Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series
Page 3
“It’s about Skyler.” His shoulders sagged. “Ever since the accident he hasn’t said one word to me.” Defeat seething from his eyes, he continued hesitantly, “In chem class he wouldn’t even look at me. I only caught his eye once, and that was when he was gloating over the fact that his group partner, Jason, was way cooler than either of mine.” He scowled. “And the sad thing is, even with only one partner, I’d say he’s still come out on top by a long shot.”
Ian let his words sink in, before replying, “That’s horrible, Eddy.” Shaking his head, he frowned sympathetically, pressing him for more information. “So, how’d he break his ankle anyway?”
His quivering lips showed his inner turmoil. He took a deep breath before beginning: “Well, we were both skateboarding having a great time, when he told me he wanted to do a kickflip off the largest ramp. Of course, I told him it was foolish, but did he listen? No way; he wouldn’t be Skyler if he did.” Shaking his head in agony, he shrugged stiffly, each movement appearing to inflict him with the pain of a wasp sting, before adding with distress, “When he flicked the board with his feet, it got away from him and he landed on his right ankle.”
Vultures swooping through his conscience, Eddy paused. “What am I gonna do, man? He hates me."
Ian stuffed his hands into his pockets anxiously, as the coach’s venomous words suddenly replayed in his mind, seeking to engulf him. With great effort, he tore them out of his thoughts and refocused on Eddy. “Stop blaming yourself,” he finally said, an edge of worry in his voice. “Skyler’s just mad he can’t go to state, so he’s taking it out on you.”
Eddy devoured his words, taking his statement a step further. “Mad wouldn’t even begin to describe it. He was a wolverine.” A small smile crept onto his face. His frown melted away. “But, yeah, you’re right. I should stop beating myself up. It’s not my fault he got injured. I mean, I warned him, but he just didn’t listen.” Reflecting over his own words, Eddy breathed out a sigh. “I do feel kinda bad for him though.”
“So do I, but I’m sure he’ll get over it.”
“Yeah.” As if Ian’s words were healing ointment, Eddy soon reverted to his old self, a fine grin now painted onto his face. “So are you ready for the party or what, man?”
Ian heartily welcomed the new topic, a smile crossing his face at his friend’s quick recovery. “Of course. It’s gonna be awesome.”
Eddy drew forth a bottle of gel. “Yeah, I hear ya. You can’t be prepared too soon.” He squeezed a blob of white gel onto his short spiky brown hair and ruffled it up, more for laughs than anything. A few classmates looked their way and just shook their heads, amused.
“I guess not.” Ian chuckled. “So do you know how many are invited?”
“Yeah. Darien told me she invited over twenty-five people.” Pausing briefly, he shoved the small bottle of hair gel back into his pocket and looked at Ian, his eyes brightening, a smirk creeping onto his face. “And since the party’s at her house, I imagine most will show up.”
“Who wouldn’t?” asked Ian rhetorically, as he glanced at the clock on the wall, checking how much time he had left until his next class. “Her house is amazing; it’s a mansion.”
“Yeah.” He laughed, as he tucked his long, dangly shoelaces into his sneakers so he wouldn’t accidentally trip on them. “How rich do you have to be to afford that?”
“Pretty and rich.”
He laughed at Ian’s joke. “You got that right.”
Still laughing, Eddy spotted Alan sprinting closer to him. His laugh immediately changed from innocent amusement to devilish mischief. Hypnotized, like a cat distracted from his routine meal by a mouse, Eddy fixed his gaze on his target.
As Alan approached, Eddy, with perfect precision acquired from years of practice, suddenly stuck out his leg and tripped him, shouting, “Watch where you’re goin’, punk!”
Mouth distorted in terror, Alan slid a little ways on the terrazzo floor and hit his face on the side of the water fountain, denting his glasses.
Watching this pitiful scene, Eddy laughed sadistically, even offering a hand to Alan, which he wisely refused.
Backing away hurriedly, Alan scuttled across the floor like a cockroach, depleting his last reserves of dignity, and then, once he was a safe distance from Eddy, stood up and bolted away, leaving Ian in mad disbelief. Though Eddy had often terrorized Alan, sometimes deeply hurting his feelings, this act was easily one of the worst. He almost didn’t even pity Eddy anymore for having to deal with Skyler. It seemed he deserved it now.
Taking his gaze off Alan, Ian turned over to Eddy and just glared at him, fury and rage enveloping every pore of his body: “Eddy! Leave him alone already. I’m sick of this.”
But Eddy just laughed. “Ha. What are you, my mom?” he asked, hiding his broad smile under a childish grin while chuckling to himself.
“Quit it, man.” Ian gripped the doorknob to his Spanish II class, which was conveniently rather close to his chem class. “You’re not even listening to me.”
Eddy brazenly shrugged. “Yeah, I am. But I’m not gonna take your advice.”
“And why’s that?” Frowning dangerously, Ian moved away from the door to let a few other students into the classroom, who skirted around him not sparing a glance.
Eddy only smirked. “Because he’s an extreme loser. Anybody with his geeky personality deserves to be bullied.”
He’d gone too far. “Knock it off!” He jabbed Eddy hard in the ribs with his elbow, sending him backwards a few inches.
Surprise burst from Eddy’s eyes as he winced in agony. Though he looked ready to retaliate, Ian knew he wouldn’t as he rarely if ever did so. Besides hurting Alan occasionally, Eddy was surprisingly rather nonviolent and unaggressive.
And, true to his past nature, Eddy merely gave him a cold stare and backed away from him angrily. “Cool off, man. It’s not a big deal.”
Ian just grit his teeth. “Yeah it is.”
Eddy just shook his head around, disgusted. “Whatever. You need to calm down, man.” Rubbing his side and groaning to himself, he reluctantly followed his friend into Spanish class, trailing cautiously behind him as if expecting another jab.
Chapter 2
Arriving home from school, Ian glanced at his mom who was multitasking once again. Holding her stylish purple cell phone between her shoulder and ear, she was chatting rather loudly on it, while making a homemade pie crust.
Walking past her without saying a word, Ian headed straight for his room where he laid back on his bed, weary from the day. Eddy was really getting on his nerves; he was becoming the classic stereotypical bully. Worse, nothing he’d said to him made any difference--it was as if Eddy’s ears were stuffed with cotton.
Mentally exhausted, Ian soon dozed off into a troubled sleep about Professor Edwards and Coach Sandler plotting in the dark alleyways about how best to kill him. Then his dream radically changed to Eddy hiding a knife in his pocket and sneaking up on an unsuspecting Alan who was busy mixing chemicals. Just before Eddy got to Alan, his dream switched again; this time, Eddy was being chased by Skyler, who hurried after him, despite his broken ankle, and tried to maim him with a Samurai sword.
An hour later, after a stream of more colorful nightmares, Ian awoke with a start. Perhaps Sandler had truly cursed him; his dreams were never this violent. Breathing heavily, he crawled out of bed and after steadying his feet began to throw red and black darts at his dartboard. He needed to calm down--things weren’t as bad as they seemed; Hazel had personally invited him to her party and had seemed genuinely friendly. Why should he let Eddy’s bullying behavior and a few bad dreams ruin his day?
Somewhat consoled by those thoughts, he played darts for half an hour, until he grew tired of it, and sitting on his bed, yawning, he thought of what to do next. On a normal day, when he was sick of playing darts, he would’ve run on the country roads--but not today. Doing so would only remind him of his conversation with Coach Sandler, a conversation he badly wan
ted to forget. No, he had to do something else.
Thinking over his other options, Ian decided to shoot hoops outside. Although it wasn’t his favorite sport, as running took that place in his heart, he still enjoyed it.
An hour and fifteen minutes later, much longer than he usually shot hoops, his mom opened the front door and yelled out at him, “Ian! Supper’s ready!”
Trudging inside, annoyed, as he’d just made an impressive shot from twenty feet away and wanted to replicate it, Ian flopped down by the dinner table and ate a plate of mashed potatoes drizzled with gravy, a piece of moist cornmeal bread, and two smoked summer sausages drizzled with barbeque sauce. For dessert, he had a mouthwatering slice of homemade apple pie topped with whipped cream and hot caramel sauce, a delicacy that he devoured in less than a minute.
Finishing his food much faster than his parents, older brother, and younger sister did, he then dismissed himself from the dinner table, hurried out of the kitchen, and leapt up the living room stairs two at a time.
As he reached the upstairs hallway, he turned left and approached his partly closed bedroom door, shoving it open with his right elbow, before hurrying into the room, soon flinging open the top drawer of his antique wooden dresser that held his five pairs of blue jeans.
After yanking out a pair of ripped, faded jeans, with holes above and below the kneecaps, and finding a plain white t-shirt, he dashed towards the large closet in the back of the room, where with some careful consideration, he picked out his best dress shirt--a short-sleeved blue shirt with a fancy collar--and a stylish black leather jacket, which a member of a local motorcycle gang might wear.
Hurrying into the bathroom, he locked the door and took a quick shower, perhaps using more soap and shampoo than usual. Once he’d dried himself completely off, he slipped his clothes on, slid on a pair of black dress shoes, and placed a baseball cap, beige-colored and loose fitting, onto his head.
As soon as he’d finished dressing, he heard loud honking outside; it must be Eddy in his new Mazda 3.
Brushing his teeth rapidly, he then slipped his cell phone and a packet of peppermint gum into his pocket, dashed down the wooden staircase, said goodbye to his mom and dad, who’d just gotten done eating and were reading the newspaper together, and bolted outside. His friends, Eddy and Darien, awaited him in the driveway.
“Hey, man.” Eddy rolled down the window of his blue sports sedan as Ian rushed over to it. “We’ve been waiting two minutes. What’s the holdup?”
“I didn’t expect you to come so soon,” he said somewhat irritably, as he flung open the back door of the vehicle and slipped in, not caring to buckle up.
Backing out of the driveway, Eddy looked into the interior mirror and merely smirked at him: “Trying to look good for the ladies is a full time job, isn’t it?”
“Could be.” He went along with his friend’s joke, even though for some reason it irked him.
“I knew it.” A sly grin fell on Eddy’s face. “So, which girl you gonna talk to the most tonight?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, somewhat tense, as he stretched out his legs to ease his discomfort. “I guess it depends on who talks to me first.” Pausing slightly, he then added with an unconcerned tone, “Who knows though? I might not even talk to any.”
Eddy just laughed at this. “Hah. That’d be a first.” Pulling out onto the highway, he screeched his tires, before accelerating far quicker than was necessary, adding with a daring grin, “I bet you’re gonna talk to Hazel or Tianna, aren’t you, man?”
Ian pushed his baseball cap farther down on his face and pretended to gaze at the scenery outside. “Uh … well, we’ll see how that pans out.”
Laughing, Eddy slapped his hands against the steering wheel. “Ha! I’m gonna start calling you the trapdoor spider, man.” He paused to control his emotions. “Let me see, I’ll just sit back in a corner and wait until some girl talks to me. If not, I’ll just chat with the furniture.”
Attempting a smile, Ian settled for a deflated frown. “That’s hardly a fair analogy, Eddy.”
Eddy just shook his head. “Nah, you just hate it because it’s true. You’ve gotta be more aggressive, man. Girls love that.”
With a shrug, indifference chiseled into his face, Ian ignored him and stared out the window as trees and telephone poles flew by, while Darien grinned softly to himself.
Ten minutes later, and a lot of loud music, Eddy turned down onto a road that led into the middle of the woods where Hazel’s mansion was located. The house was out in the middle of nowhere, away from the bustling city.
As Eddy turned down the long paved driveway, which twisted this way and that like a snake, Ian noticed the mansion up ahead in the distance, which was decorated for Halloween in four days. Carved pumpkins of various sizes lined the driveway on both sides; pine trees lit up the sky with white and orange hues; and speakers, stationed every ten feet or so under the trees, sent sinister noises into the autumn air reminiscent of wolves howling, witches cackling, thunder rumbling, or other ghostly Halloween sound effects.
Parking next to a yellow Jaguar, Eddy and his friends got out of the sedan and gazed up at the mansion towering above them. It would have looked great any day, but decorated for Halloween it was a wonder to behold: glistening cobwebs lined every one of the twenty-two windows that protruded from the edifice, and large creepy spiders dangled down from them; long black bats and gargoyles stood perched on the many grand balconies, staring down at them as if ready to swoop down and bite them; and deathly white skeletons hung on the grayish green walls, rattling back and forth in the strong breeze.
Deeply impressed, Ian wondered how much Hazel’s family had paid for all of these decorations, how long it’d taken to set everything up, and how long the house would remain decorated after Halloween. If he were Hazel’s dad, he’d at least keep up the decorations until December.
Stepping happily along the red and brown cobblestone pathway, which led to the house, he saw the veranda that led to the mansion’s door all covered in a foggy mist-like spray, thus perfectly concealing the entrance.
Awed by the mist, Ian once again found himself pondering how much work went into all this; but catching himself a few seconds later, he cut off those distracting thoughts and tried to locate the door.
Using his hands to feel around under the broad silver-colored veranda, Ian finally found the door. After twisting open the bronze doorknob, he stepped inside, fully expecting to see some cool Halloween costumes and expensive decorations.
However, after glancing around him disappointedly, he noticed that Hazel and six others were dressed in ordinary party clothes, and there were no Halloween decorations anywhere in sight.
Pretending not to look dispirited though, he casually looked around him and noticed that everyone had taken off their footwear, and so, bending down, he gradually slipped off his own shoes, throwing them to the side onto a black oriental rug next to a pair of pink sandals decorated with half a dozen Disney princess stickers--must be Amanda Whitman’s. Taking his eyes off the flamboyant sandals, while shaking his head at her ridiculous obsession with all things Disney, he then surveyed the wide expanse.
Fifteen feet above him hung a silvery glass chandelier, shining its tranquil light over the whole foyer. To the left of him was a huge living room with a fireplace, a rather large TV, and a comfortable-looking mahogany sofa that could fit at least four people, covered with silky black and brown pillows. To his right stood a large stairway overspread with a maroon Persian rug runner and guarded on both sides by two potted plants and a white marble statue of a beautiful harp-playing angel.
As he pondered where the stairs led up to, Hazel, studying him with her bright blue eyes, elegantly approached him in her lovely amaranth pink dress. “Hey, you made it, Ian.”
“Yeah. I said I was coming.” He gazed anxiously at the neatly tied carmine ribbon in her blonde hair and then down at her creamy fleece socks; though he didn’t think it possible, she looked ev
en prettier here than at school.
Seemingly unaware of his scrutiny, Hazel just smiled, remaining silent, peaceful mystery clinging to her face. After a lengthy pause, she finally vocalized her thoughts: “Yeah, I guess you did.” She drew out the words then added, her tone hesitant, “So, how’d you like the decorations?”
“I loved them. They’re awesome.”
“Yeah, I know. My parents and I spent a lot of time on them.” After tucking her fine hair behind her ears, she folded her hands together awkwardly. “So, what do you think of the house so far?”
“It’s great,” he said, surprised by her shyness. At school, she’d seemed fearless when she’d talked to him. She’d even put her hand on his shoulder. Here though, she seemed frozen and fake, almost at a loss for words. Maybe she was only bold when she knew what to say? Regardless, it didn’t make her any less attractive.
Looking at Hazel, who still seemed as rigid as an ice statue, he tried to continue the topic to ease her discomfort: “Um … so how’d you end up getting this nice house anyway? It’s amazing.”
His question probed her mind. She grew silent, meditative. After some thought, she replied faintly as if sharing an embarrassing secret, “Well, the owner sold it to my dad for a rather reduced price.” Pausing, a faint smile on her face, she added matter-of-factly, “He said the attic was haunted.”
Here Ian had to laugh. He wasn’t at all superstitious--ghosts were no more real to him than goblins or leprechauns. Though part of him felt bad for the previous owner, most of him just found the situation hysterical. “That guy got ripped off,” he said, trying to stop himself from laughing. “This place is awesome!”
“Yeah, I know,” Hazel murmured quietly, lost in thought, as if his bold statement would somehow jinx the house. “I feel really bad for him though. None of us have heard a thing since we moved in here three months ago.” Turning her head slightly to the side, she added, as if clarifying herself, “Of course, we haven’t gone in there yet, but I don’t think that’d make any difference.” A slight grin on her face, she stared at Ian as if he were an adventurer waiting to take on a challenge: “If you want to check it out though, go right ahead.”