Illusion

As expected, Henri had not been happy about the idea of his son being a wizard. It was just one more disappointing thing for him. Brayden knew he shouldn't care but he really did. It was kind of like the worst thing he had done was to be born. Harsh thoughts for an eleven year old but that was the way he felt. Today, he was going to put on a front. He was incredibly hurt and was hiding all that on his inner shell. No way was he going to let potential new friends see that he was not happy on this day, the first of his adventures into the magical world. Even with his mother tagging along in bouncing excitement, he was still closed off from the world.

She took him into the building and told him to find a table while she went up and got them some drinks. Shoving his hands in his pockets, Brayden put a fake smile on his face and went off to find one. He couldn't let the walls to his dam of emotions come crashing down to people he didn't even know. And it bothered him that as happy as he was with this development because it meant that he would have to be around his father less, he couldn't even truly show his excitement because today had decided to throw him the hurt and upset card. He never knew how he was going to be in any given day until he woke up. Being in the down mood had him worrying that this day might end badly.

Trying not to think about that, Brayden found an empty table and slid into the seat. Normally, he might be kicking his legs to show excitement but he just couldn't work up the strength to act that well. He kept the smile that didn't reach his eyes plastered on his face and rested his hands on the table. He knew his mother could see right through the act. Could anyone else? The curly-haired boy wasn't sure he wanted to know. He spotted someone looking for a place to sit and figured he might as well at least make an effort. "You can sit here if you want to," he said, carefully working at keeping his voice steady. Why did he have to be in this mood today of all days?

Having thought it was a good idea to down three goblets of pumpkin juice and an entire glass of ice-cold butterbeer all in a row, Alexandre was now a jittery mess walking around La Petit Dragon. He was always excited and always beaming, but this was a different type of excitement. It was a nervous excitement fueled purely by sugar, and by now the eleven-year-old was practically dancing and prancing around the pub as he attempted to find a seat. In one hand he balanced another overflowing glass of butterbeer, and his eyes darted back and forth as he attempted to find a vacant table.

It was then did he hear a boy's voice calling him from nearby. Whipping around and sloshing some butterbeer over himself, Alexandre spotted a boy who was smiling (albeit weirdly) and inviting him to sit down with him. Enthusiastically nodding his thanks, Alex took the seat across from the boy, firmly setting his glass down on the table after taking another gulp of the stuff. "You excited for school?" Alex asked, smiling widely as he dabbed fruitlessly at the butterbeer stain on the front of his shirt. In his current state, he couldn't focus on the other boy long enough for him to realize if anything was wrong.