❤ Chapter Two┆ His Big Day

                Wake up, Nalia. It's morning.

                Nalia grumbled softly in her sleep and pulled a pillow her over her head. It wouldn’t block out the messages that had yet to come, but it was her initial reaction to the voice.

                Come on, you said you would get up today, for Raziel. It’s his big day, remember? You can’t sleep in.

                Where did the voice come from? It was a question she asked ever since it surfaced, about nine years ago. The ideas in her head ranged from a very vocal conscience to her being plain batty. More often than not, it was the latter. While it did annoy her more often than not, the voice was helpful. It had always been there for her whenever she needed a reminder or just some gentle words to tide her over. Needless to say, she had needed those often.

                Nalia! Get up! You’re going to be late!

                On days like today, though, Nalia wished she knew a surefire way to shut it up. Many times she had considered visiting a shrink, but Nalia didn’t want something to happen to Raziel if she had to be taken off to the “funny farm”. Perhaps she could leave him in Rose and Violet’s care just in case?

                Nalia!

               "Alright, alright! I'm awake! I'm up!" she yelled at the thin air as she pulled the pillow of her face. With a most sour expression, Nalia sat motionless in her bed for at least five minutes. Slowly, she pulled herself into a sitting position and stretched. What was so special about today anyway? She couldn't remember having anything planned. For several minutes, she thought long and hair about it. Didn't the voice say something about it being Raziel's big day? What did it mean by "big day"?

                Nalia glanced over at the cat calendar and scanned it until she found today's date. Something vulgar quietly escaped her lips. Today was the last day to register for school, She quickly made her way over to her dresser. What would someone wear to an elementary school registration? Something format? Maybe something casual? "Maybe if I meet somewhere in the middle . . . . "

                In the end, she guessed that it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she would be talking to more than two or three people . . . right? A new wave of panic washed over her. She didn’t have the slightest idea what she was going to be doing once she got to there. Exactly how many people would she be talking to? What would they want her to say or do? What information would be required up-front? Nalia was regretting not going to the school’s orientation a few nights ago.

                Focus, Nalia, you’re going to be okay.

                Right. Focus. Nalia took a deep breath and then dressed herself for the day.  She was nervous, but it wasn’t about her, it was about Raziel. He deserved an education regardless of his mother’s social phobia even if that meant she had to face her fears.

                After getting ready, Nalia made her way down to Raziel’s room. It was chilly in the basement, but she supposed that was how Raziel liked it. At least, that’s what she assumed. He had never complained about it before. Quietly, Nalia made her way over to Raziel’s bed. She sat down beside him and began to softly nudge his shoulder. “Raziel, it’s time to wake up. Today’s your big day,” she said softly.

                Slowly, Raziel came to. He had to blink and rubs his eyes a few times, but he eventually came to. “Big day? I don’t remember having anything planned,” he said quietly, his voice somewhat raspy.

                Nalia smiled, “Registration is today, sleepy head. I slept in a little, so we need to hurry if we’re going to make it on time.”

                With that, Nalia stood up and excused herself from the room so Raziel could get ready. While she was waiting outside, waves of panic slowly began crashing into her again. She had to remain calm though. If Raziel assumed something was wrong with her, he would insist on not going. They couldn’t put it off any longer though, today was the last day for registration. If they missed today, Nalia didn’t know what she would do, or what she would have to do.

                A few minutes later, Raziel emerged. After that, they began their trek to the school. It wasn’t that far away at all, so they simply walked. Nalia wished they had called a cab or asked their cousin Rose for a ride. It was only the beginning of spring, but vapor was already hanging heavy in the air and the sun was beating down on them intensely. It was going to be a hot summer.

                Nalia looked down at Raziel. He was going to have to go to school in this heat as well. Fortunately, Nalia had never had the displeasure of going to school during the summer, nor had Raziel up until now. On Ennis, children were homeschooled primarily. In fact, there hadn’t been an official school since the island was first inhabited. The locals had seen no need for extensive education when the island was upheld by magic. No one was sure why or how this new school was built, but Nalia assumed it was because of the influx of awakened, non-magical humans coming onto the island.

The school was taking a year-round approach, and that included going during the summer. Nalia’s schools had always had a two month summer vacation, so she wasn’t exactly sure about how she felt on the matter. She supposed that it was for the best though, and there was nothing she could do about it. Her only concern was the climate. Hopefully the school would provide transportation. If not, she would ask Rose to take him when she deemed it necessary.

* * *

                Upon entering the tiny school building, they found themselves in what looked to be the lobby. The walls were painted in a beautiful shade of blue, and all around were very kid-friendly decorations. Nalia liked it. She stood at the doorway for a moment and looked around. There were two doors. One, according to the sign, led to the secretary’s office, and the other led to the classrooms. Since they needed to speak to the principal, Nalia assumed that they went to the secretary first.

                The secretary’s room was nothing like the lobby. The walls were a dark, plum-like color. Everything else was either black or the same color of plum. The nearly nonexistent decorations were no different. After taking the room in, Nalia’s eyes fell on the secretary. A sense of fear welled up inside her. Raziel had apparently noticed his mother’s apprehension; he gave her a small nudge in the woman’s direction.  When Nalia began inching toward her, he then left his mother’s side and sat down in the waiting area.

                Nalia cautiously approached the woman. “Yes?” she asked.

                It was funny how one simple word could send Nalia’s mind into a downward spiral. She began fumbling with her hands and the words came out slowly and in pieces. “I-I’m here to register my daug—son. I’m here to register my son . . . for school,” she said quietly. Nalia wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and hide her face in her hands. How embarrassing.

                The secretary didn’t seem to pick up on any words other than “registration”.  “Fill this out, please.” The secretary handed Nalia a small slip of paper. It was very basic. On the page, there were six slots; two labeled “mother” and “father”, and four for children. Nalia filled in the most necessary information and handed the slip back to the secretary. “Sit down and wait until you’re called,” she said fluidly without looking away from her computer screen. Nalia nodded and made her way over to where Raziel was seated.

The two sat quietly. Time ticked by slowly, and Nalia began to relax a little. It wasn’t so bad—being out in public and all. The other parents that came in did as she did, without as much anxiety, and then sat down and minded their own business. No one really seemed to care that she was there. She wondered if they even noticed her.

After what seemed like thirty minutes, a young couple and their left the main office.  It would be their turn next. A few moments later, the secretary called for them. “Thorne family!” she said loudly despite the room being rather tiny. Nalia felt her blood rushing. It felt like sweat was cascading out of every pore.

Raziel turned to his mother and smiled gently. He took her hand and gave gentle squeeze. “Do you want me to do the talking?” he asked sincerely.

As much as she wanted to say yes, Nalia was the mother. She couldn’t rely on her nine-year-old son to do her job for her. How would she be able to proudly call herself a mother, or an adult at that, if her son was handling social situation for her. “I think I can handle myself,” she said reassuringly as she ruffled his hair, but she knew her shaking voice gave her away.

The two stood up and then quietly made their way into the principal’s office.

Upon stepping inside, the two weren’t sure what caught their attention first. Was it the yellow walls, the massive amount of plant life . . .

                Or the man who seemed far too young to be a principal seated comfortably behind his desk?

                Raziel couldn’t help but touch one of the flowers to see if they were real. There were so many of them! The room around him looked as if it had come straight out of one of his story books. From the windowed wall that faced the ocean that was lined with flowers and trees, to all of the flowers that made it seem like an indoor garden . . . it was calming; it made him think of happy things and magical places.

                Nalia’s attention was taken by the latter. As soon as her eyes landed on the man, she picked up on the calming magic emanating from him. The effect it had on her was quite the opposite from what it had on Raziel. She could feel her blood run cold. It felt as strong as the magic Asriel emanated. While this magic felt warm and inviting, Nalia’s guard was up. Hadn’t she felt the same way whenever Asriel approached her—a sense of warmth and longing?

Still . . . she couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit eased. It was a nice feeling, even if it was miniscule. The man smiled warmly at the two of them. “Please, come in. Have a seat,” he said as he motioned at the two seats in front of him. His voice reminded Nalia of sunshine. She couldn’t really decide why, it just did. Raziel took no time in taking a seat, but Nalia found herself approaching slowly.

After they were both seated, he introduced himself. “You two must be Nalia and Raziel Thorne. Pleased to meet you. I am Castiel Angelus, principal of the school,” he turned to Nalia, “I’m glad you’ve decided to enroll your child here. It’s nice to see that we’re appealing to at least some magicals,” he said nervously.

Nalia remained silent as she twiddled her thumbs. She knew she was being rude by not responding, but she didn’t know what to say or do. It didn’t seem right to say “you’re welcome” or anything of that sort. Was Castiel trying to strike up a conversation with her? Get her opinion on something? Oh how she wished she could have dialed Rose at that moment. Raziel glanced over at her and noticed her fidgeting. He leaned forward and smiled, “So tell me, will I still get nap time?”

For a moment, Castiel seemed puzzled at the sudden change of topics, but then he chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s not part of program, but I can assure you that you will get decent pizza for lunch.”

“You’re not talking about the square slices of clay, are you?” Nalia shot a glance at Raziel and almost popped his thigh for being rude, but it seemed that Castiel found it equally humorous.

“As a man who was a child once upon a time, I find that question almost insulting. I would never abuse children in such a way,” he said happily as he leaned back in his chair. A smile tugged at the corner of Nalia’s lips. He didn’t seem even slightly intimidating; Castiel had a good heart—she could feel it. A part of her couldn’t help but still be suspicious, though. Would she always feel this way about men? A sliver of guilt tugged at her heartstrings.

                After Raziel and Castiel finished joking, the room’s atmosphere felt much more relaxed. Almost as if he could see her letting her guard down (and perhaps he could; Nalia knew she had probably looked like a nervous wreck when she first came it), Castiel pulled a clipboard with the registration form attached out from his desk and handed it to her. “That is the registration form. If you have any questions, don’t hold back.” She looked over it and nodded.  It was all basic information—she didn’t think she would have to ask any questions.

While Nalia filled out the form, Raziel and Castiel continued chatting. There was a lot of laughing, and it seemed that the two had hit it off quite well. Nalia didn’t know how much Castiel would be interacting with the children as principal, but she hoped it would be more than just small talk every now and again. He didn’t seem like the type that would assert unnecessary authority as most principals did. In fact, it seemed like he was doing it to make friends.  Nalia knew that wasn’t the case, but the idea humored her and creeped her out at the same time.

Whenever Nalia finished the paperwork, Raziel had just finished telling one of his corny fish jokes that he had picked up from his cousin. She assumed it was the tuna fish one; it was the only one he could recite word for word.Whatever he had said, it seemed Castiel had found it hilarious by how red his face was. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth again—it seemed that whenever Castiel smiled, it made her want to smile to. Hadn’t she heard once that smiles were contagious?

Nalia waited until Castiel caught his breath before she handed him the clipboard back. “Thank you, Miss Thorne. I suppose you two can leave now even though I would love to spend more time joking with your son. He has some very witty puns up his sleeves,” he said slowly and in paces.

“Perhaps you two will have more time to kid around when school starts,” she said quietly but fluidly.

“Hopefully,” Castiel said with a content sigh.

“Bye Mister Angelus!” Raziel called as he walked out the door. When had he even gotten up? Nalia picked up her belongings and began to follow suit, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she was grabbed softly by her arm. She inhaled so sharply that it sounded like all the air had just been sucked out of the room.

                Castiel immediately released her. “Oh, excuse me. That was . . . very unprofessional of me,” he said quietly, the guilt in his voice apparent. He quietly moved a few paces back, unnoticed, and gave her the space she needed.

                Nalia’s heart was beating quickly. She gave herself a moment to gather some of her bearings before turning around. “I-It’s alright . . . Do . . . Do you need something?”

                “Will you need someone to get Raziel to school?” Castiel said calmly and slowly.

                Nalia thought for a moment and then slowly shook her head. “No . . . I don’t think so. We live nearby.” She thought long and hard for a moment, remembering her earlier thoughts on the matter, before giving him a final answer, “Well . . . Actually . . . It’s been pretty hot lately, and then when winter rolls around I imagine it will get rather cold . . . and then rain . . .” she felt heat rising to her cheeks. She glanced up at Castiel.

                He was smiling softly. She assumed that he would be irritated by now, but it seemed that he didn’t mind at all. “How about we just make it a daily thing?”

                Not wanting to stay alone with him a moment longer, Nalia agreed. They discussed the matter further and came to a conclusion. “Alright. Thank you for your time. Goodbye, Miss Thorne,” Castiel said softly.

                “Goodbye, Mister Angelus.” And with that, she left. Raziel was waiting patiently for her in the secretary’s office. “Ready to go home?” Nalia asked with a weary smile. Raziel stood up slowly and nodded.