Allison looks at me like I spoke Swahili. It takes her a minute to voice her opinion. "Whoa! Hold on, Ames...what are you saying?"
"I spoke English, didn't I?" I try to lift myself off the floor, pouring all the strength I have into my arms. "I think I spoke plain English."
Allison rolls her eyes. "You did. I just...I can't compute it."
I smirk at her word choice. Wobbling a little, I lean against the wall. "Well, then, I'll just say it again: I want to join your church group."
"Got that." Allison stands up with me. "Why?"
"I want to help them. I feel a-a...pull towards them; like, I understand them." I feel like an outcast, too. Probably because I've been outcasted myself, I add in my head.
Allison gazes at me sympathetically. "Ames..."
I hold up a hand, swallowing hard. "I know, I know. But...please, Allison, let me do this." I look at her pleadingly. I see in her eyes that she's conflicted about it. "I helped someone today, maybe I'll be able to help the others, too. And...I need this."
Sighing, Allison places a gentle hand on my face, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Okay," she whispers.
Happiness surges through me. I could almost leap with joy, but considering I'm still minutes away from puking, the idea sounds less than pleasing.
"So," my voice is a notch higher than it was before. "Let's go "re-do" those introductions."
"Sounds like a smart idea." Allison wraps her arm around my waist, giving me a playful tug. "You aren't going to, like, puke as soon as we get there, right?"
I laugh gently. "No...at least I don't plan to. Stomach might have other plans, though."
Allison looks at me stupendously. "Why are you talking about your stomach as if it's human?"
"I've been doing that all night," I smirk. "Must be a pregnancy thing."
"Oh." There's some sort of mischievous glint in her eye. "No pickles or ice cream yet, though, huh?"
I smack her arm. "Shut up!" She giggles as we exit the bathroom. The hallway is deserted-no surprise there. The living room, however, is another story. There, in that room, has every single person that crowded the hallway earlier. I quietly observe them all. It's a small group-about seven total, if I'm counting correctly. All of them are wearing some sort of mask; some covers the whole face, some covers only about half. I look for Lola. I spot her on a couch...actually, I spot her on Erik's lap, who is sitting on a couch.
I look at them thoughtfully. Lola is actually smiling, laughing and talking to him. Erik is listening to what she has to say, and although he isn't smiling, he looks like he's genuinely enjoying himself.
The picture brings a small smile to my face.
"Amy!"
Lola's exuberant shout wakes me from the small picture. Everyone else freezes except Lola, who scrambles off Erik's lap and into my arms.
Unsure whether it was appropriate or not (but deciding to go for it) I pick her up in my arms. I guess it was a good move because she wraps her arms around my neck. My heart melts at the gesture.
Is this what it's going to be like with my baby?
With Lola in my arms, I glance around the room, everyone is staring at me. I can't tell what they're thinking-except Erik, who doesn't look too pleased.
"Are you feeling better now, Amy?" Lola pulls away from me.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Did you eat too much pizza?"
"I...I guess so."
Lola looks down in shame. "I'm sorry."
I frown. "What for?" Her weight is starting to get to my arms. I sit down on a chair a few feet away from Erik. I chose that chair on purpose. I want him to see how I act with her, to show him that I mean no harm to her. Or to the others.
"I gave you the slices of pizza..." Lola trails off.
"Lola-" Erik starts. I can tell he's going to assure her. Probably because he thinks I'll punish her.
I will not permit him to put words in my mouth.
"Lola," I quickly interrupt him. I can feel his eyes burning straight at me. "It's not your fault. I should've stopped when I was full. It was my fault," I clarify, "not yours." What I did next was probably dumb, but at this point, I did not care: I look at Erik, looking him in the eyes.
See? I mean no harm. I try to send that message to him, but all I get is a cold glare back.
"Okay." Allison claps her hand. "Well, we are done for tonight-"
"No!" Lola cries out. "I want to hang out with Amy!"
I can't help but release a small chuckle. "You will. I think Allison has a small announcement to make."
Allison lets out a snort. "Thanks for putting me on the spot."
"No problem. That's what I was born for," I reply sarcastically.
"If you all haven't noticed," Allison states to the people in the living room, "we have a guest here who is as obnoxious as they can be."I stick my tongue out at her. "And who still acts like a five-year old," she adds. "She will be staying with me for a while, due to some...unfortunate circumstances. And she has recently asked to join our little church group-"
"What?" Erik sits up, leaning forward in his chair. "She's going to be sitting with us? In our circle?"
"Yes, Erik, she is," Allison responds curtly. "Now, I want everyone to just come sit down for a moment. Amy wants to introduce herself properly this time. Apparently, if I've kept up with the news, her stomach has promised not to release vomit for the next half hour."
I blush. "Thanks for making me seem crazy, Allison."
The others slowly approach the chairs (or "the circle", I guess we can call it) and sit down. Lola jumps off my lap and scrambles onto Erik's. He lifts her up and places her on his legs. They all look at me expectantly. Erik is the only one who looks doubtful...and angry.
"Well, hi..." I clear my throat. "Not sure if all of you have heard, but I'm Amy Stein. And I'll be joining your church group."
*Chirp! Chirp!*
"Okay!" I break the deadly silence. "Um..." I look at Allison for support. She nods, urging me on. "Well, I guess, to ease some of the tension, you all can ask me some questions." More silence. "Like, my personal life-what I like, dislike, you know, that kind of thing." I wait a few minutes. "They can be very simple questions, too."
Lola, of course, is the first one to start the fire. "How old are you?"
I laugh at her question. "I am nineteen."
"Do you have a job?"
I nod. "I do. I work at the day-care center. Actually, it's the same one Allison works at."
"We cause a whole amount of trouble," Allison jokes.
More silence. I decide to just let the silence flow, waiting to see if it will take me anywhere.
Slowly, a trembling hand lifts up. The hand is attached to a male, who is covered in this brown cloak. The hood of the cloak shadows his face-I can't see an inch of skin.
"Yes?" I ask softly.
The hand twitches back, as if a dog snapped at it. "D-what is your favorite color?" His voice is soft and gentle. It's actually soothing.
I smile at his childish question. It was cute.
"Ooh..." I think a while. "Can I mention two?"
The guy nods.
"I have to say violet and royal blue. How about you?"
The guy, based on his body movements, appears taken aback. "M-me?"
I nod.
"Um...brown, I guess."
"Awesome! That's a nice, earthy color. Do you like gardening at all?"
"Wha-oh, no, not really. I can't." The guy looks down. "It's kind of hard to."
"But you have an interest in it?"
The hood nods.
"Why not do it in the backyard?"
"We don't have a backyard." Erik's harsh voice interrupts our quiet conversation. I look at him, wondering what his tone is suggesting. "We can't go outside too much…" he adds.
I pry my eyes away. Moving on. "I used to garden a lot. I think I got it from my father." The hood looks up at me. "Roses are my personal favorite, but I love anything that's elegant and bright. My father was the same. We had the most beautiful gardens when it was springtime. We had water fountains and multitudes of various types of flowers; and we would have different columns for each flower." I take a breath as I explain, "Each column would be categorized by color. He was really creative. He still is."
The guy nods.
"What's your name?"
"Jake."
"Hello, Jake." I carefully get off the chair, walking towards him. Jake stiffens up and the others around him scoot away, like I'm an infectious disease. I offer him my hand. Jake jerks away from it, not sure what to do. I look at him with all the innocence I could muster. I leave my hand out, waiting for him.
"I-I've never touched a girl before," he whispers.
My heart breaks at his shy statement.
"I've only felt the knuckles of men," he continues.
"Well," I softly whisper, "let this be a new start."
Jake slowly reaches out his hand. I notice that it's shaking. His fingers slide across the palm of my skin, grasping my hand carefully. He sucks in a deep breath.
"What?" Erik sounds concerned. I look back and he's on the edge of his seat, looking ready to come to the rescue.
"It-it's so soft." Jake, without even realizing it (I think), fumbles with my hand. He brings up his other hand, rubbing both hands across my palm, my knuckles, my fingers. I notice that his hands are like everyone else's; his deformity must be somewhere else.
The most obvious answer would be his face.
Jake continues to feel my hand, running his thumbs across my smooth knuckles. I wish I could see his facial expression. I hope its a joyful one. "So delicate, fragile..." he whispers in wonder.
"Jake..." Erik's voice has grown deeper, sounding apprehensive. "Jake. Jake! Jake, stop touching her like that!"
That seems to break the spell. Jake's hands snatch back. "Sorry! S-so sorry. I-I-I-"
"It's okay," I reassure. "Don't be shy to touch me." Jake stiffens and the whole room grows quiet. I re-think my words. It clicks in when I hear Lola release a giggle.
Oh! That sounded-Lord, I'm an idiot!
"I-I only meant my hand...or-or a hug...or something." I blush. "Sorry, that sounded...inappropriate."
"When are you ever appropriate?" Allison snickers.
"Oh! You want to go there?" I ask, jokingly.
Allison closes her eyes, raising her hands in the air. "Bring it, baby!"
I sigh in defeat "Oh, Lord." I look back at Jake. "Is she like this all the time?"
"No...sometimes she's worse." I sense a hint of a smile in his voice.
"Oh, no...I'm so sorry."
A small rumble comes from his throat. I'm guess that could be considered a laugh.
I start to walk back to my seat when Jake's voice stops me. "Did you mean that?"
"Mean what?" I sit down again.
"About the hug: did you mean that?"
I look at him for a moment. "Yes, of course."
I'm met with silence. I can only hope there is a smile underneath that hood of his. I wait a moment, seeing if anyone else was going to speak up. I look at the others; there is one other guy and two other girls, each have their own little cover-up. The other guy is wearing gloves and a mask, which is covering his whole face. One out of the two girls has blond hair with this small, little, crescent moon shape clip that's placed at the crown of the skull. The other girl is African American and is wearing a mask that is covering the left side of her face; it starts at her ear and ends at her neck.
Lola's voice breaks me from my observations. "Do you like music?"
"Yes, I do."
I briefly see Erik's eyes glance in my direction at the mention of music. He must like it somehow. Well, if he was the one who brought the piano, I explain to myself, that would make a lot of sense now.
"Amy doesn't really know it," Allison breaks into the conversation, "but she's actually a really good singer."
I scoff. "No, I'm not."
"Yes, she is!" she insists. "One time I caught her singing when she thought she was alone-so she wasn't holding back-and it was really good. Her voice sounded...ethereal. And," Allison adds, "I think she could sing opera if she really wanted to."
"No-"
"What kind of music do you listen to?"
My eyes go to Erik's. He asked me-me!-a question. I am very surprised, but I use my best poker face to hide it.
"All kinds. But I have to say opera is a favorite."
"Really?" He sounds half skeptical, half intrigued.
I nod.
He looks away. "I would like to hear you sing some time." Based on his tone, I can tell that that wasn't a question...that was a freaking demand.
"Y-you want me to sing?" I stutter. "Allison was just kidding when she said I could probably sing opera."
"Mmm no, I wasn't," Allison says.
I give her a dirty look that says, Shut up! She smirks instead.
"Nevertheless," Erik says. "It won't do any harm for you to give it a try." That piano must be his, everything about him is musical: his voice, his movements, his eyes-hell, even his aura! I bet he's a great singer with that deep voice and even tone...amazing.
"Okay, so," Allison turns back to the group, "just wanted to introduce you guys to our newest member. You all are now free to go!"
In two minutes time, everyone left the room. Lola gave me a hug before leaving, taking Jake's hand along the way. It made me wonder why she isn't taking Erik's hand. Maybe he already left. But that would be so weird for him; leaving her...not with his personality. It doesn't fit. Puzzled, I look about the room.
I do a full one-eighty and I gasp. My hand flies to my heart. "Oh, Erik!"
The little phantom was right behind me.
My heart begins to slow. "Erik, what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be with Lola? Or on your way home?"
Erik's face gives no emotion away, he only takes a step closer to me. My body screams at me to back up, but I can't move.
"I know this may be inappropriate timing, but my curiosity has gotten the best of me: I want you to sing for me," he demands. "I want to hear this..."ethereal" voice of yours."
