Chapter 4- Field Experience
A set of sluggish emerald eyes stared back at Lydia in the foggy mirror. The steam from the shower made her bangs stick to her olive-skinned forehead. She leaned her weight on the sink, groaning. School starts too early. Last night, she had trouble falling asleep, as Aidan’s face, crushed from her rejection, glued her gaze to the ceiling, until she blocked out the guilt long enough to drift off. It wasn’t her fault if she didn’t immediately return his feelings, but that didn’t ease the pangs when she thought of him retreating yesterday, his tail between his legs.
Wren flung her head out of the shower, her mass of auburn-red hair slapping the door like a wet rag. “Could you hand me my towel, please?” Lydia tossed the towel to her. “What’s up? You look like you failed a test. You didn’t, did you?” She hopped out, her towel wrapped around herself and her face right in Lydia’s. “Don’t tell me you did. Did you? You’ll need to do really well on the exam then! ’Cause if you don’t, you’ll fail and we won’t be in the same class! Do you want to form a study group? Get a tutor?”
“No, Wren. It’s nothing like that. It’s,” she struggled and shook her head. Lydia didn’t feel like involving anyone else for Aidan’s sake. And she knew Wren would ask a million questions and possibly nag her to give him a chance, neither of which she had the strength for right now. “It’s nothing,” she repeated. “C’mon. We’re going to be late.”
What puzzled her the most was, why her? Sure, she and Aidan were close. But there were plenty of girls in the Cave. Some without troublesome abilities, some better looking. And not as freakishly large, she thought, looking at her muscular arms. Then again, Aidan couldn’t strike up a conversation with any of them like Jando could. Convenience, then? No, that didn’t seem like Aidan.
Whatever his reasons, she couldn’t deny that his attraction made her feel special. It was different from the compliments Jando always paid her and every other girl. She hadn’t given much thought to dating after the accident that transformed her, seeing it as something that would be difficult in her life from then on. A bridge that she would cross when she got to it. But now Aidan asked freely, without her trying, and meant it completely. Her chest fluttered that someone didn’t see an oddity, but a person they wanted to ask, knowing full well about her and the consequences of her strength. It reassured any past worries about dating and offered a hopeful outlook, warming her body with a fuzzy sensation.
On their way to class, Wren bounded in front of Lydia, her pair of water bottles bouncing on her hips as she walked backward. She never had to look behind her as they walked through the lit sea-blue halls of the Center. “So when is your mom supposed to be here?”
“Soon. Sometime today,” Lydia said. She was happy when the visits were increased to at least once a month, and she had been counting down the days until today.
It had been some time since the last visit. Her mother had been busy moving and setting up her start-up law practice out of her new home, after resigning from her previous firm. The BEP Division helped Debra locate a smaller house and sell the old house, all for a safety precaution against future threats, after she had been kidnapped once with Lydia’s father, and then had their hometown of Golden Springs threatened in a terrorist attack not long after that. “I don’t need all that room for myself anyway,” Debra told Lydia in one of her letters. She also mentioned some big surprise she was bringing to make up for the fewer letters during the move.
“And you have no idea what the surprise is that she’s bringing?” Wren asked.
“You know as much as I do.” In one of the Center’s training rooms, a younger class of BEPs was running through some exercises.
“Can’t wait to meet your mom again. I liked her.”
“Shocking. You like almost everyone. Jando wants me to meet his family, too.”
“You’ll like them. They’re really nice,” Wren said.
“Speaking of which, I want to meet your family sometime. How come they never visit?”
Wren raised her arms high in an overexaggerated shrug. “You know how it is. Some people’s families can’t come ’cause they’re super busy.” Lydia had never considered that and pity sprang up in her for Wren and the others like her. “But Daniel keeps me up-to-date with everything in his letters, and I’ll be out of here in no time anyway.”
“Oh, right. Your brother.”
The intercoms in the Center crackled to life. “Will Lydia Penner and Jando Oliveira please report to the second floor of the Center?”
“That’s your cue,” Wren said. “I’ll see you later.” She continued on to class while Lydia changed paths to the elevators.
On the stark-white and brightly lit second floor, Sylvia met her and led her to a conference room, where Lydia’s mother was waiting, looking prim, proper, and every bit the professional lawyer she was, despite trading her blazer and skirt for a blouse and jeans for this visit. Her deep-brown hair had been curled recently at the tips, and her warm eyes matched her daughter’s in color and joy. In addition, beside her was a good friend of Lydia’s.
“Dariela!” Lydia squealed and ran to her, embracing the girl. She picked her up off her feet and swung her around.
“Agh! Too tight!” Dariela said, wheezing. Her blue eyes widened into saucers and she slapped Lydia’s back repeatedly.
Lydia dropped her and scratched her head. “Sorry. Guess I forgot my own strength.”
Dariela rubbed her chest, grinning painfully. “That’s an understatement.”
She hadn’t changed much since Lydia had last seen her. Back when she first escaped the Cave to save her parents. Has it been that long? Dariela had grown taller, but so had Lydia, leaving her with a few inches on her friend. The purple in Dariela’s hair faded away, left only at the tips, and she sported one long, off-center red streak from front to back instead, which matched her red ripped shirt, exposing a tight black shirt underneath. “What are you doing here?”
Dariela put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. “Some greeting.”
Rolling her eyes, Lydia playfully shoved her. “You know what I mean.”
“Ask her.” Dariela pointed at Lydia’s mother. Lydia could’ve slapped herself for neglecting to welcome her as well. She hugged her mother tight.
“They made an exception for her,” Debra explained. She smiled at Lydia and looked her over. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Good. How’s work going? How’s the new house?”
“Tiring as always,” she said. “And it’s good. I’m planning to turn one of the rooms into another office and may hire on an assistant. Business has been busy and I’ll need the help.”
“That’s great!”
They left the conference room, only to be distracted by Jando and a group of people in the room next door. Lydia asked for a moment and checked in on him. An older short woman held Jando’s face, mashing his cheeks together and slapping him gently. “You grow every time I see you,” she said. A younger boy and girl, both with black hair like his, clamored at his hips, hopping up and down and begging him for something in another language.
When Lydia tried to leave without disturbing them, the boy spotted her. He pointed Lydia out to Jando and the woman, and then Jando beckoned her in.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude,” she said, staying by the door.
“Nonsense. You’re not intruding. Come in. Oh, thanks for the flower yesterday.” He pulled her along to his family and made the introductions. “Lydia, my mom. Mom, this is Lydia.”
“Ah, so this is the girl I’ve heard so much about!” She gathered Lydia into a great hug, lifting her to her toes. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” Smacking Lydia’s cheeks together like she had with her son, she studied her. “I can see why you talk about her so much. She’s very pretty.”
“We’re just friends,” Jando said. But he chuckled, winking at Lydia. “For now.” Then he hefted up his brother and sister on each shoulder, spinning them about. “A
nd these two brats are Manoel and Suzana. Say hi, you two.”
They waved and shouted, “Hi!” Lydia waved back. By that time, Debra and Dariela had entered, checking on what was taking Lydia so long. They joined the meeting, as Jando’s mother took Debra aside and praised her for “raising such a fine young woman.” Debra paid as many compliments to her for Jando, dubbing him “a brave and handsome man.”
Meanwhile, Jando’s eyes lit up when he saw Dariela and he bowed gracefully. “I see that Lydia keeps exquisite company. Where have you been hiding this fair creature?”
Dariela cast a sidelong glance at her. “Your boyfriend?”
Unexpectedly, he snatched her hand and kissed it softly. Lydia snickered at Dariela’s startled recoil. “No. But I can be yours.” Slowly, her hand started to disappear and Dariela’s eyes widened.
“You can go invisible?”
“I can make other things go invisible. Not myself,” he corrected and held up her see-through hand, enjoying her reaction. Lydia had the urge to warn him not to do the same to either his or Dariela’s clothes.
Suzana and Manoel seemed to be used to their older brother’s romantic antics, scrunching their faces and kicking the back of his shins. He rounded on them and chased them into a corner, grabbing them and causing them to vanish and reappear. They laughed and clapped their hands. “Again! Again!” they said.
Dariela watched, her jaw dropping. Lydia closed her mouth and guided her to the exit. “Yeah, this one is Jando. And there’s plenty more where he came from.” The others followed right behind them.
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Rogues of Overwatch Page 6