Vir Fortis vs Malificus

More People, More Lonely

I sat on a chair, reading the Gemstones book again. My back ached from slouching too much, my neck ached from looking down too much, and my head ached from reading too much. I held out my left leg stiffly, not wanting to move it for fear that I would feel pain.

Ossei closed the textbook he was writing in, since we had just finished a session of schoolwork and he was jotting down some notes, and approached me. "How's your leg feeling today?" he asked me.

I shifted it a bit to prove I wasn't too injured. "I think it's slowly getting better."

Ossei launched into a boring speech about how one of his friends had an injured leg and needed a cast. He blabbered on about how that friend was so great, how she paid attention to him, talked a lot to him, was shy around other people, was an artist and once drew a picture of him, and more that I didn't care to hear. I listened and nodded and smiled.

It was late afternoon and I wanted to be outside, but I had to be careful with my injured leg. It ached whenever I moved it too much, but also ached if I held it in one position for a long time. Suddenly, I longed for Chaser. Chaser, at least, cared somewhat about me. At least he doesn't blabber on and on about his adventures, unlike what Ossei did with his orphaning experiences.

A sound outside, the gate opening, metal scraping against concrete. "Is that Chaser?"

"Huh?" Ossei looked clueless. "Oh, maybe." He got up to unlock the door.

Relief washed through me. I was glad Chaser was home. I wanted to show him more of what I had read in my Gemstone book. I was ready to ask if he wanted to try going for a short walk with me, because I thought my left leg was strong enough to go to at least the end of our block. The door opened.

"Hey, Chaser! Who are your friends?" Ossei asked loudly in an amiable voice.

I stiffened. Friends?

"Hey there, Ossei. This is Latrice, and this is Elijah. Latrice, Elijah, this is Ossei," Chaser introduced.

Friends? My heart sped up.

A giant stab of smothering jealousy. A bone-deep pressure of breathless betrayal.

Friends...?

A teenage girl, older than me, taller, better looking, came into view, and with her, a teenage boy, bigger, stronger than me, came into view. The girl had longish yellow hair that came past her shoulders and arched over her forehead with earth-brown eyes. The boy had longish brown hair past the ears and hair that was fluffed up at the forehead, so it formed more of a crown than bangs, and brilliant green eyes. They were so out of place, so bizarre, like seeing cartoon characters come to life, seeing exotic animals out of a zoo—they were anything but natural. I shrank back, hunching my shoulders nervously, my cheeks getting all red for no reason.