Fallen Feathers

Chapter One

The weather for once matched my mood, dark and dreary, becoming a nightmare I wish I could escape.  The combo of rain and wind whipping at my face had my hair flying all around me, with a few strands ending up plastered to my skin.  I trudged along the sidewalk as my best friend bounced down the street beside me with her yellow umbrella swinging happily above her. 

With her feathery straight black hair turning up slightly at the ends, and her icy blue eyes glimmering, she is a complete contradiction to her personality.  She is my best friend, Avelyn Sumner, and she is the one person in this world I can rely on.  Being the person she is, she always has a positive out look and somehow at the same time manages to keep me in line.  We’ve known each other since we met on my first day of second grade in her classroom. 

I remember it as if it were yesterday.  She was swaying in her chair as she hummed, sitting in the midst of the energetic crowd.  Her twin sister, a blond named Evelyn, seemed to be talking while Avelyn’s mind seemed to put it through one ear and out the other with a distant glaze overtaking her eyes.  Her head suddenly snapped in my direction as she bounced up and left her sister behind. 

“Hi, I’m Avelyn!  What’s your name?” She exclaimed excitedly, seeming impossibly to bounce even more while staying in place. 

“I’m Opal Sparrow.”

My eyes flickered back to reality as I realized Avelyn was asking me a question.  “Am I spending the night or is my mom picking me up?”  She murmured slightly confused, questioning me with her eyes. 

“You can stay, my dad already said its fine, he’s away on business and we have some catching up to do anyways.”   I explained to her slower than she appreciated.  We were on our way back from The Moose Café with hot chocolate warming our gloved hands.  Our walk started to curve slightly to left as we strolled up my driveway. 

“Alright, I will just text mom and dad.”  She replied breezily as she pulled out her phone.  I unlocked the door to my house and we stepped inside out of the rain.  The den’s light was on as I wandered further through the halls.  I came to a stop outside the doorway and looked inside to find Evelyn, Avelyn’s not too nice twin. 

“Hello, Opal.  It’s good to see you again; you never seem to impress much whenever I end up seeing you again.” She sneered with a smirk on her face I was ready to wipe off with one swipe. 

“And you’re here why?” I questioned with an equally cold expression. 

“Oh, you will find out eventually.  Just keep in mind I will always win, including this one.”  With that she stood up from her chair and swiftly went out through the back door before Avelyn came in from taking her boots off. 

It was the next afternoon while I was at home alone since Avelyn had left.  I was surfing the internet trying to distinguish one college from another when my dads doorbell (The Smurf Theme song to my dismay.) echoing throughout the house.  I leapt up out of my chair and through the hallway to the doorway just trying to reach the door in time before they rang again.  It was this that caused me to open the door panting.  With my luck a gorgeous guy about my age was standing on the porch with a certain glow about his face.  His finger was millimeters away from ringing the doorbell again when I slapped it away, not wanting to hear it again. 

“Hello, um, I’m Judas.” He said while extending his hand for a handshake and looking concerned that I would smack it away again.              

“Sorry, I’m Opal.  I just can’t stand hearing those stupid blue people all the time.” I said with a roll of my eyes trying to explain myself.  I glanced back at him to see him looking confused and scared as ever. 

“You have blue people?  I’ve seen my share of things but never a blue person.” 

“Well yeah, they are super small and they always skip and sing.  They get pretty annoying when you listen to them all the time. Did you need to talk to my dad about something?  He’s not here right now but I can have him call you back if you want.”  

“Yeah, just tell him Judas said he has five days.”

“Ok…I guess I will let him know for you, I’m assuming it’s an urgent matter and I should call him?” I ask my face scrunching up in confusion wondering what my dad had gotten mixed up in.  His face seemed to soften once I said this but there was still a hard edge to it as he stared at me like he was trying to figure something out. 

He seemed to find what he was looking for once he said. “Alright, thanks.”  He turned around to leave right when Avelyn bounded up the stairs and ran right into him, knocking her back on the bottom step.  He quickly descended the rest of the stairs and helped her up. 

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” He asked Avelyn with a worried expression.

“Avelyn, this is Judas.  Judas, this is Avelyn.”

“Oh my goodness!  That’s an awesome name, like Lady Gaga’s song.”  Avelyn exclaimed, already starting to sing to herself.  As soon as she had opened her mouth Judas had begun to form a look of disbelief that stayed there throughout Avelyn’s form of the song, which all took place within two minutes.  Her words started to blur together as words left her mouth too fast. 

“Avelyn, are we still going shopping?”  I ask her in hopes of changing the subject so Judas’s brain didn’t blow a fuse. 

“Yeah, yeah sure. Is Judas coming with us?  If he’s not can he come with us?  He obviously needs some education in the world of music.”  All this was said in super speed as Judas was still trying to process what had happened before.  I replied with a shrug of my shoulders and an understanding glance in his direction.  With this Avelyn latched onto his arm and dragged him towards her car.  He seemed to be petrified about being stuck in a confined space with her and also letting her drive. 

On the half hour drive to our favorite mall I ended up driving while Avelyn ordered me to change the radio to various different stations as she talked Judas’s ear off about all of the different songs, artists, and genres.  I pulled into the parking lot and got out with Judas not far behind and Avelyn trailing him still babbling, clueless to his discomfort. 

It was going to be a long, entertaining day.  For once Avelyn was talking someone’s ear off other than mine.