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一 | ACT ii (ONSET DISASTER)
INTERLUDE. Fall from Grace
FORKS,
WASHINGTON, U.S.A.
January 16th, 2000
THE THUD OF A CAR DOOR, brought Riley back to the real world and he didn't like it one bit.
When his family moved to Forks, no one had been happy about it, least of all him. But with his mother's new job of running the emergency department at the hospital and his parent's apparent need to 'getaway', they ended up in the nowhere town of Forks Washington.
Now he was here sitting in his sister's new-old car sitting outside of the Forks Middle School and High School joint car park
After fifteen minutes of silence, Jenny glances at him and smiles.
"What?" He said with frustration in his voice.
"Riley honestly, what's the harm in smiling. You're starting a new school and you hated your old one."
"There's nothing to smile about. I still had friends back home and I want nothing to do with this stupid town. "
"Stop being such a victim. I'm not the reason you got expelled and we had to move hundreds of miles away from home."
Harsh but true, but he was still offended.
"Hey!" he exclaimed in contempt.
A yellow bus comes to stop outside and dozens of kids come pilling out. A couple of kids skid on the ice and a few steps into puddles.
Jenny takes off her seatbelt and turns to fully face him. "Riles it'll be good for you. You blame yourself for all the stuff with mom and dad but it's not your fault. They've got to deal with their own shit"
"Let's agree to disagree"
"Just stop isolating yourself, okay. Make some friends, find the beauty in Forks."
"There's nothing beautiful about a place like this."
Running her fingers through her hair she took a deep breath in. Jenny didn't like the new Riley who was so pessimistic, she missed the little boy who always saw the best in everyone.
Reaching back to grab his backpack, he clambered out of the car slamming the door.
The crisp spring air was more like the autumn wind was thundering against his windbreaker as he made his way over to the unfamiliar entrance.
Listening to his Walkman and in his own world, Riley didn't notice the puddle he was about to step into but avoid it in the last second.
Steadying himself, he went to cross the parking lot and saw a figure running towards him at full speed, unaware of the oncoming bus. Her foot landed on the ice and she was done for.
The girl fell into his arms and into his heart.
Books spilt everywhere and the look on her face was mortified.
She was his around his age, he noticed. Green eyes and a face full of freckles, she was stunning. She had a head of red blonde hair that he didn't know the colour for and a cute scar above her eyebrow.
Maybe there was something beautiful about this place after all.
Once he returned her to the safe footing, a dimpled smile broke out on her face. "My hero"
"And on my birthday too?" Giving her a look over, he noticed her slightly more fancy outfit. She wore a light blue dress, polka-dot tights, a matching bow in her hair and a large grey trench coat that was too big for her. She was stunning and he was smitten.
"Awe isn't that cute." He finally looked up to see a girl how looked a lot like the girl he was holding on to. Same nameless hair colour but shorter and wilder, the girl was the same age as Jenny.
Then he noticed the huge crowd strong them, and huge me meant six other people watching and one of this was his sister.
"You've got you've self a little boyfriend Del," turning to face the fourteen-year-old, "if you're going to date my cousin I'll have to know little more about you other than that you're a hero."
"Riley, Riley Biers from Santa Fe."
"Well Riley Biers from Santa Fe, you've got my approval. Del, why don't you show him around."
"Sure thing Vanie."
"Sorry about that, I'm Delphi and that was my cousin," looking back he saw Jenny start up a conversation with her, but then again Jenny was very sociable. "Well looks like your sister's getting along with her."
"Looks like it."
"You're not much of talker huh?" To which she got a shrug in return, "well neither am I, so that sucks. Luckily for you my cousin Evan is a chatterbox."
"Hey!" A boy, around his height with spiky light brown hair and wearing an obscure t-shirt with a punk reference.
Finally looking away from the pair noticed that the other people were watching them were apparently her friends. Maybe he was actually gonna like it here.
✧
THE DULL GREY OF THE SKY MELTED INTO THE DARK WATER, which in turn melted into the short distance of sand which was the beach.
They sat around a ring of driftwood logs as cold winded pelted itself off the waves and into their faces. A fire crackled in the middle, with a blue-green flame burning.
It hadn't even been four days and Riley already felt like forks had always been his home.
Instantly after meeting Delphi, he was incorporated into her friend group and was dubbed the shy creative one, which he had no issue with. He tried so hard to fit in with the crowd back in Santa Fe and now he was liked for being no one but himself.
Seconds after being introduced to Evan, the older boy declared them best friends and that was that. Delphi became off-limits. But he didn't mind, because the friendships he made that day would last a lifetime, he would tell.
He was there sat with Del, Evan, Ash, Will and Ryan, and just off a few feet were their siblings keeping an eye on them.
After an hour of just sitting enjoying the cold of a fading winter mixed with the heat of the flame, occupants of the beach multiplied and teens of all ages from the reservation showed up.
A ball went flying passed their head and within moments, Ash, Will and Ryan had joined the game.
Del and Riley continued their conversation, but as the game continued he noticed how Evan had moved further from them and closer to the game, his eyes lingering on certain players.
"Ev, you really into soccer huh?" The strawberry-blonde haired girl said to her cousin, with humour coating her voice. Strawberry blonde, he had learned was the colour of her hair.
Evan, being caught in the act, didn't make him stop to justify or bring further attention to it.
"My bad, what were you saying?" he shifted closer back.
"We were talking about our plans, for the future," Delphi replied a matter of factly.
"Oh come on, we're fourteen, no need to have everything ready."
Getting in between the bickering cousins, "as you were saying?"
"Well, I don't everything planned, just architecture. I want to to get into that and also maybe be crowned Miss Washington like Vanie."
Evan made a fake spewing noise at the comment about his sister but nevertheless said, "sounds solid."
Turning his head, he asked the new kid, "What about you?"
"What about me?" He dodged, Riley had no idea what he was doing with his life.
"Anything planned?
"Nah?
"Nothing?" Exasperated he asked, "you into anything?"
Stroking the back of his neck, "I like writing in my journal, nerdy I know."
Delphi squeezed his arm, "not nerdy at all."
"Books or like ...poetry?"
"Music."
"Bro, this is brilliant!"
"It is?" both Delphi and Riley exclaimed in question.
"Play any instruments?
"Piano and guitar."
"I just got an eclectic," which he received for his birthday after getting into my Vanie's ukulele. "And Delphi can sing, I think we've got ourselves a band here."
Having heard her name, Vanie began planning everything.
"What?"
Each of their siblings' input ideas and before Riley could even think to say no, it was done.
"Sounds like a plan."
✧
ONE WEEK, that was all it took for Evan to manage to set up everything for the so-called band.
Evan was like a shark in the water, at the first sight of blood he strikes, and that was what he did after finding out that Riley was interested in music, he struck. Within days he had everything organised, an empty garage became their headquarter and Vanie took her place as band manager.
So here they were, in Mallory's garage with a tonne of equipment and a few hours of practice under their belts.
The space was large, enough for two large jeeps, but they already had a garage for cars. Vanie offered to donate her hangout spot to the band and they jumped at the chance.
Within the course of a heavily paced weekend, the place was transformed and all the second-hand instruments that they managed to get donated were set up.
That day after school, the band had its first practice.
Evan called by his father, on important business. So the two of them just did what they could.
Mrs Mallory was coming in every half an hour to interrupt them with freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate and no one had the heart to tell her it wasn't necessary, so they all stuffed their faces.
Ashley and Will were sat on a couch in perfect view of the band, doing their homework and clapping occasionally.
"So any ideas for the name?" Ash queried from under a fluffy blanket.
"Something obscure," piped Will from beside her
"Oh that's a big word," she spat back
Peering out from behind a pile of boxes, "What about 'The Oracle and the Sight'?"
"Hey this isn't about me," Delphi said in an instant. He's noticed that she wasn't one to bring attention to herself. Her actions were simple yet meaningful, but never attention-grabbing.
"I think having 'forks' in it would be cool," He said from behind the keyboard, fiddling with a tune.
As the sun came to hover over the horizon, so did Mr Mallory outside the entrance.
This was Riley first time seeing him, outside of the photos on the house and Vanie's stories. Shorted than he expected, he wore deputies uniform and stood at around 5'5", his hair was the exact shade as his sons but receding. His inviting smile did anything but.
"Hi daddy," the seventeen-year-old girl said to which all the fourteen-year-olds cringed at. They knew it was innocent and once he left, she would've smacked the back of their heads for having such dirty minds.
"Hi honey, I've just come to return Evan, he'll be out in a bit." With another smile, he left and his shadow was replaced by another, smaller person.
He was wrapped in a large sweater and many scarfs, none of his skin peaked out. Evan looked like he was about to be sick, but he gave a weak smile.
Delphi's mike slipped past her fingers and dropped with a thump. The noise was deafening but what was worse was the look on her face, infernal or imperil he did not know.
All eyes were on her but were on her cousin before she shoved her way passed with Vanie in tow.
It wouldn't be until four years later he would find out what it all meant.
✧
MONDAY, IT WAS LUNCHTIME WHEN THE POLICE SHOWED UP AT THE SCHOOL with bad news.
He remembered it perfectly.
That day started off surprisingly good, breakfast was his favourite and his parents didn't fight that morning. After Jenny dropped him off that morning she went looking for Percy and Vanie like she always did and he headed off to be with their friends. He had the best classes that morning and lunch wasn't horrible for once.
But with the perfect day came the not so perfect ending to it.
A police par was accompanied by a sleek black Mercedes. Two people piled out, Mrs Mallory, Mrs Frobisher, both with red blotchy faces.
When the news was delivered, Delphi didn't except it, which was unexpected, to say the least.
The sheriff spoke clearly and sympathetically, but one the words left his lips the women began sobbing again.
Riley was in between his two friends, holding their trembling hands. Evan wouldn't let him leave, he insisted that he should be there.
Vanie skipped school that day and begged her father to teach her how to drive, she hadn't gotten her licence yet. They didn't know if it was the ice or if she was speeding. The car was completely destroyed and so were they, neither were wearing seatbelts.
The rest of the day was blurry, but he remembered that neither Delphi nor Evan wanted to go home with their mothers. They stayed with their friends, hoping to find comfort and Riley was going to be exactly that.