Chon-Ji and Sparkles

Ch 2: Dope Stuff

Sitting in the waiting room definitely brought back memories from middle school. Some good and some terrible. We look up as Trevor Marin walks in with Serena Chung. Trevor was never like the others who joined an athletic team. He somehow also managed to be geeky and awkward. As he pushes his glasses up his nose, I see him fidgeting with a fidget spinner. Next to him, Serena pulls her sleek dark hair into a messy bun while humming a song. Turning to my side, I spot Cecilia eyeing the others with a slight frown, typical facial expression of hers. 

"You all may come in now." Principal Deon states and we walk in a single file line to get in. Serena and Cecilia take a seat on the two chairs, leaving Trevor and I without a seat. Principal Deon eyes us from his desk until we manage to seat ourselves in some form.

"Do you know why I have called you lot in here today?" 

"Why do you authoritative figures always ask that? Of course, we don't know." Cecilia rolls her brown eyes and Principal Deon sighs, "Miss Evans, I would ask you to keep that suggestive attitude to your peers. The reason I ask you is to make sure you are all on the same page. You may not know, but perhaps your friends might?"

"They are not my friends," Cecilia says just as Trevor says, "We do not know, sir."

"We aren't friends? But, we have our scrapbooks still. Don't you have it?" Serena pouts and Cecilia gives her the evil eye before popping a piece of gum in her mouth.

Principal Deon drags a hand down his smooth skin before taking a deep breath, "Alright, so to catch you all up. There has been a progression on the Glass twins. They found a bracelet lying on the ground of the crevice in the heart of the forest, about five meters from the waterfalls."

"A bracelet?" Trevor raises an eyebrow and Serena whispers with slight fear, "A charm bracelet?"

"Well, the cops are bringing it in for you all to view to see if you recognize it. I just wanted to prep you for it in case they catch you by surprise. Just remember, you are on school grounds, so they are not allowed to question you without a lawyer or a guardian present." Principal Deon informs us to which we nod as Cecilia grunts, "Great, can we go now?"

"Cecilia," Principal Deon starts, but Cecilia had already made her way out.

Serena gives an apologetic smile to the Principal, "Sorry, she is still touchy with the subject."

"Can't blame her. It happened right in front of her, and she was too out of it to know." Trevor says before slipping out the door with the rest of us.

We walk out of the office to see Cecilia sitting in the empty hallway, looking at her phone with glassy eyes. As we approach her, she looks up and frowns, "You didn't tell him anything about that night that we agreed not to, right?"

Serena shakes her head, "No, of course not."

"Good," Cecilia sniffs before trudging off.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt if we just told them about the intoxication part. It would probably help them. To put the pieces together better. I mean, the only person it would possibly affect the most is..." Trevor trails off as he looks over at me. Both of them bite their lips before dismissing themselves with a nervous smile.

The Glass twins were our rock before they disappeared. Aureole (pronounced Au- Ree- EL) and Austin were twins that were so connected that we would almost think they were the same person. Growing up with them, we would notice how whoever was near them would instantly light up with happiness. They were just jolly folks. Austin and the other boys were my bros. I was essentially one of the bros. As much as he would pick on me, he would protect me. 

Aureole was the polar opposite of Austin in the sense that she was never as cunning or clever as him. More of a softie. It was a given that what happened to them could only be because of her inability to see the negativity in the world, but then again, who isn't innocent in the sixth grade?

"What did they want?" Vic asks as soon as I bow to our instructor.

"They found a bracelet." 

"From the case?"

"Yup," I sigh as I warm up by stretching. 

The whole reason I joined Taekwon Do and Kickstart was to learn self-defense. To protect myself from incidents like these where I would be defenseless in the arms of a stranger. Stranger danger as they say, is very much a serious thing. As younger kids, we are so open to being friends with anyone because we only see the good in others. If we could just be taught that not everyone is as beautiful on the inside as they appear to be on the outside, maybe all kids would be safe. That is a far shot in thinking, but I would never wish upon someone else to be stolen from their own safe place, like Austin and Aureole was.

The police labeled it as missing people because by the time they were called, all of us were too stunned to be able to talk about it. By all of us, I mean Cecilia, Serena, Trevor, and I. Because there was so many of us left behind, they didn't even consider kidnapping to be an option. Why would they leave so many eyewitnesses behind?

That question haunts us to this day. Why leave us behind? Would they ever come back for us?

"Watch out!" Vic yells just as I catch a foot mid kick and flip it out to swipe my foot under the other leg, knocking the person off their feet.

"Oof." My instructor groans as he lands on his back before a small kid in the class yells out, "Dope stuff!"

"Do you even know what that means, Stewart?" Master Seif asks and the kid shakes his head, "No idea, but I heard my brother say it."

"Kids these days," Master Seif shakes his head before pointing to me, "Pay attention in my class, Hussain. You are good, but not a master yet. And Han, remember that a sound can cause a counterattack on you. You never know who is coming up behind you."

"Yes, sir." Victor barks before giving me a pout, "Sorry."

"Now, Stewart, front and center! Show me Chon-Ji."

"Manchiki Chicken, coming right up!" Stewart cheers before running and tripping over four kids, "Oof."

"Oh, boy." Victor sighs as Master Seif shakes his head in a disappointed matter with the rest of snickering away. It never gets boring in Taekwon Do class, that's just a given.