ʙʀᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴀᴡɴ

Chapter 15

"That's what I feared."

"Why?"

"Can't you see the two weeks interval? Two weeks after Jonathan was Phoebe, and two weeks after her will be someone else. Did she say who?"

"No, not at all. She said in due course. She said a lot of things and amongst those things was my great-grandfather, Harris. She owed him a favour that she has no idea she may keep for long. I don't know how my great-grandfather got into the story here and I need to know how. Why?

"I've been hearing the sound of flowing water in my head but I have no idea where I've heard that. It was confusing because the Ivona I've met knows what she's doing. And the key?"

Josephine brought out her notebook, slamming it on the desk. She pushed an escape strand of her braid back, staring back at Xavier who observed her every move. "Noah saw it yesterday and they were the same fit. We couldn't do anything because it was a minute to closing hours, so we suspended it till today. Are you tagging along?"

"I don't know, Phina but I'll try though. I need to go visit mum in the hospital later today."

"Sure," she responded as the door bounced open, Mr Francis walking through the door with bunch of papers in his hands.

"I'll be handing these out," Mr Francis pointed to the papers on the table. "You all will know where you stand with these tests. For those of you who didn't pass, more work is required, and for those of you who passed, same is required..."

*****

The noise in the cafeteria proved to be more disturbing for Xavier than he had imagined. Even the stares around the table made him uncomfortable. He dropped his potato chip back into the tray and exhaled audibly.

"You can stop looking guys. It's just an injury—"

"I'm really sorry Xav," Gwen apologised from the other side of the table.

"Yeah," he replied sarcastically. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's with Coach Cohen, discussing play routines," Gwen answered, unable to look at Xavier. "Could we talk later?"

Xavier shrugged, "Sure," he retorted before picking up his discarded potato chip. Noah cleared his throat, seeking for the right words. As soon as the awkwardness subsided between them, he drew his chair closer to the table.

"Anyway, I'll be going to the exhibition room with Josephine later today and we'll give you feedback about how it goes."

"I think," Josephine began. "It will give you enough time to resolve and clarify whatever issue is between you," she looked at Xavier. "...Gwen and Kayden. I spoke to Kayden and he's agreed to speak with you—"

"You what?" Xavier's voice came out louder, drawing most of the attention of the cafeteria towards him. Josephine nervously looked around and Noah glared at him.

Noah sighed, "It's time for all of you to understand what's going on. We can't continue like this if everyone is fighting like little kids. This is unbearable, understanding the nature of the situation we're in. It's either you meet each other and bury whatever mess is around us or you may risk all of us getting killed," Noah firmly said. Gwen frantically nodded, Xavier crossed his arms over his chest.

*****

"...three weeks for you to submit this project. I have given three weeks for each of you to perfect whatever presentation you may have in store. Please note that each individual has a total of seven minutes for his or her presentation. Anything exceeding the time frame and you be buzzed out, judged on your overall performance in message, body language, grammar and creativeness," Ms Louis explained. "The art project is half your grade this semester. If you want to pass this class, then I'd suggest you take this seriously..."

Xavier watched at the ivory plump skinned woman in her orange dress gesticulate in front of the class. The uneasiness at lunch was still present, owing to the shocked faces and frowns on his friends' face. The bell rang, and Xavier broke free of his reverie. He picked his bag by the side, slung it over his shoulder and proceeded to making his way out of the class.

"Mr Grey," Ms Louis called and he stopped dead on his tracks. He spun on his heels, walking towards the teacher. "I need to talk to you about your participation in class," Ms Louis sat behind the desk, her fingers intertwined in each other. "Lately, your participation level is most classes is quite alarming. I know your mum is in the hospital and it must be taking quite a toll on you. I'm sorry about that. I thought I should draw attention to this and please ensure to complete the project—like you always have," she added with a smile.

Xavier returned the smile, "Thank you ma'am," and he made his way out of the class.

*****

Gwen tapped repeatedly on the desk, humming a tune while Xavier impatiently drew on his sketchbook, scrunching his brows. Gwen peeked at his book, an awing sound escaped her lips and Xavier stopped drawing.

"If you try positioning the ear higher and leave the eyes hollow, it'll be nice. A skull with elf ears, hollow orbits and tearing muscles at the cheekbones will be incredible..." As she continued speaking, Xavier was taken aback, watching her finger dance around the page.

"...the muscles should be left bare to have a dramatic effect on the audience," she ended with a smile.

"Thanks," he shyly remarked, picking up his sketchbook to outline the points Gwen had just given.

"So," Kayden's voice boomed as he stood in front of them. Xavier smirked. "Josephine called this little get-together for "resolution". Right now, I don't know what I'm resolving."

Gwen rose to her feet, "You could tell us about the bet. You need to resolve that."

"I didn't mean it, Gwen. The bet was to see if you could trust me, after your parents' death and all. The guys in the locker room noticed that and dared me to get close to you. It was supposed to be brief but it all got messed up when I started liking you. Everything about you intrigued me. I couldn't break you, not after all what you've been through. I knew if I ever hurt you, it'd kill me and...you," Kayden fell to his knees, shocking Xavier and Gwen. "I'm sorry," he pleaded.

Gwen crouched before Kayden, and Xavier rolled his eyes at the scene playing out before him. "Why did you attack Xav?" Gwen softly asked.

"I was scared. I knew you would take it the wrong way. The day Xavier heard me on the phone, I was telling them I couldn't do it. He didn't hear the rest of the conversation before confronting me about it. I panicked when I got to your house and I was told you were going to the playground. I had seen Xavier's car parked two houses away from the playground. I snapped when I got there.

I'm sorry Xav. I shouldn't have." He turned to look at Gwen, "I've offended you the most and I need you to forgive. I shouted on you and I couldn't bear it, Gwen. I shouldn't have played around with you...your trust or your affection. I'm so sorry, Gwen."

"Kay, I'm not mad that you made a mistake. I'm angry at you for not telling me. Sure I might have been angry a little, but it wouldn't have a changed a thing. And thanks."

"For what?" he asked puzzled.

"For calling Bree over. Lulu told me, you told her not to tell me you called Bree. Thank you."

"It's no problem. But are you feeling better?"

"I think I'll be fine," Gwen sheepishly replied and looked over at Xavier who was erasing some pencil lines. Kayden understood and walked up to Xavier.

"Xav," Xavier looked up at Kayden. "I'm sorry bro. I broke the "bro code" and well, it hurts that you're hurt. I'm really sorry about everything, including the black eye," Kayden added, looking at Xavier's half-closed eye. Xavier laughed and embraced Kayden. Kayden slowly let go of the tension he felt, slowly relaxing into Xavier's hug.

"This is what I wanted, Kay," he murmured, Kayden smiled, patting him on the back.