Cursed -On Hold-

Chapter Five

     Alice decided to walk her brother to school that morning, stalling for time. She didn't know what to make of the warning about Isaac, and she had no intention of finding out. She shook the thoughts out of her head as Jake yawned for what seemed like the hundreth time that morning. Did he stay up again? But doing what?

     "What time did you get to sleep last night?" She asked.

     A dusty pink rose on Jake's fair skin. "Uh. . . Dunno, probably about two-thirty or so?"

  Alice groaned. Her brother could never stay up late, or rather, he could never handle the consequences of sleep deprivation. "And your excuse this time is. . .?" She started for him.

    He blushed harder. "I was just talking to a friend."

     His sister cocked a brow. She knew that when Jake said "just a friend", he meant that it either was a friend he didn't like very much, or a boy that he had a crush on. Jake was gay, and Alice knew that. He came out to her last year, when he was still just a confused seventh grader. Whenever he brought boys over after that, Alice would ponder over if the boy was a friend, or if Jake had a boyfriend. She didn't want to ask. It would seem like she was mocking him for being gay, so she kept quiet and covered for him whenever their parents would ask him why he wanted, say, a shirt with a rainbow on it, or his favorite green converse with pink laces. "Only a friend?" She asked. The younger hesitated. "Jake," she started," I know that you're curious about relationships and all, but you're only in eighth grade. I think you should wait a bit before deciding to date. As Jace told Clary in City of Bones, "To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed." " 

     Jake scowled at the quote Alice recited, obviously disagreeing with her. The continued their walk to the schools in silence. As they approached the middle school, the older pulled the younger into a light hug. Pulling away, the boy mumbled," His name is Zane." He walked away as Alice smiled.

     She felt refreshed and energized as she entered her first period class. She got what she wanted to know out of Jake, managed to avoid Isaac since she entered school, and snuck into first period with less than a minute to spare. As she sat down, she felt a pair of brown eyes burn holes into the side of her head. She resisted the urge to look, knowing it was Isaac.

   

     "Alright class. I assigned the reading assignment the other day," Mrs. Mark, a sweet old English teacher said. "How many of you have finished it?" She scanned the room, as three-fourths of the class, including Isaac and Alice, rose their hands.

     Isaac kept darting his eyes back to Alice. She seemed like she was in a particularly good mood, for someone avoiding him. He wanted to slap Zane for scaring the living hell out of her, that she wouldn't even look at him.

     His name was being called several times. It wasn't until the third time being called that he actually looked up. "Mr. Gray, I asked you to give your answer for the last question." 

     The said boy looked down at his paper. "I think Sydney Carton is a alcohol addict who doesn't really care about life at all. He doesn't care if he lives or dies," Isaac grumbled. It was true. He thought Sydney was cowardly, wasting his life away drinking and barely making it by. He even thought that meeting Lucie was possibly the worst thing that could happen to him, seeing as though he died for her cause.

     "Very. . .  Interesting. Does anyone have a different view on Carton?" She scanned the room once again. "Ms. Rider, I saw your hand up earlier. Would you like to share your voice with the class?" The old teacher smiled kindly at the girl.

     Isaac shifted in his seat to face Alice as she spoke. She looked uncomfortable at being the center of the attention. She looked down and brought her red nails up to tug lightly at a strand of hair, most likely a habit born from shyness. "I uh.." She took a deep breath. Isaac's heard skipped a beat when he saw her open her eyes and stare directly at him. "Sydney Carton is a guy who truly thought that he would never care for anyone, and that no one would ever care for him. But then Lucie comes into his life and changes him," she started excitedly. "I think that he's the type of guy a girl wants- someone who was willing to die if it makes the person he cares most about happy."

     Her words sunk into him. He's the type of guy a girl wants- someone who's willing to die if it makes the person he cares most about happy. Is he like that? Would he be willing to do that for her? 

     Class ended, and the next two classes were a bore. Alice pratically ran out of first period after telling her opinion on Sydney when the bell rang, and she avoided him again in third period. It started to get Isaac into a bad mood. Right after third period ended, he fast walked over to Alice and dragged her out the door, to his favorite spot- under a tree near the few places that irises grow. It was a beautiful spot- really, and sharing it with anyone was very rare.

     "What is it?" The short haired girl asked quietly, looking down.

     "Okay, this may sound weird, but," he stopped himself. She has the right to know. "Did a kid with a creepy grin and almost gray skin and red eyes come see you yesterday?"