When we had returned home, Kero sat down alone for a long time. I sat down to think too. Why would they say that I might kill Kero? I knew for a fact that I would never, ever, want to hurt him. Everyone came and asked us what happened and everyone was shocked. I knew that my new friends were all starting to worry about having me around now, everyone except Chirpy.

After a long time, Kero finally came and talked to me. "Hey, I just realized that I have never given you a tour of the house." He smiled a warm smile.

I looked up at him. "Kero... I know you're-"

"No." He said, not letting me finish. "I'm not worried about having you here. I know for a fact that you would never hurt me on purpose."

I smiled at him.

"Come on, next time I forget to leave you a midnight snack, you shouldn't need to get lost, okay?" He sneezed right when he finished his sentence.

I laughed.

For the rest of the evening, he showed me around and even told me how to easily get from my room to the kitchen.

"There's one more room that I want to show you." He said as he guided me through the hallway.

"What's in it?" I asked.

"You'll see." He smiled.

As we walked down the hall I started to hear a flute playing. Kero stopped in front of a door and smiled. "Are you ready?" He asked.

I nodded eagerly.

He opened the door and I was surprised by Chirpy playing the flute. He reminded me of the Hindu god Krishna, a god who plays the flute. Krishna was one of my favourite gods; he was also the one that I prayed to the most.

Chirpy looked up. "Hey guys!" He smiled.

"You play the flute?" I asked as I rushed into the room. I then gasped when I saw that this room was filled with instruments. I turned to Kero. "Wow." I said.

Kero smiled.

I turned to Chirpy. "Can I see?" I asked, holding my hands out.

Chirpy grinned and handed me the wooden flute. "You play so well!" I said.

"Thanks!"

"Can you please teach me?" I asked.

Chirpy grinned. "Sure!"

"Do you play any other instruments?"

Chirpy nodded. "I can play the violin and the clarinet and the ancient drums and I can play the piano, but not very well-"

"Is there a piano here?" I asked, looking around. "And wow! You play so many!"

Chirpy smiled and looked at Kero.

Kero walked towards a large object that was covered with a cloth. He pulled the cloth off and revealed the large, strange looking, grand piano.

I gasped.

Kero sat on the bench and sighed.

I ran to his side. "Do you play?" I asked, eagerly.

Kero laughed. "Barely." He tried to play a C Major scale but struggled. "This was my mothers. She used to play all the time... she was supposed to teach me."

I sat down next to him and smiled.

"I'm sick Aathy..." He said. "I don't think you should sit that close to me."

I frowned. "Well then don't sneeze on me."

Kero surprised me by laughing.

I looked at the Piano, it was made of black, shiny ebony but seemed to look like a slightly dark shade of blue. "It's beautiful." I said. "Was your mother good?"

"She was amazing!" Chirpy exclaimed as he sat down on the other side of me. "Kero, Serpethion and I used to always sit right there" -he pointed at a long sofa- "and listen to her play."

"Wow." I said.

Chirpy looked at me. "You used to play, right?" He asked.

I nodded. I used to. I stopped playing two years ago because Cecile told me that only losers play the piano.

"Do you mind playing something?" Kero asked me.

I looked at him. I remembered how mad he and all my friends were when I said I didn't want to play anymore. He was almost as mad as my dad was. "It's been two years..." I said.

"So?" Chirpy asked. "I'm sure you'll remember how to play if you try."

I hesitated, but placed my fingers on the cold keys. I played the different scales and triads and arpeggios and smiled when I realized how quickly they came to me. I then played Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John. It was one of my favourite songs to play on the piano.

When I finished, Kero smiled, he seemed absolutely pleased. "Well done!"

I grinned.

"Why did you stop playing again?" Chirpy asked after he finished applauding me.

I sighed. "For a stupid reason."

"You should start playing again." He said.

I nodded as I touched the keys and remembered how much I loved playing. I also remembered how much my dad loved sitting and listening to me play.

My dad was so mad and even more upset when I told him that I didn't want to play anymore. He spent so much money on our Piano, which is sitting in the corner of our living room and so much money on classes... I guess I can understand why he would be upset.

"Will you start playing again?" Kero asked.

I looked at him. There was something on his face that told me that he really wanted me to start playing again. "I dunno Kero... I'm in grade twelve now... would I even have time to go to classes and stuff?"

Kero shrugged. "If you want, you should do it." He then got up and walked away from me.

"What?" I asked.

He sneezed loudly and Chirpy and I started to laugh.

I held onto my Piano books and stepped in between my dad and the TV.

I thought about the Piano thing for the rest of the weekend and realized that it wouldn't be a bad idea to start playing again. I used to love it, and I was sure that if I started again, I would love it again too. I had just gotten home and decided that I would surprise my dad and tell him that I want to play again.

"Dad... I want to start learning how to play the Piano again." I said.

My dad stared at me. "What?"

I frowned. "I said I wanna play Piano again."

My dad's serious face broke out into a smile. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Why do you all of a sudden want to start again?" He asked.

I shrugged. "At Kero's place... I was reminded of how much I loved to play. They have a really nice piano and Kero and Chirpy asked me to play and then Kero told me that I should start playing again and I guess that made me decide that I want to actually do it."

My dad looked at Kero and surprised me by smiling at him.

I could tell that Kero was surprised by this as well because he looked startled.

My dad got up and walked over to the corner of the room. He lifted the cover off the piano and I covered my nose as the dust flew off. Wow, I never realized that I hadn't played for that long!

My dad turned to me. "Would you like me to tell your mother to call your teacher?" He asked.

I nodded.

Just then, my mom opened the door and walked in with a lot of shopping bags, my Aunty Seretha followed. "Welcome back you two!" My mom said, smiling.

My aunty smiled at us too but then noticed Kero. "My, my. What happened to you?" She asked.

Kero frowned. "I'm sick..."

My aunty opened her mouth to speak but my dad yelled over her.

"Malia!" He called, with a grin.

My mother looked at him, confused.

"Call up William and ask him if he can start Piano lessons with Aathy again."

I smiled as I remembered my Piano teacher, the most amazing music teacher and pianist in the world, at least in my opinion.

Plus, he's a performer. He spends most of his free time traveling around North America and sometimes the world to play the piano. I think that shows how talented he is.

My mom smiled at me. "I'm glad you want to start again!"

I smiled back. "So am I."

She continued to smile her warm, motherly smile but then turned to Kero. "So, are you really sick, sweetheart?" She asked him.

He sighed, but nodded.

My mom walked towards him and took his hand. "I know exactly what you need to get better!"

Kero frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't think human medications work on Raakshyans." Kero said and then coughed.

My aunty laughed. "Oh no Keroshan, this treatment will probably work!"

Kero raised an eyebrow.

My mom took Kero into the kitchen and told him to wait. She quickly pulled out a large pot and filled it with water. "My mother used to make me do this whenever I was sick." She said as she waited for the water to fill. She then put it on the stove and as it began to boil, she started cutting lemons and limes. "It's something everyone does back at home." She said. She dropped the lemons into the boiling water.

"What do you mean, back home?" Kero asked as he watched her drop a bunch a teabags into the pot.

"I'm from Jaffna dear. You know, in Sri Lanka? This is how we treated stuffy noses and sore throats." She smiled.

"Oh, yes, I remember."

My mom smiled as she reached up to the top cupboard and pulled out some leaves.

I smiled. Those were the herbal leaves the smelled amazing. I stuck my hand out, grinning at my mom.

My mom rolled her eyes and handed me a leaf.

I took a deep breath, the nice, ginger like smell was wonderful. This was the main ingredient in my mom's mixture

She grinded a couple leaves up and dropped it into the boiling water. She mixed everything up and let it sit for a while as it continued to boil. She then turned to Kero. "Do you know what to do?"

Kero hesitated but placed his face over the steaming pot and took deep breaths.

"Good boy!" My mom praised as she put the towel over his head. "You're going to start feeling better very soon!"

"Thank you." Kero said.

"Malia!" My dad called.

My mom turned around. "Yes?"

"Are you going to call William?" He asked, impatiently. My mother sighed. "Yes dear." She said as she turned around to face me and roll her eyes.

I laughed.

I woke up early on Tuesday after hearing a strange and loud commotion. I was then startled by a scream. I jumped out of my bed and ran down the stairs and saw my mother on the phone.

"Tell her to breath! Breath! Hurry and get her to the hospital!" She screamed into the phone.

"What's wrong mom? What's wrong?" I yelled.

My dad came running down the stairs along with my brother. "Malia?" My dad called.

"Okay, okay! Hold on, we're going to leave in a few minutes! Just get her to the hospital!" She then cut the phone and rushed past us up the stairs. "Hurry up and get ready! You have five minutes!" She yelled.

I stared.

"What?" My brother asked.

"Aunty Dilna is having her baby!" My mom yelled from the top of the staircase.

My dad surprised me by bursting out into laughter. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this? I thought someone died!"

My mom glared at him. "Get. Ready." She said, angrily.

I started laughing when my dad frowned and walked up the stairs. My mom always took births and stuff really seriously. She always wanted to be there, she always wanted to see her new niece or nephew right when they were born.

I ended up not going to school that day but of course, I didn't mind. I was absolutely pleased with the idea of spending time with our new family member, Thenushan. He was an adorable little baby and barely cried. Not to mention the fact that I love babies.

But strangely, I hadn't seen Kero at all that day.

With all the craziness going on because of the baby, I ended up going to sleep very late that day and waking up very late the next morning. Thankfully tough, I was able to get ready quickly and make it to school fifteen minutes before the bell. I hated being late. Some teachers made us dance or sing.

I walked into the school and smiled at the passing people as I looked for my friends.

"Aathiray!" I heard Lila call. I turned around and saw her run up to me. "Where were you?" She looked strangely excited.

I raised an eyebrow. "I called you yesterday morning." I said. "And I told you what happened."

She thought for a second. "Oh yeah!" She said. "Sorry, I'm suddenly so distracted now."

"Why?" I asked as we both started walking.

She stepped closer to me. "We have a new Philosophy teacher."

My eyebrows shot up. "What? What happened to Ms. Danto?" I thought of the grumpy old lady that hated her job. Had she finally quit?

"Apparently she fell down the stairs at the school and got so pissed at the school that she left."

"She got pissed at the school?" I asked, confused.

She shrugged. "Who cares. But listen!" She pulled me closer and linked arms with me. "New Bio teacher! Super cool. Super awesome. Super chill. And super hot!"

I burst out laughing. "Isn't it illegal to check out your teachers?" I asked.

"No. It's illegal to date your teacher." She corrected.

I continued to laugh. "Who is he?" I asked, getting quite interested myself.

"Mr. Nathan John. Don't ask me how I know his first name."

"How do you know his first name?" I asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Nita is totally obsessed with him, she searched him up on facebook or something."

I opened my mouth to complain but she didn't let me speak.

"And he's twenty-four! Fresh out of university! Nita found that out too."

"Okay, that, I'm sure, is illegal!"

"Who cares." Lila said. "It's not like I expect him to marry me. Is it so wrong for a girl to dream?" She asked, dramatically.

I burst out laughing and Lila joined me.

When we were done laughing, Lila continued to explain how hot this teacher was. "He has a piercing. He's like, tall and has a medium build and he looks so sexy in those collared shirts. And he's an amazing teacher!"

I frowned. "Hey, you've only had him for a day!"

"First impressions are the best impressions."

"Lila!" I heard Tiana call.

I waved at her and Ivana, Chanu and Nivea as they walked towards us but Lila surprised me by ignoring them. "Oh gosh... he's coming! I want you to slowly turn around and look at him, he's wearing the black collared shirt and he's got short hair and is carrying the grade 12 Biology textbook in his right hand."

I slowly turned around and looked for a beautiful teacher. After a short moment of looking around, I gasped and turned around to face Lila again. "He is hot!"

She grinned and then turned to face the glaring Tiana.

Tiana opened her mouth to say something, but Lila turned around. "Hey Mr. John!" She said as he walked by.

He stopped walking and turned around. He looked at Lila for a second, like he was trying to remember something. "...Lila, right?" He asked.

Lila grinned, obviously happy with the fact that he remembered her name. "Yup!"

He grinned too. "I'm getting better at remembering names!" He had a hot, deep voice.

Lila pulled me forward. "This is Aathiray!" She said. "She's in your class."

"Aathiray?" He said with some difficulty.

I smiled. "You can call me Aathy, for short."

"Thanks! I'm so glad you have a short, it's easier to remember." He smiled at me. I then realized that there was something different about him. Maybe it was that he was conversing with his students... most teachers don't do that.

"Anyway, I've got to run to the staff room. I'll see you girls in class, don't skip." He winked at us and walked away.

Lila started fanning herself. "I'm not going to survive in his class. I'm going to die."

I laughed. "If you keep acting like this, he's going to find out that you're checking him out."

She shrugged and then looked at Tiana, who was standing with her arms crossed, tapping her right foot. "Hey!" She said to our friends.

"I cannot believe that your crush on this teacher is more important than informing Aathy of our dilemma." She said, angrily.

"What dilemma?" Lila and I asked together.

Ivana rolled her eyes. "The Jacob thing?"

"Oh yeah!" Lila said. She then turned to me. "Jacob's an ass." She said, bluntly.

I frowned. "Oh common, don't be mean!" Lila and Tiana always argued with Jacob, so I wasn't surprised that they were upset with him. I always thought that that was what showed them as best friends. Best friends always get into fights.

"No, seriously." Nivea said.

"What did he do?" I asked, with a smile.

"Why don't you ask him?" Chanu suggested. "He just walked to his locker."

I turned around and saw Jacob opening his locker. There was something different about him. He looked paler. I suddenly started to panic. Ohmygosh! Could have started to smoke? Or drink even? Oh gosh! Please tell me he's not on drugs! I quickly rushed to Jacob, who turned around and smiled.

"Hey Ray!" He said. His eyes looked darker.

"Jacob, what's wrong?" I asked, placing the back of my hand on his forehead.

"I stayed up all night." He said with a frown. "Do I really look that bad?"

I sighed with relief. "Yes, unfortunately."

His frown deepened. "Wonderful." He said.

"Why don't you just hurry up and tell her what you've done!" Tiana said.

I turned around and looked at her. "Okay, what's up? You guys are making me nervous!"

Jacob put his Chemistry textbook into his bag. "They're all pissed at me." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he's an ass!" Lila answered.

"And he has totally betrayed us!" Chanu added.

"Isn't there some friendship code that you broke?" Ivana asked.

Nivea looked at Ivana. "There is, I'm sure of it."

I looked at Jacob. "Okay, what's going on?"

Jacob slammed his locker door shut. "Apparently I did something wrong." He said, angrily.

"Just spit it out!" Tiana yelled.

Jacob glared at her but then turned to me. "Cecile asked me out." Jacob said.

I felt a sudden nervousness rip through me. "And..."

"And I said yes." He shrugged.

I gasped. "What?!"

He rolled his eyes. "Not you too..."

"Jacob Ryazan! How could you?!" I yelled.

"Are you serious?" He asked.

"Jacob! She isn't the right girl for you! You deserve much more than that... that... slut!"

"Aathiray, that's my girlfriend. You just called my girlfriend a slut." He said. I could tell he was getting angry.

"Why did you say yes to her? Is it because she's popular? Is it because she's pretty?"

"I'm shocked that you would accuse me for liking a girl for her looks." He glared.

"That's all she has! She doesn't have a personality! She doesn't have brains!"

"Shut up Aathiray! You are insulting my girlfriend!"

"Jacob! Are you freaking serious? You-"

"Jake?" I heard Cecile called.

He turned around and looked at her.

There was nothing different about Cecile. She was wearing short shorts (even though it was starting to get cold) and a tight, see through, and deep, white shirt. "Is something wrong?" She asked, looking straight at me.

Jacob shook his head. "No, of course not."

She smiled, still looking at me. "Good." She then looked at Jacob. "Let's go, classes are going to start!"

Jacob smiled and took her hand. He then turned to us. "I'll talk to you guys later." He said. I could still hear his anger.

As they walked away, I watched Cecile, who turned and looked at me. She smiled, no, sneered and I suddenly remembered that she wasn't a human.

I then wondered if Jacob knew. I turned around and told my friend quickly, and they started to panic. They thought she was going to kill him, but I was sure that she wasn't that evil.

School went by slowly that day. Jacob didn't come see us at lunch and I didn't even see him after school at our lockers. I was upset. Had I hurt his feelings?

No. Whether I hurt his feelings or not, I knew that Cecile wasn't the one for him. She was going to hurt him and as much as I hate to admit it, I think she's using him.

When I got home that evening, I saw Kero sitting on the porch. "Hey Kero."

He looked up and smiled but his smile faded immediately. "Did you fail a test?" He asked.

I frowned at him. "No." I said as I sat down next to him.

"Then what's wrong?"

I shrugged, not knowing what to say. My mind was too busy trying to think of what to do. "So, why'd you just disappear?" I asked.

"Sorry, I just had some things I needed to do and I have to thank your mother." He took a deep breath. "I feel as good as new... I can't believe your human stuff worked on me..."

I smiled. "My mom's pretty awesome."

He chuckled. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

I sighed, but I started to feel strangely happy. I was glad that Kero could tell that I was upset, even when I was smiling. Isn't that what most girls want their boyfriends to be able to do?

"Well?"

I looked at the floor and frowned. "Jacob's going out with Cecile..." I said.

"What?!"

"That was my exact reaction too." I picked up a stick and scratched the floor with it.

"Wait... are you serious?"

"Yes."

"But... Jacob?"

"Yes." I turned and looked at Kero.

He looked absolutely shocked. "But..."

"I know, I couldn't believe it either." I looked away. "Kero... I think something's up... I think she's using him... I mean, I'm not saying that Jacob isn't the type of guy that girls would go after but... he's a good guy. Cecile isn't into good guys."

"Maybe she changed..."

"No. I know she hasn't changed! She honestly sneered at me when she left with Jake."

Kero raised an eyebrow. "I'm actually surprised, have you talked to him about it?"

"I tried..."

"What did you say?" He seemed worried.

"I called Cecile a slut and he got pissed."

Kero sighed. "Well done." He said sarcastically.

I sighed.

"Maybe you should try being more nice about it. I'm sure that would help... I mean if he actually loves her then I wouldn't be surprised if he got pissed."

I frowned. "He can't be in love with her already..."

Kero looked at me for a moment. "I think you're worrying too much Aathiray." He said. "Just relax. I'm sure Jacob is smart enough to make sure he isn't used by someone. I'm sure he has a good reason for liking her and you should talk to him about it. You two are best friends and I'm sure he wants you to know what's going on between them."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"And you should apologize for insulting Cecile."

I didn't like that idea but I nodded. "Yeah... I should."

He leaned forward and kissed me and I kissed him back. It was funny how his kiss made me feel so much better.

But then I heard someone clear their throat.

Kero and I pulled away and I felt my cheeks heat up when I saw my brother.

"Why are you two sitting on the porch?" He asked.

"I... er... just got home..."

My brother looked at me for a while and then looked at Kero.

Kero got up. "I don't have a key to your house so I was just waiting for Aathy to get home." He said, awkwardly.

My brother looked back at me as I got up too but walked past me and opened the door.

Kero looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh, probably because of my embarrassment.

How wonderful.

I hadn't seen Jacob at all until after school the next day. I had decided, the night before, that I was going to apologize to Jacob, but Tiana, Lila, Ivana, Nivea and Chanu didn't seem to like that idea.

"Why?" Chanu asked. "You were being honest and serious."

"But if he really likes her then... I was being mean too."

Tiana sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Aathy's right."

Ivana frowned. "Make sure you ask him why the hell is he going out with her, okay?"

I nodded as I turned around and walked to my locker.

As expected, he was stuffing his bag with books.

"Hey Jake." I waved.

He turned around and frowned. "What?"

I frowned too. "I said hey."

"What do you want, Aathiray?"

I crossed my arms and looked at him. "I wanted to apologize for being rude yesterday."

He seemed quite shocked. "Really?"

"Yes, Jacob, really."

"Oh." He said. "Well, whatever."

"So, are you mad at me?"

He was silent for a second. "No." He said, but his eyes seemed to flash when he looked at me. "Actually, yes."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I'm surprised that your own feelings for her are more important to you than mine are. I mean, you didn't even consider the fact that I might be in love with her."

"I was shocked Jacob, I couldn't believe that you were going out with her! I still can't believe you're going out with her!"

"Why? Why is it so hard to believe?"

"Because... she isn't your type!"

"Yes, because you would know who's more my type than I would." He said, sarcastically.

"Jacob! I'm only saying this as a friend! I don't think that-"

"Just because you hate her doesn't mean I have to."

"I never said you have to! But you know her just as well as I do! She went out with Chris!"

"So? You liked Chris, didn't you?"

"I didn't know that he was a bad person."

"How do you know that Cecile is a bad person?"

"Because she went out with Chris!"

"Oh please!" He yelled. "You hated her long before you found out that Chris was a bad person!"

I stared at him.

"You've always been a drama queen." He rolled his eyes when I scoffed. "You're just upset that now that I have a girlfriend, I won't be spending as much time as you'd like with you."

I laughed at that. "Jacob, you're kidding right?"

"When you started dating Kero, did I ever say anything rude about it? Did I ever admit that I had a problem?"

"And why the hell would you have a problem with me going out with Kero? He's a good guy! He's nice, he cares about me and is the total opposite of Cecile! Why would you have a problem with Kero?"

"Well, since you're asking, why don't I tell you? First of all, do you not find the fact that Kero has been living with you for over seven years, in any sort of way, creepy? Are you not at all disgusted by the fact that you two have shared a bed and he's licked your cheek since you were a child? Well I find that very disturbing!"

"Don't worry, I handled that, I hit him with a baseball bat, remember?" I yelled back.

"So? That doesn't change anything! What if he's been in love with you since the day he met you? When you were, what, ten?"

"Shut up Jacob! He wasn't in love with me when I was ten!"

"How do you know?"

"Because that's disgusting!"

"Exactly my point."

I glared at him. "What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm trying to prove that Keroshan is a creepy pedophile and you're in love with a creepy pedophile."

I bit my lip, trying to hold back my urge to yell at him and tell him that Kero isn't a pedophile.

"So, do you agree with me?" He smiled. "Now, here are some other reasons towards why I dislike Kero. First, he's actually over two hundred years old. Second, he wants to kill his dad-"

"Shut up, Jacob."

"Now you know how I felt, right?"

"But Kero is a good person."

"And Cecile isn't?"

"No!" I yelled.

"Oh shut up Aathiray! Stop being a bitch and get over it, no matter what happens, I'm not going to listen to you when it comes to Cecile."

I felt my heart sink. Did he just call me a bitch? Jacob never said that word. I have never until this day, heard him use that word. He knew I hated it. He knew how offensive I thought it was. I stared at him and he stared back.

"I'm serious." He said.

My stare turned into a glare. "You just called me a bitch."

He raised his eyebrows. "That's not the-"

"I can't believe you just called me a bitch!" I yelled.

"What?!" I heard Ivana yell.

"He called you a what?!" Lila yelled.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Perfect."

I felt the tears fill my eyes. "Jacob, you're supposed to be one of my best friends."

"Well, I guess I'm not then."

I turned around and walked away, letting my real friends cuss Jacob all they wanted.