SPITE

Chapter three

Liam gently closed the door behind him as he followed Nico out of their dormitory, quiet as a toddler playing hide 'n' seek. Flakes of old paint stuck to Liam's hands as he touched the peeling door frame, of which he wiped off onto his new jet-black trousers. They were now dotted with red flecks, but Liam didn't care in the slightest. Everything around them was so busy, and Liam felt uneasily closed-in as he dodged several suitcases which were being clumsily wheeled about by first-year students. It was very claustrophobic. They were more people than Liam had previously expected, and it made a feel of unease trickle along his spine. "Does everyone just decide to return at the exact same time after the summer break?" Asked Liam jokingly as a younger boy barged past him, pushing him into the wall with a vicious shove.

"It's always busy when all the fledglings are trying to find their way around, but that doesn't last," Nico responded, eyes flashing left-to-right in case a teacher saw them.

"Fledglings..?"

"The new kids," Nico explained as if it were something he'd expected Liam to just know. "Not you, the ones in the year below us. The first-year kids. Everyone calls them fledglings."

"Huh. Must be right busy with everyone cramming into dormitories." Liam observed as yet another fledgling stalked past, this time almost bowling Liam off his feet.

"Yeah. I guess we're lucky that some people arrive early instead of adding to this chaos." Nico spoke while nearing the end of the hallway at long last. "The first people arrived a couple days ago. This is the time when the fledglings tend to get here, as they don't seem willing to come to a boarding school any earlier than they have to."

"I could have already been here ages ago?" Liam exclaimed, half in irritation. "I could have avoided all these first-years!"

Nico chuckled. "Yeah, you could. But you didn't."

The hallway felt like it had stretched on forever, and Liam was relieved when they finally reached the end of it. Liam's legs were still aching from when he had sat in the back of his car for several hours on the journey here, and the less walking he had to do, the better.

He followed Nico around a sharp turn, hoping that it would open up into the main hall, only for the two of them to be stopped in their tracks by the man with the clipboard who Liam remembered from earlier. The plump school assistant stared down at Liam and Nico with a stern stare, making it clear that he hadn't forgotten about them, either. "What're you doing outta yer dormitory?" He bellowed, eyes flickering from Liam to Nico angrily. Liam felt his face heat up with embarrassment at the accusation. He always hated getting into trouble, especially when he knew he was doing something wrong. And sneaking around the academy with someone he hardly knew definitely wouldn't put him in the schools good books.

Liam gazed over at Nico, who seemed cool as a cucumber as he turned to face the teacher with a calm expression. He was so relaxed about the situation, it was as if they weren't doing anything wrong! Maybe Nico is used to getting in trouble a lot, Liam told himself. Perhaps he is one of the popular boys that everyone finds cool. If that was true, Liam becoming friends with the popular kid would be a decent start to his year. Perhaps then he'd have a chance to become known amongst his year group. He was jolted back to reality when he heard Nico's voice beside him. "Sir, I'm just showing Liam where the bathroom is. He's only a new kid."

Liam openly hated being called 'kid', and it made him clench his teeth in irritation, but if Nico noticed that it bugged him he didn't show it. The teacher tapped his pen against his clipboard for a few heartbeats, as if pondering whether to believe their story. but nobody could find a way to complain about someone trying to help a new student find their way around (Even though Nico had lied about it, the teacher couldn't disprove his clever excuse). "Very well," He mumbled at last. "Don't take long, though, boys."