Eyes

Chapter I

CHAPTER 1

Another cold ass morning in this hole, I hate this place. I wake up properly and change into a purple flannel, a black vest and jeans. The date, oh no. I get out of my room and immediately, I am ambushed.

‘Happy birthday Sage!’ My best and only friend in this dump engulfs me in a hug.

‘What did I say about the hugs, Jason?’

‘Well today is rather special, so you can just deal with it. Besides I don’t care.’

‘Yeah, special.’ I say making sure I’m heavy on the sarcasm. He just rolls his eyes and leads me past the dining room, out the orphanage and onto the street. Obviously I complained, how can I not; he’s basically dragging me away from breakfast.

‘I’m taking you for breakfast.’ He says as if it’s obvious when I ask him.

‘You shouldn’t, I’m not hungry.’ And then my stomach decides to growl. Dang it.

‘Yeah, not hungry.’ He imitates my exact tone from earlier. ‘So yeah, breakfast is on me.’ He leads me to some tiny café he goes to a lot.

‘Hey Jace, what can I get you this morning? Jason looks at me like he’s going to ask me what I want. He forgets I know what he’s like.

‘Hi Marylyn, I’d like two cappuccinos, large, 3 random doughnuts and a ‘that's_lyf’.’

‘Ok. That will be 17.95.’ he pays and we sit at one of the neon tables.

‘So you’re now 16? You have finally joined the League of Extraordinary Oldies.’

‘Shut up, you know you are literally older than me, right?’ He’s calling me old and yet he’s older than me by six whole months. Almost exactly anyways.

‘So? I can still tease you about it. Soon you’ll be old with white hair that can’t be dyed anymore.’ He looks at my black and purple hair sadly.’

‘That's not so bad. I could totally rock the white look. Besides my hair is actually black and less than a handful is purple, so just deal with it.’

‘I can’t. Just dye it white.’

‘Like hell. You know why I dyed my hair and don’t get all sentimental on me, please

‘Like you said; like hell. And our food’s here. Plus there really is no way I’d waste my time getting ‘sentimental’ on you.’ He says just looking at me like whoa, she’s super weird. Really?

‘Well, dibs on the ‘that's_lyf’. I don’t know how these guys make these things but damn, there’s no finer pastry on this planet and it’s huge; as in as big as Jason’s two fists. I swear I’m not exaggerating.

‘Whatever, just eat.’ The talk reduces significantly seeing as we are stuffing our faces with doughnut-y goodness.

We walk to school because we finished way before he thought we would. We get there a few minutes to the late bell and we head to my locker where we’ll have to part ways for the day. Oh, the agony of separation.

‘Happy birthday love. Welcome to the Oldies Club.’ He smiles at me and kisses my cheek.

‘What did I say about those things?’ He laughs as I yell at his retreating back. Nugget.

‘You’ve been pecked on the cheek, big deal.’ A very annoying person says from behind me.

‘Buzz off Trevors.’

‘That’s no way to treat a friend, don’t you think? Especially when they know everything about you hmm.’ So everyone meet best friend #2; Asher Trevors. He’s rather popular; he even has a bunch of cronies.

‘First off you don’t know everything about me and two; yes that’s how I treat i***t friends.’

‘You wound me. But instead of hating you, I’m just going to wish you a happy 16th. And I’m going to tell you that I love you and hope you grow a bit wise in the coming years.’ He smiles as big as his mouth can allow him then runs away because the bell rings. Talk about saved by the bell.

After incredibly boring lessons, biology is no joke, it is finally lunchtime. Thank the stars.

‘Happy birthday Sage.’ A brown-haired demon appears out of nowhere and kisses me, just the tiniest peck on my lips.

‘What did I tell you people about all your things? It’s disgusting.’ I push him and he laughs.

‘You really shouldn’t push me that hard. At least you can now say you’ve kissed a boy, you should be happy.’ He says it rather matter-of-factly.

‘You of all people know that’s not the real thing besides you know; been there done that. And don’t say anything to Jason.’

‘You’ve been there; what does that mean?’

‘It’s none of your business.’

‘You’ve done that; so you’ve cashed in your v-card.’ Kill me now, my whole face heats up and Asher laughs. ‘I’m just kidding and don’t worry; your secret’s safe with me. Anyways I came to tell you you’re sitting with me for lunch today.’

‘No.’

‘Yes, you are because you need human contact.’

‘No.’

‘Yes.’ He puts his hands on my shoulders and pushes me to the cafeteria where Jason appears to have been waiting.

‘Took you long enough. Today we’re sitting with Asher for lunch and I’m paying.’ I have terrible friends though the him paying bit is a redeeming point. But this is still torture; I can’t sit with Asher’s crowd. Asher is the soccer team captain and soccer is the school’s sport so there are all sorts of people at his table and I’m not too good with people so imagine that mess.

Jason buys me lunch and Asher leads us to his table; it’s awkward. Jason and Asher keep exchanging odd looks while every other person at the table looks at me like some sort of mythical creature.

I heave a sigh, ‘I know you have questions,’ the questions start flowing like I opened some invisible floodgates, ‘but I didn’t say you could ask them.’ Everyone visibly deflates, oh well it’s not every day you get to sit next to the girl who is thought to have killed her parents in cold blood when she was 5 or 6.

Long story short I had a terrible day and an even worse fate; going home to an orphanage is never easy. Jason and Asher are my witnesses though Asher was adopted a few years back.

I walk home (if I can call it that) with Jason and he looks more uptight than usual. ‘What’s up?’

‘Nothing just that umm, Asher was supposed to be joining us because; arrangements and stuff.’ He trails off as if worried he’ll say too much.

We keep quiet for a few minutes and then some jogging and panting person stops by us, ‘I’m so sorry, the coach had to talk to us about something or other I wasn’t really listening. But I’m here now.’

Jason gives him the stink eye and he smiles weakly. Then he slings his arms around either of us and makes us move faster.

‘You smell like perspiration.’ Jason comments rather loudly and I nod in agreement.

‘It’s called sweat besides when I say coach wanted to talk; I mean he made us do drills while he talked.’

‘Dude.’

We dive into my room as soon as we get to the orphanage even if we don’t really fit because we don’t want extra chores. The later Mrs Huff finds you, the fewer chores you get.

We talk about him everything under the sun, play a few paper games and listen to a bit of music off Asher’s phone. Then there’s a knock at the door; Ms Huff never knocks unless never.

I open the door and it’s actually her. Crap what did I do? ‘Someone’s here to see you.’ And then she smiled. And my brain froze, did she just smile?? She pulls me, literally tugs me down to her office, Asher and Jason behind us.

‘Hello, Sage.’ A very deep voice speaks. And there’s a tall slender man who seems to be in his early twenties is in front of me. ‘Ms. Huff, will you please give us some time alone?’ she nods and gets out of the room like she’s under a trance.

‘Sage, Asher, Jason, my name is Oak. Oak Andrews and no, I’m not your dad; I’m your brother, I mean I’m only 24.’ He chuckles.

‘Why are you here?’ Jason asks sounding a bit angry. Asher motions at him wildly telling him to stop.

‘I’m here for all of you. It’s nice to see that you’ve grown overprotective over the years.’ He smiles at all of us.

‘I know, I can tell you know.’

He turns to me and says a few words though all I hear is I’m leaving the orphanage; Asher and Jason too.

‘Why?’

‘Because its time.’

‘Are my parents; our parents…’ I trail off; it’s probably every kid in an orphanage’s dream to actually have their parents alive.

‘No.’ a dark shadow crosses his face like an actual rain cloud passed over him. ‘I’ve already signed everything with Ms Huff, though she says I can’t adopt you, I can only foster you at least for the time being. So you guys will sort things out I hope you will anyway.’

‘You mean the state paying you, right? Jason is ever so smart.

‘That. Now if you’d get your things, I’d like to leave right now. The three of you, please.’ Miss Huff enters like she’s been summoned, shoos us out and turns on my brother with the biggest and most dazzling smile I bet she possesses.

I actually believe he’s my brother because he looks like me, except for his eyes; they’re green and mine are purple. I gather everything I own in the room i.e. my clothes, my phone and the velvet box plus all the money I saved.

‘You done?’ Asher pushes the door open. Alone, normally he and Jason tag team. ‘We don’t. Do not kid yourself.’

‘You answered something I didn’t say out loud.’

‘Yeah, I guess I thought I was crazy so I kept it a secret and tried not to answer people’s thoughts instead of their actual questions, that is until Oak arrived. I can read minds.’

‘Can you do that all the time?’

‘Pretty much.’ He shrugs’ turning a bit pink probably thinking about all my nasty thoughts.

‘What am I thinking about right now?

‘It’s not right to call me a dipshit. It’s rude.’ He chuckles.

‘So I basically can stop talking to you, you’ll just read on.’ He raises an eyebrow.

‘Sure, whatever. You know you wouldn’t last an hour without talking to me but I’d like to see you try.’ I roll my eyes at his response and walk out to see an angry-looking Jason. Behind me Asher cusses.

‘Oak said to go outside and to hurry.’ He then stomps away and Asher follows him. Nugget.

I wave at Zoë, the only younger child that I like and head out flipping some jerks off. This is the life.

Lucky stars don’t let this be fake.