Chapter 2: The following summer.
Jaleena snapped her book closed. It was hard to concentrate on history when you had a friend sulking in the nearby window box. She looked over at Violet, who was staring moodily out the window. Not that there was any reason to stare out that window when the only view was the side of anther rundown building. "Okay, Vi. I've asked you three times what's wrong, and you've just shrugged each time. If you don't answer me this time, I'm going to throw this book at you. Got it? Are you ready? So: What. Is. Wrong?"
Violet was petite with light blue hair that was normally pulled back in a ponytail. Today she'd left it down to hang around her forlorn features. She sighed again and turned to stare down at her webbed feet. "It's Crake. He's got a new friend and barely spends any time with me." She wiggled her toes. "Maybe he's spending so much time with someone else because I have such weird feet?" Violet was 17 now. For some reason, Jaleena thought it was strange that she, the younger of the two, was going to have to be the voice of reason.
Jaleena tested the weight of the book in her hands, still considering throwing it at her friend. Maybe it would knock some sense into her. "Violet, Crake adores you. He's just made a new friend. That's normal, right?"
Violet turned moodily, a frown marring her delicate features. "No. It's not normal! How is it normal that this weird kid turns up and is just so much better at everything than I am?"
Sighing, Jaleena sat up. "Okay, okay! Not normal then. Definitely strange. Definitely. Tell me about him then, and we'll get to the bottom of everything." She lowered her voice and tried an attempt at a detective-y accent. When Violet just glared, Jaleena shrugged and prompted, "You might feel better if you talk about it."
That seemed to be what Violet was waiting for. She launched into a speech that she must have been planning for some time. "He's just suspicious. I mean, how did they meet? They picked each other's pockets! At the same time! And neither of them noticed until they went to clean out the other's wallet. Then, they both go back to find each other to get their money back and to beat the living daylights out of each other. And then all they do is laugh! It's like they're suddenly best friends." She threw her hands up in the air. "But me. I don't think it's funny. It's weird. How can Crake even trust the guy? I mean he's a pickpocket for goodness sake!" Jaleena tried to ignore the irony considering that was how most of them put food on the table. "Not only that, but he's American!" Violet spit out the word as if it were poisonous. "How can we trust someone from a country that had its own civil war!" Jaleena glanced at the book she was holding. Obviously, she was the only one who cared about history. Seriously. Did the French Revolution ring any bells? Yet Violet went on. "Now Crake doesn't even want me to go with him when he's out working. He meets up with Remy, and they work together. Remy can pick pockets better than me. Remy causes more effective distractions. Remy pulls in twice as much as I can. Remy is a boy! It's like I'm chopped liver! I'm stuck here alone all day long with nothing to do," Violet whined. "He's just being so selfish. He doesn't love me anymore, and I just know it's all because of my weird feet!" She wailed.
After fighting off the temptation to roll her eyes, Jaleena tried to reassure her friend, "I know that's not true! Besides, you don't have to sit here, Vi! We could go out together to do some work? We could shop? Or you could come with me to the library?" Jaleena tried to offer helpfully, but Violet's only response was to let out another wail and to dissolve into tears. At this point, Jaleena knew it was better to cut her losses. Violet was in a prime sulk, and there was no way that she'd listen to reason. She glanced at her watch. The library would only be open for another couple hours anyway, and she wanted to get some other books to read over the weekend. She slipped off the bed, waved the book at her friend, and dashed out the door, trying to not feel guilty about the self-pitied sobs erupting behind her.
She gathered some of the books she'd finished this week and headed to the kitchen to stuff them in her bag. StarFire was grumpily stirring something on the stove. "What's up, Star?" She asked, "Want to go to the library with me?"
StarFire only growled and cast her eyes to the ceiling, where they could still hear Violet crying. She ignored Jaleena's question. "Is she still moping about Crake? I say she's better off without him. She can do better anyway. He's never realized how lucky he is to have her," She bit this out and glared back down at the pot. She continued mumbling to herself, so Leena slung her bag over her shoulder and went through the back door, convinced the cat-girl wasn't actually talking to her, but more to herself.
Everyone was up in arms about this new guy Crake was hanging around with. Maybe because no one had met him yet? They were all very comfortable with each other, and she did understand feeling slightly threatened by the idea of a newcomer rocking the foundation of their happy home. But seriously, what trouble could one kid cause? They had enough to worry about with their territory growing smaller every day. If this Remy was even as half as good as Violet had said (and that was likely overdramatization), then he'd be able to pull in more for the shared pot. But if he wasn't, then that was one more mouth to feed on an already stretched budget. She frowned at the thought and tried to forget about the fact that she hadn't eaten since some stale bread and watery oatmeal at breakfast. Her stomach growled in spite of her decision to ignore it. If she'd learned one thing about teenage boys, she'd learned that they did eat—a lot. She loved Joey and Crake and would do anything for them, but the last thing they needed was one more of them around to eat more than his fair share.
At this time of day, the pickings for "work" were slim, but as she made her way to the library, she was able to extract one bill fold from a man who had left it haphazardly hanging part of the way out of his pocket. It was almost too easy to count, but it gave her enough to bring home something to help with dinner. Walking past a grocer's stall, she accidentally bumped into it, causing some fruit to fall on the ground. She yelped and began to apologize profusely to the vendor, carefully slipping a couple apples into her sack while she "helped" restore them to their place in the bin. She left the woman smiling and waving behind her, completely unaware that she'd been swindled.
Perhaps this was due to the fact that Leena looked completely sweet and innocent. Today she wore her short black hair in tiny pig tails. Her large, pale blue eyes regularly blinked slowly at strangers in an attempt to hide the intelligence behind them. (Apparently big, pale eyes, and slow blinks implied she was a bit slow-witted). She played up her figure by wearing clothes that were sometimes just a bit too small (that could also be due to the fact that they all wore what they could swipe off of clotheslines and from other people's shopping bags). And she skipped. A lot. It made her look a bit frivolous, and besides, poor people and thieves had too much to worry about to be light-hearted enough to skip. Right?
She forced her stomach to forget about the apples for the time being as she hopped up the stairs and into the dark library. She waved to the familiar old lady who worked the desk and patiently waited for her to come over and check in her books. Jaleena was a regular, and she always had to wait for books to be checked in before she could check more out. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't reached her limit on the number of books she was allowed to take with her.
She loved to read. Yes, she read some fiction, but mostly she tried to get her hands on any material that she normally would be learning in school. One of the drawbacks of living on your own with a bunch of teens was that you didn't have a guardian to check you into school, and trying to go on her own would inevitably result in being put back in the system, so she tried to teach herself—and the others when they were bored enough to listen to what she was reading. Thanking the librarian, she spent the next hour meandering through the stacks, picking up different books that caught her attention. After checking them out, she arranged them in her bag, being careful not to smash the fruit, and headed back outside.
As she stepped out the door, she glanced at the bottom of the stairs and quickly jumped back behind a pillar, peeking out around. Crake lounged against the railing halfway up the stairs with another boy and two girls. She frowned as Crake leaned close to push the hair behind one of the girl's ear and murmur something to her, winking. The girl giggled and gazed up at him with an open invitation. It seemed the other boy was flirting with the other girl as well. Jaleena ground her teeth. Maybe Violet had a right to be upset.
She pressed her back against the column for a moment, trying to cool her temper, but she could feel the air stirring around her despite her efforts to calm herself. What a jerk! If this was what happened from making new friends, perhaps Crake did need to stick with the family! How could he do this to Violet after they'd been together for so long. How long was it? She frowned, puzzled for a moment. She'd never asked that, but they'd been together for a long time. She was sure of it! He shouldn't treat her so poorly! Resolved, she stepped away from the pillar and started stomping down the stairs toward the group. Crake looked up, and she knew the moment he recognized her—and her stormy expression. He pasted on one of his fake grins, the same charming smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, the one he used when he was scamming strangers. Only this time, it was just a bit strained. The others turned to see what he was looking at.
"Crake! You low-down dog!" She started yelling while she was several feet away, and before he knew what was happening, she slung her book-laden bag at him, hitting him square in the throat and causing him to stumble down a few stairs to land on his behind, coughing and trying to catch his breath. "How could you do this to Violet, you bastard! She's at home pining over you, and you're out here flirting like you don't have a care in the world! She's been loyal to you for years!" (well, she thought it was years) "For years! And this is how you repay her?"
The girls suddenly realized the trouble, and quickly took off. The other teen stood there for a minute, watching the girls take off, and then he started laughing.
"Now Leena," Crake began, "I can—"
"Let me guess. You can explain?" She now stood just a few steps above him, her hands on her hips. "How dare you! I don't think you need to explain a thing. I'm not blind! I could see you pawing that girl." She pointed a finger down at him, "You just wait until we get home! Violet is going to be heartbroken!" At this point, she realized the other boy was still laughing. In fact, he was laughing so hard, he was bracing his weight on his knees. Apparently, this was funny. She spun on her heel, directing her anger at him. She gave him a hard shove, which landed him a few steps down on his butt as well. "And you!" She yelled. "I don't know who you think you are getting Crake into a mess like this, but you're nothing but bad news. You just get lost now, do you hear me?"
The boy just continued laughing, leaning back on one arm now, looking impossibly cute in the process. Apparently getting beat up by a girl didn't bother him. He seemed to be trying to speak every few moments, and managed to compose himself a few times, but as soon as he tried to speak, he'd begin laughing again. She clenched her fists, and the wind began to rise around them. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of his laughter, and she was only able to get control when she was startled by a hand on her shoulder. Crake had gotten to his feet, his face serious. "It's okay, Leena. Really. I can explain. Just give me a chance, and you'll understand."
They ended up at a café a few blocks away, the other boy still chuckling to himself every few minutes. Jaleena ignored him. Crake ordered a round of coffee for them as well as a mint-flavored cupcake for Jaleena. He knew she loved chocolate and rarely treated herself. In her current mood, he seemed to feel that splurging on a treat was definitely called for. She continue to glare at him, even as it was set before her, not wanting to start eating it until things were settled, when she could enjoy every bite completely. "You better start talking," she ordered as she lifted her cup to take the first sip.
"It's all a new scam, Leena. I promise." Crake explained. "We find a couple single girls, flirt with them, and make bank. See?" He began pulling several items out of his pockets, setting them on the table. There were at least two flowered wallets, and one that was covered in stickers of some of the more popular male rock stars. The wallets were followed by several pieces of jewelry, a bracelet, a couple rings, and a few single earrings. Jaleena blinked and leaned close to pick up one of the earrings. It looked like a real diamond, and a big one. When she looked back at Crake, he wore a big grin. He gestured to the diamond. "I picked that one up off an old rich lady. She was very happy to have the attention of a younger man and even gave me her hotel room number." At Jaleena's dark expression, he quickly added, "I wasn't going to go. Definitely not. I can't even remember it now. Or the hotel. What hotel was that?" He looked at his friend for help.
Shaking his head, the other boy laughed again. "He's telling the truth, chere. Besides, you really help us out this time. You made it very easy to get away from those girls quickly. It's hard getting away from the ladies when you're just so damned handsome." He smiled in what she assumed he thought was a charming way.
She scowled back at him. She definitely didn't like him. Plus, his French sounded funny. She counted that as another mark against him. She couldn't wait to tell Violet that he could barely speak properly. They'd have a good laugh about that. Another negative in her mind was the fact that he wasn't lying. He was good looking. He was tall, had short, spiked auburn hair, chiseled features, and had looked entirely too cute sprawled out on the granite stairs of the library laughing or lounging in a petite cafe chair. His features changed when he laughed, making him look young and attractive rather than his current, what she would call sleazy, expression. Perhaps what she hated most (or told herself she hated) were his intriguing eyes. They were black—not the pupil, but the actual eye. The pupil was a deep red color, hinting that perhaps he was "special" like the rest of them were. They caught her attention, and she just wanted to stare into them until they didn't seem so alluring. Stubbornly, she turned back to Crake. "So when were you going to tell us? Or at least share some of this with the rest of us?" She gestured to the tabletop.
Crake frowned. "I wasn't. At least not yet." When she opened her mouth to speak, he held up one hand. "I have my reasons, Leena. I'm trying to put it all together to save up. You're right. Violet and I have been together for a long time. I want to ask her to marry me. When I told Remy, he came up with this to help bring in more cash more quickly. Everything I've been doing on my own still goes to the family," He promised. "But this is especially for Vi. You have to swear not to tell her."
Jaleena softened just a bit. This explained all the extra time away from Violet. Naturally, if she went with him, she'd want to know why he was holding money back. And he wouldn't be able to explain that without spoiling the surprise. She reached a hand out to place on top of his. "That's so sweet, Crake. Of course I won't say anything." Her gaze swung to Remy, who was still smirking while he sipped his coffee. "What about you? What do you get out of this?"
He grinned in return, and plucked a pearl ring from the table top. "My share, of course." He leaned toward her, captured her hand and slid the ring on her finger. "And the occasional pleasant company as a side benefit." He winked and raised her hand to his lips.
"In your dreams!" She huffed as she pulled her hand away before it could reach his lips.
This time Crake laughed. "Now that that's settled, Remy is right. You could help us out with this. If you pull off that same stunt, it will get them to take off more quickly and lessen the chance of them figuring out they're missing stuff. Only next time," He rubbed at his collarbone, "Could you make sure your bag has a few less books in it? That really hurt."
"Hmpf," Jaleena scoffed. "You deserved it." She picked up her coffee and took a sip, considering. "I guess I could help when I'm not busy doing my own stuff." She looked at him. "Though you know Violet is going crazy thinking you don't care about her anymore. Today she's convinced it's because of her feet."
Crake grinned. "I think her feet are the cutest things I've ever seen. They're just so tiny!" He grinned at her. "Now, are you going to eat that cupcake or what? I know you're going to give me a piece, right? Just a bite?"