"You sure are up early this morning, Eriol." Mom remarked, apparently having heard the sound of my noisy footsteps clashing into the wooden ground as I ran down the staircase. "Breakfast would be ready in five minutes."

"Ok mom." I smiled. "By the way, I would like you to meet Spinel."

"Spinel? Who's that?" My mother turned around, her eyes widening a little as she covered her mouth slightly with one of her hands. "Oh dear... what's that thing?"

"Spinel isn't a thing mother. He's a friend." I insisted.

"Eriol... you would have to get this friend of yours out of the house before your father senses it. If he does, this is going to result in quite a big deal of trouble." 

"But mother, how is father going to know about Spinel if he's cooped up doing work all day?" I questioned, scratching Spinel behind the ears.

"Trust me. He has his ways..." She trailed off as a shadow loomed over the staircase.

"Eriol. What is that thing doing in our house?" A deep voice reverberated throughout the dining room. I looked up to see him standing on the staircase, his look of disapproval sending waves of newfound fear down my spine.

Father...

"Spinel is not a thing..." I insisted, refusing to look my father in the eye.

"Hmmm... so you say." He walked down the last few steps of the staircase, giving the little blue cat a menacing glare.

"What... what are you planning on doing?" I grabbed Spinel, holding him close to myself.

"Hand him over." My father reached out one of his hands towards me.

"No." I protested, squeezing Spinel even more in the process.

"Eriol... can't breathe..." the cat gasped. Alarmed, I released my grip a little, allowing it to take in some oxygen.

"You will hand over that creature. This is my house and you will have to play by the rules." My father spoke up once more. I had forgotten that he was there till he had said that.

Hoping to get some support from my mother, I glanced at her to realize that she was looking down, realization dawned upon me that she was unable to help me in my predicament.

"I'm keeping Spinel." I raised my voice a little. I may have only known him for a few hours. However, I already couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him.

"Spinel is no normal creature. He shouldn't even have the right to exist. If you're so insistent on keeping him, leave. Only then would you find out what I am talking about. I'm not housing a creature like that in my house. I'll give you a day to make your decision." He walked away, climbing back up the stairs to be called by my mother.

"You can't do this James! He's only eight years old!" She cried out to him.

"Well, he would have to learn sooner or later. When I took him in, I already knew that this was going to happen." He turned around slightly, saying those few words before resuming his climb back up to the study.
--------

"That... that's a..." Ms Fernsby gave Spinel a weird look. "That's a weird thing... Well, at least it's cute..."

"You do not call me cute you hear me?" Spinel huffed, slightly insulted.

"It speaks..." the teacher squeaked, leaning her weight on the piano behind her. The unfortunate few notes that she had hit letting out a sound equivalent to that of a dying crow's.

"Spinel's not a thing." I grew frustrated, wondering why no one could understand that simple fact.

"Of... of course." Ms Fernsby answered immediately. "Umm... would you mind putting away that creature for a second. It is about time we started with your lessons."

I turned my head towards Spinel, contemplating my decisions before finally giving in to Ms Fernsby's demands. Asking Spinel to sit on the sofa, I picked a random book from a nearby shelf and handed it over to him to keep him busy.

Rushing back towards Ms Fernsby, I sat down in front of the piano and mentally prepared myself for the first lesson of the day.

It wasn't anything new, actually. We would always start and end the day with a piano lesson, filling in the gaps with all the rest of the different subjects that I've been tasked to learn.

Still, I wasn't able to concentrate at all today, especially since the thought of having to leave Spinel behind was on my head the entire day. How could I leave him behind? He felt as though he was a part of me, one that made me whole. Why wouldn't anyone understand that?

Before I knew it, I was back in my room, lying down on my bed with Spinel beside me.

"Are you ok Master? You seem down." Spinel commented, still reading the book that I had brought him at the start of the day.

"Yea. I'm fine." I lied. I didn't want Spinel to worry about me.

"No you're not." Spinel shut his book, looking up at me.

I sighed. One day with Spinel had already shown me that it was near impossible to keep anything from that cat.

"Spinel I... I don't want you to leave." I admitted. "You're my very first friend and I..." I stopped for a while, realizing that there was something warm running down my face. "I don't want you to leave."

Quickly, I wiped away my tears, not wanting to make Spinel any more alarmed then he already seemed.

"Eriol..." Spinel tried calming me down. "It's not your fault. We could try reasoning with him tomorrow."

"It's no use Spinel. Father... he never changes his mind. At least, that's according to my mother. I don't know him well. You know what, I'm leaving." I grabbed a bag from nearby, starting to pack it with the stuff I would need.

""Are you sure about this Eriol?" Spinel flew in front of me, trying to tug the heavy bag away to no avail.

"I'm sure Spinel." I pulled the bag towards myself and continued packing. Clothes, a first aid kit, some money and a lot of other stuff went into the bag, the interior of it getting more and more crowded by the second.

When I was finally satisfied with the items that I had packed, I zipped up the bag, swinging it over my shoulder. As I grabbed the handle of the door, I felt something pulling me back. Turning around to give my room one last look, I caught sight of the brown envelope sticking out between the books of my bookshelf. Moonlight illuminated the envelope, making it seem magical for a second. I stared at it for a moment, wondering if I should bring it along. Who knew that by just looking at that brown parcel, so many emotions would start churning within me. As I looked at the envelope, guilt, insecurity and the love I had towards my family seemed to anchor me to the room, rendering it near impossible to leave. My mind struggled, seemingly trying to be free from the bounds of the room.

After contemplating for what seemed like an eternity, an eternity that would not have been more than a few seconds, I rushed back to the bookshelf and grabbed the envelope off the shelf, running out of my room with it.

As I ran blindly through the many rooms, Spinel by my side, I couldn't help but feel sad. Sad that I was leaving my home, my family and a huge portion of my childhood. Wave upon wave of regret and guilt washed over me as I ran out of the door on my own for the first time. Making me unable to look back at my house for the last time, unable to do so in the fear of becoming a scaredy-cat at the last moment.