Chapter 1

finished chapter. needs editing and review

               In this world there are many different kinds of people, the one thing that all people have in common however is desire. These desires come in many different forms, whether it be the desires of the flesh, or for money, and status. No desire however, is more corrupting than the desire for power. Those who crave this goal will strive and stop at nothing to achieve it. In their eyes, nothing is more important, they would sooner step over their own mothers’ corpse, than surrender power. That being said however, there are those who have power and never wished it, those who were snatched up by fate and thrust headlong into a position they never wanted. All these men and women have a story, each with its own twists and pitfalls, some fail, while others rise up and become what they had to. This is the tale of a young man, who unwittingly held the fates of not just our own world, but of another in his hands.

 

            Across a turquoise sky, cotton clouds drifted by, bathed in the golden hues of the sun, casting shadows on faded and dying grass. Warm light shone down on the trees, standing there, leaves crisp and faded hues of amber, gently drifting to the ground on a soft breeze, blanketing the earth. Under one such tree, atop the crest of a hill, a young man sat with his back pressed to the bark. Gazing out over the woods, envisioning a sea of crimson, rolling and dancing with the wind. In his mind he saw the shadows crossing over as great beasts lurking beneath the waters, capable of great destruction. These however, were just the fanciful imaginations of the boy. Off in the distance the familiar clang of the school bell rang, and with a sigh, Lloyd arose, banishing the thoughts from his mind. This was a daily routine for him, every chance he could get, Lloyd would slip away from school to come and sit under this old gnarled tree, a sentinel through the years, standing watch atop the hill. Lloyd turned from his wooden friend, and began his descent to school. Williams public school was a stark, featureless, brick building, standing alone against the backdrop of the woods. Its walls were old and cracked, worn down by the years, the building lacked for windows, and felt more a prison than a school. Lloyds made his way to the open double door, the gaping maw of some horrid beast, stretching out to swallow all your dreams. Lloyd trudged reluctantly inside, feeling the weight of the place pressing down on him at once. The air hung with the musty scent of mold and decay, as Lloyd made his way through the sparsely populated halls to his class. Lloyd pushed open the door, made his way to his desk and dropped into his seat.

 

            Ms. Bujaki came into the class, a strutting, preening peacock. She exuded an air of confidence and felt the world should be grateful to be in her presence. Ms. Bujaki sauntered across the room, hips swaying with each step as she made her way to her desk, she adored the attention. Ms. Bujaki isn’t what you would call gorgeous, but she had her allure. Blonde curly locks, hanging to her chest, slightly curvy, and a narrow petite face. Her best feature was her legs and she knew it. Every day she wore a skirt, tight to her body, and never longer than to her thighs, accentuated by a pair of high heels, make her legs longer and drawing your eye. Ms. Bujaki’s goal was to tease any man who look at her. As she sat at her desk she looked up expecting all eyes on her, she was almost right. Sat at his desk head bent, writing away was Lloyd. Annoyance immediately flared through her mind, how dare this youth ignore her. How could this awkward, lean youth ignore her? She watched him as he wrote, black hair hanging limp on his head, brushing his collar, bangs hanging to the sides. Lloyd’s angular face was creased with concentration as he tried to recall his dreams from the hill and commit them to paper. His blue-grey eyes squinting, as he reread what he wrote. His stocky build hunched over his desk, pen clutched in his right hand as he scribbled away,

 

            “Mr. Markham,” snapped Ms. Bujaki “care to explain why you are the only person in this class who doesn’t have to pay attention?” Lloyds head snapped up, a look of sheepish embarrassment crossing his face.

 

            “No Ma’am,” mumbled Lloyd. This was nothing new to him, Ms. Bujaki had had it in for Lloyd from the beginning, and Lloyd could never understand why this woman so constantly went out of her way to make his life hard. Whether it was marking him harder than the rest of the class, or incidents like today where she singled him out.

           

            “Then pay attention, you’re here on my time.” A smug grin touched her lips as she watched his shoulders sink in submission. Ms. Bujaki then got up and began the lesson. As she droned on, Lloyds mind began to wander once more, and her voice just became the distant buzzing of a bee. Lloyd saw it in his mind, vibrant colors and painted to impress, trying so hard to be the prettiest bee. It hovered along, going from flower to flower, teasing each one and pretending it was special, before it flew off, leaving the flower to wilt and droop. These daydreams continued, shifting as Lloyd thought never lingering to long on anyone idea. Lloyd saw castles with mighty spires, stretching to the heavens. Dragons with scales radiant and sharp, sprawled, a cat across mountains of treasure. Amidst it all was Lloyd standing there, here in his mind he could escape the real world. Lloyd was brought back to reality with a start, as a hand slammed down upon his desk

 

            “Am I boring you Mr. Markham?” Ms. Bujaki asked, voice shrill. Lloyd jumped in his chair at the sound of her voice.

            ‘I-I-I….” stammered Lloyd.

            “You what Mr. Markham? You think you’re better than those around you in this class? You think you’re smarter than me, than everyone in this class?” All eyes were turned on Lloyd as Ms. Bujaki tore into him. Lloyd tried with all his might to sink into his chair through the barrage of words. “I spent years in school, toiling to earn my degree, you’re just some kid in school who doesn’t know how to tell his elbow from his a*s. So where do you get off thinking you’re better than the rest of this class, than me?” Lloyd just kept his mouth shut and stared into the wood of his desk, counting each grain trying to lose himself in the pattern. “Everyone else seems to be able to pay attention when I teach, why can’t you? What makes you special Mr. Markham?” Ms. Bujaki began to pace the class continuing her rant as she went. “You think you’re a special little snowflake don’t you? Different, unique, and wonderful. Well I have some news for you.” She trailed off at this point as she slowly made her way back to Lloyds desk, “Different isn’t always better.” As she spoke these words she leaned in towards Lloyd forcing him to meet her gaze. Lloyd briefly held her gaze, then quickly dropped his eyes back to his desk. “Nothing to say for yourself Mr. Markham? You’re too good to respond to me?” Ms. Bujaki leaned back from his desk with a huff. “Why am I not surprised? Well if you won’t deem to grace us with an answer, you can get out.”

            “Bu-bu-but,” sputtered Lloyd his head snapping up, eyes going wide. “I didn’t do anything.” Lloyd muttered.

            “You did many things, you showed a lack of respect for me, your classmates, and for education itself. Now get out of my class.” Ms. Bujaki snapped, her tone brooking no argument. Lloyd got up from his desk, snatched up his books, packed his bag and stormed out in a huff. As Lloyd was heading out the door, he caught Ms. Bujaki saying “Now that the undesirable element is gone, maybe we can actually learn.” Hearing those words, Lloyd finally just snapped, after months of her abuse he just lost it. Lloyd turned on his heel and put his fist square through her classroom door window.

Author's Note

any and all advice and critiques are welcome.

Reviews

[Dave Wisker]

I have a suggestion:

"Ms. Bujaki came into the class, a strutting, preening peacock."

Peacocks are male. Was this choice ironically deliberate? If not, you might want to use a different term. Vamp, vixen, "saucy little minx", perhaps?