The day went by like nothing happened. Ever since the 'incident', both Shade and Hyrad had missed all their classes for the rest of the day. Were they handling the 'Yeeza situation'? I was curious to know what the outcome would have been. And even though I had the chance to check out that mysterious yellow door, I didn't have the energy to do it. Maybe I could check it out later. Hopefully.
Avery stood behind me as she tried her hardest to tame my brown curls. "You know, there is something called a hair brush that was invented a long time ago. Have you heard about it?"
I chuckled at her sarcastic comment. "I have, my dear!"
"Oh, you have!" Avery tilted her head to the side, angling it to look at my face. "Then why in the world won't you use it!"
"You insisted on doing my hair! And now you have a problem with it!" I shook my head, moving away to make space for Avery to plop down beside me.
Avery sighed. "I wanted to do your hair because your curls are so damn pretty. But they're a hassle, girl. I'm pretty sure I could find a hidden treasure inside that bush of hair. Jack Sparrow could find Davy Jones's heart in there."
I raised a brow. "Can he now? Well, sorry for being a hassle, Avery Dawson." I got up from the sofa and walked towards the kitchen. "I think I can manage my hair from here."
"Oh, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Avery pouted. "You really need to take better care of them."
"And I have. I still have your rather long essay on 'how-to-keep-the-hair-healthy-and-bouncy,'" I recalled.
A couple of years ago, Avery thought a good 'Thanksgiving present' would be to give me hand-written pointers on how to maintain my curly hair. And I knew it wasn't coming from a place of malice as she had a very kind heart. It was because she was in love with my hair since the time we were kids.
"No, you haven't. All those hours and days I spent researching and writing it down have gone for waste." Avery pouted mockingly. "Also, I can't believe you still have it." The tip of her lips lifted up in a small smile.
"Why wouldn't I?" I threw her a smile. "My dearest and most amazing friend in two worlds had written it down for me, why the hell would I throw it?"
Avery blushed. "Oh, you! Stop it." She slapped my shoulder jokingly. "You know how to butter up a girl!" I burst out laughing just as she uttered those words. A knock interrupted our girl-time and Avery didn't look happy about it. She marched to the door and opened it wide. Erik's stupid face popped in with an equally stupid grin. "What the hell do 'you' want?"
"Is that a way to welcome your guests?" Erik commented as he barged his way through our room.
"Well it is if they enter the room uninvitedly. Get the hell out of our room, Erik. You're not welcome here," Avery said, crossing her arms across her chest.
Erik pursed his lips. "I'm not sure I want to. You see, Hayden is on his way here and he wants to spend some time with his girl. And I thought why should I be left alone."
"You're alone because you're a moron. No one likes you, Erik! Now, get lost!" Avery glared at Erik.
Even though I knew why Avery hated Erik, her abhorrence towards him was unlike any. We were children of Odrone. And that meant, we were the first set of children to be born on the new planet after we had left our deteriorated planet. We attended kindergarten with other Eybosnians and then shifted to an all Earthlings school in middle school. And the rivalry between Avery and Erik had started on the first day of kindergarten when Erik not only stole Avery's lunch but he also pushed her in the sandpit and almost buried her inside.
Some say boys liked to hurt girls or tease them to show their affection or fondness to the opposite sex but it was utter crap. What girl liked to be almost buried alive not to mention harassed daily for her bright fiery orange hair? Avery hated Erik from the bottom of her heart and as she claimed and the bottom of the seven oceans of Earth as well.
Hayden sauntered into the room and boy was I glad. I hugged him with all my might and Hayden chuckled under his breath. He hugged me back and I could feel the familiar heat emanating from his body, though it was unlike the warmth I had felt when I had taken a nap in the class earlier in the day. That was like basically walking on sunshine.
"What happened to you during lunch?" Hayden asked, kissing the top of my head. "You just vanished."
"Sorry that I worried you," I said, pulling away from him and leading him to my room. "I'm embarrassed to say that I wasn't feeling too well."
Hayden's forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean?"
"Lady problems," I stated firmly. I knew Hayden would ask me why I had suddenly disappeared while we were playing around. If he knew the truth he would be beyond pissed. But I also didn't know why I couldn't tell him. That would have been the perfect situation for me to leave the godforsaken school and go back home. However, ever since I received that note from 'Z', paint me inquisitive. Would I actually find out anything behind that yellow door? Was 'Z' really helping me? I had to uncover the truths of these mysteries. I had to find out who knew about me. Who knew that I was Nyla Jennings? It was something neither my friends nor my boyfriend knew about.
My father was a known man as the Leader of the Earth's faction but he didn't want his fame to reach his children. He enrolled us as Richards, under my mother's maiden name to conceal us from any danger that may befall upon us because we were the children of Keifer Jennings. Had he known that he would be, one day, assassinated? Was that why he kept us away from the spotlight?
I looked into my boyfriend's eyes and I could see the love and trust he had in me as he believed that I actually had lady problems. I leaned in closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist, and hugged him tight. As he hugged me back, I felt instantly calm. I needed it. I needed this hug to remove all the traces of the event that had occurred. I was glad he didn't think twice of my odd behavior.
We sat on my bed as I cuddled with him, he rubbed my back in small, slow motions. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"
My brows dipped as I tilted my head towards Hayden. "Why?"
"Tomorrow is the weekend? We might be able to go home?"
Has it already been a week since we arrived at the new school? I was perplexed about my emotions. I was both happy and furious about it. Happy because I would finally meet my mother and uncle and angry because they put us into the residence school without consulting us. However, I guess I was more happy about the fact I would be able to meet Annabella.
Annabella was in middle school, hence our school schedules differed. She even resided in a different dormitory that had children of her age. Luckily she had been rooming with the only other Earthling that had enrolled with her. If I wasn't too preoccupied with the stuff that had been happening with me, I would have been able to meet her more often.
"I guess," I said as I rubbed my thumb in a small concentric circle at the back of Hayden's hand.
"You might be ecstatic to meet Anna tomorrow!" Hayden grinned. "I'm sure she must be rolling on her bed, looking forward to meeting you and Daxton."
And that was why, ladies and gentleman, I loved Hayden. He knew exactly what went inside my mind. He knew it before I could even occur to him.
I closed the distance between us and pecked his lips. "You know me so well. I hope she's settling well."
"If she's anything like you, I'm sure she has already charmed her class," Hayden said as he chuckled.
I laughed. "Ah, I'm glad at least you think I'm charming."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you seen the way they look at us? I don't think 'charming' would work on them. Especially that guy Shade. He looks at me as though I want to kill him or I've killed his puppy. So much hate." I sat up, but held Hayden's hand in my grasp. It wasn't something I could part with right now.
Hayden cocked his head to the side. "You should stay away from him. I don't like the vibe he gives. Like you said, he looks at you as though he hates you, even though it doesn't seem like that to me. Still, it's a reason for you to stay away from him."
"You don't think he hates me?"
He smiled softly, inching closer. "There's a fine line. I'm afraid he's dabbling in between."
"What? What does that even mean?"
"Nothing. I didn't say anything. You know, let's go have dinner. I'm famished." Hayden got up from the bed and held his hand out for me.
Though I knew he wanted to say something more, I could see it was etched on his face but something told me that I shouldn't push him. But it bothered me. What the hell did he mean by that? Tugging on my hand, he lifted me up effortlessly off the bed. He kissed my forehead as we walked out the room towards the cafeteria.
~*~*~*~