The Dangers of Pomegranate Salad

Chapter 35

Chapter 35. Insert Chapter Name Here.             

Haden leads me to where kids without parents stay. It’s a small building full of several bedrooms, and a main living area on the ground floor. Haden shows me to my room, a small but nice little thing with a bed, a dresser, an empty book shelf, and a desk. I don’t have anything to put anywhere so I just sit on the chair. I’m still in the remains of my last dress. It’s torn from my trek through the tunnels. Lily takes a lap around the room. She happily lands on the book shelf and sits on the ledge. Haden stands in my doorway. “I need to go to my room; I’ll be back in a bit to take you to the Insert Name,” he says. He waves and walks off; leaving me alone, in another room that is not mine. I stand and decide to check and see if there are any clothes in the dresser. I open it and am happy to announce that yes; I do in fact have clothes. I put on a pair of jeans and a fitted Tee shirt that says ‘POW!’ with an explosion. I wonder if the dresser is magic, like Gea’s. Probably, I mean, I’m basically at Hogwarts. I look at the boring book shelf and frown. At least Gea gave me books. Oh well, I don’t plan to be staying here long. Just until Gea is caught, then I can go home. I smile, Soon I will get to go home! I think I will have to go with my original story, that I was kidnapped by The Underlan’s. You know, I don’t know their real names. Mr. Underlan died and I never knew his name. I sigh sadly. Oh well. 

After a while, Haden comes and gets me. The Insert Name looks like a Victorian house, combined with a fast food joint. We go in and look around for Fanta. She’s sitting at the Ice cream bar and talking to the bartender, a young man with dirty blond hair, who is looking skeptical of whatever she’s saying. Haden and I sit down next to her. I get a glimpse of his name tag. ‘Danny’ it says. I raise an eyebrow. Why is it that every name I person I come across has a name that reminds me of some fictional character? I wonder. Danny looks at the three of us, “so what can I getcha?” he asks. I look at Haden and Fanta, “I’ll have a grape Fanta please,” says Fanta, with a light blush on her cheeks. “Can we have two root beer floats please?” says Haden. “Sure, coming right up” says Danny. I look at Haden, “how much does it cost?” I ask him. “Oh, if you go to the school, you get a free drink after school” I nod. I look at Fanta “so, how old are you Fanta?” I ask her. “I’m fourteen.” She says. “Favorite color” I ask. “Um…  Purple!” she says happily “I’m really excited, you’re my first friend who is a girl.” She tells me. Danny comes back with our drinks. “Here ya go, Fanta for Fanta, and Root beer floats for the reunited couple.” He says. “How did you know who we are?” I ask.  “Every one’s been talking about you guys.” He says. “The people around here gossip a lot” Someone else walks through the door and sits at a table. “I’ve gotta help those customers, enjoy your drinks” Danny walks away, leaving us to sip our drinks.  We sit there drinking our sodas for a bit. Behind us at a booth is a group of girls, talking. “She’s so weird,” says one. “I know, she never does anything right.” Says another. “And that stupid nickname, I mean, seriously, who names their child after a soda?”  And that’s when I know they are talking about Fanta. I glance at her. She is sipping her soda forlornly. I wonder if this happens often. “She needs to stop with all the stupid little stories” I glance at them. They are looking right at Fanta’s head. “She’s such a psycho. Always lying, and doing stupid things. I bet it’s all for attention” says the first one, who’s blond. “I bet her mom ignores her” says the second one, a brunet.  “I wish she would just go away.” The first one says through her teeth. Fanta sighs.  I glance at the girls behind me. “Bullies” I mumble. Fanta looks at me, and gives a half smile. Suddenly a loud crash comes from behind us along with screeches, and complaints of designer clothing being ruined. Haden snorts root beer up his nose, which makes me laugh loudly. The girls are still yelling when Danny runs over with a towel. “What happened?” he asks. “That, that freak blew up our sodas!” yells Blondie, pointing at Fanta. Danny looks at Fanta “Why did you do that?” she looks embarrassed. “I don’t know” she says, blushing a lot as she looks at the floor. Danny sighs, “apologize to Glen please” he says. Fanta mumbles something under her breath. Blondie makes a big deal, putting her hand to her ear. “What’s that?” she says. Fanta glares at her. “I’m sorry you’re such a witch” She says. Glen /Blondie’s eyes widen. “You are such a freak!” she yells. She storms out of the building, her friends following calling for her to calm down. Danny sighs, and looks at Fanta. “Don’t blow up my glasses” he says. He walks off to get a broom. Fanta looks like she’s going to burst into tears. She runs out of the building. I look at Haden, “I’m going to go talk to her” I say and run after Fanta, leaving Haden to help Danny clean up Fanta’s mess. I don’t know where she would go and I don’t know this place well enough to not get lost. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of blond running to my left. I turn and see a bob of blond hair. I follow her. She runs to a group of trees. I run to the trees and find her curled up under one crying. I come over to her, feeling slightly awkward, since I only met her this morning. “Hey, are you ok?” I ask her. She looks at me, “oh yes, I’m perfectly fine, I just felt like running to into the woods to cry for no reason. I love being bullied and made a fool of in front of my crush” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Who’s your crush?”  I ask, even though I already have a pretty good guess from how she acted at the Insert Name. She looks reluctant to tell me, but she sighs, “Danny” she says. Yep, I knew it. “Isn’t he a bit older than you?” I ask. Danny looks like he’s at least sixteen. “Three years isn’t that much!” she says. Ah, seventeen. “The average difference between married couples is five years!” she says.  I raise my hands in defeat, “ok, he’s not too old for you” I say. She huff’s “thank you” I laugh. “Hey, if you want those girls to leave you alone, you might want to stand up to them” I say, repeating what our principle said to us in his anti-bullying assemblies. “Isn’t blowing up their soda’s standing up to them enough?” she asks. “I think maybe it would be best to find a way that doesn’t involve so much collateral damage.” I say, laughing “let’s go back to the Insert name” I say, she glares at me. “Or not” I say. “I’m going to go home where I can’t embarrass myself.” she stands up, “hey, just wondering, but how did you blow up their sodas?” I ask her. “I’m one of the Moons Daughters. Wow, saying that out loud it sounds like I’m a werewolf or something. Anyway, my element is water” she explains. “I can control pretty much anything with water in it” my eyes widen, thinking about The Last Air Bender, she laughs. “No not people. I mean, I guess I could, but I don’t have that much power” we start walking in the direction of the Insert Name. “So, how long have you lived here?” I ask her, curious. “Well, I moved here with my mom a few years ago, when my dad left us. But I’ve known I was a Moon’s daughter since I could remember. My mom and dad where both Elementalists. My mom was Son and my dad was Water. They loved each other for a long time, so they tell me, but it sort of started deteriorating after I was born” she says. “And one day my dad just left” she says. She looks at the ground as we walk. We don’t talk any more until we get to where ever Fanta was heading. I see it’s a bunch of houses. She goes up to one and opens the door. She turns to me, “Bye! See ya tomorrow” she says, then disappears into the house. I turn around and start walking in the general direction that I came. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going, but I’m sure I’ll find the Insert Name eventually.

Wandering around not knowing where you are going can lead to being severally lost, if you were unaware. Eventually I see a figure running towards me. It’s Haden. “You lost?” he asks me with a smile. “A little” I say sheepishly. He laughs. “Let’s go back to the dorms, it’s getting late” we walk slowly back to the dorms. When we get there, we stand outside, holding hands. I stretch up to reach Haden’s mouth, and he bends down a little. We are so close…. And then Rose walks by. “Hey, no shenanigans!” she says, with a small smile.