Lumen by Joseph Eastwood Read Free Book Online Page B

walking towards the large pane glass window.
    “Because they’re cheap and you can break into those,” he chortled.
    “Oh, right. Is every room like this?”
    Taner shrugged and looked around Daniel’s room. “Pretty much, but I best go, let you unpack and stuff. I still need to unpack.”
    “Bye,” Daniel said ushering Taner out of the room.
    Taner left. He closed the door behind him.
    Daniel ran his hands up the back of his neck and blew up at the fringe of his hair.  He’s nicer than before. But I'm supposed to come from money now.

 
    Chapter Six
     
    That evening Daniel sat on his bed, looking around the room and playing with light switches. He had a fully functioning sink in the corner, a lamp on his bedside table and a light from his ceiling. It was too much and he hadn’t touched the gifts Reuben had given him. He skipped lunch and dinner on the off-chance he’d see Taner, instead he snacked on the sandwiches his mother had packed for him.
    He woke to a loud banging against his door. “Mum,” he groaned, wrapping his head in his pillow. The banging didn’t stop. He checked the clock on his bedside table;  8:02 , and got out of bed to see what was so important. But there was nobody there. Daniel turned and closed his door.
    I guess they know then , he thought, throwing himself back on his bed, hoping to get some more sleep before the big assembly at nine.
    There was another thud against the door. Daniel jumped up and ragged his door open. But the hall was still empty; he looked down both ends of the hall again, this time noticing a tall boy.
    “Hey,” Daniel said, stepping out of his room.
    The boy turned around with a scowl on his face. He stared into Daniel’s eyes. Daniel tried to figure him out, but the longer he stared in his eyes of black ink, all thought seemed to wash away.
    “Yes?” he asked.
    Daniel blinked as sounds knotted in his throat as he tried to voice them. The boy’s gaze fell, and Daniel brushed a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what was going on. “Nothing,” he said, stumbling back into his room.
    A ringing bleep knocked Daniel from his alternate awareness. He reached out for the alarm, swiping his hand and knocking the clock to the floor. He sprung out of bed and a welt of pain opened up in his head, spinning him around. He swayed on the spot until composure set in. He picked the clock back up from the floor reading the red numbers,  08:47 .
    Shit. Shit. I’m going to be late , he told himself repeatedly, rushing around to get dressed. He almost forgot to put his shoes on; it hadn’t crossed his mind until his feet touched the cold hallway, after all he’d never had to wear shoes at home before, at least not every day.
    On his way down the stairs he tried to put his jacket on and jump down a flight of steps, but he fell into the window at the bottom. “Ow,” he said, rubbing his head and putting the jacket on properly. He panted as he reached the doorway of the Boys’ Dormitory and found himself combing his hair and still rushing up the path to the main building. He reached an orderly queue walking towards into main entrance. Joining the end of it, it seemed that Taner also had the same idea of being  almost late.
    “Over slept?” Taner said, smiling to himself.
    Daniel shook his head. “Ill,” he said quietly.
    “Well I did, my stupid alarm clock doesn’t even work.”
    “Mine did.”
    “Lucky you. I thought this school was supposed to be  prestigious , it seems like a lot of it is all about Reuben. I even heard his stuck up nephew comes here.”
    Daniel grinned at Taner’s arrogant humour, that and when he first saw Reuben, he thought the same thing.
    They reached the assembly hall; it was a lot bigger than he thought it would have been, sitting at the back they could see the front of the stage perfectly well over the 20 rows in front. At the front of the hall was a platform and a podium, both were empty. Behind the stage