Lion's Gift

Chapter 7

Belle and I walk out of the side exit of the school and we briskly walk over to the parking lot, where Belle's mother and my mother come to pick us up. Though Belle can legally drive, she insists for her mom to pick her up from school since she wants to feel young when she still can. Meanwhile, I'm half a year younger than most of my peers, so I am fifteen when most of them are sixteen or seventeen. I do have my learner's permit, and my father taught me to drive, because he doesn't have a single ticket even on his driving record.

There are several benches lining the curb surrounding the enormous parking lot, and there are trees behind them that give shade. Several students walk out behind us and get into their cars or wait to be picked up, and we ignore the hustle and bustle of those around us. The buses start to line up at the curb, and a lot of the students leave in them. Belle sits on a bench, silent, and I remember her face going white at something Sophie told her when they were playing.

"Belle?" She looks up, and answers with a small hum. "What did Sophie tell you when you guys had the one-on-one match?" Belle's face goes a little pale, and she nervously fiddles with her fingers. I see the anxiety, sadness, and anger slide into her eyes.

"Well," she begins, fiddling with her backpack straps, "I was getting ready to face off with Sophie, as you probably saw, and Sophie, the devil she is, told me that my older brother, he, um . . ." Belle trails off, a little hesitant to talk.

I become a little worried; Belle has three brothers, Caspian, her older brother who is a year older than her and attracts a lot of female attention, especially since he looks a lot like Belle but taller and older, and the identical twins, Michael and Jason, who are about three years younger than her, share the same features, and they are known for their mischief and trouble. It couldn't be good, since Caspian found his first girlfriend about a month ago. Their parents are super strict, only a little less so than mine, and they would go into a frenzy if they found out.

"Come on, just spit it out," I say, "You already told me about Caspian's first girlfriend," She looks like she is debating something in her head before she relaxes and tells me what Sophie told her.

"Apparently, Sophie knows that Caspian has a girlfriend, and she knows how our parents are really strict. But what she told me was the worst news I could've gotten. Caspian and the girl broke up a day ago, right after he lost his innocence to her." It takes a lot of my self-control to keep my jaw from falling open and my face showing any signs of shock. Seriously? If their parents found out about this, they would either keep him grounded and be super overprotective of Belle, Michael, and Jason, or disown him and still be super overprotective of Belle, Michael, and Jason.

"This isn't good," I tell her, running a hand through the top of my hair, "We need to make sure that your parents don't find out about this." At least Caspian isn't a female, otherwise their parents would find out quick with all the monthly doctor check-ups they have. I see Belle's mom's silver minivan pull into the school, and I know we have seconds to talk before she must go.

"Vivi, don't call or text – they'll hear, we'll talk tomorrow, especially about what happened with Noah on the field, when we go to the beach, alright?" I give her a nod, and she stands up right as her mom stops the minivan at the curb where we are standing. Belle's mom is about 5'2", and she has strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, and she has a small frame like Belle but is curvier and rounder, making her look like a model slightly past her prime. She has the same skin tone as Belle and has a small number of wrinkles. We talk a little before they drive off, leaving me alone in the school parking lot.

I'm standing around, waiting for my mother to pick me up from school (she usually picks me up around twenty minutes after Belle's mom) when I feel a prickling sensation on the back of my neck. I have good instincts and senses, from all my practice, and I have a feeling that someone is staring at me. I don't make any expression, and instead I look around the parking lot. There are still a couple of kids left, most of them in the populars' section of the lot. I catch not one, but two people staring at me now. I first spot Alex, who is to my right and is with his silver Honda, leaning against the car door. I look out of the corner of my eye, beneath my long eyelashes, and spot him staring intently at me. He looks down at his phone, which he holds loosely in his hand, and goes back to looking keenly at me.