EZEA

Chapter two: Pride Jaiyden's Story

     Fifty years have passed since the destruction of Ezea when Hazel lost both her parents and witnessed the kidnapping of Luna. The story then moves to the modern mortal world, Chicago, Illinois in the bedroom of fifteen year old Jayden Ivory, a tomboy who has big dreams in becoming a dancer. Jayden was in her room dancing ballet to the music box she was given by her dad. Her little brother Taylor enters the room snatching the box. She turns around in surprise “what the hell!” she says in frustration sprinting downstairs into the kitchen while Jayden is running behind him. Jayden chases him all the way to the kitchen table where he was hiding along with the music box. Taylor taunts her, “try and grab it try and grab it”. While Jayden threatens him, “give that back or I’ll will murder you”! While the fighting excelled, their mother entered in. She said “Jayden, why are you on the floor?” Jayden replies, “Because this brat has my music box and won’t give it back!” Her mom paused for a minute and asked, “Well you were supposed to make breakfast for your brother, he’s been down stairs waiting for thirty minutes and you’re up in your room dancing?” Jayden rolls her eyes while talks under her breathe and says, “Okay but doesn’t give him a reason to steal from me. I then make him cereal. Her mom bends under the table looking at Taylor, “ and as for you, you better give the music box back to your sister right now and respect her things or I’m grounding you for a week, hand it over.” He hands it back to his mother and goes up stairs while she whispers, “Jim is upstairs sleeping the last thing he needs is noise”. Jayden rolls her eyes and says, “The last thing we need is him”. She takes his breakfast and angrily drops the bowl on the table. “Eat, up”. She gets a text message from her best friend Amilee to come down stairs. Jayden grabs her skateboard and runs out the door, “mom I’m going to school! Mom…? Oh whatever”.  She meets Amilee and they both skate down the hill. They encounter a hill where it was hard to climb. Amilee begins to say, “So… you’re an Emerald…are you excited?” Jayden laughs a little at her comment and then says to her, “I’m not even on the team yet, I still have to audition”. As they struggle to climb the hill Amilee tells her, “you are the first freshman to be nominated on the dance team; do you know what kind of people are on that team?” Jayden sarcastically says, “Fake blonde bitches”. Amilee, tries to hold back laughter she continues to speak “What I was about to say was upperclassmen’s, Juniors and Seniors, its mostly a Senior team because it’s extremely difficult for juniors to join and the best thing about Emeralds is that there not just a dance team in our high school there famous all over the city, you’re like a freaken celebrity, Jayden interrupted, don’t forget I have a higher chance of going to Julliard with being on that team.

                They both agree on taking the city bus to school because it was too much energy for them to use their skateboard. They waited at the local bus stop and sat at the benches. Amilee begins to ask Jayden about her family, “So how’s your family?” She felt her day was looking bright knowing that She might be part of the Emeralds but when Amilee mentioned about  her family, All she wanted to do was strangle her. She answers Amilee’s question, “I only see my dad six times a year, my brother acts up more than normal, I have to pretend to accept my stupid stepfather Jim, and my mother acts like I don’t even matter in her life.” Amile is Jayden’s best friend and she love her to death but she wish she just dropped the subject. All she had to say to Amie was, “ so what do you think, it’s disastrous”. It looked like she didn’t know what to say accept, “sorry I asked”. Amilee asked me, “is your mom going to come see you at auditions today?” all Jayden can say in response was“I don’t know”. She tried to make me her feel better but she asked her to change the topic. The bus came right in time and all she can say was “thank god”.

                In school, they entered the building when all of a sudden, students and teachers came up to greet Jayden and wish her luck on the audition. She was getting hugs and handshakes from people she didn’t know; it was a little awkward, but she didn’t mind the attention. Amilee said, “Wow I was right you are a celebrity, I guess that makes me your entourage.”  She couldn’t help but smile and feel proud of herself, when she walked to her locker there were a lot of balloons and decoration that said  “Congratulations.” one of the members of the Emeralds Nicki, walked by her and said “see you at auditions.” Nicki had long bleach blonde hair and skin as orange as a carrot. It seemed obvious that she poured the entire bottle of spray tan on her skin and it doesn’t really help her that she applied extra make-up. When she spoke to Jayden, inside she  I felt like I was already one of the emeralds. Bullied me before I was nominated and now felt like she had no choice but to be nice. Jaidyen’s  nominatation must have been like receiving a big middle finger to the face in front of nicki. If she made the team that would be her personal revenge.   Jayden really needed her mother to see her try out so she thought she should call her. She told Amilee to check her in home room while she called her mom. She walked into the bathroom and tried to call her mom but there was just a dial tone. After three times of trying the call her cell she finally picked up. “Jayden! Unless there is an emergency don’t call during school hours! You should be in class”. I just stood on the other line in silence for a few seconds. “Mom I just wanted to know if your still coming to my audition today, it’s really important that you come”.  Mom felt a little guilty, “I have an open house at four to six and then I have to run errands and….I interrupted, “what kind of errands?” I was hoping and crossing every part of my body hoping she would try to make it and then she tells me the worst thing that I didn’t need to hear, “Taylor’s baseball game is at three and I promised him I would be there, I’m sorry”. She told me that she was sorry but I didn’t feel it. So I flipped out on my mother. “How the hell can you stand in the other line and tell me that shit?! Huh? So you’re too busy to support your only daughter but you’re not too busy to support your only son? I see how that is; wish him good luck for me!” I angrily hung up the phone and threw it in the sink. When I looked at the mirror, my eyes were red, my heart was beating quicker than normal and I can feel my adrenaline rising. I screamed at the mirror and I walked over to the door to lock it. I punched the mirror repeatedly ten times, when I stopped my hands were completely bloody. I slammed most of the stalls and I kicked off the paper towel holder.

                When I was done I sat in the middle of the floor and cried while I let my hand bleed. All I kept thinking were the times when I cried out to my mom and she muted me out. I kept thinking about how me and her will never have a close relationship. I tell myself that the reason why she divorced my dad for Jim was because he was her ideal husband, tall, dark, and successful. He had master degrees and doctorates and is a serious man. My father always knew when to make me laugh and he was the typical goofy dad and that’s what I loved about him. My dad inspired me to become a dancer which is why I am constantly determined to be in the Emerald. If my dad was still married to my mom, I knew he would at least make every effort to come, even if he was busy. My mother would never do that for me and I was stupid to think that this time would be different. The worst thing I thought of was my mom thought my dad was useless and I am exactly like him in many was I felt that if she didn’t love him anymore, she probably didn’t love me anymore.

             I heard the bell ring for everyone to go to homeroom but I didn’t feel like attending. I heard a knock on the door and it was Amilee. Amilee stood there along with the teacher and the vice principle. “Jayden it’s me please open door, what’s going on…?”  I wasn’t going to open the door, I was embarrassed and I just wanted to be alone. Amilee kept knocking, “ Jayden, this isn’t funny if you don’t open it vice principle Wesley, is going to unlock the door using force.” I stood up and opened the door and let Amilee walk in. She was horrified at the image she saw in the bathroom and then looked at my hand. “ what the hell happened in here an exorcism?” I took my anger on Amilee and asked her, “why is the VP here?” Amilee had a confused look on her face because the bathroom was completely vandalized and I was yelling at her. In my mind I knew it was wrong to blame Amilee for what’s been happening, but my heart, I kept second guessing myself rather it was still there or broken in half. Amilee told me, “I didn’t think the teachers were going to be out there like that I swear, Ms. Anderson told me to come get you because she thought you were taking too long and I was trying to open the door but it was lock, then I heard screaming and crying and destruction and the teacher came up to me because she was concerned so she went to get the V.P.” I yelled at her, “You do realize I might get suspended right!” Amilee was starting to get hurt and she yelled at me, “you know what screw the bullshit, okay… because here I am trying to help your ass out and all you been doing is blaming me for what‘s been going on with your family, I just want to help you but your too damn stubborn you try to push me away.” I snapped at her, “I never wanted you stupid help!” The bathroom was silent and the security came and escorted me to the nurse’s office. The security guard said, “Let’s go miss” and they took me out. Amilee walked sadly back to class.