A Broken Brush, a Torn Canvas

William Allen was enjoying his previous school life in Germany before his father told him that he had another person to visit for his job. Their job, actually. He haven't even mastered on how to speak a full sentence in German before they had to move again. He even made a few friends who are the most fluent in English than other students. Mary also liked how their town looked. Knowing that one day they had to move out to another side of the world again, they made the most of their time.

Will's parents did their work quickly and finished it with satisfying results, like they always did. He wasn't sure if his parents were dedicated people or they stuck to their job since they had no choice. It seemed like that the first one was the most fitting. They were extreme workaholics, anyway.

He was laying on his little narrow bed when mom knocked on his door. It was actually unnecessary, because it's already obvious to Will that he had to allow her to come in. And knocking means serious matters. From dozens of his past experiences, whenever someone knocks on his door, it would either be really good or really bad. He already had this kind of sick feeling swelling inside his chest, but he braced himself, since he could already predict of what would happen.

"We're moving tomorrow morning," his mom said, standing on his doorway with a smile. "Make sure you've packed all of your things tonight."
Will put his phone down. "Where will we go?"
"It's a place a few miles from our old home," she explained. "We'll have a chance to visit it, hopefully."
Will knew they're not going to have a chance to, anyway. So he nodded. 
"Good. Anyway, dinner is ready, so do you want to come?"
"No, I guess I'm not hungry."
Mrs. Allen was used to his reaction. "Alright then. See you."

He sighed as the door to his room closed, and tossed his phone that he was holding on across the bed. His arms unconsciously rested on his forehead in frustration. Just what am I going to do about this...

His thought was interrupted when he could sense his phone's screen lighting up. It no more needed eyesight to know a text message was coming - every time something came up, he could already feel the familiar tingle on his back, and a flash of light on the corner of his eyes. So much for being a frequent gadget user. Sometimes the feeling betrayed him and left him embarrassed because he imagined his phone going off when it actually didn't, but he actually got his feelings right this time. He rolled lazily to reach for his phone and unlocked it.

Three messages from one of his friends

He scrolled quickly and read the messages in a flash.

"hey will ur really coming with us on saturday right?"

"bert and sebastian r consign too"

"shit. autocorrect, soz. meant coming."

Will almost laughed at his friend when he remembered that he couldn't hang out with them at Saturday as planned earlier. He sighed, and tapped the letters of his message in lightning speed. "sorry adrian, i can't."
a message came out a few seconds later. "y not?"
"im moving out of germany tmrw morning. u know, my dad's work and stuff." It was only part of the truth. There was a long moment of silence from his friend, and Will decided to send more. "im so sorry."

He knew this would happen. He scolded himself for even coming up with the idea of hanging out. He had ignored the fact that he'd be dragged away again, at any time. Will was trying to fight the unexpected.

And then Adrian called him. He pressed the green button and answered it. "Hello?"
"You're not joking right?"
"It's not even funny."
"We haven't even finished semester one!"
"I know, but this is how I live."
Adrian sighed. "Who will kick my chair or disturb me in class then?"
"Yeah, I won't have someone to steal and hide my stuff anymore."
There was a silence that let both of them calm down. "So... this is your goodbye?"
"There's nothing I can do, I'm so sorry."
"Don't. I understand. We can still talk to each other right?"
"O-of course we will!" 
"Well then... see you someday, friend."
Will had mixed emotions. "Yeah. I'll make sure I will."

And the call ended just like that. 

In a good perspective, his friends are just trying to lift up the mood and avoid any kind of gloominess from goodbyes. Will appreciated that, since he's the type of person who moves on from anything in the quickest time. He'd experienced a lot, even though he's still seventeen. It made him learn to not dwell on something too long, and soon enough, it becomes a habit. Some say that he seemed heartless because of that, others say that he's strong. He didn't really care, much less notice about himself. On another perspective, it might just be that his friends didn't really care. Will had - again - become the last person in the party, which means the one most left out. He didn't feel that way though - he had only suspected it. 

He didn't think of it anymore half an hour later, as he folded his last shirt with skillful hands who'd done it a billion times before. He slipped it neatly in his suitcase and chucked his last belongings into his small backpack; his phone, earphones, his favourite comic, and packs of bubblegum. He took his jacket that was lying messily on the bed and hung it on his door, and the room was empty and neat again, like when he first arrived in this flat. 

Will dumped himself on his plain white bed and immediately lay on his side. There is no absolute way that he'd escape this kind of life. As he emptily stared at the white wall across the bed, sleep took over him, and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

--x--

He woke up to the cold morning air ten minutes before his alarm was supposed to go off.

Screw it, he thought. It's my last time here, so I might as well spend a little more... 

And with that his head fell back into his pillow. Somehow he woke up again a little while after, yet he didn't feel like seeing his phone to check the time again. He got out of bed so quickly he didn't notice his own actions, and he walked out of his room. Of course this seemed normal. He'd done this routine all his life, every single day - even on weekends. His personality might be a little harsh or cold, but he hates to be disorganised and getting out of the track. 

He walked out of his room, and strangely saw nobody in the living room. Dad wasn't sitting on the sofa as usual. It might be because they were going to leave soon, but Will knew that, like himself, Dad has his own routines and habits that he strictly follows. If there was no sofa, he'd at least sit on any chair. It was the only detail Will bothered to remember about other people's mornings - he was still in zombie-state, and his soul only comes back to him when the morning air hits his face while he walks to school, or being around people in public transportation. Still, he was conscious enough to realise that this morning was odd. There were no sounds and signs from the rest of his family, too.

He walked into the bathroom, but he felt like he was dragged to it. He approached the sink, and wondered why he did. He reached out to the glass that held his toothbrush and its paste. Will became extremely confused. Why am I brushing my teeth? I usually shower first-

And then he heard a loud, piercing sound.

His eyes opened instantly. He was in his bedroom, lying face down on his bed, his arms stretched on either side of his pillows. He slept like a starfish, and it nearly suffocated him. His view was quite blocked by his long, golden fringe, but he caught a part of his phone on the bedside table lighting up on and off. He lazily reached to it and pressed a button to shut it up. Damn, that was a false awakening...

Will slowly sat on his bed, gathering his mind together. He was well aware of what false awakenings are - the name says it all. It annoyed him. Things looked like they were already accomplished when they're actually just 'false'.

He set his feet on the wooden floor once again, only that he was taking his time. He tidied up his bed as best as he could since they're just going to leave it out for the next tenant. He made his way outside his room while carrying his change of clothes for the day. He saw his family in the living room - they were all ready. Mom was reassuring Mary that they'll visit this place someday again - Will knew it was false hope, but he really wanted to join his little sister and beg for it. Dad was sitting on the sofa as usual. Nothing feels more normal than moving out to a whole new place.

He gently shouldered the bathroom's half-open door, and pushed it back shut with his back. The bathroom smells nice from the various soaps used previously, and the air had a general damp feeling. He passed the mirror, and stopped abruptly to look at himself. He tidied up his messy, golden hair and pushed his fringe to the side to get a better view. His own deep emerald eyes met the one in his reflections, and he noticed that his black circles are gone. Giving a mental pat on the back to himself, he looked away and took a shower.

Moments later, he was sitting with the whole family with his suitcase sitting in front of him.

--x--

Will crossed his legs on the comfortable sofa, breathing through his navy blue scarf. Wearing long sleeved shirts and jeans didn't really help fighting the cold air, both from the inside and the outside. He lifted his cup of coffee to his lips out of boredom. Like multiple times before, his family came way too early, and since they haven't ate previously, they ended up waiting in a cafe. Mom said she was bored of Starducks, but Will liked it there. In spite of that, his mother enjoyed the sandwich.

The Allen family really held their little traditions strong.

After several cups of coffee for Will (he's an addict) and Mary or Mom taking turns on going to the toilet hundreds of times, they finally boarded the plane. He took the one next to the window with Mary sitting right beside him, and their parents were in the next column of seats. Mary originally wanted to be next to the window this time, but she was also scared. Will sighed at this.

The standard rituals went on. The stewardess goes on about the life vest or whatever they call it, the gas masks, the seat belts, and so on. Will memorised it so much he could follow every word. It seems like Mary did, too. She started to pretend to blow air into her imaginary vest as he repeated the stewardess' words. Again, it's a little tradition they do. He knew he could get bored of it anytime soon, but Mary loved it so much, he couldn't deny.

The plane sped up and the view goes into a blur. His feet pressed onto the carpeted floor as he tried to hold himself to balance, although it wasn't really necessary. The seat shook and he felt the wheels of the plane across the asphalt. Will has already plugged his red headphones into his iPod that has been set in airplane mode. He had heard of people not turning off their phones or such, and he wonders if he's the only paranoid person here... but it's better to be safe than sorry.

They finally lifted off into the air, and he only dared to look away from the window when they've finally stopped tilting - which made him worry a little, every time.

He's the type to listen to heavy metal in the morning. Not that it wakes him up, it calms him down instead. And at times, it calms him down too much, it makes him fall asleep. He scrolls down his iPod with his thumb as he searched for a good band that fits his mood. What did he feel, anyway? Nothing in particular. So he tried testing each song to see if he likes it. It turned out that he didn't even feel like listening to metal at all. Fuck it, I'm going for dubstep.

He leaned back as his thoughts wander. He didn't have a sense of time, so it felt like hours before he heard deep static voice, muffled by the music from his headphones. He put it down, and it was an announcement from the pilot. "...-ir turbulence, and we advice passengers to stay calm and keep their seatbelts fastened."

Hang on, stay calm? For what? Just as he wore his headphones back, he felt the plane fall up and down. It was only slightly, but being a passenger of the plane, he felt his stomach follow the gravity. He remembered what the announcement meant, and although it got cut off, he made sense out of it. They were going under an air turbulence. And going through these aerial bastards mean it's not going to be a smooth flight.

He's went through this before, but that was too many ages ago. Instead of getting over the panic, it felt like he was reliving it. Worse, he got scared easily when he was a child. Fear struck his whole body as his guts started to feel sick from being tossed around (gently). His thoughts went out of control, and music didn't help, so he took off his headphones in panic and annoyance. I'm trapped in this hell tube until it's over there's no way out of this this plane is going to crash I can't take it anymore I'm gonna die we're all gonna die I haven't got a girlfriend yet-

Will didn't notice he was bending down and burying his face into Mary's lap until the end of the flight.

--x--

"What just happened to you, William?" His mom scolded him as they climbed down the stairs when boarding off the plane.
"I swear I don't know, Mom! I didn't eat anything funny before."
"Look, even Mary's more braver than you!"
"Well yeah, bravo to Mary. But what's wrong with me being a little scared?" Will protested.
"But how will you ride planes in the future?"

Will only scratched his head in both desperation and confusion. This is really troublesome. Not only he had developed a fear of things going rough in flight, but he had also developed a phobia of planes. The thought of him going up in the air again urged him to run into a toilet and throw up, along with sickening nausea. It's horrible.

"Doesn't matter," his dad rubbed him on the back. "While we're here, you can calm down and build up your strength again. You can never avoid plane rides.
Thanks for the last sentence, Dad, it terrified me even more. "Yeah, okay, sure."