Jace and I were in charge of chopping veggies and bringing them to the designated areas for cooking. Matthew helped the older kids barbecue meat and veggies. Rita and Shaun decorated the food with another group of middle schoolers and showed them examples of cute designs to follow.
"You're pretty good with the knife," Jace complimented me.
"Thanks, you too. I always helped my sisters and my mom in the kitchen," I said as I continued to chop.
"Wow, that's nice of you. How many sisters do you have?" he asked me.
"Five, but we might have another soon in February," I said.
"F-five?! Lucky, I wish I had siblings."
"Well, I also have younger trip-"
"Julia!" the three of them exclaimed as they ran up to her.
"Wow, that looks yummy!" said Layla.
"You're always good at cooking!" said Helius.
"Aw, I'm so hungry I can eat the moon," said Julian as he drooled.
"Dinner will be ready soon in about 30 minutes," chuckled Jace.
The trio looked at him in awe and asked," What's your name?"
"Call me Jace, I just came to visit my friends. I haven't seen all of them yet," said Jace.
"Aw, don't worry you'll see them soon," said Layla.
"What about you three? What're your names?" asked Jace.
"I'm Layla."
"Helius, but you can call me Leo. It's my middle name, but I like it a lot," he pointed at his chest.
"And I'm Julian, or Lian for short."
"So, what's for dinner?" Layla asked.
"There's barbeque ribs, beef and chicken burgers, beef stew, fried chicken, macaroni, grilled veggies, salad, chips, jello, fruit, pies, cakes, and cookies," I smiled.
"Mmm, I can't wait!" said Julian.
"All grades from K to 3rd grade please come to me. We're going to practice singing then you can go back to your rooms to change," waved a teacher.
"Come on, we gotta go guys. It was nice meeting you, Jace. We'll see you later," said Helius.
"See ya," said Jace.
Helius waved goodbye and ran to the teacher as Layla pulled Julian away from the table," Bye Jace," Layla said.
"Aww, I really wanna eat soon," Julian moped as he walked away.
"Make sure to grab a coat when you guys go to your rooms!" I shouted to them.
"Alright group B, you guys can leave the rest to group C, so go get ready and dress up. The events will start soon," announced the cafeteria lady.
"I guess that's us. Wanna meet up after? I'll introduce you to my friends," said Jace.
"Sure," I replied shyly.
It was getting dark fast, but walking to the girls' dorms was pleasant. There was a garden leading up to the dorm building and entering it was like walking into a dark cave with willow wisps lighting the way. There were Led lights trailing on walls through the entryways. I walked up the stairs to the left and found my room at the end of the hall. Jessa and Renae were putting on a little makeup. Gena and I got dressed up and the girls offered to do our hair.
Then we went to the bonfire area through the garden of lights.
"Julia!"
I turned around to see who it was. It was Jace and Rita with their friends, walking up to me.
"This is Max and Daniel."
Max had burgundy hair and was taller than Daniel, and Daniel had grey hair and a piercing in his left ear.
"Hi, I'm Julia."
We shook hands and heard the audience begin to quiet down behind me.
"Hey, guys let's get seats, "said Max.
"Students, it is a pleasure to have Serena joining us for the Winter Solstice. A celebration of the darkness in the longer days to come and the appreciation of the smallest of lights still burning bright through the nights. Now, students, just before we begin, don't forget to look at the schedules for the next few days," said Principal Aurora. Music played and Principal Serena stepped up and enthusiastically said, "And now everyone is free to join the events or grab some dinner!"
We walked up to the tables of food and Shaun met up with us to where Matthew was.
"So what's the surprise?" Rita asked.
Matthew opened the cover to unveil fluffy chocolate cupcakes, topped with vanilla whip cream and decorated with colorful chocolate pebbles. "Oh. My. Goodness!" whispers Shaun, "It's beautiful, can I eat one?"
Matthew nodded.
And then the stage cued in the grade K to 3 group and they sang. I quickly settled the camera to video the triplets and got my food.
We all went back to our seats. There were plays from the highschool seniors and singing. Then I saw a familiar face. Leah walked up to the stage, waiting for her turn to sing. She always wanted to be a singer and an actress. I watched her nervously hold onto her dress in one hand and a mic in the other.
"You can do it, Leah," I whispered to myself.
"Do you know her?" Jace asked me.
"She's my older sister, Leah," I said proudly.
"What's she going to do?" Shaun asked.
"You'll see," I replied.
A violin introduced Leah into the spotlight as she brought the mic to her lips. Her soft voice captivated the audience like a little angel singing to God. I couldn't hold in my feelings. It was just a song, but the words meant so much to me. It was a song we wrote together for Grandma.
"Are you okay?" Jace asked me.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay," I sniffled.
The plays and special songs were over, so the principals announced the final event, the dance.
I turned off the video recording to explore the activity booths and put away my plate.
I had my rock in my pocket and planned to make a necklace at one of the stations. But then-
"Julia!"
A boy with black short hair. His bangs slightly fluttered in the night breeze as he spoke.
It was Kemron, the boy Leah liked.
"Hey, you probably don't remember me but my name's Kemron," he looked intensely back at me," Is it alright if I could have a bit of your time?"
"Um, sure, what is it?" I was burning with embarrassment and shock when I glanced at the rose lollipop in his hands. It was a tradition for flowers to be given away in the solstice festivals as a sign of affection: platonic, romantic, or as friends, like giving chocolate to people you care about on Valentine's day.
"Well, um do you remember in 4th grade when everyone made fun of me for crying in class? You came up to me and gave me a cat lolipop asking me if I liked cats. And I just cried and said yes. It cheered me up a lot because, on that day, my cat had just passed away. And since then, I really liked you. I know this is sudden, but it's the winter solstice..so I thought that it'd be the perfect time," he held out the candied glass flower and asked, "Will you.. go out with me?"
I froze. I didn't expect this to happen. And I didn't know Leah liked Kemron until she finally let the cat out of the bag a few weeks ago.
"..what?"
I heard the words uttered from my lips as I hesitated before accepting he gift.
Adrenaline rushed through my veins, bombarding me with a block of nervousness as my mind searched for an answer. I looked around and some people were cheering because they saw the whole thing. And in the crowd behind me, I saw Leah. Just the person I was looking for... She glared at me and paced out of the crowd.
"I'm sorry, I don't like you that way. But thank you for liking me."
He looked at me smiling with sad eyes. "Thanks for giving me an answer."
"I have to go now. Enjoy the festival! Bye, Kemron."
I went after her.
I didn't want this to happen... I didn't mean for it to happen.
"Leah!"
"Go. Away. I don't want to talk to you."
I reached for her arm but she brushed me away.
"You KNEW I liked him. Can you just go away!" she said angrily and started to run.
"Leah, I didn't- I- I didn't mean for that to happen. I don't like him! I turned him down! Leah I don't like him!" I chased her.
"I DON'T CARE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. GO AWAY!" she screamed at me. And just when I caught up to her...she pushed me. She took my camera and slammed it to the ground. I gasped, staring at her in shock. I couldn't hold the tears anymore. "Leah.." My voice quivering, I just started to cry and my voice just didn't want to come out anymore. Her face showed a slight guiltiness mixed with anger and satisfaction as though she fulfilled her revenge.
She just walked away as I slowly mustered the strength to stand on my wobbly legs. Never had she ever been that angry with me. We used to fight when were younger but she never blew up like this before. It was my camera... She knew I loved taking pictures... My world that I see, she broke it. I was too sad to pick it up. The screen was smashed and the camera was broken open. I just thought the camera was a lost cause, so I left it and wandered into the garden.
I found a pavilion and sat on the stony stage and laid my head on a pillar. Then a glassy melody played.
Jace? When did he get there? Did he follow me?
I just watched him play the piano until the tears calmed down. When he finished the song, he sat next to me.