The way Gabe motionlessly stands, I can tell his heart rate has receded. Whether it was what Niki said, or just the presence of an older, wiser sister consoling her little brother, it’s enough to trigger calmness in Gabe. As we leave the room, I look back and see Gabe sitting on the bed with his eyes closed in tranquil peace. When he prays, burdens are lifted. I’m a true believer in prayer; in fact, I try to pray before unwanted circumstances happen. Sooner or later they will, it’s inevitable.
Morning comes and it’s a new day, and I’m much too anxious to get out the door instead of eating breakfast. Gabe and I walk to one of the side areas of the school just to avoid any unwanted presence of Derrick. Gabe looks a little nervous, but not nearly as edgy as he was yesterday, so I propose we stay here as long as needed before the bell rings.
It feels so peaceful sitting underneath one of the largest pecan trees on campus. The birds chirping beautiful songs brings back memories of being on my granddaddy’s farm, lying on the haystacks, looking up at the clouds with no worries. Behind us, nestled between the tall bushes that nearly cover the school windows, emits the most glorious scent of honeysuckle. I can hear the faint buzzing of the bees transporting its nectar. Everything seems almost perfect as I close my eyes to the rays of the morning sun peeking through the braches.
As the light dims on my eyes, I feel a coldness wrap around me, as if the clouds have blocked the warmth of the rays. Unfortunately, the sun is being blocked by McKenzie Woods’s disproportionate head. Great, the perfect morning is being shadowed by Lucifer’s daughter. Is it me, or do all girls with attitude stand with their weight shifted forward on one leg and their hands resting on their hips?
“I heard your little stupid stunt yesterday nearly cost your brother’s life,” she says.
“The only stupidity I witnessed yesterday was someone taking a leap of faith into concrete,” I say.
“Look, bitch …” she says ruthlessly.
“Excuse me?” I say, standing to my feet. Gabe has clutched onto my arm.
“You’re nothing special here, so don’t try to pretend you can fit in. We don’t need your kind here. That’s right—everyone knows you live at one of the foster homes. You’re just another problem child that the government should have trashed along with all the other Watchers. I’m actually surprised you’re wearing something that’s not stitched from burlap.”
I’m just speechless, and Gabe is still clutching onto my arm and half restraining me, but I don’t move because I’m trying hard to change my attitude to be more like Gabe. This is apparently hard to do.
“Hi, sweetie,” says McKenzie as she winks at Gabe. She looks me up and down in disgust, rolls her eyes, and walks away, nearly tripping on the large roots beneath the pecan tree.
“Wow, you did well, Arena. Even I thought she was a bitch,” Gabe says surprisingly.
Before my anger consumes me, I struggle to give him an acknowledging half-grin. “Thanks.”
As I walk out a little from underneath the tree, I can see McKenzie around the corner, laughing it up with her friends and mocking me. I look up at the eaves of the school, then down at the ground around me. Whether or not my vengeance is unjust, this brief, but objectionable engagement has pissed me off beyond my control.
“What are you doing?” asks Gabe hesitantly.
“Nothing, just a little pest control,” I say with a slight smile.
A yellow jacket’s nest is loosely attached underneath the low-hanging eave. It also happens to be right above McKenzie and the girls. I pick up a decent-sized rock just big enough to disturb the nest and possibly knock it right off the eave.
“Whatever you are thinking about doing, please don’t, Arena, and reconsider,” says Gabe cautiously.
“Hey, I’m doing better. I restrained myself from plucking those ridiculously bleached follicles atop her swollen head. Besides, this is very therapeutic for me,” I say.
Gabe quickly hides behind the tree as I release the stone with accuracy, resulting in a direct hit. The nest floats down on top of the bushes, scrambling the bees like fighter jets right in the girls’ direction. The girls are screaming, running in circles, and flinging their arms about like mad orangutans. It’s a sight to behold.
I realize what I’ve done is probably morally wrong, but it did put a smile back on my face nonetheless. I try to redeem myself and save them from being stung since they are too stupid to just run into the school. I notice a water hose connected to the side of the building. I turn on the water and spray the bees away along with a good soaking of the girls. The bees vanish, and all three girls stand there soaking wet, looking at me with utter hatred.
“You’re welcome,” I say with a smile. McKenzie lets out a bellow and grits her teeth, staring me down. “Hey, I just saved you from being severely stung. An allergic reaction to bee stings isn’t something to whiff about. I think an appreciation is in order—don’t thank me all at once now.”
If these girls had lasers beaming from their eyes, I would be charcoal right now. I actually think they halfheartedly believed me, because the other two girls wave their hands in the air as a gesture of thanks, except McKenzie, of course. Jacob, who I suddenly notice leaning beside a nearby tree, is laughing at my not-so-nice antics. To show my appreciation of his support, I return his amusement with a smile.
The school bell rings with a chilling reminder that this day has just begun, but before we leave for our first class, Gabe surprisingly gives McKenzie a small wave good-bye. I don’t know if he’s doing this out of his commonly nice nature, or he somehow really believes McKenzie likes him. In his most apologetic voice, he still feels the need to smooth out the worst of conditions just to reassure that this was an accident. “You know, you really don’t look all that bad … in fact, your hair looks really good when it’s wet.”
“Gabe,” I say.
“What?” he asks.
“Shut up.”
It will be all too good if I don’t have to see McKenzie for the rest of the day. I can only imagine what lies she’ll be spreading around about me.
We’re studying cells in biology class. I already know this stuff from reading in the library, so I can afford to close my eyes for a few minutes.
This must be pure boredom for Gabe, yet he still looks giddy from the lecture. With his passion and knowledge for science and enthusiastic personality, he really should be the one teaching this class. The timbre of Mr. Jennings’s voice has put everyone, with the exception of Gabe, in a hypnotic state. Drool drips from the boy’s mouth who’s sitting in front of me. The only thing keeping me from totally conking out are tiny voices whispering behind and to the right of me.
In the corner desks near the window, four girls are gossiping like a bunch of cackling hens about someone. Then they glance in my direction, smile, and give me a thumbs up.
I look at the clock and notice that the bell, thankfully, is about to ring. As much as I want to hurry to get in line first for lunch, I’m much too interested in why those girls were gesturing at me. I tell Gabe to wait for me before he leaves, and I eagerly go over to the girls to see what all the fuss is about.
“So what’s going on?” I pryingly say.
“We heard what you did to McKenzie, Brittney, and Lorie this morning. I’m Jade, by the way,” the girl says.
“Brittney and Lorie? I guess I don’t have to worry about a formal introduction,” I sarcastically say.
“Brittney is the one with the short, blonde hair,” says one of the girls.
“I guess you already know McKenzie,” Jade says.
“Yes, we’ve met before,” I say with a smirk.
“We just want to personally thank you for that little piece of entertainment. They have deserved that for a long time,” says another girl.
As funny as it may have been, I really start to feel badly for what I did, and these girls just reiterated why I’d rather be alone. Listening to girls gab in dramatic fashion about someone else’s misfortunes is no different than
when I had been made fun of. Right then I understood why Gabe reacts the way he does toward others. Regardless of whether someone deserves something or not is not for me to judge.
These girls are really beginning to annoy me now. “Really, I was just trying to keep them from being stung,” I say sincerely. They seem a little stunned by my response, and so does Gabe. If there was a smile on my face, it has disappeared. All I want to do is go to lunch, so I promptly turn and walk out the door.
To my surprise, Jacob is standing outside the cafeteria with his hair pulled back away from his beautiful eyes and his head held up high, smiling. This is really the first time I’ve seen his face underneath all that hair.
The cafeteria is packed today. By the amount of extra teachers, administrators, and security guards, something important must be going on. I grab my food tray and look for a place to sit. Since we got here later than I wanted, Gabe, Jacob, and I have to search hard for a place to sit.
There appears to be several seats in the back unoccupied that will do. Gabe starts to sit at the end of the table, but I gesture for him to sit toward the middle next to a girl who seems to be alone. Since we haven’t made many friends yet, I think it will be a good idea for us to start now.
“May we sit here?” I ask politely.
“Sure,” she says.
“I’m Arena, and this is my brother, Gabe.”
“It’s Gabriel, but most everyone calls me Gabe,” he retorts.
“And this is our friend Jacob,” I say.
“I’m Juliana. I’ve seen you before,” she says.
“Really?” I say.
“I think I may have seen you at the retirement center,” she says.
“Oh, yeah, Gabe and I worked there part-time during the summer. Our foster mom got us that job. She knows the staff administrator there,” I say.
“So you have foster parents too? I visit my grandmother at the center; she’s the only living family I have left. I used to live with her, but her health got worse over the last two years, so she wasn’t able to care for me. I was put in foster care this past year,” Juliana says.
I feel a genuine sense of empathy for Juliana, as I remember the first time we were taken into foster care. The conversation with Juliana feels so comfortable, and not once do I have to think about what I’m going to say that’s usually accompanied with uneasy, awkward pauses. It’s as if we are meant to sit here. The similarities we share with each other are therapeutic for Gabe and me. This is something we’ve needed all these years.
Juliana’s frail, tiny body makes her look vulnerable and insecure, but when she speaks in her humble and innocent voice, she becomes visible. Her hair is dark as coal, and her beautiful olive skin is purposefully covered up with long sleeves. She was badly burned on her left arm when she was ten in a house fire that killed her mom. Her dad abandoned her when she was born, leaving her mom to raise her. She lived with her grandmother up until a year ago, and now she’s like us. I don’t think there is a better person we could have befriended at this school than Juliana.
Since we don’t have classes together, we promise to meet here at lunch from now on. Hopefully, the four of us can keep this bond strong, because we are probably going to need each other throughout the school year. Jacob excuses himself from the table before the lunch period ends.
“I’m sorry, guys, but I have to be somewhere early for the next class. We’ll catch up tomorrow, okay?” Jacob says. When he leaves, Juliana and Gabe both look at me as if they are waiting for me to say something.
“So, you going to ask this guy out or not, because apparently he’s too shy to do it,” says Gabe with a smirk.
“You might want to keep your mouth shut when you eat, Gabe.” I point my fork in his direction. His smirk has amazingly vanished as he stuffs his face.
I’m inclined to admit I may have somewhat of a small crush on Jacob, but I won’t let my emotions carry this conversation about it any further. I’m not about to let Gabe’s comment get to me. I’m not embarrassed about it as much as I’m a little annoyed about Gabe trying to perpetuate something he knows nothing about. I admit I’m attracted to Jacob, but that’s my business. I don’t know quite what it is, but there’s something about him that makes him more attractive than the rest of the boys in this school.
Of course this day wouldn’t be complete without another McKenzie sighting. Coming from the side of our table, I feel those green eyes gunning for me.
“Well, looks as though you took my advice this morning. Nice to see that you’re sticking to your own kind. Let’s try to keep it they from now on,” she says.
That’s it. I’ve had enough; she’s going down right here, right now. I push my chair out has hard as I can, but Gabe grabs me and reminds me of more important things. “Arena, stop. If you do this, you risk getting expelled, muddling our plans this afternoon. Remember?” he says with his eyebrows arched.
I almost forgot about Finnegan and Father Joseph. I sit back in my chair and try to calm myself.
“That’s right, listen to your brother, he seems to be the smart one,” McKenzie says.
“It’s not worth it, Arena, not now anyway,” says Juliana.
“I promise you before the end of the school year, you and I are going to have more than words,” I say with my eyes fixed on hers.
“Is that a threat?”
“Bitch, you wouldn’t know the difference.”
“Well, let me make this plainly clear. If you think you don’t have much now, I’ll make positively sure my dad sees that your family never will,” she says with a fake smile, before she walks away.
And it just hit me, Woods. McKenzie is the daughter of Mayor Allen Woods. Mayors really have no power to persuade or the authority to regulate, punish, or judge since there are no state or city governments in place anymore. But if you are appointed by the federal government as magistrate, then those powers which flow from the top can be just as dangerous. Supremacy in this nation has been reduced to intimidation, and the totalitarianism it reflects has been a masquerade for years. The extremists believe it to be run by foreign nations, which isn’t all that unbelievable.
“She is just jealous of you, Arena,” says Juliana.
Really? Jealous of what? There is nothing about me that’s all that special. Why would anyone want to be like me?
“You are very beautiful, and she knows it. Do you not see that?” Juliana sincerely says. “All the guys gawk at you, and you don’t even recognize it. McKenzie has to make great efforts to dramatically get the attention she thinks she deserves to turn heads, but they all are attracted to you.”
I tilt my head down because I’m really too embarrassed to accept the compliment. No one has ever said anything so kind to me before. It just seems all too strange to me, and maybe because I’ve been so caught up in my own world that I haven’t ever subconsciously noticed my “beauty.”
“Thank you for your kindness,” I say. When Gabe gets up to dump his tray, I lean in closer to Juliana. “Just so you know, your beauty has not been unnoticed. I can tell by the look on my brother’s face when he looks at you, and he has great taste in girls,” I softly say. Juliana smiles and looks in Gabe’s direction.
The bell rings.
CHAPTER 7
Well, I’ve managed to have two unpleasant encounters, and there is still half a day to go. For the rest of the day, we avoid any hesitation in-between classes just so we can evade any presence of Derrick. Since he is older, his classes are on the other side of the hall, but sometimes upperclassmen have to pass the freshman halls to get to their classes.
We have made it to the last class of the day: French. Everyone is required to have two credits of foreign language, and since Gabe and I already know the language very well, it makes an already uncomfortable day less stressful.
Before I sit in my assigned seat, I glance over in the corner and see Juliana. I don’t remember noticing her on the first day of class. I wave to her and by her surprise, she apparently di
dn’t realize it either. “At least we have one class together,” I say.
“I’m glad, I was hoping lunch wasn’t the only time we could meet up,” she says.
“Hey, did you know Gabe is assigned a seat right next to you?” I say.
“Funny how you don’t know your surroundings when you feel invisible to the world,” she says.
“Well, you’re visible to Gabe and me, especially Gabe,” I say cheerfully.
I know this class is supposed to be easy, but the absolute boredom I have to endure right now is painfully killing me. Everything is moving in slow motion, and when I think it’s about to come to a complete stop, an air-raid siren suddenly starts screaming.
The teacher looks panicked, as if this isn’t a drill. Maybe this is a surprise drill and she just seems caught off guard. I’ve only heard a siren going off once while I was in school, and that was for a tornado, but the weather is sunny and pleasant outside today. People are running in the hall, passing our door in a blur. We all quickly get up as the teacher preps us to go to our designated area.
That hellish squeal pulsates louder and louder when we exit the hall. Students panic for no good reason as they run to their areas. Teachers are hurriedly talking on their phones, and security guards racing down the halls. There are so many students trying to pass each other in the tightly packed halls, I lose sight of Gabe and Juliana. I push my way through the crowd, calling out Gabe’s name, but the siren is too loud. I can’t find him anywhere.
I find a chair outside one of the classroom doors and stand on it to see if I can get a better look in the crowd, but I see no sign of Gabe or Juliana. Students are running and screaming, and I become worried, not so much from the panic, but because I lost Gabe in all this mess. Why is everyone running in a panic if this is just a surprise drill? As I turn in the direction where most of the commotion is coming from, I notice three soldiers with full body armor wearing gasmasks coming toward us.
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