Half and half

chapter 8

Chapter 8

I felt I was falling and jerked awake. I peered at the alarm clock, trying to calm my racing heart. 7:02. I hadn’t gotten nearly enough rest but I couldn’t go to sleep again. A quiet knock sounded on my door. “Come in!” I called. The heavy wooden door swung open in oiled hinges. My mom stuck her head in. “Dylan, I need to talk to you. Get dressed and meet me downstairs.” She looked nervous. I shrugged and she closed the door. Wondering what that was about; I got dressed quickly and descended to the kitchen. Marie sat on a stool, swinging her legs. I scowled at her and she blushed. But my mom was there, so I couldn’t say anything. She looked me up and down without commenting my dark black outfit. Marie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “Look, kids…” my mom started. I didn’t bother telling her I wasn’t a kid. “Last night, I got a phone call. It was a threat. I knew then, I was being selfish. You know I have protection.” I nodded. By protection, she meant six highly armed bodyguards. My sister and I had both begged not to have and she had agreed. She resumed speaking, “and when they threatened your safety by the phone, I have decided you will each have body guards. Marie, a six year old girl-” oh yeah, did I mention my annoying sister was six? “-shouldn’t be someone’s target, so you’ll have two. Dylan-” uh-oh, “-you will have six. And it is not negotiable.” She added when Marie and I groaned. “Now go to school.” Having delivered her lines, she sunk into her ‘not there’ motherly stupor, pouring over a book without acknowledging our existence. I sighed, crammed a bagel into my mouth and headed out the door.

I drove my hummer at breakneck speeds, trying to ignore the sleek black cars that followed at a discreet distance. I stopped in front of Ethan’s house and both black cars squealed to a stop. Ethan walked out with his backpack slung over his shoulder. When he spotted my escort, he didn’t seem surprised. “It was only a matter of time.” He answered when I asked him about it. I grunted and stepped on it. Ethan was flattened against the seat while I clung to the steering wheel. “Ddduuudddddeeee nnnooo nneeeedddd tttooooo kkkiiilll mmmmeeee” Ethan stammered. I grinned. Suddenly, police cars appeared to either side of us. I stepped on the brake and the Hummer roared to a stop. Two burly policemen stepped out of the cars and headed toward us. I lowered the window and waved at them. They seemed very angry. “Excuse me kid, how old are you?” one asked. He had a wispy mustache and a potbelly. “I’m sixteen.” I answered, unfazed. “Show me your license.” He demanded. I didn’t move. “Do you have a license?” the other one asked. Wispy mustache glowered. I smiled lazily, “nope.” Mustache was outraged, “permit?” he spat out. “Nope.” I repeated. “Get out of the car.” The other one snapped. I shook my head reprovingly and took out my wallet. When I showed him the name on my student ID, the policeman paled. “I’m s-sorry sir. Mr. Hunt. We didn’t recognize you. We’ll leave you alone.” He stammered, taking a step. He grabbed the other policeman’s arm and dragged him over to his car. I smirked and Ethan laughed loudly. My escort had rolled to a stop, not recognizing the policemen as a threat. I slipped black Gucci sunglasses on and accelerated again.

When we arrived, Ethan peeled himself of the seat and I laughed, seeing how pale he was. We stepped out of the car and were immediately surrounded. I nodded a few ‘hi’ and ‘hey’s and stepped into the school. The crowd parted for a lithe figure in black. As Dimitri approached me directly, everyone fell quiet. To my surprise, Thaila was by his side. Ethan gave a low whistle beside me, “that one’s mine, ok, Dylan?” he told me in a quiet voice. Then in a louder tone he said, “hey babe-” he stopped talking when Thaila completely ignored him and hugged me. “Hey Dylan.” She purred. And I remembered how good a Hunter’s hearing could be. Of course she was laying the act for Ethan. I glanced at him now and saw his wide-open mouth and bulging eyes. I grinned and ruffled Thaila’s hair. “Hey Thaila.” She was short compared to me, thank goodness, and so I was able to reach easily. Everyone could feel Dimitri’s confident walk, the walk of someone used to lead. They were also kind of intimidated by him. I wasn’t “Dimitri.” I greeted. “newbie.” He replied. I rolled my eyes and aimed a punch at him. He dodged it, as I knew he would, and laughed. Everyone was stunned. Ethan hadn’t closed his mouth. “Come on.” I told him. I kept walking down the hall to wordless stares. Ethan walked to my right, Dimitri and Thaila to my left. I leaned close to Ethan and whispered something so low even Thaila couldn’t make out my words. “All yours.” I told him. Ethan’s eyes widened and he glanced at Thaila. Then he leaned toward me and used the same tone I had, “but, dude, she’s totally into you!” by the way, when I said Thaila couldn’t hear, I never thought of Dimitri, who had ears like a cat’s. He laughed loudly. Ethan turned scarlet with mortification when he came to the same conclusion I had.