A/N: And now we're at Chapter 2! I'm really excited for this one, so let's get right to it!
She got a lot of nice comments about her outfit that day.
Mostly, the students and teachers would squeal at the soft tiers of her green skirt because it apparently made her look cuter than normal. Mercedes would force a smile in reply and simply say that she wanted to look special today.
One particularly obnoxious brunette who looked like the kind to cause trouble stared at her with a mischievous grin plastered on her face. "Is it because you're going on your first date today?" She asked while hitting the pause button on her music.
That was enough to make Mercedes cringe and hurry away to her locker. The girl's laughter behind her sounded like a hyena.
She figured that it would be useless to mention the Creative Symphony whenever someone asked why she was dressed up. Again, the information that her mother had gotten at Parent's Night had been sketchy and it was by sheer dumb luck that it turned out to be true. It was probably because it wasn't even considered an official organization by the school. Had Mercedes asked around, she probably would have been told that it was just a dumb rumor among students meant to entice them to join clubs.
And the more she thought about it, the more she became worried. What if it turned out she was joining a street gang? Maybe Ingway and the other members of the club were part of some conspiracy to bring down society. What if they had committed murder?
Stopping at her locker, the blonde with braids placed a hand over her beating chest and took a few deep breaths. She needed to stay calm for this. It was no use getting riled up and overexerting herself. The last thing she wanted to have today was palpitations.
Lunch went by and so did her next two classes. During the final class of the day, the clock seemed to tick on forever. It certainly didn't help that Mr. Belial's attempts at droll continued to fall flat and caused more groaning than amusement. Mercedes ended up resorting to scribbling in her notebook to keep herself entertained.
Following an explanation on the throat's role in the digestive system, the class sighed with relief when Mr. Belial glanced at the clock and told them that, with five minutes left in the day, they could take out their cell phones or music players. At first, Mercedes didn't bother with this. She instead put her books away and checked her physical appearance in her hand mirror.
She hadn't bothered with any makeup, but maybe she should have grabbed some of her mother's pink lipstick? At least the flower pins weren't crooked. The collar of her shirt, while a bit lower than what she was used to, was still enough to hide the scar on her chest from her surgery last year. Thank goodness for that.
She heard her phone vibrate and she quietly plucked it from the outside pocket of her tote bag. The message was from…Velvet? She could remember Krois having mentioned her name while they were talking, but all he had said was that she was Ingway's sister. Cautiously, she opened the message and read the text.
Hello, it's Velvet! I'm Ingway's twin sister and another Creative Symphony member. He gave me your number so that I could give you directions to Hindel's.
It's really simple. Once you exit the school, take a right down Ella Street and into downtown Fordsmith. At first intersection, take the crosswalk to your left and continue down Horn Avenue. Hindel's is located between "Merlunch's Kitchen" and "Merine's Bakery and Sweets." Can't wait to meet you there!
Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she hadn't looked into directions to Hindel's before school today. She would have been wandering around town like an idiot all afternoon.
Today, the armchairs in the reading space felt rather uncomfortable for some reason.
Ingway caught Velvet looking at him with lips curved in a slight smile. Ingway replied with a frown before glancing back at his phone. His last text from Mercedes had been received exactly two minutes ago.
I'm at the crosswalk! I should be there in…I dunno. However long it takes to get there!
Oh, how he had hoped after she first texted him last night that she wasn't the kind to use emoticons. Instead, he was greeted with a small smiley face at the end of that sentence, and had already been given the pleasure of one that indicated nervous sweating two texts earlier.
"She should really be texting you instead of me," Ingway's finger twirled around one of his honey golden locks, a physical characteristic shared with Velvet. "You are the friendlier of us two."
Velvet turned a page over in the copy of The Witch's Stone that she was reading. She was still smiling as she placed her cheek upon her knuckles. "She trusts you better than she does me. You're the only one that she's received multiple texts from."
Ingway rolled his eyes. "Yes, but she also knows that I'm a conceited asshole. And why would she trust me based on a few texts? She probably knows as much about me as much as she knows about politics."
"Just as you know almost nothing about her. I would dare call you a hypocrite considering that you're already characterizing her as an idiot," Velvet replied closing her book. Ingway wrinkled his nose, but before he could say anything, his phone vibrated in his hand.
I'm outside, it said. Ingway's reply came quickly.
Then get inside.
A moment later, the bell hanging above the door chimed softly and the shop was greeted by surprisingly light footsteps. Ingway's gaze fell upon the front of the shop, watching as Mercedes made her first physical appearance.
She was…rather small. And it almost looked as though she had tried to make herself look like a flower of sorts, complete with a set of white blossom hairpins. It was a stark contrast to the dark violets, browns, and blues Ingway was used to wearing with an occasional splash of gold or white.
Crap, his mind had gone into a simplified tangent over details again.
It was Velvet who waved Mercedes over and the girl who Ingway would have mistaken for a first year hurried over to the reading area. Oh no, the tote bag was designer, too. Ingway found himself sucking in his lips and briefly closing his eyes.
Opening his eyes, he found Mercedes leaning over just slightly as she played with the hem of her shirt. "You two are Velvet and Ingway?" She asked as her eyes darted from one to the other. Velvet's smile was gentle as she clasped her hands together.
"Of course! And you must be Mercedes! It's a wonder that I haven't been able to spot you around school if we're in the same year!"
Mercedes' cheeks flushed slightly. Easily embarrassed type, Ingway mused as she replied meekly. "I've only got two mainstream classes right now. Most of the classes I'm in are ones to help me get accustomed to the school environment again."
"Your text to Ingway said you were held back from graduating with last year's class because of an illness…" Velvet said. When she saw the worried face Mercedes was making, she quickly put her hands up in defense. "But it's okay. We won't hold anything against you for it. Just let any one of the club's members know if you need something, all right?"
Mercedes' eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You say that like I'm already a member or something…"
"Well, you want to join us, don't you?" Velvet placed her book on the nearby table and stood up. "I see no point in denying your request. Right, Ingway?" She looked over her shoulder at her brother.
"Maybe, as long as she doesn't cause trouble," he said getting up. "Otherwise, I'll have her head."
He heard Mercedes gulp and caught Velvet giving him a glare. He huffed loudly, but only continued with "I suppose we shouldn't dawdle any longer. We have to show her our little studio, now don't we?"
Velvet gave him a curt a nod before looking back at Mercedes with a smile. "So, why don't we move along? We have to walk a small ways to get there."
"O-okay," Mercedes tugged on the strap of her bag as Velvet walked towards the door and motioned for her to follow. When Mercedes looked at Ingway, he just shrugged before following Velvet out the door. Mercedes trotted quietly behind him.
The three of them walked together down the sidewalk with Velvet leading the way and Mercedes tailing behind. She kept glancing idly down at her shoes, a little nervous to speak to the young man walking with his hands resting behind his head.
"So, um…" Mercedes quickened her pace so that she was walking next to him. "How many people are there in the Creative Symphony?"
"Six," Ingway said. "Two of the others are students from our school."
"And the other two…?" Mercedes asked.
"Well, one of them is the older sister of one of our comrades and she's in college. The last one is her friend," Ingway looked up at the clear blue sky as they came to an intersection. "Speaking of relationships, those sisters are actually my half-siblings."
"Really?!" Mercedes gasped as the light turned green. Velvet glanced over her shoulder and giggled before looking ahead down the road.
"Same father," Ingway said gruffly. "The whole thing is complicated, though. You're better off not asking about it."
"I can live with that," Mercedes watched as Velvet took a right down a particularly worn-down street. This area of town looked…rather old. The more well-kept buildings still seemed to be at least three or four decades old and the street and sidewalk had plenty of cracks. Some even had grass and flowers growing between them. "Where is this…?"
"Ancient history," Ingway deadpanned. Velvet made a gesture with her hand as they each stepped over a rather large pothole in the ground.
"Fifty to sixty years ago, this place used to be a popular housing district in the town. Fast forward to now and, because of a failure in the economy, you'll mostly find friendly bohemians turning the buildings into their own little spaces."
"And our space happens to be the biggest," Ingway said as he and Velvet paused in front of an alleyway. Mercedes looked down it as her eyebrow rose a bit. It was a short one and it led to a small, grassy meadow with a forest in the background. Standing in the center of it was what looked to be an old warehouse of some sort.
Velvet and Ingway walked down the alley and into the meadow with confidence. Mercedes awkwardly stepped over cans and a puddle, a little concerned about accidentally getting dirt on her clothes. Her mother would have a fit if she ruined her outfit.
A great many daisies bloomed among the tall green grasses in the meadow. Mercedes put her hands on her chest as she approached the aged building. None of the windows featured glass, but some of them appeared to have colorful curtains hanging within. Velvet chuckled at they came to the metal door on the side.
"Would you believe that we have electricity in here?" She said opening it. "It took ages to set up, though!"
Mercedes was the first to enter the building and was met with a glorious sight.
The inside of the warehouse was as bright as the meadow outside. The walls and crates were decorated with fabric, lights, and framed illustrations. There were also tables and chairs all around and the space resembled more of a massive living room than the inside of an abandoned warehouse. There were even two desks with computers, an electric piano, and packages that contained things like clay and Papier-mâché.
Velvet turned to Mercedes beaming. "So, what do you think of our backyard set-up?"
Mercedes' red eyes were shining as a smile spread across her face. "I love it!"
Somehow, Ingway managed a smile and a snort.