This is a whole bunch of short stories including Anubis and Sadie, and once in a very long time Carter and Zia.
Now, I just finished reading the Throne of Fire and I was horrified to find Sadie in "love" with Walt. So now, I am choosing my side in this horrible love triangle and realized I will always be a Sadie/Anubis shipper.
And for all you Sadie/Walt people out there, I mean you no ill will; it's just that Sadie and Anubis are the perfect couple in the world. Who cares if Anubis is five thousand years older than her? Isn't that the same thing with Bella and Edward in Twilight? They are still together somehow (Team Jacob for the win!) so why can't Anubis and Sadie find love too?
But no. Mr. Perfect (aka Walt) walks in and Sadie falls heads over heals for him. *gag*
*Sighs in defeat.*
This will be the first story in my many short stories.
Let's pretend that Sadie and Anubis are regular people at a High School. Sadie is one of the most popular girls in school while Anubis the Goth is not. And, somehow, by luck you say? Maybe, but they are forced to sit next to each other in History class by their horrible teacher, Mr. Darling. Let's see what will happen to them.
Report Card, Subject: Love, Grade: F
Some people call it luck, others call it fate. Me on the other hand? I call it Mr. Darling.
You see, he's a chubby man with beady little eyes that stare into you like a vulture. He has this way where when he walks, everything (I mean everything) gets knocked down somehow or run over. Some people call him Mr. Bulldozer, and it's not hard to see why.
"Anubis," he said, looking at me. Yes, I know, it's a very weird name. Blame it on my mother, who was obsessed with the Egyptian Gods at the time of my birth. Now, she's moving on to things like Pokémon and the two-hundred kinds of potatoes (she's determined to eat them all) before she dies. Now, back to Mr. Darling, who is now staring at me like I'm a piece of road kill and he is the hunter. "You'll be sitting next to Sadie Kane."
I can hear a groan coming from the back of the room, along a couple good lucks from her friends, Liz and Emma. They are now rubbing her back and saying that it's only for one quarter until we get out of here and summer begins.
Well, I though, it's not like I want to sit next to you either Sadie. I picked up my black backpack and slung it over my shoulder. Mr. Darling was pointing at the seats where we would be sitting at. I made my way towards them, trying to dodge legs that aim to trip me.
I guess it really is ironic how teachers put the good kids next to the bad and then stick them in the back. What? Do they expect some of our goodness to rub off on the bad kids or something? Just to let you know, I don't think any quietness rubs off on Sadie Kane and lives.
Sadie is the kind of girl everyone somehow loves, but she doesn't love you back. She's the kind of girl who is fiercely protective of her friends and sits over in the quad at lunch with the rest of the popular people. Even worse, she has this cute British accent and when she says "bloody" instead of our regular American curses guys literally swoon.
She plops down on the chair next to me and glares furiously at Mr. Darling.
I'm never going to get through History class, I think to myself.
The next day, I could have sworn that Mr. Darling was out to get us. The whole day was on partner work, and guess who I had to work with? Sadie Kane.
Sadie Kane, deep down inside I'm guessing, is smart. But the popular kids love to stay at the bottom of the class average for some reason I have not figured out.
Sadie was good at explaining things, like it or not. We were working on a skit we had to present in front of the class on the growth of America, and I was really, really, lost. Sadie, on the other seemed to be able to open the text book, scan the pages (in a record of 52 seconds) and then look at me with a look that said, "Goth boy, this is elementary ― no wait. It's preschool."
She sighed. "You really don't get this, do you?"
I was to dumbstruck to speak. Well, in a way. Sadie was nice, but had made so many mistakes by not thinking before she spoke, but overall . . . not going to win the "best person to care for bunnies" award.
"Yes, or no?"
"No."
"How," she asked, "can you not get this? Look right here. In the end of each chapter is a summary. Just read that, somehow make a skit out of that, and then bam! You've got yourself an A+ skit." Ok, I take it back. Sadie was smart when it came to cutting corners.
Much to my horror, she had taken out a mirror and was putting lip gloss on right in front of me (not that she didn't look good in it but . . .) and now she seemed to be puckering her lips or something.
It's not my fault. I've grown up without any siblings and a mom who I've never met. Girls tend to . . .umm . . . freak me out in a way. Especially girls you want to impress like Sadie Kane.
"How about," she said, staring at her reflection in the mirror, "we go over to my house or something today and finish this up later, because my hair needs fixing." Then, without me confirming our arrangement (hey, I should have been able to at least agree. What if I had a dentist appointment or something in the afternoon?) she stood up and told Mr. Darling she needed to use the restroom, which left me all alone working on "our" project.
Curse you Mr. Darling, I thought, but then also thank you.
Sadie living with her grandparents shocked me. No, not like: whoa, there's an old dude. Shocked like, "What's that old dude doing in your house?"
Sadie stared at me like I had just came back from the mental ward or something. "That 'old dude' is my grandfather." He was sleeping on the couch with his head back and drool coming out of his mouth. His glasses were pushed onto his forehead and the TV was blasting a rugby game. Even though I didn't know the slightest thing about Rugby, I knew that this one guy wasn't supposed to be laying on a stretched with blood covering his nose. I came closer for a better look.
"Anubis!" Sadie called. I turned around and found her holding her grandfathers head and trying to wipe the drool off with a tissue. "Can you turn the TV off for me?" I did, but not before getting one last look that the guy on the stretcher.
"Where should I put this bag?" I asked, then looked around the room. It smelled oddly like fresh cookies and old people (which is not a scent you should ever combine) and it seemed as if all the lights were turned on. Now I know who to blame for global warming. It's not the cows, I thought, it's the old people.
Sadie motioned towards a small wooden table. "Just sit down and wait for a moment."
I did, and out of the corner of my eyes saw her throw away the slobber covered tissue. Sadie sat down next to me, but not before I realized how beaten and tired she looked.
"Where do you want ― oh yeah! Do you want a drink or something?" I shook my head no. "Ok then, lets continue then."
We worked for what seemed like hours before I announced I had to go home.
I was standing by her front door when Sadie put her hand on my arm. I just stared at where our skin connected like it was burning a hole in my leather jacket. Sadie pulled her hand away.
"Just, don't tell anyone about my grandparents . . . ok?" She asked.
"Why do you even live with them anyways," I asked. "Why not just live with your parents?" Bad question to ask, because Sadie's face grew hard and I could literally feel her pulling away from me.
I turned to leave, and halfway down the steps I heard Sadie say: "They're dead."
"Oh," I replied. I didn't know that, and I bet a whole bunch of kids at school didn't either. It was dirty gossip, and I now had enough to bump Erik Jones out of his title of "king of gossip". But one look at Sadie's face and I knew that I would never do that to her. Nope, never, I vowed. Maybe there was hope for me yet.
"I won't tell anyone," I said, and then put on my best smile, which is really hard for a Goth kid dressed in black.
Sadie's face lit up, and for a second her walls seemed to come down and I saw a different Sadie: radiating, shining, Sadie who was just waiting to be shown to the world. But then, as if it never happened, popular Sadie came back at waved good-bye to me. I waved back, but I was only waving at the mahogany door of her home.
The next day at school, in the morning before even the first bell, I saw Sadie walking to school. Now me, being the gentleman that I am, pulled over and offered her a ride. At first I thought she would decline, my old beat up truck not high up there on the popular list , but she smiled and opened the passenger sides door.
"So," I said, offering her a part of my McDonald's cookie, "how's school?" Lame, I know, you can shoot me later for it. "I mean, what about like homework and is ― do you like Mr. Darling or is it only me who he seems to hate and your hair looks nice today." Shoot me now.
But really, Sadie's hair did look really nice. It was dyed this odd chocolate brown color at the tips, making it look like more natural highlights. Sadie giggled at my comment and took another bite of my cookie.
"Mr. Darling's a bloody cow," she said, "with horns of the devil and a tail to go with it."
I laughed, which I hadn't done in a long time. "Don't forget his fatness."
She shook her head. "I always thought it was blubber, because for some reason the classroom always seems cold to me. Like Antarctica."
"I like Antarctica," I said stupidly.
Sadie nodded. "Fine by me. Just remember to get me a snow globe when you go there."
I raised my eyebrow. Snow globe? I thought. Then Sadie elaborated, "I have this collection in my room."
I think that that morning was the best in my life, especially when Sadie and I got out of the car at school, all eyes on us. Sadie didn't seem to even notice , but for me, I was worrying if I had any crumbs on me and if my hair was ok. People began to whisper, which made me really uncomfortable.
"People are staring," I said to her.
She finished the last bites of the cookie and then wiped her mouth with her sleeve (very un-lady like)."Oh really? Why don't you stare back?"
"Because," I countered, "there are like two hundred people looking at us!"
"Stare back," she said again, before disappearing into the building. I would have followed, just to get out of everyone looking at me, but I had no business hanging out in there. So, hesitantly I walked over to the far side of the school where the Goths and Emo kids hung out.
They hadn't heard the news of me and Sadie arriving together, so I was still safe there. But soon I wouldn't be, and there would be no safe haven for me anymore.
"Hey ―" Walt said, throwing a ketchup packet at me. Walt, man, how I hated that dude. He was right up there with Sadie on the popularity chart and was still rising fast. Right now, he was glaring at me. "Watch it," he finished before leaving me. His threat had worked, and I walked to my next class looking over my shoulder every so often.
People think that Sadie and Walt are a couple, when they're really not. They just look good together, and people tend to only go for looks. Walt's big. Not beefy and chubby big like Mr. Darling, more like muscular and 24 hour fitness model big.
I can't compete with him, and he knows that. I have some muscle, trust me, but I don't have the drop dead looks like Walt that makes girls swoon. I may be a Goth, but I don't wear black eyeliner and stuff to make me look half dead. Goth's were my safe place where people accepted me, so I became one of them.
By the time History class came, the day had been traveling by like a blur. People staring, trying to trip me in the cafeteria, Goth's haven't heard about me driving Sadie to school . . .
But History stopped time dead in its tracks. Halfway through class, Mr. Darling had gotten a call from the office and told Sadie to pack your bags. Or in other words: "Don't come back here, take everything that will remind you of me, and have a nice day." But I don't really think he meant the last part.
Sadie glanced at Emma and Liz and hesitantly packed her books. Without even a good-bye to me, she left the room biting the side of her lip.
Sadie didn't reappear for the rest of the day. At first, I was tempted to ask a few of her friends if they knew what happened, but I didn't want them getting the wrong impression.
So the rest of the day I dragged my feet through the hallways and tried to keep my mind focused on school. Who knows, I thought, maybe she just had a doctors appointment she didn't know about.
It was raining when school ended. Thunder was striking and people were trying to count how many miles away a storm was. The rain pelted my hair and by the time I made it to the safety of my truck I looked as if I had taken a shower in my clothes. People with umbrellas snickered but I didn't care.
I drove cautiously, trying to keep the tires from slipping on the road.
Up ahead I saw someone, sitting on a wooden bench being covered in rain. I squinted my eyes and realized it was Sadie!
I pulled over on the sidewalk and ran over to her, not minding at all the rain.
Her hair was soaked in rain and the brown dye had washed off. Her eyes were red and puffy and more than just rain washed down her cheeks. She looked broken and hurt and terrified all at the same time.
For a while I just stood there, unsure of what to do. I could sit down on the bench and just wait out her sobs, or I could do something even more drastic like put my arm around her. My mind was undecided, so I stood about ten feet away from her for about five minutes.
Then it began to rain harder, so hard I could literally hear the rain bouncing off of the ground. Sadie looked up at the sky and then began to walk away in the opposite direction, without even noticing me.
"Sadie!" I called.
She spun around and looked at me. At first, I could tell she wasn't sure who I was.
"Anubis?" she whispered.
And then before my mind could process anything else, she had run up to me and hugged me like her life depended on it. She buried her head into my shirt and I wrapped my arms around her. I could hear her sobbing harder now, but I knew there was nothing I could do.
So we stood there in the rain like that for what seemed like the best hours in my life, me whispering to her it would be all right and her crying.
I had learned that her grandfather had passed away so she was called out of class and that her grandfather had raised her since she was six.
"He's gone," she said, her voice muffled by my shirt.
"Yeah, but . . ." and here is the part where I say something really corny, "If you think about, he'll always be alive in your memory . . . right?"
Sadie was silent for a while, but I knew she was thinking about what I had just said. Then she tightened her grip around me (not enough to suffocate me or anything) and began to sob some more.
"You're not going to ever leave me like he did, right?" It was a weird question, considering that I've only known her for a few days, but somehow I had already learned more than Liz and Emma. They just saw Sadie's outside layer, while I had to venture inside of her and unlock something that she hadn't had in a long time.
"I won't."
"You won't tell anyone about this, right?"
I was shocked at first. "You mean us?"
"No," she said, much to my relief. "I'm fine if the whole world knows."
And then she kissed me.
A/N: What do you think? Read and Review!
