I arrived at school bright and early, fresher than I had ever felt before. I didn’t know what had come over me – maybe the thought of never having to do History in school again had given me that extra boost of enthusiasm but I felt a lot livelier than before.
Now that I thought about it, my nights had become a lot less restless. I grinned at random students and made my way for my locker on the other side of the school and clutched my bag’s strap tightly, the heavy books weighing me down.
My fingertips ran over the padlock I had used for the past couple of weeks to secure my locker but the combination slipped my mind. I frowned, jiggling at the lock and tried numerous different combinations of numbers that seemed familiar but to no avail.
I groaned under my breath and dropped my bag, rummaging through to the bottom and found the old book lying there, safely surrounded by my other textbooks I had used over the weekend for homework. I quickly opened up to a page I had bookmarked specifically for these sorts of locks and only needed to give a quick glance at the code to know that it would be basic enough to open the combination on my locker.
Glancing from side to side and found the coast clear, I ran my finger in a small shape, an orange line streaking from my fingertip and forming the code on the surface of the padlock.
“Open,” I murmured, willing the gift to work and focused solely on the lock and the code.
For a moment, nothing happened and a feeling of doubt crept in. However there was a small combination of clicks and before my eyes, the lock slid open. My combination stared back at me on the tiny numbers, 5927. All doubt slithered away.
I grinned, tucking the book away and felt the colour fade from the very tips of my fingers. Shoes appeared in my vision all too quickly, jolting me backwards onto my butt. I hissed in annoyance and glared up at the visitor. “Can I help you?”
Terrance smiled down at me apologetically and held out a hand. I felt my expression soften as I took it gratefully and opened my locker, tossing books in. “Sorry. I didn’t know you came to school this early.”
“Actually I felt like coming early so . . . here I am,” I told him sheepishly and stuffed my necessary textbooks into my bag, discreetly making sure they covered the Code book. Oh crap, he didn’t see me use a code, did he? Damn it, Mr. Calloway said it had to remain a secret! “Did you . . . you didn’t see that did you?” I felt my stomach drop at my ridiculous choice of words. How discreet, Alexi – I mean Sage. I could always try erasing his mind anyways.
“Uh you opening your locker like you should every day? No, I didn’t see,” he joked and turned to the locker two down from mine, toying with his own padlock then opened it in a breeze. “Why? Were you writing in your diary or something?” Instantly his brown-eyed gaze darted to my bag which I clutched to my chest a little protectively. “Diary, then?”
“Sure, why not?” I replied dryly. “I didn’t know your locker was next to mine.”
“Well I had no reason to come to it until I found out you were near me,” Terrance told me with a grin. “There’s a new movie coming out, you know that Johnny English one?”
“Oh I love Rowan Atkinson!” I exclaimed and shook my head with a smile. “Yeah, what about it?”
“Do you want to go see it with me?” he asked slowly, watching my reaction very carefully.
“U-Uh yeah, sure!” I stammered a little too quickly, if not eagerly. I fought back the urge to babble and nodded vigorously. “That would be awesome! I mean it’s supposed to be really funny and I’ve seen the trailer and – wait, there are movie theatres in Fairwyn?” My jaw had dropped yet again. “But it’s such a small town!”
“It’s a special place so it’s kind of expected we could get some decent access here.” Terrance grinned at me, flashing a cute dimple. “We have the necessary retail stores for Converse shoes, Subway, McDonalds, all types of places right in Fairwyn Mall. It’s a whole lot bigger than you think.”
I grinned. “Well I guess we’ll find out then, won’t we?”
“Yes, we shall,” he agreed and saluted me with a twinkle in his warm brown eyes. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”
My brow furrowed. “I don’t think Rosemarie would like it if I stayed out late, even if it was still in Fairwyn. And anyways, we should check the times for the movie.”
Terrance chuckled at my pessimistic thoughts. “No worries, we’ll go and see what we can catch then, right?”
“Right,” I agreed with a beam. “I’ll see you tonight at seven then. I’ll somehow convince dear old godmother to let me go.”
“Rosemarie isn’t that old,” he called over his shoulder with a pearly-white grin and walked off around the corner and out of sight.
I suddenly buckled back into my locker and leaned my head back, closing my eyes. Did . . . did he just ask me out? On a date? At the movies? To watch –
“You said yes to a date with Terrance Lancaster?”
I snapped my eyes open and narrowed them at Jocelyn who stood there, hands planted on her hips while her bag slung over one shoulder casually. “Is there a problem with that?”
She rolled her green eyes and waved it off. “No need for the hostility. I’m just saying, he’s part Seeker and even I know he’s not good news.”
“Well how long has he lived in Fairwyn?”
Jocelyn shrugged. “For as long as I could remember.”
“Then what’s the harm in going out to watch a movie with him?” I demanded and crossed my arms. “If he hasn’t shown any symptoms of turning into a Seeker then, why should I be worrying now? Why should you be worrying now?” I was getting really annoyed at how a lot of people avoided Terrance like he was the plague, I mean he was so nice and kind and one of my first friends. How could these Fairwyn townspeople just cast him out like that?
She scowled. “It’s not like that. Seeker blood becomes prone to breaking dormancy the older a Seeker gets. Terrance is growing older which means he will awaken anytime soon.”
“I don’t believe you,” I scoffed and leaned off my locker, miffed. “You’re just being really mean about him, you know?”
Jocelyn’s green eyes darkened, narrowing into slits at me. “I don’t think Rosemarie would like it very much to hear her goddaughter was going out with a half-Seeker, half-Chroma.”
“That’s the thing, he’s half-Chroma,” I snapped. “He’s not going to go all Seeker on me and if he does, I know how to protect myself. I’m in a group with you and Katherine, aren’t I?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You just complimented me.”
“And Katherine,” I added with a shrug. “If you’re the best group and I’m with you guys, that must mean I’m not completely useless.”
Jocelyn sighed, crossing her arms then squeezed her eyes shut. “Fine. I’ll come.”
This time it was my turn to lift my eyebrows. “Come where?” Where on earth had that come from? I wondered internally.
“To the movies with you,” she said irritably as though it was clear from the start. “You obviously need to be supervised.”
“You’re the same age as me,” I accused.
“A year older,” she said with a shrug. “I’m graduating this year and training to become a Protector – not the point. The point is, Oliver and I will come and make sure the two of you don’t get into trouble. It can be a double date.”
“Oh no way!” I shook my head vigorously. “I don’t want to go on a double date and I certainly don’t need to be supervised.”
“Supervised for what?” Oliver appeared behind Jocelyn, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and rocked her to side to side.
Jocelyn smirked. “Sage just said yes to going on a date with Terrance to see Johnny English Reborn.”
“How much of that conversation did you hear?” I complained and banged my head on my locker.
Instantly I could detect the disapproval in Oliver’s tone when he spoke. “Why on earth would you do that? I thought we told you a couple weeks ago that –”
“He’s trouble because he’s half a Seeker? Yeah, I know.” I spun on my heel and stormed away, racking my brains for any way to get rid of them at the movies somehow. Fairwyn was too small of a town to ditch someone so there was no luck in that plan.
My heart sank as I walked quickly to my first period class, still a little too early for the bell. How would Terrance react when he found out Jocelyn and Oliver would be ‘supervising’ us? Would that even count as a date at all?
And why am I stressing out over this? Usually Tucker would tell me it would be no biggie, that it would be just like going to the movies with him except it wasn’t Tucker, just another guy.
A painful, internal blow struck my chest, faltering my steps. Oh Tucker . . . I miss you so much.
I fixed my hair, straightened the black sweater and brushed out any wrinkles I could have in my jeans. I double checked my fly and ran through the checklist Diane and I went through whenever I would get asked out, which wasn’t much but I knew the list off by heart.
There it was again, that aching pang in my chest. I missed my family so much. I missed Tucker too much and I wished things had gone differently. I didn’t like the way I had moved on so quickly but the fact that the Griffins weren’t my biological family made it easier to let go – yet it was completely different with Tucker.
“Tucker,” I murmured and sat on my bed, staring at the ring perched around my right index. “Will I ever see you again?”
“Knock, knock.” Rosemarie peeked around the door with a less fatigued look on her face. “Where are you going, all dolled up?”
“Not dolled up, just freshened up,” I corrected, trying to hide the blush creeping along my cheeks. “And I’m going out to watch a movie.”
“By yourself? How boring,” she snorted.
“Actually . . . with a guy,” I said awkwardly and stared down at my socks, wiggling my toes.
“Oh? And who might this guy be?” Rosemarie questioned with a half-frown, half-grin. She looked unsure whether she should be happy or suspicious with me.
“A guy at my school,” I told her complacently, trying to act cool about it when really I knew she’d freak out if I told her it was Terrance.
“Name,” Rosemarie barked.
“Starts with T.”
“Full name.”
“Ends with . . . errance.”
Rosemarie stepped into the room with an authoritative look on her face. “Who’s T-errance? T-errance . . . Terrance. Terrance Lancaster. Oh.” Her brow creased, just as mine did when I was deep in thought or confused. “Terrance Lancaster. Huh. The hybrid?”
Anxiety bubbled in my chest. “Y-Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe?”
She shot me a queer look. “Are you two going alone?”
“Yes – no,” I admitted and frowned. “Jocelyn and Oliver are coming to ‘supervise’ me.”
“Good.” Rosemarie looked a lot more relieved. “I’m on duty tonight and for the next two nights. Some of the Protectors are leaving town running errands to do with Seekers so you can go on all the dates you want, just be careful around Terrance.”
“What? No lecture on the dangers about being round a half-Seeker? No scolding? Nothing?” I stared at her in shock and disbelief.
Rosemarie cocked an eyebrow. “Why would I do that? Fairwyn’s covered with Chromas and if there’s any trouble, anybody can hear you. It’s just reassuring that you’ll have Oliver and Jocelyn with you, plus Terrance’s a good kid. I don’t think he’ll be any trouble at the moment, even if his Seeker genes are still dormant.”
“Make up your mind – is it called Seeker blood or genes?” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air.
The doorbell rang, jolting me out of my socks. I leapt downstairs in a flash, using a beam of orange to glide me down faster towards the door. Jumping off my support of orange light, I let it vanish into thin air, brushed out my hair and opened the door with a hand on my back pocket. I just needed to be sure I had my money to pay for tickets and popcorn.
“Hey!” Terrance chirped brightly and bared his teeth pleasantly. “Ready to go?”
“She is to be home by ten and no later than that,” Rosemarie announced briskly behind me and clamped her hands down on my shoulders. “Have fun, you two.”
Terrance saluted Rosemarie playfully who in return smiled wryly. “Will do, Miss Weston.”
I felt a little weird when Terrance used her name formally but shook it off and followed him to the car, tucking my fingers into the black sleeves of my jumper. “So you think we’ll get a good time for Johnny English?”
“Of course,” he replied with a broader grin and opened the car door for me like a gentleman.
Once arriving at Fairwyn Mall, I noticed that several stores had already been closed down for the day, some still running late like the movie theatre. I spotted some familiar faces from school and waved which they responded to but when seeing Terrance next to me, they almost looked pitiful if not fearful.
“Lucky for you I already booked us tickets,” he told me triumphantly and got out his wallet in a flash as we stood in the long line.
I nudged his hand away and shook my head. “I can pay for my own ticket. I made sure I had money for that.”
He shook his wavy hair and snatched my wallet from my back pocket, sending my cheeks into a flurry of heat and redness.
“Hey!” I protested when he shoved it into one of his pockets and gave me an innocent look. “Terrance, stop acting so childish.”
“It’s the guy’s place to pay for the lovely lady on the first date,” he reminded me and crept up to the next available counter, paying up with an easy expression on his face. “I booked two tickets for Johnny English under Lancaster.”
“Here you go,” the girl said from behind the counter and accepted the given money. She handed Terrance the tickets then glanced at me, gaze flickering between us in a worried fashion.
Terrance seemed to take no notice of it or was ignoring it; either way, his mood wasn’t dampened though I couldn’t say the same for myself.
The counter girl gestured for me to lean forward. “You know what he is, right?”
“Yes,” I snapped briskly and pulled back, storming off without another word.
Briefly, I felt bad for just running off moodily knowing it was she had good intentions. Then again, nobody took the chance to really know Terrance like I did so they couldn’t judge him fairly at all. Speaking of the devil, he’d already gathered one big box of popcorn with a bag of gummy bears on stop and he adorned a cute dimpled smile.
“Tonight we feast!” he announced excitedly and headed quickly for the stairs.
“Oh yes we do!” I cheered and popped a freshly buttered kernel into my mouth, smiling without bearing my teeth. “I’m surprised you’re not making me watch some stupid chick flick or a horror movie. The guys I knew at Lexington had a tendency of doing that to get girls.”
“Well that is no way to treat a lady,” Terrance declared disapprovingly. “I personally love Johnny English and Rowan Atkinson is one of my favourite actors so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it!”
“There you are Sage!” The all too fake chirpy tone and masculine voice gave Oliver away easily. “We heard you were going to see the new Johnny English movie and decided to watch with you – oh, are you here with Terrance?” The hidden spiteful tone he concealed made my blood boil. Even though he didn’t show it, it was still there.
“Let’s go,” I said firmly to Terrance, slipping my fingers through his and ignored Oliver.
Even I was stunned with my impulsive actions as I stormed into the assigned theatre and plonked myself down on a random row of seats. It seemed as though movie theatres stopped caring for which seat people sat in because nobody came to claim it from us.
“It’s fine if they join us,” Terrance told me with a smile and offered some popcorn.
“Not to me,” I muttered. “They just want to keep an eye on me.” I turned to him before the movie would start, not really in the mood to watch it anymore and prayed Oliver and Jocelyn didn’t follow me, wherever the latter was. “Are you really . . . part Seeker?”
Instantly Terrance looked uncomfortable and clutched the box of popcorn to his chest. “Not part Seeker . . . it’s more like a fifth of my blood is Seeker genes. My parents were half Seekers and while my dad was half Chroma, my mum was half-human.”
“Aren’t all halfers just half Chroma and Seeker?” I questioned, confused. “I mean I remember in a History lesson a while ago how some of the incorrupt ancestors of Chromas were able to create Seekers to destroy the Dark Ones.” Both of us shuddered at the latter. The Chromas from the past who had darkened in nature and used their powers for destruction were referred to as the Dark Ones, and even in History it was still a taboo subject. I even came across these figures in history with my times with Stefan.
“Well my mum was human, she was sure of that so I don’t know what happened there,” he said with a shrug and lowered his gaze. “But I can tell you, I wouldn’t hurt anybody in Fairwyn. There haven’t been any signs or symptoms of my genetics awakening and I plan on keeping it that way. You should know that.”
“I . . . I know,” I said slowly with a curt nod. The lights darkened, the screen flickering with advertisements. “Pinkie promise?” I didn’t know why but I felt like it would make him feel better if he promised not to hurt me or anybody else – and it looked like Terrance agreed.
“Pinkie promise.”