Chereads / The Ash Keeper / Chapter 7 - Chapter Six

Chapter 7 - Chapter Six

*Andy Icarus*

The three of us sat on stiff chairs made of cold metal. The metal uncomfortable against our spines. Three idiots in a waiting room. The room was bland with few furniture and dull with grey walls. The room windowless. The only source of light in the colourless room being a single light bulb hanging overhead. The lack of light combined with the room's blandness made it hard to stay awake. This part of the nursery was far less glamorous than the public parts of the nursery. The truth about the nursery was a great extent, the majority of it lacked the glamour seen in the reception. Due to lopsided budgeting. The majority of the building, even the front of the building, was plain. Boring. Unmemorable. The dull rooms turned into dull hallways and further on. Even staff who had worked here the entirety of their career life could not tell one dull hallway apart from another. Finding themselves lost on a daily. The majority of the nurseries' funding went towards the mantainence of the parts open to the public, like the reception and the Phoenix enclosures. Leaving what little was left over of the funding to go towards paying the nurseries' staff. Close to nothing was left for luxuries. I fiddled with my hands anxiously as we waited. As the wait painfully lengthened. At first, when we were retrieved from the reception by Madam Angora's assistant, Norah. Norah was cold, uncompromising and calculated. Her personality matching her appearance. Her skin was pale like the moon and her eyes obstinate. Like Mother, like Daughter. I distracted myself from my nerves by fiddling with my hands. As a way to calm myself. However as time painfully went on, I stopped fiddling with my hands to calm my nerves and started fiddling with my hands to stop myself from falling asleep. My eyelids feeling heavier and heavier and heavier. It didn't seem to be working. I turned towards Felix. Drinking a bottle of maple whiskey. There was something about Felix I admired. He was mature, calm and reserved. On the other side of Felix was the idiot. Cuddling his bag in his arms happily asleep. Looking like a child as he slept. A small smile curving across his lips. The audacity he had to be smiling at a time like this. What I would give to punch that smile right off of his face.

"You're staring," Felix declared with a smirk, taking another sip of his maple whiskey. I blinked removing my glare off of the idiot. Looking back to Felix. "Sorry but I didn't catch your name earlier, what was it again?," He politely asked still smirking. If I had a bottle of whiskey to keep me company right now I'd also be smiling. Felix was smart looking. It was undeniable. His suit tailored to his figure. A waistcoat matched to the burgundy colour of his coat. His blonde hair slicked back out of his face. Giving off the impression of a business man.

"Andy, My name it's Andy Icarus," I replied keenly, without interruption from the idiot this time. The idiot was being suspiciously quiet. Even if he was asleep. Felix nodded. Bringing my attention back to him. His smirk not disappearing. Like he had successfully set a trap. It was obvious that he was an intelligent man. I felt notably more uncomfortable in the stiff metal chair like a chicken in a fox den.

"And your boyfriend's name?" Felix asked motioning towards the idiot fast asleep next to him. Taking another swig of his maple whiskey. His smirk widening as my jaw dropped open. Jumping from my chair. My face feeling hot. Feet hitting the ground loudly. My lips trembling. What? WHAT! Like I'd befriend that idiot! Let alone date him! I wanted nothing to do with him. My anger from before resurfacing. Felix chortled. Just as I was about to correct him, Norah speedily walked into the room. Norah was a snowstorm. One you didn't want to become stuck in. A metaphorical chill filling the room. My anxiety returning as my senses returned back to me.

"She'll see you now," Norah sternly declared. Unimpressed. Cold. Behaviour suited to someone in a superior position. It could be assumed that when Madam Angora retired Norah would take over as the nurseries' supervisor, as she was her daughter and the best fit to the position. It must've been nice to have a position waiting for you. To always have somewhere with someone to call home. To have people depend on you and look to you for guidance. Felix stood up. His smirk gone. Gently swaying the idiot awake. The idiot with sleep in his eyes and sleep still on his mind drowsily followed. Down a dull hallway to Madam Angora's office I anxiously followed. Each step feeling like my last. The anonymous grey hallway becoming more illuminated with each step. Even though the work at the nursery was exhausting and repetitive, I didn't want to go. Norah's pace quickened. I struggled to keep up. I want to stay at the nursery with my Uncle and Aunt. Who never complained nor cursed me despite the cloddish entropy I brought into their home. To stay with them where it was safe. A safe haven. A shelter away from the outside world and all of the problems it hauls alongside it. By now I was practically jogging to keep up with Norah. Felix kept up with the pace without toil. Dragging the idiot behind him. Who wasn't much shorter than him. Both Norah and Felix had lengthy legs and towered above me. Tall. It felt as if the pace was quickening. The lengthy bodies closing in on me. Until we stopped and we were outside Madam Angora's office. The door ajar.

"Enter." A voice wailed. Madam Angora's voice. High-pitched and sharp. Strict. Her voice a slow instillation of fear. Each word a drop soaking in. Felix walked through to the office without a worry in the world. He would receive no punishment. He was a witness passing by at my incompetence. I followed after Felix and the idiot. My hands trembling.