I was in my room that night. Even from up here, I could hear the loud, angry voices downstairs.
"Well, I am pretty sure that my daughter did not step a foot into your territory," I heard my mother's pitched voice scream. "What do we need from you that we don't have here?"
The demon downstairs was quiet for a second. Maybe he was whispering something? Or saying it in a very low voice… yeah, probably. Demons were like that. Always quiet, yet frightening… raving a cold, silent war deep inside themselves.
Then, he spoke up, his voice soft, like a string of silk stroking a newborn's neck, "I understand. But if your daughter values her arm, she will keep it away from my son. You must be familiar with my actions toward people who hurt my family. Am I correct, Leu?"
Even though his words were cold and heartless, his voice seemed to sing the statement.
I heard my older sister's hysterical sobs. It wasn't like her to go to the demons' corrupt territory, much less to hurt one of them. Zoria was always kind, gentle, and, of course, drop-dead gorgeous. In fact, she was named after the Goddess of beauty in Slavic mythology. She would walk up the mountains, and every eye would freeze upon her beauty. Her hair was always locked in calm, silky waves of dim tints. And her eyes were a mesmerizing honey color, soft and dreamy.
I was different. I was the girl who'd go out in a neat dress and come back with grime and scratches all over it. My hair wasn't cared for much, and was always held back with many ribbons. People would tell me my voice was pitched and fast, never as tender and coaxing as Zoria's.
And, instead of Zoria's beautiful name, mine, Aella, meant whirlwind in Greek… And I was named after a murdered female warrior.
"Oh yeah?" Yelled my mom to the demon, angry and frantic. "If my three sons were here now, you'd be lying in a pool of blood!"
What a lame comeback, I thought, snorting.
The demon was thinking, silent for a moment. Then, I could hear the smirk in his voice as he said, "At least I do bleed, vampire."
I laughed silently. Now my mother was stumped. I heard the door open, and then slam shut. I looked out the window and watched as the Demon, with orange streaks in his black hair, let the darkness envelope him and carry him away into his dry, rocky territories.
Opening the door, I walked down the stairs and into where my older sister and my mother were sitting. Zoria was crying, her nose red and eyes puffy and swollen.
My mother looked up at me as I walked to the couch.
"So, Zoria in trouble, huh?" I sneered.
"Quiet, Aella," Said my mother.
"Whatever you say."
Zoria was still crying, looking down at her palms.
"So, what happened, Zoria?" I asked her, curious. "Why'd you beat him up?"
"He was being rude," She answered. Simple answers, as always.
"Ah."
My mother stood up, saying to me, "Now go fill up three buckets of water."
"It isn't even morning yet," I complained.
My mother looked at me sternly as she said, "It will be in a few hours. And we all know how you are."
"Yes," Said Zoria. "You're a wanderer. Stare around and stroll, sometimes in places you're not supposed to be in." She gave me an intense, knowing glance.
I quickly shifted my gaze away from her. "Alright then," I said. "Gimme some money."
Ma searched in her furry bag and took out a few golden coins. I took them from her, sticking them into my tunic's pocket.
Then, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the wooden buckets, almost tripping on my own foot.
As I was getting out the door, my mom said, "Wait for your brother Edmund to go with you."
"Oh, c'mon! Why?" I wailed. "I'm seventeen!"
"You know how things are with those nasty sérnoxes!" She yelled, pointing at me. "And demons are walking around everywhere in the market."
"This is crazy!" I yelled, protesting.
"How dare you? Your brothers have been created to protect you. They've suffered those three painful years of changing and mixed emotions just to stand by your side!"
She was right. Male vampires aren't normal. They start out as regular vampires, but then they transform when they reach the age of maturity. Their hearts and minds are solely focused on protecting their families. They're always distant, emotional, and extremely difficult to understand. They get over-secure, over-protective… and begin to really worry about the women of the family. They start to lose their temper quickly, and almost anything can upset them.
Now, Edmund is the worst of the three. If any soul on earth touches a strand of our hairs, Edmund will make him wish he'd never did. Nothing serious happened yet, and I hope it never does. And I'm not saying that Edmund never tried, but everyone he starts a fight with happens to be much smarter than him.
So I sat on the floor, scratching the pink paint off my nails. Then, the door opened. Three extremely pale young men stepped in. Their lips trembled, their bodies shook, and their eyes were fierce and seemed to glare on forever. No stranger seeing them can try to imagine that they could ever hold mercy or affection in their hearts for anyone.
"Edmund, dear," said my mother, running up to him and stroking his face. "What happened?"
He didn't answer, inching away from her and tilting his face away from her touch.
"Is everything alright?" She asked, her voice worrying now.
Edmund shook his head and murmured, "It's… it's all over."
"What?" My mother's voice pitched, pleading. "Another sign?"
My two other brothers, Isai and Rafael, nodded silently, their squared jaws clenched tightly.
"S-s-so… we're getting closer?" My mother seemed as if she'd collapse in tears. "And no one has found anything! We're doomed!"
"Oh, will you please stop?" I pleaded, tired of her helpless crying. "Nothing will happen. This prophecy is probably just a stupid superstition, just like everything else!"
All eyes focused on me angrily.
"You better not say that again, girl," said Edmund coldly.
"Whatever."
Everyone was silent for a very long time.
"Well, I better get going then," I said, heading for the door, trying to be nonchalant.
Edmund grabbed my arm and murmured, "You're not going anywhere without me."
"I'd be better off without you, thank you very much," I snapped.
He seemed reluctant as he stepped aside, saying, "Isai?"
I growled, "Fine."
Isai seemed very happy to travel with me, because Mother always made me go with Edmund. In fact, I was pretty happy myself. Sure, he wasn't the best companion, but he was my favorite brother of all three of them.
I tied my hair tighter with the blue ribbons and ran beside Isai, putting the speed of the darkness' wind to shame. It always was like this. I feel as if I'm too fast, too fast. Like I'll collapse any minute. I feel like I'll slip, and just then, at the perfect time, my shoulders, chest, and arms lift into the air, and, instantaneously, I become a dark shadow of a bat. I was not that strange animal, that rodent that I saw once in an old painting. I was just a dark shadow, a black fog, zooming so fast, too fast to spot, in the air. A ghost of a bat.
We flew through the caves of the mountains, where vampires usually lingered, and in a few hours, we reached the middle of the world, The Market, where traders and merchants bartered and sold their goods.
As we landed on the red, clay grounds of Jasiaka, we quickly transformed into our vampire selves. Sérnoxes did not allow bats on their territories at all. Once, a bat was flying around their land. They swapped him, threw him on the ground, and stomped on him until both his wings broke. Ever since then, no one has dared to come to Jasiaka in their bat forms. Not unless they want to lose their wings.
Sérnoxes had the best of every world: trades are always made in their land, so they have wealth and prosperity, both demons and vampires are nice to them (conflict is only between demons and vampires), and they have always been living on the laps of luxury.
The moment we got to Jasiaka, the climate became warm. The ground was soft and easy to walk on, and the buildings were impeccably clean and glossy.
The little girls had brand new dresses, polished shoes, and curled hair. The boys had groomed hair, cleanly shaven faces, shiny shoes, and calm personalities. They were very well taken care of. It was impossible to imagine any of them going to bed hungry.
I walked beside Isai to the man who was standing near the dark, watery river. Demons were giving vampires dirty looks, and the vampires didn't seem too pleased by the demons' presence, either.
But that cold, silent hatred for each other did not stop us from going along with life, buying our goods and food.
We stood in the line of vampires who were waiting for their turn to fill up their buckets with water.
Finally, after a very long time, our turn came. We handed the old, crippling sérnox our three buckets, and he filled them up, handing them back without even looking at us. Isai paid him a handful of gold coins.
We went behind a booth, and we transformed back into bats. Isai then led the way into the darkness, taking a path which the sérnoxes' unaware eyes wouldn't catch.
Let me tell you a little about sérnoxes. They're sneaky, lying two-faces. This is how I see them. The whole world sees them as kind, caring people who hate fighting and love peace.
But my opinion about them is that they're pulling up a pretty good act. The reason they're not taking sides and not fighting with anybody is so that others won't consider them as a challenge or a threat. That way, they make things easier for them to get the prophecy.
They've got golden-tinted skin, very beautiful. Their skin appears to be kissed gently by the sun. Their hair is a complex color between mud and olive, leaning a little toward mud.
Their lips are flexible, thin, pale, and cold. Their bodies are strong, but weaken very quickly as they get older.
As abnormal as their features may sound, none of them is as strange as the sérnoxes' eyes. Their eye colors range from gray to silver. The eyes are always very foggy, like clouds are shielding them. And that is why it's so difficult to know what they are feeling, because tears never escape those eyes, happiness never glitters within them, and they're always cold, unwelcoming… and that's why it's always so easy to believe sérnoxes. Imagine… all the lies that sérnoxes tell are easily believed. And it's all because of those dead eyes which bear nothing for one to see through, no happiness, no sadness, no feelings… nothing whatsoever. There is no way to see through the sérnoxes' phony ways. There is a mixture of fog and smoke in front of their silver pupils, covering everything their eyes behold. One can never see through those lifeless eyes, those covered, blocked eyes that are so vague they seem unreal.
Now I could see millions of those cold, senseless eyes… they were everywhere, roaming around and telling lies after countless lies till the indescribable concept of forever.
Isai seemed not to notice as he flapped his ghostly wings in the dark air that the sun will soon spread its first, bright, orange rays of light upon.
But I saw everything. I saw the sérnoxes cheating, taking many pieces of gold from both enemies who hated each other, but loved only the sérnoxes. I saw their toothless grins of victory. I saw their hands rub together in nothing but pure greed.
And I saw both demons and vampires falling for the sernoxes' acts, handing them hard-earned gold, thinking that they made a great deal. They didn't.
In an hour, we reached the east of the world. And you probably don't understand it. You see, sérnoxes, vampires, and demons are all separated, of course. It'd be a disaster if we were living together.
So the vampires claimed the east side of the world, the cold, high mountains. The sérnoxes got the best location: the tropical weather, the ground of minerals and gems, and the middle of the world. The sérnoxes' land was a divider between the demons' and ours. And the demons took what matched them: the dry, bare, rocky territories. The earth that needed water but never got it… the place that was perfect for their mysterious, quiet, emotional selves… the demons took the west side of the earth.
Of course, there was much land beyond that, but we were forbidden to go there. And barely anyone has ever tried. It would take such a long time to get there. Several families went there once, but they never made it back.
When I got home to my room, I opened up my textbook to finish my studying.
I read out loud:
"Millions of years ago, humans roamed the earth. Humans are now described as people of many colors of skin… from dark brown to pale cream. Their hair is also diverse in color. The colors may be black, brown, red, orange, or even blonde. The tints of the colors also differ, as with the skin. They have two round eyes, which are also diverse in color (blue, brown, green, etc.) and shape (circular, oval, almond).
Humans have very strong feelings, and among the strongest is anger. Humans have bodies very similar to us vampires: legs, hands, a head, and a face.
But humans have flaws, too. The average teenage human begins to see small, reddish dots on his face (acne) at around the age of adolescence.
Humans have different personalities, too. One may be friendly, selfish, shy, outgoing, and among many others.
Humans enjoy distinguishing themselves by status. (See Page 211)"
I closed the book, tired of reading about these annoying, weird humans. There was a time in which humans existed in this world with vampires, demons, and sérnoxes. Personally, I can't begin to imagine how life was like that. Vampires probably killed millions of humans every day. I laughed silently. And humans probably didn't know what in the world was happening to them.
It's bad enough living with sérnoxes and demons… humans would've made it unbearable.
I closed my eyes, humming silently to myself. Well, we'll all be gone in a matter of time. Then, humans will come into the picture and live happily alone. I sighed. Whenever I say that out loud, my family and friends look at me gravely and say, "That's why we're trying to find that prophecy, Aella."
Right. Like the prophecy will do anything to help. Demons, sérnoxes, and even vampires believe that our "fate" of perishing is written in this strange prophecy… and that only the ones who find it will be able to alter our destiny, because the solution to this extinction will be written in the prophecy as well. And the ones who find it will receive an extremely high position and status.
When I say "the ones who find it," I mean it's either the vampires or the demons, or, of course, the sérnoxes. The one who finds this prophecy will represent his whole species. And that's the reason as to why we just can't get along. Each group wants that prophecy so badly, competition is essential. Of course, if any group other than ours gets a hold of that prophecy, they will change it only to suit their needs, and there'll be nothing beneficial for us. And, well, it just so happens that everyone else has the same exact mentality. Except, supposedly, the sérnoxes.
And the more signs that come along, the more everyone gets desperate. Like some hours ago, when the demons' cliffs and rocks shook madly and injured so many. The next sign is coming for us. And that's why Ma was so scared…
Also, the fact that our existence will be wiped away very soon is intolerable… none of us can stand it. We don't have any beliefs of an afterlife, and if there is one, we do not know how it is… to think that we will end, that there'll be no more life, sight, sound, feeling, nothing at all… that thought drives all of us mad.
And all of us, sérnoxes, demons, and vampires, are born to live forever without death or end to us.
With that thought, my eyelids dropped and I fell asleep.
My mother woke me up for breakfast. With my brothers and Zoria, I drank the delicious water. It was dark, but when reached a vampire's lips, turned a deep, red color. It was so appetizing, so delectable, that I searched everywhere for more.
And this was just a drink that fantasizes the taste of blood! I licked my lips hungrily, trying to imagine how real blood would taste.
My stomach yearned for more. I didn't get enough!
My mother interrupted me by saying, "Are you going to school today?"
I shook my head, trying to control my thirst, my dark, guilty desire. "Yeah, I guess." I ran upstairs, gathered my books, papers, and pencils, and stuffed them in my leather bag. I went back downstairs and out the door, walking to school.
I stepped into class and sat next to my best friend Sarah.
"Hi, Aella," She said with a bright smile.
"Hey." I said, leaning from my desk to hug her.
"Good morning, class," Said the teacher, Mrs. Iuyig.
"Good morning Mrs. Iuyig," chanted the class in a perfect, united voice.
"We're going to take notes today."
Some kids in the back groaned, but everyone took out their notebooks and prepared their pencils.
I scribbled the words before I realized what we'd be learning about.
"The Prophecy."
"Great," I whispered under my breath. "Just perfect."
Sarah looked at me from beneath her long, blonde hair. "What's wrong?"
"What isn't wrong?" I snapped. "We're learning about the prophecy." I said it as if it was common sense, as if Sarah would understand what bothered me with just that sentence.
She didn't.
"So?" She said, clueless. "I don't see anything wrong with that. We have to be prepared, Aella. The challenge will be a lot tougher as time passes by. At any second, we may all be destroyed. If no one finds it."
"Okay, whatever."
I copied down the board.
"Many have been in search of The Prophecy. Some have found it, but never came back safe to tell us about it. They left clues, though. One of these clues is that if this prophecy isn't found, our world will perish. Because we care about our lives, it is necessary for us to find this Prophecy. Many start their quest at the age of nineteen. This is the age of maturity, and the age in which many of us marry."
I stopped for a second. I remembered my future husband, Raymond, the one I am bound to marry. I am promised to him when I turn nineteen.
He has ginger hair, green eyes, and freckles. He is extremely smart. A genius.
Sarah looked at me and saw the thoughtful expression on my face. She smiled and winked. Her future husband, Dean, was the total opposite of mine: not very bright, handsome, fearless, and adventurous. He was well-built and sturdy, unlike Raymond, who is weak, thin and bony. Dean was a warrior. Raymond preferred to stay at home and read and learn.
But Raymond had a beautiful personality, and Ma keeps telling me that was more important than anything.
I continued copying the board.
"Many have chosen to delay their marriage to start their quest for the prophecy. But others have taken their spouses with them on the adventure!"
I snorted. Adventure. Right.
Again, Sarah looked at me, but this time, she kept quiet.
I kept scribbling and listened to Mrs. Iuyig explaining the notes.
She then passed out last week's exams to us. I glared down at my paper. Not the grade I had hoped for. I looked to my side and caught Sarah's gleeful expression.
Mrs. Iuyig clapped her hands and said, "Alright. Class is over."
I walked out of the class with Sarah by my side. Now she started talking. "So, um, Aella. I don't see what your problem with the prophecy is. Will you please explain?"
I stopped in my track and turned to her. "Do you really believe we're going to perish from existence if the prophecy is fulfilled?"
"Well, Aella, it's pretty much an accomplished fact by now."
"Okay. For you. Not for me. I don't believe in it," I said. "Can you respect that?"
"But why not?"
"Sarah," I said, exasperated. "I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work that way!"
"Whatever," She sighed. "Listen, do you want come with me to the Market after school?"
"For what?"
"I'm going to some party this Saturday and wanted to pick out a gown," she told me.
"Oh, that party," I remembered. Saturday. In two days. "Mmkay, sure."
So after school, I dropped by my house to tell my mother that I'd spend the day with Sarah. She agreed, saying, "Have fun, but be careful."
Sarah was waiting outside the door, and we held each other's hands tightly, running in the sunny bright afternoon. We passed by huts built with mud and straw. We saw little children giggle and play under the warm sun. We watched as the young girls lingered behind Ion, that gorgeous boy. The ground was rocky and dry under our bare feet, and we kept running faster and faster. When that slipping sensation came, when my scream was just about to escape my throat, at that exact split moment, we both turned into our bat forms.
Sarah had been flying ever since she was a child. Her mother would joke and say that Sarah had flew before she crawled. She constantly goes to the Market, in the morning, afternoon, and, sometimes even at night. She flew so fast, I had to strain much of my energy to keep up with her. She had gotten so fast since the last time we had flown together! Now I was miles behind her…
Noticing this, Sarah stopped at a halt and headed back, catching up with me. Her bat form was magnificent, with strong wings and a golden tint, the color of her hair.
Finally, we could see Jasiaka. We stopped at a mountain, immediately transforming back to vampires, and continued the few steps to the soft, wet land of Jasiaka on foot.
Sarah spotted a booth selling beautiful pieces of cloth. An ugly sérnox was selling them, taking the money and stuffing it deep inside her pocket. We walked to the booth and Sarah touched the beautiful fabric. "Don't you have any ready-made gowns?" she asked the sérnox.
"Of course, my darling," The sérnox said, smiling and reaching under the table. "What color?" she asked, popping her head out from under the table.
"Is there light blue?" Sarah asked expectantly.
"Sure," she replied, bringing out a frilly blue dress with many ruffles at the end. The sleeves were short and puffed out, and the dress looked like one of a princess.
"Oh, it's gorgeous!" Sarah said with a soft sigh. "May I please try it on?"
"Why not?" The sérnox smiled again, pointing at another very small booth next to hers.
Sarah skipped quickly to the small booth. I glanced around me at the life going on. Most of everyone here were demons. Demons, unlike vampires, don't go to a public school. They believe that the most important thing for them to learn is how to get their hands on that prophecy. So, when they reach the age of five, their families strenuously train them on hunting and survival skills.
Sarah stepped out of the changing booth. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she cried.
"Uh-huh," I replied. "Twirl for me."
She twirled, and I watched in adoration as the hem of the dress went flying around her.
"It's beautiful," I said finally.
She bought the dress for a hundred gold coins and placed it in a firm basket. We shopped for more things: perfumes, hair bows, accessories. The sérnoxes had everything. I bought roses for Mother and a silver bracelet for myself.
As I was leaving, I saw something that made me freeze in place. A demon, with bright, oh so bright, reddish-orange streaks across his dark hair, grabbed something he'd bought from a sérnox in such a rude way. Okay, so maybe I did despise sérnoxes, but not to the extent of being this rude to them. And not only that, but I had never seen anybody do this to any sérnox before. The sérnox ignored him, as if this was his usual manner. I repeated what I thought to myself: usual manner. Usual manner?
As the demon walked away, he muttered under his breath, "Stupid sérnoxes need a beating."
I gasped, and he turned around to face me. His face was perplexed, and he asked one word, just one: "What?"
I could feel my face get hot and turned around, continuing to walk with Sarah.
But he did not let this go. He followed me and grabbed my arm, spinning me around. "Did you hear me?"
I didn't know what to say. Why would he care? "Yeah," I replied.
"Why are you eavesdropping on me?" He asked, his voice rising and becoming angry.
Now I became aggravated. "If you don't want me listening in, why not keep your thoughts to yourself?" I snapped. "Doesn't that sound like a better idea?"
His face turned red quickly, and he scratched the back of his neck and left. I was turning to leave as well, since Sarah had already gone without me, when I saw him from my side, turning back to me. "Wait," he called after me. But I kept walking. Again, he grabbed my arm.
"May I help you?" I asked, irritated.
"Yes, please," He replied. "You're not about to make a big deal out of that, are you?" His face rigid and hard, he seemed about to threaten me if I say what he doesn't want to hear.
I was confused. "What? About you calling the sérnoxes stupid?"
He nodded, looking around nervously.
I was just about to answer when I saw him wiping his hand on his pants. Of course. Vampires are filthy. Never touch them. And he had touched me. Twice.
"Goodbye," I said, turning around and walking away, making a big deal out of pulling out a handkerchief from my bag and rubbing it against my arm.
Demons need to die, I thought bitterly. And I knew what he was thinking: Vampires need to die.
He made no effort to come after me like the previous times. I didn't know why, but I wanted him to come after me. I shook my head and left Jasiaka without Sarah, flying in the evening air. She'd realize that I had left, probably. And she's a smart girl… Surely she'll know how to come back herself.
I reached home safely and lay against my bed, twirling the silver bracelet in my hands absentmindedly and thinking of today. I had met, or rather saw, a demon who hated sérnoxes as much as I did, if not more. I had met a demon who saw through the sérnoxes' act: who saw through their foggy eyes. But he also hated me, probably. Maybe he hated everyone.
I leaned up from the bed and reached for my Human Education book. I opened the Index at the end, went to the "D" section, and found it: Demons. Page 530. Quickly, I flipped to that page. I read:
"Humans considered demons, in a very old time, as 'spirits'. These spirits were looked upon as good, evil, or both. Some demons actually benefited humans. Over many centuries, though, myths and stories turned all demons into 'evil' spirits. Demons were attacked, disgraced, and betrayed for a long, long time. Many religions labeled demons as evil and against God. This was the main factor for the antagonism towards them."
I smirked. At least I'm not the only one seeing demons as evil. Apparently, so did humans. How interesting.
A knock came from the door downstairs. I heaved myself off the bed and stood by the door, listening intently.
I noticed the voice immediately: Sarah. "I need to see Aella, Lady Rodney," she was saying, out of breath. "Immediately."
Then, I heard the stairs creak and her heavy breath. I met her in the hallway.
"Aella!" She cried.
"What?" I asked, maybe a little too rudely, especially since it was obvious that she had exerted such an effort to get here. I just hated when people freak out, and Sarah was not an exception.
She pulled my arm and led me back into my room, turning on three lanterns. The room was extremely bright now.
She gently sat on my bed and started gushing out the news immediately. "Okay," she started, her green eyes now glimmering emeralds. "You know that demon, right? The one who was talking to you?"
What now? "Uh-huh," I replied cautiously.
"He was asking about you," she continued, her emerald eyes gleaming even brighter.
"So what?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Sarah. Please—"
"Hang on," She interrupted. "I'm not done. So he was asking about you, and at first I was a little scared, since, you know, maybe he'd want to hurt you or something."
"Right," I nodded.
"So I told him you left, and he was really upset!" She cried.
"Shh!" I said, covering my own mouth. "Quiet down; my brothers are sleeping!"
She clasped her hand tightly against her mouth and whispered, giggling, "Sorry!"
"Go on."
"So he went to his friends, and he looked upset and all, and his friends were actually making fun of him," She paused to search my face for a reaction. She probably saw nothing, so she kept talking. "And he was trying to push them off, and he got all red—"
It was my turn to interrupt now. "Sarah, cut to the chase. What are you trying to say?"
She spoke slowly and softly, waving her hand and not looking me in the eye, "Well, I was just saying," now she looked me in the eye. Her emerald eyes met my coal eyes as she said, "I think he likes you."
I stood up, grabbed her hand, and directed her to the door.
"Wait!" She said before I was about to close the door.
"What?" I opened the door just a little crack.
"Why don't you think he likes you?" She asked. "And—I mean, I'm not talking about the lovey-dovey kind of like; I'm saying at least as a friend, a person."
"Have you been asleep in every lecture we've had so far?" I asked her, squinting my eyes. "Demons don't love vampires. Vampires don't love demons. Simple. Easy. Now get out."
"But—"
"Sarah," I told her, my head tilting as I looked at her. "I thought you were so serious about the whole prophecy thing. How can he fall in love with me when I'm his one and only enemy? When his fame and fortune depend on my failure?"
Now she looked uncomfortable. She shifted her weight from one leg to another. "Well then," she started, trying to think of a good answer. "Maybe he doesn't like you after all. Forget what I said."
"Sarah," I started, laughing lightly. "You live in one crazy world."
She laughed nervously, pulling on strands of her long blond hair. "Yeah, I guess. Alright, Aella. Good night. See you tomorrow."
"Yep, 'night."
I lay in my bed, thinking of Sarah. I chuckled. What was wrong with that girl?