The Dragon's Scale (COMPLETE, EDITING)

7.1 || Over the Clouds

"IT WAS PRETTY FUNNY."

Josh's face burned, but he kept his eyes trained on his socks. "It wasn't that funny, Dad," he grumbled.

His dad chuckled as he readjusted the ice pack on his stupid, smiling face.

The memory replayed in Josh's head even as he tried to repress it. He had been deep in sleep when his dad shook his arm. Muddled from the sudden wake up, his mind jumped to the Darren fight, and he had punched. Straight out punched right into his dad's jaw.

He dug his fingers into the leather couch. The warmth spread up his cheeks to his ears.

At least you punched your dad. It could have been your mom, Boomer quite unhelpfully added.

Josh buried his face in his hands. I hate you both. So much.

Not our fault you beat up your dad.

Rather than dignifying Boomer with a response, Josh raised his head and glared at his dad. He stood at a granite counter brewing coffee. Their little housing quarters still hurt Josh's head to see. They'd walked into a castle, yet they stayed in what seemed like a modern suite. Three rooms, a small kitchen, and a small living room, all furnished like a five-star hotel.

"Why did you even wake me up at..." Josh glanced at a clock on the wall and gaped, no longer as sorry for the punch. "Six-thirty in the morning!"

His dad filled a cup with coffee, adding creamer and sugar as he answered. "They told you last night to be awake an hour earlier than the starting day for the Sanctuary so you could get a small tour."

Josh wrinkled his nose. He figured he would have escaped school hours up here. "Seven-thirty is the normal time for this place?"

His dad's eyes twinkled. "No, the normal time is eight. But, well..." He made a show of sniffing the air and wrinkled his nose. "With the way you smell, you really need a shower."

Josh glowered. True or not, he was too tired for his dad's humor. He gestured around the room. "Well, there's no bathroom in here, so where do I go?"

"Oh, they have a communal bathroom." Ignoring the dismay on Josh's face, his dad provided directions and explained where the supplies were.

His dad's words proved precise. The room was right where he said it would be, and he had described the layout perfectly. Toilet stalls on the left along with urinals, shower stalls along the right, cabinets filled with a variety of hair wash and soap along the back. The only thing his dad had failed to explain was the porcelain floors and the persistent clean smell.

Josh walked back the way he had come about ten minutes later, in the same clothes but otherwise clean. He chewed on his lip as he reversed his dad's directions.

Boomer?

A presence stirred deep within him as the dragon responded. Yeah?

How do my parents know so much about this place? Josh asked as he turned a corner. The hallway where he stayed greeted him. Such exact directions.

I don't know, Boomer admitted. I've never met them.

Josh sighed as he reached the door. It had been a long shot since Boomer probably would have said before, but he had hoped.

His dad sat in a chair, a book in his lap and coffee in his hand. He glanced up when Josh walked in. "Glad to see you didn't get lost."

"Your directions were good," Josh said. He took a seat as well, peering at his dad. "Very good."