Missing in Action

Chapter 002

Rounding a corner, Jon jogged passed students and teachers alike, intent on getting to where he needed to be without any distractions. Rounding yet another corner, he jumped over someone's discarded binder and finally skidded to a stop near Mr. Brown. He looked from the old teacher to the boy he was talking to and frowned slightly, then smirked. Oh, this was going to be good. New students meant Jon got to grill some unsuspecting kid for all he was worth and possibly make him just a little bit apprehensive about the school. He loved seeing the fear he could create in some poor guy's eyes. Upon seeing this lanky teenager, Jon had no doubt that he would be easy to frighten.

"You asked to see me, sir?" Jon asked, making his presence known. The old man turned to look at him, eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Jon had to stop himself from laughing. He looked over at the new student and raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Who's this?" he inquired, motioning towards the boy, who seemed to be sixteen, if not younger. A really tall fourteen year old, perhaps. Jon shrugged and looked back to Mr. Brown, waiting for an answer.

"This, Mr. Walker, and I would advise you to remember your manners, is Ryan Andrew Hastings. He has come to us from England and I trust you will be nice enough to show this young man to his room, and walk him to all of his classes, so that he can get acquainted with his new home. His room number is three, Mr. Walker, I'm sure that will be easy enough for you to find... Now, go on. I don't want you two dawdling in the hallways any longer."

Once Mr. Brown was gone, Jon looked back at Ryan and grinned. He stuck out his hand for Ryan to shake, "Jonathan Walker, at your service. Ryan Hastings, is it? Lovely. Whereabouts in England are you from, then?" he asked, and started to walk, looking back at Ryan as the other boy took up stride beside him.

"Dover," Ryan answered, struggling slightly with the bags. No matter how much training he'd gone through back at the academy, heavy lifting had just never become his thing. "In the south," he added. "Right down by the Canal. You can see France from my room."

Jon nodded, looking thoughtful. He made a little appreciative sound and continued, "really? That's awesome," he said, his voice slightly sarcastic. He smirked to himself as he looked away from Ryan momentarily. "What does your father do?"

"He's in business," Ryan answered with a slight shrug. "He's the CEO of my grandfather's company, really, so it was sort of always in the cards." He was finding it hard to really sound believable. Acting had never been his strong trait, and it was difficult to avoid sounding like he was just listing facts someone had made him learn from a sheet of paper. There was something about the other boy that irked him, though, but at the same time also made him feel slightly more comfortable. Something told him that this Jon character really didn't care about his answers at all, was just trying to get to him or something. So perhaps he needn't really be as careful as he'd feared, not with this guy anyway.

Jon hummed and had to resist from stroking his chin in thought. He nodded, rounded another corner and led the way to a stairwell. "Sounds exciting," Jon said, not sounding like he meant it at all. He looked over at Ryan and studied him for a few seconds. "How old are you, anyway? Fifteen?"

"Seventeen," Ryan corrected, a little more force in his voice than actually intended. For some reason he'd always hated having people look down on him, especially for his age. A large part of him really just wanted to spit 'twenty-four' out into the face of the boy, but he held back. One kid bugging him wasn't really a proper reason to blow the assignment. And that, he reminded himself, was all Jon Walker was. Some snotty, spoilt kid.

Jon snorted, not even trying to cover it up, and took the steps two at a time, one hand supporting him on the railing. "Guess you'll be in some of my classes, then. Which ones are you taking?" When they arrived at the double doors leading to the living quarters, Jon seized the handle and opened the heavy door, waiting for Ryan to walk through. After that, they started walking down the narrow hallway, Jon checking the numbers on the doors as they went by.