“Strongest”

A car rolled up to the dirt driveway. The house was large but rundown, made for a poor family of many. A young man around the age of sixteen stepped out of the car and headed to the door with a suitcase. He walked up the three brick steps and reached for the doorknob. As he opened the dusty wooden door, three boys with dark skin and blonde hair ran out the door nearly knocking him off the steps. They all looked around the age of four as they ran around in their game of tag.

He smiled at the happy group of little boys and rang the scratched up doorbell. An older man came out of a room and walked to the door to meet him.

"You must Kalem, please come in." He said, his voice was scratchy and worn out but as clear as day.

"Thank you for letting me stay, Mr. Oki. And please, call me Kal." His skin was a beautiful tan, his brown hair in every right place, and dark blue eyes that seemed so friendly.

"Such nice manners! That'll be a nice change. Your room is at the end of the hallway, we set up a bed for you with freshly washed sheets."

"Thank you so much. I was surprised how much trust mother had in you, but I'm starting to see it now."

"Yes, your mother was a very nice person. Her passing was very upsetting to a lot of people. Just tell me if you need anything and feel free to make friends with everyone here."

He put his belongings in the room. It had a window with a view of the dirt roads around the area and the walls were painted with a sunset that made the sky a beautiful tone of orange.

"I've never had a room with walls painted with so much detail before."

He headed out the room to the hallway filled with doors, all leading to a different room. The house was loud, not a single second of silence. There were children from the ages of three to the ages of seventeen. Outside the windows, you could see most of them playing together in the dirt and climbing up trees.

"Kal, would you like someone to show you around? I'd also like to introduce you to everyone. That might take some time though." Mr. Oki said as he met up with Kal in the hallway

"That's fine, might I ask just how many children are there here?"

"There's a total of fourteen, not including you. Their all related to each other in some way. If you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone."

"Thank you, how about the kitchen? I'm feeling quite thirsty."

He answered with nothing but a nod and headed around the corner, leading him the kitchen. Above the sink was a very large window where you could see almost anything outwards. A girl around the age of fifteen poured herself a glass of water as she listened to her music through her earbuds. She had light colored skin and long, wavy, dark brown hair in a loose ponytail with strands of different colors popping out of everywhere. She wore a tank top and shorts showing her small, skinny body that seemed rather unhealthy.

"Kal, this is Kit Evergreen. She's the closest one to your age, so I think you'll be good friends." The man said with a smile. She turned her head towards the two showing her light green eyes, that seemed to have a storm hiding behind them.

"Who's he?" She said, unplugging only one of her earbuds from her slightly pointed ears. Her voice showing no care for anyone.

"Kit, this is Kalem Firewood. You remember Mrs. Firewood, he is her son."

"Yeah, okay. Try not to get tossed around at school to much. Spoiled rich kids don't get treated well around here."

"Kit! That is no way to talk to someone. Do you think Freya is an excuse to start acting like this?" She put down her glass in the sink and put her iPod in her back pocket.

"I'll be back by dinner. Don't send anyone to get me this time." She opened the back door and pulled it close as she walked out.

"Kit! Come back here!" He called, but she was already pulling out of the dirt roads on her bike. "I'm so sorry about her, Kal. She's not normally like this. Something came up last week and she's been down ever since."

"It's fine. We all have those days."

"You're going to be a great influence on these kids."

As the sun went down, everyone came inside and sat at the long dinner table. At the side towards the wall was a long bench where most of the kids under ten sat at. Not a single one of them kept still as they waited for their plates. Mr. Oki's chair was at the end of the table but there was no chair at the other end. He pulled up a chair identical to the rest for Kal to sit in. Every spot was taken up by someone except for one in the middle of the row of chairs.

"Oki, Kit hasn't come back yet!" One of the kids yelled from their chairs.

"You're right. Who wants to find her this time?" Oki asked as he served the kids their food.

"No way, she'll come back when she comes back. We always have to go to her." One of the older girls said.

"How about the new guy? He'll get a chance to walk around the neighborhood." One of the boys offered, giving Kal the snake eye.

"I'd be glad to," Kal replied with a smile.

"Now, I can't ask you to do that. It's only your first day."

"It's fine like he said, I can have a look around the neighborhood."

"Then be careful. She often goes to an abandoned house at the end of the street."

The sun got lower and lower as Kal walked along the street. He looked up at the orange sky, looking exactly like the painted walls. The air got less stuffy and hot as the wind started blowing through the trees. It didn't take him long to come to a run-down house at the end of the street.

He saw the bike she rode earlier leaning against a tree and headed closer to the entrance. The door was barely hanging on the wall, wide open allowing him to walk right through. In the center of the empty room sat Kit, staring at a closet door.

"I told him not to send anyone, why are you here?" Kit said, not even turning around or taking out her earbuds.

"He worries about you a lot, you're really lucky," Kal said, sticking to the entrance. She turned around to the unfamiliar voice.

"Oh, new guy. Guess no one else wanted to come."

"Dinners waiting, you said you'd be back for dinner. Didn't you?" With a small laugh, Kit stood and walked towards him.

"You're right, I did. Get on the back of my bike, It's quicker."

Everyone went to their rooms after dinner, for once the house was quiet. The only sound you could hear is the water from the shower. It would turn off for a short amount of time until the next person went in and turned it back on. Tomorrow was Monday so everyone needed showers.

By the time Kal got a chance for the shower, the water was cold and he forgot to bring a towel. He put his pajamas on, soaking wet and headed back to his room.

"That's just depressing. You know there are towels in the closet."

Kal turned around to see Kit, with her long hair down, reaching her hips and showing all of the different colors in her hair. There was red, teal, and different dark shades of purple twisted in the waves of her hair. Her eyes were still so cold like she didn't She wore a baggy long sleeved shirt and short shorts almost completely unable to see under her shirt.

"Now I do," Kal said with a smile. "Hot water doesn't last long here, does it?"

"Not at all, I've only had a few hot showers in the ten years I've lived in this house." She handed him a black vest and white undershirt along with black pants. "It's the school uniform. The only one you get, so take care of it."

"Thank you, I will."

She turned around and opened the door directly behind them. He could see the walls painted with different trees and different scenery on every wall. There was a wooden easel was in the corner covered in every color of paint.

***

After everyone got ready for school they gathered their books and waited outside for the bus. The kids going to Elementry school were getting ready for school and the middle school kids were still getting out of bed. Kit was still inside the residence as the bus rolled up to pick them up. Kal walked up to one of the girls as they waited in line to get on the bus.

"Does Kit not go to school?" He asked, getting the girls attention.

"Kit Evergreen? She hasn't come to school in over a week."

They all sat down in seats as the doors started to shut. Small boney fingers caught the door and pried it open again, allowing Kit to walk onto the bus. She wore her normal short jean shorts and clack tight tank top with her hair up in a ponytail. Whispers spread quickly down the bus as she sat down in an empty seat and put her earbuds to block the sound on the bus.

The school was filled with ditchers and bullies. Teachers would run to try to stop fights but the kids were most of the time bigger and stronger. The weak were preyed on by the strong, and the stronger were preyed on by the stronger. And everyone feared one person at the top. The name 'Freya' in every conversation.

Wherever Kit went it seemed people whispered to each over and gave deceiving looks. Kit didn't seem bothered. In fact, she had the same cold eyes and straight frown. A boy walked up to Kal that he recognized from the house.

"Kalem, right?" He asked, his voice sounded similar to Oki's and the same dark brown eyes. His hair was brown and curly and he seemed strong enough to handle himself in this school.

"You can call me Kal. Remind me of your name?" Kal said with the same friendly smile he gave Oki and Kit.

"Nick Oki. Father told me to watch out for you while your setting in."

"So he does have a son of his own. He's a very kind guy, thank you for helping me."

"I'm sure he told you already but we're all related someway."

"Your right, that's one of the first things he said to me."

"You and Kit are the only ones not blood-related."

That left something for Kal to think about as Nick explained where all of his classes were and when he needed to go to them along with his lunch schedule. Once the bell rang, Nick waved goodbye and ran off to his own class.

Once the class started, everyone sat down in their seats as the teacher showed Kal to his seat and began class. Halfway through the lesson, the door swung opened as a girl ran in. She sat down in her seat and held her head down. The lesson momentarily stopped as a small boy was thrown into the room.

"Freyta's gone and now you boys can't hold your punches! Now you're interrupting my class, sit your butt down in these chairs, NOW!" The teacher yelled louder than a physical education coach.

The teacher seemed angrier than a man without a nose. The boys from the hallway and the one that was thrown at the wall quickly sat at their seats as the lesson continued.

Kal was in shock in how strong that man was and how the entire class was not phased by this as if part of a daily schedule. Shortly after, Kit walked into the classroom with a sticky note.

"I was at the infirmary, I've got a pass." She said, sticking the note to the whiteboard.

"Kit, you seem perfectly fine to me. Do you think I'm going to treat you differently just because of Freya? Be on time next time."

Kit sat in a seat at the back of the class, noticing Kal in one of the chairs. She laid her head down and looked out the window to the crippled forest. Her hair hung off the sides of the desk and her long eyelashes reflected the sun.

Between classes, everyone stuck to the sides of the halls. The only people who walked down the middle were the strongest and the people who don't know better. Kal walked down the hall reading his schedule. A group of three boys bumped his shoulder, causing him to drop all of his papers.

They laughed as Kal accumulated the scattered papers. He continued his walk, learning to stay to the side like everyone else. He met up with Nick who already put his books and papers in his locker.

"Hey, Kal. Hows school treatin' you? Have any questions?" Nick asked seeing the messy pile of papers.

"Very odd school, I must say. And I only really have one question that keeps coming to mind." Kal replied.

"Hit me."

"Who's Freya? I keep on hearing that name." Nick seemed depressed by the mention of the name. The same cold look in his eyes as Kit.

"It's quite odd you don't know yet. I'm sure you noticed by now, but this school is distributed by how strong a person is. The top five people in the school basically do whatever they want. Freya was the strongest in the school by a long shot. She came out of nowhere and beat the crap out of everyone to get to the top. But she was the nicest person in this school, never looking for a fight against someone who didn't want to fight."

"Was? Where is she now?"

"She's dead."