Chapter 3

“Lithia Redd,” I said to a classroom filled with students, “is my name.” I sat after the teacher’s nod and class’s curious gaping�"gaping which didn’t halt for the remainder of the period.

Chemistry was as amusing as ever, our task being to create a colloid using starch, lemon, sugar, and vinegar with a thin layer of what looked like peanut oil. My partner was hardworking, meaning that all she required of me was to mix the ingredients while she jotted down the process of conversion in a journal. She spoke to me in small amounts, but she was more concerned with her work. Mr. Baker wasn’t surprised by the speedy completion of our assignment. I gladly accepted the free time. The time was used up by a poem’s rough draft.

I didn’t appreciate being watched as I wrote, so after several dirty look attempts, I barked at my partner. My language startled her, but I was left at peace for the remainder of the period. I began wondering why lunch wasn’t sooner. Ignoring that, I read over my writing.

 

What shades of blue

And stretches of white,

Have turned smokey hues,

On this fall night.

 

And carry breeze that glide with ease,

On from trees where they hung,

Onto the bees who slumber now,

Where before them bees stung.

 

Class was soon dismissed and I considered skipping. No, people watching should amuse me. My poetry skills were failing me as usual. The paper was crumpled in my hand and left at the lab.

“That’s called littering,” said a shockingly soft voice for a male. I veered to greet Gabriel’s sharp features. “Melancholy, what is this?” He picked the paper and began unfolding it.

“Why do you still call me that? You heard my name.”

“I covered my ears,” Gabe said pensively as his wise eyes trailed from the paper side to side.

“Why?”

“It’s not fun to be given answers,” he said simply. “Takes the suspense out of mysteries.” That was a curious statement. “Why did you plan on throwing this out?”

“It is garbage.”

“No it isn’t.”

“I believe it is. Pure rubbish pulled out of my a*s during a period of boredom.”

A chuckle was released. “This is brilliant enough,” he argued. “Could I have it?”

“Go for it.” I meant to leave alone, but Gabe decided to trail after me.

“Where did you move from?” An interrogation was starting. I didn’t plan to answer any of his questions.

“Why are you following me?” I finally snapped. “Don’t you have a girlfriend to go meet up with or some friends to talk to?”

“I haven’t dated in years for specific reasons and I’d rather be alone.”

“Then go be alone.”

“You have a certain aspect to your being that pulls me in,” he admitted. “So I cannot.”

“I will shank you.”

“I will retaliate.” His answer was astounding, but enough to keep me quiet as he continued a one-way conversation.

Two minutes it took me to reach the next class. Ten seconds it took me to realize that Gabriel was in that class. Twenty minutes before I recognized the girl sitting to my right. A girl with dark burgundy red hair, fair skin and endless amber eyes. Willow Jenkins dressed in a blue sweet Lolita dress with one white glove and living white rose tucked behind her ear. It’s been too long since I last saw her.

“That’s two,” I uttered. Willow gave me a questioning look�"there’s no single digits in our timeline of the Parliament. I resisted the impulse of sending a nasty vibe in her general direction, focusing on the yellow hair of the girl sitting one seat in front of me.

Icy, I noted, heart pumping loudly. She flipped her hair and turned around. “Willow,” she whispered. Her voice was smooth and sweet. “Are you coming over after all?” Willow nodded just as Icy’s jade eyes shifted over to mine. “Um, hey? Are you new?”

I raised an eyebrow, keeping my expression cool and real emotions hidden as I responded, “Well, I wasn’t here yesterday, now was I?”

“Torna�"?”

“What?” The heartbeat paused for a moment and then painfully thumped.

“No, nothing.” Her head shook and eyes were slightly wider. “What is your name?”

“Lithia,” I answered warily. They…remember me? Do they? Icy almost recognized me, even though Willow and Gabriel, the person who should have as soon as he saw me, didn’t realize that I was their childhood friend Tornado.

“Oh…well, I’m Icy,” she said. “Where did you come from? This isn’t a very large town so sorry if I interrogate you. I usually know what goes on.”

“Hawaii.”

“But you’re so pale!” Icy paused abruptly, wondering if something she had said was impolite.

“I’m British, obviously,” I retorted. “My skin is bound to be light no matter where you place me. A lot of sunscreen works just as well. Keeps the skin healthy, you know?”

“Two minutes and she already seems that stupid? Your sarcasm is lovely,” said Willow. I wanted to grin. Willow was the same, always teasing her friends, even in front of complete strangers. Or does she know that Lithia Redd is Tornado Knapp?

“Yours is decent enough. Should really work on it, though.”

“Or, you should be nicer to me, Willow,” said Icy. They’re both so casual. They’ve adjusted to me in a few minutes or are they simply like this? I forget. I nodded and turned my attention away, trying to show them that I had no interest in their companionship.

“Hey, where are you sitting for lunch? With Gabe?”

I blinked. “Gabe…?”

“Gabriel Kenward?” Icy said softly and then nodded to the figure behind me. “He’s watching you right now.”

“He also walked you to class,” added Willow. “Gabriel doesn’t do that sort of things anymore.”

“Anymore?” I interrupted. She ignored me.

“Oh, poor thing,” Icy continued. “She’s so much like her. Probably he’s dreaming that you’re her.”

“What?”

“That’s too bad,” Willow said. “If only she would actually come back.” A pause. “What would happen if she did, though?”

“I’d be her friend,” Icy grinned. “Gabe, though�"I don’t know.”

Completely lost, I tried to ignore them, but the topic was pounding in my head. “Could I ask for you to fill in the blanks of what you are talking of or shut up?”

A double take from both girls. “Gabriel, the dark boy behind you, used to be a really good friend of ours,” Icy whispered slowly.

“Used to be?”

“Until she moved, that is,” Willow exhaled.

“Yeah. A few years back, our friend, Tornado Knapp moved and well, as Gabe’s girlfriend, he was heartbroken.” My throat clenched. “He really loved her even though they were only thirteen. They broke up a few days before her dad died. He was devastated and�"well, Tornado was just Tornado. She was strong. She didn’t let anything get to her. At least not that anybody could see.”

“She must have been forgotten by everyone after years.” I had to make them forget me. Lithia might do that, but it would take a lot to erase every trace from their memories. Especially to tear away what seemed to be deeply carved in Gabe’s skull.

“For some, she’s only a memory and others have none of her. But I still love her. She was my best friend and will be again if she returns.” Willow seemed a little distant. “I miss her.”

“What does this have to do with me sitting with him for lunch? I’m not either way.”

Another side glance look. “You have her eyes.” Willow winced. “She had the same indigo eyes that wash away emotions like the ocean’s waves. They sucked the energy from anyone lucky enough to see them and only left serenity.”

“Oh, really now?” I knew my eyes were hypnotizing to many, that they could be used so that anyone would succumb to my requests, but to describe it as such? Are they breathless like that? It’s an impossibility, I know it is. Or at least I hope. If this were a fact, then my plans could very well be screwed.

“Ms. Lyakhov, turn around,” said Mr. Hails. Icy scornfully faced the front of the room.

“Let me see your schedule,” said Willow. Before I responded, she yanked the folded paper from beneath my notes. “Mm, it seems I have you final period and, oh, looky, you have Rain next period. Seems that you have nothing except lunch with Autumn, but no worries, you’ll become good friends.” Class was being let out now and Icy was beginning to speak as she gathered her materials.

“You know, you should come to my house this weekend, Lithia. Give us a chance to become better friends.”

“Oh, she can meet Gavin and everyone else too.”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted loudly, shushing them both. “But I have no intentions on making any friends. Much less with you two and your companions.” They stopped moving, shocked. Yeah, I know. I’m being rude. They’ll get over it and hate me, but as I said, I’m not here to make friends. “Don’t take this personally. I just can't allow myself that luxury ever again. Good day.”

I shoved them aside to escape history class. Of course, someone followed me. I wondered whether the two girls chose to be persistent, or whether they would put up a fight before being insulted as such. Many possibilities, really, but I didn’t have any interest in the matter. I didn’t turn.

Rain, a petite Hispanic girl with ringlets of chestnut hair attempted to hold a conversation with me. I snapped at her the same way I had to Icy and Willow. Now, I question why I ever even allowed myself to listen to their voices. Harsh habits that I unconsciously succumbed to? Perhaps. I have to admit that I missed the sound of their voices, the vibrancy of their personalities shining through every smile and blink they gave. I missed them, period. That’s why my conscience is stained and the guilt I feel for insulting them is heavy. I must stay strong and forget.

Gabriel harassed me at lunch, refusing to leave the table I sat at or stop following me when I tried to distance our beings. This is too painful to be happening. Sweet Gabe who never chased after anyone, his strategy being for everyone to be drawn in by his mystery even though that wasn’t his intention, was now shadowing my every move. My throat clenched, making it hard to breathe most of the minutes that he was around. Have I really not gotten over what happened between us? I thought I had. Nonetheless, I will most definitely not allow those few blissful months to happen again.

“Could you please stop stalking me?” I pleaded to a smiling Gabriel at my right.

“This isn’t stalking. I’m simply trying to communicate with the new girl,” he defended himself.

“Isn’t your house somewhere else?” I changed my strategy. It failed me as well.

“Mind you, that I live right next door.”

“Oh, lovely.” My sarcasm was clear as ice as normal. He wasn’t affected. That was normal as well.

“So, Melancholy,” he continued. “Please speak to me? I assure you that I will not leave.”

“Gabe, look, I don’t want any sort of friendship with anyone.” We stopped walking, standing beneath a tree with pink flowers amongst it’s healthy green leaves. Some part of me wanted to climb the tree and paint the leaves I saw, but the majority of my attention was elsewhere. “I will talk to you, fine. I have no choice. But I only want to do so every now and then. Not every second of the day.”

“I do not agree,” he said cheerfully. “Your dress is lovely.” Changing the subject with flattery? Does my mind seem to have that short of an attention spam? I played along, seeing as he was as stubborn as an aged oak’s roots.

“Thank you.” With a suppressed sigh, I resisted the abrupt urge to lock arms with Gabriel as we walked home. “Salem is a beauty. I’ve missed it.”

“I thought you just moved?”

S**t.

“Yes, I did. I meant that I was here long ago. I was a child and my father brought me here when he applied for a job. He didn’t get it so we never moved here. I fell in love with the colors and atmosphere, though.”

“Oh, I see. Aren't you happier to have been in a place as exquisite as Hawaii?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong, Hawaii is lovely, but it’s too much of a paradise.”

“What do you mean? Paradise is what most people thirst for.”

“I mean, the oceans and people and weather is all too perfect. Flaws are rare and the few that are visible only add to the charm. As for the people�"well, every person is that same in the end. They are all linked without knowledge of it.”

“Why is Salem different?”

“I could go on endlessly.” Mesmerized, I beamed at the archway of the tree branches we were strolling under. “The people are filled with many more emotions, not needing to show cheer all the time for tourists. Now, tourists here, indeed there are some, but not as many here as there are farther west. I love the spring color splashes and energy lingering in the atmosphere. If I could, I would freeze everything in place so I could paint it. But that would mean stopping the beating energy of the village.”

“How profound.” You could see the thought he was giving this despite his lack of words. Squinted eyes, the powdery blue rims hiding hundreds of different shades of blue that revealed with every fleck of light. “You paint?”

“I stencil everything or use colored pencils. Painting is too time consuming. I want to record every detail as quickly and precisely as possible.”

“Isn’t it more exact with color?”

“No. Not through my eyes at least.”

“But you’re an artist.”

“And as an artist, I say that colors are illusions used to show emotions that we wish were there. If you can display that emotion with nothing but white, black and grays then you’ve done well.”

“Interesting way to view the rainbow.”

“The rainbow? Why the rainbow and not simply objects?”

“Because the rainbow is where everything begins.” He looked down and flashed a smile. “Your mind. I look forward to learning its secrets.”

“Good luck with that,” I muttered.

“Oh? Why shouldn’t I be allowed?”

“My mind is sacred. Knowing that it’s secure is what keeps me sane.” Heart sinking, I desperately searched for the corner we’d have to turn to reach home. Two blocks away. “I don’t plan on allowing anyone inside so really, I would rather you didn’t even try that.”

An indistinct picture blocked my vision. Dark hair grasped by a creamy translucent hand which gently tugged at it. Passion was sent in waves throughout my body, the emotion coming from the image. Two figures gave heavy breaths and leaned their faces together, arms wrapping around each other’s bodies. The kiss was soft and tempting. I pulled myself out of the image as quickly as possible. Was that my memory? No, I’ve ridden myself of those. I hope.

It seems I had randomly stopped walking. Gabriel had too, without noticing my uneasiness. He was just as lost in thought as I. My knees weakened and it took some effort to return my eyes to their normal size. Gabriel blinked, releasing himself from his trance.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” he asked.

Why did I remember that? That kiss that was given so long ago. Why do the sparks still fly even in my memories? Why did his presence soothe my paranoia? The answers make me teary-eyed. I choose not to consider this at the moment.

I looked away distantly. “No. Nothing at all.” Gabriel quickly found something else to talk about. Strange, I don’t recall him being so social. At least not with strangers. So, things might not be so different after all.

This could cause a bigger problem than him finding out I was Tornado.