nanowrimo four

They bypassed the secretary with a nod from Mrs. Thomas. Rainer had only been into the office once, but it hadn't changed- the same weathered oak desk with an older laptop and a few pictures on it, a diploma on the wall behind, and a thin bookshelf littered with books, stress relievers, and a fake ivy plant. And one chair; the room felt like a closet with four people crunched into it.

The principal, Mr. Ingram, had been typing, but stopped as they came in, taking off his glasses and putting them on a small dog stuffed animal that was sitting next to the laptop.

“What's up?” he asked mildly.

Mrs. Thomas had remained standing, and Rainer followed her example, leaning against the wall out of the way. Ainsley had taken the single chair, and scooted out of the way into the corner.

“We need to make arrangements for twinning.”

“These two here?” Mr. Ingram gestured vaguely to the other side of the room, mostly at Mrs. Thomas since Rainer and Ainsley were on opposite sides of the room. “I think there are rooms on the end of the wing open.” He typed for a few seconds, then nodded. “There's a few. I don't know how things have turned out this year, but we'll have to make them a priority since our numbers have risen and they can't stay in the pre-Selection wing...” A few more clicks, and he nodded decisively before looking up. “I've got you two assigned to room 320. I'll have to get a bed and other things out of storage, and it's going to be tight, but it's meant for those with familiars that need more space...”

“What about my fish?”

Mr. Ingram looked over and frowned. “Fish?”

“Yeah,” Rainer replied, standing up straighter. “I have nine different tanks of fish- what am I going to do with all of them?”

The principal pursed his lips together, looking as though he were in deep thought. “We allowed that many tanks of fish in the room?”

--

Yes, Mr. Ingram, you did.

nanowrimo three

Rainer blinked as his focus readjusted to reality. The internal image dropped away, and any sense of the connection beyond a lingering sense of completion was gone. The hand moved, but the person was still there. Rainer must've done something wrong- dropped the thread early or something... But that sense... He had finished...

He turned around to see a boy standing still, an expression of disbelief on his face. Rainer knew of him- the school was too small not to at least recognize everyone- but didn't know him. His name, if Rainer recalled correctly, was Ainsley.

Ainsley continued standing with a frown, hands buried deep in the pockets of his red windbreaker haphazardly thrown over what looked like an inter-mural soccer shirt. His hair, an indiscriminate blond brown color, was probably messy due to having fingers run through it like he did now as Rainer finally met his eyes.

“I, um... Something is wrong.” 

--

It takes me about 1000-1200 words to get into the swing of things... and then so quickly afterward, I hit word count for the day. How depressing.

 

nanowrimo two

“No.” Her voice hardened. “I've done enough harm already. It's too dangerous for you-”

“But you never have any issues-” He was leaning forward now determinedly, hands on his knees. “I know how often you help Mr. Carroll, and nothing ever happens. Ever. We can keep it a secret too, just the three of us, and if anyone figures out, I'll just say it's my idea-”

“Rainer. No.”

“How can we just ignore what's going on? I can do something about it-”

“Rainer.” But this time, her voice was softer, and she reached over to give him a hug that he, still frustrated, unwillingly received. “You care so much, but you can't help here. You've got to let it go and let us take care of things. We'll figure it out... Somehow.”

But her last word held too much worry for Rainer to be reassured. He 'd be more careful, but he couldn't just wish that the teachers would make everything better. The illness had been around for so long, and still Mr. Carroll was baffled by it...

“Promise me you'll stop.” Mrs. Thomas had drawn back and was staring intently at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Rainer.” Her hands tightened on his shoulders. “You've got to promise me this.”

He swallowed, but nodded. She dropped her hands back to her lap, her face slowly composing itself again.

“Thank you.” She rose from her chair, and Rainer followed suit. “Good luck with Selection tomorrow. I hope things go well for you.”

Rainer nodded, and made to leave the room.

nanowrimo one

It was unnerving, the way the dog's eyes didn't follow him, how they stayed straight forward as he approached. Not even a reaction to the scents that had to be all over him from his work in the familiar house earlier. He looked over his shoulder, but the adults seemed to be preoccupied. Closing his eyes, he put a hand on Lucy's head and reached for the energy in his head. True to his training, a single strand came from the pool that felt like it existed at the base of his skull. Every time there was a slight giddy rush, a mixture of adrenaline from rule breaking and the energy pulsing, ready to be moved.

Keeping a mental hold on the thread, bright gold in his mind, he felt for the connecting thread that would lead him to Lucy. He wasn't quite as fast as traversing the web as his old teacher, but he soon found it and laid the golden thread on top of the dull, greying one. The light seemed to creep up through the thread, infusing the connection with a bit more luminescence. Lucy wouldn't ever be as good as new, but some of the effects should have been reversed.

He came to, pulling his eyes open with an effort. The dog on the table looked up at him questioningly as he rubbed his eyes, then pushed her nose under his elbow.

“Rainer.” The sound of Mrs. Thomas's voice sent a small dart of fear through his chest. Giving the dog a pat for reassurance, he slowly turned around.