"Hurry, hurry!" Eric Bowden's ancient aunt ushered him out of the front door frantically, shoving him with a surprising amount of strength behind those seemingly frail arms of hers. "You'll be late, late again, Eric!"
"Judith, please!" Eric stumbled out of the door and turned back to his deranged aunt.
"Calm down, it's 7am, I've got an hour before the train gets here!"
"You haven't calibrated your watch, have you Eric? The clocks changed, Eric. It's 7:57, Eric!"
"Wait, really?" Eric wasted no time in cursing his stupidity. "I gotta go, bye!" He adjusted his bag straps as he ran.
~ Name: Eric Bowden ~
~ Age: 15 ~
~ Occupation: High school student ~
Today was a day like any other; a normal day. He arrived at the train station mere seconds before the carriage doors slid closed, got to the first available seat just as the train departed.
For Eric, the 35 minute train ride was blissful, and one of the few places besides the beach that he could really let his mind wonder. When he rode the morning train, he completely tuned out. He didn't notice the shuddering of the carriage over the rails, nor the sudden transitions from green bushes to pitch black walls outside the windows. He hardly payed any mind the frequent stops to pick up more bustling school students, businessmen and women with squawking children, and he didn't pay all that much attention to whichever stranger had decided to take the empty seat next to him today, if anyone at all.
When his mind was wondering, Eric thought about things. Not important things, not especially interesting things. Just things. He was actually quite proud that he had trained himself to tune back into reality after roughly 28 minutes when he was close to arriving at school.
So far, maybe 15 minutes had passed. Some guy with a stupid haircut had squatted beside Eric, and he seemed agitated.
"Hey, are you even awake, idiot?" The guy shook Eric by the shoulders, forcing him from his trance.
"Dude, step off," Eric frowned as he turned towards the guy. He recognised him now he got a better look at his face. Those sharp eyebrows and blue eyes that glared daggers at anything that wasn't his girlfriend.
"Don't dude me, you damned nerd, my name is Sean, got that?"
"Yeah, and I'm Eric, not Idiot or Damned Nerd." He sighed. "What do you want?"
"First, cut down on the attitude. Second, that seat you have is a priority seat. Do you know what that means?"
"It means that your seat is also a priority seat. I'll hand it over if a pregnant lady or an elder asks me to."
"Well I'm asking you to move. My Beth needs a seat."
Eric looked up and saw Sean's bimbo girlfriend standing there impatiently. "Is she pregnant? She doesn't look like an elder to me."
"Of course not, you idiot. She's just more important than you. She takes priority."
Eric knew that there was no point in arguing with Sean, no matter how badly he wanted to. He made a point of sighing heavily as he picked up his bag and stepped aside.
Inconveniently, the train shook, throwing Eric off balance before he grabbed ahold of the handle that dangled from the ceiling.
He looked around the train in search of somewhere new to sit. Everyone here looked dead; their heads down, looking at their phone screens; their bodies swaying with the movements of the carriage; almost silent as they listened to the music playing through their earphones. A few quiet, meaningless conversations reached Eric's ears, but he wasn't listening to them.
There was only one other available seat on the carriage and he could see why it was left unoccupied. He thought it best not to interfere with the short, dark-haired girl sat by the empty seat; Aya Sodden was short tempered at the best of times, much less in the mornings.
Eric sighed and tried to zone out for the remaining couple of minutes until he arrived at the school stop, even if he had to stand between a wailing baby and an elderly couple who were openly discussing their distaste in the youth.
A perfectly normal day, just like any other.
[End of chapter 1: A Normal Morning]
YOU ARE READING
The Unfortunates
Fantasy"Let's not talk about how this all came to be. You and I both know it wasn't pretty. Instead, let's talk about what's next to come." "No, I think we need to clarify exactly how this all came to be, and you can start by telling us just why the hell y...
