Chapter Text
My name is Hootian Clawthorne. I am the one and only child of esteemed charlatan and chemist Edalyn Clawthorne, and, as of this fall, I will be attending the most prestigious high school academy on the east coast, the Strigian Academy of Arts and Science. I passed the freshman entrance exam with ease, and while I’m not above cheating, I didn’t bother with it for such a simple test.
As a freshman, I would be taking courses of all varieties, but at the end of the year I would be required to choose a track and take another exam. Performing Arts has always been my speciality; I didn’t care much for sciences and visual art, especially cartoons, they have always unsettled me for some reason. But, as per the Strigian Code of Law, I would have to take at least one class from each of the nine tracks. The tracks themselves were relatively simple concepts, but courses themselves were the real trouble. The nine tracks available at Strigian are as follows; Forigen Language, Literature, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Business, and Technology.
Since this wasn’t a public school, there were no state mandated courses that everyone has to take, so my options were fairly open. I knew that I wanted to take Painting I, Physics, Genetics, and Vocal Performance I. For the other five, I decided to leave it up to chance. Or, rather, the school’s academic counselors to choose my remaining classes.
A week before classes began, I was sitting on the garden wall outside my mother’s cottage. I looked out at the world before. Farthest away from me were the tall peaks of the Appalachian ridge, the pointy white tips piercing the pink of the sunset. My eyes trailed down the mountains, and over the vast forests that lay between my world, and the outside. I’d lived here my whole life, and I felt in control. Outside of the house, I wasn’t sure I would be able to thrive. This home is all I’ve ever known, but I knew that one day I needed to reach beyond. What better way than to seize the world by its throat and claim it as my own.
A tap on my shoulder snapped me back to reality. I whipped my head around to see Edalyn, my mother. She was a tall woman, with big yellow eyes and unruly grey hair that poofed all the way from her scalp to down past her waist. Her stylistically ripped red dress hung down over one of her knees as she planted her boot on the wall and leaned forward.
“Hey, Hooty. What are you thinking about?” Her voices sounded light, but I could tell she was trying hard not to sound worried.
I glanced over at her before returning my eyes to the infinite expanse that awaited me. “I’m just thinking about what it’s going to be like. Away from the estate, on my own for the first time. The world seems so big from here.”
My mom smiled at me. “I know you’re going to be alright, Hootian. You’re strong.”
I smiled back at her. She sounded confident, but with her you could never tell what was genuine and what was an act. She was an excellent liar, and so was her son. “Yeah,” I said. “I think I’ll be just fine.”
She patted my back before walking back toward the house. I watched her walk as she approached the large blue door. She looked over her shoulder and met my eyes. She smiled and nodded at me. I nodded back.
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I laid awake in my bed last night, staring up at the angular ceiling, thinking about what my mother had said. Had she meant it? Did she really think I would be alright? I could never tell. Could she tell when I lied, when I said I thought I would be fine? I wasn’t going to be fine.
I’d barely had interactions outside of my mother. When I was younger, I was upset about it. But now, I didn’t care too much. I’d learned to look after myself, and strive to survive. I knew deep down that I would be just fine in a new high school setting, but I couldn’t shake the anxiety, the fear deep inside me that something would go wrong. I’d say the wrong thing to the wrong person, and my high school life would’ve over before it even began.
One Week. I thought. School starts in one week. But was it one more until I was free from my old life, or one more week until I was trapped in a new one? Only time could tell.
That night, I would dream of a cold consuming fire, one that would destroy my entire being only to raise a new one, stronger than before.