TIME WARP: First Day, Oh Brother

[Evan Brackett]

Hammel Institute, 2008

Starting at a new school was never easy, although it wasn't as tough at a school like Hammel. While Evan had gone through the process before and was prepared for the worst, he found that transferring was different here. Unlike public schools, where many of the kids had grown up with one another, Hammel was made up of kids from all over the country. He was in the average age group for transfer students, and most of his peers hadn't been there much longer than himself. In this case, the new kid wasn't always the odd one out.

Evan's only advantage over the others was that he had an older brother at the school. Or, that is, it would normally be advantageous, but if you knew David, you would know that it was really more of a disadvantage. He wasn't the kindest of older brothers. What was worse, so far all of Van's teachers expected him to be the same type of unmotivated student his brother was, and had treated him like he had already established a bad reputation. He didn't appreciate it.

Because of that, he had spent a good chunk of his free periods avoiding David. The problem with avoiding the one person he knew was that, when combined with his crippling shy nature, he had no one to help him find his next class. Sure, he had taken a brief tour earlier, but he hadn't been able to memorize the locations of the rooms yet. Luckily, he had been given a campus map to accompany his schedule, and he was doing just fine making his way through the halls on his own.

...Until he walked into a pole.

It was his own fault for thinking he could continue to walk safely while checking the map. The papers in his hand scattered across the hall as he grabbed his burning nose, a strange cross between a hiss and a whimper escaping his lips. He had to fight back tears as his eyes began to water, stinging as a result of the collision. The only attention he got from the kids scurrying by was a snicker from a girl that saw what happened. With one hand still clutching his face, he crouched down and tried to gather up some of his papers, although most of them had been trampled and sported several dirty shoe prints.

[David Brackett]

A shadow fell forward over poor Evan and his scattered belongings. The dark shape moved, two extensions taking the shape of arms as they folded over one another. The gray-black figure thrown out on the ground belonged to a messy-haired youth, looking down at Evan, a smirk on his face. "Y'know, it really helps if you open your eyes," David stated, not making a move to help his brother gather lost belongings. "Just something to think about for next time." His blue-gray eyes glittered as he stared down at the younger boy, and he opened his mouth to say something else, probably something sarcastic and not very caring, but he closed it and gave a shrug. He'd keep his trap shut, it was Evan's first day, and we can't abuse the newbies too badly, right? "Come on, Evan, smile. Welcome to Hammel, where everyone's just as freakish as you are!" A grin spread over his face, and he tried overly hard to be enthusastic. "Where ya headed?" David offered Evan a hand up.

It would appear that Evan had a guide, at least. Success? Or ultimate failure? David really wasn't a bad kid, but come on, they were brothers. It just wasn't normal for them not to poke fun at each other. The pony whisperer had been hunting for his younger brother, it was almost as if Evan had been going out of his way to avoid the older boy. Meanie. David just wanted to hold your hand and guide you through the menacing hallways... and perhaps right into a rather embarassing situation, but you never know. Maybe his intentions were pure. Maybe. I wouldn't go to Vegas on those odds, however.

[Evan Brackett]

With the way people were rushing pass, Evan had trouble collecting his things from under their feet. He did expect that the one person that bothered stopping was going to pitch in, but of course that hope was dashed when they ceased to move. The shadow being cast across his view was hardly a hindrance thanks to the florescent lighting of the hallway, and he chose to quietly ignore the onlooker for the time being. If they couldn't bother helping him then he probably didn't want to know who it was anyway. Even when David finally spoke up--the younger boy recognized the voice almost instantly--he hardly spared his brother a glance, and focused on grabbing the last of his lost, crumpled papers before someone else stepped on it.

Once he did finish collecting them, however, he couldn't really continue to ignore the other Brackett. "Forgive me for not being happy about walking into a pole," he retorted, finally looking up at his brother. No, he wasn't going to take anything David said well, regardless of whether or not he was still being sarcastic.

Evan shoved the papers under his arm and took the hand, albeit begrudgingly, a sharp scowl distorting his features. It wasn't until after he was standing again that he felt the wet tickle under his nose. He pulled his other hand away from his face to look at his fingers, and discovered that they were smeared with red. "Ah, great," he said, pinching his nose and causing his voice to sound nasal. "You wouldn't happen to have a tissue, would you?" Evan really didn't want to end up in the nurse's office on his first day. Perhaps it was fortunate, then, that he had stumbled upon his brother at that moment. "And I guess I'm going to the nearest bathroom."