Valeria Torres and the Blade of Life

Chapter 2: The Valerian Alliance

Valeria entered her first period class after the bell and quickly took her seat, trying to avoid any unnecessary attention. Luckily their homeroom teacher, Mr. Duvall, had not noticed. The elderly African American man was preoccupied, scolding another student near the front of the class for using their smartphone.

"There you are," a female student to her right said with a feminine giggle. "Como estas, chica?"

Valeria groaned as she looked over at the popular brunette to her right. She could barely differentiate the Elites – they all looked Barbie dolls. The blonde-haired leader of this clique, Sheri Herawitz, was notably absent to her left. "I'm okay," she trailed off, trying to think of the girl's name, "...Sarah."

"Susan."

"Whatever," Valeria said with little interest. "Where's Sheri?"

"Vacay," the brunette said, her tone jealous. "Seems like everyone is going on vacation. Erin's been on her trip for what now? Two months? God – I need to fry on a beach somewhere."

Valeria rolled her eyes, choosing not to respond.

"Have you heard from Erin at all?" Susan asked. "Do you know when she gets back from vacation?"

Valeria's breath slowed. She had no idea when Erin would be back. If she would come back. "No. I haven't heard from her."

"Well," Susan said, combing her long brown hair, "She's always been a strange one. I'll try calling her later today. I still need to find out when Sheri gets back from vacation too."

Valeria turned, noticing the vacant seat to her left. She had met Sheri Herawitz on the first day of school, as the attractive Elite girl had introduced Valeria to both the nerd and popular groups. As annoying as she was, Valeria was glad they met. She officially introduced Valeria to the only two people she really cared about at this school. While Erin had disappeared and forgotten her, Sai had not. Just thinking about him – her lips curled into a smile.

Sai was unlike any boy she had ever met before. He was tall, dark and handsome, and while he was easy on the eyes, that wasn't what drew her to him. While other girls might drool over 'bad boys' – Valeria did not. Despite her young age, she had known plenty of bad boys and bad men, all rife with selfishness, indifference, and cruelty. She craved the opposite. Compassion, gentleness, and most importantly – patience. God, Sai was so damn patient.

After the Midas Vault incident, Sai had tried to make a move on her – if that's what you could call it. It had been Valentines' day, and she had found an envelope taped to her locker. The card inside looked like it was intended for a five-year-old, asking for a simple answer to a complex question: Will you be my Valentine?

Valeria had been tempted to decide there, in that moment. But she was smarter than that. She was a Rogue and as far as she knew, Sai was a Celestial. Their Factions were on the verge of war for heaven's sake. And while it was tempting to accept Romeo's offer, she couldn't. She was no Juliet.

But that was only the half of it.

Half of her still longed to see Erin. To hold her hand. To be with her. But she was nowhere to be found. And while she couldn't tell Sai the whole truth – she settled for a truncated version. 'I'm not ready for a relationship with anyone yet, she had confessed, truthfully. 'But let's be friends and see where this road takes us.' She had truly wondered where they were headed. Toward the friend zone? Towards love? Or toward violence? Three months had gone by and she still didn't have an answer.

The rest of the morning dragged on, and after what felt like an eternity, she finally entered the school cafeteria for lunch. She walked over to a table where four familiar teenagers sat laughing and carrying on with each other. Roberta and Jon faced away from Valeria, while Sai and James were facing her direction. She made eye contact with Sai and his deep brown eyes lit up immediately upon noticing her. His cheek bones lifted, unleashing that smile that made her melt inside.