Reaching

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

*Calley*

I changed back into human form and sat on the floor for a while. It wasn’t fair! We had the entire school on Zayden and he got away without a single scratch! It was not how things like this were supposed to work! He was supposed to get sent to the nurse with lots of bloody cuts and bruises while I laughed at him during class.

“I guess that’s it then,” Liz said, “He got away. Let’s get back to class now.”

“It’s not over!” I yelled at her. “It can’t be over! I won't let it be over!" 

I grabbed a sword and shield. I could hear Liz protesting to what I was doing in the background but I had to have the last laugh with this guy. I ran after Zayden, my shoes making a louder sound than I would have liked. He spun around when I was about a yard away from him. His eyes grew wide with surprise as I swung my sword.

“What is going on here!?”

A shrieking voice made my sword stop about two inches from Zayden’s neck. Our heads slowly turned to see the principal standing with her hands on her hips. She was a Harpy, one of the loudest and most annoying creatures out there. I swore about a million words a second in my head, cursing anything that I could see.

“Explain yourselves!”

I cleared my throat and took my sword away from Zayden’s neck. “Just a little friendly fight. Right Zayden?” I flashed an award-winning smile at Zayden and then at the principal.

“Yep,” Zayden said, “Totally just a friendly fight.”

I guess he didn’t want to be in detention either. Who would really? Especially at a school where the teachers were way scarier than those at a normal school. The person who ran detention here was a giant. You literally felt small in that room.

“A friendly fight where one of you doesn’t have a weapon?”

“Uh…” I muttered, “Yes?”

“I, uh, had a weapon,” Zayden said, which wasn’t a total lie because he had one in the weaponry, just not now. “She took it. We don’t know where it is any more.”

I nodded. The principal gave us a glare. I gulped. I didn’t want to end up in detention. Not after what happened last time. The last time I was in detention was because I had let a Warlock into the school as a little joke. Three kids were still missing.

“You’re lucky I’m feeling nice. The school day is over, and I really don’t feel like having anyone after school today. Go. Before I change my mind.”

I dropped the sword and shield and grabbed Zayden’s arm. We ran as fast as we could out of the school. We stopped only after we were off school grounds. I didn’t want to go home yet so I turned to Zayden.

“I have homework to do,” I said, “I assume you do too. I have a little place I go when I don’t want to go home. You wanna come too? Only I know where it is.”

“I guess,” Zayden said.

I smiled and started walking. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and checked that Zayden was following. I didn’t know why I asked him to come. Maybe because I wanted to show him that what happened today in school was just a prank, and not me being a stick in the mud.

Soon we crossed from the fantasy neighborhood and into the human one. I looked back at Zayden who was giving me an odd look from across the border. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“They only do bad things when they know were not like them,” I said, “I’ve done this so many times and I’m still alive, right?”

Zayden narrowed his eyes at me. “How do I know you’re not luring me into another trap?”

“You don’t. But you followed me this far. And do you really think I could get anyone besides Liz over the borderline? And I can only get Liz over when we’re in animal form.”

“Who is Liz?” he asked.

“The girl that didn’t attack you.”

He didn’t need any farther explanation. He could get a pretty good feel of Liz just by the fact that she hadn’t attacked him.

I turned around and headed for the forest. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of danger so I could get out of there with Zayden. I saw nothing, and every time I heard a noise it just turned out to be Zayden. He smirked every time I jumped in surprise.

Soon my feet found the well-worn path to my hiding spot. I came here almost everyday, sometimes more than once, so there would be a path. Though this is the first time I had come here in my human form. Normally I shape-shift into a deer so people don’t find anything suspicious.

“How much farther?” Zayden asked. “And what can be at the end of this path besides more trees?”

We broke the edge of trees just as he said that. A giant spring of clear water was just about a foot from the tips of our shoes. On the other side was a weeping willow tree that I had some how been able to manipulate so the branches parted in a triangle form so I could still be protected while also watching the water.

“Try not to judge a book by its cover,” I said, starting to walk around the lake to the tree. “You may be surprised on what you can find.”

“Aren’t you scared that someone could find you here?” Zayden asked me, jogging to catch up with me. 

“Not really,” I told him, “If anyone found this place it would just be me doing my homework. Or a deer eating some grass. Or some water animal swimming in the spring. Nothing to suspicious.”

“What if it’s a trap?”

“Then I’m trapped. And so are you.” I poked his chest and walked the rest of the way to the tree.

I sat down a little to the left of the middle of the triangle of leaves so Zayden could sit next to me if he wanted. I took my backpack off my back and dug through it to find my History homework. Zayden sat down and I couldn’t help but smile a little. I don’t know why. Life works in strange ways sometimes.

I pulled out my history book and my notebook. I gave Zayden one last glance, he was staring at the water, and started taking notes on the Human vs. Vampire war.

***

A/N: I’m so proud of myself! No need for lame excuses. Unless Doglover98 doesn’t put my chapter up. Then she needs to give you guys an excuse. She edits my chapters. Yay! Thank you! And now readers, I bid you, Hasta la Pasta.

-TheIslandOfSicily

P.S.- I’m not as annoying as Doglover98 makes me out to be. Yeah… Bye-bye now!