Inside The Raven

I needed to get out of here.

“Please, excuse me.” I stood out of my seat and started to walkaway.

“Mrs. Roth!” I paused mid stride. “Take of your hood now!”

“I can’t”

“And why not?” she said bitterly, I could tell she wanted to kill me.

“I just can’t.” the boy sitting next to me suddenly stood up out of his seat.

“Hey Mrs. Williams, please forgive my friend. She’s new here, and I mean really new, like not from here new,” I peered out from under my hood and inquired with my expression what he was attempting to do. He smiled. “I’ll explain to her why she can’t wear her hood, can you just give us a second in the hall?” he smiled at her very politely, and her demeanor seemed to change for reasons unknown to me.

“Very well Garfield, just don’t take too long. I do have to give the disclosure to everyone.” She waved us away and he grab me by the hand and led me out of the room. Once we were in the hall I pulled my hand away from him.

“Thank you, for getting me out of there.” I said cooly closing my eyes and sinking against the stone wall. I attempted to slow my breathing, forcing away the negative emotions that plagued my mind from my latest High School experience. Azar’s voice rang in my mind: “Breathe Raven, remain peaceful and in control, nothing will plague you if you learn to breathe...”

“No problem,” he sat against the wall next to me, “but seriously you shouldn’t wear your hood in class, Mrs. Williams is the devil, and she’ll make your life hell if you piss her off-” “The Devil?” fear trickled through my bones, wasn’t that the human’s name for Trigon? “I gotta go,” I started to stand up but he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back down by him.

“Hey, why are you worried?” He laughed, “she’s not really the devil we just use that as an expression, ya know, like it’s raining cats and dogs?”

I stared at him in confusion, he did nothing but smile.

He started to laugh, and I stared down away from him in shame and closed my eyes. The laughter again suddenly stopped, and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey”  I opened my eyes to see his face peering up into mine. There was something different about his face, instead of being very smooth -or very bumpy and red like many of these human’s faces-, his skin seemed to have another layer to it, and that layer didn’t seem to match the underlying layer of his skin that was almost green-

“Hey, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings...” he lifted my head up and for the first time I saw this boy look truly sad. “I was just trying to make you laugh…”

“It’s okay, I just need to be alone right now…”

“Oh,” the boy dropped his head, “I’m sorry, I’ll go then-”

“I don’t mean away from you,” I paused and he looked up at me, “I mean I need to be away from people, to meditate... I’m feeling overwhelmed is all.” That was the last thing I wanted was to make him feel bad, he was the only one trying to help me understand…

“Are you sure?” He said, his eyebrows lifting with the question, “I can leave you alone if it would help you feel better…”

“No it’s fine… I can later.” I really hoped I could control my emotions for that long, this boy seemed to be helping me though. “My name is Raven.” I offered him a small smile, and his face lit up like the stars

“My name is Garfield- wait didn’t she call you Rachel?” He seemed to be the one confused now, and that made me feel a tiny bit more comfortable in my new surroundings.