Look: Chapter 1: Who is That?
A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky outside my schoolroom window. I looked up from my test, a sigh escaping my lips. This thunderstorm had been going on all morning. Rain pelted the roof as the wind danced with the trees.
Someone somewhere just got struck by lightning, I thought to myself. Yes, I have random thoughts and most of them are weird. But is that possible? Is someone getting struck by lightning that often?
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Five minutes left to the test,” my friend Venus whispered. She smiled and handed me my pencil that had fallen off my desk.
“Thanks.” I turned my attention to the test and quickly answered the last few questions.
“What happened back there? You just spaced out.” Venus laughed as we exited the room.
“I was thinking about lightning and all,” I said.
“Ahh, inspired by the thunderstorm?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Yup.” I stuffed my notebooks into my locker. “We have lunch next.”
“Let’s go!” she turned and headed towards the cafeteria and I followed.
“Hey Olivia.” someone walked up next to me.
“Hello, Mathew,” I answered, trying to keep my cool. This guy bothered me everyday, wanting to know if I wanted to hang out. The only reason he wanted to hang-out with me was because my parents were rich. You’d think I’d be use to it by now.
“Do you want to hang-out sometime this week?” he asked, keeping pace with me. We arrived in the cafeteria before I answered.
“I’m really busy this week, you know,” I answered nicely. I quickened my pace, leaving him behind and joining Venus in line.
I wasn’t popular at school. Well, I was but not in the common sense. Everyone knew who I was but I didn’t hang out with the popular group or do anything with them. Why? Because I begged and begged and begged and begged and begged my parents to allow me to attend a public school. At the age of ten I had gotten sick of a private tutor and pleaded with them untill they allowed me. If I mess up once, make one wrong choice, they might yank me out. There would go my life!
“You zoned out again,” Venus sighed, plate in hand and back to me.
“Oh,” I said, grabbing a plate of my own.
“Yeah. I was talking about coming over and you’re just staring into space.” she said.
“Sorry. I was thinking.” I hate it when I zone out. The world around me just disappears and I’m in my own little world and then people get offended that I was annoying them.
“It’s okay. Will you listen this time though?”
“Yes.” I said, silently yelling at myself to pay attention.
“Okay. Mom and Dad are going on a date night and Jacob is going over to a friends house. I was wondering if I could hang out at your house for a little until Jacob is back,” she grabbed a slice of pizza and turned to me. “Whatcha think?”
“Sure! That’d be great! I was actually going to ask you to come over today anyway. Mom and Dad are gonna be at the office late but Shawn will still be there,” I explained.
“Shawn’s cool.” she nodded.
Shawn is my bodyguard. Surprised? Yeah, there was an attempt on to kidnap me once when I was younger. Ever since then, I’ve had Shawn, a dark African-American bodyguard.
“Okay, what time are you thinking about coming over?” we had sat down at a table, enjoying our lunch.
“Fiveish,” She said.
I noticed someone sitting at the corner table, arms folded in front of their chests. It was a boy with white hair that hung down to his face. A dark hoodie contrasted his bright hair and for just a second, our eyes met. I looked back down at my plate, embarrassed and feeling awkward.
“What?” Venus noticed I had gotten sheepish.
“I just made awkward eye contact with that guy over there,” I told her, not looking up from my plate.
“Where? Is he cute?” Yeah, that’s Venus for you.
“Sorta. Over at that corner table,” I said, nodding with my head.
“Livy, there’s no one there,” she said, disappointment in her voice. “They must have gotten up and left.”
“But,” I looked at the table, and blinked. There was stil someone there. Same person too.
He looked at me again only this time he was smiling. He winked, blue eyes flashing.
“Um, he’s still there,” I said, not understanding. “And he winked at me.”
Venus turned the whole way around in her seat to look. “No one’s there!”
“Yes! A guy is sitting right there right now!” I exclaimed.
“Describe what he looks like.” She turned back to me and folded her arms across her
chest. She didn’t believe me.
Keeping an eye on him the whole time, I said, “Really blonde hair, almost white. Blue eyes and a roundish face. He’s wearing a dark hoodie with black pants.”
“You really think he’s there, don’t you?” Venus asked.
“I’m seeing him with my own eyes!” I persisted.
“I have an idea. Take a picture with your phone and show it too me but be smooth about it. Don’t let him see you do it.” she instructed.
I took my phone out and pretended to be on the phone with my mom and at the same time I took a picture. Thankfully the flash was off. Thankfully.
“Here,” I handed her the phone. I could see him in the picture, bent over the table, piercing blue eyes searching the area around him.
“There’s nothing there!” Venus said, irritated. “Olivia, is this some joke?”
“No!” I was upset. So upset. Why could I see him but Venus couldn’t? “He’s there! I swear!”
“How ’bout this? We forget about this guy that only you can see and we get this school day over and done with so we can hang out? Okay?” she proposed.
“Fine.” As Venus got up to through away her garbage, I watched the boy in the corner.
He got up and left the room. As he walked past my table, he smirked. It wasn’t a mean smirk just a “So sorry for you” smirk.
The rest of the school day was okay, I only spotted the kid once or twice again. But who was he? It was driving me insane but I didn’t mention it to anyone again.
Maybe I was going crazy?
This is a new book I’m working on. I will continue to keep working ong Hybrid. This idea has been floating around in my head for a long time and it feels good to get it out. If you would like to read more, just let me know! I hope you enjoy this!
Look: Chapter 2: I’m Just Gonna Take A Walk
Venus and I headed over to her house after school to get some stuff for the night. While we were there, we ran into her brother Jacob. Quite literally ran into him. Venus had ran ahead of me up the stairs and I was following. As I rounded the corner that led to the stairs, Jacob plowed into me, knocking me out of the way. He grabbed my elbow as I fell backwards, catching me before I hit the ground. He pulled me back up into a standing position.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"No problem," I walked past him and up the stairs, into Venus' room. "You ready?"
"Yup." she slung her pack over her back and walked out the door. Jacob was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Kenny had to go with his parent's to visit his aunt so that means tonight was cancelled," he told Venus.
Venus turned to me and I knew what the question was before she asked it.
"Yes, he can come," I sighed. I looked at him. Brown hair that was spike up made him look taller than he already was. He had dim green eyes with dotted freckles under his eyes.
"Thanks," Venus said as she threw her pillow at Jacob. "Carry that."
"Will your parents care?" Jacob asked.
"Nah, Shawn'll be there to oversee everything. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure he'd play some video games with you," I said.
I opened the door and walked down the steps. Shawn had my car ready. Venus threw her stuff in the back and slid in next to me. Jacob took the front seat.
"Hey, Jacob!" Shawn gave him a fist bump. "Why are you coming?"
"I was gonna hang out with Kenny but he's busy so I guess I'm coming over," he explained.
Shawn just laughed and put the car into gear. "Maybe we can get some Fortnite in before you have to leave."
"Sounds good to me," he answered.
The rest of the car ride went smoothly. Venus and I discussed what we wanted to do while Jacob and Shawn conversed about sports and such. We arrived at my house a few minutes later.
"I know I've been here like three times already but it still seems huge!" Jacob expressed.
"It is huge," Venus corrected him.
My house was huge. It had four garages, a game room, a big kitchen, a dining room, six bedrooms on the second floor, an indoor and outdoor pool, a hot tub, a walk in bathtub in every bathroom, and the third story was all to me. Trust me, my parents had the money.
"Yeah," I sighed. I opened the trunk and handed Venus her bags. Shawn drove the car into the garage.
I slid my key into the lock. A few turns later and we were inside, ready to go.
"What are we doing first?" I asked Venus.
"I can't decide between the pool or hot tub," she said.
"How 'bout both?" Jacob cut in.
"How?" she said a bit of sass creeping into her tone.
I already knew what the answer was because I'd done it many times.
"You start in the pool, you get out and run to the hot tub, stay there for thirty seconds and then back to the pool. You just repeat that cycle till you get tired," he shrugged. Yes, that was what I thought it'd be
"Or until you get hypothermia," Venus said in disgust. "I think the indoor pool will be good."
"The indoor pool is heated so it shouldn't be that cold. Sounds good to me," I answered.
As we wound our way through the maze of hallways, I looked at Venus.
"Are you spending the night?" I asked. "Or going home later?"
"Do you want Jacob spending the night?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"There are three other bedrooms to choose from on floor two and another two on floor three. He won't be a problem," I nodded.
"I told Mom I probably would spend the night but then Jacob came with us so...." she thought.
"It'd be fine for him to stay, trust me," I pulled open the door to the pool.
"Okay, I'll ask him," she told me. She slipped into the water and smiled. "It's warm."
"It is a heated pool," I laughed. I canon balled in next to her, splashing her with water. Her protests could be hear under water.
"Ugh!" She pulled her wet hair off her face and flicked it at me.
We had fun the whole time until we got out and went to watch a movie. Why did it go sour? Because I burnt the last bag of popcorn and had to send Shawn to go get more. Jacob wasn't really happy I took his gaming partner.
"Live with it!" Venus had smacked him playfully on the shoulder when he started to "complain."
"But we were in the middle of an epic," he started but I cut him off.
"We were just gonna watch, oooooh, I don't know..... maybe a war movie?" I asked playfully, looking at Venus.
"Oh yes! How 'bout..." she thought carefully.
"Are you really going to watch a war movie?" he asked, doubt written all over his face.
"No, we were going to watch Titanic," I retorted sarcastically.
"NO!" Jacob wailed.
Venus laughed.
It didn't matter because soon Shawn was back with the popcorn and we had decided on a movie. I got up to get a Mountain Dew from the fridge when I spotted movement outside. I glanced at Shawn and then back out the window.
"Um, I need to check on something, I'll be right back. No need to pause the movie," I told them. Shawn looked at me and I motioned for him to follow.
"What?" he asked in a hushed whisper.
"I'm just gonna go outside for a moment, take a walk," I explained, not wanting to tell him why.
"Okay" he followed me outside but at the doorstep, I reassured him I'd be good.
"I'll yell for you if I need anything," I told him, walking forward, bear feet patting through the wet grass. I heard the front door swing open and shut. Pushing it out of my mind, I continued.
Why am I doing this without Shawn right here next to me? I have no clue what this guy is doing on my property. He might be trying to kidnap me! If he wanted to kidnap you, Olivia, he could have done it sooner than now! I was having a silent conversation with myself, debating if I should do this or not.
It was too late. I hand grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a bush. My cry was muffled by a hand.
"Stop," the person whispered into my ear.
"Let me go!" I tried to say but the hand was still there.
"It's me, Jacob." he removed his hand from my mouth and I looked at him, confused.
"What? Why'd you do that?" I asked, rubbing my arm where he grabbed me.
"There's someone out there!" he said, looking at me like I was stupid.
"That's why I was going!" I explained, starting to stand up.
He yanked me back down. "What are you doing?!?"
"I know or at least I think I know who it is. I saw him earlier at school and when I tried to point him out to Venus, she couldn't see him. I need to know what he is and why I can see him but no one else can!" I was exasperated.
"Going to find him without anyone else is the stupidest thing you could do," he looked me in the eye, green eyes staring into my soul.
"Wait a minute, you said someone was out here. How did you know?" I asked.
"I saw movement and a flash of blue and then darkness," he answered.
"Why'd you come out here then? You knew Shawn was here with me." I folded my arms over my chest.
"Uh." before he got the chance to finish he was cut off.
"Really Olivia? You have to ask him that? You should already know. Jakey boy here wants to protect you." I looked up, a little confused.
The voice was in a deeper range, something you'd expect from a bigger guy but instead of some massive freak of nature, it was that kid. White hair still falling in his eyes and blue eyes piercing the night.
"Can you see him?" I asked Jacob without taking my eyes off the intruder.
"Yes."
"Wow. You guys are really clueless," the kid said, standing back, looking down at us. I stood up and brushed myself off. Jacob stood up also.
"Who are you and what are you doing on my private property?" I demanded.
"Slow down," he laughed. "To you, I don't exist. You didn't see me. You thought you did. Nothing is happening right now of any importance so just go back inside and forget about everything, okay?"
"Not gonna work," I said, crossing my arms. Why wasn't I calling for Shawn? To me it felt like I'd know this boy for years or at least been around him for long enough to trust him. It felt like I had actually talked to this guy before and that's why I wasn't completely freaking out. But how?
"It doesn't have too, Olivia," he said, hands in his pocket. "It doesn't have to work. It doesn't have to make sense. All you need to know right now is that I'm on your side and I'm trying to help you."
"Help her?" Jacob questioned, stepping up beside me.
"Olivia is a very important person right now and she will become even more important in the next couple of days. She's going to need protection. That's why I'm here."
"I have Shawn," I said snidely.
"But Shawn can't see them, you and I can," he raised an eyebrow. "I'll be seeing you
around."
The boy took his hands out of his pocket. In his right hand there was a rectangle shaped contraption. He pressed a switch and a blue vortex opened behind him. He did a mock salute and then stepped through the vortex.
*************
The next morning during breakfast, Venus asked what was wrong.
"Just tired," I said. It wasn't a lie. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, I was so confused.
"You haven't eaten anything," she said, nodding to me still full plate.
"Does it matter?" I asked, looking up at her. Jacob sitting across the table from me looked up, our eyes meeting.
"Um, yes," Venus nodded. "Jacob's being the same way!"
"What's your excuse?" I asked, looking at him.
"Watching Basketball." he yawned.
"See," I said.
"Fine," Venus stood up and placed her plate in the sink. "I'mma get ready for school."
Once Venus was gone, Jacob started to talk.
"I don't think you need to worry about that guy, okay?" he looked at me as he stuffed egg into his mouth.
“Sure,” I said, unconvinced.
“What did he mean I’d become more important?” I asked, setting my fork down and looking at Jacob.
“Look, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?” he asked.
“Or burn it,” I mumbled.
After I thought about it and went through the scene a million times I looked down at me plate. All the food was gone, due to the fact that I ate it all without thinking. Let’s just say, my plate hasn’t been cleaner.
Stepping out of the car and onto the school property was grueling. I was half asleep and I knew that today was going to be terrible for some odd reason. I want to say I focused on my school but that would be a huge lie. My mind may have been at peace at breakfast, but now, it was a mess. I went back to worrying and by the time lunch rolled around, I thought I was going to throw up.
“What’s the matter?” Venus asked, concerned.
“Just a little upset right now,” I answered, arms wrapped around my stomach.
“Was it Matt?” she pressed.
“What? No. He didn’t even talk to me today,” I said. I gave a weak laugh. “Maybe he
finally got the point.”
“Doesn’t matter, what’s bothering you?” she continued to ask.
“It doesn’t matter,” I pushed it off.
“Hey,” Jacob walked up with his tray and sat down across from me. “What’s the
problem?”
“She won’t say,” Venus huffed.
“You won’t believe me anyways!” I finally just said.
“Try me,” she sat back, arms folded.
“Um….” I swallowed and looked at my plate.
Change the subject, Olivia, change it now! But to what? What do I change it too?
FOOD!
“I don’t think I’ve tried this meatloaf before,” I said cheerfully.
Jacob looked at me, eyes pleading me to tell him what I was doing I nodded faintly and he got it. “Oh, yes, I think they tried a new recipe today or at least that’s what I heard.”
Venus just sat back and stared at us.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“Changing the subject? Really? And not even successfully might I say,” she was disgusted. “Why?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, cutting my food and taking a bite.
I put a hand over my mouth. I was about to vomit. I pushed Venus out of my way and went running down the hall to the bathroom. I slammed the door opened and knelt down in one of the stalls just in time. My breakfast and what little lunch I ate came right up into the toilet.
“Ugh,” I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and instantly regretted it. I sat on the floor for a few seconds making sure it was done. I stood up went to the sinks to wash my hands and rinse out my mouth.
Standing in front of the mirror I looked at myself and thought of what had just happened. This jerk pops out of a portal and tells me I’m about to be an important person and need him to guard me and I’m worrying about that? I was upset at myself.
I bent down to wash my face off, rinsing off the sweat.
“Are you good?” It was Venus. She had her arm on my back. I looked up and wiped my face with a paper towel. Jacob stood in the doorway of the bathroom, concerned.
“Yeah,” I breathed. “I’m good.”
“You sure?” she asked. “Should you go to the nurse?”
“I’m good. Let’s go back,” I said, heading for the door. Just as we were leaving, I saw a flash of blue in the reflection of one of the mirrors. “You know what? I got to use the bathroom, I’ll meet you there.”
Venus didn’t say anything just walked out of the room, talking Jacob with her.
“Look, Vortex Boy, this is a girl’s bathroom,” I said, irritated.
“Actually, the name’s Gino,” he laughed. “Why’d ya throw up?”
He took a step forward but I didn’t move. “I didn’t like the meatloaf.”
“Sure.” He was still walking towards me.
“Why do you care?” I asked sharply.
“Because I’m your Protector,” he said. He stopped, just a foot away from me. “And that’s my job.”
“I don’t care if you’re a Protector. I don't care if you're my guardian angel! You’re about to be a goner if you don’t explain some things,” I yelled. Something inside of me snapped, making me want to make this idiot rethink messing with me.
“You’re not ready yet. I have to wait and so do you!” He explained. He’d kept his cool when I’d exploded. I hated it.
“Well then, that’ll be never,” I said, glaring at him. I turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind me.
I was done. So done with everything.
YEAH! A RECORD! 2654 words! That's the longest one ever. Thanks again for reading guys!