The man sighs in frustration. The blizzard begins to pick up again, wrapping around the man's body. Then he disappeared. Leaving three words etched in the ground.
"I'll be waiting."
I stared at the neatly folded uniform lying on my mattress, not a crease in sight, radiating professionalism and sophistication. It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen.
The letter that came with the clothing was sitting on my desk. It informed me that I had been invited back to the World Academy, a prestigious castle quarters where a few selected countries and humans attended and it was considered an great honor to attend.
This would be my second year there and I was absolutely dreading my return. I was in no rush to go back to that hell hole disguised as heaven but I really had no choice. At that moment another country burst through my door to snap at my apathy so got up, begrudgingly, to assemble myself for school.
My name is Russia and before we get any further, let me explain myself a bit.
Currently, I live with my sisters Belarus and Ukraine. There used to be more people but they all moved out since most of my other siblings don't want anything to do with me. They weren't shy about letting me know, even after everything we have been through together.
We grew up fending for ourselves. Our parents disappeared a long time ago so I don't even remember them. I was the oldest which meant I took care of the others but we quickly learned that the world is not a loving or caring place. We survived. Barely. The only turning point in our lives was when we were all enrolled into the Academy where all living essentials were provided for us. But the Academy worked just like the rest of the world.
Ukraine and Belarus did fine. Belarus gained the respect of other students and teachers and Ukraine made many new friends.
I was bullied and beaten till I couldn't walk. Trips to the headmaster and nurse's office became a routine and I was an outcast. No one came to my rescue so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I fought back, and I got pretty good at it too. Soon, I gained enough of a reputation that people eventually knew to stay clear of me. And then came my growth spurt.
I began to tower over other countries, adding to my deathly cold aura and no one has dared touch me ever since. Then school ended, giving me the break I desperately needed. No more socializing. No more drama and now, it's all about to start again.
I tossed on my grey blue sweater and black adidas sweatpants. I shrugged on my usual thick brown winter fur collar jacket. My ushanka virtually never leaves my head.
I stepped out of my house and made my way to the car. Belarus and Ukraine were waiting for me and she furrowed her brow when she saw me.
"Where is your uniform mister?" Bela demanded.
"In the fireplace," I replied. My role model sister searched my face for a hint of sarcasm and recoiled a bit when she didn't find any. "Get in," she grumbled.
She ended up lecturing me about destroying school articles the whole way there so I popped in earbuds and went to my angry rock playlist immediately, making sure to turn the volume up all the way to tune her jabbering out. I glowered out the window at the all-too-familiar road and before we knew it, we had entered school grounds. Belarus dropped us off at the entrance.
"I'll be staying at the school for a bit later than usual for the student council meeting. You'll be fine driving home yourself right?" she asked, tossing me the keys. I simply nodded a response.
"And you are staying in the dorms again right?"
Ukraine nodded, then turned to me. "I still think you should give dorm life a try Russia," she said.
"It's bad enough seeing those jerks without living with one, " I snorted. Ukraine rolled her eyes and walked into the front courtyard that was the size of a football field. "They're not that bad..."
Of course they weren't. She was the pretty and lovable Ukraine. What was I? I was the bane of all existence, plaguing the entire school with fear and, according to Vatican City, "the definition of unholiness". I sighed and followed my sister. I stopped just outside the gate to gaze up at the school that rose majestically over us. I glanced over to see people greeting Ukraine as she passed by them with a polite hello. Needless to say, that didn't happen when I walked by but I didn't expect them to anyway. Nor did I care.
"Y'know why you don't have any friends," Ukraine whispered, "You don't smile."
I frowned harder.
Author's Note: AHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGG. I have ideas but no motivation to type them!!! Well, let's see where life takes us...