The Ballad of an Angel

Chapter Fifteen

The day was new. Birds chirping loudly, maybe a little too loud. Zack had shaken me awake.
"Dude your wings are out," Zack whispered.
I looked and saw them just sitting there. They disappeared after that.
"Why are yours darker than mine?" I asked, starting a conversation I didn't want to talk about.

He paused and made a face of 'you shouldn't have just asked that' which made me shudder invisibly.
He sighed and eventually caved in.
"It's based off of purity. Mine are grey because of things I've done, okay?"
"What things?" I knew I took it too far, but my curiosity got the best of me.
He didn't say anything and walked out of the room. My guilty conscience decided to not follow him but just feel bad. He must be ashamed of whatever he has done. Well, it's time for school.

I wasn't excited to be in class, but be with Sabrina. She always made my day better and there was nothing more I looked forward to.

The fresh air hit my face as I inhaled the fog that sat merely above me. It shifted as my body moved across its mist. I began to space out, which was normal when I was tired. More than normal.

As the school got bigger and bigger I had butterflies. Maybe Sabrina dyed her hair or cut it, or completely changed. I missed her, a little too much.

I approached my locker firmly, stiffer than a piece of cardboard. The combination was a little difficult to remember as if felt like years since I'd stepped foot in this school. Little did I know that a small lady that I had mentioned earlier was right behind me.
"Boo!" I heard. I jumped in partial fear, afraid that my tender heart would give out at any moment.
"Jesus, Sabrina," I firmly said, smiling after being so serious. It felt good to let down my guard.
Her hair was a darker purple than before. I knew she'd be somewhat different, it was just a matter of time before I found out. She smiled brightly as if I was a large puppy. She hugged my side, drifting her head into my shoulder. I could see the redness of her face as I glanced down to see it.

"Aww, you guys!"
I snapped around to see Clara gushing over the two of us. Her hands were together in a grasp. She giggled before hugging Sabrina.

I grabbed my Civics book and headed towards its direction.

"You like her, don't you?" Clara gushed again. I looked at her with the expression of 'are you crazy' but she ignored it. I sighed and finally caved.
"Yes, but I'm not sure she feels the same."
"Are you blind? She clearly likes you!! Friends don't hug each other like that," Clara stated, giving off a really convincing tone. I sighed heavier in denial of my unsure mutual feelings.

I sat in my seat in the back and stared out the window. The fog had subsided and the sun came out.  I so desperately wanted to go outside and fly but people existed so getting noticed was a possibility.
I forced my mind to focus on the thing we had started on. Note taking, lectures, and more note taking was the root of this class. An endless loop of hell in my opinion.

It felt like an eternity of suffering, which ended after praying that it'll end. I got up as quick as possible and headed towards my English Lit. Class. The novel we were reading was easier than expected and I reread that thing four times. It was handy to be a bookworm in the best of times.

"Today we are doing a project,"
Oh god this can't be good. I always slacked off projects, especially the stupid ones.
"It's a heritage project. Where we're from, and what our family is like, I'm sure it'll be easy for those who are thoroughly informed."
I sat there in shock. Of course it was the one thing I wasn't sure about. My family. Well, yes I had just met my dad, but I didn't ask much about the heritage. Lord, she really wanted me to fail. Clara included.

My family history was something I contemplated for a really long time. Where we were from, what kind of people they were, just everything. That was the one thing I didn't ask Dad when the three of us visited LA. Just why?

"You'll need at least five generations, with names, and an essay describing it in full detail."
I couldn't believe my ears.

I walked up to her once she finished. Ms. Rubio was grading our previous book report on Shakespeare.
"Yes, Oliver?"
I froze at that question, what was I going to say again?
"Oh, well, um, Clara and I are orphans, so this project would be hard to do." I gulped. My words were kind of slurred, and went really fast. She sat there and thought.
"That's okay. Write a story about being an orphan instead." Ms. Rubio stated, smiling sweetly. She understood where we came from and assigned something absolutely different. Thank God.

"So what's she say?" Clara asked, arms folded with her up on them. I told her the situation. She smiled with great intent and immediately started to write.
"So you can come up with something just like that?"
"Yeah. It's not difficult."
"Well, for you."

I sat there and planned out what I was going to say. What it was like and how much we suffered, oh and the accident. I put my head down and thought about everything.

The bell rang quickly after I started my first sentence. I grabbed my bag and headed to my next class. Sabrina ended up next to me, swiftly dodging the students that stupidly stand in the hallway, acting as roadblocks. I hated those kids. They're insufferable.

Biology went by slowly. Sabrina was my lab partner this semester, and quite frankly, I wasn't too fond of it. Don't get me wrong, I love being around her. But too much is too much.

We just took notes and began to start an assignment. I really wasn't too good at Bio. It was one of those classes that you take for an easy A.

Lunch was next. Lord help me. Was Clara going to blurt my unsure feelings for a certain someone? Was she going to say something completely tangled?
I had butterflies in my stomach. The knot grew larger as the both of them sat quietly.

"Is something wrong, Ollie?" Sabrina asked, raising a brow.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just stressing about a project."
"It's our English project. Super unique." Clara whispered, covering her mouth with one hand like it was a secret.
"Oh, do tell." Both of them were giggling now. That made me shudder in annoyance.
"It's a heritage project, but we have to talk about what its like to be an orphan."
"How... targeted. I have Rubio next bell."

Sabrinas would be easy. She comes from a family of entrepreneurs that goes back until the mid fifteenth century. Maybe it was more than that.

"So Brina....," Clara trailed off, "Why is it you have such a large family?"
"Oh, well my mom still believes in the concept of the more the merrier, children wise. It's like a trance you can't wake up from." Sabrina commented. She talked about her family so broadly, but stopped when she realized that we had nothing compared to that.

"Oh, Oliver..."
I looked at her so fast. What was she going to say? My heart raced. I could tell that Clara could hear it. She has an excellent sense of hearing.
"My dad wants to meet you." She added. Her eyes looked so nervous to ask that. I wonder why.

"Uh, sure. When exactly?"
"Tonight." That sentence was so firm, somewhat like a stone. She was dead serious. In that moment I had a mini panic attack. Her father. As in Thorne Alden.
One of the most famous people in the acting world.

"Uh.. sure. I-I'll be there..." I stuttered briefly. She handed me a slip of her address. I could not believe my eyes. Clara looked like she was about to explode.

"Okay, see you then." She then got up and walked away. Clara finally opened her mouth.

"She asked you out practically!"
"Will you shut up?" I covered her mouth, smiling at the people who turned around.
"Don't think of it like that, okay? We still don't know if that was her intent!" That entire sentence was whisper yelling, and it still was loud.

I spaced out in my creative writing class. All I could think about was the endless amount of things that was going to happen.

Zack looked at me all confused. He had been out all day from an emergency up in the Silver City. He sat down in that exact class. I told him everything.
All I got was a 'hmm' and then it fell into silence.

I shed a tear as my heart kept racing the worlds longest marathon. At that moment I knew exactly how I felt about Sabrina. I loved her.