I DROP MY PEN, finally satisfied with my five last minute essays and worksheets. Ancient Archives, Benign Borders, Lithe Languages, Mazed Mathematics and Sustaining Sciences.
All names of compulsory subjects that Avernus High focused on and excelled at. History, Geography, Language, Maths and Science as the dated people had called it.
I scribble doodles absentmindedly, staring out of my bedroom window onto the lawn my mother worked so hard to maintain. Of course, it seemed to be of no use. With the exception of a small portion of narcissus flowers that are always in bloom near our gate.
Beyond our garden, are rows of picket fences that bordered every house in our neighbourhood. We live in the biggest, only habitable state on the continent of Avernus. Our homes are quaint and fashioned in a circular formation, radiating outwards from the Athena Hall in the centre of the state.
There are towering lampposts between every two houses and they burned brilliantly, leaving very little in the darkness of the evening. Couples stroll down the silent streets, children play Deadhand, screaming and laughing while their proud parents look on.
A slow smile makes its way to my lips and by the next few minutes, I have pushed the window open completely and am leaning out. A kid I am particularly fond of, Amelia Jones, sees me and waves frantically. I return her gesture with a wink and she beckons me to come down.
With my work completed, I turn back into my room. I switch off the fairy lights that decorate the entire wall behind my bed and quickly grab a stole hanging behind the door. I push down the stairs, quickly mumble a 'be back soon' to my mother and walk out on the street.
Amelia's face lights up when she sees me and hands me a fishnet racquet. "You'll be on my team," she perks up, pulling me onto the field with her as another team member exits the ground. I plant myself at the now empty defence position and somewhere a whistle rings clear.
I have been to enough practice sessions with William to know the basics and can satisfactorily hold my own. The play starts and Amelia pushes into attack, picking up the makeshift Deadhand ball from the opponent. She barrels forward, swishing left and right as the defence moves in around her.
Attacking players surround us and immediately there is clashing and bumping of racquets against each other. I push to Amelia's left, fending of attacks for the ball. A kid barrels into me, knocking the breath out of my lungs.
The opposing captain sweeps up the ball. His teammates pull up a wall of flesh around him. He jogs backward, utterly confident. We fall back and I am pretty sure we are going to lose when someone manages to break the wall and snatch the ball from the opposition, straight into Amelia's direction.
"Woo! Go Thea!" An all too familiar voice shrieks from the sidewalk. I look up and catch that fiery wall of hair flying and forest green eyes twinkling at me. A particular pair of ocean blue eyes wink at me and a sideways smile works itself onto my face.
With renewed vigour, I push through the crowd and give Amelia a clear shot at the hoop. She coils the end of the racquet expertly around her wrist and pulls it back. She takes off into a running leap and dunks the ball into the hoop and our team erupts into cheers.
Amelia rushes into my arms, almost falling down. "I cannot believe we won that!"
I ruffle her hair kindly. "You'll be one hell of a Deadhander, I'm telling you," I say and her face immediately lights up.
"You mean that?" She says her brown eyes, brilliant under the night lights.
"I do," I say but before I can talk to her further, two people walk up on either side of me.
"Good game, kiddo," a deep but amused voice says and I smile. Tyler. Always around. Always here. He rests an arm on my shoulder and salutes Amelia, at which she giggles.
"For once, he's absolutely right. Intensity runs through your blood, Ames," Christina's bubbly voice perks up and Amelia high fives her before she runs off to her friends. I look after her fondly. When her brother was branded as a Forsaken five years ago, Amelia lost her will to live and laugh.
It had taken me years, out of guilt and sorrow, to help her through it. She was only seven years old back then.
"We haven't seen you in ages, Thea!" Christina turns on me, her arms crossed against her chest.
"Yeah, it has only been a week since we gave our PPTs, Chris. You know you can come over anytime," I say and walk toward my house, my friends flanking my sides.
"Right and you mean to say you were home?" Christina asks, raising her brow. "Ty came over almost everyday and you were never here. C, what's wrong?"
"You know you can talk to us, yes?" Tyler perks up and I nod.
It has been too long, too long since I have concealed my secrets from them. It is not fair to them. It is not fair to our friendship either. Of course they deserve to know. What was I even worrying about?
"Come on in," I say and push open the picket fence. I turn and wave at Amelia, who beams and smiles back. I walk back into my house and am just about to herd them up the stairs when my mother stops us.
"Hey, you guys! I haven't seen you in so long, come give Auntie Clarissa a hug," she squeals and gathers Christina in her arms.
I slap my hand on my forehead and groan. "Mom, almost adults here. Don't do that." I shake my head at my mother, whose head bobs up from Christina's struggling form.
She lets go off her and sighs, long and weary. "Sure, go ahead. Be adults then. None of you have any time for me anymore," she says, almost on the verge of tears. I am immediately alarmed but she laughs suddenly and waves us away. "Don't let me hold you, now. Go up, I'll bring you some food."
I squint my eyes at her, channelling my obvious disapproval. My mother simply winks at me and walks into the kitchen beside the living room. Christina just laughs while Tyler turns a worried face toward me. "You sure your mother's okay?"
I wave it off and laugh. "Yeah, she is. Come on, there's something I need to talk about."
My mom scrambles out of the kitchen and calls for us to stop. We turn back and she wipes her hands on her dress. "I almost forgot to tell you. Your father is hosting a ball this weekend to announce your-"
"Yes! Yes, thank you! We'll get going now, mom, love you, bye!" I rambled and my mother looked at me like I had lost a few brain cells. I caught hold of Ty's and Chris' hands and pulled them up the stairs.
Back in my room, I sit cross legged on my bed, while Tyler sits on my desk chair and Christina spreads out on the floor despite my protests. "What was that about?" Tyler asks and I shake my head.
"Only after you hear what I have to tell you."
"Well, we are all ears. Go ahead. Leave no details behind," Christina wiggles her eyebrows, her red hair flaming on the floor.
She obviously thinks it has got something to do with William and she's not wrong. Well, kinda.
I take a deep breath and steady my nerves. My palms are clammy from worry and I feel small beads of perspiration sticking to my forehead. A gust of wind blows in and I shiver. "Look, no pressure but you are scaring me, Thea. What is it?" Tyler says and I turn my eyes to his ocean ones.
I steady myself, feeling the gentle push of his gaze. The words catch in my throat as if someone bundled it up and shoved it down. I try taking another deep breath but I keep fumbling for words that might cause a lesser impact.
Christina sits up and grabs my hand. She pulls me down beside her and forces me to look into her eyes. "Hey, hey, calm down," she says, sensing my obvious nervousness. She holds my hands tighter while Tyler drops down with a thud next to us. I nod and blurt out the first words that form in my head.
"William and I are betrothed," I say and close my eyes, flinching at the whispered gasps and the hands that go limp in mine.
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