Ethan's mother Jean tore him from his slumber when she hammered on the door,
"Ethan, you need to get up and get ready for school, we enrolled you for today remember?" She called out.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes while he woke up, he remembered her saying he had enrolled him to get ahead on the move but he'd assumed she was joking. Sitting up in surprise, he cleared his throat and got up grimacing at how stiff his legs had become and opened the door,
"What about uniforms?" He called out.
He waited a moment and then Jean called back, "They don't have one"
Ethan grinned to himself, "This school is awesome!" He yelled.
He stepped back into his room and the sound of his father's laughter drifted in.
He closed the door and stripped off and jumped into the shower and then realised he did not have any soap so he scrubbed furiously with his nails. He jumped out of the shower, nearly slipped on the tiled floor and then quickly brushed his hair to the right side pushing his fringe out of his face. Water dripped onto the floor and he scowled knowing how badly he needed a shower mat then he realised he didn't have a towel so he jumped up and down and shook his head furiously getting as much water as possible off him then walked back into his room.
He leapt into the pile of bags, hunted for clothes and tossed other possessions behind him until he found the ones he wanted. He pulled on his underwear and then his black jeans, and then put on his favourite shirt and hoodie that were both black.
Ethan rummaged around in his bag for his necklace, which was the only thing he wore every day that was not black but he had taken it off yesterday morning to clean it. The necklace formed the shape of a lightning bolt which became thin and circular at the bottom and being made of gold was quite heavy for a necklace. It was the last thing he had left from his grandmother and she had given it to him right before she passed away.
He slid his thumb along the edge as he did every day and the memory flooded back as it always did,
"Ethan," Ruth said weakly,
Ethan took her hand "Are you ok Nana?"
"I got you something for your eighth birthday," She said lovingly,
Ethan smiled sadly "I'm ten now Nana remember? We had my birthday by the lake and the bush turkey stole my sandwich, I was so mad that we got a turkey for dinner that night."
She closed her eyes and nodded "That's right I remember now"
Ethan felt the tears rising, he knew she was lying but he let it go.
She squeezed his hand "Your mother and I were looking at some wonderful ideas not so long ago but I made a call after she left and organised this" she said and withdrew a small box from under her pillow.
He smiled and shook his head in amusement "Nana, Mum promised you wouldn't have to pay for anything."
His nana shrugged feebly "It wouldn't have been from me" She smiled mischievously "Besides, I used part of everyone else's inheritance except yours to pay for it"
Ethan's eyes widened "Nana that sounds really expensive" and he looked around to make sure they were alone still.
Ruth shook her head "It is also an apology for your father. Your mother has been such a good wife to my son and you have been a wonderful son to them and an amazing grandson to me."
Ethan frowned in surprise and confusion "What has he done wrong?"
Ruth looked at him sternly "I know what you keep from them and I know he hasn't been there when you have wanted him, I may be old but I'm not silly."
Ethan flinched back a little and panicked slightly. There was no way she could be referring to his secret, It was just her mind playing tricks he assured himself. "Ah Nana, I know he's busy with work, that isn't something you need to apologise for."
Nana smacked his hand gently, "Even still, you mustn't make excuses for him when he does the wrong thing." She pushed the box into his hand, "I know you will love this and I hope you one day find someone truly special, don't settle Ethan. Don't pick someone to please your father, pick the kind of person you love."
Ethan's eyes widened, she did know, somehow when he'd only just realised himself she knew. His hands trembled as he opened the box and he gasped,
"Nana." He said in amazement, "This is beautiful" He lifted the necklace out by the chain and gazed at it, he moved it to his hand and slid his thumb around the edge admiring the design and the jaggedness of the bolt.
"I am glad you like it," Ruth said proudly,
"I do Nana' He assured her, "But," he said slowly "Why is the end so thin and round?"
His nana laughed weakly but in clear happiness, until she started coughing, Ethan took her hand and held it until the coughing fit subsided. She looked at him in amusement "I had the end designed so it opens the sim card slot on your phone, doesn't everyone lose the little tool they give you to open it?"
Ethan laughed as he understood "That's a wonderful idea Nana" he told her, letting go of her hand he undid the clasp and put the chain around his neck and then reattached it. He gave it a gentle tug to make sure it was properly locked in and smiled.
"Thank you, Nana," he said hugging her gently,
The wrinkles around his Nana's eyes that had once been covered by her grey hair but were now visibly creased "I really am glad you like it" she whispered and closed her eyes tensing for another cough.
Ethan noticed and stroked her hand, one of the machines beside him beeped, his grandmother took a sharp breath then exhaled. The machine beeped and then made a loud droning sound that didn't stop.
Ethan realised and squeezed his Nana's hand as if to get her attention, "Nana" he called but she didn't answer "NANA!" he yelled as the tears spilled over blurring his vision and running down his cheeks. "NANA!" he screamed between sobs.
He felt arms grab him and pull him away as nurses and a doctor rushed into the room and started talking hurriedly. "NO! NANA!" he screamed again, the person that had grabbed him pulled him again and he kicked viciously at their leg and again at their knee when they didn't let go. He tried to run back to his Nana's side but the person was too strong, "NO" he shouted, "LET ME GO!" Tears were still spilling over and he could feel his shirt soaking them in and his neck and cheeks began to annoy him from the wet sensation. The person who had grabbed him had their arms wrapped tightly around him and he realised it was his mum. He hugged her back burying his face in her neck and sobbing heavily. She stroked his back and whispered to him, telling him everything would be ok.
He sniffled and shook his head, it always upset him, even five years later he still remembered it like yesterday. He shrugged it off and stared at the wall for a moment trying to think of happier things, His mum called out to him and reminded him that he was meant to be getting ready for school and he grabbed his phone, he cursed when it told him it was flat but he needed it so he used the end of the lightning bolt to open the sim card slot and put the sim in his spare phone.
He put his main phone on charge, grabbed his laptop bag and raced downstairs. Jean was just putting toast on a tea towel when he rushed in,
"No plates in hereeeeee! So it is toast on a towel for youuuuuuuu!" Jean sang.
Lucy snorted into her toast as Jean started to drown Ethan with directions to the school. Ethan seized the toast, hugged his mom and wolfed it down before heading out the door with a wave.
He slid down the railing and skipped down the driveway, Ethan felt uncharacteristically silly and giggled at his antics. His phone was digging into his leg so he tore it from his pocket and checked the time. Only seven-thirty! He sighed and decided to spend some time checking out some shops.
Ethan tried to restrain himself from bounding down the road but he still was skipping down the driveway humming the Harry Potter theme song. After a ferocious battle with the front gate which involved him shaking it and cursing in the most eloquent way possible when it refused to let him leave, he finally made his way towards the main street. He visited a café and got a large mocha, he normally added hazelnut syrup to it back home but this cafe didn't have any, he must have looked more disappointed than he thought because the lady behind the counter promised to order him some for next time.
He smiled gratefully then left and went into the supermarket, he bought snacks to eat during the day then after a brief browse of the shelves, he went back to the café. This time he had his favourite breakfast of choc chip pancakes with fresh hazelnuts chocolate sauce and whipped cream and Ethan briefly wondered whether they normally were served with the pancakes or if this was from the lady who had served him earlier.
He looked around and decided he really liked the feeling of the space, it was lightly decorated, smelt like fresh coffee and had enough morning chatter that he didn't feel lonely. He smiled at the dog owners out the front sipping out of Keeper Cups while their dogs sniffed and barked at each other. There were some other teenagers around that looked a bit older than him sitting with their laptops open probably doing an assignment. The cafe also had free wifi which Ethan loved. The tables and chairs were the same browns as ground coffee while the floor was a beautiful light brown would and was probably treated regularly because it was really clean and there were no visible scratches or bumps, He was examining the artwork and realised it looked like he was staring at one of the teenagers but she smiled at him and he gave her a brief smile and nodded.
Once he finished eating he drank the last dregs of his coffee and he completed his ritual by counting how many staff there were and tipping ten dollars for each person but then he thought about the lady with the hazelnuts and tipped an extra twenty dollars just for her before leaving, He gave the closest dog a quick pat and headed in the direction his mother had said the school was.
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