Song: Anytime you Need a Friend by the Beu Sisters
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Chapter 8: Lucia
It’s me again. I thought you might like to come along on this. Today I’m taking Dakota and Harper on a picnic. I want to try and get them talking. Find some common ground. You know? Look on the bright side. Anything’s better than being with Nova and Phoenix! Or Flo and Vie.
“Harper come on! It’ll be fun!”
“I don’t really feel like it Lucia. I was thinking of going to see my… never mind.”
“Harper. One afternoon. I just want one afternoon of your life. If things don’t work out, you never have to do as I say ever again!”
“Fine. If I go with you will you stop harassing me?” He teases.
I nod and we make our way to the meadow. Dakota is sitting placidly on a picnic blanket, reading a book.
“Hey Dakota!” I say.
She looks up and smiles, closing her book.
I nudge Harper in the ribs and he forces a smile.
“Good afternoon Dakota.” He says stiffly.
“Go sit down.” I tell him, motioning to the blanket.
He sits down and I see how tense he is. I walk behind him and pick some of the purple flowers that bloom here. Brook loves putting them in her room and Ada crushes them to make perfume sometimes. I crouch down behind Harper and whisper,
“Relax. She’s not going to bite you.”
He tenses at first, but then he relaxes and lets out a small chuckle.
“Who’s hungry?” I ask, sitting on the blanket.
Dakota nods and I start unpacking the food from the basket.
After we’ve all eaten, we settle into an uncomfortable silence.
“Dakota. Why don’t you ask Harper if he’ll play catch with you?”
“Would you like to play catch?” She asks Harper eagerly.
He looks at me, pain in his eyes. I smile and nod, trying to encourage him. I know this is hard for him, but Dakota might need him one day. He needs to be able to spend time with her.
“Sure.” He says through gritted teeth.
After a while, Dakota and Harper are playing catch and they’re both smiling and laughing. I’ve never seen Harper happier. I sit watching them. One time he catches my eye and we both smile. He’s like a different person. A happier, better Harper Stanley. And it’s great to see him like this. He deserves to be happy after everything that’s happened to him.
When it starts to get cold, we pack up the things and we all walk back up to the complex. I wave goodbye to Harper and Dakota and I go to the girls’ wing. Later that evening at dinner, I notice Harper isn’t at the table which makes me a worry a little. When we head back up to the girls’ wing, Brook and Ada and I decide to have a movie night in my room because it’s got the biggest TV.
We’re all settled down ready to start watching Never Let Me Go, one of my favourite movies ever when there’s a knock at the door. I jump up and walk across the room to open it and to my shock I find Harper standing there.
“Hey Lucia.”
“Hey. Is everything ok?”
He nods. “Can you meet me in the garden in ten minutes?”
I nod. “Yeah of course.”
He smiles. “Thanks Lucia.”
I nod and close the door.
“Who was that?” Ada asks.
“Harper.” I reply, rushing to my wardrobe to get clothes.
“What did he want?” She asks.
“He wants me to meet him in the garden in ten minutes.” I say, pulling my body warmer and jeans on.
Brook raises an eyebrow. “Why?”
I shrug and pull on my boots. “Don’t know.”
Brook nods and her and Ada chuckle.
“Nothing’s going on.”
“Whatever you say.” Brook remarks.
“Carry on with the movie. I’ll be back soon.”
They nod and I rush out of my room and down to the garden.
When I get there, Harper is sitting on one of the benches.
“Hey!”
He looks up and smiles. “Hey Lucia. Thanks for coming.”
“Is everything ok?”
He nods. “I just wanted to thank you for what you did today.”
I nod. “It’s no problem. You deserve to be happy.”
He smiles. “Thanks. I never could have done something like that by myself. Now I can be around Dakota and not worry.”
I smile. “You’re welcome.”
“I got you these to say thank you. That’s why I wasn’t at dinner.” He says handing me a small box.
I open the box to find a pair of beautiful heart shaped earring with diamonds in the middle.
“Harper! They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
He nods. “You’re welcome.”
I smile.
“Can I walk you back to your room?”
I nod. ”Sure.”
When we get to my room he smiles.
“Well thanks again for today.”
I nod. “It’s fine. Thanks for the earrings. They’re beautiful.”
He smiles. “No problem. Goodnight Lucia.”
He pulls me into a hug and then turns and with a wave he’s gone.
I push open the door to my bedroom where Ada and Brook are very unconvincingly trying to seem absorbed in the film.
“What did Harper want?” Ada asks.
“He wanted to thank me for helping out with Dakota earlier.”
“What did he give you?” Brook asks, eyeing the box in my hands.
“Earrings.” I say.
Brook leaps off my bed and rushes over to me, ripping the box out of my hands.
“Be careful!” I shout.
“OMG! Ada look at these!”
“They’re gorgeous!” Ada exclaims.
“He’s a keeper Luc!” Brook says.
I blush and set the earrings on my bedside table before changing into my pyjamas and continuing with the film.
YOU ARE READING
Class 19864
ParanormalMy name is Brooklyn Ella Fabray and this is the story of class 19864. We were a class of strange, unnatural misfits who had two things in common; we all had geographical names and we all possessed unnatural superhuman powers. When one of our own, Ky...
