BIRDS ARE ALWAYS FLOCKING around this time of year in Salt Lake City, Utah. After all, it's the capital and the most populous city in the state. With more than two hundred thousand people living here, there's always that one unique individual who sticks out from the rest. His name is Stephen Huntley, but his close peers call him "Steph" for short.
Stephen was born in this city. When he was younger, his father, a renowned scientist, gave him up to a close friend so he could be cared for while he was away. It had been twelve years since Stephen had last seen him. Now he's seventeen and lives with people he considers more like roommates than family.
He has no memories of his mother, but he at least knows he has one. And whether or not his father abandoned him—because he valued his work more than his son—honestly didn't bother him. He was free, free like the birds that flocked around the city. It's because of these birds that he can look up into the sky without a care in the world.
"Ya ready, punk?" a man with a low-faded haircut said to Stephen.
The two were in an abandoned warehouse surrounded by over twenty people. Birds cawed through the open ceiling, which was showing signs of decay. Stephen wasn't paying attention to the man and was instead watching the flock pass by.
"Quit birdwatching, Steph!" a boy with blonde hair in the crowd yelled.
"Hmph… What's the rush?" Stephen retorted.
Cracking his neck, he stretched his arms and did a quick aerobic exercise. The crowd surrounding the two boys began to cheer. Why? Because they were going to fight.
The man rushed at Stephen while keeping his boxing stance. Rather than dodge him, Stephen ducked when he got close, grabbed his waist from behind, and delivered a clean German suplex! In just one move, the man was knocked out. And the crowd went wild.
Stephen smirked as if what he did was nothing short of an easy win. What better way to flaunt his victory than by tossing his school jacket over his shoulders? Who could blame him? Despite standing at six feet two and being an eleventh-grade high schooler, he was also the leader of a gang known as the Westside Toris—toris meaning "bird" in Japanese.
And the person he took out just now was the rival leader from the East.
Many spectators crowded around Stephen to praise his skills. One such person cheered, saying, "Man, dude! Every time I see you use that move, I'm stunned."
Stephen merely kept his head down to humble himself. Deep down in his heart, he knew there weren't many people naturally gifted like he was due to the rigorous training he'd done as a child.
Looking at the other side that wasn't cheering him on, he pointed his thumb down, saying, "Yo, Chan, you know the rules. The central territory belongs to the Westside this year."
Girls and boys cheered vigorously at the defeat of Chan Kurt and his gang. The East and West would duke it out in a fair fight every year to determine who reigned supreme in Central Salt Lake City. Out of boredom, Stephen joined the West gang when he was thirteen. Working his way up the ladder, he eventually became their leader at fourteen, changed their name to something more to his liking, and won the central territory three years in a row.
"Don't let any of us catch you hanging around here again, got it?"
Many of the people around asked Stephen if he felt like celebrating their victory at an internet café. One of the girls went as far as openly confessing to him. When he was about to give her an answer, he heard a loud man scream, "Who the heck are you?! Can't ya see we're in the middle of gang business?"
Stephen looked over and noticed Maxwell Marriott, a classmate, harassing a girl with large glasses.
"Well, it looks like the fight's already finished, so—"
"So what?!" he screamed, interrupting her.
Maxwell was six feet four, and the girl was barely over five feet. Considering he was brawny with a flattop, it made the scene look like he was a bouncer ready to throw her out.
"Calm down, Max," Stephen said, approaching the two.
"Ugh… Sure, boss. Ya know this girl?"
"Yeah," he replied. "She's my roommate."
Most people didn't recognize the girl since she was so quiet in school. Standing with long red pigtails, freckles, and a school skirt with a tie wrapped around her neck was Kimberly Tennyson. She's what's known as a ginger, and she has a cute, petite figure, according to what most of the guys say.
"I'll hang out with you guys another time," Stephen said. "Feel free to get used to another year here."
There were some sighs, but no one ever questioned the strongest person in the gang. He was later seen riding down a street on a bicycle with Kimberly on the back.
"Sorry about Max," he said. "Members of the gang have some pretty rough personalities. Did you come especially to pick me up?"
"Yeah, you were running a bit late, so I got worried," she replied with a smile.
Kimberly was the friendly type—kind and often polite toward others. There wasn't a mean bone in her body. At least as far as Stephen could tell. Whenever she could help someone, she always went out of her way to do so. On top of being beautiful, she always keeps her grades up at school, making her quite intelligent academically.
"It couldn't be helped," Stephen said. "They're pretty weak. I've gotta protect them, you know."
While cruising down the street, a Steller's Jay began flying right next to the two. Kimberly laughed as it circled her. It got so close that it almost caused Stephen to swerve.
"Haha. Were they around in the middle of your fight?" she laughed. "Birds have always been attracted to you, even when we were little. That's actually how I knew you were at the warehouse."
As he pedaled past the bustling city, the two noticed a commercial on one of the giant monitors in a building. It was a showcase for the latest two-wheel inline skates known as "Dyna Blades."
"Ride the winds with the state-of-the-art DBs!"
Dyna Blades, or DBs for short, are high-tech motorized rollerblades. He didn't know much about them, save for the fact that they were released several years ago to the public. Designed with three components—wheel motors, a hydraulic cushion system, and a power injection system—they're rapidly trending on the market due to how fast they go. Ordinary people can't just buy them, however.
Their turbo-dynamic design makes them too dangerous for kids to wear. And even if he wanted one, he hardly had any money to afford a pair.
"Ah! Steph! I forgot how angry my sisters were."
"Why's that?" he asked.
"They said you were taking too long to buy the ramen!"
Stephen had utterly forgotten that his roommates had asked him to pick up some groceries before he went out. It was already getting late, and most of the stores were closing. The two were so close to home that turning back now would be a waste of time. Unbothered by how angry they might be, he came home instead.
Parking the bike outside their apartment complex, he took the elevator with Kimberly before walking in. For a three-bedroom apartment on the top floor, it was quite a luxury to be living here. Stephen had four roommates, all of whom were girls of different ages. Since he was the only male, they let him sleep in a room all to himself.
The moment he turned the corner to enter the kitchen, he was drop-kicked by someone! A loud thud was heard as he hit the wall. He expected this would happen, so he had crossed his arms beforehand. Despite that, he was slightly bleeding from his lips.
"You're late!" a woman said.
Standing over Stephen was Victoria Tennyson, also known as Vicky, his other roommate. She often acts like a tomboy, sporting short, blonde, curly hair and a flawless face.
"Good to see you, too, Vicky," he said, smirking while wiping the blood from his lips.
Before he could fully get up, she quickly wrapped his lower body in a leg lock. This was her usual way of punishing him whenever he didn't follow the house rules.
"How does it take you two hours to return from the convenience store?!" she screamed, tightening her hold.
"I… was busy… okay?"
Kimberly was a tad worried for his sake. He might have been sturdy for the average teenager, but his strength didn't compare to Victoria's. She was a natural powerlifter despite her thin figure. On top of all this, Stephen never dared to put his hands on a woman.
As Kimberly tried to calm the two down, a long-haired woman walked in. Her build was slender but solid; her shining eyes matched her hair color, light brown; and she had an unrefined beauty mark by her left eye. This was Allison Tennyson, the eldest of the three sisters and also Stephen's legal guardian.
"Now, now," she said with a tone. "Vicky, that's not nice of you to bully Steph like that after he went out for our sake. Now we can cook dinner."
Allison's smile could attract any man she pleased. On top of having a gorgeous face, her voice was quite serene.
Following her was a much shorter girl with black hair down to her knees, holding a stuffed animal. In an irritated voice, she said, "Sister Ally is too easy on big brother Steph!"
This was Stephen's last and final roommate, the youngest of the sisters, Mila Tennyson. Mila is only ten years old and is homeschooled by Victoria. Aside from her cute, childlike appearance, she often leaves her many stuffed animals around the house. Why this is important to know is that she designed them all herself from scratch due to being a creative genius.
"I'm hungry now!" she yelled. "Where's the food?!"
"Hey, that's right," Victoria announced, keeping her hold on Stephen. "You came in without any groceries in your hands!"
Victoria quickly let go to give him a thrashing. He used that moment of freedom to get up quickly. By the time he looked, her foot was about to hit his face. He quickly dodged it by performing a backflip in what little space he had.
When he thought he was in the clear to run to his room, his collar was snatched. All he heard was his name coming from Allison's voice.
"Stephen…" she said in a frustrated tone.
Before he knew it, he was suddenly lifted off the ground as she said, "I told you to buy the gosh-darn ramen noodles!"
She was evidently more athletic than Victoria. In a fit of sudden rage, she brought Stephen down, driving her knees right into his back!
Outside the apartment, two elderly neighbors were seen walking by. They had smiles on their faces despite the loud banging noises coming from the apartment building. Walking casually with her husband, she stated, "This place is always so lively during this time."
In a dimly lit room with only a small television, a drawer, and a bed, Stephen was lying down facing the ceiling. The sound of meat sizzling on a stove could be heard outside the door. About an hour ago, after his usual interactions with the Tennyson sisters, he was forced to travel halfway across town and buy groceries. For his punishment, he was sent to his room without any dinner for the night.
Situations like these were the usual standard for Stephen. He didn't mind being punched around by his roommates for such minor things. They enjoyed his company just as much as he enjoyed theirs. Kimberly would probably leave a plate by his door like she always did after everyone went to bed.
Contrary to sharing the same last name, not everyone in this household was blood-related. Allison had informed Stephen as a child that Victoria, Kimberly, and Mila were all adopted by her from his father. Considering he had brought Stephen to her personally, she accepted him with open arms, treating him like part of the family. And they were the closest thing to family he had.
As he got up to open his window for some fresh air, a bird swooped in and flew around his room. It looked like the same Steller's Jay he saw earlier this evening. If he were to guess, it followed him home and waited outside until it could harass him again. Whatever reasons birds liked following him around, he wasn't entirely sure.
Regardless, birds became his favorite animal because of it. And whoever didn't like furry, winged creatures that produced a melodic tone in their chirping ought to be ashamed of themselves.