Chapter 2: Chapter 2
“Valda right?” I asked the confused girl Monday morning. I was on my way to my locker so that I could get my books for the day when I got her standing in the corridor with what looked like her timetable. She was probably trying to find her class.
“And you are?” Her quick reply definitely took me by surprise. Her piercing gaze irritated me already. I didn’t want to be standing in front of her and clearly she didn’t want me there as well but I knew if left now then Carlene would kill me. I sighed as I dropped my shoulders and buried my hands in my pockets. This had become my natural position, it was a bad habit but at least it wasn’t smoking.
“Not ready for this.” I took out my phone to check the time. We still had 10 minutes before school started which meant that I had to be responsible for her until then.
“Follow me.” I instructed her then started strolling down the corridor.
“Why? Where are you going?” She asked as she stood her ground.
“We have Bio first period, do you want to continue standing there until the corridor is too flooded to move or do you want to come with me?” I could see her killing me over and over in her mind but I didn’t have time for her stubbornness.
“Fine.” She made her way towards me then fell in step next to me. “Who are you?”
“My name is Hudson, I’m basically your assistant for the week.”
“Lucky me then.” Her sarcasm told me how much she’d rather be anywhere else than next to me right now and I couldn’t blame her.
“I definitely wouldn’t say that.” I replied sparking a quick smile before it was forgotten. A weird silence began settling between us; it wasn’t uncomfortable but it was begging to be filled with any menial talk.
“So which club are you looking to join?” I finally gave in. She seemed like the person who was stubborn enough to allow the silence to turn toxic but I really wasn’t in the mood for that right now.
“Debate and quiz.” Just like Carlene had said.
“They usually meet in the library everyday after school except for Fridays.” I informed her then stopped in front of my locker.
“And that would be where?”
“I’m going there after school, I’ll come fetch you after your last period. Where will you be?” She looked at her timetable but looked a bit confused. I stole a quick peek before turning my attention back to my locker. I moved my jacket out of the way then grabbed my books.
“Physics I think.” Looks like she figured it out.
“I’ll meet you there then.” I confirmed then closed my locker and resumed leading us to the class.
“Are you joining the team as well?” She asked me.
“Still thinking about it.” I really didn’t know if I wanted to be apart of it again. I didn’t want it bringing up the memories I tried so hard to forget.
“Were you part of the team last year?”
“Not last year but a few years ago.”
“Sounds like you’ve been here longer than… most students.” That evoked a smile out of me. It was a definitely one of the nicer ways I’ve heard anyone talk about failing.
“If I even think about failing then my mom would get out of her grave and put me in it with her.” I joked. She really pushed me when it came to academics but I was never really a bad student so it wasn’t that bad. She knew I could do better if I tried but my laziness eventually wore her down until we came to an agreement: if I maintained a 60% average then she wouldn’t worry about me. Even though she’s gone I still keep my part of the deal.
“Sounds a lot like my parents. I’m not even allowed to go out on weekends unless I spent at least 1 hour studying.”
“Damn, I’m so glad I’m not you.” I released a couple of chuckles in which she actually joined. I guess we finally found mutual ground. Maybe we actually wouldn’t end up killing each other by the end of the week.
“Here we are.” I pointed out when we stopped in front of the locked classroom. We were the only two standing and waiting for the bell to ring. We stood on opposite sides of the doorway and I finally took in her outfit for the day. It wasn’t exactly hot outside or even going to reach a hot enough temperature for the clothes she was wearing so I hoped she had a jacket in her bag at least.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” She asked me as she caught me looking at her.
“Just trying to figure out why you are wearing such little clothes. It’s not like it’s going to be hot today.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“If I was going to be cold then I would’ve brought a jersey or something.” Her blunt tone immediately warned me not to continue this line of questioning. A deafening silence began spreading around us so she took the opportunity to take her cellphone out and begin doing anything else besides having to talk to me. Maybe Carlene was right, I had been alienating myself for too long and I couldn’t even hold a conversation.
“Do you have friends?” She suddenly asked as she began putting her device in her pocket again. I was so lost in my own world that I almost didn’t hear her question.
“I do, unfortunately.”
“For you or them?” A smirk appeared on her face. She clearly loved pushing my buttons.
“Funny.” I replied without a reaction. “Why the question?”
“You just seem like a loner. You have this vibe about you that just makes people not want to approach you.”
“And yet my friends still won’t leave me alone.”
“Because they’re your friends.” I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t mind them but they came with their own set of dramas and I just wanted to float through life without any hassle.
“I actually want to meet them.”
“You already know Carlene, she was the one that was showing you around last week.”
“Is she really your friend though? It’s just that she’s so approachable and friendly so you might mistake that for her actually being your friend.”
“Trust me when I say that when I see her then I turn around and hope that she doesn’t see me because she would literally hunt me down after that.”
“Sounds like something she would do.”
“She has done it to me on multiple occasions. You’d think she’d get the message by now.”
“If last week has taught me anything about her it’s that she won’t stop until she’s satisfied that she has done everything you’ve asked of her.”
“I’m guessing she wasn’t exactly the best guide.”
“Definitely not. I actually prefer your gloominess over her suffocating enthusiasm.”
“Thanks… I think.” We chuckled again. At least the silence was gone now.
“How did you guys even become friends?”
“We live in the same neighbourhood along with the rest of our friends so we basically grew up together.”
“Yeah, you’re never getting rid of them now.”
“Figured as much.” I agreed with a sigh. “Have you made any friends here yet?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re joining us during lunch then.”
“No thanks, I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity. If I have to suffer them then so do you.”
“Wow, some friend you are.”
“We’re friends?” I shot back.
“Out of convenience. Once I’m done with you this week then you can be sure that I’ll be kicking you to the curb.”
“I knew I liked you.” We smiled again but I could see her attention shift past me so she was probably looking at someone coming down the corridor.
“You actually got this tall cloud of sadness smiling, who are you and where can I get your powers from?” Felix asked as he appeared next to me.
“Felix this is Valda, Valda this is Felix.” I introduced them.
“You’re actually doing your job?” Felix’s surprise was expected I guess. Anything that required me to socialize wasn’t something I’d willingly do so this was definitely out of the ordinary.
“Carlene irritates me enough, I don’t want her adding this onto her list of reasons why.” I explained.
“If he gives you any trouble then you’re welcome to punch his lights out.” Felix told her.
“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Valda agreed.
“What are you even doing here Felix? You don’t have Bio with us.” Felix and I didn’t share any classes actually. We took the same classes mostly but in different groups.
“Looking for Mandy, you guys see her around?” Felix after.
“Don’t you guys usually hangout in the parking lot in the morning?” I asked him.
“She said that she needed to talk to Jessica before Martin gets to her. Apparently they haven’t spoken since the fight on Friday.” Felix informed me.
“Sounds like this is going to be irritating. Are Kevin and his friends going to be a problem for us here at school?” Taking revenge for what we did to them on Friday would be a natural reaction for them and what better place to do it than here at school?
“After what you did to all of them, I’ll be surprised if they even walk down the same corridor as you.” Felix had a bit of a laugh there. He’d seen me fight one-on-one but this was probably the first time he saw me against a group of guys. Maybe his laugh was trying to cover up how much he feared getting on the wrong side of me now.
“You and Martin beat them up beforehand, I just finished them off.” I shrugged my shoulders. I could still feel a bit of pain under my right shoulder as I did it. I might’ve gotten injured but they definitely came off the worst.
“Well if you see Mandy then just tell her that Carlene and I need to speak to her.” I gave him a nod before he strode away from and continued his mission.
“You and your friends sound like they come with a lot of drama.” Valda suddenly stated.
“Like I said; if I have to suffer them then so do you, at least for this week.” I reminded her.
“Felix doesn’t seem so bad, I can see why him and Carlene would get along. Can’t really see you and him being friends though.”
“Can’t really blame you there.”
“Although, you should probably be the one wearing all black and not him.” She’s probably right about that. I don’t know when Felix started wearing dark clothing all the time but now I couldn’t really see him wearing anything else.
“Not going to happen. If you ever catch Felix wearing anything that’s not dark then you know something’s wrong.”
“Want to explain what’s happening within your group of friends before I join you for lunch then?”
“Martin is upset at his girlfriend, Jessica, because she allowed Kevin to go to her house when she knows what he wants from her. Jessica and Martin probably got into some argument about it as well and now everyone else is doing damage control.” That was basically what I thought was happening anyway. I know they’re my friends but I really didn’t pay attention to them most days.
“Do you guys like Jessica and Martin as a couple?”
“We don’t have a problem with them I think. Martin has always been a hotheaded idiot but Jessica seems to calm him down. I’ve never had a problem with her.” That was true. We’ve never hung out alone but we have spoken at times and she didn’t irritate me so I guess that was a good sign.
“Who’s Mandy then?”
“Martin’s younger sister.”
“Okay, I’m seeing the picture now. Anyone else I need to know about?”
“That’s all of them. Good luck.”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone