Glamour [Book 1] (Completed)

Chapter 23 | Sweat Stained

Chapter 23

My arms struggle vigorously, hauling my weight off the ground and slowly coming back to Earth. The sky was a bright and early blue: without a single cloud in the sky. The trees stretched upwards while poking the wind and blocking out the rest of the world. My stomach protested against my frame, and in total my body crumbled to the earthy floor. The smell of dirt and spring was wild against my nose and my tongue tasted of sweat mixed with dead skin.

"Get up."

I did as I was told, for the hundredth or so time, and completed five hurtles, five push-ups, five crunches, and finally a five-minute squat. By the end I was exhausted. Whether or not it felt like a lot, my body knew well enough it wasn't going to move in the next hour.

"Do you need water?"

I nod.

"Go get some water then."

I start to head back towards the cabin, and from behind me I watch my uncles figure become smaller and smaller with his fanny-pack and bright orange training shirt. He was a very content man when it came down to it. Even though he told me to call him Derek, by his first name, I respected him as my blood- as family- and called him as Uncle Derek. But his daughter, Natalie, made my skin crawl and my heart hurt. She was a serious pain in the butt.

Today she kept coming outside with her best friend, and watch me train. For four hours every morning, this past week, I got up at 6 and worked out till 10. It was 9 currently, and this was the first break I have gotten all day.

As vexed as I was, I wiped the sweat from my face in one fell swoop. My blue Adidas workout shirt was damp and clinging to my back and chest. I was already done for the week, and I was sure by the upcoming week my workouts would be pushed even farther.

"Hurry up, Meyer, your muscles are pumped now- but if you wait too long they will start to cramp!" Uncle Derek shouts to me as I slump up the back porch.

Opening the white screen door and then pulling on the door handle. As soon as the door swings open a rather smaller version of Natalie comes bursting through- and then the actual Natalie.

"Sorry! Excuse me!" Natalie shoves me out if the way, chasing after her smaller doppelgänger. They both had blue eyes and deep brown hair. Natalie was reach a hand for her but the smaller girl just kept running away.

Little screeches of excitement and laughter burst from the girls, and without much attempt I could see a small object in the smaller girl's arms.

"Emily! Give it back: right now!"

"No way!" Emily, the smaller girl, shouted back as she picked up her pace.

"Please, Emily, I don't want you to disrespect me anymore. You are always so prude!"

"Do you even know what prude means?!" The smaller girl laughs and opens up the little notebook, which was wrapped in red leather.

"Yes!"

"Prove it!"

"Just give me my diary back!"

"No!"

After taking a moment to assess the situation I started down the porch steps, getting ready to run out there and steal the diary back, when a voice overrides the property. "Emily, give Natalie back her diary."

Emily gives a sigh and both girls stop running, the diary was handed back and another order was shouted to me.

"Go get your water, and come right back, Meyer, we aren't done here."

/-\-/-\

That night, during dinner, we were served a large plate of meat. A large leg of dark meat was delicately placed on top of lettuce and colorful vegetables. They expect me to eat all of that? All they had was a salad and regular sized chick legs? Was mine on steroids or something?

Natalie and her friend dived in right away, and then Uncle Derek. I, on the other hand, just stared down at my plate. Sure, I was hungry, and I had been working out, but serving me something in a larger portion and cooked differently felt like a smack in the face. Why can't we eat the same food?

"Uh- excuse me." I say to the sounds of forks and knifes and multiple swallows and smackings.

Uncle Derek stops eating and swallows. "Yes, Meyer, why don't you eat?"

I look down at the perfectly crisp leg, the size served at a Renaissance Fair, in front of me and watch a pool of pink blood slip through to the sides of the plate. It did look good. "Well, I was wondering why I had to eat, uh... differently than you guys."

I may be evil and have magical powers, but that doesn't mean I'm the brightest of people. And this plate of food was certainly bothering me for some reason.

"Don't worry yourself. Since you've started your Turning you eat more and differently. It happens all the time. And even if you weren't a Turned student of mine- you would be hungry after all of the workouts given the last couple days."

"Why now?"

He brushes a hand in the air, dismissing the topic, and continues to eat. So I lift my leg up to my mouth, watching Emily and Natalie devour their meals, and take a bite. It was too good to be true.

*

"She's a wolf." Natalie explained to Emily in the bedroom next to me.

"Like a werewolf?" Emily gasps, and I could hear the pitch of a squeal forming in her throat.

"Yea, but she can shift whenever she wants to."

"That's so cool!" Emily let's out a historical laugh, which suddenly was muffled out.

"Shhh! No it is not cool! Because she is still in training she could kill any of us at any second. Not only that but because of her father we in even more danger and not only is she a werewolf, but the daughter of a witch."

"Wow! I want to get to know her! Will she be going to school with us?"

"Seriously, did you not hear what I just said?"

"Maybe I can get a class with her?!"

"You're hopeless, Emily."

I plop back into my bed, bored with their conversation about me already. I was seen as a threat to Natalie, and Emily was too opportunistic to realize the danger she is in by spending the night here.

I could easily kill them, because of my past and my future. And my present will always be a mystery. Like my new school designated for 'special' kids like me.