Due to sleep deprivation, my morning zoomed by in the blink of an eye. I guess that’s inaccurate. What I meant to say is that I couldn’t remember anything of my morning after that bathroom incident at Starbucks. It was a shame, really. It was my last day of school, already half had wasted by, and I was unaware of it. Michelle seemed fine - as far as everybody else could tell, she had gotten her glorious eight hours of sleep. Which would forever be a nagging mystery to me; her ability to make people see what she wants them to see. If only I had a portion of that talent… of course, I bet that came with a price, too.
I felt as though I should do something. Something to make my last day in Seattle unforgettable. But, unlike my mind, my body wasn’t as enthusiastic towards the idea. So all I ended up doing is staring here and there, memorizing the plain walls of our cafeteria. Yes, it was lunch time.
I ate. But only because of the glances Michelle and Blane were giving me.
Something seemed so weird. So out of ordinary.
I felt out of ordinary. And sadly, I couldn’t shake off the incomprehensible feeling.
Something was definitely wrong with me. Not even Phys.Ed. could wake me from my trance. It was as though I was not physically there, as though I was watching through a windowpane as somebody else moved my body. At an unbelievably slow pace. It was the first time ever that I became a nuisance to fellow teammates during a game.
I retired with the girls while the guys continued the game – more vigorously. That was a first too. I can’t remember a time I had sat on the bleachers voluntarily while there was a game in progress.
The girls beside me chattered and chanted, but their voices only reached me as echoes even though they were inches from me.
I hated this.
I liked the old me better. The me who could shake off anything. The me who learned to gain strength from those around me. The kind of person who was not afraid to move on, to change, to grow. I wanted this to stop, because I was being absurd. I had gone through worse.
It was getting quite annoying too. I mean, since when have I started to think so much?
I watched as the guys took a break and Blane started walking over to me. Except he wasn’t even staring at me. It was as though he couldn’t tell I wasn’t okay, which is pretty strange because from what I gathered of him, he was very insightful. Either that or he was preoccupied.
‘Maybe thirsty?’ I thought as I saw him reach for a water bottle. I was wondering about whose it could be when he dumped its contents on me.
I felt my body contract from the astonishment as water trickled down my face and down my shirt. I felt it seeping into my skin and cooled me instantly from the inside out. My body was cold from the fluid, but my head was boiling with rage.
“What the hell?!” I yelled at him.
He grinned. “Feel better enough to play?”
I smiled, knowing that I was feeling better enough to do anything. Now, anyways. “Not quite,” I said, looking in the opposite direction as I reached for the nearest water bottle.
“Don’t even try. You’ll just end up twice as wet as you are now,” he stated carelessly, acting as though it was a waste of time. But I could tell from his voice that not having a water fight was the last thing on his mind.
I took his false warning as a cue and snatched the water bottle off the bench and pointed it at him as though it were a gun. And, of course, I smirked. I didn’t give him the chance to utter any more cocky remarks because I squirted water at him without even a moment of hesitation.
I took him off guard. That mere fact made me bubble with joy. It gave me the thought that I might not actually be useless as a Hunter. Of course, when I tried to squirt him a second time, I found that the water bottle had left my hand and was already in Blane’s possession. When that happened, I had no idea, but I was pretty devastated.
“Not fair!” I whined, as I started to run for it.
He laughed. “What is?”
“That!” I pointed to the water bottle. He laughed some more. I shifted my finger to him instead. “You! You’re unfair!”
I believe he laughed harder.
“Don’t I deserve some kind of handicap? You know, like ‘newbie advantage’?” My mind was pulled somewhere else as I slipped on water that had dripped from my own body. I must have been running in circles, silly me. I flailed my arms to remain on my feet and when I did, I felt that familiar sensation I felt moments ago as water poured down my body.
“I warned you you’ll just be twice as wet as before,” Blane teased right by my ear.
“Xyne! Hawthorne!” Mr. Rakic’s hoarse voice called out. “This ain’t a waterpark!”
Blane stifled his laughter, keeping his eyes on me curiously, wondering what I’ll do next.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, hiding any trace of emotion on my face or in my voice. Then I looked up at Blane and smiled kindly. “I think we should hug and make up.”
“My hair’s still wet,” I complained to Blane at my locker after the final bell had rung.
He sighed in an over-exasperated fashion. “Stop complaining. You got me wet too.”
“Yes, wet. I was soaked,” I grumbled. He sniggered at the memory. I tried to elbow him in the guts but he stepped back from the lockers, avoiding it, causing me to slam my elbow into the steel doors. I yelped out in pain as I felt a jolt of electricity travel to the tips of my fingers. I glared up at him as fiercely as I can.
He smirked. “Xyne versus Hawthorne, round two?” he suggested.
“You know it. You’re not getting off so easy this time,” I replied, trying to sound threatening. I knew I failed as soon as I heard the words out of my mouth. Blane bellowed out in laughter, confirming my inability to be intimidating.
“What was that?” he spoke between his laughs.
“Shut up.” My voice had lost its confidence and volume. Out of embarrassment, I turned my head from Blane and I didn’t dare meet his gaze again. I did, however, smack him on the arm – my feeble attempt at revenge.
“Aren’t you guys getting along a little too well?” came a voice from behind. Blane looked up at the voice, but I didn’t need to.
“You’re just jealous,” I replied immediately to Michelle. When I heard no response from Dany that usually was present, I turned around to face her absence. I raised my eyebrows at Michelle in question.
“I told her to wait outside,” she answered. I nodded, allowing her to proceed onto whatever was on her agenda. She turned to Blane first. “You can stay. Rose is going to tell you what we talk about anyways.”
“You don’t know that,” I cut in.
She smiled in response as if that were a good enough explanation. “And we’re not going to get teary,” she assured him.
Then, she finally turned her attention back to me. She cocked an eyebrow. “Any last words?”
I laughed out loud. I didn’t expect that. It seemed highly ironic in this ghostly, empty hallway. “I’m not dying!” I told her, my mood lifted greatly.
“You’re okay, but your arm’s not doing so well.”
I nearly choked. Of course. I had wondered how I had gotten away with her not noticing that. I wasn’t even going to ask her how she knew when it was perfectly covered with my sleeve – not just today, but last night too. Even I had forgotten about it until now.
“At least it doesn’t hurt,” I added on a brighter note. And it was the truth. I don’t know how crabby I would’ve been all day if my arm had been throbbing. Thankfully, Blane’s mysterious potion was useful in one sense.
Michelle nodded. Her eyes slightly relaxed and I could tell that my words relieved her. Nobody else would’ve noticed through her wonderful composure.
“So, what are your plans?” she continued.
I opened my mouth to reply, but looked over at Blane instead when I couldn’t summon up a clean, concrete answer.
“We’ll go back to the house so she can get her stuff,” he replied for me. I nodded contently.
Michelle turned her attention back to me. “But really, no last words?”
I cracked a smile. “Save me a yearbook?”
She returned the smile. “But don’t complain when Dany and I graffiti all over it.”
“What kind of yearbook would it be without?”
It must’ve been really strange for those watching – specifically, Blane – but one moment, Michelle and I were beaming at each other as silence filled the hall and the next, we were carrying out our goodbye hug.
“Promise you’ll call or send an email… Heck, you can even send a telegram if that’s all that’s accessible,” Michelle spoke.
I laughed. “I’m not traveling to the nineteenth century.” I rolled my eyes.
“Just saying.” She released me from the embrace and stared straight into me eyes, preventing me from lying - not that I would have. “I don’t care if you can’t contact me till next year, but promise me you will, at the first opportunity you get.”
I nodded sincerely. She must be delusional if she thinks there’s even a possibility of me cutting ties with her. Ever. There was so much I wanted to say, like how I’ll come back, that I’ll be safe, or that my life will be perfect. But every time something along those lines was at the tip of my tongue, I couldn’t guarantee that I would not go back on my word. I hesitated and contemplated my words carefully before speaking.
“When this is all over, we’ll all be together again… And you’ll see how much I’ve grown over the time we’ve been separated, and you’ll be proud.” I inhaled deeply, keeping myself steady. “Michelle, I’ll make you proud.” It was more a promise I was making to myself than to her, but I knew it was something I was going to commit to memory and strive to fulfill. Always.
“You will. I know you will.” Michelle’s voice was small, but it was overflowing with faith. In me. “You always have.”
We smiled at each other a moment longer, then simultaneously lightened up the atmosphere and left the empty hallway.
Much too soon, I found myself stepping out of my home with a luggage packed with my belongings. Fortunately, no tears were involved in the process but I did feel a small empty void forming inside my chest, one that forced me to sigh bleakly. I could tell Blane noticed but pretended otherwise because he realized that that was what I wanted: to avoid the aching circumstances. I decided that preoccupying myself with a light conversation might help in terms of ignoring the painful sensation.
“So, why is it that we can’t go to Port Washington as magically as you came to Seattle?” I released a portion of my pent-up frustration by elongating my complaint before Blane could respond. “Not to mention, we’re not flying there, but taking trains after trains after trains. You can’t tell me it’s a more financially beneficial choice because I bet taking that many trains is more expensive than two seats in the first class of an airplane!”
He smiled, enjoying the conversation. “Well firstly, I don’t have any magical powers, nor do you, so we can’t create a portal to transport ourselves like that. Secondly, I just think it’d be safer travelling by trains then flying.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked up at him like he was crazy. “What? Do you not know how tight the security is at the airports nowadays?”
Blane laughed. “I wasn’t talking about terrorists, Rose, although it would be troublesome to come across them.”
“Troublesome,” I repeated skeptically.
“My point is,” he pressed on, “that you seem to be pretty high up on the wanted list for the demons, determining from the fact that they sent thousands of them to your house. And if you’re that important to them, they’ll follow us into the air and we are trapped.”
“There are always parachutes,” I added.
Blane’s grin widened. “If I’d known that the idea of parachutes is so appealing to you, I would’ve reconsidered the option of a plane.”
“Will you reconsider now?”
He shook his head. “Too late, I’m not risking it.”
I sighed exasperatedly. “But if I’m as important to them as you stated, then wouldn’t they just blow up the train?”
“They might,” Blane replied coolly. My heart skipped a beat as I once again realized how my life was on the line right now. “But I think they want you alive, so I don’t think they would.”
I merely nodded speechlessly.