The World Revolves Around Nikolai

Enter a small town, nothing seemingly outrageous or special about it. A calm, nice, simple town, a place people would go to retire or raise a family. The picture of family life and values. In such a place, one would expect to find a very close, tight knit community, made up of all different kinds of people, all with different values or goals, working together to mutually achieve them. This, while true, is not what it all seems. There's something special about this town; it all is based around me. No, seriously.

I'm Nikolai, a 13 year old boy, living here with my family. You wouldn't think much of me at first glance, I'm just like every other young boy. Literally. I'm not exceptionally smart, nor fit, nor talented. I'm the very definition of average. Yet, for some reason, everything in this town somehow relates to me and my family. Whether it's a series of unfortunate events leading to a heartwarming conclusion, or a misguided scheme that leads to an awkward explanation, it ALWAYS, without a fail, ends up with me smack dab in the middle. It's stressful, it's annoying, and no matter how hard I try, I can't escape it. No one else seems to realize it, either. They all just smile and laugh, and tell me I'm being crazy. I don't get it, I don't understand.

By now, I'm used to it, I've completely adjusted to this. It's my life, my reality, and I just have to put up with it. The convoluted ideas, the hackney smiles, the laugh tracks, all of it. It's easier to ride the wave then stand against it.

Today was a day just like any other, but I knew better than that. I awoke this morning, looking out the window beside my bed, starring at all the perfectly cut lawns and picket fences of my neighborhood. 'I wonder what today's lesson will be; cheaters never prosper, always tell the truth, never trust a stranger? Yesterday's was to have faith in yourself, so that's out. We haven't had a lesson on equality in a while, I wouldn't be surprised to see it again.'

I slid out of bed, stretching and looking at the door to my bedroom. So long as no one knocks on that door, I should be safe till at least after school. Anything that comes from a breakfast table conversation or school friends won't start till after school, if no one knocks. Taking fate into my own hands, I opened the door. No one can knock if it's not open, and I don't wanna deal with an early event today, I'm tired. By now, I have almost everything down to a science; I know what flags start certain events, so I can usually somewhat predict what's going to happen. Hopefully, I could get another re-run where I'm a side character to my family members, but that's too much to hope for.

I moved over to the window, staring out at the town again. This was my life, in a town full of random people, all acting to teach me something without even knowing it.

Holding his coffee, the father of the house, was reading a newspaper behind the kitchen table. He had a habit of waking before anyone else and an hour or even more at that. It was still a few hours, until Indar had to leave for work, but until then he would enjoy his peace, as there was no way it would last. When everyone in the family woke up, it became chaos, well not always, but most of the time. So for now, it was relaxing, that is until a door opening sound was made from the second floor.

Indar let out a sigh, guess one of the seven children had woken up and it was probably Nikolai. The boy seemed to possess the same habit of waking up early as his dad did. He placed down the newspaper and stood up, still holding onto the cup of coffee. Indar made his way up the stairs and towards the bedrooms. As he had expected, Nikolai's door was wide open, making so that he could knock on it to wake him up or to signal him.

But before Indar went to Nikolai's room, he stopped in front of another door. The door to the room of his oldest son, Naziel. The boy had exams today, so there was no way his father would let him sleep in. With that idea, Indar knocked loudly onto the door, just to wake the boy up. It may have been successful maybe not, who knew for now. Well anyway, Indar continued towards the room of Nikolai, the middle son of the family, though he did have a twin sister.

Reaching the room, Indar stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall. '' You are up early today. '' He said with a joking voice. '' Couldn't sleep? ''

Nikolai looked towards his dad, who had entered his doorway. 'Alright, Dad's coming to great me, that means it's either father son, or a family event. If I get lucky, maybe I can shift this to a side-story about Dad, but that'll take some work. It depends on Naz and Mom for that to work.' Stretching, Nikolai walked over towards the doorway, walking past his father and into the hallway. He turned to his dad, shrugging. "I just like getting up early, to plan the day, in a sense." Nikolai shuddered slightly, even if his Dad didn't catch the pun, he was developing his fathers habit of saying them, he hated it already. He moved towards the stairs, talking to his Dad as he walked down them, stifling a yawn. "Has Mom started breakfast yet? I'm starving."

Still in his pajamas, Nikolai walked over to the kitchen, aiming for the large table the family had sitting in the center of the kitchen. This was it, the epicenter of his life, and the key part of his day. How he handled the table determined how his entire day went. Multiple flags appeared and disappeared over the course of breakfast. He prepared for the inevitable. He had to make sure he was always the first one at the table, anytime he wasn't he lost all control of the events. 'Hopefully Naz is the first down stairs, then I can probably shift the father-son event onto him, I think he has exams today. If Dad presses me anymore, I'll go upstairs and get ready before breakfast, so that way I can hopefully have another shot at dejecting him to someone else. If he follows me up I'm dead though. It's risky, but I think I'll take the shot.' He entered the kitchen, looking around for his mother and any other family members.

Yukine, the young brother, blushed and smiled cheerfully when the sun hit his eyes. "Yay!" Yukine cheered as his day had officially begun. As great as dreams were for the five year old boy, reality seemed even better. Yukine absolutely adored life, and always woke up early to enjoy even second of it. He scratched his adorable little head with his little hands, adjusting his shaggy golden hair. Though his mother was a brunette, and his father was blond-haired man, Yukine grew to have a uniquely formed hair dew. He carefully got out of bed, and straightened his small, white pajamas. Yukine loved wearing white. It made him seem so cool and adorable, as always.

When he was ready, Yukine quietly walked down the stairs, and gasped when he saw a figure nearby. "Mommy!" Yukine shouted with excitement, running over to hug her. Though his mother was small, Yukine was only levelled at her hips in height. It was his older brother that was almost taller than Yukine's mom. Yukine held onto Viola tight while he hugged her, and looked up, his facial expression so lively and warm. "Mommy! Mommy! Sleepy time was great! I was on a big draggy and saw the white puffy things in the sky! He gave me donuts, too! I wish you were there, mommy!" Yukine let go of his mom and skipped around happily before he hopped onto a chair. "Mommy! Come sit with me!" Yukine requested with glee, "Breaky waits! I wanna talk with Mommy!"

Yukine giggled when he saw his mother laugh. It was always a pleasure to see a positive look on her face- anything of the sort. When both he and his mom sat together, Yukine became even more eager to talk; a five-year old trait. "Yeah! He tells me his name, but I keep forgetting Mommy!" Yukine laughed again when the disaster came to his mind. His eternal smile still rested on his face, of course, which he hoped would brighten the mood in this house. "The draggy gave me the one you were holding, Mommy!" Yukine added.

Yukine leaned and kissed his mother on the forehead. "I love you, Mommy. You make me happy!" Yukine commented. Yukine ran over to sit on Viola's lap, afterwards, and looked up at her again. "So...where's daddy?" Yukine asked, "I want to tell him about the draggy, too!" Yukine was a giddy boy today. Kids his age were always so complicated, and filled with joy every passing second; at least people as lucky as Yukine. They had no reason to be happy all the time, yet they still acted that way. "I hope you had a good sleepy time." Yukine concluded, nuzzling Viola while he talked with her.

Nikolai came downstairs to a safe site. His mother and brother were sitting at the table, in a fairly good mood. 'Good, I woke up before most of the family. It's only Mom and Yuki, I don't need to beat them for any flags today.' He moved over to the table, sitting in his usual seat across from the pair. He couldn't help but smile when he watched his brother; he was so full of energy and always seemed happy. He stretched slightly, noticing his mom hadn't started breakfast yet. It was still fairly early, but he'd probably have to remind her to start before the rest get up. 'If I don't get her to start that, Naz and Hana are probably gonna go straight out the door. I need it to at lest stop Naz to distract Dad.'

He smiled at Yukine, resting his arms on the table, and cradling his chin in between his hands. "Hey Yuki, how was your sleep? You seem to be in a good mood today." He felt specifically close with his younger brother. He turned to his Mom, smiling at her as well. "Good morning Mom. How was your night? You might wanna start breakfast before everyone else gets up, Naz has his exam today after all and can't wait around too long."

While he was walking down the stairs with Nikolai, the ended talking about random things, that really didn't matter a lot. When they reached the kitchen, no one was there yet. That was quite normal actually, Indar and Nikolai were usually the first ones up and ready to go. Nikolai did ask right away, if mom had made breakfast yet, but it was quite obvious she hadn't. Indar was fairly certain about it, he had lived together with her for almost 18 years, so there was basis for that assumption.

After this, Nikolai and Indar just talked, until Viola appeared in the kitchen. She had a very blank expression on her face, probably due to her dream. She had definitely seen donuts again, she really was addicted. She was quite the odd woman, but this was the reason Indar loved her.

Little bit after Viola Yukine had run down and started to talk to his mother. Viola seemed happier now, especially when she came back from the fridge, sprinkles in one of the corners of her mouth. She sat down with Yukine and they talked for some time. But suddenly Yuki asked about his father, not noticing he was standing in the kitchen with Nikolai. This happened regularly.

Indar moved closer to the two, placing his hand onto Viola's shoulder and the other hand on Yuki's head. '' What did you want to tell me son? ''

"Daddy, I saw a draggy! The black and blue one!" Yukine cheered, prepared to continue the story until Ebony came downstairs. "Ebony! Wanna play? Finish game?" Yukine asked. Ebony and Yukine rarely played games together, which made Yukine pester her about wanting to continue the ones they were playing. Never did the two ever finish a game successfully. He looked back at Viola once he quickly spoke to Viola. Yukine looked at his mother with worry, and wondered why she was sweating. He helped wipe it off her face before he felt himself passed onto his dad. "How was your day, dadd-" Yukine attempted to ask before Victoria passed by, and ran her hand through his hair. Yukine laughed softly when Victoria did this. It seemed to be her funny greeting to him, and Yukine always it strange how people were so admired by his hair.

Yukine looked over to Nikolai, who he had forgotten about. Yukine lacked the attention span to talk to so many family members, and had yet to learn about chronological order. "Niko! Did you hear?! I saw a draggy!" Yukine commented on Nikolai's greeting before he pouted, "Draggy had something for you too, but I forget." Once he addressed Nikolai, Yukine looked over to Victoria, and squirmed out of Indar's arms. He tended to do this whenever he wanted to speak to someone else. It was a sign of ignorance, though he did it to everyone. He was only five, anyway. He squirmed as he saw that Victoria seemed upset about something. Coffee? Wow, Yukine could remember when he had coffee for the first time this year. He drank a cup against his parents' will, then had a huge sugar rush. Ever since, the coffee was always set far away from Yukine's reach. With this being said, everyone should've known Yukine wasn't at fault for this. He couldn't even carry anything to boost himself; nothing in this house, anyway.

Yukine ran with his small legs over to Victoria, and looked up at her. "Sissy? Are we playing hide and seek?" Yukine asked. He obviously didn't know what she was talking about, and so he assumed it was a game. He examined the room, confused with everyone, and held onto Victoria's hand curiously. "I watch Judgey Sissy play!" Yukine announced.

Victoria turned to look at her mother, slowly, her eyes glowing perillously. '' I am pretty sure I haven't drank it. I'm not a sleepwalker, or however you call it.'' Without an other word, Victoria crouched and gave Yukine a kiss on the cheek and walked to the door. She took her skateboard and looked back at her father. '' We're gonna have a talk about this later, Old-Man.''

Without another word, she took her bag and got out of her house. It was 6 am. She did't care. She was going to the skate park before school.

Naziel opened his eyes and looked around, his room was quite tidy, a few manga posters hanging on the wall and his console controller was laid next to him and the other side was his electro-acoustic Guitar. "Ah dammit, another day in paradise... What a weird dream..." He placed his hand over his eyes for a moment and blinked before sitting up, having a quick shower and putting on some clean clothes.

Naziel was wearing a vans long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of gray levi jeans and a pair of military boots as he plodded down the stairs with his guitar in its carry case he took a look at his family in the kitchen and froze when he looked at his father... He carefully maneuvered himself next to Viola and nudged her; "Hey mum have we got any cereal left...?" He continued to look at his dad as he poured himself a cup of coffee then took a seat at the table; "Hey everyone...Hi Dad..." He slouched into his seat a bit as he had his over head speakers around his neck playing his music.

As all of the family began to enter the scene, Nikolai examined each and every part carefully. He always was a quiet child, even around his own family. He lived almost entirely in his own head, and it was this element of him that had allowed him to notice and understand the way the world works around him. He carefully watched for flags, trying to figure out what events were in store for him. The earliest mornings were always the hardest to tell, because of how chaotic his family tended to be. So far, it looked like maybe a flag with Ebony might be available, judging from the show she was making. Victoria had taken herself entirely out of the picture, and that cut her off from the equation. Yukine was being rather quiet too, so there weren't many chances to try and get anything on him. Naz still had potential, it depended on how it played out. Pushing it to Ebony or Naz would still be the best actions. So far, no one had taken any direct interest in him, and that made him feel better.

Snapping back to reality, he blinked slightly and looked around. He had to stop retreating into his head like that, it was rude. He smiled at Yukine. "I did hear, that's great." He tried to think about the best course of action right now. He could pull himself out entirely like Victoria, but he still had to get ready, and would be rather hungry. However, if he waited any longer, he tempted fate starting any flags centered around him. Taking a tactical retreat, Nikolai attempted to slide past his family and up towards his room, intending to spend the time waiting for breakfast getting ready. So far, no one had noticed him outside of those he greeted, most too concerned with their own issues. If he used this time well, he could completely take himself out of the equation for today's events. However, if either Ebony or Naz took notice of him, his fate was sealed.

((I vote that we say screw post order and go Free for All on this, I think it'd be more fun.))

Yukine watched as Victoria gave him a kiss on the cheek, grabbed her skateboard, and left. She was always so affectionate towards him. "Bye~bye!" Yukine cheered happily, waving his little hand to Victoria before the door was shut. He then turned to Ebony, and pouted. "Nazzy told me milli is too big to count. You not nice!" Yukine complained before he turned to Niko. "Niko, you can play with me, right?" Yukine assumed with puppy eyes written on his face. It was after this moment that he went to Viola. "Mommy! Is it breaky time already?" Yukine wondered. As you could tell, Yukine was a really giddy boy. He finally turned to Indar, and frowned. "Daddy, you have work again, don't you?" Yukine assumed.

To conclude, Yukine ran upstairs immediately, and jumped into bed again, covering himself in sheets and fluffing his pillow. "Everyone is always busy!" Yukine whined angrily.