《Sapherine I》


 Chp One: Myra

    All my eyes could focus on was him, the Goliath to my David; a force I couldn¡¯t fight.


    His smell wafted to my nose, clearing my head. If I had to describe it it would almost be the scent of a rainforest. The sap of some sickly sweet tree. The aroma of, was that ozone? And something else that resembled a clear spring day. Almost but not quite.


    It drowned out every smell, even the trash rotting in the early morning heat.


    My voices argued in my head as always. Listening to them squabble while my life hung in the balance was tiring. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s worse, having a bully or having an inner argument with four different people. That was how my psyche was right now. It fractured into four distinct parts, each with its own personality.


    It was like looking at yourself through a cracked mirror, each piece reflected you or some form of you. I was glad I only had four voices to deal with.


    A locker slammed, jolting me back to reality.


    I kept staring, dumbstruck, searching through the crowds for anyone who would be my rock. As usual, no one helped. Instead, I was host to jeers of laughter, even a push from Jonah¡¯s buddy in crime, Ralph, to pay more attention to Jonah. He was built like a bull, tough, with little black dreadlocks covering his face.


    Jonah¡¯s light blond hair was tied off in a ponytail today, and one grey eye shimmered with impatience. The other was shut due to the sun shining from the windows. I was facing away from the rays. This eye was a different color. I always forgot about it.


    Emerald! My voices all shouted.


    Trust my voices to tell me useless information.


    ¡°Are you going to keep staring at me, freak?¡± Jonah said, his emerald eye opening with the same impatience as his gray eye held.


    I swallowed and shook my head, casting my eyes on the floor. Did my stare make him uncomfortable? People say I have dead eyes. Not a single spark to them. Pools of dark sludge, or so say the kids around me.


    Is it my fault I have so much going on in my head? Or that others don¡¯t make a blip on my radar?


    Strength: Hey, Myra! Pay attention! The nitwit asked you something, and you know he hates repeating himself.


    Thanks, Strength.


    ¡°Sorry, can you repeat that?¡± I asked, staring at my shoes.


    Jonah groaned. ¡°Okay...listen this time! Did you do your French homework? If yes, then gimmie! I have a test to take in the next fifteen minutes.¡±


    I looked up from my shoes and back to his eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you cheat like you always do?¡±


    ¡°I left my phone at home, so, did you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Then give me the homework,¡± he said, stretching his hand out and grinning.His mismatched eyes twinkling as if this was a good joke. To him it might have been.


    I swallowed my anger. My fingers quested for the denim and cold metal of my book bag¡¯s zipper.I unzipped my bag and slid my smooth blue binder out. Leafing through it, I came upon my purple folder. Purple is my least favorite color, and French deserved it. I pulled the crisp papers of my study guide out and handed them to Jonah.


    He snatched them away from my hands the moment I presented them.


    ¡°Cool. See ya later, freak,¡± Jonah yelled, causing the students around me to laugh. I watched him saunter away.


    Maryanne: If he wasn¡¯t such a bully, I¡¯d almost call him elegant.


    Strength: Elegant? Maryanne? Have you been smokin¡¯ sometin¡¯?


    Mark: He almost floats with it. It¡¯s not elegance. It¡¯s arrogance.


    Jack: I see what Maryanne means. He walks like he¡¯s dancing on air.


    Strength: Not what I was talkin about, but yeah, that too.


    Maryanne chuckled. : Jonah the Airhead? It has a nice ring to it. I think I like it. It suits a bully!


    I snickered. Yeah, Jonah, the Airhead did have a nice ring to it., and goodness knows he had no brain cells of his own.


    The bell rang. I rushed to English on the cement floors and passed walls littered with posters.


    Sweat rolled down my face as my feet plodded the floor, my body shifting through the throng of students in the hall. Someone tripped me and I came tumbling down like a stack of cards. I crashed into the rough floor. Students around me laughed. Thank god I wore sweatpants. No panties to show everyone again. It¡¯s the reason I stopped wearing skirts.


    ¡°Look where you¡¯re going, freak,¡± called Jonah, smirking.


    Maryanne: Jonah! We should¡¯ve known!


    Strength: When is he not picking on us?


    Jack: When it snows.


    Strength: It never snows.


    Mark: Exactly.


    Jack: Myra! Say something to that sack of shit!


    ¡°Oww,¡± I muttered and picked myself off the floor. I wiped my bloody lip with the hem of my cotton grey shirt, then straightened my oversized shirt and sweatpants. Not exactly a fashion statement, but it was comfortable and loose, and it hid those extra thirty pounds well enough.


    I fixed my binder and limped to the classroom door only a few feet from me. One day I¡¯d get revenge.


    Maryanne: Atta girl! We¡¯re no doormats!


    Mark: I don¡¯t consider us one.


    Strength: Me neither, but we¡¯re late again.


    Maryanne: It¡¯s not Myra¡¯s fault! She¡¯s limping!


    Jack: The teacher is likely to think it¡¯s false.


    Strength: Darn these teachers! They do nothing about bullying. This has been going on for far too long. A lesson is needed to teach Airwalker how ta dance the Macarena!


    Jack: Strength, stop ripping off Star Wars. That¡¯s like my favorite movie!


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Strength: Jack, Bro, get a life!


    Jack: I have one. I¡¯m stuck in here with you, black man wannabe!


    Strength: What do you mean wanna be? I am black!


    Mark held his head and hit Jack over the head with his book.: Here we go again. Can¡¯t you do something, Maryanne?


    Maryanne sighed and shook her head, curly ponytail bobbing behind her: Mark, you know I can only step in when there is an emergency.


    In English, I sat back and listened as Mr. Sentero droned on. To the left of me came some snores, and I dearly wished I could join that person, but I was already in trouble.


    Some giggling came from the back as a few girls were texting each other back and forth.


    The front of the room was one of those ancient cubby desks swarmed by files. On the top sat a lemony glade-scented candle and a smiley cup aimed right at me. It was creepy with its smiling face and blank eyes. I turned the crisp pages of my English book, as I sat through a numbing exchange of Shakespeare¡¯s Romeo and Juliet.


    I hated that play.


    How could Romeo have thought that Juliet had killed herself? Where was the trust in that relationship? Love couldn¡¯t survive without trust, and they proved that by dying. That was not romantic to me.


    ¡°Myra. Do you have anything to add to this conversation?¡± Mr. Sentero quipped.


    I blushed. What was the conversation about again?


    Maryanne: They were talking about true love, and dying for each other symbolized that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree,¡± I said.


    ¡°Really? What are your thoughts, then? Care to share with the class?¡±


    A few students laughed at me. They wouldn¡¯t laugh after I¡¯d had my say and broken their fantasies on this true love crap. Can you say unhealthy?


    ¡°Romeo didn¡¯t trust Juliet enough to understand she was playing dead. Heck, he didn¡¯t know her well enough to expect her to move, and Juliet chose death in her desperation and fear. That¡¯s not love. That¡¯s ignorance and cowardice. They didn¡¯t choose to be together for all eternity. They were led to it by circumstance and their misaligned grievances. Love is when you can trust a person to play dead for you. If Romeo had waited a little longer, Juliet would have woken up. Love is to trust. And as Shakespeare said, ¡®What fools these mortals be.¡¯¡±


    Mr. Sentero stood frozen for a moment thinking and nodded. ¡°An interesting point of view, though Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, not a romance. Your homework tonight is to write down your observations and back them up with the play. I¡¯m sure to get a few surprises.¡± He glanced my way, and I waved shyly. ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    The bell rang, and everyone ran for the doors. I sat back and let them pass, scooping up my papers and placing them in the blue folder.


    My favorite color and my favorite class. I limped to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Myra? That limp? Where did you get it?¡± asked Mr. Sentero


    ¡°I fell on my way to class.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. It wasn¡¯t the truth either.


    ¡°I¡¯ll excuse you for today¡¯s tardiness, and write you a slip for the nurse. Be careful. Those floors are cement!¡±


    I thanked him and entered the hallways. Scattered papers were being trampled. I picked one up. It was for the Halloween party hosted by the school. It was taking place on a boat and free of charge as long as you brought your own costume. I folded the paper and went to my locker.


    Jack said, poking Strength: Black man wannabe!


    Strength: I am black!


    Jack: Yeah? You came out of a white cocoon like the rest of us!


    Mark sighed: Except you. Besides Jack that happened a while ago.


    Jack growled: Shut it, Mark! He came out white until he saw that damn movie!


    Strength: So? Ya know we change with what we see!


    Maryanne rolled her eyes: Would you two stop fighting, please? You¡¯re giving me a headache.


    Me too, I sighed as I got ready for lunch and more Jonah. Every lunch hour, it was something; if it wasn¡¯t him, it was the queen bee herself, Katilia Williams. They would make a lovely couple.


    Strength: A power couple.


    Jack: The Power to annoy, maybe.


    Mark: They¡¯d make a dreadful combination.


    Strength: They¡¯d make some ugly kids, that¡¯s fo sure.


    I snickered and went to lunch. It was a loud white box full to the brim of chattering nuisances and smelling like burnt hotdogs. Yum.


    Jack: Yum? Something must have cracked in that fall.


    Maryanne: That smell is revolting.


    Jack: It smells like someone fried a dog. Could that be the school¡¯s dirty secret?


    Maryanne: God, I hope not!


    Me neither, Maryanne.


    I sat in the farthest corner and took out my lunch box. There was a cheese sandwich with my name on it and I was hungry. The Inquisition began at my table as I was taking a bite of my sandwich. Katilia Wiliams led the fray this time.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you eat every day?¡± She asked snidely.


    I nodded. It was the truth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you eat anything else?¡±


    ¡°I do, but my thermos is broken,¡± I responded, taking a massive bite from my sandwich. I relished the butter and cheddar cheese. Nothing else. No ham or tomatoes or lettuce or...eww, mayonnaise.


    ¡°Are you ever going to change how you dress? It¡¯s been, what, three years now?¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°Why should I? This is comfortable and nice.¡±


    ¡°You look like a blimp.¡±


    I sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll always look like a blimp.¡± I wiped my mouth and hands of butter and drank a big gulp of my water.


    ¡°Well yeah, you are fat.¡±


    I took my last bite, stood up, and faced her. ¡°Thanks for the advice. I needed it.¡±


    Maryanne: As if she¡¯s perfect! Look at her nose!


    Mark: It¡¯s bvperfect, Maryanne.


    Maryanne: It¡¯s not! It¡¯s crooked!


    Strength: If you look at it from an angle, it kinda is.


    Mark: No, she¡¯s a Barbie doll.


    Maryanne: You know what they say about those.


    Jack smirked: They¡¯re cursed and evil?


    Maryanne smiled and added: They¡¯re also empty and plastic, Jack.


    I shook my head and headed for my locker, where Jonah was waiting with more demands.


    ¡°I want your math homework.¡±


    Maryanne: ¡°No! That¡¯s your next class! You need it, Myra!


    Jack: Don¡¯t let this shit for brains take it!


    Mark: I concur! He¡¯s not worth Mr. Lambert¡¯s wrath.


    What do I do?


    All: Lie=n


    ¡°I d-don¡¯t have it.¡±


    Jonah smirked and leaned in, pinning me against my locker. ¡°Liar. You always have your homework done. You¡¯re a goody two shoes. Hand it over.¡±


    ¡°I-I need it. Math is my next class.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll search for it then,¡± he snatched my binder and began hauling papers to the floor. I remembered that I had left my math homework in the math book.


    ¡°Stop! It-It¡¯s not there. Let me open my locker.¡±


    ¡°Hurry up,¡± he said, throwing the binder on top of the mess of papers. It took me three tries before my locker opened, and I could take my math book out. My hands shook and Itried making sense of my speeding thoughts. It made no sense as to why Jonah was picking on me again.


    I pried the homework from its pages and gave it to Jonah with a trembling hand.


    He snatched it away and smirked. ¡°That wasn¡¯t so hard, was it? Bye, freak!¡± He walked all over my binder and papers as he left.


    Maryanne¡¯s fists gripped harder: What a horrible boy!


    Strength: What¡¯s his problem, man?


    Jack: I don¡¯t know, but this is getting serious. He almost ripped Myra¡¯s binder in half.


    Strength: Man, she loves that blue thing.


    I bent down and reorganized my binder, taking my time. I was late for class and with no homework. Mr. Lambert was not a lenient teacher.


    I decided to skip it and get the homework from the website. A few tears escaped my eyes.


    What did I do to deserve a bully or any of it? It was a good thing I had a psych appointment soon.


    I was about to crack like an egg again. This was too much for someone like me.


    Maryanne: Show that jerkbutt the one-two!


    Strength: Maryanne, she can¡¯t even stand up to the fool.


    Maryanne: She can! She only needs a little encouragement!


    Mark: Strength is right, Maryanne.


    Jack: I agree with both of them. Myra needs to stand up for herself first before showing him the two-step.


    Great, even my voices thought me a coward. I should start making copies of my homework from now on.


    That way, his highness could have his homework, and I could pass my classes as well. I stood caressing my binder and headed for my next class, chemistry.


    He couldn¡¯t ask for my homework from this class. I was flunking it on my own.


    I was Jonah¡¯s victim, his prey for anything else.

 Chp Two: Myra

    I sat closed-lipped in my brother¡¯s car. He¡¯d try to make eye contact every once in a while, but I evaded it.


    ¡°So how was school?¡± Juaquin asked as we drove past large chateaus and big mansions from the nice neighborhoods.


    We have the metal gates and white walls of our neighborhood. It almost felt like a prison there but it was home. We lived in an apartment complex not too far from a small park. It was our sole source of entertainment, and my younger brother liked it there.


    Juaquin glanced at my binder. It had a tear near the middle and, despite being new, wasn¡¯t going to last much longer.


    ¡°What happened to your binder, Myra?¡±


    I sighed and tugged it closer to me. ¡°I fell on it,¡± I lied. My family didn¡¯t know about my school problems, and it was better this way.


    Maryanne: Why not tell him? He could help us.


    Strength: Yeah, your brother is bigger and worse than that puny kid.


    Mark: I concur. We should tell him.


    Jack: What have we got to lose?


    My dignity?


    Maryanne: Is dignity so important to you?


    Yes. Yes, it was. I didn¡¯t want my brother or mother to solve my problems. I could handle it.


    I¡¯d copy all my homework from now on. If I could, I¡¯d avoid tripping. I touched my still bruised lip and like an eagle, my brother zeroed in on it.


    ¡°Was that from your fall?¡± He asked, pressing the beeper to open the metal gates to the apartment complex.


    I nodded and brought my hand down. I looked at my brother. We had the same dark curly hair and dark eyes, but he was a good eight inches taller than me. He was big, too, and far stronger than me.


    Maryanne: Myra? Don¡¯t you think we could use his help?


    Strength: Yeah! That pipsqueak won¡¯t mess with us anymore.


    Mark: You won¡¯t have to do double the homework.


    Jack: Let your bro teach Jonah a thing or two about treating people!


    No! Leave it!


    We didn¡¯t enter. My brother turned to me. He could probably sense how my day really went down. He kept staring at me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got the day free of classes. Want a ride?¡±


    I smiled and nodded. I never turned down a car ride. He pressed the beeper, closing the gates before he reversed and we took off through the neighborhood.I watched as the neighborhood shifted from small houses to sprawling mansions. That always left me in awe of them and what it must be like living in one.


    Maryanne: Glorious!


    Strength: Freeing.


    Mark: I think it would be oppressive. Most people with big money are jerks.


    Jack: Katilia, anyone?


    Maryanne: That is true. We have to follow customs and manners.


    Strength: That ain¡¯t so bad.


    Jack: For someone who likes the freedom of sweatpants and loose shirts, it is. We¡¯d have to dress up every day!


    Definitely not my thing. It¡¯s better to look at them from afar. Yes, they were pretty, but I prefer my family over money any day.


    We drove past the houses and into the wilderness. We soon found a nice cascade to sit beside and watch. The water wasn¡¯t crystal clear, but hearing the tinkering upon the rocks below was nice, like wind chimes on a breezy day. Leaves fell into the cascade¡¯s swirling waters as a cool breeze blew. The scent of clean water and wet rocks cleared my head.


    My brother gave me a one-armed hug and squeezed my shoulders. I clung to his cotton shirt and sniffed but no more than that. Why? Why did it have to be me? Didn¡¯t I have enough problems already? What did I do to deserve this? I know I¡¯m not normal but I want to be!


    Maryanne: Myra, normal is overrated


    Strength: Yeah, normal is boring.


    Mark: What is normal? Who defines what normal is?


    Jack: Yeah, who says we aren¡¯t part of your normal?


    I don¡¯t know, but you aren¡¯t normal no matter what you say! I turned to my brother and smiled.


    ¡°I feel better, Juaquin.¡±


    He ruffled my hair. ¡°Want to tell me what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I can handle it. Jonah¡¯s a bully and probably won¡¯t pick on me again after finding out how bad I am at math.¡±


    ¡°Math?¡± He wrinkled his nose.


    ¡°He stole my math homework.¡±


    Juaquin chuckled. ¡°I feel sorry for him then. You suck at math. If it were English, he¡¯d get top marks, but math? You better hope he¡¯s not rampaging.¡±


    ¡°He stole the homework! I may look like a nerd, but I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you used to be good at math and science. You need to get rid of the mental blocks, Myra.¡±


    I crossed my arms and leaned back in my car seat. ¡°I¡¯d be cured if it was that easy.¡± I looked at the cascade. At that moment, sunlight struck the water, the light fracturing into thousands of glistening shards. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go.¡±


    We drove back to the apartment complex in silence. I didn¡¯t doubt Juaquin would tell Mama there was a bully at school now, and I felt helpless about it.


    Maryanne: This is better! Don¡¯t you feel better?


    Strength: I still think we shoulda let him help.


    Mark: One step at a time, Strength. At least she told him about the bully.


    Jack: What Mark said, although I do agree with Strength. Juaquin should clean Jonah¡¯s clock out.


    Guys, I can handle it. At least his highness won¡¯t bother me about homework anymore.


    Jack: Not if he wants to pass his classes.


    Maryanne: Jack, that was mean!


    Mark: But true.


    Maryanne: Mark!


    Strength: Dudes are right.


    Maryanne: Strength!


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Strength: Ya baby her too much, Maryanne.


    Maryanne: Do not!


    They were at it again, and I was glad to be home and in my room. I glanced out my window at the graying clouds. The smell of rain might end up messing up my plans.I hoped not because Miguel had wanted to go to the park today after school, and I promised him we could.I couldn¡¯t control the weather but hoped the clouds would hold off until this evening.


    I lay on my bed, and a rustling from my pocket caught my attention. I pulled out the flier for the Halloween bash and stared at it. Wasn¡¯t this the place to start if I wanted to be normal? But a party? They exhausted me mentally and emotionally, not to mention the loud music drove me nuts. Why had I picked up the flier from the school hallway? It wasn¡¯t like I was going was it.


    I shook my head and placed the flier on my clean nightstand. Notebooks and papers, usually piled sky-high, were now stuffed inside the closet. That was me cleaning my room.


    Jack: ¡°Do too! You baby Myra!¡±


    Maryanne: Stop ganging up on me!


    I left them to their squabbling and shut my eyes. When I opened them, Miguel¡¯s puppy dog eyes stared at me. He looked like Juaquin, only smaller, and at ten, hadn¡¯t had his growth spurt yet.


    ¡°Can we go to the park now, Myra?¡± He asked, widening his eyes.


    I smiled and nodded. ¡°Let me grab my bag, Mige.¡± I grabbed my bookbag off the door hook, hoisted it over my shoulders, and we left.


    As we walked towards the front door, we smelled the strong smell of fresh onions and pepper and cooking rice. I heard Juaquin humming and chopping to the beat of hip-hop. I hated Hip hop. He always took my outings to listen to crappy music. ¡°We¡¯re going to the park,¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Be careful, both of you!¡± he said, turning up the burner under the big cooking pot. ¡°Call me if you need anything.¡±


    I nodded and followed Mige out of the house.


    We greeted the gate guard and walked down the street toward the park. We passed a boarded house. A nice cream-colored place with a trellis encompassed the second floor of the house. Pine trees lined the cracked sidewalk. They were small, Their breezy scent permeated the evening air as the chirping of nesting birds carried on the wind. I grabbed Mige¡¯s hand as we crossed the street and followed a small dirt trail into the park.


    We heard the raucous laughter of kids, and the whistles of the coaches getting them in line. The field was full of kids playing soccer, and Mige ran to join the rowdy bunch. I sat nearby on a rotting bench hoping it could take my weight, and it did easily. Mildew and the scent of wet earth reached my nose, alerting me that rainfall was soon to pass. Above me, the trees stretched their branches towards the graying sky. Cheers sounded as a boy made a goal.


    I sat watching, chewing on my pencil once in a while, and writing down stuff for my essay. Halfway through my paper, my blood froze when a scream coming from the field pierced my ears. I jumped and began to run as my eyes processed the scene in front of me.


    Migue was immobile on the ground. The boy who ran him over was just staring at him.


    The field was in silence.


    I rushed over, knelt, and shook him.


    Nothing.


    I rolled him over, worried, and pressed my head against his chest. That¡¯s when he screamed, startling a scream from me.


    He rolled over, laughing, and sat up. Unamused, I slapped him over the head. He rubbed his head, still chuckling.


    ¡°See if I help you again Mige,¡± I muttered and turned my head. My eyes met mismatched silver grey and emerald. I froze like a rabbit who had caught the scent of a predator.


    Jonah was clenching his fists but in his eyes, there was a wanting. Not for me but the situation? Does he not have siblings? He can¡¯t have mine!


    Maryanne: I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what he wants Myra.


    Strength: Yeah, it¡¯s sometin else.


    Mark: Yes, I think he wants the connection.


    Jack: Connection to what bro?


    Maryanne: Oh, the familiar connection, right Mark?


    Mark: Yes.


    Why would he want that? Doesn¡¯t he come from one of those mansions? Have a perfect family?


    Maryanne: Coming from money doesn¡¯t guarantee a good family connection.


    Mark: It¡¯s probably the other way around.


    Jack: If he longs for the bond so much he must have some serious probs with the fam.


    Strength: Yeah, but he can¡¯t have Myra¡¯s family!


    Mark: I already said he wants the bond, not the family, Strength.


    He must be lonely. I never thought of him like that. I knew I was lucky to have the family I had, but sometimes I forget that others didn¡¯t have the same.


    He looked away and walked away as Mige turned back to the game. I stood and dusted myself.


    If I remembered what I knew of bullies, then Jonah was probably lashing out because I had something he didn¡¯t, a family. Maybe his family was dead or condescending?


    I didn¡¯t know but it made the picture a little clearer to me now and I felt pity instead of anger at him. I went back to writing my point of view on Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Sentero would be surprised by my point of view! I would certainly stand out in a pile of everlasting love.


    A few, wet sprinkles hit the table, and I packed up my notebook. Mige was busy chatting with one of his friends. I was glad that he didn¡¯t have any mental ailments like me and Juaquin. Mige was normal, and Momma didn¡¯t have any trouble with him other than a bit of ADHD, but that was it. Better than being a freak like me.


    Maryanne: You are not a freak, Myra!


    Strength: Yeah, only cause you hear us and have mood swings don¡¯t make you a freak.


    Mark: Strength, you¡¯re being counterproductive here.


    Jack: Yeah. You only told her why she ain¡¯t like everyone else, which isn¡¯t helping.


    I rolled my eyes and went to get Mige as he waved his friends goodbye.¡°Ready to go?¡± I asked smiling, as another drop of rain fell.


    ¡°Yeah! Dinner must be done, right? I¡¯m starving! Besides, Jesse is going to the movies anyway.¡±


    I smiled and took Mige¡¯s hand as we crossed the street. ¡°Really? What¡¯s he going to watch?¡±


    ¡°Some horror movie. I want to see it too, but mama won¡¯t let me. It¡¯s for older kids. Jesse is watching it with his brother, and he looks seventeen even though he¡¯s like twelve.¡±


    ¡°Is he the one that ran you over?¡±


    ¡°I told him to. Needed to play a prank on you.¡±


    ¡°That was not funny, mister! What if you had gotten hurt for real? Hmm?¡±


    ¡°We used a wrestling move from class.¡±


    ¡°Still dangerous,¡± I said, ruffling his hair. He shrugged off my hand as we walked through the security gates and into the apartment complex. We walked up two flights of stairs, and I opened the door to our apartment and saw Juaquin setting the table.


    Silverware clanked as he set them down. Onions sauteed in bistek and white rice. The smell reached our noses, then our test buds. Yum! It ran through the apartment. My stomach growled. I clung to the cold door knob to stop myself from charging in and begging for food. Miguel had no such qualms.


    ¡°Food!¡± he yelled and went to serve himself. I chuckled and closed the door.


    An hour after dinner, I was sitting on the couch, books open, when the door handle jiggled. Mama plodded in and hung her purse on the hook behind the door. Being almost winter she still wore no coat, but she walked as if a hundred pounds had been lifted off her. She smiled at Juaquin.


    ¡°Is that Bifsteak I smell?¡±


    Juaquin nodded and flipped some on a plate for her. ¡°Only the best for my momma.¡±


    She was a small rotund lady with the brightest smile anyone ever had. I got mine from her.


    ¡°Go change. Juaquin and I got this,¡± I said, watching Mige who scampered with a plate full of food and a glass of milk. After dinner, she sat beside me on the couch with her Samsung Galaxy Tablet. ¡°How was school, Myra?¡± she asked, smiling.


    The rustling of Juaquin grading papers filled the tense silence.


    ¡°It was fine,¡± I lied, hiding my binder from her perusing eyes. She caught the motion and I wanted to hit myself.


    Maryanne: That would just worry her, Myra.


    Strength: Yeah, she¡¯ll guess somtin is wrong anyway she always does.


    Mark: Yes, although how she always knows is beyond me.


    Jack: And me!


    She caught sight of my broken binder and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Things are fine? Why is your binder broken? It¡¯s new and you love it.¡± It was an untold rule that whatever I loved I protected zealously¡­and I did love my binder. It was gifted to me with the little money my mom made and it was blue! I rarely found such great deals on blue binders.


    ¡°I fell on it?¡± I answered knowing I wasn¡¯t fooling anyone.


    ¡°Is that how you got your fat lip, dear?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    She looked at Juaquin and he shook his head. ¡°Myra¡¯s got a bully, mama.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. Traitor!


    Maryanne: He only wants to help.


    Strength: He ratted us out!


    Mark: To the mother which is worse.


    Jack: That isn¡¯t helping our case, bud!


    Maryanne: Don¡¯t scream Jack, he can¡¯t hear you!


    Mark rubbed his ears annoyed: We can though.


    Strength: Dude chill. You¡¯ll give us a headache with ya¡¯ll screamin like that.


    Jack: Go to hell Strength!


    It seemed like Jack and Strength really didn¡¯t like each other today and my mom was staring at me worriedly. I must have zoned out again.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I can handle him. He wanted my math homework and tore my binder a bit to get it, is all.¡±


    ¡°And the fat lip?¡± mama asked.


    ¡°He might have tripped me in the halls before English.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. you tell me if he becomes a nuisance. We can go straight to the proper channels for this, and if not, there are other schools,¡± she said, eyes flashing dangerously. No one messed with her babies even when they were sixteen and ready to graduate to Senior.


    Bile rose in my throat. There were other schools but none with the writing program Jefferson had. Still, I nodded my head and went back to studying. After a while, I yawned and looked at my watch. Almost ten. I bid my mom and brother good night.


    Mige had already gone to bed. I showered and drank my antipsychotic pills and headed for bed hoping tomorrow would be a better day. The orange neon of the Halloween Party flier glowed in the nightlight reminding me of my non-normal. If fishes were wishes. I closed my eyes against its neon backdrop.

 Chp Three: Myra

    The next day at school, I found a note penned in a semi-scratchy scrawl tucked in the crease of my locker.


    I like you. Will you go to the Halloween Party with me?


    There was no clue of a name. I blushed and tucked the note into my binder. Could I have a secret admirer? Who was it, and why me?


    Maryanne: This seems suspicious, Myra.


    Strength: Don¡¯t people have the guts to show themselves?


    Mark: I concur. They are either playing a prank or cowards.


    Jack: I agree with my bro. Whoever it is, he seems to be a coward. You don¡¯t want to be with someone like that.


    That¡¯s enough! Someone likes me, and you are all jealous! I wanted to shout at them, but I didn¡¯t want to scare off whoever was watching me, so I opened my locker instead. I was beyond surprised at my finding of the note. Of course, I was doubtful of its authentication but another bigger part of me was finally coming to life. I¡¯d always wondered if anyone would like me and now years later I had an answer. I had a secret admirer!


    I put my books away and grabbed my History text and binder before locking the rest. A shadow fell over me, and I smelled that strange scent of a clear blustery spring day.


    Maryanne twirled a lock of her hair and sat up: He¡¯s back.


    Strength rolled his shoulders: What does he want now? More math homework?


    Mark huffed and turned a page in his book: I don¡¯t think so, Strength.


    Jack sighed and scrunched his eyes: You gotta be kidding me!


    I turned around and met Jonah.


    He smirked. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d meet someone worse in math than Ralf.¡±


    I stiffened and looked at the floor. ¡°As much as I look it, I¡¯m no nerd, ¡°I muttered, shuffling my feet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say, you were the only one who got the French bonus question right tho.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good at languages, English, History, and PE and suck at everything else. But my English essay may get me an F for my point of view on Romeo and Juliet,¡± I muttered, fiddling with the string of my blue hoodie. History had the best air conditioner, but it was freezing in that class.


    Jonah crossed his arms. ¡°Really, how so? And I came to steal your French homework again. It¡¯s better than cheating.¡±


    I gave him a copy of my French homework. I had made two copies, as I said I would.


    Maryanne: How does the teacher not know your handwriting? How is he getting away with this?


    Strength: Yeah, that¡¯s sometin¡¯ I¡¯d like ta know as well!


    Mark: Me too.


    Jack: And me. The bastard¡¯s a thief. Surely the teachers know by now?


    Maybe he copies the answers in his writing?


    Maryanne: With what time?


    Strength: He¡¯s always late to class.


    Mark: Unless he can control time, I don¡¯t see how


    Jack: Can he do that?


    Mark scoffed: Of course not!


    Jack huffed right back at his brother: What do you know, Mark?


    Mark shook his head and opened his book shifting the pages: The laws of time, Jack?


    Jack¡¯s hands rose clear in the air: Please, there are no laws! It¡¯s like the fourth dimension!


    I shook my head and faced Jonah. ¡°Mr. Sentero adores Romeo and Juliet, and I put it through the wringer. I don¡¯t believe they had been in love, and it was a tragedy but not of everlasting love.¡±


    Jonah chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re right, and you will get an F. See ya!¡± He turned and headed for French class, and I walked toward History class, thinking about the note tucked into my binder.


    Was I too much of a freak to ask if they saw me? I didn¡¯t know.


    Jack: That¡¯s what we meant by this person is a coward. Even your bully faces you head-on. Why not them?


    Mark: This smells fishy.


    Maryanne: It does.


    Strength: I think it smells like bananas!


    At lunch, Katilia handed me a cheese sandwich with another note taped to the plastic wrapping. I took the sandwich and read the message.


    I know you like cheese sandwiches. Can you tell my friend if you are going to the party? My costume will be a vampire. I¡¯ll meet you there.


    I looked at Katilia, tapping her foot and flicking her hair.


    ¡°Well?¡± she said. ¡°Are you going or not, Myra? I have a life, you know,¡± I sat uncertainly. I couldn¡¯t handle parties, but¡­


    ¡°Katilia? Do you know who is sending me these notes?¡± I asked, cupping the cheese sandwich like a precious gift. And to me, it was!


    Katilia smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll have to come to the party to find out. I promised I wouldn¡¯t tell, and friends don¡¯t tell on each other.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Yes, I¡¯ll go to the party. Do I need to dress as anything so he¡¯ll recognize me?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe something sexy? You know to impress him?¡±


    I blushed. ¡°Sexy? I can¡¯t pull that off! Look at me!¡±


    Katilia stared at me, taking in my clothes and size, then grinned, writing something down in her planner. ¡°I¡¯m looking, and it¡¯s only a suggestion. Well, I¡¯ll tell him you¡¯re coming then.¡±


    ¡°Katilia? Where is a costume store?¡± I asked, wary. The last time she helped me, we had to work together for a grade, and I did everything.


    ¡°Go to The Joker¡¯s Box. It¡¯s Halloween twenty-four-seven in that store. Here are the directions to it.¡± She ripped a note out of her planner and handed it to me. ¡°Bye, Myra!¡±


    Maryanne: Myra, this is suspicious! Katilia brought you that sandwich!


    Strength: Yeah, don¡¯t eat it!


    Mark: I concur. She might have poisoned it and is waiting for the reaction.


    Jack: Yeah, throw it away!


    I ignored them and unwrapped the sandwich. It was cheese and butter. From the first taste, I was gone! Sharp cheddar, sweet Swiss, tangy parmesan¡­and the bread! It had a taste all its own! It was so soft! The song I¡¯m in Heaven kept repeating in my mind with each bite. I did feel woozy, but that was from my experience in Cheese Land, more than anything else.


    A scream overtook the cafeteria, and I saw Katilia screaming at Jonah, who was shrugging. She had a nasty ketchup smear on her clothes.


    Maryanne: That must be why she was screaming.


    Strength: Jonah must have given it to her. I thought the popular kids were friends.


    Mark: No, Strength. They all play a challenging chess game, and it looks like Katilia lost it. Jonah didn¡¯t look too apologetic.


    Strength: He¡¯s a bully to everyone, isn¡¯t he?


    Jack: I bet he is. He doesn¡¯t know any other way.


    Maryanne: What a mess!


    Jack: Yes, a big one, A hot one...I¡¯m looking at Katilia! She¡¯s about to take off her shirt right here!


    Mark: I bet she has one under the sweater.


    Jack: It¡¯ll have ketchup, too, won¡¯t it? Take it off!


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Mark whacked Jack with his book: Behave, brother!


    I turned back to my sandwich and kept eating. At PE, Jonah approached me while we ran laps.


    ¡°Whatever you do, don¡¯t go to the Halloween party. It¡¯s a trick,¡± he said, running by.


    I stopped and blinked. Was Jonah right? Was I being played¡­again? He was a bully, and it made no sense he¡¯d try to protect me. I picked up my speed and ignored his warning.


    After school, I¡¯d go to this Joker¡¯s Box to get a costume as soon as I could talk Juaquin into it anyway.


    There was still a day before the party. Jonah tried warning me again, but I ignored him. He was my bully, not my savior. Anything done by him was to hurt me. He probably knew who had sent me the sandwich and was trying to separate us already. And I wouldn¡¯t be a victim once I had a boyfriend, right? At least, I hoped not anyway. As it was, my brother and my mother tried talking me out of going, but it didn¡¯t work. Determination drove me to meet this guy.


    The next day after school, I headed to the mall. I took a deep breath in and opened the double glass doors. The booming voices and loud chatter hit me like an asteroid. I became swept into the tidal wave of people and tossed from corner to corner, store to store. The world spun around me and I cupped my hands to my ears. They were ringing with the thousands of conversations held at one time, the laughing of a group of teenagers, and the hollering of a nearby infant wanting his bottle or nappy changed or whatever. I just wanted it all to stop. Everything looked the same tint of gray. Even the fountain with all its colorful fish was gray. I wanted out! My breathing became faster, and my hands were sweaty.


    Maryanne: LET¡¯S GET OUT OF HERE!


    Strength: YEAH, YOU ABOUT TO KAPUT ON US!


    Mark: I CONCUR. WE NEED TO SIT DOWN, AT LEAST. MAYBE BY THE FOUNTAIN?


    Jack: YEAH, IT AIN¡¯T SO NOISY OVER BY THE WATER!


    I nodded and headed towards the fountain with colorful fish. I sat near a turtle that looked natural with the strobe lights hitting it at an angle. The trickling water calmed my nerves. Juaquin found a seat near me and sighed.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t do the mall, you can¡¯t do the party. That was the deal, Myra.¡±


    ¡°Water stabilizes me,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll be on a boat for the party, and there won¡¯t be a gazillion people there either. I¡¯ll be fine. I promise.¡± I had made that stupid bet, but I also knew that there would be loud music at the party, which would be worse than at the mall.


    Juaquin grabbed my hand. ¡° The store you want is further in, Myra. Can you get to it?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go then. Up!¡±


    I got up from my seat by the fountain, and we launched back into the melee. The swishing of bags entered the chattering, so now there was a cacophony of chattering, screaming, feet thudding, and whooshing in the air. And people shouted not just at each other, but to me, too. I felt so lost, and the world was starting to spin in fairy lights and noise. The lights blinded me as I clung to Juaquin. The air was stifling with so many people heating the air with their bodies. Every time someone brushed against me I went rigid fighting claustrophobia and pushing back the scream at this madness.


    Maryanne: WE CAN DO IT!


    Strength: YEAH, MYRA!


    Mark: MHMM.


    Jack: YEAH!


    My voices were not helping me. They got loud whenever my environment got noisy as if I couldn¡¯t hear them, and giving me a migraine too.


    We got to the Joker¡¯s Box, but everything was for petite girls. I decided to visit my favorite store instead and pull something together. I gathered a flowy off-the-shoulder top in black and black hip huggers, size fourteen. The top had a sweetheart neckline reminiscent of Renaissance tops.


    ¡°What are you supposed to be?¡± asked Juaquin as he looked at some capes. I picked out a witch¡¯s hat and smiled, twirling it.


    ¡°A twentieth-century witch?¡±


    ¡°Okay, lil sis. Whatever floats your boat,¡± he said, inspecting some yellow polos. I smiled and went to change.


    On the way to the dressing room, I heard Jonah¡¯s voice. I panicked and ducked behind a clothes rack. I glanced around the rack. I knew I could get in trouble if Jonah saw me, not to mention how he would react, but I was curious about the tall blonde woman with him.


    ¡°Mom, we¡¯ve been through this. I am not dressing up for Halloween.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on, Jonah. You¡¯d look smashing in a cape.¡± the tall willowy woman said. Her eyes were a clear blue. So, Jonah got his eye color from his father. I wonder if both eyes were the same color or if one eye was different because of a gene aberration.


    ¡°Mom, seriously, in this store?¡±


    ¡°I like KBC,¡± his mom said, perusing the store''s aisles.


    I was stuck! There was no way around the pair, and I didn¡¯t want to get publicly tortured.


    Maryanne: HIS MOM IS HERE!


    Strength: YEAH, HE WOULDN¡¯T DARE!


    Mark: I CONCUR!


    Jack: WHAT BRO SAID!


    Can you be a little quieter? You¡¯re in my head, for cripes sake.


    I took my purchases and ducked out of the clothes line, remaining away from them. Across the store, Jonah¡¯s mom dragged him to the cape display. But then something odd happened. Jonah suddenly turned his head and our eyes met¨Chis with surprise and mine with dread.


    He approached me, and out of habit, my eyes skittered away.


    He smirked. ¡°Fancy meeting you here.¡± I held onto my clothes and witch¡¯s hat like a lifesaver.


    ¡°N-nice to see you too,¡± I replied, staring at a display row of shirts in the distance.


    He smiled. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Buying clothes,¡± I said, fiddling with the tags on my shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m following my mom; she thinks I¡¯d look good in a cape.¡± He rolled his eyes.


    I glanced at him briefly, then at the capes, and made a comparison. ¡°You would if it¡¯s a long one.¡± I continued fiddling with the tags.


    He looked at me strangely. ¡°I guess.¡±


    Juaquin walked over and our strange conversation ended. ¡°Have everything, sis?¡±


    I nodded and showed him my purchases.


    ¡°Cool.¡± He looked at Jonah. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±


    Was it me, or was Jonah sweating? I could tell Juaquin about the bullying Jonah did to me and watch the scandal¨Cand I was pretty sure his mother didn¡¯t know about it. I remembered the broken, wanting look from the park. I couldn¡¯t do that to him.


    ¡°He¡¯s a classmate,¡± I said, and Jonah looked at me with surprise. ¡°We ran into each other, and I talked to him about how a cape might suit him.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it? Hello! I¡¯m Alice Miller, Jonah¡¯s mom,¡± the blonde woman said, shaking my and Juaquin¡¯s hands.


    I smiled at the perky blonde woman. She reminded me of an elf, like the ones in The Lord of the Rings. Tall and willowy but with an inner elegance, despite her bounciness. She seemed too young to be Jonah''s mother, but looks are deceiving. Look at me. Outside, I appear normal but inside¡­another deal altogether.


    Maryanne: STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!


    Strength: WE AREN¡¯T MAKIN¡¯ FUN OF YA!


    Maryanne: YES, YOU ARE!


    Strength: NO, WE ARE NOT!


    Mark: MAYBE A LITTLE?


    Maryanne: ARGG!


    I cringed and rubbed my temples. Juaquin caught the message. It was time to go.


    ¡°It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Miller, Jonah,¡± Juaquin said, ¡°but we¡¯ve got a list of things to buy.¡±


    ¡°Bye,¡± Alice said while Jonah nodded, keeping his eyes on me for a minute before following his mother to the capes and whining about not needing one.


    Soon after, we left the mall with only one other stop at Gamestop to buy Miguel a game. It would be his birthday soon, and he wanted Grand Theft Auto, but we got him Pokemon Stadium instead.


    Once in the car, Juaquin laughed. ¡°That was the mighty Jonah? Kid looked like he was going to crap his pants at meeting me.¡±


    I rolled my eyes but nodded. ¡°He¡¯s complicated. All bullies are.¡±


    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want me to really scare him? I can go back in there and say what¡¯s what. I bet his mom knows nothing about his bullying acts,¡± he said chuckling.


    ¡°No, I got it. Drive Juaquin.¡± I rubbed my temples again hoping to get to bed soon.


    At half past eight, we trudged up the stairway to our apartment. Mom should be home by now since Mige¡¯s wrestling class had ended, and Mama was usually the one to pick him up on wrestling days. We entered the apartment and caught Mige playing Animal Crossing.


    ¡°Hey, Mige, where is mama?¡± I asked, placing my bags on the kitchen table


    ¡°She¡¯s taking a bath,¡± Mige said. He held up a pair of curtains.¡°Which looks better? Red or blue?¡±


    ¡°For your house? I¡¯d say the red,¡± I said, knowing it was his favorite color. He smiled and nodded, shifting to the red curtains. Mama came in from the bathroom and immediately asked Juaquin how I did


    ¡°She was shaky at first but improved once she got used to it. I think she can do it, mama.¡±


    ¡°Did you find nice clothes?¡±


    I smiled and showed her the shirt and pants. ¡°I can wear them with my combat boots and witch¡¯s hat.¡±


    Mama nodded and hugged me. ¡°Be careful out there tomorrow, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, mama,¡± I said, hugging back.


    The next day school couldn¡¯t go fast enough. All anyone could talk about was the Halloween party.


    I couldn¡¯t get home quickly enough! I had till six to doll up. It was three now, and it would last til eleven. I put on my only pushup bra and the shirt, then the jeans, followed by the combat boots.I disentangled my mane of hair, which usually lay listless on my back. I washed it twice and conditioned it. Finally, I added the witch¡¯s hat. Then it was off to my mom, who was free today so that she could doll me up. Eyeshadow, blush, and lipstick joined my outfit.


    ¡°Take your phone,¡± mama reminded her.


    I nodded. I had charged it yesterday and kept it in my little black purse. It was big enough for my phone and my wallet, which had fifty bucks in case of emergencies.


    Juaquin walked in and whistled. ¡°You¡¯ll be a heartbreaker, sis. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    I nodded and hugged my mom farewell. I rushed to get my black hoodie and followed Juaquin to the car. I was ecstatic. I was about to meet my secret admirer!


    Maryanne held her tummy: I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this.


    Strength nodded: Sometin smells fishy bout this.


    Mark sighed: I concur. We really shouldn¡¯t go.


    Jack raked a hand through his thick black hair: Don¡¯t feel surprised if Jonah was telling the truth!


    I ignored them and enjoyed the sea breeze as we approached Pier One. It was full of people! There were costumes of every design and make. Some were original, some were stereotypical, and some were strange, like the lemon cake guy. There was a banana, a GI Joe, and a mermaid with wings (that was new). A clown, various cheerleaders, pop singers and witches, and vampires galore. I fit right in...mostly.


    Maryanne: You fit in well.


    Strength: Yeah!


    Mark: Yes, you do.


    Jack: Yep!


    Thanks!


    Jack: Right in with a freak show, that is.


    Maryanne: Jack!


    Jack: It¡¯s true.


    Strength: It kinda is, Maryanne.


    Maryanne: Oooh, honestly!


    I ignored their squabbling and went to line up. No one recognized me, and I even got the eye of some popular guys, but none of that mattered because tonight, I would finally become normal.


    I entered the boat and was immediately struck by too much pink. It was as if the room¨Cthe walls, the rugs, the sofas¨Chad regurgitated the color and left behind ugly. We weren¡¯t allowed into the rooms except for the pink monstrosity where a game system was set up and the main deck where the party would be. There was a separate deck for lavatories and a snack bar. The main deck shined, and it smelled faintly of lemons.


    The candy was on a few tables to the back, and I headed there. The music was starting, and I already wanted to run and hide. I needed to be strong!


    I lasted two hours.


    The boat was packed, and I decided that hiding like a mouse in the shadows wouldn¡¯t help me stand out, especially dressed in black. I stepped onto the dance floor and was blinded by lights, and deafened by music and chatter.


    It was a nightmare. I whimpered like a frightened animal and I had to get away! I turned and stepped into someone.


    ¡°Hey! Watch where...Myra? Is that you?¡±


    I looked into mismatched eyes. ¡°Jonah,¡± I gasped, feeling the room getting smaller and smaller. I searched my satchel for my little black phone that had my brother and mother on speed dial.


    ¡°Shit! If Katilia catches you here... You have to leave. Now.¡±


    ¡°I-I need water! Take me to the rails, please?¡±


    ¡°As long as you leave afterward. Katilia¡¯s got something nasty planned for you. The whole note thing was a trick to get you here and into their grasp.¡±


    I was too dizzy and clung to him as he walked us to the rails. I got hold of my phone and speed-dialed my brother. I listened to it ring. It was busy.


    He said he would be free all night! I was about to try my mother when female laughter startled me. Jonah was surprised too.


    ¡°Jonah,¡± Katilia exclaimed. ¡°Did you find her first? How nice, and in a place where no one can hear her screams.¡± Katilia was smirking, wearing her cheerleading outfit. How very original.


    Jonah gripped me tighter. ¡°Let her go, Katilia. She hasn¡¯t done anything to you or your reign, and I doubt she wants to.¡±


    Katilia smiled. ¡°Jonah? Do you want daddy dearest to hear about how you¡­refused my offer to help his campaign¡­my dad, the governor?¡±


    If Jonah¡¯s eyes could have lit Katilia on fire, they would have. ¡°Of course not. I want to live a little longer.¡±


    Katilia flipped her hair over her shoulder. ¡°Then bring her!¡±


    Jonah glanced at me and then shook his head.  He pulled me in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Maryanne: I knew this was a trap!


    Strength: Yeah, didn¡¯t it smell funny?


    Mark: What is it with you and smells Strength?


    Jack: Am I the only one that¡¯s noticed the fact that it was our bully who came and told us of the trap?


    Mark: Uh, no.


    Jack: No, He¡¯s in on it.


    All: Damn!


    Jack: Double damn!


    Jonah¡¯s hands were like manacles around my arms. I wriggled, but there was no more room for wiggling. Like some dolphin caught in a net, I was led to the boat''s edge.


    Ralf tossed a bunch of red liquid into the sea below. He smirked.¡°That should call them.¡±


    ¡°C-call what?¡± I asked, too afraid of what the answer might be.


    ¡°The sharks. What other creature is summoned by blood in the ocean?¡± Katilia taunted. ¡°Jonah, be a darling and hold her over the rails.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I screamed, fighting my captor, but it was no use. He shoved me over the rails, but I didn''t fall in. Jonah held me by my feet...I was screaming and flailing my arms, my face only a dozen feet from the water.


    Blurry black shadows swam around. Sharks! Why did it have to be sharks? Only two things were scarier. Jonah and the rest laughed as I dangled in the air for a few minutes.


    Maryanne paced the floor frantically: Oh my god, Sharks!


    Strength balled his fists: Let me at ¡¯em!


    Mark quivered and hid behind his book: This is scary! Dude, I wet myself! Get us out of here!


    Strength: Why can¡¯t we take control?


    Jack: And do what dipstick? I don¡¯t feel like being shark chow!


    Maryanne slapped both voices across the head: Enough! Both of you! We need to work together. Myra is deadly scared of these things!


    Mark hid under his book: Me too!


    I closed my eyes and prayed. Finally, Jonah brought me back to the boat, and I collapsed on the deck in a heaving ball of nerves and fear.


    ¡°My turn,¡± said the other boy. But he had more trouble with me, and had to struggle to get me over the side. Still, he managed, and I hung there again by my feet, dangling in midair above the water.


    ¡°OK, Ralf,¡± Jonah said, ¡°that¡¯s enough. Pull her in.¡±


    Ralf tried, but he couldn¡¯t lift me, and my feet began slipping from his hands.


    ¡°Pull her in!¡± Jonah yelled.


    ¡°I...can¡¯t. She¡¯s too heavy!¡±


    I fell out of his grasp. The air buoyed me momentarily, like a cushion, and then I hurtled face-first into the water. Whether by luck or sheer terror, I somehow managed to flip myself over and swim to the surface. My head bobbed in the waves like a bodyless cork, choking on blood and salty water. I felt a fin brush against me and I screamed. I met Jonah¡¯s horrified stare, and for a brief moment, time seemed to stand still. And then something yanked me under and I was swallowed by darkness.

 Chp Four: Jonah

    I tried to stop it, but I couldn¡¯t have my dad find out I spurned Katilia again. Dammit! One face for my victims, one for my friends. I was getting tired of this. I was splitting myself in half. I didn¡¯t even know who was the real me anymore. The bully I was or the rational me that still felt something. I watched Myra¡¯s body slam into the water like a cannonball and begin to sink. Sure, some of this was my fault, but it was never supposed to be life-threatening.


    ¡°Shit! Ralf! Why did you let her fall!¡±


    ¡°Not my fault she¡¯s so heavy! Um, someone should go in after her.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not getting eaten by sharks,¡± Katilia screamed. That only left me. Great. How did I get into these messes in the first place?


    ¡°You two are unbelievable. Move!¡± I yelled, climbing on the rails and balancing myself on them. I looked over my shoulder. ¡°While I risk my life for the girl, you two get help. Something is dragging her down. If I get pinned for murder, so will you. I¡¯ll make sure of it!¡±


    ¡°Hell no!¡± Ralf ran away, almost tripping on the tail of his big bad wolf costume¡ªsome wolf, running with his tail between his legs. I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Daddy won¡¯t let me go to jail!¡± Katilia screamed, following behind the cowardly wolf.


    ¡°You unenlightened daddy¡¯s girl. He won¡¯t care. All he¡¯ll see is you¡¯re bringing his image down!¡± Lovely. I leaped into the water.


    I swam closer. Myra¡¯s eyes were open, and all around her pupils, were the whites of the sclera. She was dead scared and running out of air. This probably was not how she planned to end her night.


    Neither did I. Katilia and Ralf wanted to scare her a little. The scaredy cats didn¡¯t want to put her in the middle of sharks! I was going to kill Ralf and Katilia when I got us out.


    I signaled for her to swim to me, but she kept treading water ignoring me or too scared to move. I would have to go to her. The sharks milled about, not focusing on us. That was good. I swam to her and grabbed her arm. That seemed to snap her out of whatever stupor she was in. She glared at me and shrugged me off.


    I motioned toward the surface. She nodded and began swimming upward with me following closely behind. A brilliant violet fire erupted around us. I tucked her frame in mine¨Cand banged into something.


    A giant violet bubble surrounded us. Then something jerked us forward. I hammered my hands on the force field or whatever this was. It didn¡¯t give! We were pushed into an endless vast space before us. There was no oxygen and Myra fell unconscious, and I was getting dizzy. There was a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Was this Heaven? Or hell?


    We were spat out on a hillside and tumbled down. ¡°Whoa!¡± I cried out and slammed into the largest pair of roots I¡¯d ever seen¡ªblue roots. I shook my head and tried rising to my feet, making it to my knees before collapsing back onto my stomach.


    I heard a noise like foghorns mixed with clinking silverware surround me, and softer sounds like chickens burrowing. An owl hooted nearby and I looked at the tree. It glinted like sapphire in the dimming sunlight. There was a tree somewhere in the Amazon with the same color, but it only grew a few feet in height¡ªthis was enormous!


    Where in the hell are we? I rose to my knees and managed to stay up.


    A breeze was blowing, bringing in scents that smelled like wet chickens or rodents,, and that loud sound again¡ªsquawking birds! The soil around my hands had felt warm and damp like soil, so maybe we weren¡¯t too far from home. A rainforest?


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    Myra groaned and rolled over, coughing out water. Her eyes were bloodshot. She shook her head and sat up, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes landed on me, and she glared. ¡°W-Where are we?¡± she asked, getting to her feet.


    I had a more challenging time getting up and decided to stay on my knees for now. It was as if the gravity of wherever we were was pushing me down. I felt disoriented and sick to my stomach. ¡°Beats me,¡± I said. I reached around and wrung the water from my cape bottom. ¡°At least we aren¡¯t shark bait.¡±


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have been shark bait if you didn¡¯t hoist me up against the water!¡± She screamed. Well, at least she can fight back. That¡¯s good. Who knows what else we were gonna confront here.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who dropped you,¡± I said, remembering the two cowards.


    ¡°No, but you put me in the situation for it to happen!¡± she yelled. She looked seconds from slapping me.


    ¡°Go ahead and slap me. It won¡¯t fix our situation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll make me feel so much better about it,¡± she muttered, passing me by and inspecting the tree.


    I finally got up to my feet and followed her. I felt like some newborn! My usual strength was gone, and I was a trembling mess. I noticed the shadows move, but I ignored them. I figured my shadow was moving.


    It was growing darker. The noises I had not yet become accustomed to hearing dropped to silence. I could hear my footsteps now. That wasn¡¯t a good sign. I gripped Myra¡¯s elbow and stopped her from taking another step.


    ¡°Listen! What do you hear?¡± I asked her.


    She paused and listened. ¡°N-Nothing. Silence.¡±


    ¡°What does that usually mean, Myra¡± I whispered, searching for the threat, but couldn¡¯t find anything. Then another shadow shifted.


    Myra gulped. ¡°W-We¡¯re being hunted?¡±


    ¡°Move!¡± I yelled, grabbing her hand and running to a sunnier spot.


    A strange screech between a human and a bird cry sent shivers down my spine. Then the shadows moved to reveal a pitch-black pterodactyl with hellfire eyes and the most enormous stinger I¡¯d ever seen on its tail.


    It dripped with something, poison? I did not want that thing getting into me. Lucky for us it seemed blinded by the sunlight.


    ¡°H-how are we going to fight that thing?¡± Myra whispered shaking against me.


    I scoffed. ¡°If you want to fight that thing, go ahead, but I¡¯m running. You can come with me or stay,¡± I said watching the thing circling above.


    ¡°I¡¯m staying! The light is becoming dimmer. We have to at least ward it away!¡± she yelled, crossing her arms while I shrugged and took off running for another sunspot. There was one close to another tree.


    Myra screamed in frustration, but I didn¡¯t care. I gave her a chance. She could fight that thing all she wanted! Sadly my movement caused the thing to react and go after me. Great. Myra probably thought I was luring it away from her!


    First, it¡¯s sharks. Now it¡¯s a pterodactyl. How do I get into these messes? It was a fast sucker too.


    One minute I was running. The next, I¡¯m dodging that horrendous tail that stretched from only a few feet long to a mile long in seconds! I made it to the sunspot, but the sun was sinking past the horizon fast. There was only so much light left, and we had no form of light of our own.


    Myra ran towards me. Couldn¡¯t she see there was nothing to light a fire with?¡± Instead, she headed for the bird. She dodged the tail, and rolled behind it before grasping its neck, and stabbing a sharp stick in its eye, causing it to wail and dissipate into shadows. Why didn¡¯t I think of that?


    Huh?


    So, she wasn¡¯t so useless after all. Apparently I was dead wrong in assuming her weight would slow her down and she¡¯d be usless. What is with this girl?


    ¡°You can thank me,¡± she muttered, holding the sharp stick.


    ¡°Thanks,¡±  I replied, jumping off the root I had climbed to reach the sunspot.


    ¡°N-nevermind,¡± she blushed probably due to adrenaline. She looked surprisingly cute like that. ¡°We should try to... watch out!¡± she screamed, pushing me aside and getting caught in the pterodactyl¡¯s claws.


    I scrambled back, but its tail wrapped around my leg and swept me up too. I glared at its eyes, which had changed to a kaleidoscope, and felt my soul start leaving me. I tried fighting, but I was gradually losing the battle. I saw Myra stretch out her hand and touch the creature¡¯s head, and it disintegrated showing a human head instead, as if the bird were a disguise for a human. He seemed surprised and was staring at Myra with wonder.


    Then the transaction was over, and the monster was back. I was being filled with some substance, and I felt like a balloon waiting to pop. I felt too full. I was sick to my stomach and dizzy again. I heard the voice of a male in my head. Protect her, it said. I was too dizzy to disagree, and the thing dropped me to the ground while letting Myra go. It vanished into the shadows again, and I doubt it was coming back. I lay there while Myra seemed dazed.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I groaned. ¡°Snap out of it. We are still in danger!¡±


    Several people dressed in golden armor, carrying bows and staffs arrived, proving how right I was.


    We were vulnerable where we were lying, and I hoped these people weren¡¯t hostile.


    My hopes seemed dashed as they drew their weapons on us. Two bows and two staffs.


    The odds were definitely against us, and I couldn¡¯t do squat. I was too dizzy and tired. It felt like my soul was about to explode!


    I couldn¡¯t fight them and glanced over at a spaced-out Myra. I knew she couldn¡¯t either. I tried to stand, but my knees were too shaky, and the world was still spinning, so I laid down again and let them come closer.

 Chp 5: Myra

    Jack: What the hell did Myra do?


    Strength: She did sometin!


    Mark: To the dinosaur? I can¡¯t believe there was a dinosaur!


    Jack: Me neither, bro! Except this one wanted our soul! I could feel the pull.


    Maryanne: We all could, Jack!


    Mark: Where in tarnation are we?


    Maryanne: I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯d like to wring that boy¡¯s neck! We¡¯ve saved him twice, and all we¡¯ve gotten are sarcastic thanks!


    Strength: Egoists are never wrong!


    Maryanne: You mean narcissist! He left us to die!


    Jack: He¡¯s a bully. What did you expect? A hero? He can¡¯t play nice.


    Mark: Myra is still in a daze.


    All: Myra!


    I blinked and noticed the four golden-armored people around us. Moreover, I saw their weapons and unfriendly eyes. I glanced at Jonah, who seemed worse than a limp noodle. It was up to me to play diplomat with the strangers provided they spoke our language. I tried to stand, but one of the warriors pointed an arrow tip at me, and I sat back down.


    Jonah tried getting to his knees but slipped and fell to his stomach.


    He wasn¡¯t well.


    Whatever the pterodactyl had done to him was far worse than what I had gone through. I raised my hands in surrender.


    ¡°W-we come in peace and are a bit lost. Can you tell us where we are?¡± I asked as Jonah made it to his knees, his arms shaking with the force of holding himself up. I didn¡¯t care about our audience then. I crawled over and helped him sustain his body by leaning into him. He looked at me with a mix of emotions. Was that a bit of gratitude or was it remorse?


    I smiled and stood, hauling his body with me until we were standing. He leaned on me, breathing heavily. I held him beneath his shoulders near his ribs. He was broader than me and I couldn¡¯t grip his shoulders. Dang me for being small!


    Maryanne: You are not small! He is tall!


    Strength: You should let him fall!


    Mark: I concur with Strength. Where was he when we needed him?


    Jack: Yeah! The guy is a real douchebag!


    Maryanne: He is a piece of work, but you should always help those in need!


    Strength: Drop him!


    Mark: Agreed, Strength


    Jack: Yeah, drop the son of a dog!


    Maryanne: Don¡¯t listen! You are doing a noble thing, and he will repay you one day. Even if he doesn¡¯t, you are still a good person.


    Strength: Drop the SOB!


    Mark: Drop him.


    Jack: Leave him to rot!


    I didn¡¯t listen even though they were hollering for blood. Maryanne was right.


    It was the right thing to do whether he deserved it or not. The look he gave me made me feel better. Had he never had someone to stand up for him or help him? That was sad, and why I couldn¡¯t hate him despite his discrepancies toward me. He was an awful person, but I guess I felt sorry for him. I turned and faced the smallest of the armored people.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t come to cause harm,¡± I told them. ¡°You can search us for weapons. We won¡¯t fight you.¡±


    Making a hand sign to the others, the armored person searched us for weapons. At least they understood me somewhat. They found nothing on me and a pocket knife on Jonah. I had to explain that the knife was a safety precaution where we came from, although I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s not why he had it.


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    Was he capable of cutting someone up?


    I glanced at Jonah. He looked ten seconds from puking on the small figure searching him.


    ¡°Um, you might want to step back,¡± I said, ¡°he¡¯s about to blow.¡± But the figure kept touching Jonah rather inappropriately. Jonah puked all over them a few seconds later, and a high-pitched cry left their lips¡ªa woman¡¯s shriek. The other three laughed, and I held Jonah as he puked.


    The smell was revolting, and I almost joined him.


    Maryanne held a hand to her face: Ewww!


    Jack: Still think we should help, Maryanne?


    Mark: Hmm.


    Strength!: Yuck!


    I managed to hold my gorge in and helped Jonah sit against a tree root that was low enough so he could lean on the tree. I was tired of supporting his bulk and could only do so much. The now-recognized woman lifted her hand to the sky and twirled it. I saw a string of gold and blue energy latch onto lighter blue energy from the atmosphere and combine, and I gasped as water materialized from the air. She washed the vomit off, enraged as the others laughed.


    ¡°I-I did warn you,¡± I muttered. The woman took off her helmet. Her hair was as red as autumn leaves, and her eyes as blue as the trees around her.


    ¡°Thank Oppolemei, my helmet protected my hair,¡± she muttered, shaking her head and spilling her hair about her shoulders.


    The other three removed their helmets, revealing white, brown, and green hair. They were all males. The broadest had green hair and spring-green eyes. The tallest had brown hair and eyes. The skinny one looked about Jonah¡¯s width and height, white-haired and grey-eyed, and somewhat feminine. But there was a sharp edge to his eyes, a glint that spelled death.


    Maryanne: It¡¯s not nice to presume things of others


    Strength: He¡¯s kinda transparent.


    Mark: They are all weird


    Jack started pointing: One looks like a ghost. The other is the jolly green giant, and who the heck likes imitating a rock? And a female who likes puke? I¡¯m calling them the goon squad.


    I tried ignoring their comments but Jack¡¯s hit the spot. I chuckled, gaining the attention of the group. The female raised her bow and pointed it at me.


    ¡°Do you think my situation funny, human?¡±


    ¡°N-no, but my situation is. I was swimming with sharks and now I¡¯m in a world with dinosaurs. Is there a Tyrannosaurus or a Velociraptor?¡± I was giggling, about to lose it. As put together as I seemed, I was a jumble of nerves, and that bow and arrow were not helping!


    ¡°What is a shark?¡± asked the ghost.


    ¡°What is a dinosaur?¡± asked the weed.


    The last guy, the rock, was standing with a goofy smile. It didn¡¯t suit the rest of his demeanor.


    Maryanne: You never know a person at first glance


    Strength: Yeah, first impressions are misleading


    Mark: I agree. Look at Jonah.


    Jack laughed: Yeah. The world¡¯s greatest douche is about to keel over.


    I glanced at Jonah and noticed his tittering on the root. I walked over to him and had him lean against me again. God, I hope he doesn¡¯t puke on me.


    The redhead raised her bow and centered the arrow on me. ¡°Get away from him, human.¡±


    I glared at her. ¡°Jonah is also human, and he¡¯s not feeling well. He needs to lie down. At least until this, whatever it is, is over.¡±


    The female scowled. ¡°He¡¯s human?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, he came with me. We come from Earth.¡± I ran my hand through Jonah¡¯s hair and noticed his scalp was hot.


    ¡°Earth? You mean you come from a different realm! Impossible!¡±


    ¡°Look! Jonah is sick. Can we at least make haste to your camp or something? Right now, all I care about is Jonah¡¯s health.¡±


    The ghost guy rubbed his chin. ¡°Another realm?? It is the job of the High Council to decide what to do with you, and it is up to them to believe your story.¡± He glanced at the female who was glaring at me.


    ¡°Your Highness, what shall we do?¡± the rock asked.


    Maryanne: Great, Royalty, and she is as annoying as I thought they would be.


    Strength: We ain¡¯t on Earth no more, Maryanne.


    Mark: What epic sci-fi adventure have we fallen into?


    Jack: Dude, it¡¯s fantasy! And I still say drop the SOB!


    Her brows knitted, then relaxed. ¡°Boulder, use your earth spears and fashion a carrying bed for the boy. We¡¯ll take them to the camp.¡±


    Maryanne: He¡¯s named after a rock!


    Strength: That is cruel and unusual punishment.


    Mark: Yes, it is.


    Jack: Who the heck names their kid after a rock? No wonder he looks like one!


    I tried not to chuckle and pressed my hand to my mouth, faking a yawn. The princess scoffed and flipped her hair, reminiscent of Katilia.


    ¡°Humans are so fragile. We the Kin, are the better species. Boulder! You may begin.¡±


    I watched as brown tentacles of light, swirled with blue, engulfed the male. Then golden light around the tree was pulled into him, mixing with the other two swabs of light.


    Then Boulder created a spear of wood. And another and another from this pool of light!


    The others tied these in the form of a bed, and I saw the ghost use grey light mixed with blue and gold to cut the string on the makeshift emergency bed.


    What are these people? She called herself a Kin, but what was that?


    ¡°H-how did you do that,¡± I asked, stunned.


    The female smirked. ¡°That¡¯s why we the Kin are so much better than you humans. We can use the elemental forces, and you¨Ccan¡¯t,¡± she said, pointing a manicured nail toward me.


    Maryanne: At least we have a heart!


    Strength: Heartless!


    Mark: Mhmm.


    Jack: What a bitch! What! Everyone wants to say it, so I¡¯ll say it first.


    I agreed with them that she was a heartless bitch. I helped Jonah lay down on the makeshift bed. He was too delirious to notice anything and I prayed for his survival. He may have been mean to me, but scratch that, he was horrible to me. I should have let him suffer, but as much as he made me suffer, I couldn¡¯t do it. It wasn¡¯t in me.


    I noticed that each guy had grabbed a side of the bed and was lifting him. I glanced at her Highness who was smirking at me.


    ¡°Well, slave? That¡¯s what humans are. Get to work and lift the palanquin.¡±


    I glared but went to the last spot and along with the others, I lifted Jonah. I struggled with the weight but gritted my teeth and started moving. Jonah opened his eyes for a second and glanced at me before they shut again. Those eyes were in turmoil. I had to get him better and if becoming a slave to a couple of Kin was what I had to do, then I¡¯d do it. I wouldn¡¯t abandon him.


    We traveled through the woods at a pace I could barely keep, but somehow I kept up. We entered a glade where there were leather skin tents set up. Several figures in gold armor were milling around and having fun.


    One of them was floating in the air upside down while conversing with another who was juggling fireballs. The closest one to us wasn¡¯t wearing gold armor but instead wore a lot of silken cloth tied to his waist and arms. The last seemed to be quietly staring into the fire and it was he that noticed us.


    ¡°Arianna¡¯s back,¡± he said to the others. The one floating upside down flipped upright and landed on his feet.


    ¡°Yo, Princess what¡¯s with the baggage?¡±


    ¡°This boy is sick and this..girl,¡± she pointed to me. ¡°Is our new slave and will tend him.¡±


    ¡°I would have tended to him otherwise,¡± I said. The she Kin struck me across the face and I almost dropped Jonah.


    Mark: What in hell!


    Strength: Hell no!


    Maryanne: She did not just hit us!


    Jack: Oh, she did! That bitch!


    I regained my footing and glared at the female.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t give you permission to talk, slave,¡± she said, smirking.


    I growled but swallowed my anger and gripped the palanquin, hard. My nails chipped. If that was the way she was going to play, she was going to find me a very difficult slave!


    ¡°Put him in the nearest tent and slave? Care for him.¡±


    ¡°I said I would,¡± I said ready for another hit.

 Chp 6: Myra

    Instead, a blade of water cut my cheek open. I didn¡¯t know water could cut, I knew ice could but not water. I had seen blue and grey energy merge before I was cut by the blade.


    Light blue and grey light had woven together to make the blade unlike when she used water, which was all light blue. Was she dual elemental? I said so and was attacked. I managed to pull her off by her hair. I ripped a few locks out and she screeched.


    ¡°I-I am not harmless and you almost cast harm to Jonah,¡± I cried holding my split lip.


    ¡°How dare you insinuate I¡¯m a filthy hybrid!¡±


    ¡°I-I come from Earth where having magical powers is a work of fictional creation and having more than one element is considered being powerful,¡± I said.


    ¡°There is a big difference in culture here,¡± said the ghost.


    ¡°Yeah, here being Hybrid means slavery. It is forbidden. Only one element allowed per Kin.¡±


    ¡°Well. you could have explained that then,¡± I said wiping my lip. I followed the others into a leather-skinned tent and laid Jonah on a deer-skinned sleeping bag. I knelt beside him and checked his temperature. It was high.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need a bowl of water and some cloth. You don¡¯t happen to have any fever relievers here do you?¡± I asked the weed.


    ¡°I have a med potion. Should work for the fever,¡± he said walking over to another sleeping bag and unrolling a piece of cloth revealing a blue striated stone. He ran this stone across the cloth and the cloth began to glow.


    I felt like I was in the twilight zone as I saw his arm sink into the cloth and not appear on the other side. Then like Mary Poppins, he pulled out a bottle of green stuff from within! It looked a bit sludgy from here.


    He rolled up the stone in the cloth and placed it back in the sleeping bag. Then he stood and walked over with the bottle.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the greatest tasting stuff in the realm but it should cure his fever,¡± he said.


    ¡°Thanks. What¡¯s your name?¡± I asked hoping it wasn¡¯t too forward in their culture.


    ¡°Ruckus.¡±


    Maryanne: Now we¡¯ve got one named after sound?


    Jack: I think it¡¯s great!


    Mark: For being named Ruckus he seems very quiet.


    Strength: Rock, noise, I bet the bitch¡¯s name is something you¡¯d name a poodle!


    Mark: Her name was mentioned Arri something!


    Marianne: Arriana!


    Strength: That¡¯s it!


    Mark: It is something you¡¯d name a poodle.


    Jack: Heck no. I¡¯d name my poodle Killer or something!


    I nodded and took the bottle swirling the liquid. It was liquid enough to go down like syrupy Nyquil but how was I going to get it down his throat? I blushed. There was no way I was kissing him. There had to be another way!


    This was not a bad shojo manga and I was not the heroine. Heck, after what he did he could suffer! And vomit breath eww!


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    I watched him twitch and sighed. Wait. Her Highness wanted to touch him before. She can kiss him with vomit breath! That''ll be payback for hitting and attacking me. I too can be vindictive.


    Maryanne: Atta girl!


    Strength:Show em what a human can do!


    Mark: This will be a laugh!


    Jack: You said it!


    I brought the water and cloth by her highness and I inwardly smirked.


    I put on my best-disgruntled face and sigh dramatically acting as if to open the potion. ¡°Stupid Jonah fainting. I¡¯ll have to get the medicine inside somehow. Guess I¡¯ll have to kiss him while I do!¡±


    As expected Arriana heard and sadly for me pulled me by my hair backward from Jonah almost making me spill the opened potion.


    ¡°There will be none of that from you. Give me the potion, slave,¡± she ordered.


    I did and crawled aside waiting for the show to begin. I smirked as she first opened the bottle and drank the potion. By her face, it didn¡¯t taste very good.


    Wait til she was kissing him. She opened his mouth and eagerly kissed Jonah at first but then she started turning green, then puce and she couldn¡¯t stop until he had drunk all the potion.


    Maryanne: Hehe, that¡¯ll show her!


    Strength: She really shoulda thought twice!


    Mark: This is amusing.


    Jack: Ha! Aren¡¯t we the vindictive shits Heh!


    She deserves this. I watch her part her lips from his and start to drink the water in the bowl.


    ¡°That was worse than I thought it would be,¡± she muttered and I smiled waiting to drop the bomb. I went for it. ¡°But your Highness, remember he spewed all over you before? I hope you didn¡¯t take any saliva from his mouth,¡± I said.


    She turned green and rushed out of the tent. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be sick!¡±


    Marianne: Don¡¯t mess with the human!


    Jack: Human one, Kin Zero!


    Mark: That was highly amusing.


    Strength: Go us! Go us! Go us! Go us! Whoo!


    That¡¯s right! This human has bite! I returned to Jonah and dunked the cloth in the little water that was left and pressed it to his forehead after running it from the back of his neck to his face. He was cooler already. The medicine worked but something was bothering him in his sleep. A guilty conscious? I didn¡¯t know what else to do so I stayed by his side.


    It was far later when he spewed again and I recognized the medicine. There was no more so I had to wipe his sweat from his brow, and make sure his temperature didn¡¯t rise any higher. It was tiring work, but I stayed with him throughout the night and into the day. I was offered breakfast by the floating guy who floated in with said breakfast. I ate and closed my eyes for a minute.


    I awoke to shaking. The juggling guy was shaking me quite brusquely.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m up,¡± I muttered glancing at him. He was tall and had his long black hair in a braid.


    ¡°Good, You don¡¯t want Arriana catching you asleep. She¡¯ll beat you,¡± he said.


    ¡°She may try,¡± I muttered stretching. A big yawn escaped me and he smirked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Atesh,¡± he said.


    ¡°Myra,¡± I replied leaving out my last name, in case my family could be tracked somehow.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t like most slaves,¡± he said.


    I grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the subservient type. I am shy but I have a breaking point and mine was reached yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Remind me never to let you reach it again. That was a vile trick you played on Arriana,¡± he whispered smirking.


    ¡°What trick?¡± I said and smiled back. Jonah made that groaning noise and I got out of the way and grabbed the bag I had been given.


    I helped him up and placed it over his mouth and let him at it. I rubbed his back until he stopped and laid him back. He so owed me for this!


    His eyes flickered under his eyelids and he moaned curling in on himself. The wind picked up a bit around us.


    It was getting dark when Jonah started struggling in his sleep. The wind picked up again blowing fiercely.


    ¡°Momma, run!¡± Jonah screamed as the wind howled around him. The other Kin gathered around to watch the spectacle and I glared. A blast of wind blew them all away and I struggled to calm Jonah. Winds collided. Two forces. I was in the eye of the hurricane. The winds didn¡¯t blow where I was standing. I thought nothing of it whereas Jonah was trembling like a child.


    ¡°Momma!¡± he cried out and the wind once again threatened to blow the tent away.


    ¡°Jonah! Wake up! It¡¯s a dream!¡± I yelled coming to stand beside him. He latched onto me with a bruising grip.


    ¡°Momma,¡± he cried like some lost child and I realized that maybe this wasn¡¯t a dream. Maybe this was a memory. Did Jonah have a bad childhood?


    The winds gentled into a breeze and inside my head, female laughter sprung from my subconsciousness. It was not Maryanne who was laughing.


    Maryanne: What was that?


    Jack: I don¡¯t know but, do you feel that?


    Strength: I feel stronger.


    Jack: Exactly!


    Mark: Um guys? There are shadows following my every move and its not my own shadow!


    Strength: What is going on?


    Jack: I don¡¯t know but, I don¡¯t like it


    Maryanne: Me either


    Strength: Can someone shut that spooky laughing up already?


    Hahahahahahahahaah!


    We are almost there to join the party!


    It won¡¯t be four anymore!


    Strength: Come on out ya cowards!


    Not ready yet but soon hahhaahahahah!


    What did they mean it wouldn¡¯t be four anymore? I was scared. I clung to Jonah as hard as he was clinging to me. Something was wrong in my head.


    Very wrong. Something was wrong with me. Was the stress too much to handle? Was I fragmenting even more? I didn¡¯t know and there wasn¡¯t a psychiatrist I could ask here about this.


    Something was going on in my psyche that was causing a possible breakdown. I had to stop it and find my center again but first I had to help Jonah wake up. I slapped him, hard.


    Mismatched eyes shot open and the wind died. He looked up and I glared down. Our eyes met in a ballad of confusion and anger.

 Chp 6: Myra

    Instead, a blade of water cut my cheek open. I didn¡¯t know water could cut, I knew ice could but not water. I had seen blue and grey energy merge before I was cut by the blade.


    Light blue and grey light had woven together to make the blade unlike when she used water, which was all light blue. Was she dual elemental? I said so and was attacked. I managed to pull her off by her hair. I ripped a few locks out and she screeched.


    ¡°I-I am not harmless and you almost cast harm to Jonah,¡± I cried holding my split lip.


    ¡°How dare you insinuate I¡¯m a filthy hybrid!¡±


    ¡°I-I come from Earth where having magical powers is a work of fictional creation and having more than one element is considered being powerful,¡± I said.


    ¡°There is a big difference in culture here,¡± said the ghost.


    ¡°Yeah, here being Hybrid means slavery. It is forbidden. Only one element allowed per Kin.¡±


    ¡°Well. you could have explained that then,¡± I said wiping my lip. I followed the others into a leather-skinned tent and laid Jonah on a deer-skinned sleeping bag. I knelt beside him and checked his temperature. It was high.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need a bowl of water and some cloth. You don¡¯t happen to have any fever relievers here do you?¡± I asked the weed.


    ¡°I have a med potion. Should work for the fever,¡± he said walking over to another sleeping bag and unrolling a piece of cloth revealing a blue striated stone. He ran this stone across the cloth and the cloth began to glow.


    I felt like I was in the twilight zone as I saw his arm sink into the cloth and not appear on the other side. Then like Mary Poppins, he pulled out a bottle of green stuff from within! It looked a bit sludgy from here.


    He rolled up the stone in the cloth and placed it back in the sleeping bag. Then he stood and walked over with the bottle.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the greatest tasting stuff in the realm but it should cure his fever,¡± he said.


    ¡°Thanks. What¡¯s your name?¡± I asked hoping it wasn¡¯t too forward in their culture.


    ¡°Ruckus.¡±


    Maryanne: Now we¡¯ve got one named after sound?


    Jack: I think it¡¯s great!


    Mark: For being named Ruckus he seems very quiet.


    Strength: Rock, noise, I bet the bitch¡¯s name is something you¡¯d name a poodle!


    Mark: Her name was mentioned Arri something!


    Marianne: Arriana!


    Strength: That¡¯s it!


    Mark: It is something you¡¯d name a poodle.


    Jack: Heck no. I¡¯d name my poodle Killer or something!


    I nodded and took the bottle swirling the liquid. It was liquid enough to go down like syrupy Nyquil but how was I going to get it down his throat? I blushed. There was no way I was kissing him. There had to be another way!


    This was not a bad shojo manga and I was not the heroine. Heck, after what he did he could suffer! And vomit breath eww!


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    I watched him twitch and sighed. Wait. Her Highness wanted to touch him before. She can kiss him with vomit breath! That''ll be payback for hitting and attacking me. I too can be vindictive.


    Maryanne: Atta girl!


    Strength:Show em what a human can do!


    Mark: This will be a laugh!


    Jack: You said it!


    I brought the water and cloth by her highness and I inwardly smirked.


    I put on my best-disgruntled face and sigh dramatically acting as if to open the potion. ¡°Stupid Jonah fainting. I¡¯ll have to get the medicine inside somehow. Guess I¡¯ll have to kiss him while I do!¡±


    As expected Arriana heard and sadly for me pulled me by my hair backward from Jonah almost making me spill the opened potion.


    ¡°There will be none of that from you. Give me the potion, slave,¡± she ordered.


    I did and crawled aside waiting for the show to begin. I smirked as she first opened the bottle and drank the potion. By her face, it didn¡¯t taste very good.


    Wait til she was kissing him. She opened his mouth and eagerly kissed Jonah at first but then she started turning green, then puce and she couldn¡¯t stop until he had drunk all the potion.


    Maryanne: Hehe, that¡¯ll show her!


    Strength: She really shoulda thought twice!


    Mark: This is amusing.


    Jack: Ha! Aren¡¯t we the vindictive shits Heh!


    She deserves this. I watch her part her lips from his and start to drink the water in the bowl.


    ¡°That was worse than I thought it would be,¡± she muttered and I smiled waiting to drop the bomb. I went for it. ¡°But your Highness, remember he spewed all over you before? I hope you didn¡¯t take any saliva from his mouth,¡± I said.


    She turned green and rushed out of the tent. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be sick!¡±


    Marianne: Don¡¯t mess with the human!


    Jack: Human one, Kin Zero!


    Mark: That was highly amusing.


    Strength: Go us! Go us! Go us! Go us! Whoo!


    That¡¯s right! This human has bite! I returned to Jonah and dunked the cloth in the little water that was left and pressed it to his forehead after running it from the back of his neck to his face. He was cooler already. The medicine worked but something was bothering him in his sleep. A guilty conscious? I didn¡¯t know what else to do so I stayed by his side.


    It was far later when he spewed again and I recognized the medicine. There was no more so I had to wipe his sweat from his brow, and make sure his temperature didn¡¯t rise any higher. It was tiring work, but I stayed with him throughout the night and into the day. I was offered breakfast by the floating guy who floated in with said breakfast. I ate and closed my eyes for a minute.


    I awoke to shaking. The juggling guy was shaking me quite brusquely.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m up,¡± I muttered glancing at him. He was tall and had his long black hair in a braid.


    ¡°Good, You don¡¯t want Arriana catching you asleep. She¡¯ll beat you,¡± he said.


    ¡°She may try,¡± I muttered stretching. A big yawn escaped me and he smirked.


    ¡°I¡¯m Atesh,¡± he said.


    ¡°Myra,¡± I replied leaving out my last name, in case my family could be tracked somehow.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t like most slaves,¡± he said.


    I grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the subservient type. I am shy but I have a breaking point and mine was reached yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Remind me never to let you reach it again. That was a vile trick you played on Arriana,¡± he whispered smirking.


    ¡°What trick?¡± I said and smiled back. Jonah made that groaning noise and I got out of the way and grabbed the bag I had been given.


    I helped him up and placed it over his mouth and let him at it. I rubbed his back until he stopped and laid him back. He so owed me for this!


    His eyes flickered under his eyelids and he moaned curling in on himself. The wind picked up a bit around us.


    It was getting dark when Jonah started struggling in his sleep. The wind picked up again blowing fiercely.


    ¡°Momma, run!¡± Jonah screamed as the wind howled around him. The other Kin gathered around to watch the spectacle and I glared. A blast of wind blew them all away and I struggled to calm Jonah. Winds collided. Two forces. I was in the eye of the hurricane. The winds didn¡¯t blow where I was standing. I thought nothing of it whereas Jonah was trembling like a child.


    ¡°Momma!¡± he cried out and the wind once again threatened to blow the tent away.


    ¡°Jonah! Wake up! It¡¯s a dream!¡± I yelled coming to stand beside him. He latched onto me with a bruising grip.


    ¡°Momma,¡± he cried like some lost child and I realized that maybe this wasn¡¯t a dream. Maybe this was a memory. Did Jonah have a bad childhood?


    The winds gentled into a breeze and inside my head, female laughter sprung from my subconsciousness. It was not Maryanne who was laughing.


    Maryanne: What was that?


    Jack: I don¡¯t know but, do you feel that?


    Strength: I feel stronger.


    Jack: Exactly!


    Mark: Um guys? There are shadows following my every move and its not my own shadow!


    Strength: What is going on?


    Jack: I don¡¯t know but, I don¡¯t like it


    Maryanne: Me either


    Strength: Can someone shut that spooky laughing up already?


    Hahahahahahahahaah!


    We are almost there to join the party!


    It won¡¯t be four anymore!


    Strength: Come on out ya cowards!


    Not ready yet but soon hahhaahahahah!


    What did they mean it wouldn¡¯t be four anymore? I was scared. I clung to Jonah as hard as he was clinging to me. Something was wrong in my head.


    Very wrong. Something was wrong with me. Was the stress too much to handle? Was I fragmenting even more? I didn¡¯t know and there wasn¡¯t a psychiatrist I could ask here about this.


    Something was going on in my psyche that was causing a possible breakdown. I had to stop it and find my center again but first I had to help Jonah wake up. I slapped him, hard.


    Mismatched eyes shot open and the wind died. He looked up and I glared down. Our eyes met in a ballad of confusion and anger.

 Chp 7: Jonah

    I was stuck in a swirling storm of images. I was small. I was running. There was a blonde-haired woman and a blond male who disliked me. There was a castle. Then there was blackness all around me and thin knives cut my skin. The woman screamed.


    ¡°Momma,¡± I cried trying to get up in the pitch black. It was Hunter¡¯s Night. I knew it was. Something snatched my foot and I heard familiar human/ bird wails all around me.


    Once more a woman screamed. I felt arms around me tugging me. Then the memory changed and I was in a beautiful grecian hall with blue borders and curtains billowing from large floor-to-ceiling windows. My mom tall and regal with blonde hair and emerald eyes glared across her at the tall man. She held me tight to her body.


    ¡°You can¡¯t have him! Anyone but him!¡± she cried.


    ¡°Momma,¡± I cried burying myself in her arms. I was trembling.


    ¡°Damien wants his son enslaved. It is the law.¡±


    ¡°Damien can go screw himself! He never cared for Jonah! Now he wants to exercise his will upon him to enslave him? I won¡¯t have it!¡±


    ¡°He is the King.¡±


    ¡°I am the Queen!¡±


    The image blurred and we¡¯re running in blackness. again.


    ¡°Momma, run!¡± I said as the creatures swarmed us. There is a girl with blonde hair and grey-green eyes but she faded into the whirlpool of my memories. That¡¯s what these felt like, memories.


    Sharp lances of pain across my cheek awoke me, and I stared in confusion at sparking brown eyes. They held anger...at me? I then notice I¡¯m glomping on Myra. I pulled away letting my eyes fall.


    ¡°At least you¡¯re awake now. We can talk about what we plan to do,¡± Myra said. She took a seat beside my sleeping bag. God, do I feel awful, and was I actually glomping Myra? How long did she hear me screaming? Did I scream?


    It was a crazy nightmare. I touched my face and noticed wet tracks across it. I follow them to my eyes. I was crying! I wiped my face with the rag that was beside my makeshift pillow.


    A rolled sleeping bag. A beautiful red-haired female came in and she was smiling so big I thought her face was going to crack.


    ¡°I knew it! You are Kin! I wasn¡¯t wrong!¡± She turned to look at Myra and smirked. ¡°Looks like you are the only human, slave. I¡¯m sure the council will send you back to your worthless Earth.¡±


    ¡°I-Its not worthless to me your highness,¡± Myra muttered rolling her eyes. ¡°He can stay here for all I care.¡±


    Woah! When did she grow a backbone? Was it always there? Then again I did toss her to the sharks...literally. I was regretting that now.


    ¡°What the hell is a Kin? And why would I want to stay here?¡± I asked confused.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s what you are! You belong here,¡± the auburn girl said smiling that big creepy smile. I inched away from her and closer to Myra who glared at the female.


    ¡°I took care of you all night,¡± the female said. Don¡¯t quote me on this but I think she was lying. Why would I awake glomping Myra if she was the one to take care of me? Myra burned with anger. I could feel the heat from her glare, coming off her skin.


    ¡°I fed you the med potion,¡± the female said.


    I glanced at Myra who was smirking. ¡°She did do that disgusting task,¡± she said crossing her arms. Her face was swollen, and her lip split.


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    I narrowed my eyes. Did someone hit her? Now that I took a closer look at her, I could see the circles under her eyes. Her curly hair was frizzy and all over the place. She needed sleep. A lot of sleep.


    Did she actually take care of me? Why? I wasn¡¯t going to repay her. But some thanks were in order? No one had ever cared if I was sick before.


    It was a nice feeling. I stretched out my hand and held hers. She looked at me confused. I smirked but I couldn¡¯t get the words to leave my mouth. I tried again but nothing.


    I couldn¡¯t get out a simple thank you! I squeezed her hand instead. She smiled and squeezed back nodding. I guess she understood me. I didn¡¯t understand her though.


    I had been a mean SOB to her. I humiliated her constantly and yet she still helped me! I considered my options. Option A would be to take Smiley¡¯s side and I knew she was lying.


    So, option B was to stick with Myra. If we were going to get along we needed some kind of truce or agreement between us. Mostly on my part, not to aggravate her, turn on her, or call her names, and to stick by her til we could get home. It would reassure her and make her trust me. I had to keep my word.


    We were in a strange situation. Who knows what we¡¯d get into? I couldn¡¯t protect her from everything not that I wanted to or could. I was a realist, but I guess a truce was doable. I needed to talk to Myra privately, with Ms. Smiley gone at least.


    This was between her and me. And I should apologize for the sharks too even if I didn¡¯t drop her in.


    Katilia and this person were the same, man-eating bitches. They were both self-entitled arrogant and manipulative. It was always them first and everyone else last. Having Myra as a slave proved that these people couldn¡¯t self-manage very well at least not the self-entitled ones. They needed slaves to do everything for them, just like Katilia needed servants and others to do the dirty work for her. I bet she had a servant clean her ass for her.


    Nope, I was not going with option A. Smiley gave me the creeps. Did she feed me the medicine? I know Myra wouldn¡¯t lie about that. Ugh! How did she get the medicine in? Oh eww! Don¡¯t tell me she actually kissed me. Didn¡¯t I throw up beforehand? And she still kissed me? Gross! Sure she was hot, but she was one pickle short of a pickle jar.


    I turned to glance at Myra who was falling asleep where she sat. Smiley walked over and pulled her hair!


    ¡°Awaken slave!¡±


    ¡°Hey! She needs to sleep,¡± I said curling an arm around Myra¡¯s frame. She glanced at me and shrugged leaning into me. Her hair tickled my face. It was extremely frizzy.


    Smiley frowned.¡±She¡¯s a slave. She gets to sleep when I let her. I¡¯m the princess.¡±


    Even more reason to be wary.


    ¡°She¡¯s been taking care of me for what? Two days now? Without much sleep?¡±


    ¡°Almost three, actually. I ordered her to. It¡¯s her duty to look after us Kin.¡±


    ¡°Why is that relevant? What the heck is a Kin? Is it a food?¡±


    Smily frowned. ¡°It¡¯s what you are! You can wield an element!¡±


    I frowned and held out my hand. Nothing happened and I shrugged putting my hand down.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got to want it. Wind is hard to call,¡± said the ghost guy.


    I tried again and slowly a mild breeze came and went but that could have been a breeze. I shrugged again.


    ¡°Anyway, on Earth I¡¯m honor-bound to help her so she sleeps with me.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Both Smiley and Myra screamed. I curled Myra closer and stuffed her face into my chest to shut her up. I could feel her breath on my skin. It¡¯s hot.


    ¡°Yep. I am honor-bound to Myra til I can repay her kindness. Earth laws. So I have to stay near her.¡±


    The princess squinted and then nodded. ¡°Very well. She has one day of rest, then we move on to Saphiros. I¡¯m sure your real family will be ecstatic to see you,¡± she said walking out of the tent, a big smile on her face.


    ¡°Yeah, I bet,¡± I muttered while letting Myra free. She looks pissed. I on the other hand wasn¡¯t too ecstatic about meeting my real family. Who knew who and what they were like? I already had a stupendous Earth family I didn¡¯t need an alien family. I was going home to Earth. My mom needed me. Heck Ralph and Katilia needed me. I was going back with or without Myra. I had a lot more to lose than her.


    ¡°W-What is this about me sleeping with you!¡± she yelled smoothing back her hair.


    ¡°We needed alone time and you need a nap. Since I¡¯m indebted to you I thought I¡¯d help.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Jonah, I stayed with you because I could...I chose to stay with you. You aren¡¯t indebted to me.¡±My eyes widened in surprise and I grabbed her by the arms pulling her closer.


    ¡°Why? I¡¯ve been nothing but mean and nasty to you. You won¡¯t get anything from helping me!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the person I am! I couldn¡¯t leave you lost and defenseless in a strange world alright? Let go!¡±


    I did, searching her eyes. There was annoyance and anger in them. There was also acceptance. She accepted me as bad as I was to her. I had never been accepted anywhere like that, but, she did and I felt...happy about that. My parents were always too busy to care when I was sick and my friends couldn¡¯t give a damn honestly. This felt nice.


    A faint breeze kicked up and I realized it was coming from me. Now I was shocked. The wind increased rapidly as I panicked.


    ¡°Jonah, calm down,¡± Myra said. ¡°Take a deep breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth.¡±


    I tried that. I had no reason not to. Slowly I calmed and so did the wind around me. It dissipated and I tried calling it forward again. A gust of wind answered me. ¡°Looks like hot summer days are over,¡± I muttered pulling another gust to me.


    Myra nodded crossing her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not buying the Earth honor crap.¡±


    I raised my hand.¡°Look, I know I¡¯ve been an ass. It¡¯s who I am, but I can offer a truce,¡± I said. Her eyebrows flew over her brows in surprise.


    ¡°A truce?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah, an unbreakable vow between you and me. I promise not to make you so miserable and to stop antagonizing you and begin to work with you to find our way home.¡±


    ¡°How long does this truce last?¡±


    ¡°Until we find a way to get back to Earth.¡±


    She glanced at me then sighed and shook my hand. ¡°Deal. Can you scooch to the side? I¡¯m tired and I only have a day to rest,¡± she yawned.


    I nodded and grabbed her again laying down with her on top of me. She blushed but sighed and closed her eyes. I closed my eyes. Hopefully, I could keep to the truce. I¡¯d never been a liar and I wasn¡¯t about to start now.