Abby Ryder Fortson
as
Young Kali
~
(21 YEARS AGO)
Kali stared intensely at the clock on her plain beige-colored walls, waiting desperately for it to move faster.
Her and Five had a tradition, where every Wednesday and Friday they would meet in her room at exactly 9pm when everyone was sleeping.
Just as the clock hits 9, a flash of blue light appeared and she smiled as she spun around to see her bestfriend.
Their faces were inches apart, she flinched and quickly backed away.
Five quickly scooted back as well and muttered a small 'sorry'. He sat crossed legged on her forest green covers and leaned back against the headboard of her bed.
"Hey, Eight" He smiled excitedly.
She tilted her head slightly so that she could see his features better in the moonlight. He had a dimple on the left side of his face when he smiled, emerald green eyes that she adored staring into, and dark brown hair that he always made sure to keep neat even though she liked it better messy.
She smiled back at him, "Hi." She whispered, her voice was barely audible.
"So, what should we do tonight? We could read, go prank one of the boys while they're sleeping, talk about how great I am?" He smirked mischeviously.
She thought about it for a moment and pointed her finger to the bookshelf in the corner of the room. It was filled with books, she had learnt to read at quite a young age with Five and Ben. They always were the more mature ones.
He nodded his head, got up from the bed and walked over to the bookshelf. He lifted up her favorite book that they must have read 10 times by now. 'To Kill A Mocking Bird'.
She quickly nodded her head, her smile growing bigger. He loved when she smiled, it made his stomach feel like it was doing backflips, but in a good way.
The girl set a pillow on her lap and rested her elbows on it, putting her chin in her hands.
"Light?" He questioned.
She took one hand away from her chin but kept her head down on the other one. Kali then pointed a finger in the air and used her energy minipulation to create a bright red ball of light that lit up the pages for him.
"Thanks" He looked down at the book and flipped through the pages until he found the spot they left off a few nights ago.
He began to read, "When he was 13, my brother, Jem, got his arm badly broken from the elbow. When it healed and Jem's fear of not being able to play football assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right, when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh, he couldn't care less so long he could pass or punt."
He glanced up from the page slightly, Kali had her eyes closed while taking in the words of the story.
He countinued reading, "When enough years went by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events that lead to the accident. I maintain the fact that the-" He looked up from the book as the light from her finger flickered.
She looked like she was fighting to stay awake to listen to the story she wanted so desperately to hear. He was a bit aggitated that he didn't get to spend more time with her but he understood. Reginald had made them train all day and that had worn her out, he was honestly tired as well.
He put the bookmark in the book and set it on the floor.
She heard the dull thud of the book as it hit the floor and opened her eyes. She seen the book missing from his hands and the light turned on again fully to show the confusion and longing on her face.
"You're tired you need sleep" He pointed out.
She shook her head and pointed to the book on the ground harshly. She wanted to talk to him and let him know that she was fine, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to speak.
"No, just lay down, Eight. We can meet up tommorow night instead." He told her.
Her eyes welled up with tears as she stood up, grabbed the book off the floor, and tried to shove it in his hands forcefully.
"Eight, It's just a book...I promise we can read it tomorrow." He tried to compromise.
She has always overreacted to little things, but she could never get words out like everyone else and would resort to using violence out of frustration. It was like she was being held captive by her own mind and was never able to make her own decisions.
He could always get her back in line at some point, he was her best friend after all.
She continued to look at him with teary eyes, then at the book and back at him. He knew to be cautious with what he says when she acts up, especially since she has powers that she still couldn't fully control and could accidently hurt him.
She tried to push it in his hands once more but with a bit more aggression than before.
The corner of the book jabbed into his stomach, "Ow! Don't!" He snapped.
She flinched back a bit realizing that she hurt him, she didn't mean to, she really didn't. He immediately regretted that he had lost his temper with the one person he promised himself he would never raise his voice at.
She dropped the book on her bedside table and scrambled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head and raised her hands to her ears, pressing them hard enough to block out most noise.
He pursed his lips in anger with himself and sat at the end of the bed, careful not to touch her. He slowly lifted the blanket just so that he could see her face. She had her eyes closed and was te
"Eight" He sighed.
She opened her eyes slightly and moved her hand from her ears, but she didn't look at him.
She thought for a moment, staring off into space, she then seemed to conclude whatever it was and looked back up at him.
She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She closed her mouth and sighed, frustrated with herself, she pointed to him then her back. (I know it's stupid. They're 8, go along with it.)
He scrunched up his face in confusion, "You want me to rub your back?" He was amazed that she would let that happen, let alone want it.
She nodded slowly, still a bit unsure.
He put his hand on her back cautiously as if she would break if he pressed any harder and she froze at the touch, but relaxed a bit more when his hand began to move up and down, slowly and gently. (That sounds so wrong oml)
She closed her eyes, and he began humming a random song to make her feel better. (Little did he know that was the beginning of her music obsession.)
She fell asleep not even 2 minutes later and he chuckled, "I knew you were tired" to her sleeping body.
He then pulled up the blanket to cover her some more and blinked back to his room and fell asleep just as fast as she did.
AN: That was a short first chapter. Anyways, I hope you liked it, and ill post again tmr since it's nearly midnight.
-ash :)
(Words: 1367)