Half and half

chapter 10

Chapter 10

I shivered. The words you’ll never break me replayed over and over in my head. Soon he was far away enough that I didn’t hear the words anymore. I glanced at Dimitri and saw he had a thoughtful expression on his face. “What?” I asked. He looked startled and then-I swear- ashamed. “Nothing.” He said. Was it my imagination or was he just too casual? I decided to let it go. Ethan was laughing so hard tears streamed down his face. He wasn’t the only one. All over the cafeteria there were scattered laughs. I grinned a little too. I mean, getting drunk on school property? That was new. Then the ‘late’ bell rung. I leapt up and saw the cafeteria had nearly emptied. Those who remained were packing the remains of their lunches hurriedly. I waited anxiously for Ethan. Dimitri and Thaila had disappeared. We hurried through the halls. They were completely empty. We burst into the last class of the day. History. When I got into the class, I decided to try something stupid… if it worked though… I’d be a hero. The moment Mr. Nagy came in, I jumped up from my seat. Dimitri, Thaila and Ethan were in the class. I approached the teacher’s desk. All eyes followed me to the front of the classroom. Conversations started here and there. “Mr. Nagy.” I said in a loud voice. I glance behind me. Almost as if he had guessed what I was about to do, Dimitri leapt up and accompanied me to the front. Meanwhile, Thaila pleaded with her big green eyes. She was shaking her head franticly. I ignored her and turned to Dimitri, surprised. “It wouldn’t be the best position if you screw up.” He said pointedly. I shrugged, vaguely aware the whole classroom was waiting to see what would happen or that Stan Nagy was demanding our attention. I turned toward Nagy; removing the sunglasses I’d worn the whole day. I stared at him straight to the eyes and he flinched. Then I spoke in the calmest voice I could manage. “You are going to let the class go because you are so nice.” I told him sternly. The class gaped, waiting to see Nagy yell at us and send us to the office. His eyes stayed on mine. “Yes.” He said in a mechanical voice. A puzzled expression crossed his face, as if a part of him was wondering what the heck am I doing? But he motioned at us to get out of the door if we pleased. There was a moment of stunned silence from the whole class, but in two minutes, the class had emptied of all except Thaila, who was glaring disapprovingly at me and Dimitri; Ethan, who I was going to give a ride to and Dimitri, who’d stayed behind for whatever reason occurred in his dark mind. I grinned and high fived Ethan. “Why on earth did you do that?!” Thaila ranted. I rolled my eyes, “Thaila, as far as I know, I didn’t ask you to marry me. Or to be my mother.” She turned scarlet. Then Dimitri, who burst out laughing, startled us all. He pointed at Thaila, still laughing, “haha- I told you-hahahaha-that he wouldn’t- that he didn’t-” he burst out laughing again, cutting off his own statement. Thaila turned redder still. I frowned but Ethan interrupted by whooping. “Don’t be a party-pooper. Dylan, drive me home.” I nodded. Dimitri grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. “Dhaile was very concerned yesterday when you disappeared. She assigned me to be you guardian. I'm supposed to ‘watch over you’” he rolled his eyes. I was confused. But I decided to tease him. I assumed a puzzled air and asked loftily, “but I beat you in the field.” He didn’t seem unfazed. “No you didn’t. You just passed the exam. Probably with an A+, true. But you couldn’t have beat me.” I frowned, this time confused for real. Instead, I began talking of my driving skills, “Let’s see about that. And, by the way…” he interrupted with an exasperated sigh. “If you mean your suicidal driving, don’t worry, I can keep up.” He lifted his eyebrows in a way that suggested amusement. I wasn’t very good reading people, especially Dimitri, who couldn’t be considered normal person, but he was clearly on the verge of laughing. I put it out of my mind and walked over to Thaila and Ethan, who both stood as far away from each other without making it obvious. “Come on Ethan.” I turned and walked out, heading toward the hummer. I recalled the fight with Dimitri and with the dagger and the crowd, and to my astonishment, I was sucked into it. I was seeing from Thaila’s experienced eyes, which was a real surprise. Dimitri and I were circling each other. Thaila was watching her brother closely, but she watched me a lot more, which was weird. I could feel the world from her, and I felt her worry that Dimitri would hurt me. No, I realized, she was worried I’d beat him. She remembered a time about three months ago. It was weird, going to a memory inside another memory, but it was recalled so clearly, I wondered if Thaila had photographic memory. A thirteen-year-old girl was holding a dagger awkwardly, much as I had. She was fighting against Dimitri, and I could tell she was a natural. Dimitri had started playfully, but as the girl unleashed her skill, Dimitri began to show a little of his. Which far overpowered mine. I now understood why he said he would have beaten me. He did moves I didn’t think were possible, the dagger flashing from hand to hand in an incredible display of skill. Then Dimitri started to get involved in the fight. His eyes darkened and the girl began to tire. But Dimitri was only getting faster and faster. His movements became more and more impressive. Thaila began getting worried and more worried. Then she blinked her eyes and returned to my fight. We were still circling each other. Thaila’s gaze zoomed in on my face and I was startled to see a fierce, inhuman expression of pure concentration as we fought. Seeing from Thaila’s experienced ayes, I could tell Dimitri was holding back, not fighting with the skill he had showed with the girl. Suddenly, I swooped back to my body and my knees buckled. I fell forward and outstretched my hands to stop the fall. My movements were jerky and imprecise, as I got accustomed to my body again. I looked up and was astonished to find myself face to face with Thaila. She had just looked up to and I could tell she was surprised. I leapt to my feet and backed up. Thaila got up wearily. “Why were you watching me?” I asked her finally. She blinked, as if her worst fears had just been confirmed, “you went there too?” she asked me.

“Who was that girl?”

“You saw that too?”

“Why were we there?”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!!” that was from Dimitri. I looked at them for the first time. “What happened to the girl?” I asked him. “Thaila, did you suck him in too? What did you see?” he turned to her. Just then, I realized Ethan was staring at us like aliens. “Mmmmmnkk!” I grunted. Ethan turned and fled. We all burst out laughing. Then I realized Thaila was staring at me. I recalled the rush of feelings she had gotten while watching me fight and I blushed. She looked away, probably recalling it as well. “Dylan, why did you want to laugh during the fight?” she asked me. I frowned, “why did you watch me all the time?” She gaped. “Wait a second, you saw the fight from my eyes?” I nodded. Her face lit up, “cool! I saw it from yours” I stared at her. She had been inside me? She laughed, as if guessing my thoughts, “hey, I'm not the only one.” Someone was watching me. I didn’t know how I could tell, I just could. “Somebody’s watching me.” I said out-loud before I could help myself. Dimitri looked up. Thaila frowned at me. “No they aren’t.” she said, looking around. My gaze lifted until I was staring at the third floor window. A pair of haughty golden eyes gazed at me. “Dhaile?” I wondered. Dimitri followed my gaze. He stiffened at the same time Thaila did, then he grabbed my wrist at the same time Thaila did. And they both pulled at the same time. In two different directions. Thaila yanked me to the left, at the same time; Dimitri yanked me to the right. They both gripped with pretty hard holds. I cried out. A tornado swirled to either side of me. Thaila’s was an anxious green. Dimitri’s was an angry black. I tried to jerk my hand out from someone’s grip but they were holding on tight. The world swam as my arms were nearly torn out of their sockets. Then, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders, and jerked me forward, releasing me from the brother’s grips. I fell face first on the parking lot pavement. I looked around and was relieved there was no one there. The golden eyes were gone. And in front of me stood a very angry Ethan. “Will you please tell me what’s going on?” I looked to either side of me. The green and black leaves had settled on the ground. Dimitri and Thaila had disappeared. So I told Ethan everything.