Gabriel was flat on his back, with eyes tainted by drowsiness, staring at his ceiling. Its color used to appease him when he was a younger child, but now the dark green color felt alien. After spending most of these last two years away from home, being back with his dad was very unnerving for him. The first day of school couldn't even compare to the feeling of anxiousness and alienation he felt at home the last couple of weeks. He even found it somewhat poetic, that the place he had spent most of his life felt so far away. Even though he was within its walls, he felt like they were almost like jail-cells. [i] Heh [/i]. He laughed at himself for getting poetic and philosophical, that didn't occur too often. If anything, just the thought of poetry and philosophy was scary! Especially poetry! Gabriel struggled most with language based classes, and poetry always made things worse. It was like people would throw a wrench into the machinery known as a speech and everyone would look at it and call it art! But if you fucked up when you tossed your wrench, you'd be a cheesy fuck who needs to learn how to write properly. 

He turned onto his side. Now instead of looking at his ugly alienating ceiling, he would look at his ugly and disorganized wall. The wall was filled with bands from earth and lucis, as well as the letter he had received when they offered to let him into the school. It was also covered with his report cards and progress reports. Almost all of them were amazing, with a few spots of average here and there. Although his personality and actions would suggest otherwise, Gabriel tries. Gabriel tries [i] really [/i] hard. He doesn't just want to be successful, he wants to be extraordinary! To put it into sports terms, he wants to be the Jordan that lifts off Nike through the roofs! He wants to be the one that goes down in the hall of fame. The gatekeeper people won't ever forget about. However, to do that he would need to perform actions that make him stand out in a good way! That is something he has to work on. 


[i] Pio! Pio! Pio! [/i] the alarm rang out. The audio was distorted, and had been taken from an old Spanish song that taught kids the sounds animals make. He took clips of the little bird and had used that, it was very efficient. Using it would make sure Gabriel would get up and awake in ten seconds or less! Listening to it for anymore then that would be worse then getting beaten up or whipped. Anyhow, It was now [i]5:45[/i] and it was time to get up! He took off his pajamas and threw them on the floor, he would be sure to pick them up after his shower. He needed to be clean first and foremost. Having hot water purify him through pain and pressure was always sure to yank him into consciousness. After a shower he was much more awake and alert than if he had just gotten ready and waited for his brain to sort itself out. Besides, morning showers are the best showers. He didn't feel at all comfortable letting himself wallow in his own filth for an entire night only to have to wait until the next night to clean it off again. 

Now it was time to get some food. Gabriel wandered back into his room, and threw his pajamas into a basket partially filled with other dirty clothes. He would be sure to do his laundry again at another time, but for now all he wanted to do was get dressed and fill his belly. Once he had finished putting on the school uniform, he went into his bathroom again to give himself a once-over. Everything seemed to fit well, and the armor cloak they gave him wasn't too heavy or too tight. [i] Why can't they put both the cloak and coat together? [/i]. For the past two years he had decided to get the armor, and for the past two years he had asked that question. As per usual, the bathroom didn't answer him. Maybe it was cause it was too expensive? Because having both functions would make it too heavy? Either way, he double checked to make sure his clothes had Uriel written on it instead of Gabriel. And once again they did, which would make life hell of a lot easier. 

After he had finished his morning routine and was done checking himself out in the mirror, he meandered downstairs. He went straight to the kitchen, and gazed around the room, as well as into the rooms the kitchen were connected too. His dad wasn't there. [i] Couldn't stay home a little longer to send me off? Shit [/i]. It was a bit sad for him to think about, but sometimes that is just how it is. He turned his attention to the table. On it was a store-bought card. [i] At least he was able to leave me a card. Lets see what kind of sentimental shit he wrote. [/i] However, once the card was open, it was not what he had expected in the slightest. It had the design of some pink and orange cartoon styled girl with two wands and the caption [i] Wowza uza be five-za! Happy birthday my little princess! [/i]. Gabriel cringed at the card and could barely find it within himself to open it, but curiosity to find out what was on the inside won out. The card, once opened, dropped a dollar bill to the group. Inside the note itself was a little message written from Gabriel's dad. 

[quote] Hey Gabby! Or is it Urrie when its school related? I'm sorry I couldn't send you off on your big day, congrats again on becoming a 3rd year! I am absolutely sure you can make it all the way up to fifth. Also, I want to tell you that I am super proud to be your dad, and that once you make it to fourth year I'll have a gift ready for you, one that I am sure you will drool over!And,as a token of my sorrow for not being here today, I promise to increase your allowance for these next few months! But until then, I hope this can keep you over. 
 - xoxo Daddy. PS // If you do any drugs, either smoke them or drink them. Anything that leaves track marks or is snorted will fuck you up. [/quote]

 Gabriel blushed throughout the whole letter. Rarely would Gabriel break composure, but whenever his dad called him by his nickname, it would always throw him off. Once the letter was done being read, he put it back on the table and grabbed the dollar and stuffed it into his pocket, it was time to eat. He poured himself a bowl of 'Sweetie-tetties crunch', an off brand cereal that was almost pure sugar and trash. With every bite he could almost feel some of his veins clog up and die. It was at times like these that Gabriel couldn't help but think of the one truth he had discovered, the truth that others could never handle to hear. The truth that Earth food, at its best, will never lose to Lucis'. Earth's cuisine was truly superior in almost every way, and that Lucis really needed to work on their preparation and selections if it wanted to stand a chance against earth. As of this moment they were like a small anemic child fighting against a robot who's weapon system was composed entirely of ballistic knives.  

Once he had finished his bowl of diabetes, he put the empty dish in the sink and rinsed it out. Usually he would just drop it in, but as a courtesy to his dad he would do it this once. After that was cleared up, and all the cereal and milk had been put back into their rightful places, he rushed upstairs. On his shelf, next to his most recent progress reports he had yet to pin up on his wall, was the bag of mayhem. He picked up the bag and attached it to the side of his pants, through a series of knots his father had taught him, it was possible to make the bag both easily accessible as well as difficult to remove. Once he made sure to bring his greatest asset, it was time to leave! 

After back-tracking through the house one more time, to make sure he was carrying everything necessary, he went through the front door onto the porch of his house. As he turned himself to close and lock the door, he noticed that his dad had stuffed another card between two cracks in the wood. This card only read [i]Don't forget your Bag![/i] The card also had another one dollar bill attached to it, which he swiftly stuffed into his pocket alongside the previous one. It was certainly nice of the old man to remind him of the bag, had he forgotten it things might have ended up quite terribly. 

Once he cleared away from the porch and looked into the sky,  a griffin came down onto the ground and waited for Gabriel to mount it. The last two griffins he had rode were much more unruly, so it was nice to have one that felt well-mannered for once! Once he was on top of the griffin, an old conversation he had with his dad resurfaced in his mind. [i] Hey Gabby, think of this! What if you stood on the griffin while riding it![/i] Now, Gabriel knew a good idea from a bad one, but at the same time the thought of standing upon its back as it brought him into the sky was very, very nice.  Such as it with all great heroes, Gabriel could not resist the temptation to ascend like a beast. He stood atop the griffin as it began to flap its wings, and as it rose he couldn't help but remember that stunts like these where why , statistically, men didn't live as long as women.