Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Malia's POV
" Hey M, it's time to get up." A voice stirred me from my blissful darkness, but I flipped over and ignored it.
" Malia, you have to get ready for school…" the voice spoke again but I didn't move.
Everything went silent as I began to fall back asleep. Then all of a sudden the whole house started to shake. I jumped up and looked around. My Dad was standing a few feet away with his hands over his mouth. Red-faced from trying to contain his laughter.
" Haha very funny...one day that earthquake trick isn't gonna work on me anymore," I declared as I walked into my bathroom.
" That will be the day you learn to get up on your own," he says before leaving my room.
I showered and got dressed quickly before grabbing my backpack and laptop. I raced down the steps and found my mom, still in her pajamas, flipping pancakes. Every couple seconds she would almost drop on the stove...she definitely wasn't a morning person and likely was asleep on her feet. I guess I had to get it from somewhere. I sat down at the breakfast bar and waited for her to get the pancakes on the plate.
" M, eat up. We need to leave in five minutes," my dad said pouring is coffee into a travel cup.
Mom put my plate down in front of me and poured the butter-syrup mix on top. She gave me a hug before making her way back upstairs, probably to go back to bed. I dug in immediately and before Dad was even done mixing his coffee the stack was already gone. I put my plate and scooped my backpack on the way out the door; beating my dad to the car. I cracked my new book open and read as he drove me to school. But I ended up reading the same page over and over on the way not being able to concentrate with my heart in my throat and the blood rushing, loudly through my head. The brakes screeched as we stopped out front and my heart started to beat faster. My dad sensing my discomfort put his hand on my wrist and pulled my face out of my book.
" M, I know how hard this is for you and I understand where you're coming from. You and me are too alike for your own good...but I know you can do this. Just remember who you are and that you could take anyone of these weaklings," he stated.
Ms. McCeery came out of the building in her usual gray cardigan and messy bun with a pencil stuck in it. She waved at us and I looked at Dad one last time before taking a deep breath and getting out of the car. I met the young librarian and we hugged.
" I can't believe you're a senior this year, Malia. What am I going to do without you?" she asked as she led me through the door, key card in hand.
" You're going to hire some help and maybe try dating again...breakfast is kind of sad by yourself," I said, laughing at her disgust.
" Maybe you should try dating too, young lady," she responded sarcastically. It was my turn to be disgusted and her turn to laugh at my face.
" Don't worry I know how gross teenage boys are...just wait till college maybe you'll find a fellow bibliophile."
We walked into the dim, dusty library and I automatically felt at home. I flipped the switch and the old fluorescent clicked on with aloud buzz. Nothing had changed over the summer; it was perfectly perfect in it's own special way.
" Well, there aren't any books that need to be re-shelved today so you can just do whatever you want, but if you go wandering, don't get caught. I'm not supposed to let you do that," she said as she sat back in her chair with a worn book of sonnets.
I dropped my bag beside me and sat down in front of her in a similar fashion; trying again to get somewhere in my book, but couldn't. My nerves were all over the place, I could barely sit still. I gently placed my bookmark back in its place and put my book down on the desk. I picked up my bag and left the library without a word from Ms. McCeery. She knew where I was going and why I did most of what I did. I checked that there wasn't anyone else around to be sure that I wouldn't get her in trouble with administration...again. I walked up the closest stairs and walked the familiar path to my locker.
Unlike most schools, you kept your same locker throughout your time so you learn quickly where it is. Mine was on the second floor right across from the art room; it was perfect. Nobody could bother me long before my art teacher, Mrs. Longo would ask me to come help her with something. She was the only teacher other than Ms. McCeery that gave a damn about me and did their best to keep people away from me. They would defend me whenever my bullies would play the victim card and I knew that I would always have a safe place to go as long as they worked at the school, but this didn't go unnoticed by the worst of the instigators. There had been many attempts to get them both fired so that I would be totally isolated at school. It landed them in pretty hot water but they always made it out...thankfully.
I spun my combo into the lock and opened the creaky metal door. The small, blue and purple hydrangea puffs I had growing in my locker last year were wilted and dead. I gave a quick glance around the hallway and pushed myself further into my locker so the cameras couldn't see inside. With a flourish and a blue flash from my fingertips, they began to regain life and puff back up. Soon they were restored to the former glory and a smile came across my face. I put my textbooks in my locker and turned to go back down the stairs when I saw a figure cross the glass inlay in the art room's door.
That's weird...no one else is supposed to be here.
I walked towards the door quietly and looked in through the glass. Almost all the lights were off, but in the back corner I see someone hunched over an easel. They were painting furiously across the canvas with their left hand? I hadn't ever seen anyone in any of my art classes painting with their light hand like I did. He must be new or maybe he's never taken a class? I leaned in closer to try and see who this mysterious stranger was, but accidentally pushed down on the door handle. I stopped it before it opened the door but couldn't help the click that it made. The stranger jerked around quickly but I darted away from the glass before he could, hopefully, see my face.
I sped walked down the stairs and back to the library before he could even begin to catch me. When I got back, Ms. McCeery hadn't even moved from her place, but when I sat down in my chair, her eyes flicked over to me. Noticing my heavy breathing and my probably red cheeks she put her book down.
" What happened?"
I tried to catch my breath before answering but being that I wasn't the athletic type it took a while. She handed me a water bottle from her fridge and I gulped it down thankfully. It took awhile, but eventually, I caught my breath and told her what had happened.
" There was someone in the art room so I looked through the glass to try to see who it was and it wasn't anyone I recognized. He was painting left-handed so I tried to get a better look at who he was, but I accidentally pushed down the door handle. So I ran back here before he could see me spying on him."
" Yeah, that's probably the transfer student from South Waters High. He needed a fresh start after having some disciplinary problems there...I shouldn't have told you that," she said sheepishly, chiding herself for over sharing.
" It's ok. It's not like I have anyone to tell anyways so your secret is safe with me."
" Thanks, Malia but who knows maybe he'll be friendly. Just because a kid had a bad go at life, doesn't mean they're inherently a bad kid. Promise me that if you have the chance, you'll be nice to the boy; he really deserves a chance to have a good friend like you," she said with a hand over mine.
" I promise...I know how it feels to be misunderstood and alone better than the average joe."
With a sad smile, she leaned back in her chair and continued reading. I checked the clock and still had an hour before anyone would start showing up. I pulled out my sketchbook and started to draw the stranger. Something about his frantic flicks across the canvas and his heavily drawn up shoulders; intrigued me. I did want to meet him, but I knew before long he would be drawn into my harassment just like everyone else. I continued to sketch his rough forms until there was only forty-five minutes till anyone would be here. I knew that my history would be here at that point so I got there extra early. He was still setting up when I got there, but he politely allowed me into his classroom. I took the seat with the quickest path to the door and began to draw again.
I didn't lift my head when people started to filter into the room, but as they walked past my desk they bump into me and kick my backpack over. A few even through snide comments at the sketch was shading. I lifted my head when the bell rang and Mr. Bennett began to address his new class. I quickly replaced my sketchbook for a notebook and got ready for the class. He went through the usual first day procedures like: explaining the rules, handing out the syllabus, and handing the first dusty book we would be reading. I focused as best as I could, but whenever Mr. Bennett would turn his head, someone would throw a paper ball at the back of my head or pass a crude note to me.
When the bell rang, I was the first person to be out the door and walked quickly to my next class. I didn't stop at my locker or talk to any of my nonexistent friends. I sped to my best class keeping my head down and my arms tightly wrapped around me. I was pushed around and comments were thrown as I went by the crowds but I made it to my next class mostly unscathed.
My day continued this way till lunch when I wandered outside and sat down under one of the tall trees in the quad. Being outside always helped calm me down. Part of being an earth element was having a profound connection to the Earth and all of nature, so it was only natural for me to feel this way outside. I pulled out my book from my bag and now that I was calm I was able to get past the page I was stuck on earlier. But the reprieve was short lived because when a shadow came over me I knew that I was in trouble.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone