When Blackbirds Fly

Chapter Three

I don't believe I've ever properly introduced myself. My name is Merle Raven. In case you were wondering, Merle is French for "blackbird." So yeah. My parents named me Blackbird Raven. I've never really liked it, but my parents always say that it sounds beautiful.

Today is my first day of 9th grade. Luckily, I moved to Long Island in the summer of last year, so nobody at my new school will know me. Or my history of being an insane degenerate. If I can just make it through at least the first semester without any 'incidents' happening, maybe I can actually make a good first impression on my peers.

~+++~

Walking through the school door is like walking through the door to an endless maze. I thought I was used to big schools already, but this takes it to a whole new level. There are hallways everywhere; lockers line most of them. The ceiling is high and there are bright lights blaring overhead. It gives me an instant headache. There are hundreds of students milling about the corridors, and none of them are quiet. That alone mixed with the intensity of the lights is enough to make me drop to my knees.

As I sit there clutching my head, a hand places itself on my shoulder. Before I can even register what's happening, I feel myself slowly being lifted up. As I squint I can see myself being guided towards a door. The person behind me opens it, never letting go of my shoulder. As they gently lead me inside I can feel their grip getting lighter. We're inside a janitor's closet. How cliche. The lights are flipped off and it's much quieter. My headache slowly begins to ease and I turn around to face my savior.

"First time at Long Island Public High School?" the boy asks. He has short blonde hair that falls just below his ears and startlingly blue eyes. His expression seems guarded, which puzzles me. His eyes widen, but it's only for a fraction of a second. He had seemed surprised, but with his features schooled into neutrality now, I can't really tell.

"Yeah," I respond.

"It was like that for me, too. It's really overwhelming with all the noise. Especially the lights. I hate those lights." His face turned sour. I can only nod in response.

"So...are you better now? Coming in here always helps me." I give a small thumbs up and reply, "I'm a lot better. Thanks."
"No problem," he grinned. "I'm Ian Axel by the way. Nice to meet you." Ian stuck out his hand for me to shake. I slowly reached out.

"My name is Merle. Merle Raven, but you can just call me Merle." I said as I grabbed his hand. We both jump when the school bell rings.
"Oh shoot!" Ian exclaims. "I forgot, we're gonna be late!" We both scramble to gather our things. As I speed-walk out the door I can't help but think about the odd feeling I got when I met Ian. It wasn't that I felt wary around him, but there was something else bugging me, a thought that was barely a whisper at the back of my mind. A hint of recognition. It was almost like...I knew him.

Word count: 545

Honestly, Ian has been one of my favorite characters to write so far. There's always an interesting element added to the story when he's around. I hope you enjoy reading about him as much as I enjoy writing about him :)

-RS <3