chiaroscuro

3

I step into my dorm with a black book in my hand and a bright blue backpack. They were handed to me by the guidance aids, who were surprisingly really nice.

The black book is a list of things I can take in the Academy. But it's 777 pages long so I guess I'll just take whatever's nearest to my dorm.

My dorm has two beds, each pushed along the sides of the walls. One has a red blanket and a red pillow. There's a picture of Pennywise on the wall and a small wooden desk with a tattered black notebook.

The other one has a blue pillow and a blue blanket and blue painted walls and...well, you get the idea. There's a picture framed in gold on the bedside table. It's not just any picture: it's me and her.

I drop my bag next to the bed and flop onto it. This sucks. I have to start at a whole new school with motherfuckers I barely know. And having anxiety doesn't help.

Running my hands through my hair, my eyes land on the gold-framed picture. The intricate designs on the frame catch my eye–flowers. She loved them.

"You good?"

I look up–a lavender-haired angel's staring at me.

"Holy fu–" I catch myself. "Um, sorry, I–"

"You're the guy from the castle!" they exclaim.

"Uh, y-yeah."

Their smile makes my cheeks burn.

No, you can't.

They drop their backpack next to mine and lay down next to me.

"So," they say. "What's your name?"

My name?

"Uh, Chiro," I lie. "He/him."

I don't remember my name. I'm such a retard.

"Never heard of that name."

"Well what's yours?"

"Emery. She/they."

Damn, even her name's pretty.

"I forgot to ask," she says, breaking my thoughts, "what's up with the–" She gestures to the top of my head.

Oh frick.

"I...don't know." I twiddle my thumbs. I mean, it's the truth. I don't know why I have to be such a goddamn freak all the time. That's kind of the reason I wanted to die. To escape life, mostly, but also to be a whole new person. Reincarnation. Guess that's not happening any time soon.

"Sorry," she mumbles. She sits up.

Oh fuck, you made her upset. Way to go.

"No, no, it's fine," I say quickly and the next thing I know my arms are wrapped around her.

Goddamn freak.

The bell rings, startling me. I grab my bag and run off.

I choose science for first period. When I enter the classroom, I'm surprised. There are no lab coats, no tables, no microscopes, no sign of any science material. I see about a dozen angels sitting on bean bags laughing their asses off.

I step in and take a bean bag; it's so light. It's almost as if I were holding nothing. I place my bean bag next to this angel with gray hair. Not like old-person gray hair, more like silver iridescent hair–like a night sky.

Another angel glides in–show-off. They're tall with a flowery skirt and a tank top. They're wings are HUGE, almost covering their whole back and legs. Their hair flows down their back like a waterfall, blue and wavy.

"Partner up! Worksheet's being passed!" they yell in a melodic voice. "Camren, they/them."

"That's their name," the angel next to me says. "Gray, she/her."

"Wh–?"

"You're a newbie, right?"

I shove my hands in my pockets. Yeah I am, so?

"Yeah," I mumble.

"I can tell."

Gray's eyes wander to the top of my head.

Oh, shit, here we go again.

"Nice," she says.

I blink. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"I said 'nice'." She rests her head on the palms of her hands. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's just..."

"It's just abnormal."

"I was gonna say freaky."

"Ok, mindfucker, it's the same thing." Gray rolls her eyes. "No one's making fun of it or anything."

I look around. No one's even looking at me. They're all engrossed in their own convos. Even the worksheet hander doesn't seem to be bothered by my horns.

"In my opinion, I think your horns are pretty cool," Gray mumbles. She takes the worksheet and reads it aloud. "What did you think happened after death?"

I flinch; she doesn't seem to notice.

"I thought this was science," I say. Fucking questions.

"Yeah, it's basically just theories and philosophy. Not your normal frog dissection shit. Was that what you were looking forward to?"

"No, I just took science 'cuz it was near my dorm."

"I mean, the elevator is crazy fast here. It's around the corner–" She points to the curve on the right outside the science door. "And if you take teleportation, you could probably go anywhere you want," she adds. "Though you need to be in heaven for at least 2 more years to do that. I don't know if it's different for–" Gray gestures to the top of my head.

For freaks like me.

"Yeah."

If teleportation's possible here, I wonder what else is?

Maybe there's a way to see her: to visit Earth. But there's probably an age restriction for that.

"There is," Gray says, interrupting my thoughts.

Oh god, did I say that out loud?

"You have to be 18. I mean your body doesn't really age, so you'll have to go to the Higher Angels to get your age checked."

"Checked?"

"With some scanner. The one they used on you when you arrived here."

Crap.

"Uggh." I rest my head on my knees.

"You are a newbie, so it's normal if new info can make you feel overwhelmed and hopeless."

"Motherfucker."

"Hey!" Gray laughs and punches my arm.

"How long have you been here anyway, smartass?"

"Longer than you, fuckface."

"Come on. I'll tell you if you tell me."

She contemplates this for a while. "All I'm gonna say," she says slowly, "is that I'm 15. Not saying when I died," she snaps.

"Ok, ok." I hold my hands up. "Got it, no asking when you died."

"So how old are you?"

"15."

"Copycat. Birthday? Mine's July 19."

"July 17."

"Damn. Older by 2 days."

We keep questioning each other for the whole period, and when the bell eventually rings I say, "Chiro, he/him."