Chapter One-part two

 

Chapter One-part two

 

Something buzzed, no, vibrated, between Bell and her master. Alix reached into her pocket and turned off her phone. Six a.m. Time for school.

                The third day of school was always the most annoying. New students were still lost, upperclassmen thought they owned the entire building because it was their year and even in tenth grade the teachers still gave out those stupid classroom rules that you had to have your parents sign. It was the first day she had to actually use her locker, her books had been assigned and she already had an art portfolio to keep. She was glad her locker was in the sophomore hallway by the windows, the last one in the row. All the other kids were digging through their lockers just like her and fighting for room just to breath and in a few hours they would still be fighting for lunch tables.

                “Is that my Alix?!” A voice called from behind.

                As she turned around a couple of kids paused to stare at something they weren’t sure of yet. Alix couldn’t help but grin at the changes that had taken place on her friend. He wasn’t short and scrawny anymore but tall, tanned and becoming muscular. His features were becoming defined and his hair had grown out over the summer into a shaggy, black mess. Even from the distance she could see the laughter in his eyes.

                “Where have you been Emery? Why are you so big?” She called out to him.

                He pushed his way down the hall, most of the teens gladly moved out of his way. He stopped next to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’m a manly man, what can I say?”

                Alix had to crane her neck from his chest to see his smiling and laughing face. She breathed in a big waft of his scent. “It’s more like steroids…..and you never came back to my house after you returned from your vacation to Hawaii, you jerk.”

                Emery frowned. “I’m sorry; we got back later than planned.” He removed his arms from her waste and dug into one of his pockets. “I brought you a gift though.” He opened his fist, in inside was a woven necklace with a carved gem in the shape of his family crest on the end; a brilliantly bold shield with two powerful paws clawing at it. “It’s a late birthday present.” He said, smile sheepishly.

Every time she had asked what the shield had meant, Emery shrugged it off and explained that it dated too far back for his family to remember. He had guessed they were once part of a powerful Indian tribe that no one knows about.

                Alix eyed the gem. “Did you have someone make this?”

He shook his head, ruffling his hair, and smiled. “No, I had someone teach me to make it. I made sure to use blue; I know how much you like it.”

                She took the necklace and turned the gem over. She could feel Emery’s pride beaming down on her and she appreciated his hard work; no one had ever given her anything, so hand making something so beautiful meant a lot to her. “What is it?”

                “The man said it’s called the ‘pride of the ocean.’ There’s a long story to it but it’s supposed to cast different colors other then blue, I guess. It hasn’t done it for me; maybe it will work for you.” 

                The first bell rang, alerting many kids. Many of them slammed their lockers shut and followed in line with the moving crowds. It was a little ways to her first class so if she chatted she would have to run. She eyed around hesitantly before speaking.

                “Emery, I gotta go, my first class is across the school and—“

                He smiled. “Don’t worry about it; I’ll be by your house later. I have to see big Bell anyways.”

                He handed her the necklace and disappeared down the hall.

                Alix thought the rest of the day would be hopeful. She had been waiting for Emery’s return and was more than disappointed when he didn’t come home as promised. She felt as though he had left her life completely and she was sure that was something she couldn’t handle. They had grown up together with never a dull day between them. He kept her sane when she was left alone for weeks while her parents were at a fancy dinners and she kept him company on his family’s large farm whenever she could. They even gave her a new baby horse for her birthday last year but he was still too young to ride.

                Instead, the day was slow and most of her teachers had promise homework the next day so tonight would be her official last day of summer. She would make it last. The final bell rang and she was the first to leave the classroom. The large number of kids, the stupid questions asked and the urge to get home built up frustration, enough to annoy her for a week. Her carless emotions wrapped her in her thought; making her oblivious to the world around her until it was a little too late.

                 “Oh! I’m so sorry!” She squealed.

                The figure crouched before her gazed up; the now revealed face caused her to catch her breath. He smiled at her reaction, puzzling her. “I’ve already told you,” His voice was a long, silky ribbon of perfection. “Its fine, you have nothing to worry about.”

                Those eyes, She thought. They’re so pretty, and big. A blush began to warm its way through her face.

                She bent beside him. “I know, but I’m still sorry about your…uh…”

                He looked beside him. The piece of art he had been carrying was sloshed with water from a beaker and the paint was running together in blurry streams. He laughed which brightened his face and highlighted his eyes. “You’re lucky this isn’t mine, you would have quite a debt to pay.”

                Alix paused, unsure of how to react with the current situation. She could feel her cheeks turn red. “So, you aren’t mad?”

                The boy shook his head. “No, but the owner of this new master piece might be a little angry.”

                Alix could feel her cheeks go red with the downfall of her false assumptions and the fact that she couldn’t keep her eyes off him. She’d never been overwhelmed like this before.

He watched her frown uncomfortably. He knew he shouldn’t take the blame but such a pretty face shouldn’t be responsible for his “carelessness.” He thought for a moment before deciding. “I will take the blame; after all, anyone can leave a window open while the biology students are watering their spring flowers.” He paused, but not long enough for her to answer. “I would love to stay and argue with you about who is at fault but I have somewhere to be. Nice meeting you Miss.”

She was too stunned to even say a thank you. Her eyes trailed after him, studying his features to make sure she could recognize him if they ever met again, until he turned the corner, then realization hit. She had let a stranger fluster her and he didn’t even have to do anything. She glanced around as she stood; brushing her knees, and was relieved to see that no one was watching, but down the hall she knew Emery was waiting for her.

                 He greeted her with a short smile the turned to shoo off one of his friends.

Alix didn’t recognize him. He was a taller guy, just like Emery, and had the same shaggy hair that reminded her of a dog, only his was a sandy brown color. He looked to be a little younger than them. She hoped Emery would tell her who he was or bring up an unfamiliar name later that she might be able to relate him to.

“Ready to go?” Emery teased, already walking away from the spot he stood in.

Once outside, Alix began to walk towards the busy street, unaware that Emery had stopped mid stride or even that he had changed direction. She was still lost in thought, simply going to walk her way along the familiar roads to Emery’s house just on the outskirts of town. Every day last year they had walked together, through rain and snow, because neither of them could drive or had any form of reliable transportation except for their feet.

For a moment Emery paused on the sidewalk, unsure whether he should stop her. He watched her walk a few more steps, running his eyes along her familiar outline, and then darted to his car, yanking up in the door handle, and hopped in to start the engine. He was proud of his baby, completely purchased with his money and worth every penny. Her sleek frame, polished leather and perfect tires made his friends drool when they saw her. And yes, this boosted his ego every time.

He drove up to Alix, slow and steady, simply waiting for her to notice him. The soft murmur of the engine brought back the last day of summer, playing over rapidly in Alix’s mind; the hot walk home, the speeding car, her almost certain death and the jolt of adrenaline on the run to the park. She glanced over her should in a panicked recoil Her sudden realization that the car wasn’t black, but rather quite the opposite shade of silver, made a nervous clam present inside her stomach.  She eyed the car for a moment and flinched as the engine roared once. The passenger window rolled down, gradually removing her mirrored reflection and giving a glimpse of Emery’s grinning face.  Alix breathed a sigh of relief. Just another over reaction, she told herself. What were the odds she would see that sleek black car again?

Alix was thankful the drive was short. Even the soft, contouring seats couldn’t relax her at the speed Emery was driving.  The roads out of the city were long and straight for the most part, only diving into a sharp bend a few times.  The car appeared small but inside everything seemed to be twice the necessary size.  The dashboard was bulky, the steering wheel was a little larger and the seats felt too big, her shoulders no longer spanning the width of the back and her feet could barely lay flat against the new carpet. Alix felt like a child in the front seat for the first time. Her eyes were looking out the windows, barely able to make out the blur of scenery, and every once and a while she would watch Emery drive. The muscles in his arms were tight and tense but his eyes seemed barely focused on anything outside of his private thoughts.

In her peripheral vision Alix saw the water tower rush by and she realized that Emery wasn’t going to her house, they were going to his.

She tried to steady her thumping heart before speaking. “Why are we going to your house?” Her voice wavered.

Emery glanced over then went to “watching the road,” as if he had really been paying attention to how he was driving. “I need to stop by; besides, don’t you want to see your baby? It’s been three months.”

Alix’s baby was the newest arrival to the Freedman farm, a new born colt that was almost a year old the last time she saw him. Emery couldn’t predict what color his fur would fade into so they were still waiting anxiously for the final choice. Last summer Alix waited everyday for his birth and she threw quite a fit after showing up one morning and seeing a small creature watching her car pull in. Emery hadn’t called her. To her shock, he wasn’t even home.

Even from a distance, Alix could see the familiar outline of the Freedman Farm. The barns were almost glowing in the distance; Emery never let their paint get dull.  Nothing calmed Alix more than the sight of those unchanging fences and the long rolling h ills she had played on and explored as a girl in frilly dresses. That time seemed so long ago.

The Freedman’s owned a large home, almost completely the opposite of their agricultural life style. They weren’t complete red necks, what started out as a small company had bloomed into a large business. Sometimes business parties were held here. Though, Emery and his dad only worked on a small part of their land, what had originally been the start of their success, everything else was handled by trusted employees. Sometimes Alix was offered a small job to provide her with some money, usually nothing fancy that Emery couldn’t teach her to do and most of the time she felt he deserved her pay more than she did.

After remembering to breath, Alix got out of the car, her legs shaking. The first thing that always caught her eye was the large omniscient wall of windows on the second floor of the house. It was her favorite room because of the landscape just outside the glass. She could draw fairly well, but she had scanned that frame of land so many times she felt she could sketch a pretty decent picture without a still life. 

 

Emery didn’t bother to see if she was ok, he left her by the car, mouth a gap at his home. He wondered if she would ever get over the shock of his intimidating house because her reaction seemed to have been the same for several years.

Inside he kicked off his shoes. He’d put Alix under the impression that they would be staying for a few moments but he had no intention of leaving the security of his home. Not after what happened in the hallway today. Emery trudged upstairs, groaning as his head thumped against the tiny door frame. He cursed, swearing that he would cut, or knock out, an opening big enough for him to fit through.

A few rooms off, there was a muted meow. Jojo came running from a make-shift crawl space somewhere, his face strewn with cobwebs and dust. He greeted Emery with a purr slurred meow and jangled off to the couch. Emery sat down next to him and rubbed his feline friend absent mindedly. Knowing something was wrong, Jojo moved to stretch out across Emery’s slouched belly.

The two companions sat in silence, waiting for Alix to come back down to Earth. Her soft footsteps signaled her approach. “I can’t believe this is your house. I mean, you’ve lived here for years but it makes me feel like we shouldn’t be friends.”

Emery didn’t look up, watching the amber eyes near his belly-button stare at him playfully. “You are way too high-school-cliché dependent. There is no real reason why we can’t be friends. That’s like saying because your best friend is a guy, I must be gay. I’m an average kid with a big house. It’s not like I’m bribing you with wads of money.”

He looked up and felt bad for twisting her face in confusion.

“You shouldn’t feel like you’re not worthy enough to be my friend.” He paused. “You’re exactly what I need. I don’t think I could stand you if all you did was swoon after me.”

Alix nodded, unsure of where Emery’s sudden mood swing might lead.

He kept talking. “You’re a solid person, not being lead about how you feel towards me through some infatuation.  So whatever you think, say or feel is based on grounded emotions and won’t change day to day based on how I treat you or in what ways you feel close to me.”

“But you don’t treat my any differently from your guy friends, besides the fact that I am no tom-boy.”

Her sentence caught him off guard, interrupting his uncontrolled rant of thoughts. He studied her for a moment then shook his head, like he was making his hair shaggier.

Alix sat in the chair across him, sitting cautiously. “What was that about?”

Emery looked away. “The guy in the hall…” He pulled at Jojo’s fur, tugging it lightly as a source of distraction.

Alix sat silently in thought, unsure of whom he meant.

Emery busted, his voice growing louder in his impatiens. “The stranger you let dazzle you off your feet. He’s not good enough for you, stay away from him.”

“You saw that?” Alix thought no one saw her. She remembered the brilliant boy kneeling on the floor and her heart thumped. I probably shouldn’t do that now.

“Yeah,” He said. “I watch out for you, brotherly right?”

This is getting too weird. I’m starting to sound like I like her. Do I? No, I don’t. No more than before, which wasn’t a lot; just friends like always. But that fire of emotion, I’ve never felt like that before. What if something’s changed?

Alix was eyeing him wearily. She wasn’t sure why Emery was being so protective, especially since no boy in their entire school had ever asked her to be their girlfriend and she doubted this stranger would either. Something about him put her way below his normal dating range. Everything about him screamed superior, his cloths and his skin; the way he wore his hair and how he had walked away from her without so much as a glance back.

Her heart thumped again. What if he had looked back?

Jojo meowed.

“Look,” Emery interrupted the silence before it became an awkward separation between them. “He’s just not someone I want you around. Will you stay away from him?”

Alix blinked. “Sure. Can’t be too hard right?”

Emery glanced down. I wish it wasn’t.

Tam walked into through the living room arch, glancing between the two teens and trying to sense their moods.  He looked to his son. “Something going on I should know about?”            

Emery shook his head, keeping his eyes low. Nothing that won’t be explained soon.

Alix smiled. “Hey Tom.”

Tam pulled his arms from his jacket. “Girl, I’ve told you to call me Tam.”

Alix snuffed him off. Thomas never really cared what she had called him but the sudden adoption of the new nick-name “Tam” hadn’t given Alix enough time to adjust. She liked Thomas just as he was, rough skinned and all so she thought the new name was silly.

Tam scooped Alix up and tossed her over his shoulder, headed for the front door.

 

Alix squealed and squirmed, desperately begging Emery for help. All he could manage was a wide-eyed look.

Tam was grumbling over his shoulder at her. “It’s about time you understood a few things.”

 

 

           

Author's Note

Im not sure if im completely satisfied with this one yet....but its a god read

Reviews

[LostCauze[:P]]

All your writings consists of a lot of detail and imagery so thats one of your strong points within your writing. Every scene i read i could imagine with such precision and consistency. On the second paragraph on the 4th line i think blacks is ment to be blocks. On the 9th paragraph Where is spelt were. Besides all of that this chapter was fantastic and I will read and review the next chapter soon enough.

[Str8jacket]

There was really great descriptions in this. Very detailed. Also, the prologue makes the overall story sound very intriguing. It makes the reader thirst for more.

[RAWR!]

"A confused looked crossed Phire's brow for the car was being to edge towards the center of the lane. What is this lunatic trying to do?! "'

hehe, you are very descriptive,
i appriciate that,
i wish i had more time to read the next chapter.
i liked what i read,
or rather, i did not think about what i was reading, i just wanted to know, "what happed next"

anyway i`ll try to make time during my lunch but my memory is not the best in the world.
i am tired from working shift all weekend

meow