Hidden Close (Jr. Year)

Chapter 2

Part 2 Of The First Draft

It was finally lunch time, and boy, am I hungry. I sat down with Perry, who smiled as he saw me. Becky came over, and introduced herself to Perry,

“Hey, there! I'm Becky! You must be Mindi's boyfriend, correct?”

Perry nodded in the most enthusiastic of manners.

“Yeah. I’m Perry, it's nice to meet you.”

Becky let out a girly laugh, and replied,

“We all have gym together in the morning. I saw you runnin’ earlier. You're really fast.”

Becky sat down next to me, and we all started to eat. The food at Knoxville Central High isn't great, but I'm really hungry. When I was about halfway done with my pizza, Perry asked Becky,

“How come I haven't seen you before, Becky?”

Becky looked up from her tray, and said,

“I came here from North Knoxville High. I'm also a junior! Now, can I ask you two something?”

Perry shrugged his shoulders, and replied,

“Yeah. Go for it.”

She reached into her bag, and pulled out what looked like a small scrapbook. Becky opened it up, and showed us the startling contents. She asked us,

“You guys seriously didn't know that you have a small following?”

The scrapbook had many pictures of the two of us as well as a magazine article about Judge Jackson being arrested. In the article, it quoted,

“Curse those Eisens. They ruined everything.”

Perry seemed unusually surprised. He took one good look at each page in the scrapbook, and remarked,

“Uncanny. So you and these other kids in the picture in the back of the book are like our....groupies?”

Becky laughed, and said,

“Yes, in a manner of speaking. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but we know about Lamias and Wild Girls. Although I'm pretty athletic, I’m not like you two. You two are amazing. I admire the heck out of you both, especially you, Mindi.”

This was all too overwhelming. I told Becky,

“That’s great, Becky, but trust me, you don't want to be like me.”

Becky hung her head down, and replied,

“I’m sorry, I’m just a little starstruck. We want to help you, though. We have some vital information we feel you should know. Can you both meet me at my house after school?”

I looked at Perry, and he nodded. I then turned to look at Becky, and gave her my phone number, and informed her,

“Text me your address. We'll be in a black car, there around, say? 3:30 P.M. We won't stay long, as we have homework to do and families who keep close watch on us. You know how it is, right, Becky?”

Becky looked pale. She told us, her voice filled with sorrow,

“Actually...my parents are dead. It’s just me and my older sister, Veronica.”

I can only guess how they died. I wouldn't ask, as some things are better left unsaid.

“We’ll be over, Becky, and I hope that we can be friends.”

“Oh, of course, Perry!”

The bell rang, and we parted ways. My last few classes crept by slowly. When my first day of school was finally over, Perry met me near his car, and asked,

“What do you think of that Becky girl?”

I shook my head, and then laughed.

“It’s amazing how much she knows about us. I don’t know how she could have figured out all those things out about us. Otherwise, she seems nice enough.”

We got in the car, and we drove in silence, and when we got to his house, he killed the engine. When we got out of the car, Renee, Perry's older sister came outside, who was wearing shorts and an expensive looking long sleeved shirt. She called out,

“Perry! Mindi! Come here you two!’

I ran up to her and gave her a hug. After we had released the embrace, she told me,

“You look good, kid.”

She glanced over at Perry, and read his expression.

“What’s got you in a hussy, dear brother? Obviously you are contemplating something yet again....”

Perry laughed, and told her in a nearly silent tone,

“It's your problem, too. You'll be coming with us later. Trust me, it'll be worth the trip.”

Renee nodded, and cheerfully told her little brother,

“Okay. I'm sure whatever you’ll be showing me will be better than watering plants and watching re-runs.”

We enjoyed a few soda pops inside the Eisens large home. Grace Eisen, Perry and Renee’s caring and youthful mother, came into the dining room in a long and beautiful red dress, one you might see in the movies. Her black hair was done up, and was its always beautiful and lustrous shine. Grace commented to her son,

“So you met some strange girl, huh? You really need to learn how to shield your thoughts, Perry.”

Perry defended himself,

“Yes, but this girl knows something about us. That makes her potentially dangerous.”

I held my anger back, and tried to be positive,

“Becky adores us, Perry. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about.”

Renee seemed interested.

“Becky, that girl who works as a student for that strange underground newspaper?”

Perry sighed, and answered,

“The very same one. She's crazy about Mindi, go figure. I'm just worried that someone could use the information she possesses against us. We will have to keep her under close watch.”

I nodded, fully understanding what he is saying now.

“Agreed. The three of us should get going soon.”

As we made it out the door, Grace wished us farewell. I’m not sure how Becky knows so much about us, but I sense something else about her. Deep down inside she's like me, confused and scared. Either way, Perry has a point. She knows what we are, and people would hurt us if they ever believed what Becky says. After what happened this summer, we will have to hide our secret very carefully. Becky will have to now become a constant in our lives, if only to protect her and also inevitably ourselves. Lamia have been hunted for centuries, and Judge Jackson's war against the Eisens brought me to a full realization that this was reality, as messed up as it is.