The morning was a dreary haze, unrelentingly gray, with heavy clouds obscuring the entire sky as if the weather had a bad mood. It was raining steadily now, and the pavement was soaked but the sounds made by the squelching of everyone's shoes made it sound as if everyone was sighing. For the life of him, Sylvian could not fathom why he was having such a hard time waking up to this morning. His parents had just returned and had decided to drop him off while they were on their way to work, which should have soothed him since they had returned after so long, but that didn't relieve the heaviness in his heart.
As the car stopped by the school gate, he muttered a tired, "thanks," then hurried out of the car while quickly snapping open his umbrella once inside the light drizzle, quickly darting across the courtyard with his shoulders hunched until he reached the building. As Sylvian entered the school, there was a difference to the halls. They were quieter today, far less foot traffic, and they could scarcely hear voices echoing in the halls. Most students had already huddled inside their classrooms to avail themselves from the gloominess of the weather. There was certainly a difference to the school today, a restless, lounging tilt to all the students, as if they were all awaiting the storm to finish.
Ordinarily, it would be the same old game, but it was unusually concerning for Sylvian. Someone usually spoiled it. Akiel would typically prance down the halls as if it was his personal runway, all with that ridiculously annoying, indescribable disposition, and smirk on his face like an unusable light switch. But today... nothing. No blonde hair waving from the end of the hallway, no obnoxious sound coming from the end of the hallway.
This was strange. Very strange. Worse still, it was annoying him.
"Why am I even conscious of this," Sylvian narrowed his eyes to himself while tightening his grip on the umbrella. "Why am I even thinking about him? That idiot probably skipped class somewhere else to cause terrible trouble." He shook it off, and picked up his stride, trying to shake off the burden of an unusually heavy weight on his chest.
Julia was probably the only person who would have an idea, and luckily for her, she was in her class at her desk, gossiping and laughing with some other friends. When Julia saw Sylvian lurking out near the door, he appeared to get her interest, and her watchful look waved her friends off to him.
"Uh-huh," Julia said before he even had a chance to say something. "I know what your question's going to be."
Sylvian blinked a few times, surprised. "Uh...What?"
"You want Akiel," she said knowingly while smirking with her arms crossed over her chest. "He's not here. He went some stupid, random trip or something for three days. Honestly, I think he got tired of the fierce thing for three days, and needed a change of scenery or whatever. Probably took his parents, too, who knows. But he will be back in three days."
Julia moved closer, lowering her voice significantly. "Which means we have three entire days to gather evidence, my dear Sylvian, and when I find that little rat who started those rumors, I swear I'll beat the living soul out of them."
Sylvian just stared at her with his mouth agape. Did she just… read every word that he was going to say? He snapped his mouth shut and mouthed, "Yeah. Uh. That's… all I wanted to say."
Julia's face lit up the way it does when you've won money on a stupid bet. "Awesome. Then stop frowning and you can let me know when you're ready to help me be a detective." She waved her fingers like a princess while Sylvian stepped back out of the room even more confused than when he came in.
As Sylvian walked away, his mind tangled itself into knots. He thought he could be relieved. With Akiel gone, there would be peace for once. No more poking. No more threats. No more smug face showing up just to rain on his day. So now why… what gave with the silence? Why was the lack of Akiel heavier than Akiel? Sylvian sighed again and shook his head. He was trying to bury all of the thoughts down deeply, away from the surface.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Classes sluggishly dragged on, the rain kept tapping on the windows, and the voices in the halls sounded like they were communicating behind walls. Chemistry was the only class that drew in his interest for one moment, but then he lost it again. He caught himself staring again at the empty seat Akiel was so accustomed to claiming as his throne. He turned away immediately in disgust.
As the last bell rang, Sylvian was tired-not from school, but from the tenacity of refusing to entertain thoughts trying to ensnare him. He thought nothing of holding the rain off while he stepped outside to head home, crawling under his blanket and sealing up in darkness. The cool rain drops finding their way into his jacket, it was still raining.
He stood by the gate, half-open umbrella hovering over his head, looking down the gray and dreary horizon. Was it just the rainy weather that made the day seem grey and heavy...?Or something else?
The query settled with him, like the rain.