Freya

7_School Somebody Help

I'm watching the sunrise from my window seat, thoughts of my parents and brother whirling through my head.
What are they doing now? Are they even thinking about me? If they are they worried? As much as I want to pick up my phone and facetime them, I promised that I wouldn't contact them. I
wouldn't do anything that would put me or anyone around me in danger.

It's not as if I'll be able to contact them when my old phone got thrown into the ocean anyways.... kidding but I do not know where Gracie took it. Nobody ever tells me anything yet I'm at the centre of it all....the irony. How am I going to cope with the school issue? I have never stepped a foot inside a classroom, much less been surrounded by so many people all at once. Will I fit in? Will I be able to pull off being a random teenager
whose only worries are making friends
and trying to survive high school? It's hard enough that I'm trying to survive my whole existence.

I don't know for how long I've been sitting by the window before heading to the bathroom and taking a shower. I don't know if everyone is awake yet or maybe I just woke up too early. Dressed in sweats, I head downstairs, taking in every feature of the house, from the light colours coating the walls, to the spiralling staircase.

" Where is everyone?" I ask myself. "Are you talking to yourself madam" a familiar voice asks me. Turning around
and smiling like crazy, I come face to face with Chema. " You're here?...but how....you..." "At least a hug first" he says , pulling me into a tight hug. " I
thought you'd be in Spain.... how did you get here?"

" Well apparently someone can't do without me around", " You know Gracie would never say that to you right?", "She's simply in denial, no one can resist the great charms of Chema Luis not even the queen of guns and ice herself. Where is she anyways I thought she'd be the one to open me with open arms"
he says, all the while smiling to himself.
How can Gracie not even see that this man is crazy about her?

" Gracie would actually punch you in the face the minute you step out of the door and that's saying a lot. But I'm sure
that somewhere in her heart she loves you" I tell him. " Who loves who?" Gracie asks, already walking towards us. How does she make her footsteps so quiet? " I asked a question?" she looks at me and then at Chema, an emotion crossing her features before masking it all up. " You....", " No one" Chema and I both shout.

" Chema here was just telling me about his latest fling and it seems that she is in love with him." For some reason, saying anything related to Chema and Gracie being together always seems to upset her, hence the reason for my lie. But looking at her, it seems to have upset her even more. Chema just stares at her, not saying a word. " Well of course... just don't bring them to this house because I'll not to be blamed if I shoot both your brains out"

There's a cold edge in her voice, completely different from the warm soft
tone I'm used and it scares me a little.
"There's no need for all of that Gracie...
Chema was..." , " No Freya....he shouldn't even be talking to you about
such disgusting behaviour and you can't you see that she's just a child... breakfast
is ready, you need to eat"  she says before walking back in the direction she
came from. Honestly I can't keep up with this woman.

Chema and I just stand there dumbfounded. " She...what just happened?" I ask Chema. " Don't worry
your pretty head dear" he says ruffling
my hair. " Don't do that it's bad enough I have to straighten this hair every morning. How can you let her talk to you like that? Did something happen
between you two? I've never seen Gracie behave with anyone like she does what happened Chema?

I can't have my favourite people not being able to stand in the same room
and why did she call me Freya?" I ask
him, puzzled. " Don't worry child, I'm only here for you. I won't start anything that I can promise you. Nothing happened between Gracie and I ,that's the truth. Freya is your name now and it will be for as long as we're staying here. I'm going to head up to my room, I'll join you in a while" he gives me a sad
smile before going upstairs.

Later after getting a tour of the house from Gracie since breakfast got delayed
due to godmother's late online conference, we're currently sitting outside in the garden having brunch. And let me just say awkward is not even enough to describe the tension choking the air around Gracie and Chema. I don't believe either of them when they tell me nothing happened , something
did happen, the what is the question.
Even godmother senses it because she
decides to confront the situation.

" Is there a reason why you're both so
tensed and barely looking up from your food?" They both look up from their food, then at each other before looking
at godmother... definitely. "No....not at all Mrs Montero" Chema quickly replies.
"Is that true Gracie?" my godmother asks, focusing her body language on Gracie and the only thing giving her away is the constant grip on her fork.

" We just had a misunderstanding about
Freya's after school activities which mostly include different forms of self defense." Gracie says, her face void of any emotions. She seems to be doing a lot of it lately whenever Chema is concerned. Backtrack self defense classes? And that name again...rub it in why don't you. As much as I can understand everything going on, accepting it is much harder than it sounds.

" Is all that necessary?" I ask, Chema and Gracie's issue long forgotten. " Well
yes Freya, you need to be able to put up a fight in case you're in danger. There's nothing as easy as a weak target" Gracie
says. " You need to be able to protect yourself when we might not be able to.
We might be distracted or worse and we
wouldn't want you defenceless" Chema adds. " I understand but honestly it's all just hard to take in and no one around here tells me anything unless it's two days before. I'm the one they are looking for, I'm the one who got shot and I'm the one who's going to die."

They all look at me in all the ways I don't want to be looked at right now: pity, weak, as if I'm so breakable and I hate all of it. " Freya...." Gracie softly says, that voice always reserved for me, as if I can't handle someone shouting or yelling at me. " Quilandra.... that's my name. Do I have to be reminded that I messed up? One day is all I'm asking please or have I lost the right to dictate what I want as well? " Silence is all I get after my outburst.

Since everyone is just quiet, I grab the paper Chema was going to give me and scanning it, it's a list of the self defense classes I have to choose from. Not bothering to read it, I mindlessly tick a few blocks. Apparently nobody is ready to say anything just yet. Was I out of line? I'm frustrated, they are not the ones with a life falling apart and they'll never understand.

" Thank you for breakfast but I'm not hungry anymore. I'll be in my room" and with a last look at all of them, I run to the comfort of my room.