Rayn Bell was a typical demigod. ADHD, dyslexia, moving from school to school, not knowing who her father was, why her mother never talked about him, but Rayn just kept living life like everything was fine, but really wasn't. She had this empty feeling that only her loving friends could fill…if she had any.
Rayn was seven when she met her first friend, Ian Cannon, under a tree. She was there because the principal yelled at her for throwing a box of crayons out the window but she could've sworn there was an odd creature looking right at her.
She sat there looking at all the seven and eight year olds playing hop-scotch and kickball.
Her curly brown hair blowing in the cold wind. It felt nice on a hot day like it was. Summer was just around the corner and she couldn't wait. Rayn closed her eyes feeling the warmth from the sun on her skin. "What are you doing?" said a young boys' voice. She opened her eyes to see a boy around her age, seven or eight; with sandy hair, caramel colored skin and green eyes.
"I was feeling how the sun rays warmed my skin. What are you doing?" she said irritably. She doesn't usually act like that she's a bubbly type of person who always try's to find a positive side of things. But this is her way of a test. To see if he could like her for her bad side too.
"Ha-ha. You were sleeping I saw you," The boy sat next to her under the tree. "My name is Ian. What's yours?" He stuck out his had for the little girl to shake it. She didn't know what to do. If he had other friends he wouldn't be here.
She shook the little boys' hand. "My name is Rayn. Nice to meet you, Ian." She smiled at her first real friend.
Rayn had a feeling that they had a lot in common, and so did Ian. And it is true. They are a like in every possible way imagined. They did everything together after that. Played games, ate lunch and if possible dinner, had sleepovers, told each other secrets, even got in trouble together. They became the best of friends.
Over the years, in fifth grade to be exact, there was a new boy in there grade that became good friends with Ian and Rayn.
Rayn and Ian were under their tree that they called the 'hideout', when the new boy came up to the hideout and sat down in front of them. The best friends didn't know what to do. No one ever came up to their tree unless a ball came over or something like that.
"Hi, my name is Grover and I would like to know if I could join your club." The best friends looked at the new kid in shock. "It is just you two right?"
Rayn nodded her head. "Um…yeah it's just us."
"You have to pass a test first. To see if you're worthy enough to join." Ian said looking serous.
Rayn looked at her best friend. They didn't make a test. They didn't even have a club! The boy named Grover looked at Rayn, looking for an answer, to see if he had to take a test. Of course Rayn conformed that Grover had to take the test to see if he was 'worthy enough' as Ian had said. Grover looked nervous and Rayn felt bad. But she usually goes along with Ian because he was smarter then her and a month older.
"Okay, first question. Are you dyslexic?" Ian asked leaning closer to the not-so-nervous-anymore Grover.
"Y-yes. Why are you guys' dyslexic, too?" Grover asked in a whisper. Ian looked at his best friend with a questioning look. And she knew what he was saying in his mind. Should we answer that?
Rayn looked at Grover. "Next question. Do you have ADHD?" Ian moved away from Grover waiting for an answer.
Grover answered with a quick yes and looked up at the trees' leaves.
The best friends looked at each other. They never met another kid like them. And since he was new he has to be moving from school to school.
They were saved by the bell. "We will think about it and get back to you at after lunch," Ian stood up "C'mon Rayn. We have a lot to think about." He started to walk back to the school building.
Rayn smiled at Grover. "Sorry, Grover, he's being dramatic. And don't worry. I'll put in a good word for you." She winked and stood up. She held out her hand to help the smiling Grover up. "It was nice meeting you, Grover."
"Thanks, Rayn. I'll see you after lunch?"
"Maybe even before or during lunch. Depends on how long he wants to be theatrical."
Grover laughed and they began walking back to the school building only to find an inpatient Ian waiting at the door for Rayn.
It was only five minutes after some 'serious thinking' and 'talking about the pros. and cons.' that Grover got the thumbs up to join.
After half the school year was over, Ian invited Rayn and Grover to come to his house after school since they could walk to it from there but Grover said he couldn't, he was grounded for the rest of the school year which sounded harsh.
"What did you do?" Ian asked after school in front of the red bricked building.
"I, uh, got kicked out of my last school. My mom wasn't too happy about that."
"Oh, tough luck, huh?" Ian asked not caring.
Before her best friend got too mean, Rayn said, "Oh, I'm sorry-we both are," she shot a look at her friend and he looked away. "Bye, Grover. Come on Ian. You have to walk me home." She waved bye to her crippled friend and tugged on Ian's shirt sleeve to follow her. When they got out of ear distance she asked, "Why are you being mean to him? Do you hate him? He's just like us, Ian! That never happens. Plus he is the only outsider that come over to talk to us." When her friend stayed quite she went on. "He's different, Ian." She said softly. "I can tell."
"How can you tell, Rayn? By looking at him? Anyone can tell by looking at him, he's crippled!" He lashed at her.
"That's not what I meant, Ian,"
"Then what did you mean, Rayn?"
She stopped walking and looked at her angry faced friend. She didn't know what she meant. She could just tell Grover was different, just like how she could tell Ian was different. "I don't know." She said barley above a whisper. "I just know, okay? Ian, I have to get going. I'll call you later when I get home."
Ian looked surprised. "But, Rayn, you said-"
"I know what I said." She started walking faster, almost a jog. "I have to go Ian, someone is waiting at my house for me and I need to be there alone." She called over her shoulder to her friend. The sandy haired boy just starred after his best friend.
When Rayn turned on her street she was shocked to see that her lie came true. It was her crippled friend, Grover, with a middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard.
She stopped running a half a block away from her town house and started to slow down, taking her time, thinking if she should leave or go strait up to Grover and demand what he's doing at her house. She knew what Ian would pick. He would pick the second one. He was so brave, but Rayn wasn't. She is more of 'I laugh at the face of danger and then go hind till it goes away' kind of girl. Since Ian wasn't here- "Grover? Grover was the mystery person waiting at your house?" Rayn didn't need to turn around to know whose voice it belonged to.
She stopped walking all together so that Ian could catch up to her. "Yeah, I guess he is." She looked at the boy and he starred back. "What should we do?"
Ian looked at the couple. "Let's go in the backdoor." He started to walk and then stopped when he noticed that his friend was not following. "Come on, Rayn. It's going to be fine." Rayn looked at Ian with a scared expression that only Ian knew. He went back over to his friend and took her hand. "There is nothing to be scared of. And if somehow Grover is evil, I think we can out run him." He gave her a smile.
"You're right. But if something does go wrong my mom isn't home."
"I'll call my mom to come over as soon as we get inside. I'll tell her that your mom had to stay late at work and you don't want to leave your house and she'll come over. Simple."
Rayn nodded and the best friends walked hand in hand to the backyard.
When they got inside Rayn's little yellow town house, Ian went to the phone to call his mom and Rayn went to the door. She planed on locking it because she's that paranoid, but stopped. She heard a muffled Grover talking on the other side of the door. "She should be here by now. They left before me." there was a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Chiron."
"Don't be, Grover. You're new at this." A muffled voice said that she didn't recognize. "Why don't you knock one more time?"
She heard a moving on the other side and backed up a step, mentally smacking herself in the face for not locking the door.
Knock, knock. "Rayn, Are you home? It's me, Grover, your friend from school? Rayn's' mom? Anybody?" He sounded so sad but there was hope in his voice, like he knew Rayn was right there, on the other side of the door, listening.
She moved closer to the voice, to open the door and let them in. But when her hand was an inch from the handle, someone's hands grabbed her hand and the other went around her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The mystery hands spun her around and found Ian's face. He moved his hand from her hand and put his pointer finger to his mouth telling her to be quite.
The best friends heard a female voice "Um, hello can I help you with something?"
Ian gasped and said "Mom."
"Miss. Cannon! Nice to see you again." Said the voice they didn't recognize.
"Chiron? What are you doing here?"
"I'm afraid to say that I'm here for Rayn Bell and your son."
"Well, I'm afraid to say you can't have him. Shannon would say the same for Rayn if she was here. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get inside."
Rayn and Ian ran into the kitchen and sat down in the chairs, their bodies were acting like they were there the whole time but their faces said other wise.
Rayn was looking into her pale-faced friend, him, doing the same at her. Both thinking the same thing; What's going on? Who is Chiron and why does he want us? No one ever wants us. Ever. Worst of all they know mom, and they want to take us away from our only family member.
Ian looked down at his hands that where folded on the table. Rayn closed her eyes listening to the mumbled voices out side her front door. It seemed like they were arguing in a very friendly manner, and Ian's mom was losing.
Ian lifted his gaze to his curly haired best friend. "Rayn," Ian said in a whisper, "It turns out Grover is evil."
Rayn's eyes slowly opened as the words sank into her head. "He…" she fell silent. The friends sat and listened as the argument continued just a few feet away from them.
Ian's moms' voice got louder as she protested.
"No!" Rayn jumped at Ian's mother's sudden outburst.
Ian leaned on the table getting as close as the table will allow him too. "What's wrong?" Ian whispered.
"I just never heard your mom yell before…that's all." Rayn said at the same leave Ian's voice was at.
He smiled. "She doses it ever day at 3:30 after I get home from school." He leaned back in his chair with his thinking face on. Rayn noticed that his muscles where very relaxed for the situation the friends were in.
We might be taken away from are moms! The only family we have left that actually want us around, and you're not even worried! Rayn thought.
Somewhere on the other side of the door, Ian and Rayn could hear a faint ringing of a phone.
"Excuse me I have a phone call." Ian's mother said. "Hello? *silence* I'm at Shannon Bell's house right now, can I call you back, Bill? *silence* Oh, all right. You have to go to the subway on 8th street and then turn right to find the shop."
As Miss. Cannon kept talking, Ian stood up almost making his chair fall on the floor but he caught it just in time. "I got it. I know what we have to do." He said. He crept over to the stairs and went up them just as quietly. Rayn was too scared to move from her seat she just sat there until a minute passed and Ian came back down with a bag.
"And what do we have to do, Ian?" Rayn's voice was filled with confusion and cracked on Ian's name.
Ian handed Rayn the bag, but before he let go of it he said "We're leaving."
Rayn gave her friend a look of disbelief. The sandy haired boy motioned for Rayn to look in the bag. When she did, the bag had money, a first aid kit, blankets and some food.
Rayn realized it was the bag they packed when they decided to run away in 3rd grade because it was the time the principal of their new school threatened to call home and tell their mothers about their learning disability, their sudden outburst of throwing objects at the windows and about them 'talking to themselves'. They were so scared and ashamed that day that they didn't want to go home. So they stole some supplies from the local drug store, and saved their lunch money that day. But when they didn't go home their parents found them in the park, planning how they would survive in the outside world.
But their moms weren't mad at them. So the friends decided to keep the bag for the next time they got in trouble and really going to leave home. So the bag went to Rayn, since she was the most responsible 3rd grader they knew.
A week after that day, Rayn stuffed the bag under her bed, away from her mother. And when ever she found loose change or had money from Christmas, doing chores or for her birthday, she would put it in the bag. It became her piggy bank. She never really bothered to take out the other stuff because she never once thought that they were actually going to leave.
But, boy was she wrong.
"Leaving…and where would we be going, Ian?" Rayn said giving the bag back, a little bit of shoving it back, to Ian.
"Well, like I said before. My mom starts to yell at 3:30, its about 4:00 by now. And that phone call? She doesn't know anyone named Bill. She would have told me that she did. So she wants us to go to the subway, meet your mom there at a shop that's to the right of the subway!" Ian had a triumphant grin on his face that made Rayn smile.
"Fine. You know I'd go anywhere with you anyway, so what's the point in pretending." The friends start for the back door. "Oh, we might need to get new food-" Rayn was cut off by the door opening.
The best friends froze. To afraid to turn around or run away.