As the bell rang, releasing everyone from class, Gabriel followed the other students out. The red-haired girl was a little ways in front of him, and she quickly disappeared among the throng of students in the packed hallways. Gabe threaded his way through groups of people laughing and talking and heading in various directions as he made his way to his next class.

As he rounded a corner, his attention was caught briefly by the view from a large window. The sun suddenly seemed to shine brighter than usual, filling the section of hallway with light and warmth. It reminded him of the bright light he had seen in class, and for a moment he thought that there would be a repeat of what happened earlier. He was surprised when he accidentally bumped into another student, and nearly lost his grip on his books.

"Sorry," he said quietly as he turned to see who it was he had collided with. It was a big, dark-skinned kid with long black hair in a ponytail. He looked older and was taller than Gabe and he had one eye covered by an eyepatch. Nice, walk into a half-blind guy, he berated himself silently. The boy looked rather imposing, however, and Gabe got the impression that he wasn't much impeded by the missing eye.

As he looked at the guy, Gabe got the odd impression that they were similar, somehow. Gabriel was physically almost the exact opposite of this boy, shorter and thin with pale skin and blond hair. However, he felt somehow connected, and as he thought this the sun coming through the window seemed to grow brighter for an instant, then faded, sinking behind a cloud. I really must be losing it. Gabe moved to step around the boy, again apologizing for running into hm.