Through My Eyes

Chapter 8 - Change

(Charlie)

I glance at Lys for what seems like the 100th time as she solemnly chews the salad mum packed for her. Ever since this morning she’s been under the weather, more so than me even. I have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I know why too. Sitting on one of the picnic benches outside in the sun while waiting for Patty and the rest to come over, we make a somber picture.

“Did that Dru guy give you a hard time or something?” I finally ask.

She looks up quickly, surprise lighting the back of her eyes, “Dru?”

I take a bite of my chicken and lettuce sandwich, “Yeah, the transfer student. Is he being dodgy?”

She tilts her head to the side in that innocent way of hers, “Dodgy?”

“Like, is he–”

“You must be Lys!” Gracie chucks her lunch on the table, clambering onto the bench space next to Lys.

She stares at my eccentric friend in bewilderment before nodding, “That is correct. You must be Gracie?”

I take another bite, observing the two thoroughly glad that I warned Lys of my other best friend before we got to school.

“Ok. So I’m not one to dwell on small talk,” Gracie warns her, “But who the hell is that hot piece of meat sitting over there?! The whole school’s talking about the two of you and I seriously need to hear the dirt.”

I look behind me to see the new guy sitting under one of the birch trees with some earphones in his ears, a book in one hand and an apple in the other. He looks like a freaking portrait. He glances up as if he’s heard us and I whirl back around, vampires starting to dance around in my mind with worrying clarity. I look at Lys who’s obviously confused with all of Gracie’s cliché’s. “Who is he?”  I clarify.

A frown puckers her features as she looks down and starts heaping her salad in the middle of her Tupperware, “He’s just somebody that I used to know.”

“YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO CUT ME OFF!” Gracie bursts out with enough audacity to make other groups of people lounging around in the sun to look our way.

Lys barely looks up from her lunch and it dawns on me that if he’s someone she knows then he must be a Strigmatar. “No. Way.” I blurt out, “Is he a–” I slam my hand over my mouth before I can utter the words and Gracie looks suspiciously between us.

“Is he a, what?”

“Nothing.” I say just as Pat sits down next to me.

“Afternoon Lys,” he nods his head at Gracie and me, “Girls.”

“Unbelievable.” I mutter under my breath as he amps up the charm and begins asking Lys how her day’s been so far.

“Children, how are we?” Nate and Nat, our groups resident twins with name’s they wish they’d never been given, sit down at our bench as well. Nate immediately turns on his ‘I’m hot so kiss me’ smolder he’s known for directly onto Lys. “Hey gorgeous, what’s your name?”

Nat elbows him in the side before introducing them both to her, “Charlie was telling me about you before in Bio. It’s nice to finally meet you, I think we have Art together.”

Lys looks between the two intently, her depressed mood lifting slightly, “Are you two twins?” She says it with such awe and wonder that I can’t help but join in the laughter that erupts at our table. She sends me a look that asks what she said wrong and I smile back at her in reassurance that she hasn’t. “Where I come from twins and even triplets are nearly unheard of.” She tries to explain to our group. “This is my first time seeing twins who are a boy and a girl. You both look so similar.”