The Purity Project

Chapter 2

"Class dismissed."

Halona was the first to stand up. She pushed past the crowd of students and made her way to her locker. She wanted to get out of the building before someone spotted her.

"Not so fast, plant freak."

Halona sighed. She wasn't fast enough. She turned around to face the group of students that had tormented her ever since she had started high school. Standing in the center was a face that she had grown to despise.

"Hello Ethan. Did you need something, or did you just miss my pretty face?" Halona said, staring the bully down. She smiled innocently, then turned her back to them and closed her locker door.

"Confidence won't change anything, freak. Now, hand over your money." Ethan stepped forward, making Halona shrink back. She shuddered as she smelled Ethan's rancid breath.

"No," Halona whispered. She didn't want to make up another excuse to her parents about why she needed more lunch money.

"What did you say, freak?" Ethan shoved Halona back into her locker. She winced from the pain and tripped over her shoe, falling to the floor. She looked up at Ethan with pure hatred. She wanted nothing more than to smack his evil smile off his face.

"I heard you like to paint. Mind if I take a look at your artwork?" Ethan snatched Halona's bag and pulled out her sketchbook.

"Ethan, look! She likes to paint nature, just like her weird parents," one of Ethan's cronies said, pointing at Halona. They all laughed at her.

"Stop it! Just shut up!" Halona shouted, clenching her fists. They all stop laughing. Ethan glared at Halona, and she began to regret shouting.

Ethan crouched down, his face only an inch away from Halona's. He looked her up and down and smirked, a malicious look in his eyes. "What's it like? You know, to have your real parents not love you? Does it hurt you that the only people that wanted you were two plant-lovers?" Ethan paused, as if he were studying Halona's expression. Out of nowhere, he threw the sketchbook at Halona's face. 

She yelped in surprise as the pages scratched her nose. She forced herself to hold back her tears, making her eyes sting.

"Hey! What's going on here?" a voice spoke from somewhere behind Ethan.

Halona looked behind the bully and saw a tall boy with bronze skin. He had slick, black hair and his amber eyes glowed like autumn lanterns. Halona immediately recognized him as Lorenzo Castro, the school's "popular boy". Halona wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket and shoved her sketchbook back into her bag. She stood up and tried to slip away, but one look from Ethan made her stay put.

"Hey Lorenzo," Ethan said coolly.

"Ethan, want to tell me what you're doing?" Lorenzo looked down at Halona, then back up at Ethan.

"It's none of your business, pretty boy," Ethan snapped. His friends laughed.

Halona watched Lorenzo, hoping that he wouldn't do anything stupid.

"You're going to go home, and you're going to stop bullying this girl," Lorenzo said sternly, as if he were scolding a small child.

"Or what?" Ethan stepped toward Lorenzo, trying to intimidate him. It didn't work.

"Do you want to find out?" Lorenzo clenched his fists. Ethan looked him up and down, then walked away, closely followed by his friends. Lorenzo glared at them as they leave.

Halona brushed herself off and walked away quickly, wanting to avoid conversation. She knew that she owed Lorenzo, but she just didn't feel like talking to the boy. She heard footsteps behind her and sighed. Guess she didn't have a choice.

"Hey! Wait up!" Lorenzo shouted.

"What do you want?" Halona said a little too harshly.

"First off, I want a thank you. I just saved your butt back there," Lorenzo said. He crossed his arms and stared at Halona, a playful look in his eyes.

"Excuse me? You didn't save me from anything! In fact, you made things worse! Ethan and his little cronies have bullied me ever since I started school here, and you just gave them another reason to hate me! So I will not be thanking you, not now, not ever!" Halona stormed off angrily, without looking back.

                                                                                          ...

Halona rolled over and checked the time. It was one in the morning. She dragged herself out of bed and exchanged her pajamas for gray sweatpants and a hoodie. She felt anxious, for she was going to meet The Wolf, a local graffiti artist who's real name was Braden Smith, a seventeen year old boy who was Halona's childhood friend. Halona opened her bedroom window and climbed down the tree. She pulled her hood on and started jogging.

Halona passed by many houses. It was pitch black, and the only source of light was from the moon. Suddenly, she tripped on something and collapsed onto the pavement. Swearing under her breath, she stood up and continued jogging. A few minutes later, she had reached her destination. She climbed a fence and ran into the alley behind the abandoned warehouse.

"Braden, are you here?" Halona said quietly as she moved through the dark. She squinted as she checked her surroundings for any signs of movement.

"Do the call," a voice said from somewhere above her.

Halona sighed. He might be seventeen, but he was still childish. "Ah-woo!" Halona howled like a wolf. A figure jumped down and howled back.

"The Wolf has arrived!" Braden bowed, his goofy smile visible in the dark. He tossed a flashlight to Halona, who turned it on.

"You're so weird," Halona said, laughing. She didn't know how, but Braden would always make her forget her worries.

"Hey! What happened to your face?" Braden rushed toward Halona and examined her nose.

Halona had forgotten about the paper cuts. "It's just a small scratch. Courtesy of Ethan." Halona rolled her eyes as her memories of yesterday came flooding back.

"That boy who's been bullying you? I swear, I'm going to-"

"Let's not talk about this now. You have work to do." Halona opened Braden's bag, which he had dropped on the floor. She pulled out the spray paint.

"Alright. I was thinking of recreating one of your old sketches. How about the Siberian Tiger one?" Braden pulled up his mask and handed an identical one to Halona.

"Yeah! It's going to look so cool!" Halona said, putting on her mask. She sat down, crossing her legs. She watched Braden as he recreated her artwork, adding his own touches here and there. She had always admired him, and he inspired her to be a better artist.

Halona had first met Braden when she was six years old. He had been using chalk to draw on trees. Halona had joined him and every day, they would create their little chalk art. Braden's parents never really cared about him, so he would sometimes spend the night in Halona's backyard. Halona's parents never noticed because they were too busy with their environmental work, and she liked to keep it that way. Once Halona turned eighteen, they planned on running away together, to become famous artists that traveled the world. Or rather, the country. There was no way they were getting past the large wall that surrounded Marolo.

The two of them stayed silent, neither of them uttering a single word. They didn't want to ruin the art with noises. Suddenly, Halona heard a car door shutting in the distance.

"Braden, did you hear that?" Halona asked her friend, but he had already stopped painting. He grabbed his flashlight and turned it off, Halona doing the same.

"Halona, listen to me. You need to get out of here, now." Braden rushed over to Halona and pulled her hood over her head.

"What? No way. I'm not leaving you behind," Halona said, trying to sound confident, but her hands were shaking.

"This isn't the time to act brave. Now go hide!" Braden snapped as he pulled Halona to her feet and shoved her behind a wall.

Halona held her breath as she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart was racing and she felt a shiver run down her back. She hoped that it was just the police, but deep down, she knew that it was much, much worse.