At long last, it was today. He had waited for today for what seemed like the entirety of his life. The next sequence of events had to happen precisely as he envisioned, or the consequences would be dire.
Ian Thessalas sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by the bustle of his excited family, utterly alone. He was staring at his plate, spanakopita getting soggy and cold, while his little brother and sister were trying to out-talk each other, voices climbing higher with every sentence. His father indulgently nodded at them, newspaper, cigarette, and coffee cup in their customary positions on his person. His mother was watching the copper briki, ensuring that the morning brew would not run off onto the antique stove and chiming into the chaos with chastising comments. He knew it wasn't going to. The same song and dance had surrounded him every morning. It was comforting, really.
The chaos continued to the foyer and into his father's car. He appreciated the blatant ease with which his family managed to include him in their ecosystem without directly talking to him. They knew that some days he simply needed to sit quietly in a storm and think.
He checked his watch. It was half past eight. They dropped his siblings off at their respective schools and finally, at exactly 7:43, they reached Brunswick High. He hesitated a second before opening the door. Gathering his courage, he stepped out into the most important morning of his life.
He saw him then. The platinum blonde hair unmistakable in the morning sunlight. Nikolai Volkhvov, who was no longer a figment of his mind, but glorious flesh and bone. He knew he shouldn't stare, but he couldn't help himself. One, two, three and turn. He averted his gaze right at the moment when the other boy stopped and looked at where he was standing. This was not the way they were supposed to meet. Not yet.
***
He asked the blonde Christian girl for directions he did not particularly need. Maybe it was his five-foot-five height, or skinny arms clutching the giant textbook, but she didn't question the request and enthusiastically led him up to the corridor where Dylan, Marty and Nikolai were having their altercation. He stood in the crowd of onlookers, noting to himself the way Monica Warren's eyes followed Dylan, calculating. When Marty led Dylan away, he saw the fire of indignation blaze through Nikolai's eyes and knew he had to stall him there. Even for a few seconds. He miscalculated how quickly he would get attached to Dylan. Oh well, people were ultimately unpredictable.
He made his way through the thinning crowd, his tripping perfectly orchestrated to spill the precarious handful right in front of Nikolai. He gathered it up as quickly as he could, counting to himself in his head the seconds before he would be truly noticed. And as expected, he managed to blend into the sea of heaving bodies before Nikolai's concerned gaze began to search for him. He dearly wished to turn around and meet those steel grey eyes, just once. To be acknowledged. To be seen. But it wasn't the optimal time yet. He had to be patient. Especially on an important day like today.
***
Jesse was not as confrontational as he expected. That was posing to be a problem. He checked his watch nervously, knowing that Adam was still in the middle of rescuing Dylan. He had to hold her here for a few minutes longer; otherwise, the timing would be off again. Keeping today running as intended was becoming increasingly difficult with all these variables popping up. Human nature always gave him a headache.
When he saw Adam bolting across the football field, he sighed in relief. Small talk was never his strong suit, and he knew she would start getting suspicious if this continued any longer. Watching the two figures zoom towards the equipment shed, he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. He did all he could. Now the pieces should fall into place on their own, and all he had to do was wait.
He watched pale-faced Dylan crash into the door of the shed, loud voices arguing from within, exponentially increasing in volume. He calmly walked towards the door, hand on the handle. He opened the door and stepped into his fate.