the room with speculation as to why Danny and Andy were here.
"What are you doing here?" Mathew's voice reigned, everyone now intent on the conversation behind us
It was the question we were all hanging for the answer of.
It was silent at first, and then he spoke, his voice just as I remembered it
"The same reason you are"
"And what reason is that?" Mathew pushed
"Because the state says that I need to be here"
It suddenly made sense to me.
I had overheard somewhere along the news headlines that the laws were changing.
Firmer laws had recently been applied to home schooled students.
It was clear that these laws had affected the Newscot family.
"So you're finally being forced to join the real world, how do you think that will go? How many people do you predict will die now that you're out of hiding?" Mathew pushed, testing dangerously for a reaction
My fingertips toyed with the edge of my notebook, irritated that they were interrogating him as though he were an alien.
I supposed that in many cases, that's exactly what he was. To others, he was someone that had yet to exist among us, someone that had been categorised as being an outsider with unnatural, unacceptable powers.
"No one, as long as you keep away from me" Danny shudderingly replied
The raw honesty that exited his mouth, silenced the room, much to Mrs Clareton's pleasure. Even Mathew seemed to have backed off, shocked by his brute words of warning.
"You, are a complete freak dude" Mathew quickly recovered "You and your family should be kept in the crazy house, unable to breed anymore psycho's"
My heart was beating thick, my head pounding as I tilted my head to the side, half watching Skyler's mouth hanging open, half watching what would happen next behind me.
To my continuing unravel of surprise, I could see from the corner of my eye Danny smirking, one half of his full lips lifted in amusement
Mathew then stood, realising that Danny was in no way going to react, remaining still and calm.
In one last attempt, he kicked the leg of Danny's chair as he stood, walking off back towards his friends who eagerly watched on with wide eyes.
It took about a half hour for the air suffocating the room to clear, only escaping out of small cracks in the window panes and the door gap underneath.
Well aware of the person behind us, it seemed to have been a little harder for Skyler and I to settle back into our natural slum. No matter how we sat, what we spoke about, we constantly felt on edge, uncertain if his presence would cause the uncalled death of someone nearby.
A further twenty minutes later, when the bell sounded, we were glad to have been publicly released from the small cage in which we had learnt not a single thing from.
Danny dawdled, slowly picking his belongings up, and it was soon clear that he did this to avoid any further human interaction.
"Something tells me math class is going to be a hell of a lot different from now on" Skyler breathed once we exited, our shoulders dropping, a relief washing over.
With ten minutes between classes, I met up with Cara, and together we took our time heading towards English. It was difficult to remain clear-headed, with majority of talk drifting through the halls solely based on the brothers return to society.
"I saw your brother walking to class earlier, what's with his shoes?" Cara asked, pulling me from my own thoughts
I felt a smile drift on my face "He insisted on keeping them even though mum accidentally bought the wrong size"
"How did he go on the weekend? Did he win his soccer game?"
"No" I laughed "They haven't won a game all year"
"Aw!" She pouted her bottom lip out "That's so sad!"
"But he had fun, that's the main thing, isn't it?" I half smiled
"He wasn't the least bit disappointed? I mean, he's nearly 13 and he still doesn't care about losing?"
I shrugged "He isn't really that competitive believe it or not"
"Wait until he learns about girls, then the competition will start"
"I don't want to think about that" I shook my head
"And puberty too" She teased as I cringed, waving my hands up in front of my face.