Chapter 1 - A new start - part 2
In a secluded part of Chambers Lake Park, two people men sparring. There was no sound except the clanging of their blades, and their occasional growls and gasps. Neither was giving in to the other, their moves almost identical in power and strength. But one of the men was older and more experienced. He had also been the one to teach his sparring partner. So he knew his moves before he made them. As a result, the fight abruptly ended when the youngest man found himself lying on the ground, breathless and sweaty. His mentor had tricked him into going in the wrong direction, so he was able to him off balance and send him crashing to the floor.
"Argh! I always get caught by that one." the young man grumbled.
"Because I never do it quite the same way," his mentor explained. "Your technique and drive are flawless. You just have to remember never-"
"Never let the enemy predict my moves. I know." the student said.
"Exactly."
"Well, why do you keep beating me, then?" the younger man said moodily.
"Because I've known you for so long," the mentor answered. "I've told you before. And because I'm the one who taught you your moves, so I know how to block them," he added with a smile.
They sat down in the grass, panting slightly. The mentor checked his watch. That simple gesture seemed odd when he'd just been fighting for an hour.
"I had better go." the young man said, standing up. "My first class is in half an hour."
His mentor nodded and got to his feet too, but before letting his student go, he caught his shoulder and said:
"You know you can't tell them yet. Don't you? Not even her."
"Of course I do." his student answered, though he didn't meet his eyes. "I said I wouldn't. I don't have to like it."
"B-"
"I know why I can't. I still don't like it." he interrupted.
His mentor sighed. His student was goodhearted and strong, but he was also quite stubborn when he wanted.
"Alright. You know how to reach me if you need me."
"Yes," his student answered.
The mentor closed his eyes, and felt his body change. He had used his power to take on a physical form, so he could train his protégé, but was unable to use the rest of what powers he had left when he was in this form. So he preferred to become a spirit again, so he could intervene if necessary. His student watched as his mentor was surrounded by a bright light, and eventually, he reappeared, still the same, except he was no longer flesh and blood, only a spirit.
"Are you ready?"
"Of course." his student said. "It's only high school. What can happen?"
Andie and the new girl walked down the hall towards their lockers to gather their things for their evening homework.
"Thanks..." said the stranger in a small voice.
"That's okay. He's an idiot, but no one stands up to him. It aggravates me."
To her astonishment, the girl laughed.
"... What?" Andie asked, wondering if she should be offended or not.
"Oh, I'm sorry... I'm not laughing at you... it's just... I don't think I know anyone our age who says aggravates, anymore!"
Andie couldn't resist. She laughed too.
"I'm Isabelle," the stranger said. "Isabelle Woodland."
"Andie Galestone." Andie replied, smiling and holding out her hand.
Isabelle shook it. She was very pretty, Andie noticed as she looked at her. Short wavy blond hair that came down to her shoulders, large bright blue eyes, smooth white skin and a medium build. Andie was more or less the same, if a tiny bit taller and her hair was shorter, reaching just below the ears. Her mother always had short hair and had insisted her daughter do the same.
"It's so much simpler and more practical," she would always say. "And very modern."
Now Andie didn't disagree, she thought to herself as she closed her locker. When you were a lawyer or a doctor, you didn't want your hair using your precious time. But she was neither, nor was she going to be. But her mother had kept her hair short all her childhood, and now it didn't seem to want to grow anymore. It was frustrating. But she didn't want her hair to be a constant bother, so she tried not to think about it too much.
"I have to head home, are you okay getting back on your own?"
"It's okay, I'll take the bus."
But just as they reached the parking lot, the bus was turning the corner.
"Oh, drat! Now, what...?" Isabelle groaned. "My Dad's out of town, my mom's working late and I have to take care of my sisters!"
"I'll give you a ride, don't worry." Andie said. "C'mon, my car's just over there."
She led Isabelle to a shiny Ford in the corner of the parking lot, which was now virtually empty.
"Sorry..." Isabelle said as Andie started the engine.
"I'm the one who made you miss your bus, it's the least I can do. Where d'you live?"
"On Herman Road, just outside Chambers Lake Park."
Andie turned out of the parking lot.
"I used to go to that park when I was younger!" Andie said with a smile.
"You grew up here?"
"Not really. I was in Denver until I was eleven and then I moved here. But I was a bit of an oddball in my middle school. It took me a while to make friends." Meet in Middle school.
"Oh, those two girls I saw you with earlier?"
"Jessica and Emily, yeah. I'll have introduce you guys tomorrow."
"Well..."
"Don't worry, they won't bite. Well, Emily won't. Jess is a bit more of a wild one." She smiled. "But she's nice. Crazy as they come, but let's face it, who isn't?"
Eventually, they reached the Woodland residence.
"Nice house," Andie said as she parked the car.
"Thanks. My parents fell in love with it and bought it. Come on in, I'll show you."
"I don't want to be a bother."
"Don't worry about it."
"Okay."
"Oh, you're probably busy..."
"My mom's home, she can take care of my sister. I'll just tell her I'll be a little late."
So she did, and followed Isabelle inside. It was elegantly decorated while remaining inviting and warm.
"Wow..."
"Yeah. Courtesy of my mom, she's an interior decorator. She's just starting up her business, so she's really busy."
"What does your dad do?"
"He got hired at a law firm. Swanson Law, I think it was."
"You're kidding? That's where both my parents work!"
Isabelle gaped and they burst out laughing.
"What are the odds, right?"
"I know!" Andie smiled. "It's lucky we get along, or it could have made things complicated if they got us all together!"
They laughed heartily at the thought.
"Well, all this laughing makes me thirsty. D'you want some soda?"
"Yes, please," Andie said, her laughs subsiding.
Just then, a small girl with jet black hair came hurrying in.
"Izzie, who's that?"
"Don't be rude, Ella," Isabelle chidded. "Sorry, it's Eleonore, she's five and very rude."
"It's okay, she's cute."
"Yeah? Try living with her, she's a real monster," Isabelle said, but she was grinning fondly
"Izzie, I want some soda!"
"You're having orange juice, sweetie, you know what mom says about you having too much sugar."
"Aww..."
"Come on," Isabelle said, ushering her sister to the kitchen.
"Is she your only sister?" Andie asked, following.
Isabelle sighed with a smile.
"Sadly, no, I have two more. Thankfully, they're a little older." She said. "I have a brother too, he's off in Chicago studying History."
"Wow."
Isabelle prroduced a tray on which were balanced a platter of cookies, a glass of orange juice and two cans of soda.
"Cookies!"
"No, Ella, you're having an apple," Isabelle said. "Andie, could you grab her an apple from the bowl behind you?"
"Sure," Andie said, turning round and picking one up.
She looked round again just in time to catch Ella reach for a cookie while Isabelle was putting the soda cans on coasters.
"Whoa, not so fast!" she said, pulling her away. "Here."
"I don't want an apple, I want a cookie!"
"Ella!" Isabelle chided. "Don't be rude to our guest."
"I want a cookie!"
"Hey, is half a cookie okay?" Andie asked Isabelle.
Isabelle seemed to hesitate.
"Well... I guess..."
Andie crouched to be at eye level with Ella.
"I have an idea. You eat your apple, and you can have half a cookie. Deal?"
Eleonore didn't seem too happy about it.
"Okay..." she said finally.
She took the apple. Andie straightened up and Isabelle stared, her pretty blue eyes wide.
"... How did you do that?" she asked.
"My mom always taught me to compromise. It's the best way to get what you want and keep everyone happy. She specializes in divorce cases. My dad is more often dealing with homicide suspects or victims of fraud and the like."
"Wow. My dad does what he calls the "big battles".
"You mean against big companies?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Andie bit into a cookie.
"Mh! These are amazing, did you bake these?"
"My mom did. But I know the recipe, so I think I could."
Isabelle was watching her sister so she didn't try and sneak another cookie.
"So, how are you doing? I was new too, I know how awkward it can feel."
"Oh, it's okay. I mean, I met you, right?"
Andie smiled.
They talked a while more, then Andie thought it was best she go back home.
"Thanks for the ride," Isabelle said as she walked her to her car after securely locking away the sweets and soft drinks.
"That's okay. It was a pleasure. I'll see you at school." Andie replied with a smile.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Andie waved as she drove off. As she reached her own home, she couldn't help but think that she and Isabelle had several things in common. Their parents worked in the same firm (maybe even together), they both had younger siblings they were often entrusted with, and probably often felt a little frustrated at always having to be the responsible, reliable one. Not that they didn't love their siblings. Andie was the first to say she'd do anything for Hannah, and Isabelle clearly cared too, since she didn't let them eat too many sweet things. Only people who cared troubled themselves with that. It was just sometimes a bit of a burden to lways have to seldom be able to do things for yourself. Presently, she got home. She only had time to put her keys on the hook near the door when a auburn hurricane hurtled into the hallway.
"Andie!" called Hannah.
Andie smiled and lifted her up. She was eight, and a bit heavy, but Andie didn't care.
"Hey, little monster, how was your day?"
"Great! I already made two friends, Sally and Lottie!"
"That's awesome," Andie smiled. "And you're heavy, so down you go, Space Ranger."
She put her sister down.
"Mom?" she called.
'In here, honey," her mother's voice answered from the kitchen.
Andie put her bag by the stairs and walked into the kitchen where her mother was busy cooking.
"Hm, smells great, what it is?"
"Jambalaya," her mother answered.
Andie licked her lip. She loved that.
"I'm heading upstairs to get started on my homework," she said.
"All right." Her mother said. "Dinner in an hour."
"'kay!" she replied as she disappeared up the stairs.
The next day, Andie met up with Jessica and Emily as usual, but couldn't see Isabelle, and didn't have any classes with her that morning. So it wasn't until the three girls were sitting at their lunch table in the cafeteria that she spotted her coming in.
"Oh, there she is, d'you mind if I call her over?"
"No, go ahead," Emily replied.
Andie looked back towards Isabelle.
"Hey, Isabelle!" she called, waving. "Over here!"
Isabelle saw them and walked over.
"Hi, Andie."
"Hey. Guys, this is Isabelle, the girl I was telling you about. Isabelle, meet Jessica, that's her in front of you, and the gorgeous red is Emily."
"Hi," they said politely.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Isabelle said. "Andie's told me a lot about you."
"We've heard about you, too." Emily said.
"Have a seat," Andie said.
Isabelle smiled gratefully, set her tray down and took the spot next to Andie.
"Hold on a minute," Jessica said. "Are you saying I'm not gorgeous?"
"Of course not, you're beautiful." Andie chuckled. "It's just that flamboyant is more adapted to describing you."
"So, you guys met after we left you?" Jessica asked Andie.
"That's right." Andie said. "She's new, and I thought it would be nice to help her fit in."
"Why is that not surprising," Emily smiled.
"What d'you mean?" Isabelle asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Emily's convinced I want to rid the world of evil," Andie grinned. "I just hate injustice. That's probably my parents' fault, being lawyers and all." she added.
They laughed. And soon, Isabelle was one of them. And she clearly enjoyed it. She was laughing, joking, even more than Emily, who Andie had always thought to be the cheeky one.
"I hope we didn't scare you," Andie said to Isabelle as they made their way to class. "My friends are great, but they aren't half loud. Whoa, watch it..."
Andie caught Isabelle's arm to keep her from being hit by two girls charging across the hallway in front of them.
"Thanks." Isabelle said as they watched the girls disappear round a corner.
"Come on."
Jessica had Gym class while Emily had History, so it was just Andie and Isabelle. The corridors were buzzing with some people hurrying to class, and others not worried about being late or even going to class at all.
"Sorry if Jessica was a real chatterbox... she can never stop once she's started."
"No, it's okay." she smiled. "She's nice. And Emily's so much fun!"
"Yes, they are." Andie agreed. "You just have to get to know them. I was actually surprised you and Em hit it off so well, I thought you were more of a serious type."
"Oh, no. In class, maybe. But otherwise, I try and be like everyone else. Emphasis on try."
"Yeah, I think that's pretty much what we're all trying to do," Andie smiled.
They walked in silence a few seconds, when Isabelle asked:
"Hey, Andie, I was wondering. Why Andie?"
Andie looked around for a moment, but no one seemed to be paying attention.
"Well, I don't usually tell people my real name." she said, dropping her voice slightly as a precaution. "But I think I can tell you. It's Adrianna."
Isabelle looked puzzled.
"You don't seem particularly tomboyish... don't you like your name?"
"I do, I love it." Andie said. "It sounds epic to me. But when I was little, I used to call myself Adrianna, and everyone would laugh and say it sounded snobby."
"Really? That's so mean..."
"Well, I suppose they were all between five and ten, so it's easy to find something to laugh about." Andie said. "At first I didn't want to change it, but it got so bad I figured it was the only way. So when I arrived here, I decided only people I wanted to trust would know my real name. I knew I was older, that the people in my school would be too, but I guess I just didn't want to take the risk."
"No, I don't imagine you would..." Isabelle said.
"So Adrianna is just to people who already knew my name like my family. To anyone else, I'm just Andie."
"I won't tell anyone," Isabelle promised. "But it certainly seems to have paid off."
"I guess so. I became less shy, for instance, and I only ever truly felt like myself when I started going by Andie instead of Adrianna, though I think that was also mainly thanks to whirlwind Jessica," Andie added with a smile.
Isabelle giggled and entered the classroom.
The afternoon wore on, and Andie didn't see Jessica or Emily, but shared two classes with Isabelle. At the end of their last class, English, they went out towards the entrance. The bus was still there, this time. Just then, her phone buzzed.
"It's Jessica, she's suggesting we go out for Sundaes after school, you in?"
"Hm... I would but I have to check with my mother..."
"You can bring your sisters along," Andie offered.
"Ooh, no, trust me, you don't want me to do that. They are impossible when they're in places like that. Hold on..."
She pulled out her own phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Vicky? It's me. Can I trust you to watch Suzie and Ella when the nanny brings them home? I'm going to come home late."
She listened as her sister answered.
"No, I'm going to hang out with some girls from school... No, I won't be later than seven or so. But I want you to go by the rules. No sugar. No, I mean it, you know what happens when they get started. It's impossible to calm them down... Yes. Okay. Call me if anything happens, okay? And you'll be home before the girls, so... yes, hide everything sweet in places they can't reach. You know the drill. Okay. I'm counting on you, okay? You'll have to do this when I go to college. Okay. Bye."
She snapped her phone shut and put it in her pocket.
"Are your sisters allergic or something?"
"No, but they're already living jack-in-the-boxes, and sugar makes them go wild. It's insane."
"Hm... I guess we don't want that, then," Andie said with a smile.
"No, we really don't," Isabelle grinned.
"Are you sure they'll be okay? I don't want to get you into any kind of trouble..."
"No, it'll be fine. I'm on Vicky's back a lot when I leave the girls with her, but she knows how to handle them."
"Okay, great. I'll text Jessica, then."
So she did.
All for it! Bringing Isabelle. OK?
Jessica's answer arrived seconds later.
No prob! Meet you at the parking lot in ten?
Andie turned to Isabelle and asked her.
"Fine by me," she said.
Works for us.
Great! See you there.
Andie put her phone in her pocket and they walked over to the parking lot where Jessica and Emily who were already waiting, waved.
"Come on, I'm melting here!"
Andie laughed.
"It's only seventy degrees out," she smiled.
"Yeah, I know, I just wanted to have an excuse to go for ice cream," Jessica grinned back.
They all laughed.
********************
Ha ha, Jessica's such a clown, isn't she? Please vote if you agree!
Do you have a friend who resembles one of the Fateful Five? If not, which one can you relate to most? Let's hear it in the comments!
Who are the two strangers training in the park? WHat relation do they have with the girls? Let's find out in the next chapter!
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