The Medium

The Medium (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2

Her Mom grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her to the end of the alley, where the car was parked. As they climbed into the car, a mix of emotions whirled through Scarlett like a hurricane. What was she going to tell her Mom? This was going to be harder than she thought...

As Mrs. Castro started the car, Scarlett rubbed her wrist. Damn that woman has a grip on her! She could feel her mothers glare on her as Scarlett buckled her seat belt.

"So? Are you going to tell me what the hell your doing out in a dark alley at 10 o'clock at night?" Her voice was firm.

"Um....uh....err...." Scarlett stammered. What was she going to tell her!? No way could she tell her that she could see spirits. All Scarlett could do was look down at her muddy combat boots.

"Scarlett...?" Mrs. Castro's voice quivered. It sounded like she was going to cry. Scarlett turned her head slowly and met her mothers gaze. There were tears in her eyes and Scarlett could tell that her mother was worried. She sighed. She knew she had to tell the truth. If she lied, she'd have a guilty conscience forever until she admitted the real truth. Scarlett took a deep breath and explained...

"Mom...I can see spirit's. I was running down that dark alley because I saw....IT! I was scared half to death and....and...i'm not ready for this! I never wanted this!" Anger was boiling up inside Scarlett. She was like a volcano ready to burst. There was silence. Complete silence. You could probably hear a needle drop. Then Mrs. Castro broke the silence.

"But honey....It's a gift! Its in your blood to be a medium!"

Scarlett rolled her eyes. She knew her mother was going to say that. She rested her chin in her hand and stared out the car window. When they finally got home, Scarlett bolted upstairs and went into her room. She flopped onto her bed and yelled into a dark, purple pillow. Why did this have to happen to her!? Just then a thought came to her mind. She bolted up straight. How was she going to tell Jessica!? Or even Evan? Jessica and Evan were her closest friends. Scarlett knew she couldn't keep a big secret like this away from them. But then another thought came to mind...What if they thought she was a psycho path? They would never talk to her again! This wasn't going to be easy.

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Sunlight flooded into Scarlett's room. It made the purple walls glow and the pictures of her and her friends on the wall, shine. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked over on the clock sitting on the side table.

8 o'clock AM it read. Scarlett groaned. It was a Monday. The day of the week almost EVERYONE hated. Monday's were like rejects. Just like i'll be soon, thought Scarlett as she slumped to her closet to pick out an outfit. She chose her favorite ripped jean skirt, black legging with purple fish net stockings over them and her plain purple T. As soon as she got dressed, she laced up her combat boots and applied her makeup. She thumped downstairs and grabbed an apple off the table. Mrs. Castro was running around the kitchen, making lunches and making breakfast.

"Good morning, sweetie." Mrs. Castro said, as she buttered a piece of toast. Scarlett just nodded and took a huge bite out of her apple. The doorbell suddenly rang, and right off the bat, Scarlett knew it was Evan. Evan only lived 5 houses down from her, so they always walked to school together. Through rain or snow. Through wind or hail. Scarlett smiled to herself, just thinking about it. The doorbell rang again and Scarlett ran to the door.

"Hey Scarlett." Evan said, as his hair fell in front of his face.

"Hey Evan."

"Ready to go?" He asked, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"Just about...I just need to go get something." She grabbed her text book off the table and dropped it into her bag. "Now i'm ready to go."

As they walked down the street, the cold, Autumn breeze blew leaves around and sent a chill down Scarlett's spine. She absoloutely hated Fall. She was never dressed properly for the season. Evan turned to her.

"So..I was talking to Jessica last night and she told me you ditched her..?" He seemed amused and confused at the same time.

She groaned. "I didn't DITCH her, Evan. I had to go meet my Mom at a....certain...place...?" She wasn't going to tell Evan that she saw a spirit while she and Jessica were hanging out and then she ran away.

"Oh....I understand.." He said sarcastically. He smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back. As we reached the top of the hill, the sight of the school came into view. Scarlett could see Jessica's blonde, bouncy curls bounce up and down as she ran towards them.

"Scarlett! Evan!" She yelled.

"Hey Jessica!" Evan called back.

When Jessica came to the top of the hill, she put her hands to her hips. She had her "saucy" face on, so Scarlett knew Jessica was going to ask the question she'd been dreading.

"Where were you last night!?" Jessica asked, out of breath.

"I, uh...Had to go meet my mom....somewhere.."

Jessica raised her eyebrows, unconvinced.

"You left me at Sweet Treats all by myself! I had to WALK home! Do you know how long it takes to get from Sweet Treats to my house?!" Jessica cried. Scarlett could tell she was angry and annoyed.

"I'm...sorry.." Scarlett stammered.

Just then the bell rung for first period. I looked at Evan and Jessica frantically.

"Yeah, well save your apologies...We've got to get to homeroom." Jessica turned on her heel, and strutted away. Scarlett turned to Evan who shrugged and ran down the hill, leaving Scarlett standing all alone.