Judge by the Cover: High School, Drama & Deadly Vices (Hafu Sans Halo Book 1)

by Melissa Abigail

  “What is wrong with you? Are you not well or something?”

  She sounded agitated.

  But Ryu could only stare. He was gobsmacked, breathless, lost in this blonde girl’s—no—Haruna’s eyes. Something. Something from within Ryu’s centre began to ignite, burning like the coals of a red-hot furnace. Something seized at him. The thoughts. The feelings. They flooded his senses. They consumed him. New, yet somehow familiar, like he'd had them before, like they had always existed but had chosen this one-off moment to spark and burst into flames. His heart pounded in a way that reminded him of running at top speed in the dead of night or sparring with weighted bands against Tyler. He couldn’t look away from eyes that mesmerized him, though he didn’t know why. But suddenly he felt like he wanted to know her. Or maybe deep-down, he’d always known her.

  Haruna’s eyes were sincere, bright and promising like her mother’s. But they weren’t her mother's.

  “Are they real?” he asked.

  Ryu watched Haruna's face brighten. “Pardon?”

  Her voice sounded a lot like Harriet and Alice’s.

  “Your eyes… aren't blue or green… but then sometimes they are, then they aren’t—” Ryu paused mid-speak. What was he even saying? He sounded like an absolute moron. Ryu turned his head from her sharply. “Well, I wasn’t sure…”

  “Of course, they’re real! I wear contacts to see, but…” she trailed off. “S-Sorry—what were we talking about?”

  Ryu coaxed himself not to look back, but he couldn’t stop himself. Her eyes were partially hidden now, shielded by her bangs as she stared into her lap, her hands balled into fists that dug into her thighs. He could still see the blush in her cheeks. Was she shy all of a sudden? Because of what he said? And what was it about her shyness or the slightness of her chin, arch of her brows, swell of her cheek, slope of her lids or that bit of shining gold in her hair like cinnamon… what was it about her that seemed ridiculously cute just then, that hadn’t been before?

  Maybe it was a silly question because she'd always been on the surface, even Ryu knew it. But now she had managed to become undeniably so. Maybe on the inside too.

  “Um, so, do you think we’ve done a good job? Do you think we’ll ace it?” Haruna asked, her voice barely audible.

  “I… I—uh…” Ryu started to speak then hesitated. What was she talking about?

  She twisted her head, her eyes linking with his at a snail's pace, slowly, as though she were afraid to look. But fear wasn’t in Ryu’s vocabulary at that moment. He found himself wondering and wondering. Had the end of her nose always been so freckled? Had her lips always been so… Ryu lowered his gaze, noticing the shimmer of a gold chain at her neck. His mouth parched.

  Her blouse was sheer?

  A sudden sound stole his focus. A door slam.

  “Catherine?”

  Ryu bolted awkwardly to his feet as did Haruna. This time he had moved too quickly. He could feel the blistering from the cut in his thigh return and the numbing effects of his pain medicine give way. Fighting every desire to curse, he clenched his fists and teeth. His face must have looked horrible for he saw the alarmed look on Haruna’s face and then the look of the stranger who appeared at the living room’s entrance. It was an old woman who, in spite of her dumpy frame and pudgy, white-haired face, had a severe, ice-blue glare that chilled like permafrost.

  “Grandmother,” Haruna said, her voice shaky. Ryu glanced between Haruna and the woman.

  The woman pursed her lips.

  “I saw the car in the driveway,” she said, her voice snooty and grating with subtle traces of a British accent. “Catherine, you know there are rules around here. So, I ask why it is there is a boy in this house in my absence?”

  “We’re just working on an assignment for school. I thought you would be home,” Haruna said, her answer prompt. She gestured meekly to Ryu and smiled one of her fake smiles. “His name is Ryu Debiru. He’s from Heaven Home for Boys on the east, b-but he’s a good student—he goes to the Academy.”

  Ryu felt his face fall. Did she always babble like this when she was nervous? And what was she so nervous about anyway?

  “You didn’t have to say all that,” Ryu muttered under his breath.

  Something flickered across the old woman’s face, and Ryu could feel her gaze cut him at his core. That look she gave him—was that hatred?

  “What did you say his name was?” the woman asked.

  “Ryu… Debiru,” Haruna repeated. “It’s Japanese. He’s half too.”

  The woman's cold eyes lashed on him again and a deep crater formed between her knitted brows.

  “Young man, you need to leave. Immediately.”

  Ryu didn’t speak. Confused, he gave one last look at Haruna who looked apologetic, maybe even as stunned as he was. Scratching his head, he grabbed his jacket and bag. He skirted past the old woman, out of the room, and through the front door.

  CHAPTER ten

  night & day

  It was like the stand-off from an odd Western: Haruna on one end, Marie on the other. Marie held a quiet rage, like the calm before a storm, an anger that was scarier than the loudest scolding.

  “Does Emmanuel know that boy was here?” she asked.

  “What does Mani have to do with it? I told you he was only here for an assignment!”

  “Don’t you dare speak to me like that! Only here for an assignment? Yet your top is see-through?”

  Haruna glimpsed down, and the blood rushed to her face. The blouse was new, never worn. She hadn’t even noticed. Marie let out a strident “hmph," her voice carrying behind her as she vacated the sitting room and made way for the kitchen.

  “Thank goodness you’re wearing a camisole underneath.”

  Haruna remained standing, gazing at the spot where her grandmother had been. How could she say all of that? What was she insinuating? That Haruna was up to no good? Hadn’t she proven herself to be responsible? Hadn’t she shown herself to be moral, mature, and serious about school? Just like Mum? Just like “perfect daughter” Grace? And yet even so, all Haruna had shown wasn’t enough. So what if Ryu was there? Ryu was just some guy, a classmate… just…

  Haruna felt a weird lurch in her chest.

  The way he had stared at her. It wasn’t his usual, mean stares, though there was still an intensity about the look in his eyes that made her shrink in her skin all the same. He’d been a bit strange the entire evening. Maybe he really was unwell.

  Haruna yawned.

  She shook her head, feeling exhaustion catch up with her. It had been a long day. She started for the staircase to her bedroom, taking up her cell to check her missed messages. She had received a text from Tracy. That’s when Haruna remembered: she still needed permission to go to the party. She sighed. She had to remain on her grandmother’s good side, at least until then. She double-backed down the stairs, through the hall, and into the kitchen.

  Well, time to apologize and pile on the flattery.

  Haruna’s slippered feet padded against the kitchen’s tiled floors but then stopped abrupt upon sight of it. Marie was at the counter. On it was a small wine glass and in her hand a bottle of aged Chardonnay that she poured until its liquid filled to the top. Haruna eyed the glass tersely, watching as Marie touched it to her lips. Her clear eyes flitted over, and she regarded Haruna with chagrin.

  “Yes?”

  “About what happened today—I’m sorry, Grandmother. It’ll never happen again,” Haruna said, slightly put-off.

  “Well, it better not!” Marie snapped. “You need to keep far away from young men like that, Catherine. Especially that one. I do not like the look of that boy.”

  Haruna regarded her strangely. “Why him?”

  Marie paused, her gaze distant but leering. She contorted the walls of her mouth with her tongue before responding, “Just a feeling.”

  Haruna let out a deep breath, deciding not to drag this out any longer. She rubb
ed at her nose. “Grandmother, my friend Tracy is having a birthday party in a few weeks. I would like permission to attend.”

  “Tracy?”

  “Hasan,” Haruna reminded.

  Marie rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed loudly.

  “Oh. That Muslim girl.”

  Well. That was one way to address her, Haruna supposed.

  “Yes,” Haruna replied.

  “What about that other friend? That lovely girl, Gabrielle, who came by the other day?”

  “Um, I think she might be going to the party, too.”

  Marie shook her head, breaths heavy from aggravation.

  “What I mean to say is, why don’t you spend more time with girls like that?”

  “What’s wrong with Tracy?”

  “Oh, well you know. Those people are—well what do you know about where she lives? Or her family?”

  “Her father is a surgeon. Her mother is a doctor, a general practitioner. And Tracy’s very kind—”

  “Right,” Marie said, a certain fatigue in her tone. “Well, I can’t be bothered with something like that at the moment, dear. Ask me again later. Closer to the date.”

  She downed the last of her wine and turned to make her exit. Haruna watched as Marie’s shadow glided along the wall then faded away. Haruna’s eyes then returned to the lonely bottle of Chardonnay stationed in the corner. What was that all about? Criticizing her, condemning Ryu though she didn’t even know him, and most importantly, blasting Tracy—out of nowhere? Haruna knew her grandmother could be harsh and aloof, but this was different. Something wasn’t right.

  A calm came over Tengoku House, though calm and quiet were rare luxuries, especially on a Sunday evening. Claudia roamed about, from room to room, knocking on closed doors, patrolling the walkways, checking the basement before finally retreating to the attic. All the boys were dutifully doing as told. Sleeping for the night, finishing up the last of their homework for the weekend or getting in some last minute training before bed.

  Well, all except one.

  What a pain.

  Claudia felt her time would be better spent hidden away in her room, curled up in a corner with a good book. But what good was that now? Her role had gotten harder as of late, ever since the boys had failed their last big mission. She had to be stricter with them, Katsuo insisted, as did he. If not, everything the Syndicate had worked for, all they had accomplished, all of it would be in vain.

  Sure, they had managed to make a lot of money. They'd even managed to fly under the radar for over a decade. But what an effort it was keeping the charade going. It seemed lately her only escape was to a nightclub or a bar.

  Claudia crept into the loft, its space dark and coated in dust, its walls lined with rows of ammunitions and cobwebs. Katsuo was at the centre, bent over on a stool, his eyes stern with focus as he leafed through a stack of cash, silently counting. She sauntered over and stopped just before him. She leaned her shoulder against a crook in the wall. He was focused. Too focused to even see her. But what else was new? She groaned.

  Noticing her at last, he looked up.

  “How’s it going?” Claudia asked.

  Katsuo stared blankly for a moment, then half-smiled in a way that emphasized his prominent cheekbones and manly jaw. Those smiles were a dime a dozen, but how she loved to see them.

  “Good. Very good,” Katsuo said gruffly. “How about on your end?”

  “Also good,” she answered. “I assume you mean here. The parlour is a different story altogether.”

  Katsuo nodded absently. “Is that so?”

  Claudia looked down, noticing a small scuff on her leggings. She brushed it away with a scowl.

  “I was wondering where Ryu-kun was. I know he can’t be doing any jobs with his leg like that.”

  Katsuo snorted through his nose.

  “Said something about some school project. Went to work with the girl.”

  Interesting.

  “Ah, 'the girl’? You mean the one who came to the house?”

  Katsuo gave a slight nod. He then stared broodingly into space. “That girl could really become a problem. There’s something about her. Something… I can't put my finger on,” he refocused on Claudia, his eyebrows drawn together. “And the boy is hard to read. He’s much like his father. More than I care to admit.”

  Claudia pursed her lip. Hard to read? What that boy was, was an over-entitled upstart, something Katsuo failed to recognize. She especially couldn't stand the way Ryu would look at her—rudely—like a wicked demon-child, his stabbing eyes full of self-righteous scorn. Though Ryu might have been hard for Katsuo to read, Claudia understood well enough what was going on. Ryu was like his father. All this girl had proven was that Ryu's arrogance and weakness was also like his father's.

  “Ki-kun, did you notice something about her?”

  Katsuo narrowed his eyes. “I noticed some of the boys seem to be taken by her.”

  Claudia crossed her arms. So Katsuo hadn’t yet figured it out.

  “I'm not talking about that,” she said. She then moved in closer to him and leaned in so her face levelled with his. “The girl’s name is ‘Ha–ru–na.'”

  It seemed to take forever for the name to register in his mind, even though she had said it slowly, but once it did the revelation lit up his face like a Tokyo billboard.

  “Haruna? She's Japanese?” he whispered incredulously, his deep voice echoing.

  Claudia was beside herself. She replied coyly, “Hafu.”

  It was the first time in a while, possibly in months, Ryu awoke on edge. Since Sunday, he wasn't at all like himself. At first, he thought maybe he was coming down with something since he had left home on Monday morning feeling dizzy, sweaty and nauseous. Nothing too out of the ordinary. It was flu season. By the time he had gotten to second period, he wondered if the Extra-Strength Tylenol was having some weird effect on him. Admittedly, he took a little more than the recommended dosage—probably not the best idea. But then, once he had gotten to his last period English class, his feelings went from bad to worse. He caught sight of Haruna and avoided drawing her attention as he walked as fast as he could to his desk in the back. By Friday, they’d have to present their project—three weeks' worth of frustration come to an end. He thought he’d feel relieved, that he would at the very least not care either way. But that wasn’t the case at all, and it disturbed him. But what disturbed him most was that he couldn’t stop thinking about her or shake the weight in his chest he had whenever he did.

  Once class had ended, Ryu burst through the side doors and stomped around to the secluded spot where he expected to find the guys. If there was ever a day he needed a smoke, it was today. As Ryu walked he could hear the crunch of leaves under his dress shoes, and he glanced upwards at the naked branches spiking overhead. Soon fall would be over and it would be too miserable and rainy to even stand outside. He hated winter. It cramped his style.

  “Ay, Ryu,” Seth called, waving over to him as he neared.

  Ryu gave a nod in greeting, but he noticed the other guys didn’t bother to so much as turn their heads, too busy with whatever discussion they were having. Some friends they were. Ryu positioned himself between them and gave Seth his props, fist meeting fist.

  “Yo, missed me?”

  “Yeah! Haven’t seen you in days,” Seth said, grinning. “You good? How was your weekend?”

  Ryu felt the tightness in his chest return. He gulped thickly. “Yeah, uh, nothing… I mean, it was just… whatever.”

  He frowned. Why was a full sentence so hard to say?

  He cocked his head over his shoulder, having gleaned from the corner of his eye the way Jackson was staring him down. He shot back a glare of his own. What was this guy’s problem? Ryu looked deliberately past him and saw Cody with his cell phone, laughing to himself before then passing it to a snickering Tim.

  “So I was just telling the guys,” Seth said, waving at Ryu for h
is attention. “I went on a group date on Saturday with Elle and her friends.”

  Ryu ripped his eyes away from the others and stared back at Seth. Gabrielle’s friends? Did that mean…

  “So lame, dude,” Kevin said, a cloud billowing around him as he casually, pretty boldly, held his spliff in midair. “I can’t believe that actually could have been a good time.”

  “Nah, it was though,” Seth said reassuringly. “They’re cool. Even the one guy. I forget his name, though.”

  Ryu felt a gnawing in his gut. Haruna’s boyfriend? That insufferable dirtball boyfriend of hers was cool? Seth was hanging out with all of them now and becoming good friends? Ryu hurriedly retrieved a pack of smokes from his book bag, eager to set something afire. He placed the cigarette between his lips and his eyes went near cross-eyed as he brought the lighter close. He could still hear Cody chuckling at something.

  What was so fricking funny?

  “Do you just pull that pic out whenever you have free time?” joked Kevin, laughing.

  Ryu scrunched his face as both Cody and Jackson made a crass, quite perverted jest in response. Ryu leaned over, trying to see exactly what they were looking at. Then he saw it, only a hint of it. His limbs seized into paralysis.

  “Yo, when did you take that one? You didn’t show us that one the last time!” Tim grinned stupidly.

  “Some things aren’t meant to be shared, boys,” Cody replied giddily.

  Seth appeared curious as well, but once he got a look for himself he turned away sharply.

  “Ugh—guys, grow up,” he mumbled, though his face had tinged red.

  Ryu was no longer interested in feeding his addiction. He spread his fingers, allowing the cigarette to fall to the pave in a smouldering stick of ash. Before he could think twice, his body went into motion and he approached Cody.