Anomaly; Part 1: Trials

Chapter 11 – Real is an Objective Word


Cody leaned back on his elbows and watched Riley and Patrick move through the water on their surfboards, almost effortlessly. Sydney and Aaron were playing closer to the beach, skim boarding or using the board to flick water at other children that were there. Rhuben and Noah had gone to find something to eat and Zack, Koto, Bailey, and Crystal were all sitting on the beach towels under the shade of the large umbrellas they brought. London decided to go to the spa with Miss Tutwiler ("The seaweed facial mask will d wonders for her drab skin!"). Miss Tutwiler agreed to chaperone the children that decided to stay in the Bahamas. The rest of them knew that she was only going for the free vacation.

Cody was iffy about going back to the beach in the wide open space where they could easily get attacked again but his concerns were immediately shot down. They were on vacation after all and they didn't want it to be spent being cooped up inside, especially since Koto was stalking around as if he was about to attack the next person that came to the door.

Cody found it odd that Zack was just sitting there on the beach towel. He would usually be up talking to other girls on vacation or try hitting on the cutie in the snack line. Hell, he even expected Zack to practically drown himself to impress Riley. But he was sitting there talking to Crystal about one thing or another and it bugged him.

It didn't bother him that they were talking, although he did notice they were closer than ususal. What bothered him was that Zack wouldn't tell him what they were talking about. Even if Zack talked to Bob about what they thought the mystery substance in mystery meat was, he'd tell Cody. But now Zack wasn't telling Cody anything like he had a secret he was keeping from his twin.

Such as now. Cody's annoyance levels rose every time Zack said something to her and then beamed when she laughed. He liked Riley. Didn't he? So why was he flirting with her of all people?

"Hey, Crystal, where's your dad?" Bailey suddenly asked, lowering the book that she held up to her face.

"Oh, he doesn't like the beach," she replied. "Something about sand getting everywhere gets on his nerves. I'm cool with it. Now I don't have to worry about him trying to throw me into the water."

"I haven't seen you get in yet," Koto commented. "Are ya scared, Kitten?"

"There are about a billion jellyfish swimming in that water as well as a few species of dolphins, crabs, fish, and sharks. If you want to get stung, pinched, or eaten to death that's fine with me," she replied, squinting out at the water.

"Wouldn't it be reversal of the food chain if a fish ate you, so to speak?" Zack questioned. She just shrugged.

"And anyway you wouldn't get stung by a jellyfish here. I mean, you could but it wouldn't hurt much. The jellyfish here are about the size of your palm with stingers about 5 to 6 centimeters long. Although it does depend on how far out you swim," Bailey said with a proud smile on her face.

"Aww. That's my little encyclopedia," Cody cooed, kissing her on the side of the head. She giggled. Koto and Zack both made faces while London made a sound of annoyance.

"Please, I don't want to see my lunch again," Rhuben commented as she and Noah came back to the group and passed around ice cream cones. Noah laughed softly, so softly that Zack almost missed it.

"Are all of you this sappy?" Koto groaned.

"Only the annoying ones," Crystal replied, digging a hole into the sand with her finger. "Oh yeah, where's Julius?"

"College. Apparently school is more important than—" She quickly stopped herself and changed her answer, "A vacation. It's not like he'd get in trouble. This is his break too but he wanted to get more work done."

"How's he related to us?" Noah laughed, a teasing gleam in his eye. "I mean, to pass up a free vacation? Must be a bit touched in the head." He paused and twisted his mouth to the side when he realized his choice of words. Rhuben's eyes harden slightly. Zack knew they were both thinking about the fact that Julius had been in a coma for a good portion of his life and, despite it being in the past, they still found it as a touchy subject.

A soft growl suddenly escaped Koto's lips and he tensed up.

"What's up, Dog Breath?" Zack asked.

Koto turned his head to the side and his eyes narrowed. They all followed his gaze and noticed a man and woman who were looking in their direction and pointing. Once they realized that they group was looking at them they turned away and went back to what they were doing, which looked like they were packing up their things to leave for the day.

"You don't think they're from that…" Zack stopped his sentence when Crystal lifted her eyebrows at him. Then he groaned mentally. Of course he couldn't say anything out loud with Bailey being around. Why did Cody have to like her so much? She was just getting in the way! "Group of…fans?" He finished lamely. "You know, if Bailey tipped 'em off to the press or something," he added, nodding to Rhuben and Noah.

"Bailey wouldn't do that!" Cody huffed. "She knows that it's important that they get as much privacy as possible. Right Bailey?"

Bailey nodded. "I wouldn't do that, I swear."

"Some fans are crazy," Rhuben muttered.

Noah then laughed. "Like Pizza Guy?" Rhuben cracked a smile and nodded as Noah laughed again.

"Who's Pizza Guy?" Crystal asked.

"This fan that had a massive crush on Riles," Patrick replied, joining the group. He shoved the front of his surfboard into the sand and shook his long dark hair, sending droplets flying everywhere. "He kept buying her favorite pizzas and wrote notes for her on it with the toppings. Should've seen his face when she turned him down. But hey, we got free pizzas for about a month." He rubbed his stomach and smiled in content, reaching into the picnic basket and bringing out a sandwich. He took a bite, chewed a few times, and then made a face. "What is this crap? Grass?" He demanded.

"No, it's Alfalfa sprouts," Bailey replied with a big smile. "Good for digestion."

"I'll take my chances clogging my arteries," he mumbled, throwing the sandwich down and going for a bag of Lays. "Ri, want some?" He asked but his question fell on deaf ears because Riley was glaring at Zack.

"Zack, leave it alone all ready!" She sighed with an eye roll. "It was half a year ago."

"The guy could've been a stalker, though," he persisted.

"Patrick would've been able to deal with him if I didn't deal with him first. It's done and over with. Let it go!" She hissed.

"You're acting like a jealous boyfriend," Noah added with a sly smile.

Zack blushed. "I'm not! I'm just concerned. She could've been hurt or somethin'."

"An ex-second-in-command of the BlackWolves? Doubtful," Koto commented offhandedly. Zack grumbled something under his breath and shoved a sandwich into his mouth, chewing rapidly out of anger or embarrassment.

Cody felt sorry for Zack. It was a touchy subject, his crush on Riley. Well, Cody couldn't even call it a crush at this point. He knew that Zack loved her, despite having a hard time telling her, showing her, and making sure she believed him. Getting teased for it was something he took in stride for making his feelings known but hated. He didn't think it was a game or something to poke fun at. He was serious about it and Zack was rarely serious about anything.

"Crys, who are Aaron and Sydney talking to?" Bailey asked.

Crystal bit her lip and Riley and Rhuben exchanged smirks. Hearing her nickname come out of Bailey's mouth was unsettling. Bailey didn't know her, so why use her nickname? Crystal turned her attention over to the shore and scanned the beach until she spotted Sydney and Aaron.

They were standing close to each other as a couple talking to them. A man and a woman. The man had a slight moustache and the woman had large rosy cheeks with wrinkles near her eyes. They were talking animatedly to the two boys. Even Patrick and Noah tensed at the sight.

"I don't know…" Crystal's voice trailed off as she stood and brushed the sand off of her pants and walked over to the two boys. She put her hands on Sydney's and Aaron's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze. She could feel their muscles relax under her touch.

"Excuse me. I think you're making my little brothers uncomfortable," she said as politely as she could but on the inside she was glaring daggers at the couple. It was easy to lie about Sydney being her brother, they looked enough alike to pass it off but anyone else would've known that they weren't directly related.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The woman said, her cheeks darkening as she brought a hand up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok," Crystal said slowly. "It's just…people don't usually talk to kids by themselves unless…"

The man caught on. "No! No no. We're not like that at all. I'm sorry if we gave you the wrong impression." He looked around as if searching for her father or her mother. "It's just…he looks a lot like our son." Crystal lifted her eyebrows. "The blonde one, I mean." He looked at Aaron and seemed to be studying his face. Aaron's eyebrows crinkled together as if he could see the look on the man's face.

"You see, we used to have a son," the woman jumped in. "About ten years ago. He was blonde, like this boy, and blind like this one. He was the love of our life. But things got hard and we had to give him up and…it was the worst day of our lives…" The man took the woman's hand and gave it a squeeze as she shook her head. "He looks a lot like my son, or, what I thought he would have looked like if he were older. I just thought…" her voice trailed off again.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry miss but we have to go," Crystal said, grabbing Aaron and Sydney by their upper arms and dragging them away. They were freaking her out and she just wanted to leave.

"Wait!" The woman cried out. "Can we just…? Our son had a tiny birthmark on his side, it was kind of in the shape of a heart."

"That's very interesting ma'am but we have to go."

"Ok, sorry for bothering you."

Crystal didn't realize how much he grip had tightened until Sydney struggled free and noticed red marks on his arm. "Sorry about that," she muttered. "Put some ice on it right away, ok?" She said, gently stroking his hair. He nodded and rushed over to the group that was sitting on the blankets. Her eyes were trained on the couple that were walking down the beach, hand in hand. She looked down when she felt a tug on her shirt and saw Aaron smiling up at her.

"We're ok," he told her. "You don't have to worry."

"What'd they say to you?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to know what we're doing here and if we're having fun. When they noticed I was blind they were making sure I was safe, like others do," Aaron replied. He took her hand and gave it squeeze which instantly calmed her. "I'm not leaving you, don't worry."

"You're too sweet," she muttered.

He nodded. "Just like Cody," he said in all seriousness. She rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't have broken up with him if it's torturing you," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Don't you start too," she said, putting her hand on his head and pushing him forward as he laughed evilly. He joined the others back on the blanket. She sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to dislodge the weird feeling she got from the couple.

"Are you ok?" Cody asked, stepping up behind her. He rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for her response. She dropped her hands and looked at him before replying.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"No you're not," he replied, instantly knowing that she was lying to him. "Whatever they said obviously upset you."

"I'm not upset, Cody." Agitation was hidden in her voice but enough of it leaked out that it hurt Cody a little. "I just don't like people talking to him, ok? I don't trust people. They could've been kidnappers or something." She absentmindedly rubbed her arms; a habit that Cody finally noticed meant she was freaking out on the inside despite looking calm on the outside.

Cody put a hand on her shoulder and she tensed under his touch. His eyebrows knitted together in concern as she subtly twisted so his hand fell from her shoulder. He didn't get it. She was the one who broke up with him. Blindsided him, basically. He thought they were happy until she just broke it off for no reason. So why's she acting like the victim? He should be the one hurt, not her. She didn't seem to show any remorse before. "You can trust me with anything, despite how things…happen between us. You know that," he said softly. She didn't respond and looked past him, up at the sky where few light fluffy clouds that moved slowly through the sky. "I still care about you, Tally."

She flinched. That was his 'secret' nickname for her. No one else knew that he called her that. She mentally kicked herself when she heard the name. Just like when he first used it, the name still brought down her defenses. "They were weird about him. They said that they had a son who would have looked like Aaron. They gave him up a few months after he was born because they couldn't take care of him. They wanted to check his side for a birthmark." She shook her head and kept the tears that were struggling to fall from her eyes. "It was so weird. I've always been afraid that someone would try and take Aaron back. I've always looked at people on the street wonder if they were his real parents and it always freaked me out. I couldn't bear him being taken away from me."

"I'm sure you're worrying about nothing, Tally," he said and, unconsciously, pushed her hair out of her face and gave her a smile. "Everything will be fine."

Her mouth pulled at the corner into a half smile. "Do me a favor?"

His eyebrows rose. "Anything."

"Don't call me Tally again."


So what did you guys think? Nothing physical really happened but the tension at the end was so thick even I felt it. I hope you all liked it. Any comments, questions, or compliments please leave a review. I'd love to know what you all think. As you can see so far this story is more focused on teenage drama than the Element stuff. While the Element stuff is important I also find it important that we see the as actual teenagers going through actual teenage problems from time to time. I wanted to test it out. What do you think?