Begin Again

DIFFERENT

As the bell rang, students were hurrying down the hall. People were rushing to their classes and bidding quick goodbyes to their friends. It was the day before Thanksgiving. And Delano was already in class. Alone.

He was holding his notebook, his hand flipping through the fully-written pages, while his mind was reminiscing about what his mother had told him the day before.

***

He had skipped lunch and rushed home yesterday, not wanting to deal with Austin and his minions, hoping that he could have at least a day of peace. His first few days in school weren't exactly pleasant. Fortunately, he had been able to duck pass Austin's glares which were searching for any sight of Delano throughout the day. 

When he came home, slightly puffing from the faster-than-usual jog from school, he could sense that something was wrong. His mother's keys were hung in the key box by the door. She never hangs her keys. And her designer pumps sat messily near the coffee table in the living room. 

Delano headed to his mother's room, only to find her leaning on the bedpost, her head fell slightly backwards, her eyes shut tight. One of her hands was tightened into a grip and in the other held her silver-framed writing glasses, there were tiny wrinkles on her forehead where she had been frowning. He knocked gently, not wanting to surprise her too much though he knew she was far from being asleep, and she opened her eyes filled with sorrow, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

'You're home,' she said, her voice soft from exhaustion. 

'What's wrong, mother?' Delano sat beside her, worried by the weak and helpless look in her face. She gulped, and took a moment before speaking.

'I've lost my inspirations,' she sighed. 'All my previous chapters seemed like nothing, I couldn't even think of a way to continue my book.'

'How long has it been like this?' he asked. 

'Since the...' she paused, holding back the little tremble in her voice, and continued. '... separation.'

Delano's heart struck. His mother hasn't been coping well with the divorce, and she still couldn't get herself to admit the fact that Flavien had divorced her. Saying the word would only make her feel more hurt. 'Separation' seemed like a better word, she thought, there's still a little hope, right?

'Don't worry, I'll find a job soon,' she finished off. 'Just do your best in school, dear.' She fought to hide her insecurity, but sounded a little more pessimistic than the other way around. 

***

'Del,' someone rocked his chair from behind. He came back to his senses and turned slightly to see Zeke kicking his chair, raising his eyebrows every now and then. The whole class was staring at him. 

'Mr Cadieux, do you want to repeat what I just said?' Mr Harold asked, sightly unhappy. 

'I'm sorry, sir.' Delano answered, his head low while biting his upper lip, half of his mind still wandering somewhere out there.

After class, Delano found his friends waiting for him and Zeke at the cafeteria. Fletcher was eating his fries with a weary expression, probably due to boredom while Sydney and Piper were arguing on the hotter actor between Seth Lee and Daniel DiMaggio. 

'I'm studying with Piper later at three, why don't you guys drop by my place too?' Sydney offered, after the two girls had concluded that their argument was pointless and that both of the actors were equally hot. 

'Sure, why not.' Fletcher said. 'Guys?' 

Delano and Zeke nodded in sync. 

The rest of the day were a blur to Delano, much of his thought still lingered around the mystery girl he had been encountering for the past few nights. He wondered if he would see her again tonight, little did he realize that he was starting to anticipate her presence. He could really need someone to talk to these days, and his friends in school weren't exactly the type where he would share about his family. But apparently, he felt safe opening up to Belle. Somehow, she was different.