Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. And so, accordingly, I do not own any works credited to that name. (Or to related names. i.e. Uncle Rick.)
Disclaimer (for chapter): I also do not own the lyrics to Conqueror by Aurora. (It's a really great song, though, as she is a wonderful artist. You should check her out. My favorite album is All My Demons Greeting Me As Friends. Granted, that's the only actual album she's got out. My favorite single is either Awakening or Queendom. And the harp version of Queendom? Amazing.)
When we got to lunch, I went through the line and then sat down at a table that Lydia was at. It was a circular table, as the ones closer to the edges of the cafeteria were circular, while the tables closer to the middle were rectangular and had benches rather than chairs. The table was situated in the corner of the cafeteria, next to the wall that was made mostly of windows. At this time of the day, the sunlight lit up the space nicely, even with the lights in the cafeteria on.
A girl came over and sat at the table. There being only three of us, and seven chairs around the table, we weren't all pressed together. "Hey friend." Lydia said.
"Hey." She answered. She was pretty, naturally pretty, she wasn't wearing much makeup, just a little mascara and eyeliner, and she had blue eyes and red brown hair.
"So, you're the new girl?" She asked. I nodded. "I'm Maddie Landon. What's your name?"
"I'm Lyric Tucker." I said.
"Tucker?" She asked. "My cousin has a dog named Tucker." I laughed, and she smiled.
"Lee, come sit with us." Jay called across the cafeteria. I looked to see him sitting in the center of the cafeteria with a bunch of, what looked to be, cheerleaders and jocks. Figures he would get right in with the popular kids. Not that he was shallow or mean like them, but he was a naturally likeable person. Everyone always loved him.
"Be right back." I told Maddie and Lydia. I stood, leaving my lunch and my bag, and went over to the table. "What do you want, Jay?" I asked. The girl beside him glared at me, but I ignored her. She scooted a little closer to him.
"What, can't sit with your brother?" Jay asked.
"I'm sitting with my friends, you with yours." I said with a shrug.
"Don't leave me all alone." He said.
"You be a big boy, Jay, and sit here without your sister, okay?" I said. A couple guys at the table laughed. Jay pouted.
"Betrayal. My own sister doesn't even love me." He muttered.
"Nah, I've just pretended all these years. I secretly despise you." I teased. He stuck his tongue out, and I did the same, before going back to Maddie and Lydia.
When I sat again, Lydia spoke. "What did he want?"
"He just wanted me to sit over there. I told him he was with his friends, I was sitting with mine." I said. "Also, I don't think I could stand it over there. How much perfume do those girls need?" Lydia laughed, and so did Maddie.
"You have passed the true test of fakery. You've not abandoned us for the populars." Maddie said solemnly. The three of us laughed.
After lunch, I found that I had English with Maddie, as well as Kiernan. Not all of Maddie's classes were advanced, but she did have an advanced English class. We also had music together, so we walked there together.
Maddie and I sat somewhere at the left of the room, near the windows. A minute or two later, Jay entered. He didn't see us, and sat over to the center. When Kiernan entered, he sat with Kiernan. Guess they were becoming good friends.
When the bell rang, the teacher stood. "Alright class, we've got two new students. Please introduce yourselves, and tell us any instruments you play and how long you've played them, and whether you sing." She said.
I stood first, and said "I'm Lyric Tucker. I have played the piano since I was six, something I taught myself out of old books to pass the time, the drums since I was almost eight, and the guitar since I was nine. I occasionally sing, but very little in front of others I don't know."
I sat back down as Jay stood. "I'm Jay Tucker. I've played the piano since I was eight, the keyboard, which is basically the same thing, since I was nine, and I can play decently enough on the drums ever since my little sister taught me a couple months ago." He announced before sitting back down.
"Thank you for introducing yourselves." The teacher glanced at a paper in her hands. "We're starting a new project today. You'll have a pre-assigned partner, who you'll write a song with. This project was built up to by some our previous projects, writing song hooks, choruses, and verses on different subjects, as well as writing tunes for specific lines, and other things."
"The song will be due, written, memorized, and performed, on the Friday after next, Halloween. If two people is not enough to fill all instruments you've chosen, you'll be allowed to record the extra instruments and set up audio to be played while you perform, just contact me about that first and I'll set up a time for you in the recording studio. And, while I know you're a teenagers and you may think yourself more mature than your age, and some of you may be, please keep any lyrics you might use school appropriate." The teacher said. She started to read off her paper. "The partners are Chelsey Dare and Lincoln Marsh, Jay Tucker and Maddie Landon, Kiernan Ashton and Lyric Tucker..."
When she finished listing partners and told us only today would be an in class work day, she let us get to work.
"Your brother is kind of cute." Maddie whispered. I glanced up at Kiernan and Jay walking over.
"You think so?" I whispered, and she nodded. "I think you two would look cute together." She blushed even harder as Kiernan sat down in a seat behind us and Jay sat at the table beside us, and I just winked at her, which did not help. Jay gave me a questioning look, but I just shook my head. Maddie moved to the table Jay was at so they could start.
"So, looks like we're partners again." Kiernan said.
"Looks like it." I agreed. "And we already know when we'll be free, so that's even easier. We can just work on the art project and the song."
"That works." Kiernan said.
I glanced around the room, once, and my eyes caught on a book someone had set out on their desk. I pulled my journal out and flipped to the next open page, the previous page having a heart drawn at the center of each side of the page, to separate different things. I wrote down the lyrics I had thought of.
Just like in fiction, in every addiction
Oh fantasy's taking over, awake me
"What's that?" Kiernan asked, gesturing to the journal. It was a brown leather bound journal, a little smaller than a composition notebook, had a bright blue shoelace through the spot on the spine that was supposed to hold its original string, and a slightly darker shade brown tree decorated the front.
"My songbook." I told Kiernan.
"You write songs?" Kiernan asked.
"Sometimes. It's kind of like my diary." I said.
"What did you just write?" Kiernan asked. I turned the notebook and showed him.
"Where'd you get the idea?" He asked.
"I can really get inspiration from almost anything, not that I always do." I said. He looked confused, so I continued. "I could look at one thing, and my mind could end up somewhere completely different. Like I could look at the sun outside. Think of the color yellow, or gold. That could lead me to thinking of a wide range of things. It just kind of stems out however much."
"And where'd you get the inspiration for that?" Kiernan asked.
"Someone left their book on their desk. I thought of fiction and of fantasy, and something that rhymed. I also thought of how obsessed some people can be with books, not that that is a bad thing, because I'd say I'm an avid fangirl, too." I explained. Kiernan just nodded.
After class ended, Maddie walked back to the Lannen building with me. As it turned out, her locker was beside mine, to the left. I grabbed my helmet while she grabbed some papers and a notebook.
I ran into Jay talking to some guy and told him I'd see him at home later, and went to my bike.
When I got to the dance studio, I went to the front desk, which was behind a short wall, a door beside the wall led to the office the desk was in. "Hi, I signed up online for classes? I'm Lyric Tucker." I said.
"Oh, yes, you're in Contemporary, Lyrical, and on the list for Team tryouts?" She asked. I confirmed it. "The locker room is just through that door. Choose any small locker, the large ones are for use during class only." She handed me a lock and a little plastic card that could be put on a keyring, with the combination on it. I accepted them and entered the girl's locker room.
"Lyric?" A voice asked. I looked up to see Maddie walking towards me. She looked like she'd probably just gotten here, too.
"Hi Maddie." I said. "Where should I have my locker?" I asked.
"Follow me." She told me, heading off where less people seemed to be. We went to the far corner of the locker room. It seemed like only a couple girls had lockers over here, while the rest were a closer to the door. She started turning the lock on one, obviously her locker. I chose the locker beside hers. I twisted my lock a few times, making sure I had the combination memorized, and put the lock on the locker. I put the combination on my keys.
"So, why is everyone all across the locker room?" I asked.
"For whatever reason, it's better to be closer to the door. Probably the girls who need more time to change or whatever, because if you're a teen, you go to our school. Unless you go to a school in the next town over, at which you aren't in this class, but the one after." Maddie told me. I nodded and changed into my dance wear. Black dance shorts, a tank top, and I was already wearing a sports bra. I also put on my footundeez.
When it was time for class, we went into the studio through the door from the locker room. The instructor took attendance while we stretched, and when she was done, asked how long I'd been taking contemporary. I told her this would be my fifth year.
After class, Maddie and I talked for a couple minutes while we changed, and then we both went to our separate vehicles.
When I got home, I hung my helmet on the hook on the row of pegs bolted onto the wall, and started towards my room. Mom was in the living room as I passed.
"How was your first day of school?" Mom asked. I paused at the bottom of the steps and turned to face her.
"It was good. I made a new friend, and she happens to be in all of my dance classes. We're both trying out for team, but she's been in it since freshman year." I said.
"That's great. Anything else interesting happened today?" She asked.
"I got paired with the neighbor for projects in two different classes." I said.
"Lydia?" Mom asked.
"Actually, her brother Kiernan." I said. Then I went upstairs so I could put my backpack and dance bag in my room, and then go take a shower.
After my shower, I blow dried my hair. I'd usually just let it air dry, but I wanted out of the way and dry while I tried to work on two different projects.
When I got back to my room, only a towel wrapped around my body, I nearly screamed. Kiernan was lying on his back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "Oh, hey, Lyric." He said, looking at me when I came in. "Your mom sent me up, I don't think she realized you were still in the shower."
"What time is it?" I asked, going over to my armoire and pulling out undergarments, a tank top, and shorts.
"It's just after four." Kiernan said, looking at his phone. I went behind my dressing screen and put the towel over the top.
"Oh. The Instructor wanted to talk to me after class, so I got a little held up." I said, pulling on my bra and underwear. I could see the silhouette of him get up and run a hand along the wall.
"This is neat. Is it some wallpaper or something?" Kiernan asked as I pulled on my shorts, and then my top.
"I painted it yesterday." I told him.
"You painted this?" He asked.
"Told you, I'm a performing arts and visual arts kind of girl." I told him, coming out from behind the screen. I sat on the edge of my bed, and pulled a notebook out of my backpack, as well as a pen to write with. I flipped to an open page. "So, how do we want to go about doing this?"
Kiernan pulled a notebook and pencil from a small drawstring bag he and brought, and sat next to me. "Maybe like a twenty questions sort of thing? Take turns asking questions?" Kiernan suggested.
"Sure. I'll go first. What's your favorite color?" I asked.
"I would go with dark green. Somewhere around the shade that your eyes are, a dark shade." Kiernan said. "I've just always liked that color." I wrote down his answer.
"My favorite color would be light green, because it's so affiliated with nature and blooming plants. Kinda like your eye color. Or that beanbag over there." I pointed to my beanbag. He wrote it down.
"Favorite food?" He asked.
"Homemade vegan cheesecake, which is made with tofu, with strawberry or cherry pie filling on top. One of the best foods you will ever taste." I said.
"My favorite food is venison. Delicious." Kiernan said.
"Venison is good." I agreed, writing it down.
We went back and forth with more trivial questions like that, until he asked "What's one secret you've never told anyone before?"
"Getting gossipy are you?" I asked.
"You don't have to tell. But I won't share it if you do. Promise." He said.
"Let me think a moment." I said. "No one knows I've got a tattoo." He raised an eyebrow.
"A tattoo? Can I see it?" He asked. I stood from the bed, and turned. I pulled down the side of my shorts a little so he could see the intricately designed blooming pink and white flower. "Cool." He said. I pulled the shorts back up and sat back down.
"When and why did you get the tattoo?" Kiernan asked.
"I got it last year, after a particularly bad day. It was the anniversary of a bad day, actually, and it seemed like everyone was just trying to upset me. I got it to remind myself that I'm free now. That I'm not in that bad place anymore. Because nature makes me feel so free. No one owns nature, it's just there, and it does anything no matter what you want." I said, staring down at my notebook.
"Something I've never told anyone before is that my music is my outlet. I mean, Lydia knows I play every night, and my parents know from whenever they're here, but it's so much more than that. I can pour all of my feeling into playing." Kiernan said.
"When your parents are here?" I asked.
"They travel a lot for work. They wanted Lydia and I to stay here for high school, but they're homeschooling Mason for elementary and middle school." Kiernan explained. "Mason is our little brother. He's just barely ten."
"How often are your parents here?" I asked, a little concerned.
"They make sure they visit at least once every two weeks, and they call or text a couple times a week." Kiernan said. Okay, at least they weren't like neglecting them.
After we wrote down each other's answers for that question, we switched to working on the song. I pulled out my journal, and we worked on the lyrics and the time for awhile before Kiernan went back to his house. After putting away my journal and notebook, I spent the rest of the afternoon painting my flowering vines around the hexagonal window.
Tuesday morning, I woke and took a shower and went to school and class as normal. Kiernan again came over around four to work on our projects. This time, he ended up lying on his back on my bed, and I ended up on my beanbag, on my stomach.
"So, same as yesterday?" Kiernan asked.
"Sure." I said. "You can go first."
"Alright, favorite song?" Kiernan asked.
"Force of Nature by Bea Miller. Though, there are a couple close seconds." I said.
"My favorite song would have to be Heartlines by Florence and the Machine." Kiernan said.
"It is a good song." I agreed. "Alright, best friend?"
"Chase Walker. I've known him for years, most people in this town have, as people rarely move in or out." Kiernan said. "You?"
"That'd have to be Jay. After moving around, I never much made friends. Jay always did, though, he's always been popular." I said.
"You moved around alot?" Kiernan asked.
"Kind of. I've never much made many friends in the first place, and we've moved a couple of times for things like Mom's job and other reasons." I explained.
"What job makes you move around so much? What are the other reasons?" Kiernan asked. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that, that's horribly impersonal of me."
"No, it's fine. The other reasons were all for me. I'm not originally a Tucker, I'm adopted. Mom adopted me when I was seven, after a year of bouncing around foster homes." I said. "And we had to move one or two times because we were too close to specific foster homes. When close enough, I'd get such horrible anxiety attacks, and Mom packed us up and moved just for me."
"That's harsh." Kiernan said. I just nodded. His phone buzzed and he read a text. "Next question. Do you like dress shopping?"
"What?" I asked.
"After we're done working on the projects, Lydia wants to take you with her to go get a new dress for a party someone's hosting tomorrow night. She said to ask but that you don't really have a choice." Kiernan explained. I laughed.
"Tell her I'd love to." I said. He sent a text back to her.
After some more questions, we worked more on our song. At this point, we were just under halfway through writing it.
I walked out the door with Kiernan after grabbing my wallet, phone, and jacket. Lydia was borrowing his car, so as to drive us both to a place somewhere across town.
I ended up sitting in the passenger seat, and Lydia and I chatted as she drove. When we arrived, Lydia parked and we got out. The place was a little shop called Vintage Attitude. They had a wide range of things inside, mostly clothing for any occasion, but Lydia dragged me over to an area that held many different dresses, formal and informal.
After much debate and Lydia making me try on about a million dresses, I finally chose one. It was a light red thing covered in little white polka dots. The neckline was high, just above the collarbone, and the sleeves covered only the top of the shoulder. The dress reached down to just above my knees, and hugged my body a little.
And, after much more debate and trying on dresses, Lydia finally chose a dress for herself. It was a light blue dress with flower petals designs down the left side, and it had a scoop neckline, while it reached the middle of her thighs.
After we paid for the dresses, we went back home, Lydia into her own house and me into mine. I put the dress in my armoire and spent the rest of the afternoon painting the night sky onto the ceiling in one of the two rooms we had designated as guest rooms.
And there it is!
Sooo sorry I missed Tuesday's update, that's the day we headed up to Camp, and with getting everything in the truck, driving there, and not getting back until today, I didn't have a moment (or Internet service) to post, so I'm posting two chapters today.
Thank you to anyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited! You are not inclined to do any of those things if you do not wish, but it would be much appreciated! I send my love to all of you!