School of Freaks

Chapter Three

Amidst the piles of stuffed animals was a sleeping child.

"Oh my gosh," I whispered.

The poor little kid was shivering, and his clothes were dirty and torn. His hair - which was strangely colored - was matted and stuck to the sides of his face. His body was so skinny and frail, like a toothpick.

"Let's see if he's okay," Chess suggested.

We quietly dropped ourselves into the hole and crept towards the snoring figure. We knelt down beside him. I gently shook his shoulder.

"Hey, wake up," I said softly. "Wake up."

The boy didn't move, and I tried again. Finally, he started to stir. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly lifted his head. He peered up at Chess and then me.

"Who are you?" he mumbled sleepily. He sat up and hugged a stuffed bear against his chest as if it were a shield.

The boy looked completely exhausted. I quickly looked him over. One half of his hair was blonde, and the other half was a chocolate brown. His eyes were strange, too. The one on the blonde side was blue, and the other seemed to change from brown to red and back again. He looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, and there were several smudges of dirt all over his face, arms, and legs. There was a tiny cut on his cheek.

Chess and I glanced at each other, unsure of what to do.

I leaned forward a bit. "I'm Tansy, and this is Chess. What's your name?"

"Kasey Freelock," the boy replied. "And Traegon."

"Huh?"

"Traegon's here, too."

"Who's Traegon?" Chess asked.

"My twin brother." Kasey touched his hair. "My hair's blonde, but Traegon has brown hair." He pointed at his eyes. "My eyes are blue, and his are red. Our bodies were combined."

I was completely confused.

Suddenly, a rumbling growl filled the air. Kasey looked down at his belly, his bangs falling forward and covering his small face. "Sorry."

Chess smiled at him. "Why don't we take you inside the school to eat, okay?" He took his hand and pulled him up.

***

Mrs. Benson, the lunch lady, gave us a weird look as we entered the cafeteria. We led Kasey to the buffet.

"Who's this little one?" Mrs. Benson asked, coming over to inspect Kasey as I piled food on a plate.

"I'm Kasey," Kasey said. Then he yawned, covering his mouth cutely.

Mrs. Benson chuckled. "Aren't you adorable?" She looked at Chess and me. "Where'd he come from?"

"We found him outside," Chess answered. "He was asleep in this hole by one of the trees."

I brought the plate to Kasey. "Is this okay?"

He looked at the plate, which was loaded with mac 'n' cheese, mashed potatoes, and some vegetables. "Mm!"

We took him to a table and watched him eat. Meanwhile, Mrs. Benson left to find the Headmaster.

"So, Kasey," I said. "Do you mind telling us how you got here?"

Kasey swallowed his carrot. "I walked here."

"Why? Where are your parents?"

"They're gone. Traegon and I don't have a home anymore. But something told us to come here."