Okay, so I got a review asking if I could make the chapters longer and I promise, from now on they should be longer than usual. Anyway, so thank you for the tip – I always like to read reviews telling me how I can improve. Also that same review, wished me luck on all of my mock exams so thank you soooo much! Honestly, it actually made my day. I was so paranoid and I'm pretty sure out of the 3 I've done so far, I'm failing science and history. But still, thank you all for the reviews cause they made my entire week.
Fang P.O.V
"Hey buddy, can I have a word?" Gazzy looked up at me from where he was sitting on his single bed, legs crossed and a small ball held firmly in his hands. He nodded and grimaced, knowing what was coming. Slowly, he scooted over on the bed a little and I sat down next to him.
"So, I spoke to Iggy today…"
"Oh?" I checked out his face for any sort of emotion. I could just make out the fear there, in his bright blue eyes. I watched as he threw the ball away from him, to the wall in front. It bounced off and he caught it single handed, smirking as he did.
"Yeah." Gazzy didn't reply so I continued. "He didn't say a lot, just that he was teaching you the basics. He said you wanted to know the best way to protect yourself…?" I shifted and stretched my black jean clad legs out in front of me. Gazzy threw the ball again, with more momentum. It made a loud thud as it contacted the wall and when Gazzy went to catch it, it went straight past him and knocked over his bed side lamp.
"Crap." He hissed. I shot him a look at his choice in language and he shut his mouth. A second later, he spoke. "I don't see what the big deal is Fang."
"The big deal," I began, "Is that you're obviously afraid of something Gaz. What's going on?" I recoiled slightly when he shook his head and glared darkly at me. He stood up and picked up his ball.
"It's none of your business. It's not important. Leave it alone." I made a faint sound of protest deep in my throat.
"Gaz, if someone's picking on you or something, you know you can tell me right?" Gazzy shook his head.
"It's nothing like that. I told you Fang, leave it alone."
"Gaz-"
"Just leave me alone Fang. I'm fine." I sighed and dropped my head back as he stalked out of his bedroom, leaving me sitting on his bed, agitated and confused.
What the hell was going on with that kid?
The thought alone reminded me of the scene that had played out earlier this morning. Gazzy had been accusing Ella of stealing his lighter. What would she need a lighter for?
Sighing in exasperation, I got up and left Gazzy's room, thudded down the stairs and went to sit on the couch next to Angel.
She looked up at me with her big, wondering blue eyes. "What's wrong Fang?" Her voice held a hint of worry and concern and my heart melted.
"Nothing Ange. You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." I chuckled at the little girl sitting cross legged next to me. She was half paying attention to the T.V, half to me.
"Why is life so complicated?" I asked Angel.
I don't know what the hell was going through my mind when I did. But all I did know was that whatever she had to say, would make me feel better. In the short time I had had Angel back, she had proved that for a six year old who is way too obsessed with my little pony than is healthy, she was also way too mature for her age. Part of me was proud of the fact that my little sister could read people so easily, could judge a person with one glance and be right about them. She could understand more about the hardships life brings you than anyone I had ever met. But that didn't mean I liked that. She was six years old. Angel shouldn't know about how hard life can be. She shouldn't know the impact of having a waste of space mum who gets high as a life choice and an estranged father who doesn't care. She shouldn't know the hurt that comes when that mother leaves you for dead inside your little rundown apartment that you can't even afford. And sure, maybe she had forgotten all of those facts that had made her who she was today. But they had definitely made some sort of impact on the little girl. And I hated it.
Angel smiled and switched the T.V off. She turned her small body to face me and spread her hands on her lap. "I don't know. But I do know that everything happens for a reason. Like, if I hadn't been in foster care, and I had real parents, I wouldn't be here. And I wouldn't have the best big brother in the world." She leant into my side and beamed pointedly at me.
If only she knew.
I grinned at Angel and ruffled her fair blonde curls. "Thanks sweetie. C'mon, what we watching today then?"
Excitedly, Angel switched the T.V back on. "Friends!"
I recoiled in shock. "You watch friends?" Did she even understand half of the humour in this show? Don't get me wrong, I loved friends. But a six year old?
Angel nodded eagerly. "Yep! Joey's my favourite! And Monica! Joey's so funny. Like, that time when he found the keys to that car and he pretended it was his. But then the man came back and he had to make a fake car out of boxes! That was funny. I used to watch it all the time with one of the social workers at Sunnydale. That was the care home I lived in." I smiled softly.
"Yeah. Joey sure is a character…"
Angel snickered at my attempt of a pun and swung her legs up onto the couch, cuddling closer into my side. "You're funny. I'm tired." On cue, she yawned and threw her head back onto one of the cream cushions behind her.
"Ange, it's only six thirty. How are you tired already?"
Her head shot up and she gave me an indignant stare. "I had a hard day at school today! We had to make Paper Mache and layer it all over a balloon so we can make a bowl. Next Monday, we get to see how they turned out! Ari spilt all of his down himself so I let him share mine. He was nervous cause his mum would find out and be mad but then his sister came to get him from school after. That's why I was later home today. I waited with him until Max came and then she gave me a lolly pop because Ari had one too and she didn't want me to feel left out. I like Max. Do you know her? I'm sure she goes to your school. Do you like her?"
I shrugged and pulled the little girl onto my lap. "I don't really know her well enough to like her Ange." Okay, so a slight stretch of the truth. But I didn't want to ruin my sister's mental image of the girl I had come to hate. Angel yawned again and laid back against my chest.
"I'm so tired. But I don't wanna go to sleep yet."
"Okay, so why don't you come eat dinner, then we'll go sit up and maybe Ella will read to you."
Angel shook her head. "I don't want Ella to read to me. She's been acting weird lately. Really moody. Will you read to me instead Fang?" She batted her eyelashes and I had to do a double take when her bright blue eyes went wide. I was about to protest when I saw the glimmer of unshed tears. This girl should totally be an actress when she grows up.
"Fine. C'mon. Anne and Chris are out for the evening so I'm in charge. What do you want for dinner?"
Angel grinned and jumped up from the couch. "Cornflakes!"
"Angel, you can't have cornflakes for dinner." I wondered into the kitchen to see Gazzy filling up a saucepan with some soup. Ella was seated at the table reading her book. Her hands were trembling slightly and she was chewing her lip furiously. Angel followed me and sat next to Ella. She leaned over and checked the title of the book, pulled a face and started playing with a vase of flowers in the centre of the table.
"You okay Els?" I asked, pulling out another two cans of tomato soup and pushing Gazzy out of the way. He glared and sat next to Angel. I switched on the gas and the tell-tale flame emerged, flickering brilliantly as I placed the metal saucepan over it.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She snapped. I held my hands up in surrender.
"Okay, okay. Just wondering."
She stopped reading and threw her book on the table. Her brown hair was pulled up haphazardly into a bun and she was wearing an old grey hoodie. Needless to say, she looked like crap.
"Well don't. Stay out of my business!" What was going on with her? First Gazzy and now Ella.
"Relax Els. I'm sorry okay. Just… help." I gestured to the saucepan that was bubbling away with tomato soup and she stood up and picked up a wooden spoon, hip bumped me out the way and took over.
"Sorry. I'm just…I dunno." Ella mumbled and I swear, I could just see a single tear sliding down her cheek. But not a second later, it was gone and she looked fine. I nodded and took out 4 bowls from the cupboard. Ella picked up the saucepan and poured soup into each bowl. I handed one to Gazzy and one to Angel and then Ella and I sat at the table with our own.
"Fang! Can we watch a movie?" Angel yelled from where she was once again sitting in front of the T.V. After dinner, I had made the fatal mistake of giving her a small packet of skittles. Never again. Top tip, never give a six year old sweets at half seven when they should probably be in bed ready to go to sleep. Never. I have learnt from my mistake. Needless to say, Angel had spent the past half hour singing about Bob the goldfish who has a memory of- Y'know what? I never even found out what Bob's memory is. Why? Cause the song fucking repeats itself over and over and over before we can find out! I was exhausted.
I yelled back from my bedroom. "No! Go to bed!"
"But Faaaaaaaaang!" Came Angel's elongated whine. I groaned and pulled off my simple black jeans and threw on a pair of sweat pants.
"Fine. But after you go straight to bed. You hear me?"
Angel's head popped through the slight gap in my door. "Sure thing!" She came in and sat on my bed, waiting for me to sort out my laundry pile. Anne would go insane if I didn't get it done by tomorrow. I looked at Angel and she was fiddling with the bottom of her purple night dress. On the front was a picture of some Disney princess. Her pale legs were crossed and I noticed that someone had pulled her long blonde hair into two loose braids. Most likely Ella.
"Go downstairs and wait for me Ange. Get Ella and Gaz too. Tell 'em to pick out a film."
She grinned and stood up. As she walked out, I could make out the distinct sound of that ghastly song. "Hi, I'm Bob. I'm a goldfish. I've got a memory of a- Hi, I'm Bob. I'm a goldfish. I've got a memory of a- Hi-"
"Angel! If I hear that song one more time, I swear, Celeste will not live to see another ride in the spin cycle!" In the short amount of time Angel had been here, Anne had had to wash that bear Angel always carried around ten times. Ten.
When I entered the living room, Ella was curled up on one of our comfy armchairs, Gazzy was sitting in the other and Angel was sprawled out on the floor.
"Ange, where are you sitting?" She looked up and stopped kicking her legs.
"I wanna sit next to Ella!" I looked over to Ella, who smiled and gestured for us to switch places. We switched and Angel settled in next to Ella, snuggling close into her. I watched as Ella played with Angel's hair fondly.
"So what are we watching?" I asked my brother and sisters. Angel beamed at me and threw me a DVD.
"Monster's University!" I smirked and put the DVD in and then settled back into the arm chair.
"Shhh! Don't wake her!" Ella whisper yelled to me as I lifted a sleeping Angel from her lap. Gazzy stood up from the arm chair and stretched out.
"Night. Have fun getting her to bed without waking her." He cackled quietly and skulked off to his bedroom. I focused on the task at hand and shifted Angel in my arms.
"Okay, you go on to bed. I'll turn off all the lights and lock the front door." Ella offered as I carried Angel up the stairs. I gave her a grateful look and carried on upstairs, walking past Ella's room and heading for Angel's new room. Her door was just opposite my own. I kicked the door open and looked in. Her walls were painted a light pink and white, on alternate walls. Her bed sat in the corner next to the window, where she had arranged a large pile of cushions and stuffed toys and blankets on the little window seat. I knew she secretly liked to curl up on the window seat where she could watch the stars at night when she woke from a bad dream. I used to do it with her when she was three. Her duvet was a baby pink with a ballerina on the front.
Angel stirred a little in my arms, wriggling around to get comfy, and then settled again whilst I pulled back her bed covers and gently laid her down. I pulled the covers back over her shoulders and tucked the edge into the side by the bed.
"Fang?" Her voice was quiet and confused, her eyes half closed.
"Shhh." I hushed her as I bent down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Go back to sleep Ange."
"Okay…." Her eyes drifted shut again and I smiled fondly at my little sister's sleeping form.
"Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." I whispered the little rhyme my Grandma had sent me to sleep with every night, hoping to somehow convey the true meaning behind my words to my sleeping sister. Angel had been my salvation when I was a child. She had saved me from myself without even knowing. Before I had Angel, there wasn't a day that went by when I didn't think of my parents. My real parents. Wondering if I had been the reason for everything that had happened. Wondering why they hadn't wanted me and why I had been sent to live with my grandparents. I was just a baby. What could I have possibly done that would have made them hate me so much?
Anyway, I wondered out of Angel's bedroom and into my own.
Something told me I was gonna have a good sleep tonight. This whole week had been exhausting and, to put it mildly, a week from hell. I would certainly need a good sleep.
"Nick! Hurry up! You're gonna be late for tutoring!" Anne's shrill yell startled me out of my thoughts as I laced up my black converse. It was Saturday, time for tutoring with Max. Lord help us all…
I ran down the staircase and came to a stop in front of Anne, who was buttoning up her coat. "I can drop you at Max's if you like. I have to pick Angel up from her playdate with Ari anyway."
I nodded and followed Anne out of the front door. Max had phoned earlier asking if we could meet at her house. Her mum was working and they had workers in so Max had to be home. Plus she had to look after her brother so it was easier this way.
When Anne pulled up outside of Max's small house, I took a minute to check out the place where my, can we say, enemy spent most of her days. There was a small garden out front filled with tall plants and colourful flowers. There was a football sitting in the middle of the luscious green grass and a basketball net attached to the brick wall. The basketball sat next to the doorstep and I looked on as a little boy ran out and picked it up, throwing it to my little sister. He turned around, saw our car and waved at Anne, who was stepping out onto the pavement. Anne waved back and I flung open the passenger seat door, getting out and crossing over to the path leading to Max's simple house. Simple yet strangely comforting. And I hadn't even been inside yet.
Angel noticed me and grinned wildly. She threw the ball at the net on the wall and missed. When she turned to face me, she was pouting; bottom lip jutted out, blue eyes wide and sad. The little boy, Ari, picked up the ball and aimed at the net. He took a small step back and bent his knees a little, then pushed back with his arms and let it go. It flew straight through the air and down into the net. Angel cheered and clapped her hands.
"Nice shot." I murmured in appreciation to the young boy. He beamed at me and pointed to Max, who had come to stand in the doorway, smiling proudly at her younger brother.
"Thanks!" Ari exclaimed brightly. "Max taught me!" I looked over at Max with a questioning glance. She shrugged.
"It' true. I'm a basketball freak. Some people may even say sports prodigy." Ari snickered.
"Yeah right. You don't even play for a team." He accused, throwing the ball up again and into the net.
"I'm on the swim team." Max countered back. "And netball. And tennis. And cross country." I gazed at her in shock. She nodded and composed her grin into a small frown, pulling her blonde hair behind her ears. She had opted for a pair of grey skinny jeans today and a pale blue tank top. She saw my calculating look and pulled her grey hoodie over her torso, zipping it up halfway. Her bare feet landed on the hard stone floor as she jumped down from the doorstep.
"Coming in or what?" Max asked me, hugging Angel when the little girl gripped her legs tightly.
"Thanks for having me over Max! See you soon!" Angel skipped off to join Anne and they drove off in the distance, leaving me alone with Max and her little brother.
Ari ran into the house and Max gestured for me to follow her.
I followed Max into the kitchen and took a seat at the kitchen table. She grabbed two glasses from a cupboard and poured some lemonade into them. Placing one in front of me, and then pulled out a chair opposite me.
"So, I figured we could finish that past paper we started last time, and then, maybe check out chemistry too. Your Mum said you needed help with that too?"
"Yeah…" I nodded and took a sip of lemonade, relishing in the fizzy feeling in my throat as each droplet hit the back of my throat.
"Okay. So, the next section is always creative writing. There's a 24 mark question and a 16 mark. We'll try the 16 mark one first okay? Alright, so you have to write about a time in your life that changed you. Like… made you see things in a different perspective. Made you really think."
I nodded again and pulled out a pen from my backpack. Max slid the paper across to me and stood up, walking out of the kitchen.
When she came back, she was carrying a big packet of sour skittles. She dropped them on the counter and pulled out a bowl from the cupboard, tipping the entire bag into the bowl. Next, she boiled the kettle and filled up a large coffee pot on the side. She brought it over along with another two mugs and a little pot of sugar, dumped them on the table and grinned.
"I figured we're gonna need motivation so I brought a load of sweets from the store yesterday. You like coffee right?"
I nodded my head. "Yep. Love the stuff."
You know what she did? What Max, the hostile, sarcastic bitch did?
She laughed. Max laughed at something I had said.
"Same. My mum likes to give me this lecture every time I have a cup. It's not good for you. You're addicted."
Once again, I nodded. "Same. My foster mum says it all the time, despite the fact she drinks it like it's her drug. I guess technically it is. What with caffeine being a drug…" I babbled on and Max was staring at me incredulously. "Yes okay, I am capable of saying more than ten words per sentence…"
She shook her head. "It's just… well…yeah. I totally get it though. My mum says I'm the picture of health. And she wonders where I learnt my sarcasm from…"
I chuckled and took a swig of the coffee Max had poured out for me. What was going on here? Max and I were bonding… over coffee. Coffee. Of all the things.
"Okay, so for the creative writing, you wanna use a lot of persuasive techniques. Like, personal pronouns. Build a relationship between you and the reader. And use fancy words. They like that."
She handed me the paper and sat back, chewing on a mouthful of skittles.
I scratched my chin as I thought about a particular moment in my life that really changed me. What had the most impact on me?
There's this saying about life. In fact, there's a lot of inspirational sayings about life in general. I've spent a lot of time in my short life, pondering my life. Wondering why certain things happen. And throughout all of it, I've been told a lot of these quotes. One social worker once told me that 'hope is grief's best music'. Naturally, at first I simply nodded and pretended like I understood. But as of last week, I think I finally understand. I've had a lot of downfalls in my life. I don't know who my parents are. I've lost the only family who cared for me. But recently, I was sent a little ray of hope. I truly believe that somebody out there has been looking down on me. God finally decided to give me a break. This little ray of hope, this salvation and last hope for me, happens to be my foster sister. Sure, I love all of my siblings to death. I'd do anything for them. But this little girl, is my Angel. What a fitting title, considering that's her name. After only having her in my life for two weeks, she's become my lifeline. Without this little girl, I would go insane. Sure, she drives me absolutely round the bend. But that's the point. All of my foster siblings, have given me something to live for. I used to hate the fact that I was a foster kid. But now, now that I really think about it, it's been my only hold on myself. It's been hell, and it's been heaven. All rolled into one. I've got bad memories, and I've also got some really good memories. Being a foster kid, has made me who I am today. When I thought about the saying that social worker told me, I think I finally figured it out. The meaning.
No matter how hard things get, if you just have a little hope, you can make it through. Whether you think that there's nothing left. You feel like you're drowning. You can't get back up and make yourself better. If you give yourself that little bit of hope, that one salvation, you will be okay.
And that's why, I can't think of a single situation alone that has changed me. Everything, from being a baby who was lost, a teenager who was scared of losing everything, and the person I have become today, have been because of all these little things. Every smile, every tear. Every broken arm and every broken heart. Everything that is to follow. These things have all changed me.
And they will continue to change me.
"Wow. This is really good Fang." Max breathed as she read through my paper. There. I had done it. I had laid all my feelings out on the table and let the girl who hated me read them.
And I felt better than I had in years.
"Thanks."
"Yeah… whatever. I guess you're less of a twat in writing." Max began, handing me the paper back. I guess the old Max was back. I had a feeling the nice Max wouldn't last. "Need another drink?" I nodded and checked my watch. It was now two thirty. We had been here for two and a half hours.
Bang!
"Shit!" My head shot up to see Max, crouching down by a pile of broken glass and different powdery substances. Next to her, was a rack filled with jars of spices, covered in the spilt spices and herbs. "I told mum they were lethal!"
"Hey, need some help?" I asked Max, coming to stand next to her as she filled a dish bowl with soapy water.
"From you? No thanks." She replied shortly. She grabbed a cloth from the side and dipped it into the water, beginning to wipe over the never ending supply of spices.
Wordlessly I took another cloth and dipped it in her bowl of water, taking a jar of cumin and wiping it over. She glanced at me and rolled her eyes.
"You know, I'm sure I can manage." This time, I rolled my eyes.
"Would it kill you to just say thank you?" She turned and narrowed her eyes at me.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
I smirked, satisfied, and carried on cleaning. An awkward silence followed until Max spoke up, her voice enquiring and curious. "I didn't know Angel was your sister…"
"Foster sister…" I corrected. I couldn't exactly tell Max if I didn't tell anybody else.
"Oh? Well, she's a really sweet girl. Ari adores her…." Max chuckled, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, she's pretty great I guess." Another silence followed before I sighed and turned my head to face Max. "Go ahead, I know you wanna ask…"
She knew what I was talking about immediately. "It's none of my business. If you choose to tell me then that's your choice. I don't need to know your life story Fang, and frankly, I couldn't give a shit." I suddenly had a new found respect for this girl. Despite the hostility and all.
I scoffed at her and she picked up another jar of spice before dropping it back down and wiping her hands on her apron. "Gross…" She murmured in disgust. Max peeked at me out of the corner of her eyes and sighed. "What's it like? Being a foster kid?"
I gazed at her through the hair that had come to rest over my eye. Clearing my throat, I replied quietly. "It's okay I guess. I don't really have much of a choice right? My real parents weren't exactly Mother Theresa and… one of those saint guys…" Max supressed a smile and went back to cleaning. "What about you?"
She whirled around to look at me eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. "Just one brother, Ari. My Mum Valencia. Dad left seven years ago, haven't seen him since."
Oh…
"Sorry." I mumbled. She crouched down to the floor to clear up the broken glass. I passed her a new cloth and took my own, helping to clear up the, now determined as, cinnamon.
"Why? You're not exactly his college girlfriend he was screwing on the side. Unless…"
"Unless?" I questioned her, intrigued.
"Unless you're more of a Martha than an Arthur."
I couldn't help it. I laughed. Like really, really laughed.
"You should do that more often."
"What?" I asked her.
"Laugh." Max told me.
"Ha. Ha. Ha." My tone was sarcastic and Max frowned.
"I'm serious. Laughing burns calories" She stated confidently.
"Does not." I disagreed.
"Does too."
"Prove it."
Max sighed and I noticed her fiddling with the daughter charm. She caught me looking and stopped. "What?"
"I just… sorry. It really does suck, being ditched."
"Look Fang, I'm sure you're a really sweet guy and all, but I don't need your pity. Let's just go back to when you hated me right?"
"I never hated you. Strongly dislike may have come to mind but I never stated that I hated you." I smirked at her and she scoffed.
"Oooh looks like we got ourselves a smartarse."
I flicked her with the end of my cloth. "Learnt from the best." Her hand gripped my wrist tightly as she made a grab for the cloth.
"Aha, and I guess you're insinuating that I am a smartarse."
I flicked her again with my cloth as she struggled to take it from my hand. "Well done Sherlock!" She finally succeeded and dunked the cloth in the bowl of water. I backed away a little and turned to pick up any sort of defence mechanism.
My entire body jumped when Max's drenched cloth slapped my head and water dripped down my face. I swiped at a droplet on my chin and turned back to see her grinning.
"So freaking mature…" I mumbled. I smirked and ran for the bowl, scooping up water with my hands and flinging it at her. Max laughed and imitated my actions, gasping as warm water made its way into her mouth.
"Now who's mature…?" I smirked and reached up to get a towel.
That's when the entire contents of the washing up bowl was poured over my head. I coughed and spluttered, trying to swallow the water that was making its way into my open mouth at a rapid pace. "Okay, okay. I give up. Truce!"
Max stopped and we finally cleared up the mess we had made.
"Y'know? Maybe you're not as bad as I thought."
I looked up at Max in shock. "Oh?"
"Yeah. I guess, I just find it hard with people."
"It's cool. I'm kinda the same. But I am not sexist. Sam and Dylan thought that I needed a 'bird' and decided you were perfect." Max nodded.
"I sort of figured it wasn't you. You're too reserved and quiet to cause that much of a scene." I chuckled at her and held out my hand.
"We okay then? Like, you don't wanna kill me anymore?"
Max nodded and grasped my outstretched hand, standing to her feet as I helped her up.. "Maybe, I can try and not rip your head off every time you irritate me…"
Now I call that progress.
Wow, how's that for a longer chapter! 10 pages on word! 5208 words all together! Now that really is progress. So I know that Max kinda gave in real quick but I really wanted to make them friends. So let's try get to 55+ reviews.
Now I'm off to do more math revision. Bleurgh, I need a social life…