Chapter 1:

A messy morning

Her: The Unrequited Enigma

“ “ Speaks

(‘ ’) Think’s

{ } Sound effects

[ ] Perspective change

> < Time skip

/ / Flashback

[Perspective: Ted Viridis; Location: Home]

{Beep beep! Beep beep!}

I got woken up by my alarm and struggled to leave the cosy grip of my plush blanket, which clung to me with its firm weight. I knew I had to get up, but this heavenly embracement held me so tight that it was impossible to escape. Eventually, I gave up, turned around and fell back asleep.

“Wakey! Wakey! It's time for breakfast!”

This time it was the angelic voice of my mother that tried to wake me up, but her soft gentle tone didn't have nearly enough power or force to rouse a small fly. Without a second thought, I fell back asleep again.

“Come down and eat, or I’ll penetrate your breakfast through your asshole!!”

Instantly, her voice changed from an angel to that of satan himself and my body stood up on its own from fear and shock!

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming!"

I opened my phone and looked at the clock on the lock screen.

{yawn}

My eyes were a bit blurry, so I rubbed them while searching for some clothes in the dumpster fire which was my closet. Upon finding it, I put it on, freshened up, and made my way downstairs.

“Good morning Ted.”

My mom smiled at me while scraping food from a pan. I sat down and greeted her back while she laid down the breakfast on the table.

“Mom, are you kidding me?! Chicken and broccoli again?! I know that you’re on a diet, but could you please let me enjoy food while my metabolism is still high?!?”

My mother turned her head towards me.

(‘F#ck! I shouldn’t have said that!’)

She lumbered in my direction with a very heavy step. Her wavy black hair seemed to stand on end, and her once-warm eyes turned empty.

At that time

"Ah!"

I knew

"Aah!!"

I f#cked up!

"Eaaaaaaaaahhh!!!"

(‘She’s going to stuff my ass with Chicken and broccoli!!!’)

I jumped out of my chair and dodged a few pieces of broccoli flying at light speed. I begged her for mercy, but she kept throwing them without hesitation. Countless pieces flew at me like an endless storm of bullets. It seemed like there was no end to this.

('How much broccoli did she even cook?!')

I made a quick decision to get out of the house and grabbed my school bag. I ran as fast as possible to the doorway and put my shoes on ASAP. I was relieved that it was over and turned on the door handle but ...

(‘Sh#t!! It's locked!’)

I turned around and got laser beamed when my eyes met those of my mother. I looked slightly down and saw one big chuck of chicken breast left on the plate. Right next to her was the key hanging on the wall. I looked back at her as she slowly grabbed the chicken from the plate.

“Honeeeyy … time to eat breakfast.”

The eerie sweetness in her voice sent chills down my spine.

(‘You can’t be serious!’)

It was all or nothing! My mother grabbed the chicken and threw it at me like it was a ninja star. I dived while dodging it, took the key, and left the house.

[Perspective: Ted Viridis; Location: On the way]

As a consequence of certain circumstances this morning, I had to buy a lunch box with the last bit of money I had.

“{sigh} I’ll have to take a shift in that crappy café from that freak again. Well, not that I have anywhere to stay tonight anyway.”

While struggling with the situation, I was riding my bike on a highway without paying attention to my surroundings. Fortunately for me, the road was not that busy and there wasn't a lot of traffic. After riding further for a couple of minutes I arrived at the university.

{ambient murmurs}

I looked up, held my hand on my chest and closed my eyes

('I can do this.')

‘Medical University of Totwotoo'. ‘Totwotoo’ was one of the most anticipated medical schools in this entire country. A lot of students that graduated from here became very successful. It was my childhood dream to study here and become a neuroscientist, but at this moment I had long lost that dream. I had even forgotten the reasoning behind it.

('Was it something related to *her*? Well, not that it matters now anywa...')

{slap}

"Ouch! Why the..."

I looked straight.

“Ow, it’s you.”

In front of me stood ‘Cear Julieth’, a student at the same university as mine. She used to be a bit of a relative to mine, but at the moment she just occasionally slaps my face.

"Good moni..."

"Tss."

I tried to greet her, but then she hushed me by crossing her arms and looking away. While she turned her head, the sun shined in her amber-like eyes and gave off a reflection that made her eyes stand out even more from her darker-coloured shoulder-length bouncy curls. I looked around and saw that people were staring at her. I couldn't blame them since she was indeed a beauty, especially from a distance. But when you got to know her a little better you could easily see her dark sinister nature.

"Euuhm, am I allowed to leave now?"

After I said that she rolled her eyes, her gaze piercing me down. She sure knew how to frighten people. I really wanted to sneak away but I simply couldn't. That's how terrifying her aura was.

"Tss. I don't want to waste my time on you either. I just wanted to tell you that you're still not forgiven. Don't think that your sins will simply disappear because you got into uni. Don't think that a bit of change in the environment will bring you into a new light ... That it can change you ... That you can throw everything away and start from scratch..."

From the moment that her last sentences entered my ears, my face became pale and I couldn't say anything. Her voice sounded threatening, but that wasn't the reason why I felt so dead inside. Her words ... They really, really hit me.

"I ... I ..."

The onlookers shifted their gaze from Cear to me who couldn't bring any words out of my mouth. When Cear saw that she threw an icy glance at them, telling them not to stick their noses into our business. After she did that, they slowly started to move and go on with what they were doing.

"You're pathetic. I still can't understand what *she* sees in you."

After she murmured that to herself, she walked away, leaving me in stunned silence. Fortunately, the ringing of the bell soon brought me back to reality.

[Perspective: Ted Viridis; Location: Classroom 1NS]

I was slouching in the school hall with my head facing down.

{sigh}

Cear's words were still hovering inside my head.

('No! I can’t let this ruin my day! This is my first day in this school. I have to leave a good impression.')

{slap!}

In an attempt to snap out of it, I gave my cheek a light slap on the side opposite to Cear's earlier assault. Now, both my cheeks tinged with red, making it seem as if a shy flush had crept over my face.

('Focus. You've got this.')

Upon seeing the sign 'Classroom: 1NS', I exhaled slowly and with assurance, swung the door open. The soft hum of chatter filled the air, and many eyes flicked in my direction, there seemed to be a mixture of interest and apathy. I looked around, but I couldn't really see familiar faces except the ones who were there when Cear was rinsing me.

{chatter & gossip}

Feeling a tad self-conscious, I searched for a vacant chair near the rear and headed straight for it. As I navigated through the rows, I sensed the weight of gazes on me, all assessing the interesting newcomer among them.

{gulping}

Navigating the maze of desks, I finally settled into a seat at the back. Just as I was pulling out my books, a friendly voice broke through the noise.

"Hey, you're Ted, right?"

I looked up to find a friendly face with twinkly hazel eyes and an easy smile. Which was a welcoming change from the scrutiny I'd felt earlier.

"Yeah, that's me. And you are?"

I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"It's Telsh. Telsh Tisser."

He told me while twirling his green, gently wavy hair.

"Euh ... Hello, Telsh. I'm Ted Viridis."

After exchanging names we started a little small talk.

"First-day jitters?"

Telsh joked with a playful smile, glancing at my slightly messy appearance.

"More like first-day chaos, thanks to a certain someone. {sign} And I wanted to make a good impression too."

"Well, everyone does."