"You clearly have a gift for marksmanship," Mr. Sergei informs me, stating the obvious. "But you can't lose control, Alexei. I'll help you hone that talent." I hand him the rifle and say, "No—that was scary. I don't know what just happened, but it wasn't normal," I shudder, recalling that out-of-control feeling. "That wasn't supposed to happen." "Take your time to accept it," Mr. Sergei says. "Remember the promise you made to me?" I nod. "If you intend to keep it, then this is your best bet, Alexei. Don't try to fight it," He puts the rifle away and begins to walk back to the house. I follow behind him. "I'll give you some time to think about it," Mr. Sergei informs me.
That night I find it's hard to sleep. I close my eyes but dreams never come. Eventually, I open the window and jump out, running and running until I can't walk anymore, to tire myself until I fall to the ground and pass out. Behind me, I hear voices, shouting "Hey!" And "Who are you?" And turn around. Two boys about my age, one with tan skin and black hair, and a taller one with darker skin and hair in short dreadlocks. The slightly shorter one smiles at me and holds out his hand for me to shake. "What's your name?" He asks. "Alexei," I respond. "You new here?" "Yeah." "I'm Matthias," the boy tells me, "And my friend's name is Vance," Vance nods at me. I nod back. "It's late, why're you out at this time?" Matthias asks. "I could ask you the same," I respond. "Matthias and I were gonna go check out the school before we have to go there in a week or two," Vance answers. "Wanna come?" "Sure," I nod, following them.
We enter the empty school building after several minutes of lock-picking and looking for an open entrance. Matthias, Vance, and I begin to walk around. "You gonna go to school here?" Matthias asks me. "Yeah, probably. But I don't know how much I'll actually show up," I tell him. He laughs.
"I feel you. So…what kinda stuff are you even in to, Alexei?" Matthias asks. I respond, "I don't know—never really been given a change to pick up a hobby. I didn't have a home until Mr. Sergei took me in. He's my godfather," Matthias chimes in. "I get it. I know what it's like to not have much family, or not have much family that cares about you," He pauses for a moment as we walk into the empty library. Matthias leans against a bookshelf and closes his eyes. "Like, I could stay out all night and come home at eight A.M. My mom wouldn't notice, or care."
About an hour later, Matthias, Vance, and I exit the school. I can see the sun is starting to rise, meaning Mr. Sergei will expect me up soon. "I got to go," I tell them. "See you around?" "Yeah, okay," Vance says. Matthias smiles and waves as I walk towards Mr. Sergei's house.