Author's Note: It's been a while since I updated, but at least this chapter's much longer.
"Selina"; It is indeed a special name. It could be Arabic, but I'm aiming for Latin because it seems to fit.
Once again, thank you with the lovely reviews! =]
Real Things is © to Javine
Chapter 3:
An Unwelcome Encounter
She never stayed in that bedroom for long. In any case, she never stayed in any one place for long. She was always fidgeting, constantly moving around from room to room, without a solid or planned purpose or goal. Action was of a high importance. She had to be doing something, no matter how annoying or frustrating. Although being scolded occurred strenuously often, it would never deter Alidah from committing her misbehaviours. After isolation, she would come out of the room only to misbehave yet again. It was one of her many hobbies.
Following the discussion of Alidah's lost family, the two girls left the room within a few minutes. As many of the other orphans had realised, Alidah would be quick to anger at those who even brought up the sensitive subject, yet when Jordan wished to speak about it, Alidah would allow her to and would calmly and quietly listen. It was no big surprise. Jordan and Alidah had been the closest of friends ever since they first met in the tiny orphanage which was when they were both still in diapers. Through the hard times and bad, they'd stuck together as if connected by glue.
The young girl strolled reluctantly up to the boy she had harmed before her initial lecture which had been anything but durable. She glanced at Jordan once and briefly, and then avoided eye contact. Alidah appeared uncomfortable until she faced Cameron. "I'm sorry, Cameron." Her expression was not sympathetic yet it wasn't intimidating either. This was progress. The expression was warning, cautious, but her eyes displayed uncertainty.
"It's okay," Cameron waved his hand, dismissing the incident and accepting the apology. "I guess I was asking for it." He grinned to himself in a playful manner, his green eyes glittering even through the swelling from the punch.
His reaction was kind. He had a tolerance for such things and holding grudges was not one of his best traits. Alidah's reaction to his dismissal shone with her true nature. Her eyes slightly narrowed at him while she stared coolly and untrustingly into his eyes. As everyone else she had ever come into contact to, he gave in under the scrutiny of her gaze. She had the unyielding ability to stare anybody down. It fed her hungry ego. It was her strength.
Alidah's strengths were always somewhat mysterious. Some suddenly popped out of nowhere while others hung around ever since she grew into the teenager she was. Her strengths intimidated almost everybody and she was insanely proud of them. Her weaknesses further exposed her to weakness. Those who knew her knew well of her main weakness and praised the Gods for it because it alerted them to the fact that Alidah was not perfect. Perfection frightened them. Sometimes her weakness frightened them even more. Her eyes, which were so brown they reflected as black and were partially stained brightly from light that fell on them, were her betrayal. They had a way of showcasing her emotions in such a powerful way that it would make others want to weep from the intensity. She was not the sort of person who would be expected to carry such a distinctive trait. Her overall personality radiated a mystery; an enigma wrapped in a solid case. Her eyes were the clear, all too thick windows into that enigma. More difficult it was for those who wished not to be aware of her harsh sentiments as whenever they looked into her eyes, they would see them clearly and untainted.
Her feet carried her past one of the lounge rooms of that building into a kitchen. As she passed two other teens, Lucy and Marshall, something stirred unexplainably.
Marshall, who resided on a heavy tanned couch, raised an eyebrow at his glass. "Hey," he nudged Lucy, who sat quietly beside him and read through a magazine.
"What?" Lucy's brows furrowed in annoyance, darkening her hazel coloured eyes.
"Didn't I have half a glass of cordial?" His eyes concentrated on the glass, never leaving it.
"Yeah, so what if you did?" She didn't seem to care.
"Well, now I have a full glass."
Lucy's eyes finally left the pink dominated magazine and fell onto the glass of orange cordial which, was indeed, full. "That's like freaky. Are you sure it was half full? Oh, why am I even asking? I'm sure it was half full. You go through cordial like ants are drawn to sugar." She grinned in amusement of her comparison.
Marshall rolled his eyes in vain. "But how did it refill if nobody touched it?"
The girl raised her eyebrows in defeat and returned to her magazine. "Who cares? Just be happy that you have more cordial to drink. We're running out of it anyway, so make the most of it."
Finally he gave in and shrugged, taking the drink into his hand and pressing the cool glass against his lips, sipping his favourite liquid. The query about the mystery left his mind as he was indulged in the pleasantly cold beverage. After gulping down the extra half, he turned back to Lucy and stared at the magazine in her hands, bemused. "How can you even read all that rubbish?"
"It's not rubbish!"
"Oh! Turn it up, I love this song!" Alidah suddenly requested.
All who were within hearing range quietened down, knowing smiles appearing gradually on their lips as they turned to watch Alidah jog to the slick black music player on the stand in the corner. Through a sly grin, she fumbled with one of the knobs on the surface until the volume of the radio was raised. The beat pounded and echoes through the kitchen and connecting rooms. The orphans smiled brightly at each other and moved from their seats into the kitchen, dancing and moving creatively to the sound of the song.
Alidah rose onto the stand and then hopped onto a wooden table nearby. Stomping one foot down, a spoon which once lay untouched, jumped at the motion and she immediately snatched it.
The children danced as the song progressed and the joy shone on their faces when Alidah raised the head of the spoon to her mouth and began to sing along to the radio. As the teens laughed and listened, the guardians sat back, smiling and watching the spectacle. The situation was all too familiar. It should have been stopped as it was causing a lot of noise and disruption, but if they were to prevent Alidah from performing, they'd never hear the end of it. "How can I make you see? The real things in life are free. We all need someone that can show you what true love is, that'll never let you down; to tell you that they love you and always be around!"
The song kicked off and the teens, especially Alidah, were enjoying the moment. Nothing could ruin it. "You could be the hottest, you could be the finest; it don't matter to me. You could be the baddest, be the most stylish, you could be rolling in the money. It don't matter what you got. If your heart is out of love you could be the hottest you could be the finest it don't matter to me."
Alidah was incredibly skilled with her voice. She had no fear in expressing it to her fullest capabilities. Her sheer presence reeked of confidence and her belief in what she was able to do. There was nothing that could stop her. "I don't mind pretty things, wouldn't mind a diamond ring, but trust me; I'll be tripling and take what life brings. I gotta do what I do aside, but do what feels right. I just wanna keep it real; that's just how I feel. It's not about the J-O-B but the R-E-S-P-E-C-T. How can I make you see? The real things in life are free,"
A split second seized the moment and broke it. An extreme knock on the front door ended the entertainment abruptly and startled Alidah. Her vocal performance discontinued as her hand released the spoon in a reflex. Everybody froze. The kitchen utensil fell and dropped onto the floor with a slight twang and at that exact moment, the radio was off.
Time seemed to flow in slow motion until the guardians rose to their feet and rushed the orphans into order. "Alidah, get off the table, now." They sternly demanded.
The young girl grimaced and hopped off and narrowed her questioning eyes at the large room window beside the front door. Three heavy shadows guarded the entrance and waited for the promise of an open door. The other children were now hushed and uncomfortable at the sudden quiet and tense atmosphere. For Alidah it seemed strange how things could suddenly be altered so quickly.
A few of the boys went out the back to kick around the football while some of the girls went into their rooms to read. These were the excuses. They were intensely curious to know who was at the front door and what they wanted of the usually quiet and tranquil orphanage. Yet they were unwilling to cause the trouble of asking or waiting around the front hall to find out. Alidah however was different. She desired to acquire the information she sought. Her and Jordan exchanged composed glances and the ever curious Alidah walked casually far behind Rose, the head guardian.
The young one stood back and leaned on one of the pillars inside the hall, a fair few feet from the entry to the home stay. Her arms folded on her chest and she tilted her head, awaiting explanation. Rose carefully unlocked the door and allowed it to edge open to reveal three middle aged men clad in dark suits with matching ties and conspicuous sunglasses which entirely covered their eyes. Confidence radiated from the doorway. The curly cord of earpieces caught Alidah's attention. Just who were they working for?
The man on the very left was the tallest. He appeared the least threatening. He reminded Alidah of a secretary that would constantly follow somebody around, take notes and agree on every word said. The man on the very right was the shortest. He also appeared to be the youngest out of the three and reminded her of a pet which also followed somebody around, but stared, especially if that somebody had a desired food.
The one man in the middle left Alidah feeling the most curious about. He wasn't short but was somewhat tall. He looked very experienced and it was obvious that he was the one in charge; the boss. One wrong step from the other two and they'd no longer have a job.
Jordan and Lucy gradually appeared beside Alidah. Her eyes didn't wander from the three robust men at the door. She examined them under further scrutiny, her lips drawn into a subconscious pout and her eyes narrowed ominously. "Who are they?" Jordan wondered out loud.
"That's what I'd like to know," Alidah's monotone voice was unnerving to the point of discomfort at its potency.
"So, how many times is it that they've been here?" Lucy was reminded of the other times the men had shown up at the orphanage without a clear purpose or contention.
"I'd say about twice this year." Alidah's thoughtful reply erased her pout.
"They sure do look interesting, though. Who do you think they work for?"
"I was wondering the same thing myself. They're so uptight I can barely stand watching them for so long. They probably don't have girlfriends or wives to loosen them up." The young rogue smirked at the thought.
Her smirk was contagious and soon the other girls had caught it, too. There was a moment's pause during which the girls attempted listening into the muffled conversation between Rose and the mysterious stranger in the middle. His voice, from what they could tell, was incredibly deep and stern. Even Rose appeared to be daunted by his vocalization patterns. Without warning, Jordan giggled uncontrollably, using her hand to visibly cover her snigger. Lucy and Alidah both proceeded to smile and stare questioningly at their friend. "What?"
Jordan gathered herself together before replying so that her words wouldn't be inaudible. Therefore, she would not be asked to repeat herself. "The one in the middle looks kind of cute,"
Alidah's mischievous grin faded as she glanced at Lucy and then turned her head to gaze at the man to which Jordan felt effusive about. Preventing her eyes from narrowing once again, she presented the suited man in the middle with an obnoxious and blank stare. She really couldn't see what Jordan found so interesting about him. Her thoughts and assessments were halted to a standstill when a miniscule movement in the man's head turned his gaze to Alidah. He had entered himself into her stare down. However, the event was interrupted by an unexpected reaction from Alidah. A grin progressively materialized on her lips and she looked back at Jordan. Throughout her entire life, it was the first time she had ever been the one to look away first. "I don't know, he looks kind of old. I mean, look at his hair; it's receding."
With the silly smile plastered on her face, she glanced back at him, almost relieved to see that she was no longer the object of his attention. "He is kinda cute, though; in a reticent sort of way."
Lucy scoffed. "You guys have such bad taste! I like the shorter one. He's adorable!"
The other two both stared at her as if she was a locust. "The shortest one? But, he's short,' Alidah's implicating tone didn't require any further explanation.
"Ally, I don't even want to know what you're thinking," Lucy staunchly defended her youthful outlook, stifling a giggle.
The tense discussion at the unexpectedly darkened doorway was drawn to an end as Rose shut the door. Lucy and Jordan scuttled away into the kitchen but Alidah remained at her post. Rose sighed and turned around, unpredictably facing Alidah. Before Rose could even bring out a scold, the young one exerted her appeal for knowledge. "What did they want?"
Not surprised at the orphan's curiosity, Rose gathered her scattered mind. "The same thing they always want. They keep asking if anything unusual has happened here and they always get the same answer; that I haven't noticed anything. Let's just hope it's longer before they come around here again. Those guys give me the willies."
For her old age, Rose certainly still spoke like a teen. Alidah guessed that it helped her understand the situation of the orphans. Albeit she considered that Rose should gracefully act her age. A good-humoured smirk covered Alidah's expression as she turned and headed towards the kitchen. Upon entering the almost empty room, she waved her hand in dismissal at Jordan and Lucy. "Same old, same old." She sighed.
"We have to find out what's really going on." Lucy announced.
"And how is that? We hide in their suitcases?" Alidah's sarcasm left much to be desired.
"They don't have any suitcases," she mumbled in reply and was met with a pathetic look from her friend.
"You know, Ally," Jordan began.
"Oh, here we go. I think I know what's coming." She rolled her eyes and sat herself down on a dining chair.
"You do this every time, but you know we have a point. It's worth trying anything when you have nothing to lose." Jordan's philosophical knowledge gave her the upper hand.
"If you started considering it, you'd have just over two weeks to prepare. We all know you have talent, you know you have talent. Did you ever wonder why you were named 'Alidah'?"
"No, but I do know that you're about to tell me," Alidah averted her eyes from Jordan; a sign that she was readily listening.
"It's a Latin name that means 'little winged one'. It means that your parents somehow knew that you were destined to or that you will fly far with what you set your mind to. You only have to try. And I'm not the only one who thinks you should strive. Look, I mean, Rose can take us down to the park for the live radio event. You just have to have some backing music ready so that you can show them what you can do."
The modish subject matter of Alidah's prominent voice was less than amusing for her. There was a lengthy pause in which she seemed to be frozen in her seat. Suddenly she turned and her eyes scanned the ground. "Where's the spoon I dropped?"
A knowing smile crossed Jordan's features. She had won. Alidah only ever changed the subject when she gave in and she had just presented Jordan with a considerable subject alteration. However, Alidah didn't swiftly decide to change the issue, she spoke her mind. She had remembered dropping the utensil during the immediate slam against the door. Nobody had picked it up or put it away afterwards. It had, for a choice of a better word, vanished.
Outside, the three looming shadows conversed in the containment of their black Audi. "Are you certain you were not mistaken?" The almost robotic speech was sharp and demanding, aggressive at the hint of a hiccup.
The tallest male figure was instantly shot a warning glance by the obvious leader. "I am positively certain. The glitch occurred in that building." His speech was less forced. It sounded almost natural. His voice was another matter. It was incredibly deep and rich; exceptionally masculine.
At a brief instant, the three men raised their hands to the earpieces located inside their ears and silence intruded the dark vehicle. A strict order broke the nearly lifeless locality. "The source of the malfunction must be located and taken care of."