Soaked in the Sounds

The school was quite large, and very clean. It had a very pristine look to it. It was built with smooth red bricks and had neat shrubbery strung together encircling the perimeter. There was even a fountain in the middle of the court yard. This was to be expected, however. The only reason Lucus was coming to a real school was due to a scholarship. He had passed the entrance exam with flying colors, and the school was so highly praised, it was hard to pass up a chance like this.

The moment Lucus stepped off the bus, he was immediately hit like a truck. The courtyard was not remotely crowded, even for the first day. Lucus had made a point to come in early, to ensure the teachers knew about his "condition". It just so happened that his neighbor was also coming. Lucus removed his cane and set it down.

"If you need help, you can just follow my voice." said Ben softly walking ahead. Lucus tried his best to keep track of Ben, but it was hard. The kids around them all smelled roughly the same. Full of body odor and new clothes. Not only that, but the overwhelming amount of sounds coming from every direction made it nearly impossible to hear Ben's calls. Just a few meters in, the sounds got too loud. He was suddenly jostled to the side, then back. He could hear some kids only a few inches away. They seemed to be a group of friends. About seven or eight. This was much less than at the small orphanage, but the tones and unfamiliarity of them was so overwhelmingly powerful. It was loud. So loud. The smells burned his nose and his ears pounded. He covered them and closed his eyes as if that would help. The sound died down as the kids seemed to realize Lucus. They came back as the jeering began. No, not again. Not at school. Not my first day. He fell to the ground. The cane he had been carrying fell to the ground a few meters away. Each clatter made him recoil. He ran. This had only happened once before. When he was five. He had gone to the store to get to know the outside world a bit better, and the sounds overwhelmed him. He had ended up running to the bookstore and sat in there for three hours straight before Mother was able to coax him out. I don't want to run. Why am I running? He covered his ears and ran forward. This path must take him somewhere. He ran so fast, and his heart was pounding so loudly, that he didn't hear the sound of water.

One moment he was running, the next, he was falling down into the fountain. It was much deeper than it looked. Not that that mattered anyways. It was about two feet deep. Lucus started flailing. I can't swim! Move your legs! Get up and stand. The water around him was now tinged a faint pink. Lucus's lungs screamed for air. What was wrong with him? It's not like he was helpless. Why couldn't he bring himself to stand in just two feet of water? His head still ached. The pounding was still there. His eyes burned from the water. Suddenly, a familiar smell pulled him out.

"LUCUS! What happened?! I was walking, then I looked back, and you were gone! I'm so sorry. I, I should have helped you more!" Ben pulled him away from the fountain and spun him around so he wasn't standing close to the death trap. "We need to get you to the nurses office!" Lucus coughed up a bit of water.

"I lost you. The sounds! My head!" And then he passed out.

Lucus woke up in the nurse's office. It was a quaint place, but was filled with state of the art equipment.

"Lucus! You're up!" It was Ben. He practically tackled Lucus. "You were out for an hour! We're missing the first period! Are you okay?!" He took a step back.

"Now be careful, you might kill the poor boy. He swallowed a lot of water, not to mention some nasty scrapes. Give him a sec to understand where he is." This voice was kind. It was soft, but had a slight gravel to it. Judging from the beeps and crinkly paper, she seemed to be the nurse.

"I think I'm okay…" Lucus tried to get up then winced in pain. Touched the palms of his hands. A rough paper. Bandages.

"You cut yourself up pretty bad. From what I heard from your friend here, you fell into the fountain?" Lucus nodded. "Well, I've been working here for nearly ten years now, and I can say we've never had anything like this before. Although, we might not have ever had anyONE like you come here before." She began to organize some bandaids. Lucus was unsure whether that was a compliment or something else. Not even her breathing gave that away. Friend. I guess we're friends. He smiled slightly.

"Thank you, both of you. Am I clear to go to class?" Not the way I wanted to start the year. Late on my first day.

"Just give me a second and I'll write you both a note." she scribbled something down. A clear rolling sound of metal gave away the type of pen she used to Lucus. He winced again. He still had a small headache. He wasn't sure if this was from the noise, hitting his head, or both. He figured the latter. She handed them both a pass. "You're in class 1C. It's just down the hall to the left." She helped Lucus out and slid open the door.