


Naivety

by Zoe Nightshade



Category: Underland Chronicles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-28
Updated: 2010-05-28
Packaged: 2014-01-16 12:38:41
Rating: K
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6004730/1/
Author URL: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1671063/Zoe-Nightshade
Summary: Gregor's family moves to Virginia; the life in their dreams. But there, Gregor must try to live the life of a normal kid, not knowing the sound of battle, the threat of death, the absence of family. He must fit in with kids who take advantage of it all.





	Naivety

Virginia. A nice place, Gregor decides. It is his dream home, as well as Lizzie and Boot's. His family is happy and together at last, once and for all. The house is beautiful. Gregor has his own room, bigger than his old room in their old apartment. Lizzie and Boots will share a room until Mom and Dad can convert the den into a suitable bedroom. Life is perfect.

But this isn't home. Gregor can't feel right. Ever, it seems. Sometimes, Lizzie cries, missing her old home in New York. Gregor thinks of a far away dream; real and a nightmare. Gregor remembers once living for a purpose to save. He realizes that now, he lives, free of worry - for what? He also remembers the horror. War. Killing. Death. Ares. He can't talk to a therapist - the moment he would bring up Regalia, the Underland and talking bats and giant rats, he'd be sent to a psychiatric facility.

It is the first day of school for Gregor. The local school is smaller in population than his old school, but also smaller in size. The teacher talks about World War II. She talks about concentration camps. Gregor watches as kids around him simply roll their eyes, yawn. They just don't understand. Gregor remembers fighting. He remembers what it is like to lose people whom you love. The sound of battle rings in his ears.

Lunch time. The cafeteria is noisy. Kids with trays line up with money jingling in their pockets. Gregor doesn't. He brought his own lunch. He sits at a table. Another boy who brought his lunch as well is sitting at the table next to Gregor's.

"Make friends," Mom told him.

Gregor has felt himself withdraw. He knows that he is. He talks with his family. But other than that, his mind is his friend. Finally, Gregor gets up, just to say introduce himself to the boy. He looks lonely, like Gregor. As Gregor gets up, he accidentally trips a girl who was walking through. He makes her drop her tray. Her soup bowl breaks, splattering on the bottom of her pants and pink uggs. Before Gregor can apologize, or even process what just happened, she squeals.

"How could you?" Her voice is shrill, and hurts Gregor's ears. The girls behind her glare at him. "Oh my God, those were my new shoes!"

"I - I'm sorry," Gregor says. "I'm really sorry." When he stars to bend down to pick up her tray, the girl hits him hard. He falls on his side in the puddle of soup on the ground. The girls laugh.

"Nice, Courtney," they say. Courtney isn't laughing.

"How could you?" she repeats, louder this time, voice still shrill. "My new uggs! My life is ruined!"

Ruined? Her life is ruined? Gregor wonders if he heard her correctly.

"Ruined?" Gregor asks allowed. "Your life isn't ruined." Her life isn't ruined. She has a family that loves her. She has the life of a regular kid. She has never seen war or death like Gregor has. She's naive; She takes advantage of it all.

She screams. "These cost me five weeks of allowance, you moron!" She grabs Gregor's hair and yanks. This angers him. Not so much that she pulled his hair; that she's so, disgustingly naive. All she cares about in the world is shopping, popularity. Things, that in the long span of life, don't matter.

He feels it - rager. Immediately, he breathes deeps. He does what Ripred told him to do. He may be mad, but Gregor does not want to kill. Ever again.

She groans. "My life is ruined!" she squeals.

"No it isn't," Gregor repeats, softly.

"Shut up. You don't know anything," she shouts. Gregor looks at her; so naive. All she cares about is cute clothes and popularity. She doesn't know a world of pain.

"Actually, _you_ don't."


End file.
