The Puzzle: Chapter 1- The Beginning
NOTE: This is my first attempt at posting just about anything on SoFurry. Please hang with me and give any pointers where you deem necessary. Criticism is accepted as long as it isn't too harsh.
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Chapter 1: The Beginning
*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP*
*A bone shatters, falls apart and hits the floor...*
I groggily stared at my iPod as it went off for a few moments before hitting DISMISS. After that I stared at the ceiling for a couple more moments to make sure I wouldn't disturb my parents. When I was sure at least one of them was I up, I made my way to the bathroom for my morning ritual of brushing my teeth and getting dressed to go to school.
My name is Jallanthaen. Hard name to get around isn't it? I am a fifteen year old Fire drake in his freshmen year of high school, dark red and black scales and a lavender underbelly, slightly hefty at 5'8" weighing 164 pounds. I go to Habersham Ninth Grade Academy. Small school, even considering it's just the freshmen class.
The story that I am about to reveal has begun on February 7, 2011. Just another ordinary day for any other freshmen, catching the bus or ditching that for a ride with a friend. Walking down the central hallway before making your way to your first period class at the admittance bell (I guess that's what they call the very first bell). Unfortunately for me, that would be Honors Math I. Fortunately for you, though, I will go ahead and skip to the very first thing that would have set off this memoir of sorts.
` I had dozed through Math and World History, gone through the living hell that fit people call Gym and struggled to read Great Expectations in English. All to end up in my previously favorite class, Chorus.
I have been in Chorus since Sixth grade and have loved just about every second. The hard rehearsal, the nervousness of performances in front of audiences, the heart-pounding wait for your turn during Large Group Performance Evaluations, and the glorious feeling when it is all over and done.
Until I entered Ninth grade.
The teacher from the previous year, Mr. Hivey, had gotten another job offering at a college and had been replaced by Mr. Johnson from one of the middle schools. Doesn't sound bad? Well, the problem is, he's a fruitcake with the temper of a woman floating the red tide (no offense to gays or women, just the truth). Nobody but the girls that had him during their time at the middle school he taught at really like him. It wasn't that he's mean or anything- well actually, no; it is that he was mean and that he is completely psycho. I mean, half the things that aren't Chorus-related just do not make sense, that and the fact that many people at my school do not tolerate gays.
Anyways, on this day, I walked into the Chorus room and took my folder from the cubbies on the back wall to my seat. I looked around the room to search to see where all my friends were at that moment, spying Jack the Doberman coming through the door, Daniel the Tiger with his usual group of girls, Niki the dragon with her group of boys, and, actually I don't have time for this, I need to keep this story rolling, so I'll introduce friends as I go along.
After the usual chaos of teens trying to clamber over one another to talk to their friends, Mr. Johnson finally got us in our seats to start warm-ups. I breezed through the warm-ups and went on into our concert pieces. That is where I got the surprise that caused me to write all that has happened down.
"Okay, everybody, turn to page nine in "No Need to Knock", I'm going to start with you. Guys, move to the back of the room and take your chairs with you. I'll get to you after the sopranos," said Mr. Johnson.
So we moved on to the back of the room and plopped our stuff down. Mary-Ella, a golden retriever that I had talked to before, sat just in front of me at my current position.
She turned around and waved at me," Hi Jallanthaen!"
"Hi," I replied as I waved back.
This was not new, since I had talked with her before and we always went through the same thing as we walked past each other in the hallways. I sat back and thought nothing of it as I tried to think of something to distract myself from the high-pitched notes that the sopranos were currently belting out of what seemed the very recesses of their souls. I could not stand this part of the song and as such always made all sorts of cringing faces while we rehearsed it. It always felt as if my eardrums were on the edge of just bursting in a slew of blood, wax, and whatever fluid comes from your ear.
I casually looked around the room when I caught Mary-Ella looking at me. I waved again and turned my attention to my claws, seeing that they were in urgent need of trimming I began to absent-mindedly chew on them. I chewed my claws and began to once more scan the room when I saw that Mary-Ella seemed to be hell-bent on getting my attention.
"Yes?" I said, answering to her waving her paw in my snout, "What's up?"
"Look at what I drew yesterday." She said as she held up a paper with a few manga characters drew on it. "It's a picture I drew of Sasuke's-"
"Okay, now let's add in the guys," resounded Mr. Johnson's voice from the front of the room.
So, the other five guys and I stood up with our folders and began to sing whatever part it was we were supposed to start on, which I have by now completely forgotten that I am writing this down (I find that funny, since I'm actually typing this right now). As I sang, I noticed that Mary-Ella had her rapt attention on me. Being as self-conscious as I am, I began to fumble the pitches just a bit. This caused my already ready scales to turn an even darker scarlet red. I heard my little eavesdropper in a way to giggle.
'Oh, lord. What have I gotten into now?' I thought to myself as I sat down and felt her eyes follow me the whole way.
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I rode home on the bus that day as I usually do. The rest of my day had played out as usual, with having a normal amount of fun talking to my friend, Ryan the lion during sixth period. Then, in seventh period I was driven crazy by the only female dragoness in the whole entire lousy school, Daniela. Gosh, her horns had this amazing curve that I can't explain besides that they drive me crazy and make me want to run my claws along the contours. Her scales are very unique; she is the only reptile in my life that I have ever met with this shade of purple, even for a Storm drake. The most intoxicating thing about her was the perfume she wears and her laugh. It was as if an angel itself had let loose a giggle. All she lacked was the halo, since all drakes have wings.
It was all I could do not to talk to her the whole time in the attempt to make her giggle and just sit back and listen to the closest thing that I will get to Heaven on Earth. Our teacher, a slightly socially-awkward lion name Mr. Ben, was just about ready to snap my head off in his giant maw.
I got on the bus that connected me from the elementary school we stopped at to the one that took me home to find Niki the dragon in my seat. She was also a Fire drake, bright orange red scales with straight horns that went to either side of her webbed ears and long flowing mouse-brown hair that curled very slightly at the end. I said that Daniela is the only dragoness in the school, and that is true, because Niki is a herm (hee, hee, happy face!).
I paused for one second before shrugging my shoulders and plopping my ass in the seat next to her, "What's up Niki?"
She turned to me as I sat down and replied to my greeting, "Nothing much Jallanthaen. I wanted to talk to you about the Chihuahuas."
I looked quizzically at her before asking, "What about?"
"You know that I am going out with Gilberto right?" she said.
Boy did I.
"Yes."
"And you know how all the other little Chihuahua bitches are into him too?"
BOY did I.
"Yes."
Niki just about broke down at this next juncture, "Well, do you know how mean they can get when they are backed into a corner? I just had a big blow out with that one Naomi or Nomi or whatever she's calling herself this year. I- I"
At this point, she cracked and broke down, right there next to me and lend into me. Me, being the slightly awkward dragon I am, hesitantly put my arms around her and then let her cry herself out for the next five minutes. When she was finally finished, I looked her in the eyes and said the most inept and meaningful thing that came from my heart, "Oh, I'm so sorry."
I could see how lame she thought what I said was and all I could think was, "Way to go genius."
Even through her mask of disappointment, I could tell that she genuinely felt a little better, and I felt that I had accomplished something today besides barely being successful at flirting with the most beautiful dragoness I had seen in my life (still hoping to meet more once in my sophomore year, fingers crossed). About twenty minutes later, the bus pulled up in front of my house and I hopped off and began the fifty yard walk down our driveway to the front door.
My two younger brothers got into another punch buggy fight as they argued over for the one hundred first time whether or not a PT Cruiser could be considered a Punch Buggy. I opened the keypad cover and punched in the code to open the garage door. I bent double and pressed my wings close to my body to squeeze through the opening that was forming as it drew up in to the ceiling.
I walked through the spot that my mom usually parked her Ford Explorer and picked the note of the door:
*Boys- Gone to take your grandpa to a doctor's appointment be home soon.*
I groaned inwardly to myself as my two brothers ran in screaming at each other whether to watch Disney or Nickelodeon. Last I saw, my one year younger brother, James, was on top of eight (?) year-old John. I was already in my room pulling out my iPod and my homework when the phone rang and I heard the two numbskulls screaming, "I GOT IT! I GOT IT!"
I sighed and went down stairs to snatch the handset from James as he shifted into redneck mode, shot him the dirtiest look I could manage before brightly exclaiming, "Hi! Hampton residence."
"Hi Jallanthaen. Sorry I didn't tell you about the appointment sooner, but it kind of snuck up on me. I left some spaghetti in the oven to be reheated if I stay out too long, other than that I don't think I have anything else to tell you. Oh, wait, your grandpa got you a puzzle that I have stashed in the foyer closet that I want you to at least crack open tonight before I get home. Bye!" *Click*
"Typical, ah well, I should get on that homework and see about that puzzle and leftovers." I thought to myself as I headed back up the stairs to plop myself down on my futon. I was ready for the two to three hour wade through hip-deep Sea of homework. I let my thoughts get dragged into the cycle of the math problems, contemplate the complexities of the English language and its grammar, and think critically about the inertia of different objects with the same velocity going along the same path. At the end of what turned out to be two and a half hours, I emerged from my room thoroughly exhausted from my jaunt through the land of work at home.
I looked at the clock to see that it was only five thirty and that we had two more hours before supper needed to be heated, so I went in search of the puzzle mom had mentioned. I eventually found it on the kitchen spice rack (Why?) and headed into the front room to crack it open.
The puzzle was a rather plain five hundred piece puzzle of a lighthouse on the edge of a harbor. I looked at it and smiled as I thought, "Grandpa is thinking less of me nowadays, isn't he?"
I laughed to myself and delved into the jumbled pieces that seemed as if they would fit together perfectly.
That night, I only got five border pieces fit together, two of which did not fit with the other three. I went to bed with the only thought of, "Wow, what happened out there?" before slipping off into the infinity of sleep.
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After Note: Much of what I have written coincides with my real life, such as my age and grade in high school. However, I have of coursed changed names and added in events or rearranged them to make a better story in the long run. I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter in a hopefully long running series.