Electric Like Fire

The Awakening pt5

"Hey Yuki I'm gonna go now, " Reisse said handing him a lunch box, "Be good, little bro."

"Okay, " Yukio replied solemnly.

"I'll be back for you at the end of the day, okay?"

Yukio nodded taking the lunch box that Reisse was holding out to him. He thought he would stay with him throughout the day but since he wasn't he didn't know what to do. He'd spent over three hundred years listening to other people and being observed, in short freedom was something he didn't trust. He went and sat in a seat near the front of the room. The room had five thin lacquered wooden tables, each of them had four seats with children. There was one other seat that was empty. I wonder who sits there, Yukio thought. The walls were decorated with pictures of cake, cupcakes, and candy. There were colorful posters with numbers and letters lined up in order. He'd seen schoolhouses before he was adopted and they had similar decorations, but none of them were colorful. They were strict and only rich families could afford to send their children there. He put his lunch box on the table then looked around to see what everyone else was doing. They were dragging yellow wooden things across papers writing letters. The door to the classroom opened and in walked a boy with long white hair pulled up in a ponytail. He put a wooden cake shaped object on a hook under a sign that read bathroom pass. He looked around as if he were confused. His gaze landed on Yukio then with an eyebrow raised he walked over to the empty seat. The girl he sat next to whispered something to him, pointing at Yukio. He nodded then set to work on the paper in front of him. Yukio sat there for an hour, not knowing what to do then a loud sound hit his eardrums. Everyone got up and lined up in front of the door. What are they doing? Yukio hadn't seen anything like that. He assumed that he was expected to follow so he did. They walked in a line outside to another building. The scent of food was strong inside the building and there were even more children there. They were all eating and talking. The sounds of talking children were almost louder than the sound he'd heard before in the classroom. They continued walking through a door to an open room with stove and racks behind counters. It looked a lot like the bakeries he would pass by years ago. The people behind the counter were fixing plates of food and handing them to the children without asking for anything in return. He assumed it was some kind of scam and decided to sit down at one of the empty tables in the room full of people. He opened up the lunch box to see the cupcake that he'd tried to steal from Reisse and a note.

Hey sorry about leaving you there. I hope this cupcake makes you feel better.

-Your new brother, Reisse (P.S. The candy was for me not you)

He smiled at the note then took a bite out of the cupcake. He blinked then took another bite. W-Why can't I taste it? He furrowed his brow and concentrated as he bit into the cupcake once more. Still no taste. Desperately, he ate the cupcake hoping that he could taste at least one bite, but as he swallowed the last piece it became clear that he'd lost his sense of taste. Tears streamed down his face as he thought of what could've caused it. He looked down at his stomach and realized something. He hadn't eaten or felt hungry since last year. He hadn't noticed it before because eating wasn't something he thought about on a regular basis in the lab. He put his face in his hands, trying to stop the tears. A year ago he'd kept cutting himself because he saw having blood and bleeding as proof that he was living. The head scientist had heard and ordered that he be locked up and transferred. He felt a tap on his shoulder, pulling him from his memories.

" Hey, you're new here, right."

Yukio looked up to see the white-haired boy standing in front of him looking concerned.

"Yeah, " he said wiping away his tears.

"Oh that makes sense, " the boy said smiling, "That was my seat you were sitting in, but it's fine. I'm ok with giving away my seat if you're new."

"Thanks."

"By the way, what's your name? I don't wanna keep calling you new kid all year."

"That's right you weren't in the room, " Yukio said smiling slightly, "My name is Yukio."

"Woah, what a cool name, " he said happily.

Yukio smiled. Maybe this place won't be so bad, he thought.

"Alright, Yukio. I've decided. Let's be friends!"

"Friends?"

Yeah, " he said smiling even wider, "Oh, I almost forgot. My name is-"

Present day

Dammit, who was that boy?