I was alone.
I was supposed to be inside the church, but I didn't listen to Ms. Gina. I needed to find Gabe because i believed he was the only person who could keep me safe. So I snuck out of the pew where all the other pre- kindergarten students were being held and got out of the church. The big tall guardians were busy fighting something outside, so sneaking over to the middle school was easy.
The door to the building was broken wide open to the side, so I didn't have to push that heavy thing aside. I looked around. Woah, that place was huge! I was definitely going to get lost in there.
"Hmm, what did Gabe tell me? Oh yeah, if the little hand was on the twelve and the big hand somewhere in the middle of the four and the five, then he would be inside the arts and crafts room until lunchtime." I thought out loud.
The art class room was really hard to reach because it was basically isolated at the end of many empty hallways. I reached high to open the door. Nobody was inside, although it looked like everyone just got out in a rush because the chairs weren't tucked in. I thought he went to recess or something so I decided to go look for him there. I was about to leave when a deep voice with a strange accent stopped me. "Vere do you sink you're goeeng?"
I turned around to face large man. He had sharp pointy teeth just like me, but his eyes were different fron any thong I've seen. They were red on the outside but inside they were a brownish yellow, like dry grass or hay. I didn't like the way he looked at me. He looked like a hungry fat kid staring at fresh donuts through a bakery window.
I stepped back. "Nunya."
He tilted his head to the side, like a cat would do before he chased the mouse."Excuse me?"
"You know, nunya business."
"Ha-ha." Mr. Weird eyes faked a laugh. I backed away into the door, but before I knew it, he blocked the only exit."Leaving so soon? Don't you vant to stay and play?" He asked. His question freaked me out. I didn't help that he kept eyeing me as though I was the best meal he'll ever eat.
"No thank you, I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers." I tried to go around him. In a flash, he had me three feet off the ground. I thrashed around furiously. " HEY! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! ¡BÁJAME*! LET GO YOU STUPID COMMUNIST ASSHOLE!" I yelled, calling him something I heard my father say before. I didn't really know what I just called him, but I thought it worked because he stared at me in shock.
"You are a very naughty little girl." He laughed.
I huffed. "Am not. Santa leaves me a lot of presents every year. And he checks his list twice." I added matter-of-factly, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Oh this is going to be fun..." He said right before he sank his fangs into my neck. I cried out in pain. Then, the strangest sensation took over. Warm honey filled my veins, leaving me without a care in the world. Time slowed down, the paintings that hung from the walls in the art room swirled around me. Every thing around me faded into darkness as I was pulled into a deep, foggy sleep.
I never knew exactly what happened in the darkness. Nonetheless, I did have the vaguest sensation of a chilly warmth before I opened my eyes; I noticed I was in my brothers arms,who was crying for no apparent reason. He was hugging me a little too tightly for my taste."GAAAABE, me estás aplastando*, you're shmooshing me!" I whined in both English and Spanish, just in case he didn't hear me the first time.
"Magda? Your alive!" He hugged me even tighter. "No me asustes así pinche esqüinkle, me entiendes?"* He sniffed. He sounded so relieved, but I wasn't going to let him get away with cursing.
"Ooh, you said a bad word. I'm telling." I cooed. Gabe totally ignored my threat and kissed the top of my head. He pulled me in closer. I couldn't help but to hug him back. We both knew I wasn't going to tell.
Then I woke up, for real.
That was one of the most vivid memories I had. I was only four years old. It was needless to say, a very precocious four-year-old at that. It was the first time I came face to face with a Strigoi, so it wasn't something anyone could forget, no matter how hard I tried.
My thoughts we're interrupted when someone knocked furiously on my door. "MAGDI-COOKIE OPEN THE DOOR!" A female voice shouted. I groaned as I got off the bed. I opened the door to find max tapping her foot impatiently.
"What's up?" I asked groggily before I yawned deeply.
"Overslept much? Coño chama*, I thought you ran away too, or like, snuck off with Alexei to play 'touchy feely'."
I crinkled my nose."What do you mean 'too'? What happened?" Max's face turned serious. "Reyna Conta ran away early this morning." I stayed taken aback. "What? Why?"
"Well from what I over heard, there were some pretty nasty rumors about her circling around campus these past few weeks." She said.
"Oh." I managed to croak out. Guilt pressed onto me like a dead weight. I was the cause if those rumors. I knew I should've held my tongue. I had the vaguest sense that this was going to bite me in the butt later on. "Did you hear anything else?"
"Yes. Some of those rumors involve you." I winced.
"What did you hear?" I asked.
"It was basically your fault she left. You fought with Reyna, called her out in front of a whole bunch of people, and those people spread the word." She placed a hand on her hip and scrunched her nose. "I know I'm not supposed to trust in stories, but something tells me this tale wasn't stretched too far from the truth."
I scratched my head. "Well..."
She sighed, " Magda, how much of this is true?"
I bit my lip, "All of it?" I didn't mean for it to come out as a question, it just did.
She groaned. "I knew it. But why?"
"She pissed me off! First she calls me short, then she tells everyone I haven't specialized-"
"You haven't?" She interrupted.
"That's not the point. The point is she got me mad and I snapped." I reasoned feebly.
"So you tell everyone one her deepest secret?" She countered.
" She told them mine! And it seemed better than knocking her teeth out." I rebuttaled, crossing my arms.
She sighed deeply again, "Oh, Magdi-cookie, what will I do with you?"
I looked down. "I fucked up, didn't I?"
"Yup." She nodded slowly.
"And there's no way to fix this unless she comes back." I added.
"Nope." She said, popping the 'p'.
"What now?" I moaned, throwing my arms up in defeat. Max gave me a friendly hug. "You deal with it. I lied about the whole rumor thing, by the way."
"Wait, what?" I asked, befuddled.
"I guessed you were behind the whole thing." She smirked. "I guess I was spot on." Satisfaction hung in her words. She looked pretty full of herself. I smacked her on the arm. "Hey!" she protested.
"That's for lying to me." I smiled full on, hiding the guilt that pressed even harder onto me.
"Well hurry downstairs or they'll run out of feeders." She urged. My stomach churned, urging me to throw up yesterday's dinner at the mention of feeding. I shrugged her off. "Nah, I'm skipping the morning line up."
"Again?" Her nose twitched. I knew she knew I was lying to her, and I hated it. But feeding was definitely not my thing. When it came time for feeding at my old school, I would strike up a conversation with the feeder, who was usually too high on endorphins to notice I was compelling them into thinking I had fed from them, but apparently they've upped guardian security over here because some idiot turned Strigoi on school grounds last year, so I decided to skip all together. The longest I could go without a feeding was two weeks- a record I was currently maintaining. To make up for such little blood intake, I replaced my meals with far more protein and iron than the usual diet. Yet as a result of my feeding habits, my health took a toll; frequent migraines, strange hallucinations, paranoia, and sudden mood changes were a modicum of my usual problems. Still, I'd rather suffer from health issues than take away life-sustaining blood from someone else.
"Yeah, I don't like the people on duty right now." I fibbed. I silently prayed she wouldn't press me on the subject any more.
She let out a breath, "Fine, I'll see you later then..."
*~*
The rest of the day went on like normal, except the guilt I kept feeling over Reyna kept getting worse and worse. The walls of the school seemed to get smaller and narrower. Once the dismissal bell rang, I rushed into the locker rooms and changed into grey softball shorts, long baby blue socks, a matching tank top, and my purple baseball spikes. I made my way outside for practice. I hoped I would shake off the pressures of school with some exercise.
Since the next day was our first game, practice was not as rigorous as the preceding ones so as not to tire the team out. It was basically like polishing shoes before a big event. For everyone else, practice seemed to glide by. For me, however, it was a completely different story. Every so often, I would think about how I practically sent Reyna to her doom. I worried about how her parents would react over her brash decision. They would disown her, throwing her out to fend for herself.
I would get so engrossed in my inner thoughts that I would lose track of what was happening outside.
"Szelsky! Get your damn head in the game!" Kevin, our self-elected team leader, yelled. "You just missed an air ball that you could've caught!" Air ball? What the hell was he talking about?I thought.
"What's an air ball?" I asked, a hint of smart ass in my voice.
"Seriously? When the ball is hit into the air, what is it called?" He meant to make me sound stupid, but he was only making himself look like an idiot.
"Its called a FLY BALL." I replied dryly.
He was about to say something snarky back, but he stopped. "Yeah... Well... Next time, catch it." He finally barked.
To sum it up, practice left a whole lot to be desired. When Gabriel called practice to a close, I quickly made my way to pick up my bag and change my spikes for a pair of Yellow Crocs. As I stomped out of the dug out, Kevin decided to block my exit.
"Kevin Howard, I'm not in the mood. Please get out of my way." I warned, clenching my fist. A grin played on his lips."Oh, so we're on a full name basis now? Fine, have it your way. Magda Alexandra Szlesky, I didn't care for your attitude in today's practice." He chided, making me feel like a child.
"You not the goddamn coach, so I have no intention of apologizing for your stupidity. Before you try to pass yourself off as the 'captain' , which no one sees you as anyways, make sure you at least know your baseball vocabulary. Because when you don't, it makes you look like an even bigger jackass then you already are." I quipped.
"Why don't you come at me with more than just words. Or better yet, get your big Brother to do it for you. You make him sound like some kind of god, well why doesn't he come to fight for you no-"
He never got to finish his sentence. Before any one, including my conscience, had a chance to object, I kneed Kevin in the man jewels. He fell to his knees with a whimper. I grabbed him by the collar.
"You stupid, stupid boy," I snarled, my voice taking a feral, animalistic quality to it, "my brother is long dead. Never again do I want to hear you speak about him. I went easy on you this time, out of pity for your sad, worthless soul. Next time, I will show you no kindness. Have I made my self clear?" I had no idea where I was getting all my pent up rage from, but at the moment I didn't give a hoot. Kevin nodded vigorously and I let him go. His face landed on the red clay.
I turned my way toward the gym, which was already closed but I would sneak into it anyways. I didn't care who saw the fight. I may have gone a little far on my standards, but I was unpredictable when I was angry. I thought my actions over, and shugged. Yup, I definitely could've done way worse.
Gabe materialized beside me. His eyebrows squished together in worry for me. I talked to him as I kept walking "Bro, don't worry about me, worry about that guy over there. I just need to be left alone. Please." I begged him. He looked at me with sad eyes, then bid me farewell as he dissolved into the air.
I reached the doors of the once empty storage room- turned batting cage. The lock was simple to pick. For a school so well guarded against Strigoi, the inside security sucked.
I grabbed my bat and helmet from my bag. When I told my father about the baseball team, he was only too happy to donate funds to it; Any thing to cut down on his taxes. He also sent my equipment over from home. Actually, I wouldn't give him the credit. I talked with our home caretaker, Diana, who sent my things over airmail. My dad was doing business somewhere in Tokyo.
I plugged the pitching machine in and took my position on the other side. The pitches were soft, so I was pretty bored with the first set. When the machine finished, I set it up at a higher speed. Yet again, the machine disappointed me, so I set it faster. I batted away my frustrations, letting each and every one of them out. With every smack made against the aluminum bat, I felt a worry lift itself from my shoulders. All too soon, the pitches ended. I went back to set the machine again. I reached for the knob and turned it beyond the highest setting. I figured it wouldn't have made that big a difference anyways.
Boy was I ever wrong. With every pitch made, the ball seemed to curve farther inward. I didn't mind that much because i needed practice on ball hit on the inside. The last pitch however, went too far inside. It was so fast, I didn't get a chance to move out in time. The baseball hit my right shin. I fell to the ground.
"¡Ingasu!"* I cried out. I held my shin, which only made it hurt more.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the net move. Before I knew it, some one was kneeling next to me, almost starting me out of my socks. when I looked up, I realized it was Gabriel who came to my aid.
"Let me see it." He commanded. His face was expressionless, except for his eyes, they held a caring gleam in those depths of olive green. His voice was soft, like that of an older brother. At that moment, he reminded me so much of Gabe that it hurt to look at him. I tried to distract my sadness with a game of twenty questions.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked, rubbing the ever-so-sore spot on my leg. A bruise would definitely be showing because of that run away ball.
"I followed you." He replied tersely. I stared at him in bewilderment. He took the awkward pause as a means to continue speaking. "I saw the squabble between you and Howard. Then you stormed off into the gymnasium and after checking everywhere else I decided to look in here. The loud cursing in a Mexican accent also helped quite a bit." Yea he should be one to talk about accents when barely any one understands him as he speaks English. Okay, I may have exaggerated, but his accent was way more noticeable than mine.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong, I mean besides sneaking into the gym and tampering with school property. I was only using the cage for some extra hitting practice for tomorrow's game." I blurted.
"Don't worry, nena. I used to come to the cages to cool off as well." He said, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Now let's check the damage." He rolled my sock down ever so softly, careful around my shin area. A deep bluish black bruise was already formed on the skin. He gingerly probed around the bruise, seeking any sign of a crack or fracture. Despite my painstakingly loud yells, he didn't find any of the sort.
"Well nothing seems to be broken. But I just want to take you to Dr. Olendezski to be su-"
"No please!" I cut in pleadingly. The last thing I wanted was to have a doctor look at me. She might find out about the feedings... Or lack there of.
He fixed his gaze on mine. His eyes searched me, seeking to understand. I stared back into the vast marsh lands in his eyes. "I really don't want to go to the doctors office." I coaxed, my voice quivered, yet it held a different kind of strength. "Please, I just need an ice pack."
Gabriel chuckled, "You need a little more than that, nena. Let me go get an ice pack." He got up and left me in the room alone. I removed my helmet, grabbed my bat, and dragged myself over to where my bag was thrown carelessly on the floor. I removed my baseball socks and put everything inside. I rummaged inside of it for my jacket, then I remembered I left it on my bed. Crap, the temperature was in the low sixties, I was going to freeze."Damn it" I cursed as I brought my hands down, accidentally hitting myself on the bruise. It stung terribly so I sucked in air and bit back a scream.
Gabriel came back with his own gym bag and a first aid kit. "Got the stuff. Now, give me your leg." I did as he commanded. The bruise was much worse than before; Already black in color, the skin around it turned a shade of baby blue. I let out a giggle. Gabriel looked at me oddly. "Hmm?"
"Well I was just thinking, if my skin turns any bluer, I'd be considered a Na'vi." I said, earning a full smile from the coach, albeit a mischievous one.
"No, you are too short to be an avatar. You are more like a Pitufo*." He countered. He grabbed a jar filled with an orange gel, which he proceeded to rub on my leg. I decided to distract my self from the pain with the ongoing conversation.
"Pitufo? Did you just call me a Smurf?"
"You have to admit the name suits you. Smurfs are unpredictable. One moment they are all flowers and mushrooms and the next they are punching someone three times their size in his groin." He raised an eyebrow. I smiled full on; as the only person in the world who couldn't raise just one eyebrow, it was the best i could do. At that moment, Gabriel's expression wavered a bit between wonder and juvenile mischief. He averted his eyes. He got an ice pack and gauze from the first aid kit in an attempt to cover the tension that found its way between us again. He snapped the inside of the ice pack so the endothermic reaction would make the ice pack cold. The placed it on my leg and wrapped the gauze around it, ignoring my cries of protest.
"There you go. Come on, let me help you over to your dorm." He hooked his arm to my waist and I did the same around his since he was so tall I couldn't reach his shoulders. I tried my best to walk, but not without a slight limp. He opened the doors to outside and a burst of freezing air whooshed in, causing my teeth to chatter.
"¿Tienes frío?*" He asked. I nodded, shivering."Un p-p-poco."* I breathed shakily. Goose bumps rose on my arms and legs.
He let out low chuckle, "Sure, just a little cold? Right. Here, take my jacket." He unzipped the jacket he wore and handed it to me. I hastily put it on, relishing the warmth on my skin. "Thanks." I said.
"No problem."
The path to the dorms seemed to stretch on for miles on end. Not that I minded. Every now and then I would glance over at Gabriel, who in turn would glance back at me, causing heat to flood my cheeks, making me look away. Growing weary of our game of peekaboo, I took up small talk.
"How come your always wearing a hat?" I asked.
"Same reason you always wear your hair in a pony tail, to keep my hair out of my face." He replied.
"I don't always have it in a ponytail." I huffed.
"I've never seen you with your hair down."
"I've never seen the hair under that hat. I'll tell you what, if you take off the hat, I'll let my hair loose."
"Why should I?" He asked.
"My amusement. Come on," I brought my hurt leg up, "I'm injured."
He rolled his eyes and sighed "fine. I really don't see the point in this." He removed his hat, revealing. Dark -almost black- brown curls that framed his face up front and reached the nape of hi neck behind. Usually curls looks really bad on guys, but there was something about his hair that made it look good, as if he still had his baby curls: soft, shiny, and full of life.
"Your turn." He smiled. I shrugged and took my hair tie off. Large loose curls and glossy waves the color of dark mahogany wood fell lightly down my mid back. I had it cut into layers so the curls seemed to dangle in mid fall. The weird thing about my hair, is that my curls seem to have a mind of their own. Sometimes they were wild and unruly, other times they were as tame as a house cat, sometimes they weren't even there, and, on special occasions, they would add an extra layer of volume that made my already full head of hair look red carpet ready. I wondered if my hair actually did have its own hormones. Hormones or not, I loved my hair.
We stared at each other for a moment. "Ok, so you're not bald." I broke the tension.
"Excuse me?" He asked, appalled.
"I thought you wore that hat to hide a bald spot like my old coach." I said.
"Well, I thought you used a fake ponytail" he remarked. I touched the ends of my hair. Did he think my hair looked plastic? I could assure him that my hair has been touched only by the hands of scissors, and I haven't had it shorter than my shoulders since I was eleven.
"Relax, I was playing with you. You have nice hair." His eyes lingered on the few strands of hair on my face. I blushed and smiled "Really?"
"And an even nicer smile. The freckles and the dimpled cheeks just add to it." He added, causing me to turn an even brighter shade of red and say the only word I was capable of uttering. "Really?"
"Yes, really." He held his arm out again, "Now let's go, you have a game tomorrow and I need my second baseman to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed." I laughed.
"Yes coach G." I replied.
"Call me Gabriel." He declared.
An idea popped into my mind. "I should call you Coquí, like the frog." I announced. He looked at me, confused."Umm, why?"
"If you call me a Smurf, I get to call you something." I reasoned, earning a full laugh from him.
"There's no arguing with you, is there?" He said. I thought out his question through for a bit."You can try, but no, there really isn't."
"Really?" He asked, mocking me. I rolled my eyes. I hooked my arm around his back and let him lead the rest of the way.
"Yes, really."
Thank you to all of you guys who bore with me, patiently awaiting the next chapter.
I got a lot of things going on right now so i might not get back to chapter 7 until after homecoming (which is harry potter themed, just so you know. How frikin' cool is that?)
yaddah yaddah yaddah... I dont own VA... blah blah blah...
Okay, so lots of Spanish was used in this chapter so here are the translations. (Remember, I translate the whole phrase, not the literal meaning of the words)
*¡Bájame!: Put me down!
(General spanish)
*No me asustes así pinche esqüinkle, ¿me entiendes?: Don't scare me like that stupid, understand?
(Mexican spanish words are 'pinche' [the equivalent to 'friggin'] and 'esqüinkle' [kid]. 'Pinche is used as an adjective but there really is no translation to the two words together as one).
*Coño chama: oh my god girl,
(In venezuela, 'coño' is a curse word, but you'll hear it used for anything and everything. It is a bad word depending on its context. Still, I wouldn't recommend you saying this to a nun or your Venezuelan boss. In every other Spanish speaking country, the word is the equivalent to the f-bomb. Chama=bro, dud, buddy... Etc...)
*¡Ingasu!: crap!
(I've only heard this in Mexico when people want to curse but they don't go all out. Like instead of dropping an f-bomb, you say "fudge!")
*pitufo: Smurf
(General Spanish. The whole Smurf scenario may or may not be based on a true story.)
*¿Tienes frío?: are you cold?
(General spanish)
*Un p-p-poco: a l-l-little.
(General spanish, magda is stuttering)
-Read and write on!