Arthur sat on a rusty metal bench at the only bus station in Rusko, his small town. He was waiting for the bus to take him to school in Fort Garden, the big town nearby.
He stared at The Seventh Circle, the only restaurant in Rusko. It was always empty, and even at night when it became a bar, no one ever went there.
Rusko only had about three thousand residents, mostly farmers. Since Fort Garden was so close and much bigger, people simply drove there for groceries, restaurants, and shopping.
Rusko barely had any businesses—just a convenience store, a gas station, a restaurant and bar, and a small clinic.
Arthur was stuck at the bus station because his high school in Fort Garden wouldn't drive all the way out here just for one or two students.
Not to mention, most students from Rusko went to school with their parents anyway.
But Arthur didn't mind. He preferred taking the bus alone as the school bus would've made him an easy target for the nasty looks from everyone.
After living in Rusko for five years, he thought he would get used to the stares people gave for Crazy Dorothy's grandson. He wasn't.
He still hated those looks. People believe he was just as crazy as his late grandma.
Her reputation was so widespread that people in Fort Garden would mock Rusko, calling it "Crazy Dorothy's Lair."
"Well, I guess I can't blame them. Grandma made a lot of scenes every time she went out," Arthur murmured, still staring at the restaurant. "She was always screaming about demons coming to get us all and stuff like that."
Dullahan, who was perched on Arthur's shoulder as he replied, "Perhaps your grandmother was traumatized by the demons. She might have been fighting them for a long time."
Knowing that his grandma could actually see demons, Arthur knew Dullahan was probably telling the truth. But that still didn't make the nasty looks and ridicule hurt any less.
"By the way, is it really okay for you to come with me to school?" Arthur asked.
"Worry not, boy. I am invisible to those who cannot see me. And those who can … I'll assess whether they can be our allies or enemy," Dullahan assured him. "Youngsters like you are the easiest for demons to manipulate. It is best to gather allies, because fighting them alone is impossible."
"Allies, huh?"
Frankly, Arthur had never had any friends. He was used to being alone.
To him, allies were different from friends. Their relationship would be strictly business, or in this case, strictly survival.
Still, this might be his only chance to develop a real relationship. He was secretly excited to see how it would turn out.
**
Fort Garden High School.
Arthur didn't like his school. It was crowded with students from Fort Garden, Rusko, and two nearby small towns.
It had over a thousand students, the teacher couldn't care less about the students.
'But if I were a teacher, I wouldn't care either,' Arthur thought as he walked to the school entrance.
There was too much bullying, and the teachers were understaffed and tired of it. They focused more on their assigned club. Fort Garden High School was known for its athletes, aspiring artists, theater kids, musicians, and the honor students who made it to Ivy League.
But those were just a few diamonds in the rough. The rest were a bunch of coals you couldn't polish.
Arthur walked through the corridor, ignoring the confused, nasty, or reluctant looks.
The rumors about his grandma's death were rampant. Some believed she was murdered by an annoyed stranger. Some thought she killed herself.
And some… believed Arthur killed her because he was a nutjob just like her.
The fact that he returned to school just a day after her funeral with the 'investigation' still ongoing didn't help.
He had no choice. He had a set of days off before the school would issue a warning.
So he endured the looks and listened to Dullahan, who was scanning for other descendants.
"Hmm, no one in sight. It seems you're alone in this corridor, boy," Dullahan commented. "That said, plenty of people here have terrifying inner demons for such youngsters. It makes me wonder what kind of terrible things they have seen at such a young age."
Arthur wanted to say that most people had seen disturbing things on the internet, so it wasn't that strange.
But Dullahan wouldn't understand.
Arthur stopped at his locker.
The school was quite old, the lockers were rusted and broken.
He was lucky to have a working one, but seeing the scribbles and stickers mocking him and his grandmother, he thought not having one would have been better.
He put his jacket in the locker, as the weather was getting colder, and grabbed his books.
He didn't have a tablet for ebooks like most students, so he relied on books from the library.
"Are you training to be a scholar? I've never seen anyone carry so many books. All of my previous masters are knights and warriors," Dullahan asked.
"It's necessary for everyone," Arthur murmured softly so no one would think he was crazy for talking to himself. "We're in a school, after all. Everyone here is trying to get smart. But not everyone is good at it."
"I see. What a hassle. If I were you, I'd just leave, never return, and train to be a great swordsman. That's what my previous masters did."
"If only it's that easy," Arthur muttered.
He grabbed his math textbook and turned around, bumping into someone bigger and stronger. He fell backward into the locker.
The guy he bumped into grabbed Arthur's collar and shouted, "Watch where you're going—Oh, it's you…"
Arthur looked up at Kai, the school's infamous quarterback.
Kai was notoriously rough and known as a bully, often shoving people around for the smallest reasons. Since his skills on the football field were so good, no teacher dared to punish him.
Arthur had always tried to avoid him, not just because of Kai's reputation, but because they were also neighbors in Rusko.
Kai didn't want to be associated with Arthur, and Arthur didn't want to be roughed up.
"Sorry, Kai…" Arthur apologized, knowing he was in the wrong.
Kai immediately looked away. He let go of Arthur's collar and ruffled his hair, seemingly embarrassed. "Whatever, dude. Just use your eyes."
Arthur watched as Kai walked away. The other students who had been watching, hoping to see a fight, dispersed in disappointment.
Arthur sighed in relief. He had really thought he was about to get beaten up by Kai.
He could have used Dullahan to fight back, but was it worth it?
Meanwhile, Dullahan had been silent, observing Kai until he was out of sight. "His name is Kai, like you said, right?"
"Mhm…" Arthur nodded as he walked to class. "Is something wrong?"
"Hmm, I thought I'd seen him before."
"Seen him? But he is only like—seventeen."
"I may be mistaken. I've been asleep for at least a thousand years, after all," Dullahan said.
Arthur didn't want to think too much about it, so he ignored Dullahan's comment and went to math class.
Like most students, he thought math as the first subject of the day, was an absolute violation of human rights.
By the end of math class, he'd be drained and couldn't summon the energy to focus on the others.
However, today was different. He overheard five girls talking next to his desk.
"I heard he is coming to our school today. I wonder if he will come with a butler."
"He is the son of a billionaire, not a king. Why would he have a butler?!"
"Who knows? I mean, he is old money. Hiring a few butlers wouldn't hurt, right?"
"I wonder if he'll fall in love with anyone here. That would be a Wattpad dream come true!"
"I'll tell you how it feels later, yeah."
"Ha, as if he would pick you!"
"Hey, what's your problem?"
Arthur listened to their bickering until Mrs. Hillfire, their math teacher, walked in. She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and get them in their seats before announcing, "I'm sure that some of you have heard about our new transfer student. He will be attending this school for a year, or at least that's what I heard from him," she said, looking towards the door. "You can come in now."
Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the door opened, and a tall, young man with a "Ralph-Lauren" look walked in.
His dark-blonde hair was neatly combed, and he had the air of a smug, rich kid who had never stepped in dirt before.
He stood firmly in front of the class, his dashing appearance mesmerizing the girls. He introduced himself in a cold and uninterested tone.
"I am Fairmont. Lancelot Fairmont."
His short introduction sent all the girls into a dreamy state, and the boys admired him, knowing the elite pride that the 'Fairmont' surname carried.
As for Arthur? He was immediately on guard, because the moment Lancelot walked in, Dullahan quickly warned him.
"Be careful of that one, boy. He can be your worthy ally, or a dangerous enemy."