Destiny Rising

Chapter 9

The rest of the week was better, or at least it seemed like it, since it went by so quickly. Life seemed pretty much normal, or almost at least. Troy and Kiara were now hanging out and having lunch with Darci, and Michael hadn’t even been at school. I spent my free time with Jasmine and finished the final projects. She was the only one who realized something was wrong with me. On Tuesday she asked me if everything was alright. I just smiled and said I was fine, and she dropped it. But truthfully, I wasn’t fine. I have got a ton weighing down on my mind and didn’t know what to do about it all. I was extremely grateful when I woke up on Friday morning because I didn’t have to go to school and my weekend had officially started. I quickly clamored out of bed, showered, and was out the door in 30 minutes. My new short hair was hanging loose and damp in a black headband and I was dressed casually in black shorts, red and black sandals, and a red tank top. I had also packed and put my bags in my car the night before, so I was already set to go. Everyone who was going to the competition today met at school first, then the team got on a bus while the rest had to drive. Except for coming home, since a lot of team members had long weekend plans that were starting afterward. Pulling into the parking lot, I saw Jasmine standing with her parents, Chris and Diana, and her younger sisters, Flora and Ivy.

“Sapphire!” she squealed the moment I got out of my car.

“Hey,” I replied, running over to her.

“Can you believe it? We’re going to Nationals!” she exclaimed as she embraced me.

“I told you in September you could do it,” I said, returning her embrace.

“I know,” she said, releasing me “I just wasn’t too sure if the team was good enough this year.”

“Your team is amazing and the next National Cheerleading Team in Canada,” I replied. I attempted to pump her up as we joined her parents and sisters.

“Hello, Sapphire.” Mrs. Mundan said, giving me a hug, while Mr. Mundan patted my back.

“Hello Mr. & Mrs., Mundan. How are you today?” I asked politely.

“We’re good. Excited to see Jasmines compete.” Mr. Mundan replied,

“OMG!! You got your hair cut!” Flora said as she took a closer look at my hair.

“Um ya, just something I decided to do on a whim.” I shrugged.

“I love it!” Ivy squealed “I want my hair like that.”

“Awe, thank you, Ivy,” I said, leaning down and giving her a hug.

“You’re welcome” she replied sweetly and hugged me back.

“Jasmine.” A familiar voice called across the parking lot. Turning, we saw Kiara make her way across the parking lot towards us. Every time I saw her, all the hurt and betrayal would come back like an arrow through the heart, a flaming arrow.

“Kiara, I didn’t think you were going to make it. Who’s driving you?” Jasmine asked.

“Ya, about that.” She said as she brushed a strand of her now black bangs out of her eyes. As she did that, the sleeve of her dark purple long-sleeve shirt rose a bit and I saw a bandage encircling her wrist.

“What’s wrong? Couldn’t you find a ride?” Jasmine asked again.

“It’s not that I couldn’t find a ride. I’m sure that loser Joe would have jumped at the chance to get in a vehicle with me. But Abby called in sick from work, so I had to cover her shift. Then my mom suddenly dumped Anna and Jace's watch duty on me. I know, it sucks golf balls.” She replied shrugging while playing with her lemonade bottle.

“Can’t your Nana watch them? This weekend was supposed to be amazing.” Jasmine asked as she clasped her hands together in plea.

“Nope. My Nana is going with my mom on some spa weekend thing she won at work. Sorry Jas, we’ll hang out some other time.” She said as she tugged at her sleeve when she noticed my gaze on her wrist.

“I’ll text you after the competition to let you know how it went,” Jasmine said, giving Kiara a hug. As Kiara hugged Jasmine back, she peered over Jasmine’s shoulder at me. Smirking at me, I noticed something about her eyes. Kinda like she wasn’t there, which sounds funny to some people. But my grandmother had always told me that the eyes were windows to the soul. But instead of the usual warmth, all I could see in her eyes was darkness. Odd, I couldn’t think of how all this had happened in a week. Kiara closed her eyes and pulled away from Jasmine.

“Good luck.” She said as she turned away. While Jasmine moved away to discuss something with her coach, I stared after Kiara. Something about her just felt off, and I couldn’t help but feel like I knew what it was. But I couldn’t quite grasp the memory of it. I needed space to breathe and clear my mind, so I told Mr. & Mrs. Mundan I was going to head out and would meet them at Canada’s Wonderland where the competition was being held this year. After they hugged and told me to drive carefully, I got in my car and left the parking lot. Stopping at the Canadian Tire gas station to fill up the tank, I ran into Michael.

“Hey.” He said, “How are you?”

“Oh, um…good, I guess,” I muttered.

“Are you looking forward to the long weekend?” He asked politely.

“Yes, I am. Cause it’s getting me away from here.” I snapped and stalked off to pay for the gas. When I came back, he was already gone, and I couldn’t seem to ignore the pang in my chest from that. He’s nothing to me, just the lawn boy, someone I know from school. But if that was true, then why did I feel this way? Why did I feel like I’ve known him much longer and differently than I actually did? Those thoughts coursed through my mind as I made my way to Highway 401 eastbound, which would lead me to Vaughn, a sub-division of Toronto, where Canada’s Wonderland was located. The drive took just over 2 hours, but the drive was welcome and gave me time to think. I arrived at the amusement park just after the bus full of cheerleaders arrived, so shutting out all those rough thoughts and feelings from my mind and heart, I plastered a smile on my face and went to cheer on my high school team. At the end of the competition, our team placed 2nd out of all cheerleading teams in Southwestern Ontario. Which is a great accomplishment worth celebrating. We all cheered and congratulated them afterward while we headed to where the cars and bus were parked. Jasmine transferred her bag for the weekend from her parent’s car to mine, then hugged them tightly before we got in my car and headed off to Port Stanley.

Port Stanley is a picturesque village on the North Shore of Lake Erie, one of the 4 great lakes in Ontario. There are two beaches located there, the shallower and smaller Little Beach. On the other side of the harbor is the other beach, Big Beach. Big Beach is deeper and vastly larger, it also has Mackie’s on the beach. Mackie’s is one of the local eateries. It’s known for its orangeade, fry sauce, and atmosphere. My family and I love going to Mackie’s if we’re down at the beach. While we could get ice cream at Mackie’s though, my mom always preferred going the distance to the main street for ice cream from Broderick’s Ice Cream Parlour. My family and I are very attached to Port Stanley since my mom grew up living there year-round. So, when I was 10, my parents decided to buy a house there. That way my sisters and I could spend the summers there and my mom could be closer to her sick Grandmother, who lived there alone since my Great-grandfather passed away when I was 2 years old. As Jasmine and I turned onto the main street 3 hours later, I took in the familiar sights and sounds. Then hitting a button on my dashboard as we stopped at the drawbridge, it rose to let a sailboat leave the harbor and head out onto the lake. The soft top of my convertible lowered and tucked itself away.

“It’s good to be back,” I said with a sigh as the bridge was lowered for pedestrians and vehicles to cross.

“Ya, it’s such a gorgeous day.” She replied, eyeing the two guys walking by in wet board shorts and t-shirts. Laughing, I drove straight past Mac’s Milk and the turn-off for Big Beach, straight up the hill. Winding my car up the hill and through the streets, I already felt the tensions of the past week ebb away.

“Home away from home,” I murmured as I pulled into the driveway of our traditional 2-story Cape Cod-style beach house, which sat on top of the cliffs that ran along Lake Erie’s northern shore. Except that our house was positioned on the cliff so that we looked out over Big Beach. My parents also spent the time and money on having an area cleared down the side of the cliff to get a natural-looking stone stairway put in. That way we all had easier access to the beach, while the house still had a beautiful and undisturbed view. Pulling up to the house, I saw 2 unfamiliar cars along with my dad’s truck.

“I wonder whose cars those are,” Jasmine said as I parked beside the silver Volvo.

“I don’t know,” I replied and got out, eyeing the black Ferrari as I walked to the trunk of my car and popped it open. Pulling our bags from the trunk and slamming the lid shut, we headed into the house.

“Mom? Dad?” I called out as I shut the door behind us.

“In the living room.” My dad replied from the room to my left. Jasmine and I dropped our bags and turned towards the living room. As soon as I made it to the door, I froze at the sight of 5 people sitting and chatting with my parents. My sisters Crystal and Jayde, Crystal’s husband Josh, then that man and Darci Flame.