by Tara Chau
“I don’t deserve your protection or your comfort,” I say softly, pawing away my tears.
“Of course, you do,” Ty says, shocked. “Everyone deserves protection, especially you. Dianna, you are going to save every single Protector. You’re going to be bloody amazing. You’re going to get your hands dirty, but the end result will be worth the grime.” Ty assures.
More tears start spilling from my eyes silently. Here he is trying to comfort me and make me laugh when he’s just heard that I might kill his entire race rather than save it.
Ty looks at me with curiosity now, not worry like a few moments ago, but with pure curiosity.“I have known you for all of two weeks and have spent two days with you. I already know that you won’t intentionally hurt anyone, so how come you don’t?”
I sniffle lamely and try wiping my eyes again. I bury my face into my hands so he can’t see the discomfort written on my features. A moment later, I feel strong fingers prying my hands from my face. Ty’s hands are calloused and cool, but his touch feels warm and gentle.
“Dianna,” Ty says cautiously. “Dianna, look at me, please.”
He waits a little while I decide whether I want to or not. Inhaling deeply, I wait a few more seconds for my breathing to even out and strengthen.
Slowly removing my hands from my face, I meet his gaze. Ty watches me closely with his piercing blue eyes, causing me to tense.
“I don’t know what to do.” I confess, feeling defeated, “Tell me what to do.”
“I don’t know.” Ty admits, “I guess that we should train and fill you in on what’s been happening, keep an eye on you and then go from there.”
I give a small nod. Rising, I start walking towards the door, planning on leaving.“Dianna.” He calls. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going home,” I say flatly. Everything that has transpired over the last hour has dried up my emotion and energy.
“You can’t, Dianna.” He says sternly.
“Why not?” Even to my ears, I sound like an insolent child.
“Because, as I said, we have to keep an eye on you. And I will have to notify the Counsel as well, sorry.” Ty bows his head, attempting to hide the regret in his face.
“That’s fine,” I grumble. “I’m going to ruin everything if you don’t.”
“No, you’re not.” He says aggressively. “I won’t let that happen.”
“Oh, drop the act.” I snap, my sadness and defeat shifting into anger. Welcome back, emotions. You’ve been missed.
“You don’t trust me anymore. You’re just keeping me here to make sure I don’t go on a killing spree of some sort.”
“Dianna…”
“You would have called me Di,” I mumble, eyes darting to the ground.
“What?” he asks.
“If I hadn’t told you what I did, you would have called me Di,” I repeat, loud and certain.
Ty looks genuinely shocked at this comment. I look straight into his eyes, challenging him to say something else. When he makes no move to speak, to stop
“I understand, though, Ty. It’s your job to protect the world from threats.” Looking around, I force myself to stay steady as I continue to speak. “I have to go pick something up for school. I’ll see you.”
And with that, I open the door and strut out into the milky sunlight, leaving Ty behind me.
The sun streams in through my window, warm and welcoming. I rub my eyes to get rid of all the morning muck. Blinking a couple of times, I sit up, yawning. A broad smile crosses my face, and it’s school today! That means a new start. Making new friends and spending time with my dad. An image of Ty pops into my mind. Flashes of yesterday’s events start ebbing at my cheery disposition. My smile collapses. Shit.
I slowly clamber out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, a life-or-death situation crosses my mind: how do I do my hair today?
I pick up my fluoro pink toothbrush, smiling at how the glitter sparkles. Two minutes later, my teeth are minty fresh, and I’m reminding myself never to say the phrase minty fresh in public.
Okay, back to the problem at hand. My hair. How about a bun? No. Umm, how about I leave it out? No, too plain. Oh, I’ll braid it back from the sides and leave half of it out. Yep, that’s what I’ll do.
Another ten minutes passes, and my hair is done. Clothes. Jesus, this first impression thing is hard. I walk back into my room and start picking out some possible choices. Floral crop top, white plain shirt, tie-dye shirt, stripy black and white off the shoulder shirt. God, not a lot of options. Black jeans, white jeans, denim jeans and black tights. Okay, I know what I’m gonna wear. Black and white shirt with white jeans. Oh, and a black coat. England. So cold.
Looking at myself in the mirror after applying some red lip gloss, I smile happily. I actually look rather nice today. Crossing to the far side of my room, I pack my bag with hurried motions. My bag is a nice, faded mustard yellow, and it has a smaller pocket on the front with a silver zipper. Opening the larger compartment, I start to pack my bag with all my books and stationery.
After finishing, I make my way down the hall and take a quick look at the clock. It’s seven-thirty. That’s good, it only takes ten minutes to walk to school and five minutes to drive. I steal an apple from the bowl and shout goodbye to my dad. As I’m about to open the front door, a loud knock rings through the hallway. Cautiously opening the door, I peek outside. It’s Miss Renalds. Opening the door with a swift tug, I beam out at her.
“Hello Miss Renalds, how can I help you?” I chirp.
“Hello Dianna, I was just about to make my way to school and was wondering if you wanted a ride.” She says.
I look at her, trying to think if I want to take the offer or decline it.
“Will Ty be coming?” I say cautiously, and I’m still pretty upset about yesterday’s conversation with him.“Well, you two do go to the same school as each other.” She says patiently.
I stammer for an answer, something that won’t offend or cause any questioning. “I was just going to walk, and it’s only ten minutes after all,” I say brightly, doing my best to shrug off the comment and the offer.
“Nonsense. You will come with us. Are you ready?” she demands.
“Yes, I am. Are you sure that it’s alright? Maybe you should ask Ty first?” I add, fiddling with my hands.
“No, it’s not up to Ty. Come on, and I need to get to school early. I am a teacher, after all.”
I give a soft groan, low enough so Miss Renalds wouldn’t be able to hear.
“Okay.” I agree, “I’ll just grab my coat. Be back in a second.” I turn around and grab my black coat from the hanger before rushing out the door, closing it behind me.
Miss Renalds comes to walk beside me, her gait confident as any teacher. We walk across to her house; I can see Ty leaning against the door frame, his eyes closed.
“Tytus!” Miss Renalds shouts. “Come now, and we have to go. Dianna is coming with us.”
Ty’s eyes fly open and come to rest on me. I can just make out a slight blush that appears on his face. He is probably remembering what went down yesterday.
Wait a minute, Tytus? Did I hear that correctly? I look back to where Ty is making his way over to me. He’s wearing a plain white T-shirt and some ripped black jeans. Wow, how can he wear something so simple but still look so good? And not be cold, too.
“Tytus is Latin, and it means honour.” Ty’s voice brings me back, and I blush, realising I was still admiring him.
“Mm-hmm…” I mumble.
“You look nice today, Di.” He attempts.
“Thank you,” I mumble again. But that traitorous blush burns brighter, showing him that I really care about his compliment.
“Okay, you two.” Miss Renalds calls. “You can talk in the car. Get in.” I slide into the back seat expecting Ty, or rather Tytus, to get in the passenger seat. How wrong I was. Ty slips into the back
seat but avoids looking at me as the engine starts. We turn out of the driveway and onto the busy street. Oh god, there’s so much traffic.
“Looks like we might be waiting here for a while.” Miss Renalds states. “Make yourselves comfortable, and we will be here for at least another fifteen minutes. Luckily, we left a little earlier than we needed to.” She adds, talking more to herself than either of us.
“Thanks, Miss Renalds,” I mutter.
“Just call her Elizabeth,” Ty says half-heartedly. “There’s no point in calling her Miss Renalds. Unless you’re in class.”
“Your name is Elizabeth Renalds?” I ask.
“Yes. Elizabeth Jane Renalds is my full name. And Tytus is right. You should call me Elizabeth, though not in class, of course.” She says.
“I told you, please don’t call me Tytus. I prefer to be called Ty. That’s what all my friends call me.” Ty says.
“Well, my dear son, I am not your friend, and I will call you what I named you,” Elizabeth replies
Ty groans, looking out the window with a deep exhale. He still hasn’t talked to me yet. Elizabeth turns on the radio just as the traffic starts to move again. Girls just want to have fun by Cyndi Lauper is playing, faint enough that it turns into white noise.
As we pull into the school carpark, Ty turns to face me. I don’t know whether to be glad or upset.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers. The music is just loud enough, and his voice soft enough that Elizabeth won’t hear him, but I can. He moves and places his hand on top of mine. Maybe he thinks that this action will comfort me. As his skin brushes the top of my hand, a shiver of warmth runs up my arm. Flinching away from him, I pretend to pick up my bag and get out. But Ty knows and has enough dignity to pretend to play with his hair.
Exiting the car, I face the school that is now my new challenge. Okay. Just breath, in and out, in and out.
“Ty.” A high pitch squeal booms across the park.
A gorgeous girl comes running over and throws herself into Ty’s arms, her blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders in long locks that flow down to her waist. Tanned skin, green eyes, an amazing sense of fashion, and a beautiful smile. Something strange stirs in my stomach, something I haven’t ever felt before. Jealousy?
“Annabelle, I haven’t seen you in ages! How are you?” He asks with an equally bright smile.
“Ty, I missed you. Why didn’t you return any of my calls this week?” Her voice sings.
“Anne, I’m sorry, I got really preoccupied.” Ty apologizes.
I look to Ty, wincing slightly as his eyes catch mine. Giving him a weak smile, I turn around to walk into the school. A firm hand grabs at my wrist, and a familiar warmth makes its way up my arm. I slowly turn around and meet Ty’s eyes.
“Anne, this is Dianna Reeds. She just moved to England and is new at this school.” He explains.
“I know that she’s new, Ty. It’s not like I can’t see her.” She rolls her eyes, “Hi, my name is Annabelle Cleve. I’m Ty’s friend.”
Although her voice is sweet, the word friend was almost said in an exasperated sigh. Obviously, she wants to be more than just friends. Ty looks at her, and some part of me feels bad for Annabelle, for Ty’s eyes hold no affection other than something brotherly. Of course, I’ve never seen that look from him, so I didn’t know for sure.
“I really like your outfit, Dianna.” She comments.
“Oh… thanks. I’m not usually very good with fashion. I really need to go shopping for new clothes as well. But your outfit is on point.”
On point? Is it still cool to say that? But her clothes really are awesome. A simple peach colour wool long-sleeve and a black skirt with black stockings, and her shoes! High heel black boots that seem to pull the whole thing together.
“Ha… thanks. I slept in more than usual, so I just pulled something together. And in case you were wondering, it’s super cool that you said on point, not many people like saying things that aren’t usually said by the crowd.”
“Oh, yeah, I couldn’t really care less about what anyone else thinks,” I admit.
“That’s smart. May I suggest something?”
“Sure,” I say.
Anne3 advises. “This school can get pretty tough. It will do you good to remember yourself.”
“Oh… thank you.” I nod.
“No problem, we should hang out sometime. If you want, I can show you around, introduce you to some other people. I think we will become good friends.” She smiles.
“Thank you so much. That would be amazing. I was really worried that I wouldn’t have anyone to hang with.” I admit.
Her laugh is easy and less stressed now. “Stick with me, kid, and I’ll show you the ropes.” She jokes.
“Hey, I can’t be that much younger than you. In fact, I could be older. When is your birthday?” I ask.
“The second of May.” She says proudly.
My heart sinks just slightly, “Damn, you are older than me. My birthday’s on the twenty-sixth of June.”
“Mm-hmm, see, kid, I’m always right.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I say cheekily.
We both start laughing hysterically.
A loud cough cuts through our laughter. Ty. I completely forgot about him. Well, that is probably for the best. I can’t have my head filled with boy stuff the first day of class.
“If you girls are done, we might want to head into school. The bells just about to ring.” Ty says.
“Oh… hey. Where did Elizabeth go?” I ask curiously.
“She walked into school right about the time Annabelle came.” He says impatiently.
Annabelle laughs sweetly, “Dianna can call me Anne.”
“Okay, that’s cool. In that case, you can call me Di,” I say chirpily.
“Are you kidding me?” Ty shouts, a little baffled, “I thought only I could call you that!”
“Well, since you stopped calling me Di, Anne can use the nickname instead,” I say coldly.
“Yeah…about that…you know I’m sorry, right?” he says sadly, “I have no choice when it comes to this kind of thing.”
This kind of thing? This kind of thing is me. It’s what I’m going through, what I have to live with and work around for the rest of my life.
“What did he do?” Anne asks accusingly, beginning to usher me towards the doors.
“It’s fine, Anne, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get to class.” I say, feeling a bit guilty.
“Don’t worry, Di. He’s just a stupid boy.” Anne mumbles.
“I heard that,” Ty states, rolling his eyes as he breaks off from the group to walk off in a different direction.
The corridors are filled with teens. The smell of BO and perfume is overbearing. I crinkle my nose and look over at Anne.
“Eventually, you’ll get used to the smell.” She screws up her face and gives me an embarrassed smile, and shrug.
“Whatever you say.” I smile uncertainly.
“Hey, beautiful.” A low unfamiliar voice interrupts Anne and me.
I look to the right of me where a tall, gorgeous boy is walking beside me. He has black pupils, blue-dyed hair and a strong jawline. If you looked at him closely, you could also see a small chip on his front left tooth. The blue hair suits him, I think. Some people dye their hair ridiculous colours and get away with it. This guy doesn’t just get away with it. He looks great with it.
“You can drop the act, Gabe. She’s already taken,” Anne says.
“Hmm?” Okay, I’m now officially confused.
Gabe huffs a laugh, his smile revealing the chip to be deeper than I originally thought. “Come on Na-Na you just ruined my chance at looking cool for the newbie.” He complains.
“I think that hair of yours ruined your chances before she even had the chance to talk to you. And how many times have I told you not to call me that stupid nickname.” she scolds.
His la
ugh echoes through the hall, making me restless. He has a really charming smile, despite the chip in his tooth.
“I think that the nickname suits you,” I say, earning a death glare from Anne and a low chuckle from Gabe.
“DON’T ENCOURAGE HIM,” Anne shouts. Both Gabe and I laugh again.
“I swear if you start calling me Na-Na, Di, I am so going to make your day miserable.”
“Anne, I know you won’t. You’re too nice.” I say playfully.
“Oh Dianna, you haven’t seen Na-Na when she’s angry. God, can she hold a grudge.” Gabe says, acting all scared. “Anyway, I’m Gabriel Jones, but my friends call me Gabe.” He gives a little bow and winks at me.
“Does that mean I can call you Gabe? Or are we not there yet?” I ask sarcastically.
His smooth laugh snakes through my spine, “Well, you did back me up with Anne, so I guess we can be friends.” An annoyed grunt comes from Anne, and I go in to hug her tightly.
“Get off me, you traitor!” She yells.
All three of us start to laugh again, and then Gabe comes in for the hug as well, crushing us both within his embrace.
Once we’re all standing on our own two feet, Gabe shifts uncomfortably, “Sorry to ruin the moment, but have any of you seen Ty? I’ve been looking for him all morning. That idiot, I bet he’s been avoiding me. Apparently, he’s been having girl troubles.” Gabe shakes his head, his grin clearly glowing with mischief, “I called him last night and said he would have to give me all the details today. What is it, you girls say? You always share your secrets with your besties?” Gabe says, obviously not seeing my horrified face.
Anne hits her palm against her forehead, and I groan.
“Did he happen to give you the name?” I ask cautiously.
“Deb? Deena? D… something.” He says hesitantly.
“Shit.”
“Say Di, would you like me to accompany you to the office to collect your schedule?” Anne asks, just in time.
“Why that would be lovely,” I reply, putting on a mock English accent which causes Anne to glare and Gabe to chuckle.