(Before I begin, I apologize in advance for any errors, I'm sick right now, and I wrote this at like 11 o'clock at night. DX)
Did you have a long week at school? Never fear, because I have updated! *sun shines through the clouds*
Kai: Um, why would the sun shine on you? You're not THAT amazing.
Me: Excuse me, you've just earned a syrup bath!
Anna: Haha, oh Nether, I remember when that happened to me... I hated it... this will be soooo much fun!
Me: Anyways, I'm back! *Kai trips and falls into syrup in the background* School really sucks so far, that's for sure. *Kai starts cussing* Soooo much homework. Especially science. *Kai kicks syrup pool* I swear, we're doing more math in science than we're doing in Geometry! *Kai screams and falls to the floor* Um . . . *I turn around* Is there a problem, Kai?
Kai: Not at all . . . (Yes dammit there's syrup in my hair! My beautiful, perfect hair!)
Jay: I heard that!
Nya: *giggles* You're such a girl, Kai!
Kai: HEYY! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!
Anna: What? Is being a girl bad?!
Kai: *gulps* Umm...
Anna: I WILL MURDER YOU!
Elijah: O-o
Abigail: Teehee, this is going to be so cool!
Elijah: O-o
Christy: Oh, shut up.
Elijah: I didn't even say anything!
Zane: Ever does not own Ninjago *crashing noise come from background* Um... she only *screams and cussing* Um...
Kai: *in pain* SHE ONLY OWNS THE STUFF THAT IS HERS! LET'S GO! NOW!
Chapter Nineteen: Conceal
(Christy's POV)
My mind is whirling when I wake up in the morning. I can't stop thinking about all the events that happened over the weekend. In fact, I've still got some of the cuts and bruises on my skin. Because of this, I'm taking extra time to get ready this morning.
I dip the sponge wand into the concealer and dab it onto a small cut on my cheek. I suddenly stop, gazing at my tanned face. The makeup isn't rubbed in, and I look like an artist's unfinished painting. Now that I think about it, all makeup is concealer. It hides every little imperfection from the outside world. Most people wear makeup to "enhance their beauty", but I wear it to hide the true girl underneath.
I sigh as I step down the stairs, my pink Converse hitting the carpeted stairs with a thump. I just want to get this day over with. I'm sick of pretending to be "all that". I wish I could ditch the whole popularity thing and hang out with Abigail, Anna, and Lindsey. But everyone would be appalled. I'd be the talk of the grade, but this time, in a bad way. I can just imagine . . .
'Did you hear that Christy May Timothy is hanging out with Anna Boylend and Abigail Stafford?'
'Ewww, are you kidding me? They're the biggest bully and the most unrealistic girl of all of the Sophomores!'
'Even worse, she's hanging about with the emo!'
'You mean Monroe? Uggggggh.'
Everyone would not only be mean to me, it'd only get worse for the others. I can imagine the taunting Lindsey would be getting about how she wasn't good enough to hang out with me.
I sigh. I can never admit to being their friend. I'm going to have to keep concealing it behind my popular girl facade.
By the time I arrive at school, I'm already ready to leave. The entire bus ride to school I listened to a monologue of girlish gushing about Alyssa's new boyfriend, Flynn. Even now as we're walking to the lockers they're still talking.
"He said that his next basket will for me!"
"Jeez, he's so dedicated to basketball."
"I know! Oh Reesia, he said-"
"Shut it!" I finally cry, throwing my hands into the air. The two girls on either side of me fall silent. Finally Alyssa speaks up.
"Um, Christy? Are you okay?"
"No," I fume. "I've got a headache, and you two are driving me crazy!"
"Talk about hormones," grumbles Reesia.
'Or maybe I've been spending to much time with Anna,' I think.
"Just…please. If you're going to talk, talk without me in the middle," I huff.
"So touchy," Reesia remarks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you're acting weird," Alyssa says. "Did something happen between you and your mystery boyfriend?"
"Don't bring Cole into this!" I snap. "He has nothing to do with it!"
"Oh, so his name's Cole?" smirks Reesia. I mentally slap myself.
"Just drop it," I growl.
Later, in Science, I decide that I've got to put this sh*tty mood to use. I pop some gum in my mouth, and kick my feet up on my desk. I feel so rebellious today. A victorious grin spreads across my face when I see three other girls put their feet up as well. There are ups and downs of being popular. This is definitely an up.
However, the teacher notices almost right away, and scolds all four of us. She then continues on with the meaningless lecture, her voice more monotone than Zane's. I sigh, chewing down on my gum hard as I kick my feet up again. I could care less if I get in trouble today. Actually, scratch that. Detention today would not be fun.
My eyes drift lazily across the room, scanning every face. I catch the eye of the popular girl Simone. She smiles and mouths, 'This class is sooo boring.'
'You said it,' I mouth back. I then continue my bored search around the room. Another person meets my gaze, the look in her hazel eyes urgent. I watch as she rips some paper and scribbles something on it. She begins to pass the paper down the row until it reaches me. I open the note and read it:
stop
Hating on
Every
Last
Person
you bitch
I frown. She's obviously trying to tell me something, because Anna wouldn't call me bad names through a note. I study the note again. I suddenly notice something:
stop
Hating on
Every
Last
Person
you bitch
H-E-L-P. Help. Anna's asking for my help. I'm not sure what's wrong, but if she was desperate enough to risk telling me through a note during school hours, something must be horribly wrong.
I meet Anna and Abigail in the bathroom at lunch. Anna looks really stressed and exhausted, like she didn't get much sleep. Her orange shirt (which reads "I'm Not Sorry" in bold letters) is slightly wrinkled, and her hair is bit messy. Next to her, Abigail looks like the complete opposite. Her yellow shirt and green plaid skirt are perfectly smooth, and her braided hair is clipped neatly to the side by a green clip. This only makes me more worried about what people would think if we were caught talking in here. We're so different . . .
"Christy?" Anna's voice jolts me from my thoughts.
"What's wrong?" I ask, my worry prominent in my voice.
"It's that bastard Elijah!" hisses Anna. "He's a total creep!" She then goes on in a whole spiel about him speaking in a demonic voice and threatening her. Abigail's eyes widen.
"We need to warn Lindsey!" she cries, frantic.
"Welll..." I say softly. "How are we going to tell her now? I suppose we could just wait until after sc-"
"No!" snaps Anna. "They're almost dating! She needs to know that he's a freak so she can stay the HELL away from him!"
I bite the inside of my lip, feeling a bit nervous.
"Well...Anna... We've got no proof that this wasn't just a little daydream or something-"
"Why does no one-!" the redhead begins.
"It's not that we don't believe you," I say quickly. "It's just a bit of a fishy story..."
Anna looks ready to explode. I frown. I've come to the conclusion now that I never thought of before: there's a reason why Anna's so rude and bitter. There has to be. What else would turn her into a total bully? I still remember bits and pieces of the Anna Boylend I knew in 3rd grade...she was still not the nicest person ever, but she was never this bad.
I look at her now, fire in her hazel eyes and a set in her jaw. Her glare was unyielding as she looked straight at me, yet it was more like she was staring right through me. I gulp.
"Look, Anna, I know you wouldn't make something like this up, but we can't go jumping to conclusions. Maybe Elijah has multiple personality disorder or something."
"I doubt it," Anna huffs, still looking mad at me, just not as mad as she used to.
"How about we just all be friends!" Abigail grins. Anna shoots her a look, but says nothing.
"Well, I-" I begin, only to be interrupted by the chorus of the song "Give Your Heart A Break".
"What the hell?" Anna explodes. I pull my pink cellphone from my pocket and answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey Christy." Kai's voice comes through the speaker.
"Um…hi," I reply. "Uhh…why are you calling me during school hours?"
"Cole told me that you have lunch right now," Kai says. "But that doesn't matter. I need you to gather the other three girls as fast as you can and get the hell over here."
"Is there a problem?" I ask worriedly. Anna and Abigail look at me, concern etched all over their faces.
"What you think?"
"Yes," I mutter.
"Just c'mon! We're still parked in Trinity Park! Same place! Now GO!"
"I'm going, I'm going!" I hang up without even saying goodbye, and then turn to Anna. "Now I see why you have a problem with Kai."
(Lindsey's POV)
Last night was a nightmare. I was too afraid to go back inside and face my father after what happened earlier, so I slept on the bus stop bench down by house 1230. Thankfully, my father was gone by the morning, so I was able to choke down stale cereal and change my clothes.
I must've looked incredibly vulnerable today, because everyone's been at me all day long. I've been mocked, teased, shoved into the lockers, and flat out ignored. The last one was almost a relief, actually. Rumors are flying everywhere now. Supposedly I've been having one-night stands with the swim team, cutting myself in the bathrooms, and stealing antidepressants from the drug store.
It's going to be a relief to get back to the Bounty after school. I think I'm going to call Elijah and talk with him about this. He goes to West Ninjago High, so he won't get out of school until 4 instead of 3, but I'll call him nonetheless.
"Hey! Bitch!" Oh no... Don't say a word, don't acknowledge their existence... "Hey! Monroe! Don't ignore me!" I start. Something about the voice seems familiar. Very slowly I look up into the face of Anna Boylend.
'We need to go,' she mouths. Then she raises her voice to speak. "C'MON!" She grabs me by the front of shirt and drags me out of the hallway, and down into one of the side hallways.
"W-What's going on?" I stammer.
"Sorry about that," Anna grunts, which doesn't answer my question. She then starts messing with the door that reads 'Emergency Exit Only: Alarm Will Sound'.
"Um, Anna-?"
"Don't worry about it," she replies. "I've done stuff like this loads of times." With that, she shoves the door open.
RINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG-
"ANNA!" I yelp as she drags me through the door. The redhead is laughing her head off in pure joy.
"C'mon!" she cries. "Live a little!" I just sigh.
(No POV)
The girls arrive at the Bounty surprisingly fast, all out of breath from their run.
"Someday," Christy gasps. "I'll convince my mom to get me a car. Then...we can drive."
"Sounds...good...to me..." Abigail looks a bit lightheaded. Lloyd frowns.
"Hey, Abi, you okay?"
"Fine," she replies, sucking in some air. "Just...out of shape." Lloyd nods.
"Okay...good..."
"Break it down for us, sis," Kai cuts in, turning to Nya. The samurai clears her throat, and indicates the screen.
"The Serpentine are on their way to a cave deep in the Sea of Sand," she says. "It's not near any big landmarks, nor any signs of civilization. In fact, there's absolutely no point in going there. So, the question is, should we go check it out?"
"We've already got a tied vote," Cole adds. "Jay and Kai believe that we should go, but Zane and I think we should stay here. And Lloyd is indifferent."
"So, you've gotta vote," Lloyd puts in, looking at the girls.
"Leave," responds Anna instantly. "There's nothing to do in this boring place anyways."
"I agree," Christy says.
"I'd rather stay..." Lindsey sighs.
"I DON'T CARE!" laughs Abigail. Kai facepalms and Anna rolls her eyes. Cole opens his mouth, ready to say something more, when the Bounty's phone rings.
"Who could that be?" asks Nya. Kai wrinkles his noise.
"I dunno."
"I will answer it," Zane says softly, picking up the phone. Everyone falls silent. "Hello?"
Since Zane turned it on speakerphone, everyone can hear the voice on the other end.
"Zane? Oh thank everything!" Elijah cries from the other end of the phone. "I need your guys' help! Something really scary has happened! It-it doesn't even make sense! Can I come over now? Please? It's urgent!"
Everyone looks at each other warily, unsure of what to say.
"Elijah, what's wrong?" Lindsey asks, leaning towards the phone.
"Lindsey? You know a lot about medical stuff, don't you?"
"Yeah..." the girl responds. "Why?"
"I...I think there's something wrong with me."
"Ya think?" Anna mutters under her breath. Christy elbows her in the ribs.
"What happened?" Lindsey asks. "Please, just tell me."
"I...I threw up blood. But...it wasn't just normal blood...it...it..."
"Go on," Lindsey whispers, fear written all over her face. Elijah sounded so terrified, so broken.
"It was black. Black and purple."
"Your blood was black and purple?" explodes Anna. "What the hell? Is that even possible?! YOU'RE A FRICKING LIAR!"
"Anna please!" Elijah cries, his voice full of pain. "You've got to believe me! This is real! I'm not making this up, I swear!"
Lindsey looks ready to cry. "Elijah...I...I don't know what to say. You... That doesn't even... Just get over here. Now."
"Thanks so much," he whispers. "You're so selfless and wonderful."
"I try," the girl replies. "I always try."
Zane hangs up the phone, worry all over his face.
"Whatever is going on, it does not sound natural."
"I agree with Zane," Jay says. "This seems like a bunch of hooey!"
"I think he's telling the truth," Lindsey says. "Did you hear how upset and scared he sounded?"
"It could all be an act," suggests Cole.
"Or it could be real, and he could be in pain right now!" cries Abigail. "I agree with Lindsey! He sounded super hurt!"
"Abigail, you're too trusting," states Kai. "People in this world can be completely terrible, but conceal it behind a facade of innocence or pain."
"But they could also have a tough surface and a soft inside," Abigail says softly. The way she says it makes it sound like she's talking about a real person she knows.
"People like that don't exist," Anna snaps. "End of discussion."
"That's not true," Nya argues, stepping forward.
"I said, end of discussion!" Anna growls. Nya opens her mouth to say more, but the Falcon suddenly soars through the bridge door.
"What's wrong, my mechanical friend?" Zane asks, letting the bird perch on his arm. The bird caws, nodding towards the door. "I think Elijah has arrived," Zane says.
"That was fast," grumbles Anna. Without a second thought Lindsey rushes out the door, followed by Abigail. The others sigh and follow them outside as well.
Once Elijah is on board and seated in the bridge with a cup of calming herb tea, he begins his story.
"So I stayed home from school today because I was feeling dizzy, right? And I was just beginning to feel better when I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up. I rushed to the bathroom, and well, you know... Anyways, I looked at it before flushing, and it was black and purple! And thick! And the reason why I knew it was blood is because I could taste it." He shivers. "It was disgusting. In fact, I can still taste it now."
"Well," Misako says, going through a few of her scrolls, "I've never heard of this disease before, but some things seem similar." Everyone leans closer to listen in. Misako clears her throat and begins.
"I'm assuming most of you remember Dark Matter?" Shivers went through the Ninja and Nya's spines at the mention of the terrible substance that they almost all had to experience.
"Dark Matter?" Abigail asks.
"Sounds like a good title for a video game or something," mumbles Anna. "Or a spy code name. Like, James Bond versus Dark Matter." She got more than a few strange looks. "What? It's not like I started singing Goldfinger or Skyfall or something."
"Anyway," Misako sighs, "Dark Matter is a substance that can turn anything pure evil. It distorts their memories into being completely dark." Lindsey shivers.
"That sounds terrible!"
"It is..." mumbles Jay. "Trust me, I know."
"However," Misako continues, "you can't have been taken by Dark Matter, because your eyes are not purple, and your skin is normal color."
"P-purple eyes?" Anna suddenly stammers. Everyone looks at her. For once, she actually looks a bit nervous.
"Yeah...why?" Kai asks, looking concerned.
"Elijah," Anna begins slowly. "Yesterday, when you said that thing to me. The one you didn't remember."
"Yeah...?"
"Your eyes..." she whispers.
"Your eyes were purple."
I'm sorry if parts of this chapter were boring to you. They may have seemed like a filler, but actually, most of the the parts with Christy's POV were showing a bit more about why the girls have to keep their friendship a secret. I also did a bit of foreshadowing all throughout the chapter for later books in the series. I've got a lot planned out, folks :D
ANYWAY I have a bunch of news!
First of all, I found a song that completely fits Lindsey! It's Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Green Day! Listen to it if you get the chance! (One warning, the f-word is in it once. I'm sure you guys can handle it.)
Second! This fanfic is finally building up to the climax! There will probably be anywhere from 5-7 chapters. Perhaps longer (knowing me it WILL be longer). I'M SOOOO EXCITED! FINALLY! AFTER MONTHS OF PLANNING AND WRITING, I SHALL REVEAL OF MY SINISTER PLOT THINGYS! That, and I was looking at my first few chapters, and I just facepalmed! My writing back then SUCKED compared to now...
Third! I have the results of the poll! The next book will be about... Drumroll please!
Jay: BOOM BOOM BADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADA
Kai: YOU CAN SHUT UP NOW!
Me: KAI/ANNA! Cole/Christy only got 2 votes, while Kai/Anna got 9! (I also just got a great idea for it today while I was brushing my hair -_- It has nothing to do with brushing hair, I promise.)
Lloyd: Although knowing you, it could be.
Me: Shut up.
Lloyd: . . .
Abigail: SHE DIDN'T MEAN IT LLOYDIE!
Lloyd: I'm fine...jeez.
Me: Questions!
1- What did you think of this chapter?
2- What do you think is wrong with Elijah?
3- Do you think Christy is being silly/stupid by hiding her friendship with the others from the school?
4- Do you think Anna is being silly/stupid by hiding her friendship with Christy & Lindsey from the school?
5- Do you think the teachers will find out who opened the fire door?
6- Are you excited for the climax, or are you sad that the story will end soon? Or both?
Please review! Help me not feel like shiz! Make my day (or night) by reviewing!
~ForeverDreamer12, signing out XD