What does green mean?
I woke up the way I usually did. I felt my face to make sure I was still Tessa the 'Human'. My eyes snapped open. I looked over my shoulder to make sure I was still different to everyone else around, and sure enough I saw a single faint green person standing beside my bed. I rolled over forcing myself to get up even with the knowledge that I was now 'Tessa Babysitter' and I would have to take the little horrors to school.
There is no way to describe my family accurately. They are all so different to each other. Except my little sisters. They are identical twins. They do everything together and the same. I have a theory… I think they were one person at birth but then a medical marvel occurred and they split. They don't speak English either. They speak a language that can never be taught, Twinish.
My brother, the youngest of us kids, is a chef… Of sorts. His specialty is mud. He has decided that since no-one at school will eat his mud pies that his family would love to.
My parents are out, AS ALWAYS. They say they are heightening our social status, but basically that's posh for we go out, get drunk, and party. That always leaves me babysitting, AND I DON'T GET PAID!
I walked in to the kitchen. There was a note on there fridge.
Make sure they brush
Their teeth!!
-Mum
She didn't even say "hi" or "thanks for looking after them." No… she cares about their teeth more than me.
I eventually got to school after feeding, dressing and walking my brother and sisters to their primary school. I strolled though the main corridor with my earphones in trying to drown out the whispers of "that's Tessa the loner." At school I'm 'Tessa the loner,' at home I'm 'Tessa the Babysitter' with my friends I'm 'Tessa the quiet one.'
The reason for my various names all comes down to the same thing. In the simplest form, I see things around people that others don't. For example, if my mum saw one person in a room I would see about 30. What I see is one human and twenty-nine different coloured shadowy people like an entourage that I cn hear talking.
Each shadowy person is pink, red, white or orange, except for mine. I have only a single green shadowy person. I was just too different from everybody else. But the entourages has a meaning… everything has a meaning just sometimes we don't know it.
I had found out from a very early age that pink people stood for people who love you and that red meant the person who you were in love with. I took me longer to recognise that white members are sort of like protection or intuition. The orange was all the bad things about a person. All of this was on display to me.
I could found the perfect friend just my looking at the person's entourage. That was if I let myself. You see it is very distracting trying to talk to the human and not the entourage that accompanies them. So I don't talk much… at all really.
My science class is very very disruptive. My teacher can't take it so he often walks out of class. Today he stuck around long enough to introduce the new student
I had my head down, ear phones in, sound up so loud that the person two seats away from me was humming along. I was sending out all the right signs. Not that that stopped the new kid from walking over to introduce himself.
The first thing I noticed was that he had his shoes on the wrong foot. I looked up to see an average skinny boy whose face reminded me of a monkey. He obviously hadn't heard about me yet because he tried to start a conversation. I decided the fresh meat needed to be treated nicely. So I tried to be nice
"Hey" the boy muttered in my direction." Hello" I said in a monotone, turning my head back down to the desk." You know what they said about her, she usually doesn't talk, she's trying to be nice" one of his protectors said. "Say something funny" another one countered." No say something smart" another protector interrupted. "Did you know camels have three eyelids?" he blurted out. The look on his face was priceless. It was although he was trying to summon the words back in to his mouth. But I think he got half the response he wanted. I giggled.
I hadn't realized until then that the whole class had been listening to us. My single giggle sent a wave of 'did she just giggle?' though the class. The new kid was blushing. "My name…." He started to say but one of his showdown protectors stopped him by saying, "lie make up a name. Your name is a girl's name lie" "My name is Jesse" He said proudly." fine don't take my advice" the same protector said sourly. But Jesse just walked away. As he was leaving "I'm Tessa" I said under my breath "Tessa Loner"
I spent the rest of class stealing glances at Jesse. Studying his every move. I had leant from my observations that Jesse was already being picked up by the artsy clique.
It became natural in Science that Jesse would spend most of the lesson at my desk and talk to me. I now giggled on a regular basis. He teased me that I was softening up but we were both glad that it no longer sent a wave of whispers though the class.
…
I woke up the way I usually did. I felt my face to make sure I was still Tessa the 'Human,' but today something was different. I screamed.
Today I had acquired a pink and white shadowy person. I had never realized that to get a protector you had to be loved or love. I guess you don't need protection if you never let anyone near you.
…
I was in science waiting for the teacher to leave again. The class was being its usual noisy, stupid self. So I was left to doodle on my science book (which was empty) when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
When I turned around I noticed two things simultaneously. The first was obvious. It was Jesse. The second shocked me. He had also acquired two new members to his already huge entourage. A red one and a white one.
"Cool picture, Who is it?" Jesse asked, honestly curious. I looked down at my page where I had been drawing the two new members of my entourage. "Long story, I will tell you some other time" I replied. "That's good she wants to see you later" the new protector piped up." she's gorgeous" the new red member said absentmindedly, "ask her out" ."I would love that" I said but I realized too late that I was replying to the entourage not him. That was why I didn't talk. "Love what?" Jesse asked." Nothing… I just though… no nothing" I mumbled I wish I had the guts to ask him. "I was thinking" Jesse started. "I know" I butted in. He laughed. "Any way do you want to come sit with me at lunch?". "Seriously?" I said in disbelief while studying his expression. "Yeah the guys would love to see your drawings."."Oh" I sighed, that was the reason.
When the bell went, Jesse grabbed my hand and led me to his table. When everyone had arrived I was waiting for the 'who is here, what is said, never ever leaves this circle' like my old friends would always do. But it never came.
I woke up the next morning not needing to feel my face to see if I was human. I could tell from the anticipation I was feeling. I rolled over, only out of habit. Again I was shocked. I now have two protectors and my green person had been replaced by a red one.
I had science first thing. Jesse approached me before class and as I had expected he had gained one pink person and one white one. "Hey, what's new?" He asked. Oh… well everything. I thought to myself but I just answered "Not much. How about you?". "Well I mum had a pool put in" he said.. "Aww I wish I had a pool". "Ask her, ask her now" The new protector said. "Well do you want to come over this afternoon and help us where it in?". "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes" I said a little too eagerly. "Okay cool, come on we will be late for science." He said as he towed me to science. I didn't want to go. I could have stayed there talking to him forever. I would never get bored. In science instead of walking over to my desk he just sat next to me all lesson.
…
"Home sweet home" Jesse stated as we walked though his garden like it was a ritual. As we walked I wondered what we would look like from the outside. We would look normal I decided. But we were anything but normal. Jesse was a fantastically wonderful drawer. Me on the other hand, I saw things. Not only that but I used to have only one single green person in my entourage.
I had never before tried to work out what green meant. I just accepted it. But now that it was gone I began to wonder. Sickness maybe, that could be right I was kind of mentally sick but no then I would have seen it in other people. Maybe Envy, that could also be right, I envied everyone around me. But again I would have seen that in other people. Maybe green showed growth… that could be very true I had grown so much over only a couple months. But the green had always been there I had only started to grow about 2 months ago and I would have seen it in children.
Maybe I didn't have to know. Maybe I didn't want to. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I wasn't that different after all.
"Do I have to drag you the whole way?" Jesse's voice snapped my out of my epiphany. He had been pulling me along while I thought. I started walking without letting go of his hand. I was going to tell him. I was going to tell him now.
We sat down on the couch and he went and he got me a coke. I guess he wasn't dancing around things any more. "You're so different to everybody else" he said. "I know, there is a reason." I answered." You used to exclude your self". "I know, there is a reason". "Your drawings are like nothing I have ever seen"
"I know, there is a reason…
Let me tell you about it."