The Devil's Eyes

Ridgeway High

The bus had pulled up to a building with several other students rushing around to find their classes, and others socializing with their friends.
Victor made an irritated sigh at the sight of so many people. Walter seemed to notice it.
"What's the sigh for?" He asked. Victor didn't want to answer but it felt wrong not to answer his question. He made good company on the bus, not giving off any negative vibes. Every once in a while he would push the long hair out of his eyes and readjust the zipper on his windbreaker.
"The people," Victor clarified.
"Well if people are your problem," he started. "You're going to love my friends."

The school was a typical high school. A few stories high and a brick outside with students moving around and talking. Victor stayed close to Walter because he seemed to know where he was going. As they walked the occasional few would say high to Walter but they kept moving. Victor kept dodging out of people's ways to avoid the crowd. Every so often people would glance at Victor, mainly staring at his unnatural hair.

When Victor was younger his mother had dyed his hair brown to disguise the odd white it was. Around middle school he was finally able to where his hair naturally without having to dye it. However he still had to lie about it. If people asked him if his hair was dyed white he would say yes because it was strange for a teenager to have white hair at such a young age. His contacts were another situation. When he was first born, his mother had told him, his irises had been a bright red. As he grew they became brown but when he reached 8th grade they went back to they're original color. Victor started wearing contacts.

Walter had led him to a desk with a table cloth over it and large banner that read: STUDENT SCHEDULE PICK-UP. On the desk there were rows of files organized alphabetically. A woman sat there with her hair done up in a messy bun, her glasses hanging just below her sunken eyes.
"How can I help you boys?" She asked with a stern voice.
"Hello, Mrs. Marcano," greeted Walter. "We're here to collect our schedules."
"Of course. Names?" She inquired.
"Walter Scott," he said nicely. Mrs. Marcano started flipping through the files muttering Walter's name over again. Finally, she plucked a file out and handed it to Walter.
"Walter Scott, here you go," she said. "Now you, boy, what's your name?" She addressed looking up at Victor.
He wasn't paying attention, instead he had been looking around at the campus and the other people around him.
"Sorry, ma'am," he started. "What was that?"
"Name?" She restated. She fixed her glasses back onto her nose, her lips pursed, waiting for an answer. Finally, Victor spoke.
"Kleine, Victor Kleine." Immediately she went to the files searching for his name. She pushed other names aside in the K's until she pulled out a blue file. It was different from everyone else's manilla floders. Did this mean something? Mrs. Marcano held out the folder to him and he was hesitant in taking it.
"Welcome to Ridgeway," she smiled.

"Don't worry, the blue file just means you're a new student," Walter reassured him. "Nothing to worry about."
Victor wasn't sure why he thought it would mean something worse. He panicked when he saw that his folder was different. Thinking that it was just something else separating him from other people. Wasn't it though? Wasn't his entire existence something that separated him from everyone? His white hair, his red eyes, new to town, new to the school , even a blue file. It was as if the universe was against him, that being normal wasn't an option.

Welcome to Ridgeway, Mrs. Marcano's words burned into his brain like a branding iron. He didn't feel welcome.