Dor's story!
Hey! I wrote over 1000 words for Dorian's story today, so I'm feeling pretty accomplished. And crazy enough, this was written one month after Jackie's birthday, so o_O [and technically this happened a month ago].
The sky seemed ominous: dark clouds rolling over the horizon, approaching swiftly and choking out the sunlight. Within minutes, it was raining steadily-much more fitting for how Dorian was feeling as he stared out his classroom window into the school courtyard.
It was Jackie’s twelfth birthday, their first apart and the first since the disease had taken over. Dorian felt lost, isolated; he had canceled classes and locked the door of his room in order to be left alone. James had come knocking several hours ago, checking to make sure that Dorian wasn’t going with him to pick out more students, but Dorian had still said no.
James had been his only visitor. Dorian didn’t blame the other teachers for avoiding him; he was quite positive that the aura radiating from his room was unpleasant at best. The lost feeling in the pit of his stomach left the man feeling uneasy. Hell-he hadn’t even spoken to Stephanie!
Was there anything truly different about today? Did it differ at all from yesterday? No. It was only her birthday, which left a sour taste in his mouth. If he could have done something sooner, would he be standing in an empty room on a deserted island, wondering what was becoming of his daughter? No. He would be with her, celebrating at home. Stephanie would have baked a cake for the girl and there would be presents waiting to be unwrapped on the kitchen table.
Tears began to cloud Dorian’s vision and he brushed away the drops quickly as a teenage boy suddenly appeared in the courtyard. He would have been a little more shocked had it not been happening sporadically throughout the whole afternoon. The man watched as Lexi approached the startled boy and attempted to calm him down. After a few minutes, they walked inside and out of Dorian’s view.
He returned to his wallowing-that is, he would have if James hadn’t started talking to him in his mind.
Are you conscious, Dor? The man asked, sounding both energized and sheepish.
Probably.
Okay. I’ll be arriving in a few with the last recruit for the day, he explained quickly.
Dorian didn’t reply; their conversation had been unexpected and strange. James usually didn’t announce when he was returning. Maybe he had thought he would startle Dorian since his senses were dulled by grief. Or maybe he was turning over a new leaf and acting a bit more responsible.
His train of thought stopped abruptly as Dorian glanced out the window and saw the pair arrive. Normally James wouldn’t arrive with a new student, but Dorian could see why he had. The girl was young, around fifteen years old, with a bit of a scowl on her face as James said something to her. The only thing that registered in Dorian’s mind was her hair.
It was the same exact color as his daughter’s.
The man took in a gulp of air as James and the girl headed inside. Was this some sort of sign from above or was it simply coincidental, bitter irony trying to screw with his mind?
“What’s with the rain?” he heard the girl ask, although it was muffled by the window.
“Well, it is hurricane season,” James replied. “Hey-do you mind if I introduce you to the principal?” His silver eyes met Dorian’s through the window.
“There’s a principal?” The girl sounded flabbergasted.
“Not really. Principal is the only thing I can think to describe him, though…”
Their conversation faded away as they entered the school. Dorian let out a low growl. Of all the things he wanted to do today, talking to a student who looked vaguely like his doomed daughter was not one of them. He felt like throttling James when he arrived, but he decided against it; the man didn’t need to be freaking out new students.
Dorian wiped his face again to make sure he looked relatively composed. All too soon, there was a knock on his door. “It’s open,” he called, telekinetically unlocking it.
The pair entered. James looked overly excited while the girl looked startled, her gaze absorbing the surroundings until they locked with Dorian’s hazel ones. He held his breath; the green of her eyes was the exact shade that Jackie’s had turned right before he had left.
“Jade, this is Dorian Stoneburrow,” James said, noticing Dorian’s silently frantic state. “He’s going to be your mentor-well, most likely.” The doctor chuckled. “Dor, this is Jade Ypsone, from Cincinnati.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Jade,” Dorian said as he extended his hand, silently surprised by how calm he sounded.
“Likewise, I guess,” Jade replied with a laugh, shaking Dorian’s hand. He was startled to find that she didn’t have the usual southern Ohio/Kentucky accent. “Then we’ll being seeing a lot of each other?” Dorian shrugged and gave her a smile.
“If James says so.”
“I figured it was best to get the introductions out of the way before Jade gets settled in,” James clarified. “Jade-” He turned to the girl. “-There’s a teacher waiting outside to show you to your room.” Jade nodded.
“Well, uh, it was nice to meet you,” she said as she left the room. It took Dorian a few moments to reply.
“Yeah…you too,” he managed to say.
James shut the door behind her.
“So?” he asked, a grin spreading across his features.
“What the hell?!” Dorian spat, hazel eyes growing large.
“I know, right?” James was too energetic for Dorian’s liking. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
“We don’t know that yet! The same thing happened with Kaen,” he argued. “And you automatically assume I’m going to be her teacher?”
“Hey-Kaen’s shaping up better now that I’m in charge of his studies and yes, I assumed, Dor,” James replied. “You can’t deny that the similarities are eerily uncanny.” Dorian gave a halfhearted shrug, unwilling to agree. “Plus, the energy radiating from her kind of triggered my sensing power or whatever you’d like to call it. And that’s never happened before.” He let out a huff of air. “And I find her on today of all days. It’s almost like she’s Jackie reincarnate-”
But James trailed off due to the look he was being given and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I guess we’ll see what happens in her first lesson,” Dorian said solemnly. He turned his back to James and let his shoulders fall. James said nothing and Dorian could tell that he was alone in the room once more.
The sky seemed ominous: dark clouds rolling over the horizon, approaching swiftly and choking out the sunlight. Within minutes, it was raining steadily-much more fitting for how Dorian was feeling as he stared out his classroom window into the school courtyard.
It was Jackie’s twelfth birthday, their first apart and the first since the disease had taken over. Dorian felt lost, isolated; he had canceled classes and locked the door of his room in order to be left alone. James had come knocking several hours ago, checking to make sure that Dorian wasn’t going with him to pick out more students, but Dorian had still said no.
James had been his only visitor. Dorian didn’t blame the other teachers for avoiding him; he was quite positive that the aura radiating from his room was unpleasant at best. The lost feeling in the pit of his stomach left the man feeling uneasy. Hell-he hadn’t even spoken to Stephanie!
Was there anything truly different about today? Did it differ at all from yesterday? No. It was only her birthday, which left a sour taste in his mouth. If he could have done something sooner, would he be standing in an empty room on a deserted island, wondering what was becoming of his daughter? No. He would be with her, celebrating at home. Stephanie would have baked a cake for the girl and there would be presents waiting to be unwrapped on the kitchen table.
Tears began to cloud Dorian’s vision and he brushed away the drops quickly as a teenage boy suddenly appeared in the courtyard. He would have been a little more shocked had it not been happening sporadically throughout the whole afternoon. The man watched as Lexi approached the startled boy and attempted to calm him down. After a few minutes, they walked inside and out of Dorian’s view.
He returned to his wallowing-that is, he would have if James hadn’t started talking to him in his mind.
Are you conscious, Dor? The man asked, sounding both energized and sheepish.
Probably.
Okay. I’ll be arriving in a few with the last recruit for the day, he explained quickly.
Dorian didn’t reply; their conversation had been unexpected and strange. James usually didn’t announce when he was returning. Maybe he had thought he would startle Dorian since his senses were dulled by grief. Or maybe he was turning over a new leaf and acting a bit more responsible.
His train of thought stopped abruptly as Dorian glanced out the window and saw the pair arrive. Normally James wouldn’t arrive with a new student, but Dorian could see why he had. The girl was young, around fifteen years old, with a bit of a scowl on her face as James said something to her. The only thing that registered in Dorian’s mind was her hair.
It was the same exact color as his daughter’s.
The man took in a gulp of air as James and the girl headed inside. Was this some sort of sign from above or was it simply coincidental, bitter irony trying to screw with his mind?
“What’s with the rain?” he heard the girl ask, although it was muffled by the window.
“Well, it is hurricane season,” James replied. “Hey-do you mind if I introduce you to the principal?” His silver eyes met Dorian’s through the window.
“There’s a principal?” The girl sounded flabbergasted.
“Not really. Principal is the only thing I can think to describe him, though…”
Their conversation faded away as they entered the school. Dorian let out a low growl. Of all the things he wanted to do today, talking to a student who looked vaguely like his doomed daughter was not one of them. He felt like throttling James when he arrived, but he decided against it; the man didn’t need to be freaking out new students.
Dorian wiped his face again to make sure he looked relatively composed. All too soon, there was a knock on his door. “It’s open,” he called, telekinetically unlocking it.
The pair entered. James looked overly excited while the girl looked startled, her gaze absorbing the surroundings until they locked with Dorian’s hazel ones. He held his breath; the green of her eyes was the exact shade that Jackie’s had turned right before he had left.
“Jade, this is Dorian Stoneburrow,” James said, noticing Dorian’s silently frantic state. “He’s going to be your mentor-well, most likely.” The doctor chuckled. “Dor, this is Jade Ypsone, from Cincinnati.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Jade,” Dorian said as he extended his hand, silently surprised by how calm he sounded.
“Likewise, I guess,” Jade replied with a laugh, shaking Dorian’s hand. He was startled to find that she didn’t have the usual southern Ohio/Kentucky accent. “Then we’ll being seeing a lot of each other?” Dorian shrugged and gave her a smile.
“If James says so.”
“I figured it was best to get the introductions out of the way before Jade gets settled in,” James clarified. “Jade-” He turned to the girl. “-There’s a teacher waiting outside to show you to your room.” Jade nodded.
“Well, uh, it was nice to meet you,” she said as she left the room. It took Dorian a few moments to reply.
“Yeah…you too,” he managed to say.
James shut the door behind her.
“So?” he asked, a grin spreading across his features.
“What the hell?!” Dorian spat, hazel eyes growing large.
“I know, right?” James was too energetic for Dorian’s liking. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
“We don’t know that yet! The same thing happened with Kaen,” he argued. “And you automatically assume I’m going to be her teacher?”
“Hey-Kaen’s shaping up better now that I’m in charge of his studies and yes, I assumed, Dor,” James replied. “You can’t deny that the similarities are eerily uncanny.” Dorian gave a halfhearted shrug, unwilling to agree. “Plus, the energy radiating from her kind of triggered my sensing power or whatever you’d like to call it. And that’s never happened before.” He let out a huff of air. “And I find her on today of all days. It’s almost like she’s Jackie reincarnate-”
But James trailed off due to the look he was being given and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“I guess we’ll see what happens in her first lesson,” Dorian said solemnly. He turned his back to James and let his shoulders fall. James said nothing and Dorian could tell that he was alone in the room once more.