Chapter Text
The boy swept his fair hair out of his eyes, where it was greeted by the shining sunlight.
It glimmers. Jack thought under his breath. He looked at his fair hair but quickly turned away, for another mere second it might’ve burned his freckled cheeks. He caught himself watching Conch Boy, again. He never understood it. Why? It is not normal, a “sin”, his father would say. But yet, he cannot look away. The blond boy stood, one leg on the rock, another on the dirt floor to stabilise himself. He held the conch as he confidently said to to crowd,
“Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.” Jack heard it, and thought to himself.
That’s it, it's a chance for Conch Boy to finally see that I am great, and preferably see more than a friend- He shut that thought before it continued any further, feeling ashamed that he could feel that way. He quickly regained his composure before casually saying,
“I ought to be a chief, because I’m chapter chorister and head boy.” Before smugly adding on at the end, “I can sing a C sharp.”
There, that’ll impress him and everyone. He smiled with confidence, as if a male bird showing off his feathers. The group seemed to agree with him, of course, as they should. He was a great leader and the choir should know that. He led them to win the National Choir Championships ok? He deserved it. But his line of thought was cut off by a dark boy, who called out for a vote. The group stirred, agreeing to his sentiments. He sneered, but reluctantly agreed to it. It was great that the choir backed him up but alas, Conch Boy was chosen chief. They were so excited for him. It made him feel a bit sour. Was he disappointed, obviously. He felt indignant. He was supposed to be the leader here. But as if Ralph saw his disappointment, the fair boy called out,
“The choir belongs to you, of course. They could be the army-”
“Or hunters!” He said impulsively.
“They could be-” Jack’s face dropped, a mixture of sadness, aggrievedness, and pain seeped onto his face. He saw the boy turned towards him and sheepishly added on, as if to correct his mistake,
“Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be- what do you want them to be?”
“Hunters.” Jack beamed, looking towards Ralph, who in turn, replied with a shy smile of understanding. It seemed like the two can indeed work hand in hand. Jack felt pleased in the revelation that the two could at least be collaborators, friends even. He always felt that as the head chorister, he ought to be high and haughty all the time. Rarely, did he ever find a real friendship. People said he was too arrogant, an aura that dispelled people around him. And even if they get to know the real him, well, they didn’t last long. It’ll always be chalked up to him being too “sensitive” or the total opposite, too “violent”.
It’s hard to establish a clear balance between the two, even if he tries. Yet, anger always gets the better of him. Father always told him that a good and holy boy should not be so open with his emotions, and god forbid, be angry or violent. He does try, yes, to keep it in check but knowing him, he feels if he stays in the environment any longer, he’ll spiral and lose his grip on himself. And that made him feel scared. He hated feeling scared.
He heard a voice call out to him, getting closer and closer, until a hand patted his shoulders.
“You ok? You seem…lost in a daze.” Jack was met with the piercing blue eyes, staring right into his soul. He blushed, but quickly turned his face away to hide it from the puzzled boy. He recomposed himself before off-handedly said “Yeah” and looked ahead towards his choir boys.
“All right, choir. Take off your togs.” He followed suit, throwing the heavy black cloak that reminded him of what life was. He felt bitter. Choir was his everything yet he loathed it. Something about it just reminds him of his father and mother, who, half of the time, was not there to see him.
Soon, a massive pile of choir regalia formed. Everyone was wearing the typical uniform underneath, a white shirt and grey shorts. Some people have either their jumpers or blazers but most couldn’t care less about it due to the sweltering heat of the tropical jungle. Jack undid his tie, but then felt a piercing gaze on him. He looked up and was met with an expression of admiration. It was… unexpected but it made him feel appreciated.
“Well, we tried to go over the hill to see if water surrounds us. But then your shell called.” He fumbled an explanation to cover the fact that he is, rather, speechless from the blond boy’s gaze. He smiled back at him, dimples dotted both sides. Huh, dimples.
“Ralph, by the way. If you didn’t catch my name.” He said with friendliness.
“Merridew, Jack Merridew. The choir calls me Merridew but Jack is fine.”
“Wizard!” Ralph chuckled and Jack followed suit. It was the start of a great friendship, Jack just knew it. It should be. It must be.