9 Tales From Elsewhere 11 by 9 Tales From Elsewhere

Author:9 Tales From Elsewhere [Elsewhere, 9 Tales From]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bride of Chaos
Published: 2016-11-08T23:00:00+00:00

THE END.

ST. ZENO’S SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED by Charlotte H. Lee

“But, I don’t understand.” Sometimes when he cleaned his fish tank, one of the stupid fish would flip out onto the counter, flop around for a bit, then lie still with its mouth gaping and closing. The first time it had happened, he’d pitied the creature, and studied its heaving gills for a moment trying to imagine what it was feeling before scooping it back into the water. He vowed he would move faster to get the fish back into a comfortable place next time. Helplessness and confusion, he realized now, was horrible - and he wasn’t even struggling to breathe.

“I understand how you feel, Kevan. This is a shock for you.” The woman he had thought was his mother – until just a moment ago – reached across the kitchen table to cover his clenched fists with her warm, soft hands. Her face was sad, and there was a tear glistening in the corner of her eye.

He’d always felt he didn’t quite fit in at home, though he knew they all loved him. Kevan had just always put it down to the difference between how parents treated boys and girls, and first- and second-borns. His parents hadn’t seemed to play favourite, but it had just always been different somehow. If Mel took a fall, they’d hug her, dust her off, and send her on her way. If he fell, they’d check every inch of his skull and pepper him with questions. Did he feel dizzy? Was there any blurriness? And a dozen other questions just like those. He kept his jaw clenched tight so he wouldn’t look like a helpless fish out of water, and waited for her to continue.

“Biologically you aren’t ours, but you will always – always – be our son. It’s no different than any other adoption that way.” She got up and poured herself a glass of water, waving the jug at him. Kevan nodded. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

“We’ve done our best to give you as many happy memories to fall back on as we could. You’ve grown so tall!” She was still his mother, Kevan decided. Even through the confusion, he hated to see his mother cry. He’d always thought of her as strong and fearless, charging her way through obstacles at her job, at home, his and his sister’s schools, or their sports teams. Even Dad got out of her way once she decided on a course of action. She was an unstoppable force, and he admired that.

“Who are ‘They’?” Kevan decided in that moment that if they weren’t decent, there’s no way he’d stick around. He had civil rights, just like anyone else. He had a right to choose where he lived. He took a gulp of water, it helped with the cotton-mouth but it landed in his belly like a heavy lead weight.

“I’m sorry, Kevan. I can’t tell you that. Your dad could tell you more but they aren’t even giving us enough time for him to get home from work.

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