The ghost of my brother raised his left hand in a military salute. He could be such a goof ball. I laughed.
"So how's life- err... death? Haunt any abandoned warehouses lately?"
He raised an eyebrow. I scowled, knowing I couldn't do that. His eyes twinkled in amusement. I've never seen a more animated ghost ever and trust me, I've seen plenty of ghosts.
He raised his arms and took a batting stance. He then swung a pantomimed bat and pretended to see it go far. I had to think this particular charade through like always.
"Baseball?" He gave me a thumbs up. It took me a second to understand what he meant, it was as though I could still read his mind and see through his eyes, even in death.
"No, Gabe, I haven't actually asked if there was a baseball-or softball- team. I've only been here all of two hours. I don't even know my room. All of my shit's in the main office..."
He put a hand to his mouth and shook his head, his way for scolding me for my language.
"Dude, I'm not the eleven year old sis you knew. Almost four years have passed, I can say shit if I want. Watch me: shit, shit, shitty shit, shit."
He smirked.
His head whipped towards the door. In a rush, he circled his finger around his heart, and pointed at me- It was how we would say good bye.
His phantom faded, leaving me alone. I repeated the farewell, confused by his abrupt visit but my question was answered as soon as a familiar Moroi girl entered the hallway.
"Hi Magda, remember me? Aimee Tarus? From drama camp? Of course you've gotta remember me, I was your understudy." Yea, I did remember her. Like many of the other royals Aimee had snobbish tendencies. One had to be careful around her or else all sorts of rumors would start. In drama camp, she was tightly packed in the royal clique; I preferred to hang with the people on scholarships because they truly deserved to be there. She was one of the main people in charge of trying to make our stay miserable. Let's just say she failed horribly...
I tried to find something nice to say. "Of course. How could I forget? You loved to sing pop tunes during Showcase before curfew..." Well, it was a pretty neutral statement, but hey, at least it was honest.
"Wow you do remember! So why'd you come to St. Vlad's? Are you auditioning for Advanced Musical Theater? I hear they only have one spot left." She raised her shoulders. "You might not get it because you're a freshman. I auditioned and I'm a junior so you can see who holds status."
"It's not all about age." I retorted.
" I hear it's very exclusive, and you can't just get in because your grandma's the Szlesky princess. Maybe you can join the drama club. I'd love to see you help making the sets." Her fake enthusiasm was sickening. If
" Actually, I sent in an audition tape right before coming here. I have that class after lunch." I said, growing weary of Aimee's presence.
" Oh, I didn't know. I guess they're letting everyone in these days, like Half-Royals, Non-Royals and Dhampirs. They probably haven't sent me my new schedule yet. I guess I'll see you there." She tripped over her own words. I suppressed the taunting smirk that would play over my lips. If she didn't mean what she said, she should've not said anything in the first place. It would have saved her from or of my classic back-talks. I smiled brightly, packing as much plastic sweetness into my voice.
"Yep. I'll see you there. Just in case you don't make it though, I'll see you in the end-of-the-year play's auditions. Hopefully you'll actually have a speaking part this time. And maybe this time, they'll let you sing without the backup recording of my voice. You'll need a few voice lessons, though. I heard from our counselor that we were pretty neck-in-neck for the lead. The only thing was that you sounded a bit throaty on the high notes, and the low notes, and pretty much everything in between." Aimee's face faltered for a second.
The air around us grew heavier, until the pressure was suffocating. By the Cruel smile on her lips, I knew Aimee was responsible.
"Listen to me, Bitch." She spat. "I was sent here by the şef to invite you over to the Mână, but I don't have to go through with Shura's shit, though he seems to want you, I have no idea why. I didn't waste my time trying to get close to you, so just so you know, the Mână will be watching, expect an invitation soon." She let go of the air around me and left.
I turned the other way and Exited through the gym.
My mind reeled with all sorts of questions, the main one being: What the hell? What is a Mână? It kind of sounds like the word for hand in Spanish -Mano- but the way she said it made me think of some shady high school Mafia. I did NOT want to get involved in that... yet.
I was so wound up in my own thoughts, I didn't notice the guardian I bumped into.
"Oh I'm sorry" we said at the same time.
"Miss, you are not supposed to be wandering the halls." He said, a heavy Spanish accent in his voice.
I glanced at him, he was tall, at least a foot taller than me, so like 6'5" or 6'7"; I can't really tell from this height. This guy was really buff, like a bear, maybe he was a bear... a big, tan bear. he had a nice face as well, with a square jaw line and big, almond-shaped, olive green eyes, the only flaw I could detect was a thin pink scar marring the right corner of his jaw, tracing down under the collar of his Guns n' Roses T-shirt.
I would've gotten a better look at his hair if it wasn't for the red baseball cap on his head, from what I could see, his hair reached the base of his neck and it was dark, just like his well-tanned complexion. From the looks of it, he spent a lot of time in the sun.
This guy didn't seem too old, maybe 23 or 22-ish. Maybe in a few years...
I shook off the thought. He eyed me carefully.
"I'm kind of lost. It's my first day here... ¿Usted me podría ayudar?" I asked.
"Claro, la cafetería está por esas puertas y los alimentadores están hasta el final si necesita alimentarse..."He pointed to the back doors and explained where the feeders were. I barely paid attention, focusing instead on his accent. It was unique, not one I heard often.
"Thanks... Hey um.. This may sound weird but... Are you Puertorican?" I inquired, making a mundane attempt at not sounding nosy.
"Yes. How you could tell?"
"I lived in Miami, I can tell accents apart." I admitted.
" But it's still hard to tell Cuban from Puertorican." He raised an eyebrow. Damn, not him too.
"Not with practice, plus, your cap has a coquí frog and a slogan that says 'Boricua hasta el fin.' Cubans don't refer to themselves as Boricua."
"Nice detective work, Miss Holmes... What is your name?"
"Magda"
"Amanda?" He asked, using the usual misnomer.
"No. Magda. As in Magdalena, just without the -Lena. But you can call me anything but Maggie or Mags."
"You know, if your name isn't Magdalena or Maggie or Mags, don't say those names then. It gives others the options to call you something you're not. Make them get your name correct, even if it is getting annoying."
Whoa, that sounded like something Yoda or Mr. Miagi would say for a second there...
I got a bit flustered. "Enough about me, what's your name?"
"Gabriel."
"Gabriel? As in Gabe?" I asked, aiming for a laid-back conversation.
"No, as in Gabriel Espinoza. But it is Guardian Espinoza to you."
Talk about harsh. I was only making conversation and he used the guardian card. I was embarrassed and angered by the way he made me feel like a child.
"Well, Gabriel, it was nice meeting you, but I promised a few friends I would meet them for lunch, and I am very late. Bye!" I uttered as I followed through the back doors he showed me.
Even though I was slightly irate, something about the previous conversation make me smile. I think it was the Star Wars/ Karate Kid advice about names, even though that came a little random...
Gabriel... Just like Gabe, except he doesn't like the nickname.
Good. One Gabe was enough.
Once outside, I looked around a swarm of faces. I was shocked, to put it bluntly, at how obvious the social hierarchy stood out. Right in the center, next to the fountain, Royal Moroi sat and gossiped idly. The more athletic Dhampirs sat next to them, probably for the viewing pleasure of the royals. They weren't too picky about who they sat with, they probably sat together because they were all friends, judging by the casual way they sat and laughed. Among them was Ray, who found me and motioned me to go sit with the Dhampirs.
I grabbed the last few food items available from the lunch line and waltzed on over to him.
I made sure to acknowledge every royal on my way there. A few whispered behind my back. Half of those whispers were compliments- most of which were from guys on my body- but the other half were from the more elite asking things like who does she think she is, and, the more hurtful one came from a red head with light brown roots.
"This Dhampir is just trying to get her next fix."
Oh hell no.
I stopped in my tracks, spun on my heel, and faced her directly. I gave her a cloying smile, flashing my fangs.
"Just because I'm a little tanner, have a butt, and am in no need of a water bra, which you so obviously are wearing, doesn't mean I'm a Dhampir. You should also watch how you speak, I'd prescribe a reality check to be in order. Or maybe just a quick toohbrush, because right now, all that that is coming out of your mouth is shit. Adiós." I turned my back on her and strolled to where Ray reserved my seat.
"Wow, you just stood up to Reyna Conta." he said.
"I see nothing queen-like about her." stated a cream-skinned Dhampir. She had a slim, willowy build, and soft dirty blonde hair.
"Magderz, this is Maxima Leon. She's from Venezu-e-la." He said in an attempt to pronounce it right.
"Es un placer en conocerte. Ray here wouldn't shut up about how you beat Leo today. Well done." She said as she kissed my left cheek. I was happy at the informal greeting, it felt like home.
Ray obviously wasn't used to it."Um yeah, she does that to say hi..."
"I know, it's how we say hello back at 'Glades."
Maxima chocked on her sprite. "You went to St. Lourdes?"
"Uh-huh." I nodded, taking a bite of the filled donut I grabbed, "Mmm... Bavarian cream. My favorite."
"Have you heard of Max Lion?" She grinned.
"The boss pitcher on the baseball team? The one who integrated sexes and made girls able to join in? That chick was beast! I heard she left before I tried out in eighth grade"
"Looks like you got yourself a fan." Leo chimed as he squeezed through the limited seating in the table.
I dropped my donut. "No. Way."
She blushed.
"You're all coach Tito talks about. Don't mind me asking, but can I have a few pointers?"
"Sure!" she smiled.
"So here we have Magda and Max Lion, two girls from the same school, interested in the same sport, both meet the same school. Destiny wants us to form our own team here at St. Vlad's!" Ray said.
"Bro, you're such a clown" Leo sighed.
"A clown with a good idea, we need to talk to Kirova about this." I piped in.
"I'm in." Max declared.
"So am I." Leo followed.
"You know I'm in since I came up with the idea."Ray boasted.
"What's this about a team freshies?". An older novice questioned. He showed up with a few other novices, they all looked like seniors.
"Hi Kevin."
"Hey, so about the team... Any sport, and we're in."
"Dude, hold on. We've got to talk to Kirova. And we have no coach." I warned.
He shrugged, "I'll take care of that. Just tell Kirova that we just need uniforms, and a chance to use the trial stadium."
"What if she says no?" I asked skeptically.
One of the big novices joined in, "Go to Alberta and tell her Frank wants to join the team. My aunt can't say no to her only nephew."
We spent the whole lunch period coordinating the team name, mascot, colors, and uniform. We decided to meet at sunrise near the stadium with the ok.
The bell rang, ending lunch. We dispersed. It wasn't until then that I realized our table was beyond overcrowded.
I noticed how some other people eyed me curiously. I said hello to those who would stare, but no one would talk to me. Rough crowd, I guess...
Once I reached the drama classroom, I made my way inside, glad to be far from those stares. I took my seat in the front of the class by the middle, only to be met by the stares of my classmates.
It was going to be a long day.