I let her arm go the left her behind as I walked off to class; it was definitely getting easier to piss me off lately.
***
My first two classes are over- that’s two down with three more to go. Next class is with Bethany and Wade. Last week the teacher put us into teams making me a team captain; I chose the only two people I really have any dealings with in that class to group with me. I had cooled down from earlier and my head was back in the game and I’d promised myself no matter how hard it would be I wouldn’t ask Bethany anymore questions about her slip earlier.
The bell rung second before I walked into the room and the teacher was cool enough to not require me to turn around and go to the office for a tardy slip, like most of the other teachers here did. I drug myself to my seat, becoming incredibly tired from the lack of sleep that was becoming normal.
Pulling the pocket mirror from my backpack I quickly looked at my eyes; yep those are rings. I put the mirror away then waited for the teacher to pull herself together and tell us to gather our groups. I’d completely forgotten what the assignment was anyways, hopefully one of the others would remember for me.
“Okay class, go ahead and get into your teams,” the teacher announced.
I got up from the desk and moved to one of the chairs next to Bethany; Wade followed and sat down on the opposite side of me.
“Just a little review for you guys; I want you to come up with a product and a company name, I also want you to create a commercial and a PowerPoint to promote your product. We’ll have a look at these next week, second class.” The teacher went back to her desk and called attendance. We had the rest of the class to plan.
“Okay so for the company name I say we go with something simple like WAB or BAW Industries; just the first letter of our first names,” Bethany suggested first.
“That’s a little too typical. Let’s first figure out a product then make a name based around that.” Wade responded.
“What about a chair that plays music? Like a musical chair?” I glanced at the two of them as they thought about the idea.
“Sure, what are we gonna call this chair? Also, what other features would it have?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t know, maybe a cup holder that keeps your drinks cold or warm.”
“I see where you’re going, so let’s make it a universal chair; you can sync it with the TV or game system and the bass from whatever you’re doing also massages you.”
Bethany smiled at the idea and started writing then down, “I’d buy that chair.”
I looked down at the handout and read over the other requirements for the project. “So, next we need a logo.”
“Wait, did we already choose the product and company name?”
“I’m going with Universal Chair for the product name and for the company let’s make it Netherworld Creations- because we’re out of this world,” Wade answered, winking when he looked at me.
I nodded in agreement then starting taking notes of my own. “That’s brilliant Wade, I can start on some rough drafts of the logo tonight, but we‘ll need to get together over the next few days to finalize this thing.”
“I agree, I can help you after we’ve been to the balloon show this afternoon,” Wade offered.
“I don’t remember accepting your invitation, my friend,” I replied. “But, for the sake of the project, the both of you are invited over to work on this thing.”
The teacher got up from her desk and walked to the front of the class and made anther announcement. “I’ll give you guys a few more minutes then we’ll go over what you have so far. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t have much, I’d at least like to know the company name and what type of product you’re marketing. So keep working, from what I hear you guys are doing great,” she smiled warmly then walked back to her desk.
I turned my attention back to my team then continued with my notes. “So we’re all in agreement for the name and the product?”
When neither of them answered, I looked up from the paper- they were completely frozen. I waved my hand in front of their faces then glanced around at the rest of the room; no one moved or made a sound, each of them frozen into their last position. The door opened suddenly and Corey ran into the room.
“Now you’re just showing off,” I mumbled inaudibly. “What’s going on, Coco?”
She stopped in front of me and waited until she had fully caught her breath before speaking. “I need the answer to number twelve,” she shoved a piece of paper at me and pointed to the math problem.
“You ran halfway across the school to ask me a math question?”
“I didn’t know the answer.”
I lightly shook my head, “It’s 110. I’ll talk to my parents about getting you a cell phone so next time you can just text me.”
She wrote the number down on the paper then jogged out of the classroom. “Thank you,” she called behind her before the door fully closed itself.
I looked around the room once again- they hadn’t come to life yet. I picked a random person and looked at her; wondering what was going on in her mind while someone else controlled her. Turns out whatever she was thinking before she froze played in a loop, just three words; Hate that girl. I jerked away just in time as the heart of the class began to beat again.
“What were you saying, Alizarin?” Wade asked.
“Oh, I said are we all in agreement for the product and the company name?”
“Yeah I think so. What do you want to do for the promotional event?”
I looked out of a nearby window and shrugged, “Not sure, let’s go over it another day. Time’s up anyhow.”
The wind blew gently through the trees outside as the sun beamed high above; I positioned my chair slightly to where I caught some of its warm rays on my face. I blinked quickly and embraced it.
Behind me the teacher got up from her desk and returned to the front of the class. “Alright, which group wants to go first?”
“No time like the present,” I answered softly to my team as I pushed the chair back. Bethany protested silently for a moment but eventually got up.
Once at the front of the class I looked upon their faces lightly, taking in some of their initial thoughts before proceeding. “Good afternoon, we are the corporate heads of Netherworld Creations, and our product is the revolutionary Universal Chair that Wade will tell you more about.”
Wade took a step forward and began explaining the specifics of the fictional product. Eventually my mind left the classroom and nerves filled my stomach as I thought about Nikko. I wasn’t sure what it was that made him so special, I’d dealt with his type before and it always lead nowhere or worse, disappointment. I swayed slightly from side to side as I stood in front of the class my nerves slowly returning to me. A smile spread across my face as I listened to Wade speak, his words were soft and sweet as they flowed from his tongue, allowing a new vision now to replaced Nikko; me and Wade high in the sky laughing and entangled in the whistling breeze. When Wade was done talking, the visions stopped and I returned to the classroom.
“That sounds great team, have you guys also figured out your ‘executive’ names? Meaning which department of the company you oversee?”
“No not yet,” Bethany answered.
“Make sure you have that before the end of class today, so write it down and turn it in. But I love the idea and I can’t wait to see where this goes and what it develops into next week.”
We all nodded and returned to our seats then quietly brainstormed executives names while the rest of the class debated over who would go next. “I’ll take Marketing Exec.” I whispered over the table.
“That’s good, I’ll be Product Development and Bethany you could be Public Relations or Product Analyst.” Wade replied. Once Bethany decided between the two I wrote down our roles and quietly got up to turn it in to the teacher.
I dividedly paid attention to the other groups as they ran through their products and company names, occasionally ask
ing questions about products that didn’t make any sense. Time ticked away slowly as I sat at the desk half asleep; my eyes took extended blinks until I finally shut them and nodded- first unnoticeable then intensely. Bethany tapped my shoulder lightly and I snapped to attention, “I’m fine, certainly not sleeping,” I whispered.
At the five-minute mark I started gathering my things into my backpack as the last group wrapped up their statements. Once they had taken their seats the teacher got up once again from her desk, “I’m going to let you guys go a little earlier before the bell today just because I know that last hour was a little rough on all of us and you might need some extra time to get some water and maybe go to the restroom to wake yourselves up before your last classes. You already have the homework and I look forward to seeing the completion of this project.”
I got up from the desk and threw my backpack onto my shoulders, it was only two minutes before the bell rang but she was right I needed water and a hint of fresh air.
“If you still have questions for my mom, I’d be happy to bring you over. She just crossed over today,” Wade announced, as if it were the dead she was crossing over from.
“Keep your half-assed explanations, I no longer require them,” I responded, walking away from him.
He followed swiftly behind me as I maneuvered around the empty hallways. “Why are you following me?”
“You’re intentions tell me something completely different,” he said, stepping in front of me and cutting me off.
“Can you please move? I have to get to class.”
“What is your problem? You would think that a person in your situation would want to know what’s going on,” he looked around to make sure we were still alone, “And I use the word person loosely,” he whispered.
My foot slammed against the hard tile as I stomped my foot. “You don’t know me. Look, I appreciate what you did the other day, but, things are escalating to a new level of weird and I want no part of it. Now, let me live my life and move around.”
Why couldn’t they understand?
Chapter Seventeen
Skylark
Thursday September 2, 2010
Today started off as any other day, all work and no play. I didn’t have time for play anyhow, not when people like Alizarin made my job harder. Why wouldn’t her eyes open?
I traced across the room looking at the it’s perimeter; I hated being stuck in here unable to get out and explore the world as I had done once before- I was bound by these walls with no one to blame but Psenora.
Just recently, I got a message from my father urging me to speed things along- it was always business with him. I stroked the bird as I gazed longingly out of the window; Aliza had grown so much since I’d held her in my arms all those years ago, and Ash was actually a really nice companion.
My real name is Skylark and I am the last child of eight; they named me that because when I was separated, I’d been the smallest of my sisters. I was also among the rest of my family that helped Psenora escape the forest. I regret not telling them my real name or my purpose here; I didn’t exactly know why I had chosen the name Corey on the day of the big illusion one of Felicia’s boys had set up. For now I’m stuck with it, frequently having to remember to answer to such a horrible name.
Aliza is so much more powerful than we could have possibly imagined because I’ve now figured out that the mind reading and healing is only scratching the surface- she was so much more. This was probably the reason the union between gods and us was forbidden.
I fumbled around in the room for a moment before settling on the bed and calmly looked out of the window at the swaying of the trees- the weather was cold but still beautiful. The large eagle still rested silently on the windowpane, waiting for me to give a reply for my father; he too was a part of the Resistance.
“If she doesn’t begin training soon, we’ll all be done away with,” I whispered as I wrote the words down.
Aliza was fighting me every step of the way; that was one thing her father would have been proud of. The one thing her father hated was what she wanted to be- he gave his life trying to protect her.
If not for direct orders, I would have filled her in on her past by now. I hate keeping secrets, especially something that didn’t need to be a secret in the first place. The Resistance should have a little more faith in Alizarin; she is, after all, the savior of our people. Maybe if Psenora hadn’t sheltered her throughout these years or even allowed us to come near her as a child, Aliza could have been trained and ready by now. Instead, we had to wait until she completely lost the rest of her memory and power before the barrier she’d built faded.
I’ll never understand why Psenora fought so hard to keep Alizarin human when humanism was something Hero detested as a god. But I was happy to know that she’d at least tampered with her daughter’s clothing so that they wouldn’t burn.
I strapped the note to the leg of the bird and sent it away then watched it fly off into the night sky. It was another Sunday night and I was stuck on house patrol; although it was definitely normal, it still stung. Memories of my life before being thrown into being a babysitter played across my brain, the places and people I’d visited and loved.
A part of me was happy to give it all up to help the cause but on the other hand I just wanted to be at home in my forest, doing my daily duties. I smiled when the thoughts of Victor randomly erupted from nowhere; his curly red hair and the twinkle of bright honey in his eyes were enough to start the beginning of tears all over again. I shook off all thoughts and re-focused my mind to my mission- Aliza and Ash.
This world was full of oddities, like the fact that Ash was merely a representation of the human form of Alizarin, although being male. Psenora was smart to raise them as twins and make her human husband believe it as well. Even though I couldn’t quite understand why Ash had developed power, as time passes, I slowly begin seeing the reasons. Someone wanted him to protect her- knowing that he would be willing to give his life for her, whereas, I would not.
A dim flash of light peeked through the crevasses of the dresser and glittered through the room; I hadn’t even noticed I stood frozen at the window. I reached down into the top drawer and pushed several items of clothing around before finding Dendria’s charm. The charm had been in my family for centuries; it was the one thing I used to keep a close eye on the twins when they didn’t want me around.
I ran my fingers over the golden wings then fastened it around my neck; the room lit up as mystic light blue waves swirled around me. I asked for the location of the twins and watched as it was revealed to me. Ash was being Ash and talking to women at a pool hall while Aliza was with… “Oh no.” I said aloud, taking the necklace off and grabbing my whistle, this was not good.
Centure wasn’t supposed to be here so soon. I leaned out of the already opened window and blew the whistle; seconds later Lavender appeared in the form of a bird, her dark wings beat softly as she hovered at my window. I quickly jumped onto her back and held the reigns lightly as she began flight.
This was the first time I’d seen her since I’d gotten here a few months ago and I’d missed her. “How have you been, girl?” I smoothed most of her black feathers down along her right wing; she cooed at my touch. “I’ve missed you.”
I missed a lot of things about my life before coming here to live invisibly among the humans. I lowered my head and eased the memories away before pointing Lavender off into the right direction.
If I didn’t get there in time Centure was sure to reveal too much; she had a way of doing that, whether intentionally or not. She’d offer the twins full control of their power, something neither of them was prepared for yet.
Luckily the family hall Aliza and Ash were at was only ten or fifteen minutes away; another one of the great conveniences of living in this town.
“It’s too late, Ash just got there and I’m afraid the short time Alizarin was there a henchman was able to spot her,” my father said, appearing in the saddle beh
ind me. I hated when he did that; it scared me every time.
“Has he seen her? Enough to be sure that it is, in fact, Alizarin?” I replied, egging Lavender to speed forward.
The wind blew vigorously as we sliced through it, my dad’s voice was soft when he spoke for he was growing old and tired. “He may have. We must not put that past him. What does she know?”
“She still longs to be human and won’t allow herself to accept anything outside of her own little world.”
He touched his forehead then rubbed his eyes. “Can you really blame her? It is all she knows. Centure knows what she is doing and won’t blow your cover. We feel you haven’t been doing your part as well as you can, what’s wrong, Skylark?”
I kept my eyes ahead of the trees and occasionally glanced at the road that glistened below. “You mean besides the wars waging in other dimensions while we babysit a bastard? Nothing, absolutely nothing is wrong, father.”
“Is this why you have forsaken her? My child, all of the signs are there.”
“All except for one,” I mumbled under my breath as I clenched my teeth together. Why couldn’t it have been me to bare the child that’d save our people? Was I not good enough for any god?
When we got to a part of road with several acres of plowed land, vegetation bloomed up quickly; I never understood why he hadn’t learned to hone that power, it was the one he just let go. I shook my head and pointed down below. “What do you think those farmers are going to say when they come outside and see their fields?” I smiled, allowing this to briefly overshadow my negative thoughts.
“They should thank me,” he responded, not caring to look down at all. “Have a little more faith in her.” With those words my father was gone, fading into dust that blew away with the night.
I circled the building cautiously as Lavender and I both watched the parking lot. “Wait for my signal, it shouldn’t take me long.” I stood up straight on her back and jumped effortlessly to the ground; landing gently on the gravel farthest from the door.
Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters Page 14
