The Calling, Part II: Reason and Rhyme

Setting: Before Chapter 1

 “Thank you for letting me stay with you, sir.” Conrad Lakatos looked up from where he was setting the table and gave his student a smile.

 

“Nobody should have to spend winter break alone,” he said with a small smile as he put down the last spoon. “So… Tell me, Stellan. Why are you here and not on a train back to District Six?” he went to check on the chicken that was slow-cooking in the oven. “You don’t have to share if you don’t wish, but…”

 

The boy just sat quietly and tapped his fingers on his legs, shaggy brown hair hanging over blue eyes. “I…” he just sighed a little bit. “Too many ghosts back home. I came here to get away from it all. Here I finally found out what it felt like to feel… Happy, and free. I… I don’t want to go back there and lose that feeling.”

 

Conrad just sighed a little bit as he turned to focus on stirring the rice on the stove. “I see,” he said quietly. “Well, I’m glad you were able to break free and have this opportunity then.” He smiled a little bit and stirred the rice around. “How have you been settling in? Seems like you’ve really been spreading your wings.”

 

“I think so,” he said with a smile. “I mean, here I always get called by the right name. And people only slip on the pronouns every once in a while. It’s amazing, and affirming, and I love it so much!” he smiled and sighed happily. “I… I mean, any time I want to, I can just… Go out for a walk. Go and play the drums in the practice rooms. I mean, it’s awesome, I could even start a band if I really wanted to! You know, that might be a good way to get cute babes.”

 

Conrad just laughed lightly at that. “You have my support,” he said. “As long as I don’t lose one of my best students.”

 

“You won’t,” Stellan said with a smile. “I want to stay here and get a good job here and never go back to District Six.” He sighed quietly. “I just can't wait until Jill grows up and gets over here. And Tuck, hopefully he can get a retake like he’s been trying to. Then it would be perfect.”

 

Conrad smiled at him. “Siblings?”

 

“Oh… Yeah, basically.” He gave a small smile. “I mean, Jill is my little sister by blood - and you could tell if you saw us, she looks just like me. Tuck, he’s basically my brother, we always talked about going to Uni together…” he sighed a little bit. “But… That didn’t work out too well. Test anxiety, wasn’t even that he didn’t do well… He’s smart enough to be here, I just know it!”

 

“Aha.” The oven timer beeped and he moved the rice off of the heat before checking on the chicken once more. “Hopefully he gets that retake then. But for now, don’t worry about it. Let’s have a nice dinner, it’s just about ready.”

 

“Thank you, Professor,” he said, bowing his head a little bit. “You’re very kind.”

 

“It’s no problem,” he said, giving him a smile as he started to bring the food over. “I just wish that it was more. A single first-year professor…. Well, I’m not living rich.”

 

“No, this is perfect!” Stellan said, reaching for a roll that was set out on the table only once his professor was seated. “Thank you so much.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll be making much better money than me someday,” he said with a laugh. “As much as I would love a high-paying job in robotics, my passion is here, in these halls. I’ve loved every second of it.”

 

“Well, you’re doing a great job,” he said as he started cutting up his meat. “Truly. I love your classes and this kindness is just… Above and beyond.”

 

“Thanks Stellan. That means a lot. Surely the kids that sit in the back and text wouldn’t say the same.”

 

“Oh, don’t listen to them,” he said, smiling. The meal was plain, but it was hot, and filling. Right now, that was more than he could have said for home. “Listen to the one that’s always right. Me.”

 

Conrad just laughed at his pupil and shook his head a little bit at him. “Pride goeth before a fall, you know?”

 

“Oh I know,” he said with a smile. “I’m just kidding, dude. Oh, I’ve started saying dude now. Pretty sick, huh?”

 

“That… Sure is…” What word did he use? “...Sick.” He had no idea why people used that word to mean cool, but he wanted to be supportive.

 

“Yeah man, I heard someone else say it and I thought - hey, that’s cool.”

 

“Careful, or else your sister won’t even recognize you when she sees you again.” But he was a little worried about the girl being left there alone. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

 

“Oh Jillianne, yeah, she’s a super strong… Dude.” He winked using the word. “Gender neutral, pretty cool, eh?!”

 

Conrad nodded, but his brows creased a little bit. He just hoped that was true. “I… I see.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry, Tuck is there to take care of her. I’m glad for that, honestly. Not glad that he missed out on being here, but… At least he’ll be there putting food on the table.”

 

“Perhaps for the summer, you will want to come back and see them. Just to make sure. You know, if you get a job, perhaps you can also help them out.”

 

“I’m not going back there,” Stellan said. “I sent Jillianne enough funds to get a phone and we talk once a week. I know my sister, I know that it’s all fine.” There was a little bit of bite in his voice. “She’s doing great. Very focused on school.”

 

“Alright then,” Conrad said levelly. “If that’s the case, then I trust you.”

 

“Thank you,” he said, but he poked a piece of chicken around his plate for a few seconds and then sighed. “Maybe I will go back there over the summer. For a few days. Just… To be sure.”

 

Conrad smiled a little bit at that. “I’m sure that would make them very happy.”

 

“Yeah,” Stellan said, smiling a little bit. “It’ll be nice to see them. Yeah, I guess I should go back for a few days.” He went back to eating hungrily. “But not right now, right now I’m just enjoying my newfound freedom. I love it here and I’m so happy I’m guaranteed four whole years here. Probably more if I start working real hard and going to grad school. The possibilities are endless for me, really. It’s exciting!”

 

“You are a bright young man,” Conrad told him honestly. He really was bright. “And I agree, you have much potential.” He just hoped that he didn’t leave behind his roots in the process… But he was only a freshman, and it was normal to see a little bit of resistance in freshmen. He would level himself out soon.

 

“Thank you, Professor, that really does mean a lot. I wasn’t sure how I would compare to the really smart people here, but I’m really trying to hold my own. Actually-” he started, but he was cut off by his phone ringing and he looked down at it. “Hey, it’s Jillianne. That’s ironic, I’ll have to ask her if she’s psychic since we were just talking about her.” He smiled a little bit and got up. “Please, excuse me.”

 

He left the room and Conrad just sighed a little bit. Well, it was good that she was still keeping contact. As someone from a very small family, it was so hard for Conrad to leave their small suburb to come here to the big city in District Three. He couldn’t imagine traveling Districts away from them. It was all just a normal freshman thing, of course. He would come around.

 

Ten minutes passed.

 

Twenty.

 

Thirty.

 

Thirty five… And still, no sign of Stellan.

 

Conrad slowly went towards the office that had been converted into a guest bedroom, putting his ear to the door. He didn’t hear anything and knocked quietly on the door. “Stellan?” he asked quietly. Perhaps he had just dozed off for a moment. But… He just had a terrible feeling.

 

He got no response. He slowly pushed open the door, not sure what to expect. But it certainly wasn’t what he saw. The phone long blacked out, sitting in his open palm on the floor beside him, face frozen in an unreadable expression. He was barely even blinking… When Conrad slowly sat down beside him, Stellan finally reacted, slowly turning his head to look at him, but it seemed like he didn’t even remember who he was. Or where he was…

 

“What happened?” He pushed a hand through the bangs that were over his blue eyes and making them twitch.

 

“He got himself killed.” His voice came out like a ghost. And yet, his eyes were free of tears. They were wide and shocked and blinked a few times slowly in a row. “He really got himself killed.”

 

Conrad frowned a little bit and gently put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe you should go home,” he said quietly, full of concern for him. “Spend some time with your family.”

 

“I’m not going back there!” Stellan yelled, curling up into a tight ball and grabbing handfuls of his pants to keep himself wrapped up tightly. “I’m not going there ever again!”  The pain pushed through his voice for the first time that night. “Jill is coming here and we’re never looking back, she’s the only family I have left there now, she has to realize that I have a purpose here and she will too if she just keeps working hard at school…”

 

“And what if she isn’t able to move here?” Conrad asked softly. “Then what?”

 

Stellan squeezed his eyes shut, not stirring when Conrad reached over to gently take his glasses off and set them up on the desk. “She will,” he said. “Jill loves learning and school and she’s incredibly bright. She will make it. She knows what she has to do.” He let out a sob and pressed his face into his knees.

 

Conrad knew better than to push the matter now, but he was worried about him abandoning District Six completely. But right now, he knew that Stellan was processing. So he got up, giving him a moment alone, to go out to the kitchen and heat up his dinner plate. He got the blanket off of his bed while it was heating, bringing that in first so that both hands would be open to get his dinner and a glass of water. When he heard the microwave beeping, he heard a loud screaming sob from the other room that immediately made him wince a little bit, his heart breaking for his student. He came back into the room with dinner, but had a feeling it was going to remain untouched. Hopefully he could at least get some water into him.

 

Stellan was rocking back and forth, holding his legs and digging his nails into them underneath the blanket. When Conrad knelt by him, Stellan stared at the plate in his hands.

 

“I don’t want that.”

 

Conrad just sighed softly as he put the plate down next to him. “At least drink.”

 

Stellan slowly took the water glass from him and took a few big sips of water. It didn’t take long at all for him to finish the glass with a few gasps and whimpers between his tears when he stopped to breathe. He handed over the empty glass and his face went back to that dark expression, the slight quiver in his lower lip as he was trying to hold it together. Under the blanket he balled his fists tightly where Conrad couldn’t see. He just squeezed his shoulder and silently went to get him another glass of water. While he was fixing it, his eye went to the news articles suggested on his computer, and caught the pale, gaunt face and the headline.

 

District 6’s first execution in 3 years: More about the case of Tuck Carver

 

Conrad’s jaw tightened at the familiar name. Stellan’s family wasn’t doing nearly as well as he seemed to think they all were. It was all starting to make sense now… And to hear that news from his sister… Who surely wasn’t handling it well… He almost wished she was still on the phone with him.

 

He could hear the quiet, pained sobs from the other room. Voiceless. Broken.

 

Hopefully he would go home for spring break… But no matter what, he was going to support him. He would have to look more into this case. And see why they would want to kill someone that was loved so much by others… Someone that was bright and had potential. He could guess why… They just loved to do that to the kids that could go places, just because they didn’t like the potential. They didn’t want kids like him to succeed. They wanted to be in control over who went places and who failed. That was what the people in charge liked. That was what they wanted. It was just… Damn depressing.

 

He came back with another glass of water, knowing it was going to be a long night. But he was going to be there for his favorite student, no matter what. This boy needed him. So there he stayed. Listening to him cry. Rubbing his shoulder, feeling the tension in his arm with how he was grabbing underneath his knees with his nails and not having the heart to stop him. Staying calm and steady. When Stellan finally leaned against him, seeking his comfort, he was right there to give him a hug and hold him close. This continued long into the night, until he finally closed his eyes and quieted for a moment.

 

Conrad stayed there for a little bit while he was calm, sighing a little bit as he ran a hand through his hair repeatedly. Tragedy always struck when it was least expected. And it was just crummy that it had to happen to a boy with such a bright future.

 

Hopefully it wouldn’t destroy that future. And… Well, hopefully he could someday find a balance between his bright future and the roots of his past. But for now, he just had to help keep his spirits up and be there whenever he could. He was going to help Stellan try to process this and realize that he could still find happiness even while grieving.

 

And the first activity he had in mind would be messy, but was something he knew Stellan always wanted to do.

 

All it would require was a quick trip to the store for some hair dye.