Paranoid

The rest of the day passed by in a whirlwind - the lessons blurred past, people conversed excitedly, and the teachers prepared to unwind after a long, straining day. Oli's last class of the day just so happened to be his favourite, and although he tended to come across as a bit standoffish; an antisocial dick who was constantly pissed off with everything and everyone, history usually (without fail, so far this year) put him in a good mood, even if his scowl was permanently painted on.

Like most subjects, he was good at it, but unlike the others, it wasn't something he'd had to really study to pick up on. He heard hundreds of tales back home, many of them myths or urban legends, but there were factual accounts and events thrown in too. Their current topic, however, was positively made for him. Ancient myths, legends and mythical creatures, all of which he had plenty of experience with. His father liked to tell him stories as a child, and still did occasionally, of what he'd heard on his travels. Tales of werewolves, banshees, mermaids, sirens, you name it.

It was a joy to have a class he didn't need to focus particularly hard on. I mean, he didn't have to focus too much on the other subjects, but it still felt more like work than anything else. When it came to history, it felt almost fun. Like he was doing this for leisure, rather than educational requirements set down by law. The teacher liked him for once, too, which helped. Then again, teachers usually tend to like the kids who volunteer answers for every question, right?

The lesson today was rather quiet. It wasn't entirely silent, but all the incessant chatter was absent for once, replaced by an odd, more relaxed ambience. Maybe it was because it was last period on a Friday, but weren't people often more hyped up at the weekend? Oli couldn't remember. Everyone was rather subdued anyway, and for that, he was thankful. Nothing more annoying than a bunch of hyped up brats when you're trying to wind down. It seemed to be over before Oli had even had a chance to register what was going on, and the next time he looked up, all around him children were pushing in their chairs roughly and slinging their bags over their shoulders. He looked around in confusion, coming to the conclusion that it must actually be time to leave. Shaking himself, he stood up, pulling his hood over his head, before giving a quick wave to the teacher and joining the mass of students filing out into the corridor.

He fiddled around in his pocket for the earphones from earlier, quickly stuffing them into his ears in the off chance he would have to speak to someone. People just weren't his thing, okay? The less people he was required to speak to, the better. Not that many people tried to speak to him of course. He wasn't exactly the most popular when it came to school, but no doubt you've figured that out by now. He walked home alone as usual, just like he kept to himself in school and avoided people. Friends... Sure, they're great, but highly impractical.

He returned home to an empty house. Again. He'd gotten into the habit of taking his keys with him years ago, which had come in handy increasingly often as he got older. He knew where everyone was though. Both his parents were out, 'working', and Tom was staying at a friend's. He knew Tom would be home late afternoon tomorrow so he didn't worry about him, but he had no idea when his parents would be back, only that they'd call when they knew themselves. He didn't worry about them either though. They could handle themselves. And hell, he could handle himself too.

He grinned, fishing around in his pocket for his phone, before doing what every responsible teenager would do. He ordered a pizza - vegetarian, although he knew they'd probably put pepperoni on it; they usually did - and slumped down with his laptop. You'd think being home alone would be fun, but when you've been left to your own devices as many times as Oli had, re-runs of shows you've watched a million times start to sound almost fun.