The Lion and The Stag: Part 1 by Jason Buckland
PART 1: THOMAS
“Come on lazy arse you have an hour to get ready for school or I’m leaving you behind.” Dad shouts and I don’t move a muscle happy to stay within the sheets for a while longer. “If you don’t get out of bed soon I’m going to haul you out of there myself and drag you to school in whatever you’re wearing.” Dad threatens and I know it’s not completely an ideal threat. He would quite happily drag me out of the bed “Okay, okay I’ll get up give a minute and I’ll be downstairs.” I yawn sitting up rubbing my eyes, pulling back the quilt I clamber out of bed and go to the bathroom. As I brush my teeth I admire myself in the mirror. Flat thick dark brown hair sitting onto of an lightly tanned face with two ears growing out the side of my head sticking out like a sore thumb with a pair of light brown eyes Walking back into my room I throws on my favourite set of clothes a pair of beige cargo pants, followed by a plain white t-shirt and then the final piece of the jigsaw a light brown leather jacket. Looking in the mirror I admire myself and laugh because there wasn’t much to admire. I don’t have huge muscles or amazing looks. Short and slim I am one of the smallest in my class at school and even in my year. People in the years below are taller than me! As I start to head downstairs I realise I had forgotten to pull my tail through the gap I had to cut through every pair of clothes I own one of the small inconveniences of having the stag as your zodiac. Once satisfied that I was dressed well I head downstairs to get some breakfast. As he walked down the stairs a large white fluffy mouse runs up the banister and up my outstretched arm onto his shoulder. “Are you ready for school yet Thomas I’ve been waiting for ages” David complains into his ear in his squeaky voice. David had only discovered his zodiac a few months ago and is constantly wandering the house looking for little holes to explore. “Of course I am David I’m always ready” I say and we both laugh though David’s sounds more like a collection of high pitched squeaks. Scampering off of my shoulder and onto the floor he changes back and fixes his hair and clothes. A pair of jeans with a smart blue shirt and a black jumper. He stood even shorter than Thomas and was exceptionally short for his age. David was just as skinny as his brother and looked a lot like his but with black hair and blue eyes that were always alert. His ears were still large than average than the norm but were not as abnormal as his brothers. He loved his zodiac although he didn’t know what it meant and he doesn’t really care. Picking up my school bag from under the stairs he starts to head out to the car but doesn’t get too far before his mum calls him back “Don’t forget your lunch Thomas” she shouts from the kitchen and he shuts the door and heads back in towards the kitchen. Stood there is his mum still in her pyjamas. Holding out his lunchbox. “I swear that you would forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on” she laughs as Thomas takes the lunch out of her hand with a smile “Thanks mum what would I do without you” I say smiling grateful “I don’t know but you would be hungry” his mum says and they both laugh. They had both been close but when Thomas found his zodiac was a stag they became even closer since his mum’s zodiac was a deer and she was so full of joy when he told her that she looked like she was going to explode from joy. Happy tears had fallen from her eyes and she would constantly look over at him and sigh “Come on Thomas you are going to make us late” dad shouts from the doorway. Giving his mum a quick peck on the cheek and a good bye he heads for the door and clambers into the car next to David in the back and Lauren climbs happily into the front. Being seven means that she is on the verge of finding her zodiac and hates having to wait. Jealous of the other two. Constantly sulking when one of the others walk around the house. She often feels like the odd one out being the only one in the house not with her zodiac her brothers a stag and a mouse, her dad a rhino and her mum a deer. It wasn’t fair she would often say in a huff “I want my zodiac now” she would often groan and whinge. But underneath the anger and the constant complaining Lauren was scared. Scared of getting her zodiac. What if people don’t like her because of it, what if people laugh at her. But there was one thing she feared more than anything else. It kept her awake at night and stayed with her all day every day from dawn till dusk sometimes reducing her to tears and she would have to run to her room and cry into her pillow before anyone noticed. She feared that her zodiac would be a carnivore. If her zodiac was a carnivore she would have to leave her family, her friends. She would have to leave everything behind and start all over again with a new family and make new friends because this was herbivore country south of the wall. If her zodiac was a carnivore she would have to move to the other side of the wall and live in carnivore country. “Do you know what’s over the wall Thomas” Lauren asked me out of the blue as we drive along. “No Lauren I don’t. No one does” Thomas replied and returned to looking out the window as the world rolled past. The sun was shining in the sky and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen as he looked out the window. The world was a beautiful array of colour from the green of the grass and the leaves. To the bright blues, yellows and reds scattered around from the summer flowers. Fields of earthy brown with specks of green and fields full of sheep and cows fitted together like a patchwork quilt. Everyone they saw was happy and everything is peaceful. There is no fighting in the south no killing, hunting or anything of the sort. No one in the south east meat. All the farms are for dairy or eggs or growing vegetables. Everyone living here was one with nature you could be sat there in a field and animals would start to gather round. Rabbits would come up looking for carrots, mice looking for cheese and a picnic for four could become a picnic for twelve. Laurens question gets me wondering what it’s like up north. Is it as colourful and peaceful as it is here? Do they have picnics? No one know what it is like up there. All we know is the zodiacs that are carnivores. Finding out your zodiac is a big deal I remember dad telling me. After I asked what he would do if my zodiac is a carnivore. “well Thomas I firstly hope that it doesn’t happen but if it does then I will fight tooth and nail to keep you over here” he had said a fire burning in his eyes as he said it and it had calmed him down. I find I had been so deep in thought that I didn’t notice that the car had stopped and they had arrived at school. The build stood in front of them. The building looks just as grand as it had on his first day the beautiful stained glass windows with the clock in the middle. Pillars holding it all up a sandy brown colour. Hopping out of the car he joined the mass of people In front of him some as human some as their zodiacs. There was zebras, hippos, elephants and so much more. Everyone was chatting and laughing getting ready for their first class. Thomas was just getting his books from his locker when someone comes up behind him and puts their hands on his shoulder and shouts boo into his ear.