Chapter 2: (Chapter One)
JANUARY 26, 2016
Let's wind back a bit. Luke was in his room, homework neatly stacked on his bedside table, completed. He was re-reading one of his favorite novels. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. He heard a knock on his door and went to open it. At the door was his 8 year old sister, Casey, or Cass.
"Mom said it's time for dinner," She said with a smile, "It's stir fry, I made it. Hope you like it!"
Luke laughed and pat his little sister on her head. He smiled warmly, "I'm sure it'll be great, Cass. Just like it always is." His adorable little sister beamed with pride and hurried downstairs, pulling him by the arm.
His mom, dad, and brother were already there, dishing out plates. They all sat down around the table and had a family prayer. This time, it was Luke's turn to say it. "Dear heavenly father, we thank thee for this day. We thank thee that we can all be here together as a family, safe and sound. We thank thee for all thy blessings and for the opportunity to spend our lives here on Earth together. Please bless this food that it may nourish and strengthen our bodies, and that we may all remain safe in the following future. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
"Amen," came the simultaneous response of his family.
With the prayer done, they began to dig in. As per usual, they all began to share about their days. Luke's elder brother, Mike, whined about how so many of his teammates in football were incompetent fools, and his father added that Mike wasn't much better. This caused Mike to gasp in disbelief and false heartbreak. The ensuing laughter refreshed Luke and completely washed away any lingering anxieties from the afternoon.
"So, Luke, how was your day?" His mom asked.
Luke had, of course, prepared his answer beforehand and replied, "Eh, it was so-so. We had a really difficult history test and I'm not sure if I did too well on it."
His mother waved away his fake worry with a shake of her hand and a laugh. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure you aced it. You always do! You're so smart, I wish you could rub off on your brother," She said as she glared jokingly at Mike. The conversation continued, no one questioning his story. He didn't take much part in the joyful banter, preferring to sit back, eat, and watch the warming show.
He hadn't exactly lied. In truth, he was a bit anxious about his test. This was probably the most he had studied for a test in a long time, as well as the least he had paid attention in class. So, it wasn't really a lie, more like not telling the whole truth. He didn't mention why he had trouble studying, or why he didn't pay attention in class. This, he kept secret, not wanting to worry or stress them out, and generally not believing that this was something they needed to know about.
The next morning, Luke came to school a half hour earlier than it started, as was normal. He set his backpack down in front of his homeroom and took out his book. A different one from yesterday, this one was called The Assassin in the Red Cloak.
After a while, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of school. Luke stood up, grabbed his backpack and walked into the classroom. He sat down in his assigned seat, around him sat three boys filling the remainder of the group of four desks. He calmly waited for the teacher to arrive.
"Hey, bookworm!" one called, "Can I see your homework? I haven't finished mine yet."
"Hey, me too!" Yelled another one. The final one simply rolled his eyes.
"Sure," Luke responded as he handed over his homework. They would be finish before the end of the class, they always did.
"Thanks! I owe you one!" The first one exclaimed as he handed Luke his homework.
The third snorted. "No, you owe him over 50, that's how often you copy his homework." The four spoke for a while until the class ended. Then, they parted ways, not having any other classes together. Luke could confidently say that this was the second closest relationship he had in school. The first being with his brother, who was in his junior year.
Luke was considered a bit of a nerd. He always stayed on task during class and used all of his free time studying. He never gave anyone trouble though, so he wasn't ever bullied. He mostly just spent the school in classrooms. He spent lunch and break in his homeroom, studying.
As usual, the hours seemed to fly past until he was at his last class, science. This was the class he was having the most trouble with. It required a lot of critical thinking and connecting ideas together, which was not easy for him. It did not help that the class was at the end of the school day, when his mind was already filled with information from the other classes. He had a lot of trouble keeping his grade at an A+, and often had to pull all nighters before test days. Right now, he was running on about 4-5 hours of sleep a night. So no, he was not a particularly bright student, nor was he smart. He was just very hardworking. Of course, he might have gotten more sleep if he could learn to say no to his family when they asked to hang out with them. Or if he didn't do his homework right after school, and then read until 9:00pm...
Class was as confusing as always and he was glad this teacher usually based their lessons off of the science books. This was probably the most difficult year of science he had gone through yet, and he was glad he was not stuck with a teacher who deviated from the book. When they didn't base things off of the book, it made it that much harder to understand as well as more difficult to study.
He was having a lot of trouble paying attention as of late due to his lack of sleep. He kept finding his mind wandering and eyes drooping. This made him need to study even more, which in turn made the symptoms worse. At least it was Friday and he could sleep in the next day.
And just like that, school was over. He walked home and did his homework. After finishing, he took out 'The Assassin in the Red Cloak' and started reading.
A time later, his sister opened the door and walked into his room. She found Luke with his head down on the desk, book closed next to him, hands hanging to his side. He was sleeping. She smiled and laid a blanket on his shoulders. Cass gently closed the door and headed downstairs.
"Luke's asleep," She told her mom.
"Do you want to wake him up?" The mom asked.
"Nah, let him rest. He's always doing stuff for us as well as studying super hard. He can miss one soccer game," Mike commented.
"Mom asked me! Not you!" Cass pouted, "And for the record, I was about to say the same thing!"
She opened the door, suddenly full of smiles, and rushed to the car. The mom laughed and stepped out after her.
"I wish he'd talk to us more. Sometimes I feel like he's hiding something from us. He always seems so reserved, he's still a child. I wish he'd quit acting so mature," The dad sighed.
"Well, look at it on the bright side. It's better than when Mike was a teen. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that again," The mom responded jokingly.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I was a rebellious teen," Mike said, scowling. He'd heard about this all too often.
His dad raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, 'was'?"
They all laughed and piled into the car. Casey looked at them, confused. "What's so funny."
"Gosh, I hope Cass won't take after her oldest brother." Mom said, eliciting even more laughter. Casey got even more confused, but decided to let it go. They started their drive. Little did they know, their decision to leave Luke behind would change his life forever.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Crystal_Inferno
Crystal_Inferno Do you want this novel to be fantasy or realistic fiction. I'm not sure which one I want and would appreciate any responses. Thanks for reading!!!!
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