Lila- OMG
Lila- OMG
Lila- Why the hell haven’t you told me about him before?!?!!?
Jackie-I didn’t want to jinx it. Plus u had enough on ur mind with ur parents and Hayley.
Lila- NEVER I REPEAT NEVER THINK I’VE GOT TOO MUCH GOING ON TO NOT TALK TO YOU ABOUT THINGS LIKE THIS! OK?
Jackie- lol ok.
Lila- Good. You’re my best friend. I don’t want you to keep things from me.
Lila- I’m so happy for you!
Jackie- I’m pretty happy too
Jackie and I texted until late that night talking about boys and Dale’s upcoming party. Being Jackie’s friend was easy. I never had to worry about upsetting her or any of that other high school drama. We just got each other and our friendship worked. I was really going to miss her when I finished school…
I didn’t see James anywhere at school and when I arrived at my first class for the day, Mrs Hughes, our art teacher, was standing outside the classroom door.
“There’s been a change of plans. We won’t be doing our standard class today. Apparently,” Mrs Hughes said with a spike of irritation in her voice, “the school doesn’t think art is very important and decided to replace today’s lesson with dance practice for the upcoming school formal.”
A few of the students, including myself, groaned at the very mention of dance lessons.
“But never worry,” she continued, “this will be the very, last time this happens. I can assure you of that.”
We all followed Mrs Hughes to the school’s indoor sports hall, where we met a professional dance teacher named Cindy. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a stage production. Her hair was in a tight bun on the top of her head, and she wore a black leotard with knee length skirt and leg warmers. She looked serious and it scared the shit out of me.
Another class joined us, and together, we all stood against the wall and waited for further instructions. Some of the girls looked eager to get involved. I was planning my escape.
“We are going to start off with a simple waltz. You will need to pair up. Boy, girl, please.”
Instantly, everyone started walking towards his or her ideal partners. I wasn’t a good dancer, and dancing in front of people was not something I ever, ever, wanted to do. I crept backwards, scanning the room for a way out.
Maybe there was a door that I could sneak out before anyone noticed.
The girls giggled as they found their partners and quickly, the wall of protection of people around me was disappearing. Some of the guys were more courageous than others, and were going straight up and asking the girls to dance.
I lowered my head and tried my best to avoid all eye contact. There was nowhere to escape to, so I’d thought maybe I could just make myself invisible and they’d forget I was even there…
One could be so hopeful.
There was no hiding and soon enough, I was left standing against the wall while the rest of the class had all successfully paired off. When I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, it did.
Cindy looked straight at me and my face burned red with embarrassment. “Looks like you’ll have to learn solo until we can find you a partner.”
I sighed as the class snickered towards me.
“Great,” I mumbled.
“I’ll be her partner.”
Everyone’s head shot towards the voice at the stadium doors.
“I apologise for being late. I hadn’t realised art was now dance class,” James said as he walked towards Cindy and I, placing his books and pencil case against the wall.
“You and me both,” Mrs Hughes snapped.
“Dance is art,” Cindy said proudly.
Mrs Hughes rolled her eyes and walked out of the stadium doors in a huff.
Cindy ignored her and turned towards the rest of the class and said, “Well, now that everyone has a partner, let’s get to it then.”
“Shall we,” James said, as he nodded towards where the rest of the class was standing.
I smiled in reply, walked over to the other students, and waited for Cindy’s instructions. I tried to ignore the stares and whispering, instead, I focused on the instructions from Cindy. I needed as much help as I could get if I was going to make it out of this with at least some of my dignity intact.
After a few minutes and some demonstrations, Cindy turned the music on and we were to begin dancing. I turned towards James nervously. My heart was racing; my breathing rapid, as I recalled over and over in my head what Cindy had just said.
One, two, three. One, two, three.
“It’s going to be fine,” James reassured me, “it’s just dancing.”
“That’s the problem,” I replied solemnly.
James smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. Follow my lead.”
“Okay.”
“Trust me.”
I nodded, and for some reason, I did trust him.
“Now, keep your eyes on me. Don’t look down. I’ll lead and you follow.”
I nodded again.
He held his hand out, reached out, and gently placed his hand on the small of my back. I reached out and held his hand. The heat radiated through my body from his touch. I could feel every small detail on his hand and it sent shivers down my spine.
I didn’t dare look away. I couldn’t even if I tried.
I stared into his eyes and saw something so deep. I couldn’t explain it, but they told a story. A story of love, compassion, need and…. desire.
I’d forgotten about everything, where I was, who I was. All I could see was James. All I could feel was James, and I was lost. Lost in the moment, and lost in him.
I had no sense of time. We could have been dancing for hours or only a few minutes, I wouldn’t know. All I knew is that I felt safe. It felt right. I didn’t think about how I was dancing, or the steps my feet needed to take.
I can’t be sure what happened in that moment, whether it was us or purely incidental, or if it was something more, but with a loud crack, lightning struck the sports stadium and screams erupted, breaking the trance we were in.
Instinctively, I grabbed hold of James. The power went out and everyone scuttled to hide. We both looked outside and the weather had turned foul very fast. The rain came down hard and heavy, thunder rolled in, shaking the ground around us.
“I have to go,” James said, pulling himself away from me.
I didn’t move as I watched him run out of the stadium.
“I think we might leave it there today everyone,” Cindy announced as everyone went to grab their belongings and made their way out of the building.
The sky had turned black and there was an eerie feeling around. We all ran under the overheads of the buildings trying not to get wet. I clutched my sketchbook tightly in my arms as my eyes looked for James in the rain, but I couldn’t find him.
The way the skies had turned so quickly; the lightning, and the way we’d danced together, it sent shivers down my spine. Something wasn’t right. Whenever James was around, things were different… I yearned for an explanation, but deep down knew there was a very good chance I wouldn’t get one. Some things just couldn’t be explained in this world, and maybe this was one of them.
***
I barely slept that night, and with Hayley at Poppy’s house, I’d never felt more alone in the house. My emotions were all jumbled by the week I’d had. I didn’t know what I felt. Scared? Confused? Intrigued? How could you justify and make sense of something in your head that you didn’t understand yourself?
I waited until the skies had cleared and made my way out to the Jetty late in the afternoon. I decided to get ready early for the party; a task that I’d hoped would calm my nerves, but it hadn’t worked. It was nearing summer, so the nights were just as warm as the days, and I decided to wear a plain white cami with a high-waist, soft, baby pink skirt that fell to my ankles. I thought the pink might have clashed with my copper hair, but was pleasantly surprised when it
looked pretty good. I dressed it up with a long gold necklace with a key on the end and plain pearl earrings. I plaited my hair loosely to one side and kept with minimal make-up. Although I was only going because of James, I didn’t want to drag Jackie into this mess, so I wanted her to believe I was going to have fun; I had to act the part. I couldn’t risk her involvement, or anyone else’s.
When I finished getting ready, I still had a few hours to spare, so I decided to clear my head and try to focus on something else. I was the worst at jumping to conclusions and coming up with ridiculous explanations to things, so I thought it would be best that I relax on the Jetty and draw.
I spent the solid part of almost two hours sketching the landscape around me. I had drawn it a hundred times before, but every time it was different. Whether it was natural growth of the trees and lake around me, or the natural interference of man, it was always changing, and those changes were the parts I loved to draw. My hand worked fast to try to keep up with the vision in my head. I pushed the hair back from my face hurriedly, not pausing until I finished. I breathed softly and deep looking up from my drawing for short intervals to help my visual representation. I focused on the intricate details as my hand sketched wildly on the paper, until I finally felt like it was complete.
I pulled my pencil from the paper and looked down at my work, and a little taken aback at the finished product. I looked back up at the forest and lake that surrounded me, although it was still cloudy, there was still a bright and peaceful feeling associated with it, however, when I looked down at what I’d just drawn, it was something very different. The landscape was the same, but everything was… darker. I managed to make my harmonious and placid surrounding into something slightly disturbing. The shading was dark and the edges were sharp and cut into the paper. I frowned and tossed the sketchbook and pen next to me, and lay down on my back on the ridged timber jetty. It wasn’t comfortable, but I didn’t care.
Without even realising, the perplexing thoughts that puzzled me greatly had made their way back into my head without intention. I had gone for peace, and instead, found unease.
I welcomed the sporadic bursts of warmth from the sun as the clouds drifted in the sky, and I closed my eyes. I recalled one of the earliest memories I had of when we first moved into this house. We spent the day unpacking our belongings and I came to the jetty for some chill out time. I had wanted to go for a swim. At ten years old, I didn’t care that it was in the middle of winter and the water would have been freezing cold, but my mum had convinced me against it. Instead, she had laid down next to me on this exact same jetty and told me stories of when she had been younger and went swimming at the beach with her parents when she was twelve. Only to have her swimmers completely fall off in the ocean after the dumping waves; leaving her red faced and naked in front of everyone. I loved the way she told stories. Even if they weren’t funny ones, she’d always find a way to make you laugh…
The hairs on my spine stood up as I heard the cracking of branches nearby. I opened my eyes and sat up briskly, my eyes following the sound. I caught sight of a dark shadow moving away in the forest. Fear told me to stay where I was, or run back into the house and lock the doors, but fear didn’t control me in that moment. The dark figure resonated as familiar; something I’d seen before. Curiosity settled within me as I stood and walked towards the dark shadow in the forest.
I hesitated slightly as I entered the edge of the forest, but felt my body strain when I stopped. It was as though the figure wanted me to follow, pulling me along in some kind of way.
I stepped forward, carefully watching my footing and the figure in front of me, but with every step, it became clearer to me who it was. I could see the broad angel wings hang down from his shoulders; I’d never forget those wings…
“James,” I called out.
The figure paused.
“James?” I said again, this time a slight tremble was in my voice.
James turned and in one breath, he was towering above me. I waited for him to speak, but his lips stayed closed, and his jaw tight.
It didn’t feel like I was dreaming, but it didn’t feel like reality either.
“What is this?” I spoke quietly, looking around me at the stillness of the trees. “This is real… isn’t it?”
His eyes stayed on mine as he nodded in reply.
“But how?”
“You’re not meant to be here… This isn’t for you to see,” he warned.
“I don’t understand…”
“You’re changing things, Lila. You can see things that others cannot. They are not happy…”
“They?”
His head tilted up towards the sky as if he’d heard something, his eyebrows drawing together. Before I could look up as well, he quickly looked at me and reached his hand out, grabbed my arm, the touch sending a jolt of hot burning pain through my body.
I gasped as I opened my eyes up and sat up from the jetty. The searing heat still radiated in my body from James’s touch, and like the dreams I had before, he was nowhere to be seen. The world and my surroundings were as they were before, normal and composed. Only this time, I was certain it wasn’t a dream…
***
I hid my desperation from Jackie that night as excitement. It was possibly the last party until we graduated, and I hadn’t told Hayley that I was going to the party. She messaged me just after the incident at the jetty and told me she was going to stay an extra night at Poppy’s, as Poppy was having some kind of boy problems and needed her company. I thought it would be best that she stayed away anyway. I didn’t know what was happening, and it didn’t seem that I had any control of any of it either.
It wasn’t until I was walking out the door to the party that I got a phone call from Jackie saying she couldn’t make it any longer. Her younger brother had gotten sick and her parents had gone out of town for the weekend, so she would have to stay at home and look after him.
I contemplated not going at that point, but I didn’t think I could go another night without knowing the truth. I didn’t know anything about James, or how to contact him. Best chance of seeing him was at this party, so I had to go.
My hands clung to my steering wheel as I peered down the street at the party ahead. I’d been here for twenty minutes now, unable to bring myself to move. It wasn’t until I received a text message from Jackie that I’d hesitated no more, and jumped out of the car.
Jackie- Heads up. Just saw on Facebook, Hayley is at the party.
I walked swiftly towards Dale’s parent’s house with my phone and keys in hand. He, like nearly everyone in our school, lived in a wealthy estate. His house was large, boasting three stories high. It had dark grey render on the outside, and stood as a modern piece of architect. I had been here a few times when we dated, so I knew the house and area reasonably well.
The party was already in full swing when I arrived, even though it was only nine at night.
I made my way through the entrance of the house, not bothering to knock, as there was no way anyone could hear me with all the music anyway.
There were people scattered throughout the house and every turn I made, many faces I didn’t even recognise from Eden College.
“Hey you,” a sleazy voice behind me said as he grabbed onto my waist.
I pulled my body from his grip and turned to see it was one of Dale’s friends, Noah. Noah was just like the rest of Dale’s crew, rich, and full of himself.
“Hey, Noah,” I said less enthused about seeing him.
“Come to see me, have you?” A sly grin crept onto to his face as he stepped forward to try to touch me again.
“No, definitely not.”
Out of all the boys, Noah was the one I disliked the most. He was stronger than the others were, and he made it known. He also didn’t take no for an answer. The fact I was in the kitchen alone with him put me on edge.
“Whatever. What’s the deal with you anyway? You some kind of prude or something?”
I t
ook another step back from him, trying to shield myself behind the island bench, but with every comment he made, he moved closer and closer to me.
“No,” I replied softly, the confidence within me fading by the minute.
“Oh, I get it, you’re a lesbian then, is that it?” He placed his beer on the bench and cocked his neck. “Not that I mind, the more the merrier if you know what I mean?”
“Yes, I know what you mean, and no, I’m not.”
“Then what? You’re too good for all of us?”
“That’s not what I said.”
My back hit the edge of the kitchen sink as he took two more steps towards me. My hand searched the bench as my eyes stayed on him. He pressed his body up against mine. My stomach dropped at the feeling. Fear racing through me, I gripped onto the only thing I could, an empty beer bottle, but just as I was about to threaten Noah with it, I heard Maddison’s voice behind us.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Noah quickly backed off me at the sound of her voice.
I had never been so happy to see Maddison before in my life, but that wasn’t to last, of course.
“You,” she shrieked, pointing to Noah, “go and get me a drink like I asked you to. Now!”
Not even the likes of Noah stood up to Maddison. He was whipped, just like the rest of them.
“Babe, I was only messing around.”
She held her hand up in his face. “Save it.”
Noah shook his head and gave in, walking off outside with his head hung low.
I tried not to notice the fact Maddison’s eyes hadn’t left mine, as I placed the bottle back on the bench and tried to make my get away.
“Don’t even think about it. You’re not getting away that easy, Lila.”
I stopped before the doorway and turned around.
“I’ve got to go.”
I thought for sure her DD boobs were going to pop out of her white midriff, as she crossed her arms across her chest, pushing her boobs even higher.
Angels of Moirai (Book One) Page 6
