[h3][i]Freddie Blackwell[/i][/h3][hr]Freddie was feeling particularly gloomy that morning. 

He was gloomy as he showered. He was gloomy as he allowed the near-scalding water to caress his skin as his body was enveloped in thick steam. He was similarly gloomy as he dressed for the day, fastening each button on the pale grey shirt with an air of disdain as he fixed a tie darker than his mood beneath the accented white collar. He looked at himself in the mirror, slicking back his hair into an sleek quiff with but an effortless stroke of his hand. He was certain that whatever godly coiffeurs were blessing him that morning were likely gloomy, too.

Light rain drizzled against the window with barely enough gusto to be heard against the glass. It was a fine curtain of moisture, falling lazily and without purpose from clouds that were not even grey enough to cast an ominous hue across the sky; nor that sense of anticipation that lingered just before a storm struck. No, the overcast today was simply... [i]Gloomy.[/i]

As he left his dormitory, he withdrew his cellphone and attempted to call his father. The atonal chirping of the dial tone seemed to judge Freddie as he waited impatiently for an answer; he'd made this mistake before. Sure enough, he was soon greeted with the sound of his father's voice on the other end:

"Hi, you're through to Jonathan. I'm not around right now, give me a call later or try my assistant 0447--"

Freddie cut off the recorded message with a sour swipe of his thumb, scowling to himself as he headed downstairs. For a brief moment, a low rumble echoed through the skies just loud enough to be heard indoors... But Frederick knew better than to let his father's distance effect him so.

He had calmed himself as he entered the cafeteria, grabbing an apple and a black coffee before hearing the familiar voice that had been improving his mornings as of late.

"Hey!" Mari had called, "Over here!"

He smiled at her; a genuine warmth lighting up his eyes for the first time that day. Freddie had never been a morning person, but since moving to the school he'd found himself feeling particularly bitter. It was something about waking up in a narrow and uncomfortable bed, writhing beneath the flimsy duvet in an attempt to crunch out the aches and pains the inadequate mattress had brought about through the night. It was something about opening his eyes and finding himself in a room too small for one person to comfortably occupy, as far as he was concerned, and remembering that he shared it with a boy of a similar age. It was something about the way his alarm clock blared obnoxiously in place of his usual wakeup call: a gentle prodding from his beloved cat and the smell of whatever delicious breakfast the staff had cooked up that day. He sipped his coffee begrudgingly from the polystyrene cup. It was almost as bitter as he was. 

But Mari had been a welcome distraction. That was the thing about her; the orange-skinned girl seemed uninterested in emotive confessions and moving conversation. She was content to gossip and shoot scathing looks at less favourable members of the student body, and that suited him just fine... It gave him a sense of home. 

"Oh, lighten up!" he said, teasing the alien as he pulled up a chair beside her. "Halloween is the best time of year. It's easy for you, you don't even need a costume!" he said playfully, winking as he took a small bite of the bright green apple. "Besides," he said, swallowing the mouthful of fruit. "You have to come. I need my wing-woman on hand, in case [i]You Know Who[/i] is there." It was not a serious comment; the pair were both aware that Freddie would be too overwhelmed in the presence of his schoolboy crush to act upon his words... There was just something about the guy that kept pulling Fred in like a fish on a line; no matter how hard he tried, Freddie didn't seem able to remove the hook from his lip.

But still, it was this kind of jovial exchange that formed the foundations of his friendship with Mari; a camaraderie that sat at the very top of a sparse list of things keeping him sane at the school. "What lesson do you have first period?" he asked, smiling. To any whom might have watched him enter, it would seem obvious that meeting with Mari had brightened his mood considerably. And yet, that grey drizzle persisted outside, a gentle hiss murmuring across the campus lawns as the grass suffered the miserable spray.