I looked at Lillian, then Ethan, then back at Lillian again.
Something was weird between them.
Something happened yesterday that I missed. Honestly, I'm worried about Lillian. Ethan seems just like the kind of guy he would fall for. Then she will get her heart broken.
She's already been through so much... I just don't want to see her hurt. I've known Lillian for a long time. I've kind of grown to be a brother figure to her. The last thing she needs is a brother. Maybe a sister.
A sister like Cora...
Shut up and pay attention, I told myself. I need to see if I can pick up a message that the so-called 'teacher' is trying to convey. My eyes drifted to where Cora was sitting. Her eyes were fixed on John who was doing pretty well as his cover as a teacher. I doubt any of us were paying attention to a word he was saying.
Suddenly the bell rang. I saw Cora jump in the corner of my eye. "The people who I want to see, you know who you are, please stay in your seat."
I did.
So did the rest of the group. Everyone else left. Then I noticed a girl by John's desk. It was the same girl that was trying to ask Jacob something yesterday.
Ashely, is what I think her name was.
"Sorry, I have a question about the homework." She said. I knew right away that she didn't. "Sure Ms. Ashely, whatcha need?" I drowned out the rest of their conversation to listen to the one going on behind me. "Why do you think she's here?" Lillian asks. "She obviously doesn't have a question about the homework." Cora says. "I think she's trying to find out what we're doing." Jacob said, like it was obvious. And it was. Ethan was just quiet the whole time.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He shrugged like he didn't know what he did, but his smug smile said otherwise. My attention turned back to the conversation. "How long do you think she'll go before she gives up?" I ask.
"As long as it takes." Cora said, sighing. I frowned. Ethan put his feet on his desk and leans back in his chair.
"Please take a seat Miss Ashely."
Wait, what?
"Um... excuse me." Cora says, raising her hand, "What? Are you crazy?"
"Duh." Jacob muttered.
I honestly don't know why Cora and Jacob hate her that much. She seems okay.
"I can sense the Aura in her."
I groaned inwardly. I hate that name. The Aura? What kind of name is that? A stupid one. Cora groaned out loud. "Next he'll say a rock has the Aura." Jacob muttered. Ethan chuckled. Ashely glared at Cora. She shifted uncomfortably. She smiled at Jacob. He didn't look up at her. Ethan fidgeted with his pencil. Lillian frowned.
"What is the Aura?" Ashely asked, after she took a seat next to Jacob. I let a small chuckle escape. I couldn't help it. I heard Ethan, Lillian and Cora laugh as well. "What's so funny?" I raised my eyebrows at John waiting to hear his explanation. "Uh, it's a very long story... it ask starts with the fact that you guys aren't human."
Great way to start a conversation, I thought, real charmer, I can tell. "What?" Ashely asked, "This is a joke right?" No one said anything. "Right?" She asked again. Still no one spoke. "This is... You guys believe this?" Her voice was rising a little. "Well, you see, I have proved it to them, and well, they don't really know what to think. I know this can be confusing, but trust me, it's real." John said in a calm voice.
Then I remembered.
"Aren't you Zee's cousin or something?" I ask."You are related to Zee Hunter?" John asks. She groaned, "Yeah, so?" "Do even you know why she isn't here?" Cora asked. She shrugged, "Just assumed she was grounded. She actually likes school so that's how her mom punishes her."
"Punished." I heard Jacob say under his breath.
"Well, she's not." Cora muttered, angrily. Ashely looked confused, "Then where is she? Oh, wait I don't care." Jacob didn't say anything. He was looking at his shoes. "Hey man, you okay?" I asked. He looked up, his expression was neutral, "Yeah." I looked at Cora. She was biting her lip. She looked up at me and our eyes met. They were shiny, like she was about to cry. She blinked twice and the tears went away. The sadness was still there.
Right then, I wanted to do anything to make her smile.
She looked away, to a wall. So did I. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Ashely asked. So John basically spent the whole lunch period explaining to her what the Aura was (still think it's a really stupid name) and I was starving when I came home from school.
Thanks to John for that.
* * * * * *
As usual, when I came home, no one was there.
I sighed and slung my bag on the stairs and opened my fridge to look for something to eat. There wasn't much. I wasn't surprised. I took out a coke, switched on the TV and plopped down on the couch.
When I'm off work, my life is pretty much uneventful and useless.
I sighed and didn't have time to actually process what the show that was on was, when I heard my phone ring. I didn't bother to change my ringtone so it was the usual default one. I didn't bother looking at the caller ID either.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hi." Came Lillian's voice.
"Hey Lillian, what's up?"
"Nothing, I was bored and I was just wondering what you were doing."
"So, you have to be bored for you to call me?" I joked.
"You sound mad. Were you going to call someone else?"
"No." I asked. What was she getting at? "Cora likes you, you know." She said softly. So soft I almost didn't hear. "Why didn't you call Ethan?" I asked. There was silence.
"Lillian?" I asked. "He's not coming back to school on Monday." She said. "Why not?" I ask.
"He's moving."
"Moving?" I ask.
"Yep." She said.
"How come?" I asked. There was a small silence.
"I don't know." she said. She did know.
"You know I can tell when you're lying." I said. There was silence. I could imagine her biting her lip. "Yeah." She said
She isn't going to tell me.
"Hold on, I have to go. Bye."
"Bye." she said. I really did have to go. My mom was home. I put down the phone as my mom walked through the door. She didn't say anything. Neither did I.
"So, how was school?" She asked after a while. "Fine." I said. She sighed. "You know, you can't be mad at me forever." I can't be mad at her? Does she even remember what she did?
"Okay." I scoff. Then I go upstairs and close the door. I don't feel like talking to her anymore.
