Young Writers Society

Chapter 4

I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. I was still in my attic, but there was even less light then there had been to begin with. I sat up and remembered the box. I quickly got on my knees, but held my head as the room spun around again. I still felt queasy and unstable and decided to just grab the box and bring it to my room.

I located my flashlight and clicked it off and stuffed it into my short’s pocket. I closed the box and carefully stood. My legs felt a little wobbly and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to carry the box down on my own.

I tried to pick it up, but I just felt to weak. I set it back down with a thud. “I’ll just get you tomorrow.” I said and slowly, clumsily left the attic. I breathed in the fresh air and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I had collapsed again.

I tried to get back up, but I hardly had enough energy to move. I felt so weak and dizzy. I managed to get onto my knees and I felt my stomach knot. I quickly covered my mouth, recognizing the familiar feeling of losing everything that was in your stomach. I tried frantically to get up to reach the bathroom, but I couldn’t, and the vomit wasn’t going to wait for me to regain my strength to get to the toilet.

My stomach muscles heaved, my throat burned, and my eyes began to water as I threw up in the hallway. Afterward, I felt empty and even more tired. I continued to dry heave, by stomach muscles spasaming. I swallowed hard and groped for the wall and used it to help me up. I had managed to stand and I leaned against the wall to get to the bathroom so I could get a towel to clean my mess up.

I grabbed a towel out of the closet and carefully made my way back. I tried to clean my mess up, but I felt so dizzy. I swallowed hard again and sat down, leaning against the wall.

“Lucy,” I said groggily. I knew it wasn’t that loud. I didn’t even know if she was here. I heaved again and wiped some sweat from my brow. “Lucy,” I called a little louder and began to cough.

I heard the steady beat of someone climbing the stairs. “Toki?” not Lucy.

I turned my head to look over at Jade. “What are you doing here?” my voice sounded weak and my throat burned from the stomach acid.

“Oh god, Toki.” she hurried over to me, careful not to step on the towel covering my puke. “Can you stand?”

She put an arm around my waist and slung one of my arms over her shoulder. She lifted me up onto my feet and I leaned heavily on her. “Where’s Lucy?”

“Don’t worry about that right now. Lets get you to bed.”

I tripped over my feet, but Jade always kept my balance. When we got to my room, she set me gently onto my bed. She felt my forehead with the back of her hand.

“You’re burning up.” she said and left the room.

I fell backwards on the bed and closed my eyes. I was so tired. I never saw Jade return, but I remember feeling something cold on my forehead.

***
I’m a baby. I feel someone holding me and gently rocking me back and forth. I opened my eyes and saw my mother looking down at me. Smiling with the warmest smile I’d ever seen.

I reached up to touch her and she laughed gently and held on to my small little hand.

“Hello baby,” she said in a sweet, kind voice. She lifted me up higher to her face and hugged me to her. “I love you so much.” she whispered in my ear. “I will never leave you. Never. I will stay by your side and protect you at any cost.” she said. “I won’t let him have you.” she said and I felt a tear slide down my face.

She rested me back on her lap and I looked up into her face. Her face held a gentle smile and tears slid out of her eyes and landed on my face.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” she said silently. “Rest, and I’ll be with you as long as I can in this body. Just be strong for me, please, be strong.”
***

I woke with gentle tears flowing from my eyes. I sat up and noticed I felt much better. I wiped the extra tears from my eyes and swung the covers off of me. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood. I felt a lot sturdier than I had been. I walked over to the window and moved the curtain out of the way. It was sunrise.

I left the window and went over to my desk where I grabbed my flashlight and bandanna. Silently, I left my room and started heading towards the attic door. I tied the bandanna around my mouth and quickly, and silently, opened the door a slit and slid in, not quite closing the door behind me. I pulled out the flashlight and quickly made my way over to where the box had been.

“It’s gone!” I almost shrieked. “All of it! Gone!”

The whole area where I stood was empty. Completely empty. Where did they all go? How could they all disappear like that? Frustrated, I sat down.

“Ow,” something was beneath my butt and I had plopped down on it.

I shifted my weight to the left and pulled the thing out from underneath me. It was a book. An old one, it seemed. It had a hard cover with a crest on it. A lily. My mother’s favorite flower. I traced my hands over the cool metal flower and the tips of my fingers began to tingle. I felt a tickle in the back of my throat and decided to get back to my room, with the book.

Just as quickly and silently as I came, I left. I climbed back into bed and was going to open the book, but I suddenly felt very tired. I stuffed the book under my pillow and made myself comfy. My cat jumped up and nuzzled up next to me, purring gently in my ear. It was like a familiar lullaby.

“Good girl, get your rest now, you’re still sick. You can read it tomorrow.”

I wasn’t sure if those words were part of a dream, or if I was going crazy. I was only sure that it was my mothers voice, silently being whispered in through my ear. And…I felt a kiss on my cheek. As gentle as a feather being carried by the wind. Again, I wasn’t sure if it was a part of a dream, or if I was just going crazy.


I awoke again and rolled over to look at my clock. I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. I’m supposed to be in third hour by now. I got up and threw off all my clothes, replacing them with a pair of shorts and one of my better shirts that actually fit and weren’t to big, didn’t have any holes, and had Grumpy Bear on it.

Dressed, I walked downstairs, heading towards the kitchen. “Why didn’t you wake me-” I stopped in the doorway. “Not Lucy.” I said and Jade turned and smiled at me.

“Hello Toki,” she said. “Lucy’s out of town with your dad. I’ll be staying with you, though.”

I nodded. “Well, why didn’t you wake me up for school? I’m really late now.”

She gave me a questioning look. “I didn’t really think you’d want to go to school today. You were awfully sick last night.”

I shrugged and walked over to the table and sat down. “I used to always be sick when I was younger. Something about my immune system being weak.” I shrugged. “I usually get over it in a day.”

She gave me a surprised look. “That’s really…odd.”

I shrugged yet again. “That’s just the way I work.”

She nodded. “Do you like pancakes?”

I nodded. “With blueberries and lots of cinnamon in it.”

She smiled at me. “Alright. How many do you think you’ll eat?”

I thought. “Five,”

She raised her eyebrows but turned around. “Five it is then.” she said and took out Lucy’s recipe book. “Would you like anything to drink before I start with this?”

“Don’t worry, I can get it myself.” I said and stood. I walked over to the cabinet and got a glass out. Then I walked over to the fridge and filled it with orange juice. “So how old are you anyway?”

She didn’t answer at first. “24,”

I choked on the sip of juice I had just taken. “24?” I repeated. I had just been hoping she looked young, not actually was young. “You do know how old my dad is, don’t you?”

She nodded. “52,”

“Why aren’t you going for someone younger? He‘s old enough to be your father.”

She shrugged and continued mixing the ingredients for the pancakes. “It’s…complicated. Something a girl your age and status shouldn’t hear about.”

“Excuse me?”

“In other words, it’s none of your business.”

“But-”

“Please, end the conversation.” she said sadly.

I sighed and drank my juice. “So are you going to take me to school later today?”

“Well, actually, your father wanted me to take you to another school sometime while he was gone.”

“What?”

“I was going to take you tomorrow, but since you’re feeling well enough, would you like to go today?”

“You know, I’m suddenly feeling faint again.” I said stood. “I can’t go today.”

She turned around to face me and I noticed the batter was done. “Please don’t be difficult. I promised your father I would take you. It’s only to see what type of school it is. If you don’t like it, then you won’t have to start going there.”

“I know I’m not going to like it. Kim and T aren’t there and I know that the school’s going to suck because of that.”

“Please, I promised your father I’d take you there.”

“Then say you did and don’t.”

“Toki, please don’t be difficult. I know it’s different having me here, but I’m always going to be here now.”

I looked at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Toki, the only reason why I came here is because your father wants me to live here, and he already proposed. Plus, I’m pregnant.”

I sat back down. “Oh my god.” I put my head down on the table. When things change around me, they always change quickly and drastically. That’s how it’s always been, and I doubt it’s ever going to change. I guess, whether I go or not, I’m going to be signed up for the new school. “Fine,” I mumbled against the table. “Lets go to the stupid school.” I stood. “But when we get home, I expect to have pancakes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll start the pancakes right when we get back.” Jade said.

“Whatever,” I sighed and started walking towards the door for my shoes.

“Um, Toki, do you think you could wear something a bit more…appropriate?”

I stopped and turned around. “Like what?”

She hesitated. “A skirt and a better shirt, maybe?”

I stared at her. “What’s wrong with the clothes I have on right now?”

She started fidgeting with her hands. “Um, your father wants us to make a good impression.”

“No,” I said simply.

“Please Toki, I’m not good with teenagers. I’ve never had kids and I only know how to deal with little kids. Please Toki, just do this.”

I rolled my eyes and went up to my room to change. I quickly put on the skirt that Kim had gotten me and one of my better shirts that I used for special occasions. It was maroon and had short sleeves. It was a flannel shirt and had a collar and four buttons starting at the collar and going down to the bottom of my bust. I left the first two buttons undone and brushed my hair out better. I put black tights on to keep my legs from freezing and I took my boots out from the closet and trotted downstairs. Jade was waiting in the living room and I noticed she, too, had changed. She was now wearing a slinky black dress with a short jacket to keep her arms warm and was wearing nylon tights to keep her legs warm. She was currently strapping on a pair of high heels.

I sat down on the couch next to her and slid my boots on, then zipped them up.

“You look much better.” Jade said and we both stood. I loved wearing my boots. When I put them on, my height changes so I’m about 5’ 5”.

I followed her out the door and into her red jaguar. I didn’t really pay attention where she was driving to, but it took about 20 minutes to get there and we didn’t talk at all. I looked out the window when she said that we were almost there. We were in the rich part of town. There were few houses, but when you did catch a glimpse of one, it would be huge. About three of my houses put together. We passed a few driveways and they were all blocked by golden gates. The owner’s lawns were well-kept. The grass was so green, it shined.

“Here we are.” Jade said as she parked in the school’s driveway.

The tar seemed newly done. I couldn’t find one crack. The lines
seemed to be freshly painted and when I looked up to see the school, my breath was taken away. The grounds were huge and beautifully kept. It seemed the students took care of the plants since I saw some of the kids trimming the bushes and watering all the flowers. The building was huge and made up of bricks. It had its own clock tower for god’s sake! I followed Jade over to the grounds and made my way up the stairs behind her, counting each step. 25. There are 25 steps leading up to the doors. And what magnificent doors they were. Huge planks of cherry wood with a mold framing and golden door handles and fancy a fancy N in the center of each door. I followed Jade inside and we passed many doors. I didn’t know where they led to, but each door seemed very expensive.

Jade stopped in front of a door that was almost as big and beautiful as the ones that brought us inside. She gripped the handle firmly and went inside.

“May I help you?” An elegant voice, coming from an equally elegant looking woman, asked from behind the desk that had a name plate resting on it that read, Ms. Taylor.

“Yes, my names Jade Victoria. I’m here to meet with the principal.” she said sweetly.

“Ah yes, Miss Victoria, soon to be Mrs.” Ms. Taylor giggled daintily. “Mr. Zanza had informed us you’d be coming some time this week. Mr. Meyer has been anticipating your arrival. We hope our school is to your liking.” she said, smiling at Jade and then at me. “I’ll go inform him that you’re here, wait a moment over there, please.” she said, pointing a dainty finger over at a row of chairs bordering the wall.

I walked over with Jade and sat down, trying to make sure I was sitting proper enough that my panties weren’t showing. Mrs. Taylor emerged from the back and sat back down at her desk.

“He’ll be with in a moment, he’s having a little chat with his son.” she said with a smile.

Jade nodded. “Thank you.”

I sighed and Jade tapped me on the knee and gave me a disapproving look. I rolled my eyes and glanced around the room. It was so neat and tidy. Everything matched and all the desk workers were wearing fancy suits. This seemed like such a high-class place. I don’t think I’d ever be able to fit in here.

“Now I don’t want to have to talk to you about this again, you here me?” I heard a deep, manly voice say.

“Uh-huh,” That voice sounds familiar.

A man and a boy walked into the room and I quickly found that I was staring at the boy. He noticed me and smiled.

“Hey there, Toki, right?” he said with a smile. I nodded feeling a blush start. His smiled grew. “I told you I wouldn’t forget.”

“Get outta here.” the man said, pushing against his back.

Jade stood, as did I, and I watched Jake leave the office.

“Sorry about that. Kids these days think they can do whatever they want.” the man said and held out a hand to me. “You must be Toki Zanza.” he said and I nodded and shook his hand. “I’m the principal of this school. You can call me Mr. Meyer.” he said and turned to Jade. “You must be Miss Victoria.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Jade said with a giggled as he kissed her hand gently.

“Please, follow me into my office and I’ll tell you about our school. Then, I’ll let you have a look around.” Mr. Meyer said.

We followed him into his office and sat in the seats in front of his desk as he sat in his big leather chair.

“All right, lets just dive right in with the credits you must earn.” he said. “I’ve taken a look at all your school records, including the one from when you lived in Japan, and I’m certainly impressed. In Japan you rated third in your whole grade, and fifth in the whole school. When you moved here, you were at the top of your class and that has continued throughout the years. I see you’re taking a senior class this year, and you’re already a year ahead of your age.” he said and flipped through some papers absently. “Your attendance is almost flawless. I’m not surprised that your father would want you to come to this school. We are sure to challenge you. We separate the classes from your intellect and most of work is college level.

“If you transfer here, most, if not all, of your credits will be brought with you. In order to graduate, you need 42 credits.”

I gaped at him. “42? At my school we only need 23 or so. How am I supposed to get 42?”

He smiled. “Our day is longer than Milton High. We start at 7 in the morning and end at 3:30 in the afternoon, and we don’t have as many breaks, and we start school in mid-August and end in mid-June.”

“Oh my god.” I said with a sigh. “That’s brutal. We do get Saturday
and Sunday off, right?”

“Not quite,”

“What?”

“On Saturdays we have some special mandatory classes we have the students go through.”

“And how long is that?” Jade asked.

“We start at 9 in the morning and go until noon.” he answered.

She nodded. “And was that a uniform I saw on that boy?”

He nodded. “Yes. We have uniforms for all the students and a strict dress code for the teachers. We like our school to look very professional.”

“So, does that mean I’d have to wear a skirt?” I asked him.

He nodded and handed me a pamphlet. I opened it and there was a girl and boy modeling the school’s uniform.

“This is the uniform we require for Spring and Summer. As you see it’s just a simple white, flannel shirt with the schools crest on the breast pocket, a navy blue bow that must be tied at all times and a black pleaded skirt. The Fall Winter one has the same skirt and it’s the same type of idea. A maroon flannel shirt, this one is short sleeved, with the same bow, but it’s black, and a white sweater with the school’s crest.”

Jade nodded. “And how lenient are you with the uniform?”

“Well, we want it to look professional, so we ask for the shirt to be tucked into the skirt and if you’d like to lengthen or shorten the skirt, then you must get an okay by me. We ask that no jelly bracelets or bangles be worn and no necklaces unless kept under the shirt and no anklets. If you have pierced ears, then you are unable to have earrings that hang past the jaw line. We don’t allow any other piercing on the face and prefer not to have dyed hair, unless it is blonde, brunette, black or anything natural looking.”

“So everyone has to look alike?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “That’s what the kids usually think, but that’s not what we want. We just want our school to look professional.”

“Then what can we toy with to be different?” I asked.

“We allow painted nails, any type of socks or tights and shoes. We do have a specified pack for you to use, but you may put any key chains you would like on it. If you wear makeup, you may, but it must be sensible. And,” he stood and walked over to a box. He dug through it and pulled out a navy blue jacket. “We ask you to wear this to promote our school.”

“You mean outside of school?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, our school is in the outskirts of town and we’d like to be heard more.”

“But don’t you have some of the smartest kids graduating from your school?” Jade asked.

He smiled proudly. “Yes we do, but not many people know about us.” he looked at us both. “Do you have any other questions or concerns?”

“Yeah, what happens when you fall asleep in class?” I asked him.

“We’ve never really had that happen before. We rarely accept students that didn’t come from our elementary and middle schools.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Than why would you except me?”

“I know your father and lets just say he has friends in high places.” he
said and stood. “Well, if that’s all, then why don’t you have a look around
the school grounds and see the normal of day of our students.”

I shrugged. “Whatever,”

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you a brief explaining where everything is.” he said and picked a map up from his desk. He unfolded it. “This building is the one we’re currently in. As you can see, it holds our cafeteria, information office, teacher’s lounge, and all the storage closets.”

“That’s all that’s in here?” I asked and he smiled at me.

“Behind this building is the outdoor pool that you’ll use during the warmer seasons. Our herb and flower classes are also located behind this building, as well as our gardening club. The building to your left, here, is the indoor pool. Our swim team is in there most of the time and some of the other athletes use it to exercise. Our weight room is also located in that building, as well as our weightlifting team. All of our courts are in there as well as outside, scattered around our grounds. The building to the right of here is where all the classes and lockers are located. On nice days your teacher may bring your class outside to learn.”

“Is that all?” I asked. He looked up and smiled at me. “So, what, is there no spa?”

He smiled again. “We have a sauna in the pool house.”

I gaped at him. “This place has everything. All it needs is to be turned into a hotel.”

“We have dorm rooms available.” he said and handed me the map and dug out another pamphlet. “This is our list of after school clubs you can join. Have a nice time, and here’s your guest pass.”

“Thank you,” Jade said and stood.

Mr. Meyer shook her hand. “Miss Victoria, I’d like you to meet some of our teachers while Miss Zanza looks around.”

“Oh yes, of course.” Jade said and we all left the room. We separated in the hallway. I decided to look around in the cafeteria while they go to the teachers lounge.

The room wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be. It was about as crowded as our third lunch hour is. I wandered around and took a look at what they fed everyone here. There was no set lunch. There was a big variety of food and it seemed like the students helped out with the serving. I also saw some students placing some more veggies and fruits out. They had a salad bar that seemed to have everything and anything you could put on a salad. They had vegetarian area on the other side of the room and they had a snack and condiment island in the center of the lunchroom. I didn’t see any computers or cash registers so I was curious if they had to pay for the food.

I wandered back outside and decided to look at the grounds where the pool is. I followed the map and took the trail to get the area. It seemed there was classes going on and I silently watched how the students swam and when I got bored I wandered over the herb garden where some students were tending to it.

“Hello,” I said as I neared them.

They turned and smiled. “You must be a guest.” A girl said and held a hand out to me. “My names Lily. I’m the representative for the garden club.” she said.

I smiled and shook her hand. “Wow, these are beautifully kept. Do you take care of all the foliage on the grounds?”

She nodded. “Yes, we all have certain jobs on certain days at certain times.”

I nodded. “Well this place is beautiful.” I said and she turned around and plucked one of the flowers that separated the herbs.

“Here you are. Take this as an incentive to join the garden club.”

I smiled at her and took it. “Thank you, I think I’ll go and look around more.”

She turned back around and started picking the herbs that were ready. I started towards the pool house and when I walked in, I couldn’t even smell the chlorine. I consulted the map and continued down the hall. I took a right at the turn and peered into the door to my right. It was the weight room, which meant that if I keep going down I’ll find the rooms for all the other courts. And at the end of the hall would be the saunas. One for the boys and the other for the girls. I continued down to look at the courts and the door to the boys sauna opened.

“No, you see, if you take that out, then it won’t work anymore.”

My head turned at the voice and I saw that boy, Jake walking towards me as he talked to some other boy. They were both wearing a towel around their waist and had a towel slung around the back of their necks.

“Shit, then I screwed up.” the other boy said and they both looked up and saw me staring at them.

I felt my face blush and I quickly looked back to the door that led to the basketball court.

“Hey, Toki how are you?” Jake said and I tried not to look at him.

“I’m fine,” I said simply and turned to back the other way.

“Little jumpy, ain’t she?” the other guy said. “You must be guest since you don’t know girls aren’t exactly supposed to be in here right now.”

I stopped, but didn’t look at them. “They aren’t?”

“Nope,” he said and I felt him come up close behind me and rest his hands on my shoulder. “This is the guys time to go into the sauna. Since we’re all naked.”

I quickly moved away from him and heard him start to laugh.

“Stop picking on her.” I heard a girl say and I turned around to find a
girl, wrapped in a towel, walk out of the sauna. “Don’t listen to him. Everyone wears a swim suit when they go in and out of the sauna.” she said and hit the guy in the head.

“Ouch, come on, Jin, I was just having a bit of fun.”

She rolled her eyes and held a hand out to me. “Hi, I’m Jinny McClain. I’m the schools vice president.”

I nodded and shook her hand. “I’m Toki Zanza. Um, I’m just looking around the school.”

She nodded. “Yeah, don’t pay attention to the boys. The school system is to strict and the boys get a little itchy when they see girls. Especially when they’re coming for a visit.”

“Hey, not all of us are bad.” Jake said and leaned against the wall.

“Hey, you three, you know the rules when we have guests. Get to class.” some teacher said as she exited a room. She stopped. “I don’t see you three leaving. Get to class.”

“Yes’ am,” Jinny said and took the two boys by the ears. “Bye now,” she said as she passed by me.

I left the building and went to the one that held all the classrooms and lockers. The halls were pretty quiet except for some stray students wandering around the halls and some going to their lockers. This place looked like a normal school. It reminded me a little of my school, except the gym, information office, and cafeteria were a totally different building. This place really does seem like a really nice school to go to, but Kim and T aren’t here. Sure the people here seemed nice and friendly, but what would I do without Kim and T?

I took the flower out from behind my ear and sniffed it. Why can’t decisions be made easily?

“Oh, there you are.” I heard Jade say from behind me. “Are you ready to go yet?”

I looked over at her and nodded. “Yeah, I can’t wait to get this skirt off.”

“Love to watch ya do it.” some guys said as they passed by.

I rolled my eyes and followed Jade outside. There were students eating outside and when the guys saw Jade, they stood and whistled at her. The teachers had to come out and quiet them down, saying something about having to be professional or getting hit by a ruler or something like that.

We got into the car and she started driving off. “So, what do you think of the school?”

I shrugged. “It’s a school.”

She looked over at me. “That’s a pretty flower.”

I didn’t say anything and looked out the window. “I’m hungry.”