Usual Morning
Chapter 1- Usual Morning
I felt my consciousness return to me as I strained to go back to sleep. The sheets of my bed and the butt of my pillow felt like bliss; but the strip of light that penetrated through my blinds glared at me like a bull. I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head, trying to block out the sun. I let out a heavy sigh and felt my muscles relax.
Birds chirped outside the window and the faint sound of rustling leaves filled the air. The warm spring atmosphere surrounded the entire house and I started to dose off.
I sighed again and hugged my duvet thinking, ‘Nothing can ruin this morning.’
That is, until my mother comes storming into the room.
“Dream Cloud!”
I moaned loudly; notifying her I was awake and pulled my pillow over my head to block out the voice.
I felt my mother tickle my feet and I buckled backwards, involuntarily I laughed as she tugged on my ankles.
“Come on sleepy head, you got school! I made breakfast for you but it’s probably stone cold by now!”
I couldn’t contain my laughter and every word I said was cut off with my heavy breathing, “I-I-I’ll get out of bed i-if you could just st-stop tickling me!”
My mom just grinned and let go of my ankles and feet. I took the chance to pull my duvet over me like a cocoon and rolled up into a ball.
I heard my mom let out a small sigh, “Don’t make me call Atom here.”
I responded with a simple groan.
“I’ll give you till the count of three!”
“No!” I mumbled like a five year old.
“One!”
I shook my head under the blankets.
“Two…”
I laid on my back, knowing what was going to come. Atom’s nickname was ‘Atom Bomb’. He was only three, but he was a chubby power of destruction none the less.
“Three!”
Ah Celestia…
“Atom!” My mother yelled.
The ground shook just down the hall and like a rhino; I felt my door rattle against its frame. A happy squee erupted as I pulled my duvet off my face. My eyes opened wide as I saw my mom picking chubby Atom up and flying a few feet above my head.
My mom grinned, “Ready to drop sir!”
“Fire in the hole!” My brother yelled.
His chubby body dropped straight down, closing the gap between us in a snap. His chubby body weight landed on top of me and I let out a loud, “Oomph!”
My mom landed besides me and stared at me with a wicked grin, “Awake now my little dreamer?”
I nodded my head as I picked up my brother who was pinching my face.
“Alrighty you little bugger,” I said to a giggling Atom, “You got me head on!”
I went into a sitting position and stretched my arms with Atom on my lap. I spread my wings and unraveled them, feeling my bones snap and pop into place.
Mom picked up Atom and smiled, “Best alarm clock in all of Equestria don’t you think?”
I shook my head, “At this rate I’ll die early. Maybe if an actual bomb falls on me, I won’t even notice if it’s Atom or not.”
Atom stuck his tongue at me playfully and I returned the same gesture, making Atom laugh. I moved my legs over to the edge of the bed and slowly got up. A sudden surge of pain shot up my spine and my body started to ache. I doubled over and placed one hand on the wall. My breathing was heavy and my head throbbed from the sudden burst of pain.
My mom gave me a worried look and gave a frown of concern, “You don’t need to go to school today if it hurts you that mu-“
I raised a hand and my mother stopped.
“It’s okay mom,” I said as I steadied myself.
“I’m used to this,” I responded.
My mother looked at my bruises and Atom got out of her arms; giving me a hug.
“I don’t want brother to get hurt again!”
Despite my aching back I bent over and lifted up my little brother.
“It’s alright Atom, I’ll get through this.” I said, putting him down and patting his head.
“And besides, I think I kind of deserve it. I am different after all…” I said giving my mom a sad smile.
‘But why!?” Atom replied tugging my legs.
“Because,” I said sighing, knowing full well that Atom knew the answer to that question, “I’m a blank flank.”
---------------------------------------
“Are you sure you’ll be okay sweetie?” My mother said as we glided closer to the school.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! Bad people there, they hurt big brother!” Atom said as he wiggled back and forth in a baby carrier strapped to my mothers’ chest.
I just sighed and pulled my black wind breaker closer to my neck. Down below on the ground it was warm; but higher up in the air it was probably ten degree’s colder. I felt my face hitting against the cool air and I squinted to keep my eyes from burning against the wind.
As we got closer to the school I looked down below, the large crowd slowly walked in the building for their first period classes. What continued to amaze me was the design of the high school grounds itself. It looked like a mansion the size of a football field; and had a large sphere shaped building in the middle which was used for astronomy. The school was called Pre-LAM High School, which stood for Pre-Land Air Magic. This was a school for gifted students who were pegasi, unicorns, and humans. Pre-LAM is a specialized high school that is the best in all of Equestria; it’s a high school that prepares you for the official college titled LAM University.
Although only a few hundred or so get accepted to the university, it is still a great achievement just to be in this school. If you don’t get into LAM University, you’re able to apply to any other college of your choice. The few selection rates are due to Celestia herself who hand picks the students who will attend the amazing university.
Despite our school being dedicated to a famous university, our grounds were smaller than regular high schools due to only a thousand or so attending here.
All of this may sound nice and neat, but the people… Not so much…
“Hey dreamer boy!”
I turned around sharply and felt something or someone hit me in the face. I stumbled and as a result, I lost control of my wings. I just plummeted toward the concrete ground and tumbled a few feet towards the building. Though the drop wasn’t too big, it was enough for me to feel the bruises wake up again. I swear I received a few more.
I got up painfully but was kicked in the back and stumbled back down. I lifted my head to see my mother coming towards me at a rapid pace, her face full of anger and sadness. Atom wailed in his carrier, crying as they came closer.
I raised my hand, a gesture that made my mother halt.
I got up, careful not to let out any moans of pain. I just gave her the thumbs up and started to hobble towards the school entrance. The flood of students started to die down and now only a trickle of people started to flow into the building, most of them probably already in the hallways to class.
I got to the main doors of the school and looked back to see my mother and Atom still staring at me. I turned away, careful not to let a sound escape my mouth.
The first thing I did was go to the nurse. Though I was going to be late for class, I knew the nurse would give me a late pass.
As I entered the nurse’s office, the heavy smell of disinfectant engulfed my nose. I never really got used to the smell and I never knew how the nurse was able to work with this heavy stench.
The moment I closed the door a pudgy lady wearing a lab coat appeared behind a door and approached me. She wore a small cap that had a red plus that bobbled like a fishing hook near her unicorn horn. The nurse wore large thick glasses which bounced against her small nose.
The nurse gave me a sad frown and sighed.
“Again?”
I gave her a nod, “yeah…”
The nurse sighed and picked me up from my feet, making me release a small yelp of pain.
“Exactly what happened Dream Cloud?” The nurse asked as she gently placed me on a chair.
I let out an involuntary chuckle, “Let’s just say I had a bit of a crash landing.”
The nurse disappeared behind a door and I rested my head on the wall next to the chairs. The drop must’ve been a lot harsher than I thought. The splintering pain of my ankle burst through me along with my other bruises. I felt hot tears stream down my cheeks as I held my ankle. The nurse reappeared behind the door and rushed towards me. She took my shoes and socks off; placing the ice pack on the swollen wound.
“Does it hurt that bad?”
I simply nodded as she went to her desk to make the usual phone call to my mother.
For a few seconds there was silence except the faint sound of the phone ringing, Finally; the ringing stopped after a minute.
“Hello is this Dream Cloud’s mother? Yes, I’m here to let you know that your son has suffered a-“
The nurse disappeared behind her office door and I just looked over the few moments of the morning. The way everyone just didn’t give a damn about me when I was hurt, or the fact that someone stepped on me instead of helping me up… What world did I live in?
I sighed once more and continued to let tears fall down my eyes.
I was just glad that the nurse thought I was crying because of my ankle.