"Hey! Check this out."
The boy, wearing a pair of trousers with a plain white shirt and tie, raised an eyebrow, a spark of mischief dancing in his eyes. He bounded toward his peer before walking straight to the boy with slumped shoulders, his gaze focused on the pages of his book, as if trying to disappear into the words.
"What the—"
He was startled when his book was suddenly snatched from his hands.
"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?! Pfft! This is ridiculous!"
He exclaimed, mocking the boy as he pushed his face away when he tried to reach for it.
"Stop! Give it back to me!"
The boy yelled, only to be shoved aside by him, who waved the book triumphantly in the air.
"You want this?"
He snickered, and seeing his devilish expression, the boy nervously gulped.
"Then take this!"
Without a single thought, he threw the book out of the open window, sending it flying into the air as he watched the pages flutter before it reached the branch of a tree. The boy froze, momentarily stunned, while laughter erupted from his peers. Their amusement evaporated when they turned to look at him; the expression on his face had transformed completely.
"What?! Gonna cry?"
"Hey! I think that's enough."
One of his friends warned, but it did not stop him from taunting the boy.
"Seriously?! You're chickening out over this weakling—
-THWACK!
Before he could barely finish, the boy punched him, sending him tumbling to the ground. He was now seething with rage; the look in his golden eyes, hidden behind thick glasses, seemed as if it wouldn't hesitate to kill, making the others back down as he pummelled the boy who was taller than him into a pulp. His mouth was severely bleeding, almost unable to form words, before he finally gathered the strength to swing back at him.
*THUD!*
Their scuffle halted abruptly when they bumped into Keith, who was busy minding his own business, writing on his paper when his fountain pen splattered ink across it.
The room fell silent as Keith stood up, looking down at the boy with raven-black hair who had fallen in front of him. He studied the boy who had punched Ciarán before turning to face him.
"Begriffsschrift..."
Keith spoke, glancing at his book before handing it to the boy.
"I think you might need this."
He paused, then smiled slightly.
"It will provide some much needed matter for your addled brain."
Keith's voice mellowed in the air as he calmly walked out the door, leaving behind the boy with smoke escaping his nose as the others continued to whisper and chuckle at the scene.
Pathetic!
Keith thought as he walked through the hall, carrying his book.
Every stomp of his feet was heavy, as if he could shake the ground beneath him, irritated as his brows keep frowning on his face.
Stupidity! Why did I even hand him my book?!
He fumed, furious as he regretted his impulsive action.
Just then, Keith pulled up his feet as he noticed the library door picking at him. Eager to find a place to study in peace, he decided to walk slowly, hesitating before heading straight to the enormous wooden door with a glaring golden knob. As he tread carefully towards the window of the library, his feet seemed glued to the ground. He gulped as he spotted a mesmerizing boy with hair shining bright as the sun.
It was the first time he had seen someone so breathtaking, almost otherworldly. He was sitting on the windowsill, eyes shut, surrounded by a mountain of books, surely already read. As sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow around him, his appearance makes him surreal almost like an angel adrift in sleep.
"When a person encounters something truly beautiful, their mind doesn't seem to process properly…."
"...Does it?"
Keith flinched, realizing he had been staring at Sebastian for quite some time.
Tssk! What am I doing? I didn't come here for this.
He sneered, deciding to leave before Sebastian spoke up again.
"Leaving too soon? Are you not here to admire this beauty?"
Even his dangerously alluring voice annoyed Keith, who misinterpreted the words Sebastian just stated.
"Aren't you too full of yourself?!"
Keith bit his lip in irritation, mumbling his words loud enough for Sebastian to hear. Though Sebastian had not said a thing, for a moment the room was engulfed in silence, just him looking out the window watching the leaves fall from the tree like a prisoner inside a snow globe, waiting for the glass to shatter.
"Isn't it amusing?"
Sebastian paused before he turned to look at him.
"All the trees are losing their leaves, and not one of them is worried."
Keith remained silent, finding Sebastian the weirdest person he had ever met in his life for finding beauty in the leaves that only created a mess in the ground.
"An eyesore."
He muttered, disagreeing just before Sebastian spoke again, as if opening Keith's eyes to a new perspective on life.
"You know the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched they must be felt with the heart…"
"...The Story of My Life by Helen Keller!"
Keith replied proudly, replacing the wry smile on his lips with a genuine one.
Though after seeing Sebastian's friendly yet clueless gestures, there were still lingering questions in his mind.
Does he never look in the mirror?
Keith wondered, curious about how Sebastian was different from the people he had met before him, who were boastful with their power and appearance.
"Look, from here you can see the petiole visibly attaching to the tree."
He called Keith over, who quickly approached him as if they had known each other for a long time.
As they examined the structure and anatomy of the trees, Keith felt comforted, thankful that he had found not just a friend but someone who shared his common interests.
"And the internode is the segment of a tree's stem between two nodes, which are the points where leaves, buds, or branches grow. Is it?"
Sebastian nodded.
That day, neither of them expected that a sudden encounter would lead them into a deep connection. Hardly noticing the time as they excitedly shared new knowledge with each other.