It was by the time the leaves turned that Chris had begun worrying that Alek was not going to school.

“What do you mean you’re not going? I get that you have had a rough life. But education is very important if you’re going to get anywhere.” Chris says one evening after work.

Alek, avoiding Chris, changes the channel on the TV to a boring comedy show. He shrugs. Chris sighs and comes to block the screen with his tall build. His face warped uneasily.

“When was the last time you went to school?” He asks. Alek looks up into his face and shrugs. Chris rolls his eyes. “What do you mean? You’re sixteen! Give me one good reason you’re not going to school this year.”

Alek uses his confrontational evasive technique again; and shrugs.

“Fine. if you don't want to talk about it now, we won't. But you better be ready to have a cohesive conversation about this when I get back from my lecture.” With that, he slings his green bag over his shoulder and leaves. Alek knows Chris only wants what’s best for him. That he could admire. But when he comes off as threatening is when he shuts down. He could no longer watch TV with his thoughts brewing like this and decided to go for a walk in the late morning air.

“Hey Carrie, what if someone you knew tried doing something you didn't like, but it was for your own good?” Alek asks, sitting at the breakfast bar. Carrie raises her brow in concern.

“Like what?” She places down plates for a hungry family of five behind him. She whispers an ‘enjoy’ to the family and comes to Aleks’ side.

“I don't know, maybe, say someone you know tried making you work for say...McDonald's...and you really hate the food chain. But they keep on saying you need a job to keep up on the bills. What would you say?” He looks to her while holding onto his crisp mug. Carrie looks away and hums to herself for a moment.

“I would probably say ‘eff off’ and do my own thing - as long as it wasn't hurting anyone else. Hey, that’s how I got here. Right? But what is this about?” She smiles. He looks around. ‘Classic Carrie’, he thinks.

“Well, Chris wants me to go to school and I just don't have the nerve to tell him.”

“You still haven't told the boy yet? Tell him! And if he doesn't take it well, tell him to get over it! You live so openly every day, yet you don't have the balls to tell one person?” She raises her voice.

“No, no, no. That’s not the point here. The point is that he wants me to go to school.”

“Well good for him. At least he’s getting an education.”

“Carrie!” He whines. She moves around the counter to make a fresh pot of coffee.

“Sounds like a problem that can be easily fixed. What’s holding you back from telling him, anyway?” She pours three mugs in one movement of her elbow. Alek slumps down onto one hand and pouts.

“I thought you would be more helpful than this.” He mumbles. She turns to him with armfuls of precious coffee.

“Helpful? What is there to help with? Do whatever you want to do. School was the worst years of my life, but who am I to judge?”

“So you’re telling me-” He draws out, thinking, “to tell him an elaborate lie to get him to leave me alone?” He waits while she sets down the drinks at a table.

“I’m not telling you anything - oh you’re welcome - I’m just saying that you should do whatever you want. You’re plenty old enough.”

“That hurts.”

“Hey. Since when are you self conscious about your age? You still look plenty young. I’d give anything to look your age.” Carrie admires, carefully inspecting a plate for grime. Alek gives her a look. She takes notice and looks up. “Well, I don’t mean it that way. I’m just saying-”

“I know what you’re saying. Don’t worry about offending me either. I’ve heard it all before.” Alek says, slightly offended.

“Well all right then. You’re coming in to work later, right?” She avoids the conversation.

“I mean, yeah. Yeah. When was the last time I missed a-” he pauses “Wait. Are you trying to avoid the topic? You are!”

Carrie shrugs. “I already answered you. Follow what you want to do and what you think is best. But it won’t stop me from thinking that you should tell that boy! And don’t you think that you will get weekends off if you get into school.” She waves her pointer at him. Alek smiles and floats off of the chair.

“See you later, then!” He calls to her.

“See ya!”

After spending the cloudy day on the basketball court avoiding his roommate, Alek walks right back to Carries’ Café.

“And? Did you talk to him?” Carrie says as soon as he hovers in at 5 pm. He stops and drops onto the ground.

“Yes?” He whispers. Then walks to the back to grab an apron.

“What did he say? What did you say?” She asks, following him. Alek continues putting on his apron, looking at the ground. His face away from her.

“Actually? I didn’t say anything. I never went home.” He says. Carrie puts her hands on her hips, visually upset. Alek doesn’t dare turn around. He knows when someone is mad. It radiates like heat off of a flame. So, keeping his back to her, he walks around to sign-in on the small IPad. His phone begins to ring in his back pocket.

“Aren't you gonna answer it?” She asks with a bite. Alek shifts his body to see her face - disappointed - as he expected. He turns back.

“No. I'll talk to him later. I have to work.” He slips out of the kitchen.

Alek serves numerous customers with a plastered smile. Then, every time he had to interact with Carrie on work terms, she would continue her interrogations. He wondered why there were always more customers when he worked. Carrie had figured that this was because the customers were spreading a rumor that there was a waiter who could fly. Alek found this understandable. He had gotten that kind of attention most of his life, and only now was he coming to accept the attention it gave him. When he would float out of the kitchen with a hot plate, or when he smiled an “Enjoy!”, the whole restaurant would be in a riot. This Friday night seemed too special, though. The place was so packed, that a family eating a meal was sitting at the breakfast bar.

“Sir!” and “Alek!” were being thrown at him from all angles. He figured he would pass out from all of the spinning orders in his mind.

“Are you sure you’re alright being on the floor alone? Should I call in someone?” Carrie questioned him. He looks up abruptly from an order he was reciting to the chef.

“Yes! I'm fine. It’s better if I don't get distracted by others” He replies. “I didn't mean it like that - it's fine if you talk to me” He goes back to reciting the sandwiches for table six. Carrie worries for him yet goes back to taking care of drinks on her own. Alek flies back out of the kitchen with four hot patty melts, eliciting a good response from the patron. He sets down the plates one by one at the table nearest the door.

“Hey. Aren’t you the server who people say can fly?” The presumable father says. His two young kids’ eyes sparkle. His wife looks at him anxiously. Alek smiles and floats nearly two feet off of the ground. The kids clap, which starts the whole room clapping. Alek bows and continues his duties.

By the end of the night, he had completely forgotten the discussion he was avoiding with Chris. With this, he went straight home at nine o’clock. It wasn't until he took a step inside the door that he remembered. This was because his roommate was sitting on the couch, waiting for him to get home. All feeling fled his face and extremities when he realized. This reminded him of being a child. Coming home to get scolded by his mother on occasion. But this was no time to reminisce; this was war. Chris stood and turned off the TV.

“I completely forgot to come home. We were swamped at work.” he swallows. Chris comes over to tower over him.

“That would be understandable if I hadn’t seen you at the basketball courts when I was driving home. I told you that I wanted to talk face to face when I came back” He said out of frustration, fiddling with his pockets. Alek burned.

“Well, we are talking now. Aren’t we? I'm not running” Alek breathes. Chris takes a moment with a sudden compliment. He was expecting resistance. He didn't know too much about his character other than he paid his half of the rent on time, and was a noisy sleeper. Other than that, they were apart. He clears his throat, putting on his ‘bigger man’ facade once more.

“Uh, yes. School is very important. Without it, you can’t get a well-paying job to support yourself or a family later. Do you have anything you’re interested in that you might like studying? There’s also online schooling you know” Chris explains while walking back with Alek to sit at the kitchen table. Now under the bright bulb, it set the scene for something more interrogating than Chris wanted to give off. Chris sat with this hands on the table, leaning forward like a true authoritative leader. Alek sits like he normally does; straight up. But with a twist. His arms were crossed in front of him set to full-shrugging-mode. His best defense. “In what grade did you drop out?”

Alek shrugs.

“Okay. Stop that. You said you would talk to me.” Subconscious shrugging was the default for Alek to avoid the questions he did not want to answer. It was a bad habit. He was worried that if he told him the actual grade he left school (eleventh), his lies would be seen through. Although, if he told him he left school in say, seventh grade, there would be more of a push for him to go back. And Carrie would be mad at him again.

“Se-leventh”

“What?”

“Eleventh. I left school in eleventh grade.” That was it. He was really pushing himself out there this time. The beginning of the end? The end of the beginning? Once again, he did not know why he was hiding from his roommate what he already shows to the whole world. Was it because he was afraid of being pushed out by someone who provides him shelter? No, that was too basic. He couldn't judge Chris until he actually told him. Yet, he still felt a tight knot in his stomach whenever they were near each other. Was his gut trying to tell him something bad would happen if he were to reveal himself?

“Shouldn't you be in eleventh’ right now? You are sixteen, right?” Chris shifts his hands to his lap. Alek studies Chris’s face carefully. Seeing if he was connecting any dots. He could be a hunter, after all. But all he found was confusion.

“Yeah” Was all he could say. There was tension in the air. The clock on the table before them ticked on agonizingly.

“Did you get held back? Talk to me” Chris sat forward again.

Alek sat, silent and dumbfounded. Chris wasn't collecting dots. He was collecting tiny atoms into deeper confusion. This debunked his hunter theory almost immediately.

“No” Alek whispers. Still amazed at himself for getting this far.

“You’re still confusing the hell out of me. Did you even go to school at all? I know you didn't grow up in the best position; with your parents gone and all, so that’s possible” He questions himself. Aleks's heart rate quickens and his palms begin to sweat from how uncomfortable he is. He has never had a problem like this before, so why now?

“No - I mean yes-” He stutters, and Chris moves backward slightly “Yes, I did go to school. No, My parents were with me for the beginning of my life” He confesses. He shifts in his seat and listens to the agonizing tick-tock of the clock. Was he going to tell him? It would be the only thing that made sense. Plus, if he told him the situation, he wouldn't have to go to school. Which was very appealing.

“But you told me when you moved in that you had nowhere else to go” Chris begins shaking his head from side to side. Doubting his thoughts and the honesty of his roommate. “You said your parents had died. And that you had nowhere else to go! That was the only reason I let you in. I even lowered your half of the rent because you said the support checks weren’t coming in on time! Is it all a lie?” Chris raises his voice. Alek slinks lower into his chair.

“But they are gone. They are dead” Alek keeps his voice calm as to not escalate the situation anymore. This did but barely quell the annoyance in Chris for a moment.

“I’m sorry-” He brings himself back to earth “I’m looking at it all wrong. But it still doesn’t answer how you got all the way to eleventh grade when you were younger. Are you that smart? I’m jealous. Oh! Wow, I think this is the first in a long time we talked” he goes on a tangent. Alek was still anxious, even with the lightened tension.

“I’m not too smart. I front that, but actually, I have been sixteen for a bit longer than I should” Alek fiddles with the baby hairs around his neck. “And that’s why I don’t want to go to school, I guess. I’ve spent so much time out of it, I don’t think I would be able to pick up any of the lessons. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” Alek then coughs. Not for the ‘joke’, but for the simple fact that his throat was dry.

“I don’t understand. Do you need water?”

“No-“ he continues to cough, before horking up a glob of blood into his hand with a sickening gag. “Uh. One second” he finishes with a few coughs while walking over to the sink to wash the blood off of his hands. Chris looks at him worriedly and takes off his glasses.

“Are you sick? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

“No!” He turns off the water “Well. Yes? I haven’t really thought about it that way” he dries his shaking hands on the towel. He is reminded that he forgot to eat today. That explained the increased anxiety, shaking, coughing, and-

“Alek! Hey!”

Alek falls to the floor in a dizzy spell. Chris falls down from his chair to meet his side.

“It’s fine. I just haven’t eaten all day. I get a little sick when I don't eat. I'll be able to wait until tomorrow.” Chris instantly gets up and begins rummaging through the cupboard.

“Well, you can't just not eat until tomorrow when you’re this hungry.” He pulls out a sweet-and-salty bar and throws it to him, which he is barely able to catch. Alek stares at it while sitting up. What should he do now? A little voice in his head yelled at him to speak up. He pushed it away and opened the granola bar. Chris was looking at him, worried yet peeved.

“Go on” Chris encouraged. Reluctantly, Alek complied. He took a bite of the crummy and dry bar. He let it sit for a moment like a toad on his tongue. The solidity of it shocked him. There was no taste, but a sweet smell seemed to waft up into his nose. He began to chew on it. An action he hadn’t done in a very long time. It was more grinding than chewing, really.

Chris, satisfied, turned to walk back to the living room.

Alek was surprised that he could keep it in his mouth for this long, so he thought he would be able to swallow it. But he was wrong.

The dry ground up toad slid down his throat.