by Bria Berg
When she put the clothes on, she felt a bit of apprehension. Why was she doing this? She knew why, three very handsome reasons why in fact. She shouldn’t care what they thought of her. They probably already heard enough gossip around school to come to their own conclusions about her, and yet she wanted to look somewhat presentable in case she saw them again. When it came time to do her hair and makeup however, she avoided looking at herself directly in the mirror. She hated seeing her reflection stare back at her. It is hard to look at someone you don’t like very much, especially when it is you. She ended up brushing on a quick layer of mascara, and pulling her hair back in a loose bun, letting her long layered bangs fall out on the side.
After gathering her school things, Tessa left her room and was shocked when Sandra immerged from her bedroom. Sandra wasn’t at all a morning person, so when Tessa looked over her appearance, a fitted white dress with black knee high boots, jewelry in all the right places, makeup thick and fresh, and her hair was perfectly combed into place, she stared in wonder.
“I know, I know,” Sandra yawned. “You’re lucky if you see me up before ten, but there is a fundraiser for your school of all things, and all the notable people are supposed to be there. Of course they begged me to make an appearance, but I don’t understand why they had to do it so early.”
“You’re going to be at school?” Tessa asked with dread.
“Just for an hour or two or less if I can manage it. Why on earth would I want to spend my time around a bunch of high school kids?”
Because two of them are your daughters, Tessa thought to herself as she gritted her teeth. Not wanting to get into a fight however, she kept her mouth shut and turned to go down the stairs, knocking on Hailey’s door like she did every school day. Sandra was oblivious to Tessa’s mood change and followed her down to the kitchen. Tessa roamed through the refrigerator and pulled out some strawberries, grapes, raspberries, and peaches and began cutting the fruit up to make a fruit salad for breakfast.
“Oh darling, be a good girl and make me some expresso. I’m too tired to move around just yet,” Sandra intoned as she pulled out her phone and began fiddling with it.
Tessa paused just a moment before she did as he mother asked. She felt her anger building up inside of her, and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Hailey had adopted their mother’s love for all things café, but Tessa didn’t like the smell of coffee beans. She was more of a hot chocolate type of girl. Hailey came down the stairs just as the expresso machine beeped. She looked just as confused as Tessa was when she saw Sandra sitting at the table.
“Good morning beautiful!” Sandra said like a teenage girl as Hailey sat down.
It hurt Tessa a little whenever her mother bypassed using such praise on her. Her mother was shallow and uncaring, it shouldn’t bother her, but it did.
Hailey took the cup that Tessa held out to her and drank it quickly before tossing some fruit in her mouth. “Jade is here, seeya,” she said and hurried out the door.
“I should get going too,” Sandra said standing. “Make sure you don’t leave the expresso machine dirty. It’s such a pain to clean.”
As if you would know, Tessa thought as she watched her mother leave. With a sigh, Tessa cleaned up the mess she had made for breakfast, before leaving for school.
As Tessa walked through the hallways of Winston high, she felt much more on edge, scanning every corner and turn, wondering if at any minute she’d run into one of the brothers. Every time she didn’t she felt both relief and disappointment. She wanted answers—that much she had decided. Ethan said he’d be there for her to talk when she was ready, so maybe she’d have to wait until the end of the day to get her answers.
History class went by without a hitch, and besides a few gross looks, Austin or any of the other boys in class never even bothered her. Her heart sped up a little as she walked to Chemistry, wondering if Milo would be there again. He wasn’t, but Miss Kelly was and she got the distinct impression that the substitute teacher was just as disappointed as she was that he wasn’t there. Nicole talked on like usual, mostly about her parents and Neal’s name was mentioned again, although Tessa wasn’t paying close enough attention to know exactly what was said.
Tessa walked past the assembly hall on her way to homeroom, where several adults were piling out of the doors crowding the hallway. Her mother’s voice sounded, and Tessa instinctively ducked, while trying to maneuver her way around the mass of bodies and remaining unseen. Too Late.
“Tessa!” Sandra’s voice rang. “You’ll never guess who ran into me!”
Tessa had asked her mother to call her ‘Tessa’ a number of times starting in kindergarten, and she did most of the time, but she felt the need to call her Baby whenever they were around large groups of people. She reluctantly turned, and gasped when she saw all three Ricks brothers standing with her mother. Inwardly groaning, she made her way to them.
Ms. Harper, the vice principal tapped her mother on the shoulder and the two began speaking as if they were old friends. Tessa watched from where she was, wondering if she should walk the five steps towards them, or turn and leave. She wanted to talk to the brothers, but certainly not in front of her mother. When she caught Milo’s imploring eye and couldn’t will herself to turn away, so she moved forward.
“She didn’t tell me anything about it actually,” Sandra was saying to Ms. Harper as she shot Tessa a narrow look.
Gripping the straps of her backpack, Tessa gave a small, uncertain smile and nod to the brothers to acknowledge their presence before Ms. Harper turned to her. “I was just telling your mother how we are in need of a soloist for the Sweetheart dance, and you haven’t tried out yet.”
Tessa’s mouth went dry as she opened it to answer, but her mother beat her to it. “Of course she’ll tryout.”
Tessa recognized the tone her mother was using and silently begged her to stop. Something else her mother did whenever outsiders were listening in was pretend to dote on her daughters, as if they were her world.
Sandra didn’t miss a beat as she continued, “Although I don’t even know why she would need to tryout in the first place, she’s the best dancer in school.”
No no no! Tessa angrily thought towards her mother, knowing what was likely coming next. Don’t say it.
“Besides, nobody puts Baby in a corner!”
There is was, and Tessa clenched her fists in mortification not daring to look anywhere but at the toes of her shoes.
“Excellent,” Ms. Harper clapped her hands triumphantly. “Come to the auditorium tomorrow right after school for your tryout. Just come prepared with whatever solo piece you’d like to do at the dance.”
After Ms. Harper walked away, Sandra turned her attention onto the brothers. “What a small world it is that we’d run into each other here,” she cooed to Milo. “And you have two brothers! How fun is that?”
Tessa, still looking down squeezed her eyes shut at her mother’s attempt to sound young and cool.
“Actually, we are working for the school right now, and should really get going,” Milo replied back. He could tell how uncomfortable Tessa was, and it was making him uncomfortable to watch her.
Tessa took that moment to finally take her leave too. “I’m actually going to be late for homeroom if I don’t hurry.”
“Wait!” Sandra blurted to Milo. “I haven’t properly thanked you yet for the other day. Why don’t you give me your number and we can set something up.”
Tessa wondered if her mother even remembered what he had done for her to be thankful for.
“That’s really not necessary,” Milo said stepping away. “I’m just glad Tessa is alive.”
His eyes met Tessa’s at that moment and the words seemed to hold so much more meaning. She took in a deep breath as her heart pounded in her ears.
“Are you going this way?” he motioned.
Tessa nodded.
“So are we,” Ethan cut in. “We will walk together.”
> Without sparing a somewhat shocked Sandra a look back, Tessa and the brothers walked away. Instead of going to her homeroom class however, she led the way to the gym, which was deserted during homeroom hour. Tessa turned to face the brothers, deciding to just tell them the truth. “I don’t know if I’m going crazy or not, but I think you guys are for real.”
“You’re not going crazy,” Sam assured. “By the way, we’re sorry if we scared you yesterday.”
“So what are you guys then? Do you have wands and stuff?” Tessa asked. Her legs were shaking so she sat down on the bleachers.
“No wands,” Milo answered. “When we refer to other people with magical powers, we just call them Gifted.”
Gifted sounded better than wizard, she decided. “So,” Tessa hesitated. “Are you guys good or bad?”
“So much for you two keeping a low profile,” Ethan groaned while taking a seat next to Tessa. “Your question is somewhat difficult to answer, because there are so many levels of good and bad.”
Tessa’s shoulders tensed. That didn’t sound like something the good guys would say.
Ethan continued, “I mean, sometimes we do use our gifts for our own selfish reasons, which some might consider bad, but when it comes down to it, we are on the good side.”
She relaxed a bit. “There are sides?”
“Oh yes,” Sam said sitting on her other flank. “There are some Gifted who use their powers to help others… and some who use them to hurt others. The bad guys have the mindset that they are stronger than regular people without magic, so they think they should be able to do what they want to them, even rule over them.”
A shiver went down Tessa’s spine. “You think someone like that is trying to hurt me?” She looked to Milo for the answer, who nodded once. “Why? I don’t understand. I’m not like you, I’m nothing. I’m nobody.”
Milo’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent as a storm seemed to brew behind his eyes, so Sam answered, “You are right, you’re not like us, but you are Gifted. We can all feel the power within you, and it’s strong. We believe you might be someone called an amplifier.”
“Like what bands use to play their music louder?” Tessa asked doubtfully.
“Sort of,” Ethan answered. “It’s the same concept, only with magic. Whenever a Gifted is around you, they become stronger. If you learned to use your power, you could direct it at the person of your choosing, potentially making him almost invincible.”
Tessa rubbed her eyes taking it all in. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Why did this have to happen to her? Hadn’t she already been through enough to not add something more to the mix? Her one goal at the moment was to be invisible, and then to disappear altogether once Hailey turned eighteen. At times she even considered leaving once Hailey was sixteen, which was only eight months away. Somehow though, she could feel that if she became involved with the brothers, she would never be able to just vanish. She knew they would always be near, and a part of her, no matter how small felt comfort from the revelation.
“How are you doing?” Ethan asked, studying her face. “We know it’s a lot to take in all at once.”
It was a lot to take it, but dealing with hardships was what Tessa was built for. If she could get though a lifetime of wanting to be loved by her parents, but being ignored instead, she could do this. If she could face the entire school five days a week for the past three months, she could do this.
“I’ll be fine… I just need to process. How come I’ve never heard of any Gifted people before, except in fairytales?”
“Stories all have roots of truth to them,” Sam replied. “Besides, the Gifted, even the bad prefer to be kept a secret.”
They spoke a little more about amplifiers and how research needed to be done to get a better understanding of them. They talked all through homeroom period, and when the bell rang to go to lunch, Tessa stood up stretching her legs and decided to go get some food. All three brothers followed her like shadows.
With a small laugh, she spun on her heels to face them. “You don’t have to follow me you know, I’m just going to the cafeteria.”
The brothers chuckled sheepishly, not even realizing what they were doing. “We need to keep an eye on you,” Milo eventually stated.
“I’m pretty sure no one is going to try and hurt me in a school full of kids,” Tessa pointed out. “I’ve been going to school every weekday for a while now.”
“Maybe it’s those kids we should be protecting you from,” he almost growled.
Tessa’s face flushed red in embarrassment. He’d heard something, but how much did he know? The openness she had begun to feel with them closed and she shut herself off. “I can take care of myself,” she spoke curtly before turning and hurrying away.
The brothers kept their distance for the rest of the day, even Ethan didn’t try to speak to her during gym. They knew something had happened to her, but what was still a mystery. With the way the boys spoke to her, and girls laughed behind her back, whatever it was, had to be bad.
Chapter 15
Tessa didn’t see any of the brothers at all the next day, although she was constantly looking for them. It was for the best, probably. She had to focus on her audition that was minutes away from happening. Although she didn’t relish in the idea of dancing at the Sweetheart Dance, she wanted to dance on a stage again, and it felt wrong to do anything but her best. There was also a part of her brain, the part she kept shoving aside, that hoped her mother would be proud of her if she got the solo. She stood off to the side of the darkened stage, doing her final stretches and going over the steps one last time. It seemed like it had been so long since she last danced in front of an audience, even if it was just Ms. Harper and a few of the dance committee students. She wore a white leotard with sheer mesh sleeves to her wrists, and a sheer white hi/lo skirt that fluttered as she walked out to the center stage. The spotlight came on, blinding her from all those watching. The song, “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence began playing, and she started her dance.
Milo, Sam, and Ethan sat in the back corner of the auditorium, watching Tessa in wonder from the shadows. She was amazing, like an angel, and even from where they sat they could see and feel her emotion through her movement. The sadness that surrounded her was also present and clearly visible, like her own little, dark, rain cloud. How was it possible that a girl this good could get kicked off the dance team? Her movements were so fluent and flowing effortlessly from one step to the next, she was mesmerizing.
When Tessa’s dance finished, the brothers had to restrain themselves from jumping to their feet to applaud her performance. Ms. Harper simply stood and addressed Tessa from her chair. “That was beautiful Tessa, thank you. We would love for you to perform this number at the dance, but I do have a few concerns.”
Tessa had an inkling of what those concerns might be, and a tight knot froze in her throat as she waited.
“It has come to my attention today from some of your fellow students that you have been known to engage in some illegal activities outside of school, and at times even inside of the school. I understand that you are eighteen and free to do as you choose, but while you are here you represent Winston High. I’m sure you can appreciate the dilemma that puts me in. If you are caught attempting to draw in new clients from this student body, I’ll have no choice but to expel you, and possibly even turn you into the police.”
Tears welled up in Tessa’s eyes. She thought her legs would give out at any moment from the utter mortification she was facing. Then it got worse.
“Ms. Harper,” Sam said approaching the stage with his brothers right by his side. “It’s incredibly inappropriate for you to have this conversation in front of these other students,” he motioned to the dance committee. “You are assuming Tessa is guilty of whatever crime she has been accused of, when you haven’t even asked her otherwise.”
Ms. Harper’s eyes narrowed as her face darkened. She wasn’t used to having peop
le talk back to her, even if that someone was part of the school board. “Excuse me Mr. Ricks, but when several students come to me with the same complaints, I can only believe there has to be some truth to it. I’ll allow her to dance, but like I warned, if she is caught doing anything even remotely illegal on school property, she will leave this school at once and I will press charges.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and stormed out of the auditorium.
Tessa looked to the brothers in both gratitude, and embarrassment. The dance committee whispered to each other trying to stifle their laughter, but it was obvious. She couldn’t stand there so vulnerable any longer, not when at any second she wouldn’t be able to control her tears anymore, so she ran. Not even bothering to change, she grabbed her backpack and ran straight for her car and sped home.
Once again the brothers were left standing there wishing they had handled things differently, and wondering now more than ever what was going on with Tessa. “I’ll follow her,” Milo volunteered and took off after her to make sure she was safe. “You guys try to figure out what is going on,” he called over his shoulder.
“I think you should come with me to basketball practice,” Ethan said to Sam, watching Milo leave. “I’ve heard at least half of the team say some inappropriate stuff about her, so that’s a good place as any to start.”
Milo had not driven five minutes before he saw Tessa’s car pulled off to the side of the road. His heart pounded as he panicked thinking that she was hurt, or worse. After slamming on his breaks, he jumped out his truck and ran to her car. He sucked in a deep breath when he saw her, head down on the steering wheel, cheeks dripping with tears. She hadn’t even noticed he was there until he slid into the passenger seat, and the door closed shut, which made her jump.