Growing Up.

'Tell us a story, kid. '

'Nathaniel, it's time to go home.'

Nathan woke quietly, sprawled on his bunk with the remains of a broken clock scattered across his stomach and blankets. Rubbing his eyes blearily he sat up, and quickly fumbled as small delicate pieces of metal tinkled into a heap, falling through his fingers.
"Grea' blazin' fiery hells..." he growled softly to himself and gave up on ordering the parts, heaping them into a fold of blanket and scratching his messy hair. It was late night from what he could tell. Not much sound from the rest of the place. No bickering, fighting, running or other such signs that would indicate the woken presence of the children that lived there. The room was very dim, and he squinted hard against the darkness seeing several long dark black streaks. One of them dropped suddenly and he jumped cursing loudly before realising that it was his uncut hair before his eyes. Glancing around he cleared his throat.
"Well...yeah." The edge of the bed was hard beneath his legs but his feet now touched the ground flat. He pressed them into it thoughtfully. The body he was now in was...different. It was his. It had his scars, his tan, his wear and tear. But it was older, bigger and...different. Curiously, glancing at the door once more, he lifted the back of his shirt and yanked it over his head. The movement made him straighten slightly and he lifted his head and shoulders. He had been tall to begin with and since growing into his full height he had still not familiarised himself with it. His back ached slightly from stooping. His neck was the same. He didn't know what he looked like when he straightened or stooped. All he knew was that when he stood tall in the street more people looked at him. There was a distance all too suddenly between them and him, and he was scared of it. Were they offended? Was he doing something wrong? Did he look stupid? But then girls looked at him differently. Instead of meeting his gaze there was something else, there was an evaluation behind their eyes. He could no longer meet them, he had to wait for some unknown decision to be made and some unknown conclusion to be drawn.
Dropping his shirt on the bed he stood, looking down through the darkness at his chest and stomach. He had been lean before, skinny even, but now there was more weight to him. His chest was fuller, there was more muscle leading into his arms and his stomch and belly were a different shape. Pressing his fingers below his ribcage he could feel a tenseness, and if he stiffened the muscle there was a defined ridge there. Not a great one, but one all the same.
He abruptly flushed, standing alone in the room, thinking of Elaine. The ladybird, the prostitute, the whore as it could be said, who he had gone to. Despite his validated reasoning and justification he felt shame. It had been his intent to gain manhood and knowledge. After all, Wik had known for far longer than he. And he was a boy. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't fair. But beyond that, he felt it was his duty. Now he blushed, wondering what Elaine had thought of his body. And he blushed at the thought of himself wondering.
"Nothin' t'be thinkin' 'bout anyway..." He grumbled and snatched his shirt back up again, stooping and tugging the loose garment over his shoulders once more. Looking about the room he took a quiet breath. Was he the oldest here? He'd been damn close before they'd done things to him. But now...and Wik wasn't there. Wik was elsewhere angry with him no doubt. Maybe she'd understand. But then again. He slumped down onto the bed, shoulders hunched, and rested his chin in his palm. She hadn't - understood before.
He grabbed her by the upper arm and shoulder angrily, almost as though to shake her, and saw in an instant the expression that flitted across her face. His breath caught and he couldn't tear his eyes from her face for a moment. Then he released her and backed away, terrified that he had not been able to control his movement. He ran.
"Wik..." he said quietly, mild bitter satire in his tone, "...I miss yeh, y'stupid git."