He threw his bags onto the neatly made dorm bed. Typically, the pristine nature of the bedding and room would have satisfied him. However, it pissed him off today. The organization of it all was such a contrast to the chaotic rush of the past few days. Everything had happened out of nowhere. As soon as his parents had discovered Caine’s hearing had become somewhat extraordinary, a phone call had been made and in a matter of days he’d been shipped off. There was not any sort of emotional send off, not that he expected one. When Carl had been sent away, the whole situation had been so hushed up that Caine himself barely knew what had happened. Neither of his parents ever said a word about their younger son unless asked. And even then, it was the same story: he had gone to stay with relatives. It was no secret that Carl ran with the wrong crowd. None of them had been proud to call him a ‘Mallon’ for years. Regardless, their eldest son had no doubt that tale was a lie. They hardly spoke to any extended family.
Throwing himself back onto the clear part of the bed, Caine began to rummage through an expensive looking suitcase. He tore it open quickly and pushed away clothes to grab at a bottle of whiskey. Rich people could afford expensive habits. Unfortunately, his parent’s wealth had become an enabler for the dark-haired boy. The liquid fire burned at the back of his throat. It was a welcome feeling. He wiped the misplaced droplets from the corner of his mouth with the crisp white sleeve of his button up. Within a couple minutes, the student’s tie was loosened and the top couple buttons undone. Since it was so late, there was no pressure to look nice for anyone. He’d always hated the nagging feeling to look perfect. But it’s what was expected. After moving up from the sketchy neighborhood of West Chicago, their family had acted like they had never been there. Anything less than the best attire might had hinted at their former lifestyle.
“So, what to do now?” He asked aloud to the empty room. As expected, there was no response. His eyes cast an unamused glance around the room. It was very plain. That was fine with him. Caine was by no means a decorator; he preferred things neat and simple. Besides, as the staff had briefly told him, this room was merely a temporary. In no time at all, he would be sorted like any other new student and find his place elsewhere. The whole concept was strange to him. Apparently, again as he was told, he had been brought here to develop his ‘powers’. There had been nothing more than the matter that he could clearly hear his parents speaking in the basement once, while he was outside. Nothing incredible enough to be packed up into three bags and thrown away to only God-knows-where.
Other than the staff, Caine had spoken to no one yet. He assumed some of the other new kids would be locked away in their rooms in thought, or worse yet, trying to befriend the other new students. Neither was an appealing option. The Mallon boy stood up abruptly. Flecks of the brown liquid from the whiskey bottle splashed onto the floor. Nothing would be happening in this room tonight. Nor would he waste his time with other kids who knew just as little as he. No, Caine would be joining the big kids tonight. At the thought, he rolled his eyes. Per the brief speeches he’d gotten so far, there were a variety of ages here. He, in fact, had come in as one of the older ones. Instead of running the junior class at his preppy high school, Caine would be playing with children. ‘I forgot to pack my toys.’ he thought flatly, laughing to himself. The teen threw his door open, allowing it to smack harshly against the wall. Again, the whisky sloshed carelessly in his left hand. With one more unimpressed look back at the almost entirely bare room, he went to leave, stopping only for a moment to smirk at the mess of his suitcase contents that now scattered the floor.
