nine

After finding out about Mr.Izaz’s secret, Nicolai’s daily life seemed to be more and more uneventful, but it still burned at the back of his mind. What could have caused him to hide what he so strongly encouraged Nicolai not to? What had happened to turn his eyes white anyways? 

 

“Nicky?” Yenci called, tapping the boy on the shoulder. “Astris and Jon are throwing a party tonight, do you want to come?” 

 

“Sure, Yen. I’ll see if I can drag Theo with me, where is it?” He asked groggily. 

 

“Wraik, they rented a house. Rich b******s.” Yenci shook his head, giggling slightly. “It’ll be fun, I promise, you can even wear your contacts if you want, I’m sure Haziel is coming.” 

 

“I’ve never been to a party.” The elder sighed, staring at the younger. “It’s impossible to say no to you, do you know that?” He sighed. A smile growing on his face as Yenci quietly cheered.

As his conversation continued, he couldn’t stop wondering about what was to come. A call from his mom had confirmed that his dad was free again. Wandering around Wraik without a care in the world. He was close, and that scared Nicolai. 

 

Soon, the bell rang for lunch and he walked with Yenci towards the dining hall, although he was soon disrupted by a deep voice. 

 

“Mr. Rhene, Nicolai.” He greeted, a soft yet stern smile on his face. “Do you mind if I borrow Nicolai for a minute, Mr. Rhene?” 

 

Yenci giggled, shaking his head and grabbing Nicolai’s bag from him. “See you at lunch, Nick.” He walked off waving politely at the teacher. 

“Is everything okay, Mr. Izaz?” He asked nervously, they were now stood atop the balcony too the left of the dorms. “Why did you bring me here?” 

 

“You are more observant than people give you credit for, Nicolai.” The man spoke, staring out towards the campus yard, rather than the boy next to him. “Despite your slip-ups and initial clumsiness, everything you say and do is completely calculated and curated to those around you. You know when the bell is going to ring, minutes before anyone else. You identified Mr. Mercia’s insomnia quicker than any one of his friends.” 

 

Nicolai stayed quiet, fiddling with his hands patiently. He hadn’t been to the right balcony before, always opting for the left. He noticed the chest off to the side, a lock and a label on it. ‘Mr. Dimitri Rivera’ the label read. 

 

“You put up a front of when you’re okay even if you aren’t. You’ve built sky-high walls around you.” Mr. Izaz continued, “What we often forget however, is that every building has a door. You have worked hard to build these walls, understandably so.” 

 

“Mr. Izaz-” Nicolai started, quickly being cut off. 

 

“The door is unlocked, Nicolai. Open it.” 

 

“What are you talking about, sir?” The boy gaped, staring at the man curiously. 

 

“Who you are when no one is watching. Let him open the door.” The teacher added, appearing to rub his eyes lightly. “You’ll be surprised to know that you share more ghosts than you think.” 

 

Nicolai stared at Druthur Izaz, who had finally turned to look at the student. Nicolai’s pearly white eyes, stared in surprise at the pearly white eyes that looked back at him. 

 

“Ghosts must pass over eventually, Nicolai.” He spoke, sliding his contacts into his clothes pocket. “You are much stronger than you know, and people want to meet your ghosts. Open the door.” 

 

“Why did you hide them?” Nicolai finally got out, hurriedly catching up with the man who was leading them back to the dining hall. 

 

“I was scared. I didn’t have the confidence you do, Nicolai.” 

 

“What changed?” 

 

“I met the love of my life’s children. I heard the stories.” He said, standing outside the door of the hall. 

 

“What kids?” Nicolai asked. 

 

“You, Kali, and Dimitri.” The professor sighed longingly. “Have a good lunch, Nico.” 

 

Before Nicolai could respond, the man had already disappeared, leaving Nicolai with nothing but more ghosts to uncover.