Layla's Pov
"Your room is the second on the right. The first is a linen closet." Syd led me upstairs to where I would be staying. "Okay." I dragged my feet up the hardwood steps.
"Why don't you get warmed up first? I'll grab you some spare clothes." Syd headed back down while I entered the bathroom across the hall to strip my waterlogged clothes off. My fingers numbly fumbled with my jeans as I practically had to pry them off my body. When I was free from the weight the luke-warm water from felt piping hot, sending painful pricks into my back.
"You've got an hour before it runs cold!" Syd warned me through the door. "Got it!" I called back irritated by the time limit.
I was exhausted from the extensive road trip. It's taken me days to get here from LA. The warm water pounded into my strained shoulders uncoiling the muscles strained by the anxiety of driving five plus hours a day. Ashely, my best friend, was kind enough to accompany me to Sacramento for the first six hours of the eighteen-hour long drive. She flew back home from there, but it was worth it for both of us since we hadn't seen each other in weeks. At least maybe since the incident at my sweet sixteen in July. It was bad enough, what happened. But also shattering my cell phone screen out of frustration before the big move was also super inconvenient.
As I double rinsed the second coat of conditioner from my hair the water turned cold. Syd was right about the hour time limit to decent shower. The bathroom full of steam hovered like a warm cloud. I hid in the humid atmosphere to braid my hair for sleep. I didn't have the time or patience to dry it out before bed tonight. I knew the moment my head hit the pillow I'd be out.
The steam rolled out behind me as I hurried into my new bedroom. Cold air nipped at my legs in my retreat to the shoe sized spare room. It was obviously and previously occupied as Syd's old office. Clunky dark oak furniture towered over me and made the grey green walls appear like they were caving in. The only redemptive factor was the queen-sized bed pressed up wall to wall against a large window on the furthest side. That gave some sense of freedom.
I turned to the desk that doubled as a nightstand. The spare clothes sat on top. Grateful for the wool socks and thick quilts I hurriedly cocooned myself in the sheets to harbor the last dissipating warmth.
When I woke the next day I couldn't pin point the time. I hadn't pugged in my digital clock from home and the blackout curtains had done their job.
It was a workout just lifting the heavy quilts to get out of bed. I stretched hugely popping several joints unintentionally. Despite the rest my limbs felt like led.
I managed a morning routine without my luggage. That would be my mission today. Find out which mechanic had my vehicle so I could lug my stuff back here. I didn't dare release my hair without my hairdryer or product. Instead, I bounded downstairs to gather my clothes from yesterday. Hopefully they weren't still drenched.
Syd, the early bird that he was, had generously washed, dried, and folded everything.
"Good morning grandpa." I yawned covering my mouth.
"You mean good afternoon!" Aunt Mel, my dad sister, was already over sitting with him at the kitchen table. She skipped over to greet me.
"Afternoon?" I gawked. "Sunday, afternoon to be exact." Mel laughed hugging me.
"Oh, no." I gasped in her tight grasp. I had slept almost a full forty eight hours.
"Don't worry about it, sweetie. You needed your rest."
"My car! My things! Oh no, Syd. School starts tomorrow." What am I going to do? I'm not even unpacked yet. I squirmed in Aunt Mel's arms.
"Don't worry. I grabbed your things from Dowling's yesterday and I called Wren for you." Syd assured me gesturing to the pile on the floor. There was my stacks of boxes, suitcases, and various miscellaneous items.
"Thank you." I hugged him too.
"You can unpack when you get back." He informed me. "Where are we going?" I asked not wanting to step foot in another vehicle for a while.
"Port Angeles. You need your phone fixed, right?" Aunt Mel paced towards the door, and I followed her grabbing my purse off the rack leading up to the front door.
"Then we'll stop back in town for some groceries." She continued without looking back.
"Pick up a pizza too why don't you?" Syd called after us.
"Sure, thing Pops!" Aunt Mel chimed slamming the front door behind us. He hated cooking almost as must as traveling into town. I frowned to myself.
"What?" Mel asked me once we were in the car and well on our way.
"Nothing. I'm just groggy after sleeping so long." I was actually just as hesitant as Syd when it came to food prep. I hadn't been anywhere besides a local farmers market in years. My mother, who was always on the go due to work, brought home take out most nights. I didn't know where to start, or how to get into the groove of cooking. I had to admit that my culinary experience is very limited. Aside from that Syd lives off of coffee, cigars, and deer jerky. Opposite to me. A tea drinking vegetarian with a chocolate addiction.
My dad's sister was an easy-going busy body who was kind of flaky at times.
"I was thinking that Sunday's could be our day. Wren told me you wouldn't mind attending mass with me in the mornings, and for being a good sport we could grab lunch somewhere after."
So Mel was going to act like my keeper in my dad's stead while I was here. That was mildly disappointing. The one time I did live in the same state he didn't seem to plan on seeing me that often. But honestly what did I expect?
"Sure." Why not? It would make them happy. It's not like I had plans, or a group of friends yet either. If anything, I would get lucky most weekends when she'd flake on me.
"Great! I can't wait to show you around downtown. The church is so quaint and beautiful… Oh! We should probably swing by the mobile store first-" I half listened to her rant about future plans. I was busy fixating on the passing plethora of foliage. The drive was different in the daytime. Fascinated with the woods, All the dripping moss blowing in the breeze made the forest look like it was breathing. I hadn't been inside it since I was a child.
The downtown area was teeming with students last minute shopping with their families. It made it difficult to find parking, so Mel dropped me off in front of the mobile store. It didn't look like one for the outside I would have deemed it a pawn shop with the dark grey painted over bricks and metal bars over the windows.
The bell rang as I entered the small shop. It was pleasantly sparse with patrons, and it looked like I was third in line. One man was on his way to check out while I approached the glass counter waiting with the other two customers discussing the phones on display.
A beautiful woman with golden hair leaned over the shoulder of a younger boy with light brown hair. She was explaining the difference between the two top competing models in his hands.
"Take your time." The manager spoke then turned back to the cash checking the customer out. A man in his late twenties was intently distracted by staring at the lovely young woman. Her skin was clear and white as snow, full cupid's bow petal-colored lips that parted smoothly as she spoke, and then I realized I was staring too so I stopped to pull out my damaged cell phone out for repair.
"Sir. Sir!" "Oh yes." The man cleared his throat embarrassed they continued the transaction.
I leaned on the counter next to the boy. He seemed to be around fourteen. I casually glanced in his direction. He seemed to be having a hard time deciding. The beautiful woman's golden eyes flickered impatiently next to him.
"Which one are you leaning towards?" I asked the boy. He turned towards me, emerald green eyes sparkling with interest when he realized I was speaking to him.
"I'm not sure. I've never had a phone before." He confessed. "If you're just starting out, I recommend something not so breakable, and maybe a waterproof case?" I lifted my busted screen. Then I pointed at the black sleek phone in his left hand and to the shatterproof case in the display.
"You think?" He set down the other phone. His chaperon removed the other option looking relieved.
"Definitely." I nodded in approval. "Hi, I'm EJ Mason." He reached out his hand for me to shake.
EJ's boyish smile broadened popping one dimple in his cheek. I felt myself smiling too. He seemed very sweet. Like someone I'd liek to get to know.
"Layla Moon." I introduced politely.
"Layla." He repeated to himself his smile growing brighter. It was practically captivating.
"I'll meet you in the car. Don't take too long." The blond kissed the top of his head and strode out the door before the guy from the register could ask for her number.
"Excuse me, is that your sister?" The man bothered EJ. "No. That's Aunt Rosalie." He frowned perturbed by his question.
"And clearly taken. Didn't you see the ring on her finger?" I asked him, hoping he would mind his business.
"She is." EJ nodded along with my statement. The man grumbled trudging out the door in disappointment.
"How can I help?" The shopkeeper closed the register and headed towards us. I gestured for EJ to go first. He was helped first then he turned to me for my busted screen repair.
"I'll be attending Forks as a freshman this year." EJ seemed eager to share this news with me. Maybe making small talk in our wait. He seemed just as excited as he was anxious.
"It will be my first time being a sophomore." I teased going along with it. "I move here from LA just the other day."
"Really?" I nodded yes watching the screen replacement. "Are you new here as well?" I asked him.
"Sort of. I moved here from New York. But I've only been homeschooled so public school will be..." EJ's brows furrowed messing up his innocent expression.
"Different?" I offered a word. "Yes. I also feel like I'm different. Almost too strange to attend." His voice sounded impossibly sad as he fumbled with his fingers over the glass display.
"It's true, that it will be different than what you're used to. But I don't think you should be so hard on yourself EJ. You belong there just as much as anyone else." I assured him.
"Yeah?" EJ's eyes lit up again. "Honestly, I'm nervous too." I whispered into the hand I was resting my chin upon.
"Why? Haven't you been to public school before?" "Yes, but every place is different too. I was thinking it would be better if I knew just one person before classes started."
"Wait, what about me?" He asked with a sweet smile. "Sure." EJ was easy to talk to. I would like to see him again if I had the chance. Even if he was a little younger than me there was something refreshing about his Prescence.
At that moment the manager returned with our phones in hand. "Enjoy the rest of your day kids."
"Wait, I didn't order this." I pointed to the second bag he handed me.
"Oh, Wren ordered a new phone for you. He says happy belated birthday." A new phone? I guess this was his way of making up for not being here this weekend.
EJ and I exchanged numbers, and I showed him a few features before we headed out the door together.
"Let me know how your first day goes." "Will do! You too." EJ waved nearly bouncing up to the sleek jeep pulled up to the curb. Its windows were so tinted that I couldn't see anyone inside. None the less I smiled and waved him off.
I found Mel farther down the block force feeding quarters into a parking meter. We didn't have as much time as she would have liked so she walked us down the main strip, and we stopped by a hippish looking bookstore at the end. She picked up the latest romance book in her series as I left with a much needed cook book.
Traffic was terrible for the small town of Forks, so we waded it out while grocery shopping and we did end up grabbing takeout on the way back from grocery. Mel would have stayed for dinner but her family was waiting for her to fix them theirs.
When I sat down the last bag I noticed Syd's shot gun propped up next to the door frame.
"Why'd you leave that out? I thought you just got back from a hunting trip last week." I asked Syd who was already digging into the pizza. He scarfed down a long stringy piece of cheese before answering me with a full mouth.
"Nothin'." "What happened? Was is the foxes again?" I started filling the sink with water to wash my produce.
"Those boys might've come back." He piled his plate with more pepperoni slices.
"And what? You scared them off for helping me? Syd! I haven't been here that long, and I'd like to make some friends." I marched around the table to confront him.
"You need girlfriends. Not a pack of hormone ridden boys." Syd grumbled.
"Who's to say they don't have sisters?" He wouldn't look at me as I continued.
"It's mega rude of you to threaten them for helping me in the middle of the night during a monsoon! Do you know how delirious and tired I was? And don't get me started about the deer I clipped to get myself in that situation." I finished my lecture and stole a piece of pizza off his plate. Picking the pepperoni off my poached slice I placed the meat slabs back on his plate.
He grumbled about something I didn't catch.
I narrowed my eyes at him as I took a bite.
"Fine. But if they step one toe out of line or deface my property-" I groaned slapping my pizza back in the box I tended to chopping and storing my food.
"I swear they're going to the think I'm so weird." "You'll be fine kid." Syd turned the tv on for the evening news.
"What about my car? Will we pick it up before school, or what?" I asked him kicking the fridge closed. "It won't be ready until Wednesday at the earliest."
I sighed toweling off my wet hands. "I'll drive yah." Syd assured me.
"Great." I groaned again taking my bitten pizza I retreated upstairs.
"Good night." Syd called up to me. "Night."
My boxes and luggage lined the hall leading up to my room. Syd must have brought them up earlier. It was so late that I didn't want to begin unpacking, but I had to find a descent back to school outfit.
Back home it was our new school year ritual for my friend group to collectively plan out what we were wearing. LA is a fashion capital after all, and all of us were willing participants in its trend chasing.
As I transferred my things over to the gaint clunky dresser I recalled what the locals were wearing on the streets today. I quickly discarded what I thought I was going to wear for something more practical. Most kids my age were decked out in Patagonia, REI, or bled Old Navy. My sandals didn't stand a chance in the rain, and I hadn't seen a single person in skirt today, and it was Sunday. I dug deeper in my duffle bag for my stack of denim.
I set out the improved fit on the desk chair. Just the basics. Jeans, lace trimmed t shirt, and my only pair of sneaks, some high-tops.
Despite all the sleep in the past couple days I was too tired to find my pajamas. I just turned off my desk lamp, stripped down to an oversized shirt, and crawled in bed.
My first day jitters got the best of me. I woke extraordinarily early. The eerie quiet of the morning was nothing like the sounds of the city street I lived on. Restlessly, I made the most of my unrest by unpacking more of my things. Like a game of tetras everything had to have a place, or the little floor space I had would be compromised.
When I reached a stopping point, I sat on the floor and leaned back against my bed. A pang of loneliness struck me as I checked my old cell phone for the messages my friends sent me.
Ashely had texted a group pic of our friends' first day fits. Of course, LA was always beautifully sunny so they could wear whatever they wanted. This year they started off strong by rebelling against the dress code. Denim miniskirts paired with layered low cut tank tops. It was typical for a few of us, if not all of us, to get detention for doing this. Just to blow it off by ditching that first Friday for a hosted block party. Alexis Wu will be hosting the first one this weekend too. I wonder what the theme would be, or if I would still be invited since the move. I could book a flight with my mom's credit card just in case…but I doubted my father or Syd would let me go. Not after what happened this summer, just a few weeks ago.
He couldn't expect me to drop all my old friends though. Afterall this situation was temporary. Once the court finalized everything with the custody battle adjustments, and my mom delt with the after math of that night. Everything would go back to normal. I just had to stick it out this fall semester.
I pulled back my curtains to assess the landscape. The morning glow was obstructed by the looming clouds and the morning fog blocked the end of the drive. The rain was still on the forecast. The more practical outfit I dawned, trends aside, made me feel like I was officially exiled from the land of sun. It was stupid and I would get over it, but I couldn't shake the feeling of separation.
I would have to do my best to blend in. Making a good first impression in the smallest of towns was going to be my goal. I tugged down my long sleeved V-neck and pulled up my cream lace camisole at the edges when Syd called up to me.
"Would you like some coffee kid?" The squeaky floorboards must have given away that I was awake.
"No, I'm good!" I sounded back, I didn't need more induced jitters via caffeine. I migrated to the bathroom across the hall to fix my hair. I pulled out the braids I've been wearing the past couple days and pulled apart the waves recoiling them with my product filled fingers. I stuck some pin ins to pull some hair back while pulling out some stray pieces to frame my face.
Now came the worst part of my everyday day routine. Facing the hideous flaw that made me a freak.
My heterochromia. Every morning I'd put one contact in to cover up this deformity.
Why couldn't both my eyes have been born normal? What was wrong with having two brown eyes? Nothing. It would have been safer than inheriting half of my mother's genes.
I took a deep breath before facing my right eye. The problematic one wasn't the grey blue that my mother claimed on her license. Like hers it was a startling bright silver. Only comparable to liquid mercury.
On my mom this feature looked impeccable. Complete like they were supposed to be there. Her eyes glowed against her bronzed skin, matched her blow out barbie blond hair, and gleamed with her pearly Farrah Fawcett smile. She fit into the sunset avenue like a model belonging on a runway.
But I was not like her. I was not Lily.
I've hated the contrast since I was young. She reluctantly agreed to help me cover this monstrosity after many tantrums and public avoidances. From the end of elementary school on I was enabled to hide this glaring flaw.
I slid the dark brown contact into place. Then tilted my head side to side to see if anyone would tell the difference. All clear.
Most of the time it felt natural to me, and no one had pointed it out before. Now that I was in a new place, with new people, I couldn't help but feel paranoid.
After apply some pink strawberry lip balm I glanced down at my new phone resting on the counter. 7:50 am. I was going to be late! Why hadn't Syd said anything?
"We have to get moving Syd! I don't know my schedule or where any of my classes are!" I rambled nervously collecting my things as ran down stairs.
Syd wordlessly opened the door and rolled his eyes keys in hand.
"Don't worry. You'll find that things move a lot slower around here." Syd's relaxed nature was irritating. I hated to admit it, but he was right. The bus line was still ejecting students and the parking lot was hardly filled.
In our wait I shot EJ Mason a text wishing him luck on his first day. At least we were in this together. Despite the difference in schools.
Syd's truck rolled to a stop at the parent drop off. Once the buses moved, I could see the school. A wide red brick compound of a building.
' La Push High School, home of the fighting wolves' was painted in bold white letters rimmed in red. The entrance contained double wide cement stairs leading up to a single pair of glass doors. My hand rested on the door handle reluctant to get out. The nerves grasped me at full throttle.
Syd had gotten out and opened my door. Maybe he'd asked me to get out and I hadn't heard him. But I didn't recall him saying anything at all.
"Don't rush. Be careful. Everything will work out." Syd assured me helping me down from his lifted vehicle. A sea of copper skinned children wove around us. The first bell rang. Some stopped and staired obviously not recognizing me. Syd gave me one last quick side hug before departing on his commute to work.
"See you later granddaughter!" He called out louder than I thought he should. I waved him off totally embarrassed and hunted for the main office for my schedule. Even with my summer glow from sitting out on the pool deck all of break, I realized that I still paled in comparison to everyone else.
The office was hectic. Textbooks stacked up lining the waiting room benches. Students came in and out to collect one or more. Some confronted the front desk clerk about schedule conflicts. Papers covered every countertop space imaginable and all the walls were covered in wild life or anti-drug use posters.
I stood in line behind my new peers until the next bell sounded for classes to begin. I waited for the echo to stop before I approached the counter.
"May I help you?" The woman at the desked repeated dryly. I peered over the divider at the stout woman sipping her iced coffee.
"Good morning. I'm Layla Moon the new transfer student." The purple beaded strings attached to her glasses jangled as she jerked her head up from her computer, to the printing fax machine, then back at me again. Definitely not a good sign.
Author's Note: Thanks for taking the time to read this 'set the stage' chapter. I hope you stick around for the more exciting chapters ahead. If not, have a good day and please be kind if you feel inclined to leave a review.