Water's Edge

Chapter 3

As I turn around I silently curse myself. How did you forget to ask, Darya? Now you definitely can't go, I tell myself. I plaster a smile on my face and slowly turn around. I look into two, dark blue eyes.
     "Really Darya you know, that if you asked, I would have said yes," Arroyo tells me. I can feel the disappointment radiating off of him. I look away. I feel ashamed because I know I'm better than that.
     "I'm sorry, Arroyo. I really am. I forgot to ask. You can be mad at me for not asking, after The Festival," I say to my brother. I'm not usually the begging type, but I really want to go. "I'm really sorry Arroyo. I-" I try to say before I'm cut off by my brother's raised hand. When I look into his eyes, I can see them start to lose their edge.
"You can go, Darya. You're old enough to go by yourself. We'll talk later though." I am grateful for his trust, but I still feel guilty.
     To try and ease the tension, Val asks Arroyo,"Why don't you come with us? It's super fun and you don't have to be worried about Darya."
"I don't know," my brother says. He is more introverted than me so I know why he is hesitant to go. I give him a pleading look. He needs to go out ever once in a while.
"Please, Arroyo. It will be fun and you know you want to go," I tell him.
"Fine," he says. "Give me five minutes to get ready." I watch as he runs into his bedroom. When he comes out he is wearing a dark blue dress shirt and jeans. I smile, looking at his slicked up hair. It's usually unruly.
     "Okay, I'm ready to go," Arroyo tells us. We walk out the door and head toward the sound of the first song playing in The Festival.
     When we arrive, the whole town is already there.
     "Fashionably late," Lisa says to us. She then pulls me aside and whispers to me,"Now all the boys are looking at the girls who just arrived." I turn a shade of red. It must look funny because Lisa laughs. I look around. There are a lot of people dancing and talking. They are illuminated in something other than sunlight. It's the lights, I think to myself. I look up and am amazed by their glow. They are the only form of electricity I've seen. After the war, most of the electricity was lost. As far as I know, we have half of the electricity left and the Barrens have the other half. Let's just say that half isn't enough so we only use the electricity for The Festival.
As I stand there and stare, I feel a tap in the shoulder. I turn around and am face to face with Apollyon. I take a step back and he grimaces.
"Hey, Darya," he says. I can tell he is trying to find the right words. "Listen, I'm sorry for calling you a twig and being mean to you, Val, and Lisa. I hope you can forgive me, I'm trying to friendly with everyone." I can tell he is nervous as I find something to say.
"Listen Apollyon, I don't know how long it will take me to forgive you but I will try," I tell him. He nods and gives me a sad smile before walking away. I stare as he goes. What was that about? I think. I continue to stare until I hear laughter begin me. I quickly turn around and am relieved that it is only Val and Lisa.
"Wasn't he the one who called you a twig earlier?" Lisa says. "Did he think you would fall under his spell," Lisa continued, adding air quotes around spell.
"I don't know." I look at Lisa and Val in turn. "Let's not let it ruin our night." Suddenly, I see Val perk up as I notice a new song coming on.
"What is it Val," I ask. I can't tell what Val is interested in.
"This is one of my favorite songs," Val tells me and Lisa. He grabs our hands and pulls us into the the crowd. I pass by girls in fabric that leaves nothing to the imagination. I can smell sweat, perfume, and cologne. I catch a glimpse of light brown hair under the lights. I smirk as two dark blue eyes meet mine. I see my brother dancing with his friend Brody. He is tall and black haired with hazel eyes. He offers me a smile as Val drags me by. When I lose them in the crowd I shake my head. They looked like idiots. Val finally stops when we are in the direct center of the crowd.
"Now we dance," Val says.
"Yes, let's dance," Lisa replies. I grin and we start to dance. We dance to fast and slow songs. I notice people start to stare and I start to try and make my movements smaller. That seems to work because people start to look away. There's a reason I am known in my school for singing, not dancing.
As the night wears on, people come and dance with Lisa, Val, and me. Some I know from school, others I know from boxing, or from the jobs I do. They all danced for a song or two and leave. At about midnight they shut off the music and tell everyone, "party's over." I find Val and Lisa and walk with them to the exit.
     As we wait for Arroyo, I look around at the people leaving The Festival. Everyone looks happy and flushed from dancing and drinking. Nothing seems out of place until I see a flicker of movement in the shadows opposite to where we are standing. In the darkness created by trees, I see a figure standing there, not moving. I realize with a start that it is Apollyon. He waving at me and grinning with malice. I look around to see if anyone else has noticed and when I look back he is gone. I start walking over to the shaded area to see where he had gone.
"Darya, are you okay?" I hear my brother ask. I continue to walk over and see nothing. I turn back and walk to my friends and brother.
"What is it?" Val asks, looking into the trees.
"Oh, I thought I saw something," I reply. "I think was just a trick of the light." I don't want any of them to worry. They seem to accept my answer.
As we walk out of The Festival, I ask my friends, "Do you guys want to sleep over?" They both nod sleepily and the four of us head back to my little house on the beach.