The Search For Peace

Chapter 13

The bedroom was silent, save the low hum of the ceiling fan rotating above, since the person who it belonged to was sound asleep. After returning from school that day, Sanjay had somewhat completed his homework and hit the sack as quickly as he could, his drooping eyes and pounding head telling him his body could take no more of this torture. So, there he was, curled up in his king sized bed under a soft duvet, sleeping as sound as a baby, the hours ticking by one by one.

It wasn't until one of his many sisters came in and decided to play with the light-switch that he dared to wake up.  "Hey poop-face, get up already." Little Rowan didn't seem to realize how unsightly it was to hear the word 'poop-face' come out of her adorable, pig-tailed face.

"Could you please not call me that?" He said hoarsely, slightly lifting his head. She giggled and dashed out the door, leaving the lights open, much to his displeasure. Grudgingly getting up, he reached for his blinking phone on the side table with half open eyes, scratching the back of his neck lazily. It was already 9:30 pm, he realized, late enough to go back to sleep if he wanted to. 

But as soon as he opened the messaging app, a very dangerous person's name came up on the screen. Ralph Granger. He winced, not in the mood to confront someone as hostile as him at the moment. Though his curiosity got the better of him, since this was the first time the guy was contacting him outside of school. Even in school, they barely ever talked, despite being seated beside each other all day.

Yo. It read. After a few seconds, another one popped up. You're not asleep, are you?

Sanjay debated on whether he should tell him that he had just woken up. I was, but not anymore. He ended up saying.

Then come outside your house.

What? Sanjay stopped breathing for a moment, a million things rushing to his head. For one, why was he talking like the two of them were the best of friends? And secondly, was he seriously outside his house right now?!

The thought made him scramble out of bed and pull on some old jeans, before bolting out of his room and down the stairs hastily. His frantic footsteps got the attention of his oldest sister, Jessica, who peeked out of the kitchen door to see where her introverted brother was rushing off to, ladle in hand.

"Hey, where do you think you're going this late at night?" She frowned at him.

He sighed, sparing her a glance as he shrugged on his hoodie. "It's not that late. And I'm just going out with a friend."

Jessica blinked in disbelief. "A...friend?" She confirmed.

"Yes, I'll be back soon." And with that, he closed the door behind him, unbeknownst of the tears of happiness welling up in his sister's eyes. 

As soon as he exited the vast gate to his house, his gaze fell upon the pale faced, black haired boy, idly standing by a streetlight that was barely working, his vibrant red sports jacket hard to miss. He looked up from his phone and met his solemn stare, nodding a greeting as he crossed the street to him.

"Although I have many questions..." Sanjay started with a scowl as he approached. "How'd you know where I live?"

"Easy. I followed you." The brown haired boy blanched at his nonchalant statement.

"You mean to say you were stalking me?"

Ralph wore an indifferent expression. "Call it what you want."

Realizing there was no getting through to this person, Sanjay let out an exasperated sigh. "So, what is it this time?"

"I think your friend Harmony's in trouble."

He was caught off guard yet again. "What?" His face went blank, as if he couldn't register what he just said.

"You know, the girl you're always staring at?" Ralph admitted dully. 

Sanjay scoffed and ran a nervous hand through his hair. "I do not stare at her." 

"Uh...yes you do. I've been watching you for the past week." Ignoring the utter look of horror on his face, Ralph suppressed his laugh and continued on. "Anyway, it seems she's in the Capricorn Clan as of now. Along with Ultima and this other girl."

"What're they doing there?"

"We don't know, but, if the leaders find out about this, we're all in trouble." Sanjay opened his mouth to say something, but Ralph held up a hand. "And don't ask me any more questions. We've wasted enough time as it is." 

"Wha-so, its okay for you to show up at my house at like, ten pm and tell me about all this, but its not okay for me to ask questions?" Sanjay was appalled, unable to understand why this boy was always so....provoking. "And what do you mean by 'we'?"

A honk sounded from their left, coming from a black Land Rover. Sanjay was sure none of his neighbors owned a car that fancy, so he glanced at Ralph, who hid a knowing smile.

"Hurry up, people, my dear Ultima's in trouble!" Kevin Jennings poked his sandy head out of the driver's seat, not the slightest bit embarrassed for what he said. At closer inspection, he could make out another person seated beside him, his face covered by a baseball cap.

 "I see." Sanjay said with a sigh. It all made sense now. These guys were up to no good, and they wanted him to be a part of it.

"So, you in or what?" Ralph gestured towards the up-size vehicle waiting for them.

He smiled in defeat. "Do I have a choice?"