Thea slams the front door and stomps around the living room, letting off steam as best as she can. West and I follow, with shopping bags in both hands. Joey emerges from the kitchen with a towel in his hand.
“Hey guys.” Joey’s smile slowly fades as he senses something is off.
“What happened?” He asks cautiously.
Thea turns to him, still fuming, “I’ll tell you what happened. It’s those disrespectful brats, those little punks who believe that they’re better than us but they don’t know I could snap them in half without breaking a sweat if I wanted to.”
I stand awkwardly by the door with the bags still in my hand while West drops on the couch like he’s completely used to the situation. I don’t know what to do. Do I just leave the room?
“Derek and his friends?” Joey asks.
“Derek and his friends.” West nods.
“They want to threaten me! Me? Bad choice.” Thea finally storms off.
“Let’s get you unpacked.” Joey helps me with some of the bags and we head to Thea and I’s room. West turns on the TV, indifferent as usual.
Joey and I reach the room and Joey starts making space in Thea’s wardrobe.
“Oh you don’t really have to help, I can do it.” He’s being way too nice.
“No it’s okay, I’ll help. Besides, I’d like to actually know what happened today and I know those two aren’t telling me anytime soon.”
I dump everything we bought – except the underwear of course – on the bad and we start folding and hanging one by one as I give Joey a detailed description of the encounter. From when we arrived at the mall to when we left, I recount everything.
“And that’s when she told West to call you to tell you to come home instead of meeting us at the mall because we were already leaving.” The story-time ends.
“Yikes. Now I get why she’s all riled up.” Joey folds the last shirt and joins me on the table.
“So what’s she going to do?”
“Besides ruin another perfectly good punching bag, she’s probably not going to do anything. It’s more like she can’t do anything really.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well what can she do? It’s not like she can fight back, we all can’t, because then our powers are at risk of being exposed and that is the one thing about ourselves we wouldn’t want to get out. It just defeats the whole purpose of ‘fitting in’. That’s why she’s like that, because she can’t really do anything.”
Onda slowly nods, finally understanding the situation.
Joey suddenly moves in to whisper, “You know Thea’s been here longer than us right? I really shouldn’t be telling you this but you’re one of us now so you should know this much at least. When Thea first got here, she got into some really bad stuff just so she could survive. After something big happened, she snapped out of it and swore to never use her powers on people except it was absolutely necessary.”
“What did she do? And what was the ‘something big’ that happened?” I ask, also whispering.
“Now that’s not my story to tell. You should ask her yourself, she’ll tell you if she’s ready.” Joey stands up to leave. Well now he has me all curious.
“Thanks for the help Joe, it means a lot.” I say with a genuine smile and Joey smiles at the nickname.
“You don’t need to thank me, we’re family now.” Joey leaves, closing the door behind him.
I take a few minutes to think of what to do to pass the time. After a few minutes I decide on finishing the book I started yesterday, I have nothing else to do anyways.
Joey is in his room, putting final touches on a drawing. West is still in the living room and Thea is in the training room, doing exactly what Joey said she would be doing.
A FEW HOURS LATER
“Dinner’s ready.” Thea yells from the bottom of the stairs.
I instantly drop the book and head to the kitchen. The table is set with four small plates surrounding a large platter holding a steaming pizza. Thea cuts the pizza into slices as everyone gets seated.
“Shoot. I totally forgot that you were here, I could’ve called you to help.” Thea says to me with a smile.
“Yeah I forgot that we were supposed to make dinner too. Sorry.” We all grab a slice and start eating.
Everyone glances at Thea and the small smile on her face. A few minutes into the meal I finally ask what I think is on everyone’s mind.
“Are you okay Thea?”
“Me? I’m fine don’t worry. I just needed to let off some steam, I’m okay.” We glance at each other sceptically but let it go altogether. If she says she’s okay then she should be. Right?
Dinner ends and I insist on doing the dishes; Thea keeps me company.
“So have you ever been to school?” Thea asks.
“Well, no. But my mom home-schooled me.”
“And since she left?”
“Nothing, I’ve never really had the opportunity. I was supposed to be hiding, remember? But I did read a lot.”
Thea nods and we both head to the living room as I take off the gloves and wipe my hands, done with the dishes. The girls are on the couch while the boys are on bean bags.
“I almost forgot. Joey, the stuff you did today?” Thea suddenly says.
“Oh right.” Joey races to his room and comes back with a brown envelope in hand.
He hands the envelope to Thea and she empties it on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Papers slide out and fall onto the table. I sit up, wondering what was going on. Thea suddenly turns to me, startling me a little.
“So I don’t know if I told you before but you’re going to have to start school with us.” Thea says, earning wide eyes from me.
“School? I don’t know about this.” I say, very unsure.
“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. We promised to protect you but we can’t do that if we’re at school all day and you’re by yourself at home.” Joey tries to reassure me.
“What are the papers?” I ask, still undecided about the ‘school’ situation.
“This” Thea stacks the papers together and hand them to me, “is your identity. You can’t just appear out of nowhere.”
I stare at the papers, barely understanding half of what I’m reading.
“Wow you guys are impressive.”
“And here is your phone.” Joey drops a phone on the table and I stare between the phone and Joey, not sure what to do.
“And before you decline, it’s not new, we didn’t buy it. West gave it to you, he had it as a spare. See, he can be nice.” I glance at West, surprised. He shrugs and goes back to watching TV.
“Thanks West. And thank you guys so much. You guys are being so nice to me and you barely even know me, I really don’t know what to say.”
“Like I said, you don’t have to thank us. We’re family now and this is the least family should do for each other.” Joey says, earning a smile.
“We should get ready for bed, we’re having an early start tomorrow.” Thea collects the papers and stand up, I follow behind her.
Thea showers while I explore my first phone. We both get dressed and Thea turns off the lights before joining me on the bed.
“Goodnight Thea. And thanks again.”
Sunday morning.I toss from side to side as Thea shakes the bed. It’s too early for whatever this is about.“I’m trying to sleep.”“And I’m trying to wake you up. Wake up!” Thea yells in my ear, making me jump.“What? It’s”, I turn to check the clock, “5:30 in the morning. Even the sun hasn’t woken up yet, why should I?”“Because it’s time for our morning run.” A voice replies. Thea and I turn to the door to find it open with West leaning on the doorframe.“West please tell Joey that she is finally awake and will be done in 5.”Thea points to me as I quietly pulls the covers back over my head, “You! Stand up and get dressed. Meet me downstairs in 3.” She walks to the door and stops to glare at me.“And don’t make me come back here.” With that she leaves, leaving me slightly frightene
I'm lying on something even softer than before. I'm going to open my eyes at the count of three and I better not see Darius again. One. "Onda, wake up." Two. "Is she awake yet?" Three. "Does it look like she's awake?" My eyes slowly flutter open to find the boys gathered around me and Thea pacing around the room, running her hands through her bright red hair. “Oh thank goodness you’re awake.” Joey says letting out a relieved sigh. Thea snaps her head in my direction and rushes to the couch. “Oh gosh. You’re okay. What happened? Are you alright?” She kneels in front of the couch. “I think so.” I try sitting up, using my hands to support me but I land back on the couch. “Or maybe not. Why do I feel like I was dropped from the top of a building?” “Because Joey tripped while he was carr
The boys are up front, with West driving and Joey in the passenger seat. Thea and I are in the back going over the dos and don’ts. “So we’re going to go to the office first to get some stuff like your timetable and locker information.” Thea preps me while adjusting my clothes here and there. For some reason she’s more nervous than I am and I’m supposed to be the newbie here. “Thea will you please calm down, I can feel your legs shaking through the chair.” “I don’t know why I’m on edge honestly. I feel like a mother who’s sending her kid off for the first day of preschool.” “First of all, we’ve known each other for less than a week.” I comment. “It feels like a year to me.” Thea mumbles. “And second of all, you don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine. You said as long as I don’t use my powers and avoid problems then I’ll be okay.” “It’s the avoid problems part that isn’t as easy as you think.” Joey says. “If you would all stop
"... And I expect you to hand in your projects by Friday and make sure you work as a team." Mrs. Jones, our English Literature teacher, says to the class.Ring..."Well that's the bell. Now off to lunch. Ms. Thorne, a word please."I give Thea a questioning look and she gestures for me to go over to Mrs. Jones as she walks out of the class."Since you're a new student and I hate having students who are not caught up with the rest of the class, here is a copy of all that I have taught the class this term. That includes all the assignments. Read it, because..."She pauses and looks around the empty classroom."Don't tell anyone but there is a pop quiz coming up this Friday and I don't want my new student failing.""Thank you ma'am. My lips are sealed." I smile at her.I place the binder in my bag and walk out of the class and see Thea at the door. We start walking down the hall together."What was that all about?"
"Can't we just talk about this when we get home?" Thea groans. "No. Now." "Well I'm sore. We'll talk about this later." "How are you sore? You were literally made out of steel a few seconds ago." I scream. "It's not that easy okay. Now I'm not going to say this again, we'll talk about this later." She gives me her signature glare from the rear-view mirror and I give up. Out of frustration I throw my hands in the air and accidentally hit an unconscious West, causing him to fall on my lap. I turn to ask Joey for help but he’s already out. Looking down at West, I silently studying his facial features. His nose was slightly crooked, purple and swollen. His lips are slightly parted, revealing his pearl white teeth. The scar across his face seems clearer to me now. I still wonder what caused such a huge scar. I slowly run my finger along the scar. Right where the scar stops, I notice the mark I saw yesterday. It’s not a circle, it’s
“You do know how to use a phone right?” Thea asks as we get ready for school. I decide on letting my hair down today, something I rarely ever do considering how hard it is to tame my mane. “I know the basics, it’s not that hard.” I answer as I pull on one of the new shoes Thea got for me. “Good. No one needs another reason to make fun of you.” “Another? There’s already a reason?” I ask but she leaves the room, ignoring the question. I follow her and we both end up in the kitchen. Joey walks up to me with an apron tied around his waist and a plate on pancakes stretched out in one hand. “M’lady.” He does a little bow before leading me to a seat and placing the plate in front of me. I can’t help but laugh. “What’s going on?” I turn to ask him. “You got into a fight that you had nothing to do with on your first day. I think you deserve a treat.” He fills a glass with juice and place it beside the table, not forgetting to bo
Ringgg! Finally, Spanish class has come to an end. That is probably going to be the most boring class I'm in. I even caught Thea sleeping. The teacher, Ms. Lopez, was talking so slow and kept stopping to give me an odd look. Weird lady. Thea and I quickly run out of the class, looking and feeling exhausted. "That was torture. Is that what you go through every time?" I ask Thea as we exit the classroom. "You wouldn't believe." She shakes her head dramatically. “She’s just the substitute though. Our real teacher is actually pretty cool. She’s on maternity leave.” She turns to look at me and her expression suddenly to one I don’t recognize. "Onda, we’ve known each other for less than a week and a lot has happened since we met. I want you to know that I’ll never break my promise. I promised to protect you and I will. Okay?" "Where’s all this coming fr..." "Are you ready?" I jump, startled by the voice ever-so-close
FRIDAY “I’m so happy it’s Friday.” Thea yawns as we exit geometry class. “You successfully succeeded one week of school, how do you feel?” She holds her pen to my mouth like it’s a mic. “I feel drained. How many more weeks of this do I have to go through?” I whine. “You don’t want to know.” She laughs. “What class do you have next?” “I have English literature next and we’re having a quiz, I’m scared. Then I have PE.” “Ok, that means you have PE with Joey. Good luck on your quiz. Later.” She walks off and I run to the vending machine in the girls’ locker room. I’m still trying to get the hang of these machines so it takes me a few minutes to get myself a coke - I need the sugar for this quiz. As I walk out of the locker room, I bump into someone and drop the can. I catch it with my foot as it's about to hit the ground. "I'm sorry." The person bends to help me get the coke but stops when they see it balan