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Reputation

"Zac's told me a lot about you," she said, adding no enthusiasm to her voice. Maybe this is what will happen to Tyler and I, people with the power. It just wears you out. I shall have white hair when I'm thirty-five.

"Yeah. Well. I'm glad. To meet you."

"Why?" The question caught me off guard. Couldn't she tell I needed answers?

"Well, because, you know, we, I mean you and me, and Tyler..."

"What about us?" She leant in closer. I was beginning to think that if she got any closer I might feel her ribs jutting into my face. Like Tyler said, she was thin. Dangerously thin.

"We're psychics!" I blurted out. "Well, I mean, not really psychics, but close. Right?" I gabbled desperately.

"Right," she said, suddenly retreating. Was she insane? "Yes, that's right. Only it's not, is it? Psychics isn't the right word. I thought you would know the right one. Zac said you were clever. But you're an amateur. You haven't seen half the things I have."

I'd seen quite a bit in my life, but I believed her assumption. She may well have had a worse childhood than I did, and it was affecting her now. "Um. Well. I wanted to ask you..."

She stayed silent.

"I wanted to ask you about that."

"About what?"

"Just what exactly went on in your family. You and Zac, and your parents. I mean, they left you. What happened after that? Why is Zac the way he is? Is he a compulsive liar, or is he and his gang really out to hurt someone? And might that someone be..." I gulped, "me?"

She laughed. I didn't even know her name. I realized that it was impolite of me not to ask, but I had a feeling she didn't care much for manners. "You have so many questions, Haylee. Why can't you just live and let live?"

"I don't know. It's burning me. I have to know," I pleaded.

She exhaled a bunch of smoke right in my face and then threw the cigarette butt over her shoulder. "They didn't leave me. They left Zac. We didn't want him."

I gaped at her. "They took you with them, but left Zac behind?"

She nodded slowly. I noticed that although her smoking habit had taken a terrible toll on her skin, her teeth were pearly white. Strange. "My mother took one look at him and said the color of his aura was a mix of dark pink and dark green. That means he was going to be a dishonest and jealous boy. We didn't want him. We were happy. We left him with those old bags and fled to L.A." She smiled vibrantly.

"That's terrible!" I gasped, outraged.

She raised an eyebrow. "But he did grow up to be dishonest and jealous. He is an angry person. We were right to leave him. My parents are always right," she insisted.

"He was only a child! If he's been left in your family's care and recieved the love he deserved, maybe he could have changed!"

"No," she said firmly. "He was bad luck."

"Then why are you here with him again? What made you come back?" This was what I needed to hear. Others may have found it pointless to pursue what might be considered as minor gossip, but I knew there was something I didn't know about that I needed to know about. I was right. 

"Because they kicked me out." Her expression didn't change. I did notice, though, that her complexion deepened into a pink color, like she was embarrassed to say it. "My aura turned a muddy red. Anger. They weren't having any of that. I've come home to calm down." She paused to rifle around in her brown satchel for her box of cigarettes.

"That's ridiculous," I accused. "How could any parent disown their own children because of the color of their aura?" I mean, I knew Zac's parents were kind of hippy-ish and wanted to be free, but that was taking it a step too far.

"You don't know my parents," she said bitterly.

That was a reasonable answer. I left it at that. 

Before she turned to go, I called, "Wait! What's your name?"

She turned to me, and her face had changed. It was no longer the blank, yet somehow alluring gaze as before, but a thoughtful one, as if she didn't know whether she wanted to answer me or not.

"I like you," she pondered, "So I'll tell you. Lana."

And then she walked off, the bronze heels of her boots clicking against the gravel as she did so.

I stared after her a while. I wondered how she found me.
And then I realized that she probably wasn't even trying to find me, but the back-streets of Goldenridge suit her more than the quiet suburbs. And my ugly apartment block building is right in the middle. I turned to the door, pushed hard and I went inside.

I stepped inside the unclean elevator and pressed 7. There was moss and gunk in the corners, graffiti on the walls and an unfathomable stench. But it was better than taking the stairs.

"Mum? I'm home," I called, closing the door behind me. I could hear the clanging of her gold hoop earrings before I saw her. She was all dressed up in a tight navy dress that showed off her flat stomach (unfortunately, not genetic), with smoky eyes and gold jewelry. She twisted a golden necklace between her fingers and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey!" she said happily. It was the first time I'd seen her happy in months. 

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

"I'm going on a date," she called, whilst heading towards the bathroom. "With Jerry."

His name still made my stomach drop. I hated him. I almost told her about his wife, but stopped myself. No, I thought. Let her have a good time for once. She's too happy to be told now. "Oh, okay," I murmured.

"You'll be fine by yourself?" she asked worriedly, adjusting her long necklace.

"Yeah, yeah," I assured her. I had a lot to think about, anyway.