Location:
Wellington Rest-Stop
A battered Sheriff's truck pulled up the edge of Wellington's rest-stop and idled as the the two people inside turned to each other to speak.
"Don't-""I'll-"The two voices overlap and both men stutter a stop, Mordechai motioning to his father to go first. The gruff looking man smiled and leaned in for a readily returned hug, whispering,
"I'll call you every night."Mordechai's tense frame finally relaxed in his father's grip as he gave out a shaky,
"Thanks, Pops." and gripped back just as tight. The two then pulled back from each other and Mordechai removed his seatbelt, rubbing at his eye lazily.
"Don't forget to pull over and take a nap at some point, you've already been awake sixteen hours," he added, as he slid out of the truck and turned back to face his dad.
"no matter how much coffee you drink on the way, you still need at least 20 minutes of shuteye to keep your focus.""I promise, Bubbie, now go solve that mystery every old private school seems to have." It was the same words he and his father had exchanged every year since Mordechai joined Wellington Academy, but it made Mordechai laugh all the same.
"I love you, kiddo.""I love you too, Tate." And with that he closed the door, waving his father off and watching him start the twelve and a half hour drive back home. When his father’s truck disappeared around the corner, Chai rolled his shoulders and turned around, coming up short when he saw someone was already there.
(Translations: Bubbie= Yiddish term of endearment, the U has the OO pronunciation such as in Hoof or woof.
Tate= Yiddish for Dad, Pops, Papa)
Location:
Wellington Rest-Stop
"Nervous for your first day at school?" Flashing a smile, Zeke did his best to appear at least somewhat confident as he faced his mother.
"I'm seventeen, not seven Ma, I'll be fine" She gave a slightly watery laugh as she pulled him in for a quick, tight hug, before pulling away.
"Yes, you will." There was nothing but confidence in her eyes as she said that and Zeke felt some of his tension drain away.
"Bye sweetheart, I love you." "Love you too, Mamma." A hand on his shoulder had him turning around just as his father pulled him into a tight hug.
"Bel gereeld.""Elke dag. Lief vir jou, Pa."His father studied him for a moment, misty eyed, before nodding
"En ek jou. Wys daai skool wies baas." And just like that his parents' Audi drove off, leaving Zeke feeling more alone than he could ever remember being before.
(Translations: Bel gereeld.=Call often
Elke dag. Lief vir jou, Pa.= Every day. Love you, Dad.
En ek jou. Wys daai skool wies baas.= And I you. Show that school who's boss.)
At the sound of a vehicle, brown eyes immediately glanced up from where he was reading on his phone. He wondered briefly if it was the school finally arriving, only to have that theory soundly crushed once he laid eyes on the sheriff's truck that just pulled up. Not wanting to intrude on what was undoubtedly a private moment, Zeke immediately forced all of his attention back to the story he was reading, quietly mouthing the written words. He was just starting to get back in the zone when the rumble of an engine once again made him look up.
The truck was gone. In its place was a young man with pale skin, an athletic, lithe build and messy, pitch black hair styled in an undercut.He seemed to be around Zeke’s age and just like that, all the anxiety that he had successfully been repressing until now reared its ugly head. What was he supposed to do? Should he announce himself? Should he go back to reading? What was the social protocol here? Looking down at his phone, he was sorely tempted to pretend that he didn’t notice anything, then he looked up - brown eyes meeting blue, the boy having turned around during his internal debate.
Nothing for it now...flashing the other boy what he hopes comes off as a smile, Zeke just hoped that he won’t commit some social taboo or grievously insult anyone before even setting foot on school grounds.
Mordechai smiled softly at the other boy and made his way to the bench. The boy didn’t look familiar to him and given the size of the student body that would be almost impossible, but he also didn’t look young enough to be an incoming freshman. He must have been coming in as a junior or senior, and looked about as nervous as could be.
"Hey there, I’m Mordechai, one of the Seniors," he greeted, holding out his hand for a shake.
“Are you new to Wellington?”"Is it that obvious?" Taking Mordechai’s hand, Zeke shook it, forcing his body to remain loose and casual instead of the tight ball of tension it wants to become.
"Nice to meet you, Mordechai. I’m Ezekiel, I just transferred here." As an afterthought, he also added
"Junior." before taking back his hand.
”I’ve seen that look on newcomers before,” Mordechai laughed, pulling his hand back into his space and stuffing it in his pocket, the other still holding his duffle bag. Just as he was about to set it down, the coach arrived, so instead he nodded his head towards it while looking to the other.
”C’mon Ezekiel, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other on the ride.” Then he got in first, nodding and smiling to the driver like he always does.
Giving Mordechai a nod, he quickly stood up to follow his lead. Giving the driver a smile, he paused before entering, taking a moment to inspect the coach. It was long, black, fancier than he thought possible for a school vehicle and made him wonder once again how exactly he managed to get accepted into a place like Wellington. He’ll admit that he’s a pretty good writer and all, but - forcibly pulling himself from those thoughts, Zeke reinforced his smile and followed Mordechai into the coach.
Aaaand it was even fancier on the inside. Ezekiel didn’t even bother to cover up his slightly disbelieving expression as he took his seat.
"Is this really school property?" Mordechai laughed again.
”Bet your ass. Everything about this school is gonna give you that doe-eyed look for a while, trust me.” He took the moment before the other had entered to really get a look at him. He had dark hair and deep brown eyes behind his glasses. He had a grip on a book and was definitely on the more nervous side, though worked well to hide it. Ezekiel was also a bit taller than himself, which Mordechai acknowledged easily as he was somewhere in the middle of the upperclassmen heightwise and had never had issue with others being taller than him. Hell, Oliver had a whole head on him at six foot four.
As the coach pulled off on its journey, he picked the conversation back up.
”So what cottage did you get put in? Maybe I can give you a heads-up on your housemates.”A little of the tension left Zeke upon hearing that. One of the main causes for his nervousness is not knowing what to expect, so any information Mordechai can give him - even if it’s just something inconsequential - means a lot. Meeting the other’s striking blue eyes, he gave his most grateful smile.
"That would actually be really amazing if you could." Quickly opening his book, he pulled out a folded piece of paper from where it had been wedged between the pages, before shutting it again.
"According to the notice they sent, I’m going to be in Coleus and my roommate will be someone called Jordan Dom." A swift glance at the paper reassured him that he got the details right - as if he hadn’t basically memorised it already.
"I hope I didn’t butcher the pronunciation?" One of the concerns he’s had since receiving the notice.
”Nope, you got it,” Chai grinned.
“You’ll like JD, he’s a good guy; we work out together every now and then. He’s got his ticks just like everyone does but it’s pretty easy to work things through with him in my experience. He can definitely be a neat freak when he wants to be,” he laughed, but it turned into a yawn halfway through.
“Chali is in your cabin if I recall correctly; she’s sweet if not a little chaotic, and if you got any problems with bullies you could definitely come to her or me. High chance the youngest one, Bee, will want you to record a skate move every now and then. She’s a good kid with good energy around her.”Housemates spoken of, Mordechai tilted his head and thought of what he knew of Venetia, speaking up just as they reached the tunnel.
”Hmm, your cottage leader is not someone you want to test when it comes to breaking curfew, and she has those ‘eyes in the back of my head’ vibes.”Ezekiel listened intently while Mordechai talked, nodding here and there, taking careful note of every person mentioned and relaxing a bit more with every piece of information given to him. Knowing a little of what to expect, helps him to actually believe that he’ll be able to survive in this new environment.
“Thank you.” Hopefully, those words will be enough to properly convey how much he appreciates it.
Then they passed through the tunnel and he went even more ‘doe-eyed’ than he did with the coach.
“Damn...” The mural lining the tunnel wall was, put simply, astounding. The colour and intricate detail just begged for attention and Zeke promised himself that once he got the chance he’ll come back here to look at it properly, maybe take some pictures to show his parents.
Almost as soon as they entered it, the tunnel ended, opening up to a dirt path, showcasing a clear cut through the forest. Turning back towards Chai, Zeke grinned.
“You weren’t kidding earlier, this place is unreal.””Yep, real fairytale imagery around here,” he knocked lightly on the window with his knuckle. The coach came to a stop and Mordechai rose up from his slumped position, taking his duffle that the driver already had out for him and giving him a soft thanks.
”Well, here we are!” He pointed toward the gate and statues, making his way in.
”You’re about an hour early for the new students, but it’s happened before. I’ve got to get to my cottage and unpack the boxes I left of my stuff,” he dug into his pockets and pulled out a receipt and permanent marker, scribbling on it before handing it towards Ezekiel. It read:
”Feel free to text me if you get bored or lonely around here, yeah?”Taking the number, it was all Zeke could do not to act like a dumbstruck fool - he was not expecting this - but that didn’t stop him from smiling brightly at Chai as he gave a nod.
“Will do.”After they separated, Zeke carefully placed the number inside his book before grabbing his luggage and settling down by the Athena statue to wait for his cottage head.
Mordechai took off towards his cottage with a soft smile, still tired but feeling lighter than he had when his dad pulled off.
Having greeted Elaina shortly after arriving to the cottage, Mordechai collected his boxes of possessions they had put in a storage closet when he left for summer; he headed up to Begonia 3 to set up, knowing he would never bring everything out of the boxes if he didn’t do it now.
He had been at it for the past hour give or take, and he was starting to feel the length of the drive. He was contemplating a nap as a reward for getting up his investigation board- which he now had a little curtain to pull over it as he was going to have a freshman roomie,
gotta maintain that youthful innocence and all- when he heard one of the softest knocks since Elaina. Oh boy.
He had crossed the room and grabbed the door handle when he heard Matt’s voice through the wood, causing him to huff out an exasperated laugh at the junior’s antics. He opened the door as Matt asked the kid his name and, oh jesus, this kid was
small, he wasn’t expecting that. He quickly lowered the volume he was about to reply with that and tried to soften his tone.
“Nem Zich a vaneh, Doyle,” he spoke with a light glare, turning to his roomie.
”I’m Mordechai, but you can call me Chai or Mor if you’d like. Don’t let Matt put the wrong idea into your head; on the contrary, you can definitely believe me when I tell you that he loves staying up for as long as possible and solving mysteries just like I do.” He threw a smirk in Matt’s direction.
Translation-
Nem Zich a vaneh(Yiddish)=
Go jump in the lake
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