October 7, 2015 – Wednesday, Early Morning - Sunny
Lydia woke up and looked outside her window to see that it was going to be another warm, sunny day. As per Jacob's suggestion, the group was going to go to the Halborne Mall later tonight – except with a guest tagging along: Carla. Lydia had made it very clear to her fellow dancer that she wouldn't tolerate her making fun of her friends, and Carla promised that she'd keep most of her thoughts to herself.
She said she would try not to seem too out of place. I managed to convince the rest of the group that it'd be okay, but we'll have to see what happens later.
She got ready for the day ahead, and went downstairs to see that Gerald had decided to watch some TV while eating his cereal. He briefly glanced at her before looking back at the movie he was watching, which looked like some early 2000s action flick. It had been three days since she had hurt his feelings, and she hadn't been able to think of a way she could make it up to him that wasn't just a lame apology – until today.
If we're all going to the mall later... then I should invite him along, too. Hopefully he hasn't already made plans.
"Gerald?" She walked over to him.
"What?" He said, before eating another spoonful of cereal.
"I was going to go to the Halborne Mall later tonight with my friends. Do you... want to come with us?" Gerald kept his eyes on the TV screen, watching a car swerve into the frame and speed madly down an empty suburban street, followed by another car that was clearly trying to chase it down.
"I'd just annoy you all with all my talking, wouldn't I? No thanks."
"I'm sorry about what I said before. I... was upset over something that had nothing to do with you and I took my frustrations out on you when I shouldn't have. I could stand to be a little more patient, I know." Gerald sighed, and looked down at his cereal bowl before laying back on the couch and looking up at his sister.
"You're serious about that invitation?"
"Yeah. The others really enjoy having you around, especially Damien. I know you two were talking about all sorts of things last time. There'll be a couple of new faces joining us tonight - Jacob, who's a sophomore that paints stuff, and Carla, who's the captain of the dance team. She's a senior." Gerald nodded, sitting back up to eat some more of his cereal. The car chase on TV had apparently escalated to both cars running through several backyards, until the one in front broadsided a tree and spun out of control.
"Alright. Hey, though. Do you really think I talk too much?" He said, making eye contact with her again. There was no longer a hint of accusation in his eyes, and it looked like he had accepted her apology. Instead, his look was that of pure curiosity, as if he had really been considering that his tendency to talk and talk was getting on people's nerves. Lydia paused, not sure about what she should say to him.
"Like, I'm not gonna get mad at you if you say yes. The past few days I've been thinking about stuff; I remember what you told me about Betsy and how she told me that we didn't really have anything in common, so that's why she didn't really like talking to me that much. I figured that maybe it was like that with you - I mean, you don't watch all the same stuff I do and you're not into video games like I am. We have different kinds of friends - Don and Ron are really crazy compared to Damien or Allie. They're loud and hit each other a lot, which is fun for me. It's hard for me to see you acting like that, and even though I've only hung out with your friends once, I don't think they'd act like that either. So yeah, I kinda understand where you were coming from. You just didn't have to treat me like crap about it. I know, I know, you're sorry and you're trying to make it up to me by inviting me along this time. I'm totally down for that. I just wanted to tell you that from now on I'm going to try to talk more about things that actually have something to do with you." Lydia wondered if she still had to answer the question, seeing as he pretty much answered it for her already.
"There's nothing wrong with talking a lot. Like you said, it's more what you're talking about that draws people in or pushes them away. Some people are totally open to listening and engaging in conversation about things they're not all that familiar with, but as you've learned, for others it doesn't really get conversations going."
"Uh huh. Gotcha. Well, looks like everything's peachy-keen between us again. You should eat something. Gonna have to leave for school pretty soon." After he spoke, time froze for a moment as the Magician Arcana card appeared before Lydia. She watched the padlock shatter and the card lose its irritating red glow, returning to normal once again.
"It looks like you've made things right again. Good work." Ophelia whispered to her. The card faded and time resumed its normal flow, leaving Lydia to look over at the fridge to see what was available.
When Lydia walked through the doors of the east entrance to Fulton, she saw Tori waiting for her and listening to some music through a pair of headphones that looked older than her. She saw Lydia and put the headphones down as she walked over to her.
"Good morning, Lydia!" Her outfit seemed to be a color swap of the last thing Lydia had seen her in; today it was blue and white instead of whatever combination it was before.
"Morning, Tori. How's it going?"
"It's great! I just got a new album to listen to. Would you like to hear some of it?"
"What is it? Who's the artist?"
"Marie Miller. She released a new album last week and I got my parents to let me buy it. Don't worry, it's not preachy. I think you'll like it."
"Okay. Guess that's why you're wearing those headphones that look like they're straight out of 1985." Tori chuckled and gave Lydia her headphones. She put them on and Tori started the track, and Lydia was treated to an acoustic guitar playing a hurried, melancholy tune. After a few seconds, a mezzo-soprano voice began singing these words:
The moon is full tonight
Its light shines upon my heavy heart
There's an echo that I can't shut out
I try to turn my eyes away from the light
But it's all I can do to try and let go
Let me see the sun again
Let me hear nothing but
The silence that marks my solace
I want to let it all fall away
I want to become a child of the wind again
Lydia looked up at Tori as the song continued into its second verse, who seemed eager for a positive reaction. It sure wasn't anything like the praise and worship tunes she generally expected out of Christian music - but then again, Tori hadn't said that it was. The song certainly had an element of distress to it, and Lydia wondered what would have drawn Tori to this kind of music.
"It's really good. What's the name of the song?" She said as she took the headphones off.
"Child of the Wind." She gave the headphones back to her.
"What made you want to get the album? Did you really like the artist before?" Tori put the headphones around her neck and looked down at the ground.
"Kind of. She used to be part of a Christian group called Overflow Project. Their music was basically Christian rock with a lot of acoustic guitar in there - which Marie used to play. They made one album that sold really well with Christians, and it looked like things were really looking up for them... until the lead singer and songwriter, Brendan Harper, got into a car wreck and lost his life. That was pretty much it for the group, and they all went their separate ways. Marie decided to start a solo career, Garret went to seminary, and Helena and Jake are part of another group called Risen Sleeper." Tori paused for a brief moment before realizing she hadn't actually answered Lydia's question.
"Oh! I'm sorry, that didn't have anything to do with what you said."
"It's fine. That was pretty interesting. I wouldn't have known any of that if you hadn't told me."
"Well, um, about your question... I'm not sure how to put this, but I guess you could say... it's something different. Something that still feels meaningful, but in a different way than what I'm used to hearing, especially around my family. My parents are pretty strict about what I'm allowed to listen to, so I was pretty lucky it was a name they already recognized. They're not all that great with technology, though, so I think if I really wanted to..." She didn't finish what she was saying, but the both of them knew the rest of that sentence - that she could listen or to watch whatever she wanted and keep it under her parents' radar because it didn't have the capability of monitoring Internet activity.
"...well, I don't want to go behind their backs like that. I'd never be allowed online ever again if they caught me."
"I'm glad you were able to find something that gave you a fresh perspective. I think that based on what I heard, it sounds like you want to hear about the sad parts of life, about how much it can hurt and how it's okay to acknowledge that." Tori blinked and nodded, somewhat surprised to hear it.
"Y-Yeah. I wasn't sure how to word it, but it sounds like you hit it right on the head." The bell rang after she said that, prompting her to look around and see that the halls were becoming very busy.
"I should go. I'll text you, alright?"
"Alright. See you later!" Lydia said as Tori walked down the hallway past Mr. Marshall's room. She briefly looked inside and saw that Damien and Allie were watching a video on Allie's phone, and then looked back outside to watch Tori disappear around the corner.
Not what she's used to hearing, huh. I don't know what would be worse: being constantly told how great everything is or being constantly told how horrible everything is and then having either of those things turn out to be lies. I guess in the second case you can at least hope for things to get better, but... well, maybe I'm reading too much into things. I don't even really know the details of what goes on in Tori's life.
Wednesday, Evening - Clear
"So, Lydia... any idea on when Carla's gonna show up?" Damien asked as the group sat around a table, waiting for the red-headed dancer to arrive so that they could decide on something to eat.
"Yeah, uh, I'm about ready to just say, 'Screw it.' and start eating without her. We've been waiting for ten minutes already. You told her 6:30, right?" Nathan said, fidgeting in his seat.
"She might have had trouble finding a good parking spot? I mean, today's not Friday, so it's not super packed... I don't know. I don't want to wait too much longer, either. I'm hungry." Allie looked towards the entrance to the food court, with its array of glass doors and easily visible area in front.
"I think that's her over there, next to the cookie place." Gerald pointed in the direction he was facing, which was away from the entrance. Everyone looked over and saw Carla turning from the Awesome American Cookies at the corner of the food court, holding a bag.
"Well, if she's already eaten, then I guess we don't have to wait any longer." Jacob said.
"No, she told me she would eat alongside us. I think she just decided to grab her dessert ahead of time." Lydia said as Carla walked up to the table they were all seated at.
"Sorry I'm late. I hate having to wait for those cookies after I've eaten here, so I decided to go there first. So, you all must be Lydia's friends. I'm sure you all know who I am already, but I'm Carla. What do you all want to eat?" Nathan got up from his seat and gestured towards the Wendell's across from him.
"Burgers. I'm gonna devour the King of Bacon one." He then immediately walked towards it, Jacob rising from his seat and looking at Carla.
"I think I'll just eat some chicken nuggets from there. What about you, Carla? What did you want to eat?" She looked around and settled her eyes on the place called Jade China Express.
"Oh, I think some Asian food will go just fine with these cookies. Does anyone want to join me?" She looked over at the remaining members of the group. Damien shrugged and stood up.
"Sounds as good as anything else. Allie, Gerald, Lydia? What are you thinking you're gonna eat?"
"Think I'll go join Nathan and Jacob over there. Be right back." Gerald said, leaving to go to Wendell's.
"Yeah, I should get in line." Jacob followed him. Allie looked around and figured the sandwich shop was the most appetizing option at the moment.
"I think I'll get a turkey sandwich from the Sub Hut." She began to walk off in that direction, leaving Lydia as the only person who hadn't decided.
"I haven't eaten Chinese in a while. I'll go with you two." She said, and the three of them went and got in line. Carla looked at Damien and asked,
"So, Damien... how's it going? See anything good on TV lately?" She glanced at the t-shirt he was wearing, which was the one with Detective Aster on it from the TV show Sinister.
"I guess you noticed my shirt. Ah, yeah, I think Sinister's pretty decent. Used to be better in the first two seasons, but it's still worth watching even on Friday nights. I think there are several other shows on cable worth keeping up with - there's Boston F.D., Justice & Judgment, Agents of S.W.O.R.D., Better Call Paul... and that's not even counting what's on Zulu or WebFlix. What about you? What TV shows are you watching right now?" Carla thought for a moment, raising her eyebrows the line moved forward.
"A few episodes of this and that. I'm familiar with a couple of the things you mentioned, but there really isn't anything in particular you could say I'm really into. It's more or less whatever's on at the moment and whatever my friends are talking about. I don't think their interests really line up with yours - you don't seem like the type to be into Red's Hospital, for one. I seriously don't think someone like you would appreciate On the Heels of the Hendersons, either." Damien shook his head.
"Yeah, that's definitely not my thing. But you're into that show? Why?" Carla looked to see that she was almost at the front of the line. She turned her attention to the menu items while still talking to Damien.
"I like interpersonal drama. I know it's supposed to be "reality" TV, but it's more-or-less just as manufactured as anything else. Still, I like watching the things they get up to, and while it's not exactly what I want, I do like a lot of their lifestyle." The person behind the counter took her order, giving Damien a moment to turn to Lydia and say,
"You know, I didn't think she would actually make for half-decent conversation. I expected a lot less from her."
"I know. I was surprised too." Lydia responded. After the three of them had gotten their food, they returned to the table to see that everyone was already seated. Nathan had wasted no time in eating his burger, and was halfway done with it by the time they had taken their first bite.
"I see your appetite hasn't changed since you quit the team, Nathan." Carla said after eating some of her noodles.
"Hey, a guy's gotta eat. Besides, you can't tell me calling your bacon cheeseburger a King of Bacon isn't awesome. They even have a Prince of Bacon!" Nathan said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Memorable? Sure. Awesome? No. It's just a bacon cheeseburger, there's nothing awesome about that." Carla responded.
"Uh, alright then. Whatever."
"Hey, Gerald. You ever decide to check out Legion of Gladiators?" Damien asked.
"Yeah, I downloaded it and installed it last night. I have like, no idea what I'm doing. I mean, I get I'm supposed to kill other players and destroy their towers until my team can seize their fort, but like... yeah, I have no clue what any of the gladiators do and I'm pretty sure I died at least twenty times. But it's fun! I'm looking forward to playing with you and Allie some time." Allie adjusted her glasses and finished swallowing her food before saying,
"The way the game's matchmaking works, if you actually try to play PvP with us, it's either going to be way too easy or way too hard for you, mostly the latter. I've got no problem playing with a new player, it's just... it's definitely going to be smoother if we stick to playing against the AI, at least until you get the hang of the game."
"Yeah, and you probably played with at least a couple of smurfs in those first few matches anyway. Some people think they don't deserve to be in the bottom tier of the rankings, so they take it out on new players by making new accounts and stomping them." Damien explained. Gerald nodded, and took a bite out of his burger.
"I've heard those games have terrible communities. You get yelled at if you do any little thing wrong, even if you don't understand what it is you did wrong." Jacob said, remembering what he'd read on social media about them. Damien narrowed his eyes and said,
"People can be stupid as hell when it comes to MOBAs. They think they're good when they actually really suck, which means they think they can order people around. It's even worse when they really are good. Allie, what did you tell me about Platinums or Diamonds?"
"Since they're actually better than the average person at the game, but not quite good enough to be considered top-tier, a lot of people in Platinum League get upset really easily because they think they deserve to be on top since they're clearly better than most people. Also, since everyone is assumed to be good, there's a much lower margin for error, meaning mistakes are not only seen more easily, but get punished more heavily. Basically... you're always going to have to deal with people getting mad at you - whether the fault was yours or not, no matter how good or bad you are. If you want to stick with it, you get used to it."
"I don't play these kinds of games, but it sounds like working at a really shitty job." Carla remarked. Damien chuckled.
"Well, in that case, I should be prepared to take on any job in customer service. It's pretty much the same thing anyway."
After everyone had finished eating, the group split up by girls and guys, with the girls heading to Everlasting. Carla turned to Lydia and Allie and said,
"So, what's your style like? Based on what you're both wearing right now, it's probably something pretty different from what I'm used to seeing when I'm with my usual group." Allie felt like she was about to be put on trial, and decided to answer her question with another question.
"What are you used to seeing?" Carla smiled and shook her head.
"I asked you a question. Don't try and evade it." Allie sighed.
"Okay, fine. Honestly... this isn't even the store I'd go to first. I'd stop by Burning Words instead. The first time I came here was because I thought Lydia would've liked these clothes better. I used to think I wouldn't like it, but now I've seen that it's not so bad."
"Uh huh. So, have you bought anything from here?"
"Yeah."
"What was it?"
"Let me show you. It should still be here." Allie led the girls to where she had found the first dress she had bought. After finding it, Carla took a moment to look between her and the diamond-patterned black-and-white garment, and then looked at Allie and said,
"Alright. That's not too bad. It goes along with what little I know about you: a kind of subdued modesty, neither blending in with the crowd nor really standing out. Basically the type I can see Lydia hanging out with." Allie gave Lydia a questioning look as Carla turned her attention to the nearby racks of clothes.
"So... let's see, is there anything good around here for me?" The next few minutes were spent browsing for new clothes. Lydia and Allie listened to Carla give her opinions about their clothing choices - this one was okay for Lydia, this other one was bad for Allie because the colors clashed, that one was good for Allie because it made her look different in a good way, and everything Carla herself bothered to grab off of a rack was great.
Now was the time to try on the clothes that they had picked out. As they were approaching the fitting booths, one of the doors opened and a girl with a small white streak in her short, wavy black hair emerged with several hangers in her hand. Carla stopped and acknowledged whoever this was, smiling at her and her seven different pieces of clothing.
"Well, good thing we showed up when we did. How many selfies did you take this time, Morgan? If it's less than fifteen I'll be shocked." The girl was briefly startled by Carla raising her voice to catch her attention, and smiled back while narrowing her eyes at her in mock annoyance.
"Sorry, I only took thirteen this time. I can already hear my Scrapbook followers bemoaning the thought! Where's the rest of your crew? I've never seen you come here by yourself before." Carla gestured with her free hand to Lydia and Allie, who took in the appearance of Carla's friend: a Hispanic girl about as tall as Allie, wearing a violet-colored top that exposed her shoulders and what looked to be a pair of jean shorts behind the various clothes she was carrying. She wore a pair of sneakers with a nebula design on them.
"I'm hanging out with a couple of different people today. Lydia, Allie, this is Morgan. She's kinda weird, but she's alright. She's part of the student council at our school." Morgan waved at them.
"Hey. Lydia, you're on the dance team, and Allie's part of our eSports club. Right?"
"I've never seen you before, Morgan. Did you just recently join the student council?" Allie asked.
"You all have fun. I'm going to try on what I have here." Carla said, going inside the booth that Morgan had just vacated and closing the door.
"No, it's just that I don't hold any special positions, so that's probably why you've never seen me before. Actually, if we hadn't met here, we probably would've met in the next couple of weeks at school - we're going to start selling homecoming stuff tomorrow and I'm one of the council members responsible for selling tickets to the dance on the 30th. You should both totally go to the dance - especially you, Lydia! You've never been to a dance with so many people before, I bet." Lydia figured that being friends with Carla meant Morgan almost certainly heard that she was from a really small town. She wondered what else, if anything, this person she'd never met had heard about her.
"I'm sure it'll be a great time. I'm looking forward to it." She looked over at Allie, wondering if she was thinking the same thing she was.
I hope our duties as QIB don't get in the way of this. Unfortunately, I have a sinking feeling that they will somehow.
"The school dances here have been pretty fun. I think you'd enjoy them." Allie added, returning Lydia's glance and hoping that they'd actually be able to do something normal without the Idols and Sycophanta getting in the way.
"Cool! Say, what are you two doing for Halloween? I know we've got homecoming like, the day before, but I was still planning on going to a Halloween party on the 29th. I'm going to cosplay as one of my favorite characters from the Burning Sigil series, Michelle." Lydia had no idea who that was or what the series she originated from was, but Allie lit up at the mention of her.
"Oh! You played Luminous Sunrise?" She asked.
"Mmhm! I actually started with the first portable title in the series - the first one in the West, I mean - but I really liked the fact that Michelle's a mage lord when all the other lords in the series are physically-oriented."
"Is that why you have that white streak in your hair?" Lydia asked.
"Oh, no. I know Michelle has white hair, but hers is actually a lot longer than mine, so I'm using a wig. This color here is just for fun."
"I bet I'm going to see a whole album dedicated to that costume on Scrapbook. Just like all the other ones you've done." Carla said from within the fitting booth. Morgan giggled and Lydia was starting to get an idea of who Morgan was: something like a model, maybe not serious about it but certainly interested in sharing lots of photos of herself with the world.
"Hey, I've got a couple of ideas for you in case you ever want to try it out, too." She responded.
"No thanks. You'll have to find someone else to rope into your geek brigade." The redhead said from inside the booth.
"Well, I'd love to stick around, but I've got a ton of homework I've been putting off and I really need to get home so I can start on it. I hope to see you both again soon!" Morgan said, and began walking towards the registers.
"Bye!" Both Lydia and Allie said to her as she walked away.
The trip to Everlasting yielded another new outfit for both Lydia and Allie, while Carla left with two tops and a dress. The girls met up with the guys midway between the two stores, with all of them holding a bag from Burning Words except Nathan.
"What did you all get?" Lydia asked.
"A couple of graphic tees. Couldn't convince Nathan to pick anything up, though." Damien said.
"Hey, I just didn't find anything I liked there. We've still got other stores to hit, remember?" Nathan said.
"I got a new hoodie." Jacob said.
"And as for me, I got another t-shirt too. I haven't even watched the show that's on it, but I thought it looked pretty cool, so I said, 'What the heck, why not?' and bought it." Gerald said. Carla stepped forward and spoke next, looking around at everyone and saying,
"We all managed to find something that worked for us. But Nathan's right, we've only just gotten started. Come on, let's go!"
After the trip to the mall was over and everyone went home, Lydia got a text message as she settled into her chair to work on her homework. It was from Carla.
"Had a good time tonight. Your friends are nice people, but..." The message trailed off. Lydia waited a few minutes to see if Carla would finish the message, but after no follow-up she figured Carla was waiting for her to text back first.
"...but what?" She wanted to add something telling her not to badmouth her friends, but decided it was better to wait until after she had actually insulted them in some manner before telling her off.
"They don't really interest me. Allie's into all sorts of geeky things and I'm pretty sure she's more comfortable in her own little world than stepping out and being a go-getter. Nathan bores me, as if he didn't already bore me enough when he was on the football team. I can't stop seeing Jacob as the bleeding heart ex-boyfriend of Lana. Damien is probably the least not interesting one, as he at least knows how to talk to people."
It's not exactly a list of insults, but it almost feels like they are.
"Who do you consider interesting, then? Besides me?" She asked. Carla took several minutes to reply, sending a message that was shorter than Lydia expected.
"People that have some kind of drama that I actually care to hear about."
That would explain why her usual circle of friends are a bunch of gossips, and why she's probably let the feud with Dawn go on for as long as it has. She not only likes that kind of pointless drama, she probably makes it happen herself if there isn't any around.
"So if my friends were more like yours, you'd want to get to know them better?" Lydia texted back.
"Of course. Except if they were more like my friends, they probably wouldn't be your friends, now would they?" Lydia was thinking of something to say to that when she added onto it.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to them. Remember what I said to you the other day. I want to learn what kind of race you're running, what goal you're after that makes you not care about the things my friends care about. Tonight helped me understand that." Lydia read the message and thought about it as she let her mind solve a set of math problems.
What goal am I after? I didn't really think there was some kind of overall thing that explained why I am the way I am. It's like she's trying to ask me what I really want out of life, and... I don't think I've ever really thought about that before. I've had enough to deal with right now as it is, I don't know anything about the distant future. But Carla's the kind of person who's known what she wanted to be since she was in preschool, I bet. She's already answered that question, and now she wants to know what my answer is too.
Lydia was broken out of her thoughts by her phone's text notification noise, and noticed that Carla had sent her another message.
"Oh, and since Morgan brought up the homecoming dance... you have got to tell me who it is you're taking with you. That'll tell me a lot about you." Lydia sighed, and flipped her phone face-down.
I am not responding to that. I want to go to the dance, but I have not even thought about taking a date, much less about who it would be. I only really know three other guys at this school, and I'd probably just end up taking someone so that I'd end up paying less for the ticket. Not that it even makes a difference when I have a ton of money from Shadow hunting. I do know one thing, though: between FantasyFlare, the next couple of Idol events, and now homecoming and Halloween, this is going to be a really busy month. Really, really busy.
Original upload date: April 7, 2016
A/N: Well, it's been quite a while since I've updated this story, huh? From here on out, I'm going to put the dates on which subsequent chapters were posted. That way, anyone reading this several months or years down the line can see how quickly (or slowly) it was made. Thunderbird013 - You'll see what happens sooner or later. Hopefully sooner rather than later. TheDarkestMind - Glad to have you! Hope you enjoy the story.