The Prophecy of Arcadia

by M. H. Soars

  “You can see the resemblance, right?” He asked.

  I opened up a bigger image on my phone and contorted my face in an exaggerated scowl as I examined the picture. “Maybe. At least she’s better looking than any alien.”

  “I told you.”

  I rolled my eyes at Julian’s comment before I demanded his secret.

  “Hey, I just told you that I had a crush on an anime character. That has gotta count.”

  “No way, mister. We were still talking about my secret when you disclosed that. Besides, I’m pretty sure other people know about your crush.”

  “Okay, fine.” Julian surrendered. He seemed to be mulling over something when he blurted suddenly. “I’m adopted.”

  My jaw dropped. Adopted? That was definitely a heavy topic to be talking about. And I thought he wanted to keep the mood of the trip light.

  “A shocker, right? Nobody knows. Actually, I'm not even supposed to know. My parents were afraid to tell me for some reason. I discovered it when I was eleven. I found my adoption papers on my father’s desk one day. I don’t know why he had them out, but he did.”

  “Oh my God, Julian. I’m so sorry. It must have been really hard for you to find out that way.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t easy. I wanted to confront them immediately. I was so mad, but they weren’t home. It confused the hell out of me for sure.

  “How so?”

  “Well, my parents weren’t the most attentive or nurturing. But I had sort of accepted that it was the way they were. They were busy, and I couldn’t expect them to drop everything in their lives to dote on me. But when I found out that they weren’t even my real parents, I thought, why would they adopt a child if they couldn’t be bothered to spend time with him?” Julian’s jaw tensed. I couldn’t tell if he was just serious or angry. I only knew that the subject must still be painful to him.

  “Maybe they just wanted to give you a better life.” I was feeling very uncomfortable with the direction our conversation had turned.

  “Yeah, I thought about that. To be honest, they spoiled me. Maybe giving me material things was the only way they knew how to demonstrate love.” Julian shrugged. “Like I said, I wanted to confront them, but after my anger subsided I decided not to. In a way it was like a big burden had been lifted from my shoulders, so I forgave my parents. But I stopped trying to impress them, and my life has been much better ever since.”

  I was speechless. Who would have thought that behind the confident, charismatic persona there was someone suffering from neglect? Julian tried to downplay the effects of his parents' inattentiveness, but I saw how even just talking about it affected him.

  “That was very noble of you. I don’t think I would be as forgiving if I found out that I had been lied to my whole life,” I said, and I meant it. I didn’t think I could forgive my father if he had kept something so important from me my entire life.

  “I’m not sure if it was nobility or just a lack of courage,” Julian replied.

  I was quiet for a while, pondering his revelation. I couldn’t help thinking about my family and the feeling of otherness I had. I didn’t believe they would ever keep something that significant from me, but there was a sliver of suspicion lodged in my heart that kept growing with each passing day.

  “Maybe I should have accepted your Candy Candy crush as your secret.” I said after a while.

  Julian glanced at me with a grimace on his beautiful face. “Why?”

  Feeling shy and silly unexpectedly, I glanced back out of the window. “Because I feel like I bullied you into revealing something so personal.”

  I heard Julian snicker but I couldn’t look at him. I was getting more distressed by the minute.

  “Don’t be silly, Alexia. I told you because I wanted to. You didn’t bully me.”

  He reached over and tapped my hand. “Hey, don’t be like that. You have no idea how relieved I am that I finally told someone about it.”

  His words mollified me, and I was finally able to glance at him again. He was facing forward, watching the road, but his appearance was peaceful, so I began to relax again.

  We switched to less personal topics after that, and the drive went fast. We soon arrived at the famous cheer camp. Once I got out of the car, I could hear cheers and music. We stopped at the administration building and asked where we could find Melanie. The security guard didn’t know any Melanie Munroe, but Julian expected as much. Lucky for us, the guard was a huge football fan and he recognized Julian, so he let us in to look for her.

  Despite my misgivings about cheerleaders in general, I was impressed. I’d never seen so many of them in one place. Julian explained that cheerleaders from all of over California came here to practice and check out the competition. I couldn’t imagine spending a day with those girls. They looked so high-maintenance and competitive. Not that ballet didn’t have its own degree of competition, but at least it was for the sake of art, not popularity. What had Melanie been thinking? It was so unlike her to get involved in something like this.

  As we walked across the camp, I noticed that several cheerleaders stopped what they were doing to gawk at Julian. I was practically invisible next to him. He knew a lot of them, too. Some in a more familiar way than others, if I could guess from his brief exchanges with the girls who came over to talk to him. It was pretty clear that Julian was a serial dater, and he had broken a lot of hearts. Maybe Sam had been right to end things with him. The pissed off looks he got when he asked his exes about Melanie was kind of sad. Some of them didn’t even give him an answer, but the few who did claimed they didn’t know a Melanie Munroe.

  That was strange. Melanie had been here for over a month, and the camp wasn’t that huge. Plus, with her stormy personality, there was no way these girls wouldn’t know who she was.

  Out of nowhere, some random girl threw herself at Julian. “Hello, Chloe,” Julian greeted the girl but his tone was everything but friendly.

  He reluctantly hugged her back but quickly put some distance between them. I noticed she was tall, had long, straight blonde hair tied up in a perfect ponytail, and was quite stunning. She looked like a blonde version of Megan Fox.

  So, this was the infamous Chloe. I felt my entire body tense up as I started to compare myself to the supermodel in front of me. I felt inadequate and awkward next to her. How could I compete?

  “What are you doing here, Julian? Couldn’t stay away from your favorite cheerleaders?” Chloe was trying to sound seductive. I wanted to barf.

  “Not quite. I’m actually looking for Melanie. Have you seen her?” he asked.

  “Melanie? Who’s Melanie?” asked Chloe as she made a face and glanced at me. “And who is your little friend?”

  I bristled at her comment. Who was she calling little? I was five-two, tall enough to be a professional ballerina. It was one thing for me to feel lacking, but I didn’t have to let her know that.

  “Oh, this is my good friend Alexia Munroe.” Julian he put his arms around me. “She’s Melanie’s cousin.”

  “I see. You came to ask if Nexi could join our cheerleading squad. It's very nice of you to come all the way here, honey, but unfortunately our squad is complete. But you could always try out next year,” Chloe sized me up.

  The thought of joining any cheerleading squad, especially hers, was so ludicrous that I burst out laughing, making some of the girls nearby pay more attention to what was going on.

  I ignored the fact that she had called me by the wrong name on purpose, and that my enjoyment wasn’t exactly what Chloe had intended. Instead, I found courage out of I-don’t-know-where, and replied in the most condescending tone I could muster.

  “Oh, my God. You think I want to join your squad. That is so sweet! But darling, you couldn’t pay me to join your little group.”

  I heard laughter around us but couldn’t be bothered to see if the girls were laughing at me or at Chloe. It didn’t matter anyway, she was looking at me like she wanted to punch me, and that was good e
nough. I had managed to annoy her, so points for me. After a staring contest where I held my ground, she turned her bitchy glare to Julian.

  “What do you want, Mackenzie?” she asked, traces of the fake sweetness gone.

  “As I said before, we’re looking for Melanie Munroe. I was told she had joined your squad,” Julian replied.

  Chloe looked at him with puzzlement until some of her minions whispered something in her ear.

  “Are you talking about nosy Melanie who writes for the newspaper?” she asked and started to laugh loudly, followed by her brainless minions. I swear she sounded like Maleficent.

  Listening to her laughing at Melanie’s expense made me lose my upper hand again. I felt angry and frustrated that I had given her the ammunition to mock someone dear to me. I felt my muscles go rigid. Julian squeezed my arm in support.

  “I would rather take your little friend here, even though she has a big mouth, instead of Melanie Munroe. Everyone knows she's a psycho,” continued Chloe.

  “My cousin is not a psycho, you brainless bitch!” I exclaimed. Julian could restrain me physically, but he couldn't prevent me from voicing my opinions. I wasn’t one to curse or pick fights, but this girl brought out a rage in me I didn’t know I possessed.

  “Who are you calling a bitch, dwarf?” Chloe almost spit fire through her mouth as she advanced toward me. Julian positioned himself between us, put his hands on her arms, and pushed her back.

  “Calm down, Chloe,” he said in a firm voice. When her furious gaze shifted from me to Julian, I could see the tension leave her body, like Julian had some sort of soothing touch.

  He let go of her, then turned to me. “Let’s go, Alexia.”

  I didn’t want to go until I found out where Melanie was, but it was clear there was nothing to be gained by interviewing the girls here. I reluctantly let Julian lead me away. When we were back in his car, he shifted in his seat to look at me.

  “What was that?” he asked. His eyes danced with laughter.

  “She called Melanie a psycho, Julian. I couldn’t let that go.” I buckled up, avoiding his gaze.

  “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t all about Melanie.”

  I looked at his knowing face and rolled my eyes. “Fine! It was also about Ethan. I cannot believe he dated that bitch.”

  “Lack of better judgment happens to the best of us.” Julian started the car.

  As we put some distance between us and the cheer camp and the adrenaline left my body, I realized that I had been lied to. Melanie had never been there. No wonder my uncle wouldn’t let me visit her. I should feel angry and betrayed, but instead all I got was an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. My family wouldn’t lie to me unless there was a very good reason for it, and I was afraid to find out what it was.

  Julian noticed my mood change and left me alone with my thoughts. We barely talked on the way back and before I realized it, we were at his house. I thanked him for the ride but before I could get out of his car, he placed his hand on my arm.

  “Alexia, are you okay?” His eyes searched my face with concern.

  I was touched, but I couldn’t dump all of my worries on him. It didn’t feel right. So I lied.

  “Yes, I’m fine. It was a probably a misunderstanding.”

  He looked at me like he didn’t believe me, and I couldn’t blame him. I was a terrible liar. He let go of my arm and asked for my phone. I fished it out of my bag and handled it to him. He quickly typed something on it before he gave it back to me.

  “You now have my phone number,” he said. “If you ever need to talk to somebody, just give me a call.”

  I stared at my phone without knowing what to say. Then I looked up and gave him such a pitiful smile that it made me ashamed. I finally nodded and mumbled a weak thank you before I got out of his car.

  On my way home, I called my uncle and left a message saying that I needed to speak to him as soon as possible. I never knew when he would be home, but I had a feeling that only he could provide me with answers. I was sure that Mia, Sean, and Zach knew something, but they wouldn’t be forthcoming.

  When I got there, I noticed that my uncle’s car was already in the garage. I was planning to make a beeline to his office but then I found Dad waiting for me in the kitchen.

  “Dad! What are you doing here?” I ran to give him a hug.

  He hugged me back like he hadn’t seen me in years. ”I had some news for you that I would rather tell you in person. But Gary told me you left him a very serious message earlier today. What’s going on, Alexia?”

  “Where is he?” I asked, wondering why he hadn’t come to greet me yet.

  “He’s at the lab,” Dad replied.

  “But his car is in the garage,” I pointed out. Dad looked at me like he was running out of patience.

  “I borrowed it. Stop evading me, Alexia. What is the matter? Your uncle couldn’t be here, but he was very concerned.” He looked pointedly at me.

  I would have preferred to discuss this with my uncle, but I wouldn’t be able to evade Dad, that much was clear. Besides, I was also curious about the big news he had to come all the way here to deliver.

  “Dad, I found out today that Melanie is not at cheer camp. She has never been at cheer camp,” I finally said.

  Dad just looked at me for a moment. Then he sighed and looked away. He walked to the sink and filled a glass with water but didn’t drink it. He turned to look at me and pointed at one of the bar stools across the kitchen island, motioning for me to take a seat. I was getting really nervous. Dad obviously knew what was going on.

  “Alexia, I’m sorry we had to keep this from you, but it was Melanie’s request, and we had to respect it,” he finally said.

  I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. “What is wrong with Melanie, dad?”

  “She’s in rehab.” He looked at me sadly.

  “Rehab? For what? She doesn’t do drugs, I know she doesn’t!” I was near hysteria. What was Melanie in rehab for?

  “Of course not. But there are other reasons why a person might need rehab. You know that your cousin has peculiar traits.”

  “Just her conspiracy theories, but it’s nothing serious,” I said, trying to defend Melanie.

  “Well, it's gotten worse since the last time you saw her. She wasn’t eating or sleeping properly, and she was having anxiety attacks. She decided she needed help. But she was embarrassed about it and didn’t want you to find out. Hence, the cheer camp story,” Dad explained.

  “Why would she be embarrassed? I’m family!” I couldn’t believe Melanie would want to keep me in the dark and have the entire family lie to me.

  “She requested it and we couldn’t refuse,” Dad tried to explain. “How did you find out she wasn’t at cheer camp?”

  I looked at my hands as I tried to avoid his gaze. I would have to tell him now that I had disobeyed my uncle’s orders and gone to cheer camp on the sly. But before that, I wanted to know where Matt was. I looked up again.

  “What about Matt? Is he also in rehab?” I asked sarcastically.

  “Melanie was feeling lonely, and the rehab center agreed to have a family member stay nearby to visit her more frequently.”

  “That is all fine and good, but I don’t understand why he didn’t call me all this time,” I replied.

  The word ‘betrayal’ kept flashing in my mind like an eighties neon sign. Deep down I couldn’t hold it against Melanie for not wanting to share her condition with me, but Matt could have at least returned my calls.

  “He didn’t want to have to lie to you,” Dad replied and continued, “but I’m still very interested to know how you found out. Please don’t tell me that one of your cousins cracked and told you.”

  “No, they didn’t tell me! Does it matter how I found out? I did, so the big question is, now what?” I put more anger in my words than I felt, but I was still trying to avoid telling him about my field trip with Julian, so attack was my best defense.

  “Now we wait. Melani
e is doing remarkably well, and she should be home in a few days.”

  Melanie was coming home soon, which meant she was better, thank God. But my heart didn’t get any lighter with the news. And that sliver of suspicion embedded in it felt more like a knife now. Despite that, I felt quite awful that I had gone all the way to cheer camp and exposed Melanie needlessly.

  I was quiet for a moment, consumed with my guilt, when Dad interrupted my thoughts.

  “Don’t you want to know the news I have for you?” he asked with a little smile on his face. It was so rare to see my dad smile that it immediately piqued my attention.

  “How would you like to finish your senior year here in Santa Barbara?”

  I looked at him, stunned. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded and I screamed before I jumped from the bar stool and caught him in a bear hug. That was the best news I had heard all summer.

  CHAPTER 14

  Matthew

  After five gruesome weeks in Arcadia, Melanie and I were finally going home. If I never had to set foot in Arcadia again it would be too soon. Considering my role in the Prophecy, that was a wish that would never come to pass.

  The sun was what I had missed the most about Earth. No, that was a lie. Sam was what I had missed most. Just thinking about her made my heart beat faster and flared the Phoenix awake.

  At least now I understood my powers better. The Phoenix was linked to my deepest feelings. Every emotion I felt would be increased tenfold when the Phoenix was awake. I would never feel anything halfway. If I felt rage, the rage would consume me until the Phoenix had its revenge, like what had happened at Julian’s party.

  I also learned how to get into people’s minds and manipulate their realities. It was somewhat similar to what Durgin could do, but in his case the compulsion was something superficial, and the person was aware of who he or she was. With my powers, I could change a person’s personality, or make him lost forever in his own fears. It was an extremely dangerous gift, and I spent most of my time in Arcadia learning how to master it. If I lost control while invading someone’s mind, for example, I could kill that person. That knowledge tightened my heart when I remembered that I had already invaded Sam’s mind twice without realizing how dangerous it was.