The rays of early dawn came through the window that needed a little
cleaning. Two young men came in, tiptoeing quietly as to not awaken the
slumbering pair. But one of them was conscious, and she opened her dark
eyes a crack to see who had come in. *hmmm.. Cye and Rowen… I don't really
want to talk to them right know. Please… Go away.*
"Shhhh! You'll wake them up." Cye whispered to Rowen. Rowen's next
step made the floorboards creak.
*Ugh! Go away!* "Can't you guys see us sick people trying to get some
rest!" She sat straight up on her bed. This resulted in a small whine from
the bed next to her.
"Stop it! No! I don't want to hurt them!"
The expression on Rowen's face was a cross between fear and confusion.
"What's wrong Josie?"
"Can't you see she's talkin in her sleep? Sometimes Rowen! And I thought
you were smart!" Annie barked. Cye and Rowen backed away.
"Sheesh Annie! What's wrong with you?" Troubled blue-green eyes looked
over at the girl in front of him, the one he met just weeks before, and
thought he knew so well.
"Sorry. It's just that… I kinda have a headache, and I don't know."
She tried to hide what she was feeling, to wear the mask she always does,
ever since she was a little girl. Her head really did hurt, but there was
more to it than that.
"I think you should rest now… Go back to bed." Cye tucked her in (awww.
How sweet!) and grabbed Rowen's arm to lead him out of the door.
He stood his ground and instead dragged Cye to a nearby couch. "Let's
just sit in down in here. You never know when they're gonna wake up again
and if they need something." Annie was already in a fitful sleep. "I have
a feeling that Annie's not telling us everything." Cye looked dubious,
as if about to say something, then changed his mind. "Okay Cye, tell me
what's on your mind."
"Well…"
"Divulge your little secret." He stared at Cye with his blue blue eyes
and dared him to not to speak. "Don't worry, I won't tell. Besides, you
can trust me." He said, making sure to accent on trust.
"Oh, okay I guess. You see…"
Josie woke up in the middle of their conversation. *What are they talking
about?* Then she heard her friend's name, and knew right away whom it was
about. *Sooooo… Annie liked this guy? She never told me! I guess I'll have
to talk to her about this, after they leave…* She went back to sleep, with
nothing else to do.
"What!?! He told you what?!?"
"He didn't exactly tell me… I kinda just, um, overheard." She watched
her friend, sitting cross-legged on her bed, her breakfast untouched. *Geez!
You have to eat!*
Annie started to pick at her food. "Well, maybe it wasn't his fault.
Maybe Rowen pried it from him?"
"I don't know! I heard what I heard!" Her breakfast tray was still
full too. *Why is she making such a big deal out of this? I think she's
getting worse… everyday she gets more and more depressed, then she lashes
out at people.*
"Yeah, whatever." She replied in an indifferent voice. "I find out
about it, sooner or later." She suddenly snapped her head towards the door.
"Knock, knock." Kento came in with a huge smile on his face. "the other
peeps kicked me out of the kitchen, and Cye found out about me keeping
snacks in the room…"
"Let me guess… he locked you out, and now you come running to us for
food." Josie placed her hands on her hips.
"Uh, no, not really… well, maybe… they said they were going to keep
me from eating for more than two hours… Don't they know there's a law somewhere
out there about cruel and unusual punishments… this is worse than school,
not that I like school….." he drifted off. Annie felt bad for the guy,
and being kind hearted as she was, gave him her breakfast. "Thanks." He
said between mouthfuls "You gonna eat that, Josie?"
*Eeeewwww. Doesn't he have any manners, just stuffing himself like
that! I don't think I 'want' to eat now.* "You can have it." The dark auburn
haired teen gulped.
"Gee, thanks a bunch!" the happy Kento walked off, both hands holding
empty trays.
"So much for them trying!" Annie sighed.
"You just had to give it to him, don't you?"
"So? What's it to ya? Huh?"
*Not another mood swing! Like she has PMS every other day!* "Nothing."
Josie flatly replied.
"Sorry." She hung her head, "Better go downstairs, I have a feeling,
actually a little more than a feeling that they want to talk. Besides,
we're fine now." Her eyes flashed and a glimmer of life came through the
clouded eyes, and reminded Josie of how her friend was, not too long ago.
And somehow, she sensed something else… Something different about her,
but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "…Last one down is an ashlock…"
(German word, though I'm not sure how to spell it, ^.^ can't tell what
it means… *Bad Misty! Bad!*)
It was already lunchtime, and after their talk, the group decided to
go to the mall. "Hey! I need a little break from life just about now."
Sage uttered, and they decided to go.
As they passed the round ledge that Rowen and Josie first met, they
saw a familiar figure. "Megan?" a larger female came over to her friend.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you remember? It's me, Josie! From math." The smaller of the
two brought her eyebrows together, scrutinizing the situation.
"I think I remember you from class, but I don't think we ever met."
"Oh." She looked somewhat downcast, then brightened up. "Maybe, you
want to hang around the mall with me and my friends? That's if you're not
already going with anyone."
Megan seemed to consider this. "Uh, sure! I was supposed to come with
my friend Liana, but she's sick and I had to go myself." They stroke up
a conversation, while heading back to the group. It looked like a small
scuffle had started among Cye and Annie, the supposedly two most peaceful
people in the group.
"I think this is as close to being normal as it gets." Sage spoke to
Rowen and Ryo. He leaned against a tree, planted in the sidewalk as decoration.
Kento tried to make sense of the fight. "Yo! Stop it!" he grabbed both
of them.
"Yeah, think so too. At least the Nether World is at bay." The other
teen said, blowing a lock of his blue hair away from his nose.
Ryo stopped his train of thought, "For the time being…" he said quietly
before going over to Kento and the squabbling pair to help out.
"Oiy! Not again!" Josie laughed, and Megan, not knowing about the situation,
joined in too.
Hidden by the endless crowd, a figure watched them solemnly. *Ha ha
ha! Foolish humans! My time to serve the empire will come. And very soon,
I think!*
~TBC
*Hehe…. That next chapter or so is written by a friend, revised and
edited by my best friend Josie (whose anime name (eg. Misty) we are still
in the process of making up) and rewritten by me… it's sooooo messed up!
It's funny. I think it's came out pretty good, considering that what we
got was a bunch of torn paper with a ridiculous picture of, uh (turns it
over, side ways, upside down…) um, I, a person? Maybe? I don't know! Ask
Catherine…. Hold on.. I have to wait till Josie emails it to me… So long
and sayonara!
~Misty
