“Yeah, I guess we all start next Monday,” I say.
“You will have to meet up with us. I’d hate for you to feel lost since you don’t know anyone here,” Talia says.
It's hard to tell if she is being kind or snarky. Girls haven’t always been kind to me, so I have a hard time deciding what to make of this group.
“I met Maylee and Ace. They seem really nice, well at least Maylee does,” I say, slightly chuckling.
The girls all gasped and their mouths fell open in shock.
Talia sits up straight like she is about to jump off the patio. “No, Lizzy. That family is strange. They all live on this big compound together and no one has ever seen their house. They don’t really hang out with other kids around here,” she almost yelled. “Besides, Maylee drives around in expensive cars like she is better than the rest of us and Ace has major anger issues. I once saw him throw a guy across a classroom with no effort,” she finished, her eyes glowing wild with intensity.
For some odd reason, her reaction made me angry. Sure, Maylee and Ace might be a little odd, but Maylee had been kind to me. And for Ace… well, I hadn’t figured him out yet.
Shrugging my shoulders, I decided I didn’t want Talia to think I was going to believe the gossip she was spreading. “Well, they were nice to me,” I say.
“Yeah, but their family is really weird. Like, odd,” Amy says, glancing around like she’s worried someone else will hear her.
“What does their family do?” I ask.
Maybe they have some strange job that makes them appear odd.
“Their uncle is this rich guy who buys all of the real estate around town. Practically everything in this town is owned by him, but no one really ever sees him. His lawyers do all of his business interactions for him. It’s just strange,” she finished.
It was more than obvious that these girls were the ‘mean girls’ of the town. Just the way they looked at me like I was beneath them, then how they gossiped about Maylee and Ace’s family-- it all gave me an uneasy feeling.
“Well, I need to get home,” I say, taking a step back.
“Alright, it was nice meeting you,” Talia says, her voice overy perky. Her friends all wave in unison and I can tell that Talia is the leader of that group.
I have to hold in my laughter as I walk away.
Maybe Maylee and Ace were different, but from what I have learned, odd is definitely more interesting.
Chapter Five
Lesson Learned
T
he next week flew by like a blur.
Mom and I went into Lexington to shop and bought more clothes than I needed for my upcoming school year.
The house was slowly starting to feel like home, but I was a little bummed that I hadn’t seen Maylee again. Or, Ace.
I stayed clear from Talia’s house and just kept myself busy around the house. Soon enough, I would have to explore more of the town, but for right now, I was just trying to feel content at home. And...I hadn’t seen any shadows in days. I should have been relieved, but strangely enough, I felt a bit off.
The night before my first day of school, I found myself a nervous wreck. I had rummaged through all of my new clothes and modeled a million outfits before finally selecting a pair of torn jeans, a black fitted t-shirt, and my favorite red Converse sneakers.
Now, I found myself sitting out on the front porch, a slight breeze keeping the evening heat at bay. A loud squawk sounded from the trees just beyond my driveway, and my eyes began searching for the culprit. One thing I had noticed about this place was that Crows seemed to always be around. It was strange, really.
The sound of footsteps on gravel caught my attention. A loud squawk startled me as I searched through the fading light for the source of the footsteps. Instantly, my eyes wandered up to the trees where a Crow sat perched on a large tree branch stretching out over my house. The same glowing yellow eyes seemed to mesmerize me, freezing me in place. I stood and moved closer to the edge of the porch. As I looked over the porch railing, I suddenly spotted Maylee heading my way. The sun had already set and now fireflies danced in the dark night, making her light up with a spotlight.
“Hey,” she greeted me.
“Hi,” I said, waving as I stood up from the porch swing.
“I know it’s late, but I wanted to see if you needed a ride to school tomorrow,” Maylee asked.
Her eyes seemed to glow a golden yellow and I found myself mesmerized by them.
“I have a car, but it would be nice to have someone to ride with,” I say.
My eyes traveled over to where my small vehicle sat in the parking lot. The Honda Civic my dad had driven in college had been passed down to me. It wasn’t anything fancy and probably needed new brakes. I rarely drove.
Being the new girl was going to suck, but at least I had one friend here to make the first day bearable.
“Great, I’ll let Ace know,” Maylee said, turning on her heel to leave.
The Crow who had been strangely watching our exchange let out a loud yell and this time, both Maylee and I looked up. To my surprise, Maylee narrowed her eyes and huffed, placing her hands on her hips as though she was angry with the bird.
Intrigued and a little startled, I watched her anger at the bird. Spreading its wings, the Crow stood tall before leaping off the branch and soaring into the sky. Once the Crow was out of sight, Maylee’s tension seemed to disappear and her bubbly smile reappeared.
“Well, I need to get home,” she said, turning on her heel to leave.
“Wait,” I said, jumping from the porch and making my way toward her. I wanted to ask her about the strange stare off she had just had with the wild Crow that seemed to live near my house; but instead, I asked about Ace. “Is Ace driving?”
For some reason, Ace incited new emotions in me that I wasn’t ready to deal with just yet. He seemed so moody and rude, but at the same time, he intrigued me.
“Of course, Ace always drives us,” Maylee said. Suddenly, her smile faded and she looked nervous. “Is that a problem? I know Ace hasn’t been the most welcoming, but he’s really nice once you get to know him,” she rushed out.
I hated that I was making Maylee feel bad. Here she had come over here to be kind and offer to take me to school, and I was making a big deal out of Ace driving.
“No, it’s not a problem at all. I really appreciate the offer,” I say, waving my hands to let her know it’s not a big deal.
Maylee seems to relax and her smile returns. “Ok, great. I will see you at eight,” she announces, smiling and bounding down the driveway.
I stand there for a few minutes, watching her leave. The Crow I had heard earlier, takes this opportunity to depart from the trees and soars through the sky. I pause my movements and watch him with a strange curiosity. His head turns and the yellow glow of his eyes seems familiar. I can barely make out his form since the coal black feathers almost match the darkness of the night. But, he is there. And, if I were being honest, it seemed as though he were following Maylee home.
Realizing I was thinking crazy, I shook my head and laughed at my own silliness. I guess I was so used to strangeness in my own life, that I was creating it here, too.
I went to bed that night with the sounds of the Crow still echoing in my mind.