The Lily's Splendor

Chapter 12

“Here you go. Feel free to sit anywhere. No assigned seats here.” Mr. Rodriguez, the homeroom teacher, said after he signed my schedule. Reeve waved me over to the back and to the empty seat next to him. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I recognized the guy sitting a couple seats over. He was that same guy I saw hanging out with Henry and the petite girl who looked like his sister. I walked past him, trying not to look at him, but I was still able to catch his wink.

Sitting down next to Reeve, I looked around the room. I noticed everyone was chatting amongst each other. Some were even sitting on the tabletops.

“Back in my other school, we had to read for homeroom.” I whispered to Reeve who was drawing on a sheet of notebook paper.

“We do things differently here,” a deep male voice said. I looked up to find the guy I recognized earlier, leaning over as he sat on the edge of my desk.

“I see that.” I said. This guy was huge and looked to be years older. Like college years older with his side-burns and golden red hair.

“The name’s Maddox,” he smiled coyly.

“Back off boyo.” Reeve slightly rose from his seat as he glared at Maddox, who held up his hands in defense.

“Chill out, Irish. Was just being friendly.” Maddox grinned. Reeve only glowered.

“It’s okay Reeve.” I said, surprised at his ferocity and protectiveness.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be going now.” Maddox pretended to tip an imaginary hat before going back to his desk, which was surrounded by girls.

“Well, that was . . . interesting.” I said, looking at Reeve for an explanation.

“Sorry.” Reeve looked down, mumbling his apology.

“It’s okay.”

“I didn’t mean to lose it like that. It’s just that guys like him tend to get my dander up.” Reeve stabbed his pencil on his paper until the tip broke. His surprised eyes looked up at me when I tried to stifle a chuckle.

“Really?” I raised an amused brow.

“Yeah,” he cast down his eyes as his cheeks burned.

“Hey,” I said gently, waiting for him to look up at me.

“I’m glad to have you as a friend.” I said warmly and I meant it. His lips slowly spread into a grin.

“So tell me, what brought you out here?” I asked with curiosity.

“I wanted to help out my Ole Lady.” he said. “My mom” he clarified when I gave him a blank look.

“Oh.” I said, smiling inwardly when he had said ‘mom’ awkwardly, stressing heavily on the ‘O’.

“How would leaving her help? She must miss you terribly.”

“Yes. And I miss her. But she has enough to keep her hands full with my four sisters.”

“Wow, four sisters?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you can imagine living in a house full of women,” he laughed.

“Your father?”

“Up and left when my youngest sister was still a babe.” Reeve said with a hint of anger mixed with hate.

“I’m sorry.” I placed my hand over his clenched fist. I inhaled a sharp breath when his hand swiftly turned around until his fingers were laced with mine. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and going back to his drawing of what looked like the beautiful green hills of Ireland.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Looks like English class is here.” Reeve stated after lifting his head up from studying the map I was holding.

“I sure hope so.” I said as we walked into the classroom and went straight to the teacher who was writing a prompt on the white board.

“Mrs. Shryder?” I asked hesitantly. We watched as she set the marker down, pushing a grey curl behind her ear that had escaped from the loose twist. Warm brown eyes smiled at us.“Yes?”

Reeve and I let out a sigh of relief at the same time. We both exchanged grins before handing her our schedules.

“Ah, new students. Welcome. Please take any seat.” she said before walking back to the board just as the first bell rang and more students piled in.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“I see you haven’t wasted time in making friends,” Henry said as he eyed his brother’s crutches.

“See you gal’s later.” Maddox waved them away before sauntering into their classroom with an arm looped around Henry’s shoulders.

“I see you’re not doing so bad either.” Maddox gestured with his chin to the blonde girl who sat on a desk surrounded by her friends. She winked at Henry, blowing a kiss in his direction.

“We’re just friends.” Henry grunted as he made his way to the opposite side, dumping his books on the desk before sitting down on the chair.

“Really? She looks more than friendly, which reminds me,” Maddox sat down in the seat in front of him, turning around to face him as he said, “I met your other pretty friend in homeroom. You know, the really pretty one that you keep saying that you don’t know?”

“Kyra?” Henry mentally punched himself for revealing her name and therefore letting his brother know that he did know her.

“So you do know her?” Maddox grinned. “Anyways, I introduced myself to her and that new exchange student kinda got touchy. Pretty fast, if you ask me, in getting a boyfriend. Even faster than me and that’s saying something.”

“What?” Henry asked in disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. Jealousy’s heat filled his chest as his hands fisted at his sides.

“Whoa dude. Thought you didn’t care about her. You look like you’re about to murder someone.”

“And who would that be?” Nikki, the blonde girl, asked as she skipped to Henry’s side and perched on the desk behind him.

“No-one,” Henry muttered.

“So this is your brother,” Nikki said as she extended her hand.

“The one and only.” Maddox shook her hand.

“And what has you all upset?” Nikki asked as she began to rub Henry’s shoulders but was surprised when Henry practically shoved her hands away.

“Cool it Nikki.” Henry said before collecting his stuff and walking out of the room.

“Sorry about that. He doesn’t know how to treat women yet.” Maddox winked flirtatiously.

“And I suppose that you do?” she tilted her head to the side, appreciating the fact that he had called her a woman and not a girl.

“Definitely.”

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Wow. Remind me not to tell any other teacher where I’m from.” Reeve muttered as he joined me in the back, taking the seat next to me. Mr. Phelman, our history teacher, had kept Reeve talking about Ireland and how he and his wife had honey-mooned there thirteen years ago.

“Your accent wouldn’t be helping you either.” I said with a smile which instantly vanished when I saw Henry walk in with the familiar petite girl. I was taken aback when the girl actually smiled at me before going to her seat. I looked away when Henry’s eyes stayed on me, giving me a look of accusation? Great, now what have I done?

Turning away from him, I focused on setting out my necessary materials.

“Did I do something wrong? Why is that boyo giving me the stink eye?” Reeve leaned over and whispered into my ear.

“I have no idea. He gave me the same look.” I shrugged, trying not to let the hurt show.

When the final bell rang, Mr. Phelman called the students to attention, announcing a project that would be turned in by the end of the semester.

“I will put you with partners,” he said, and earned a lot of groans. He began to read off a list of names in pairs.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten you two.” He said as he looked at me and Reeve with a smile before reading off, “Kyra Derketo, you will be partnered with Lillian Alastair.”

I turned to the side and slightly smiled at the petite girl who waved, but Henry, who was sitting right next to her, slouched in his seat as if he was brooding, shoulders tight and tense.

“And Reeve Longfellow, your partner will be Henry Alastair.” Mr. Phelman finally said, before walking over to his desk.

“This is just grand.” Reeve muttered as he and Henry gave each other a stare-down before both looked away.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“That’s all folks. Turn in your worksheets here in this box before you leave.” Mr. Phelman instructed as he gestured to a flat box on his desk just seconds after the bell rang, dismissing them to a twenty-minute break.

“Here, I’ll turn yours in.” Reeve offered before taking mine with his and walking to the front of the classroom while I gathered my stuff.

“Hello,” a soft voice said. I looked up into warm hazel eyes that belonged to Lillian Alastair.

“Hi.” I said.

“Just wanted to introduce myself since we are going to be working with each other.”

“Oh, well thank you.” I shook her offered hand as I shouldered my bag.

“I’ll wait for you at our usual spot.” Henry said stiffly to Lillian as he began to walk away.

“Want to join us?” Lillian looked expectantly at me. I saw Henry stop and tense as he waited for my response just as Reeve came up beside me.

“Aren’t you a nice lass.” Reeve said with obvious surprise.

“And why should that surprise you?” Henry rounded on Reeve who prickled.“I figured if she hung out with you, some of your ‘niceness’ would have rubbed off on her.” Reeve sneered.

“Hey. Knock it off you two.” Lillian placed a hand on Henry while her eyes stayed on Reeve.“You must forgive my brother and his manners. He is really a nice guy,” she said.

“No kidding?” I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest as I stared at him with a raised brow. “Thank you Lillian for the offer, but it would clearly be uncomfortable for Henry, so no thanks.” I replied tersely before walking away from them with Reeve close by my side.

I wondered why my heart was singing now that I knew that the girl was Henry’s sister. It’s not like Henry wanted to have anything to do with me. I wonder if Lillian is also a mermaid. She has to be since she is his sister. I sighed as we made our way to the lockers where many students lingered. I caught the eyes of a group of girls and offered them a kind smile. They looked taken aback but did not return the smile. Instead, they turned and walked away. Something sank in my stomach but I ignored it as I opened my locker and placed my new textbooks in before gathering some snacks out of the small bag. Turning around, I was surprised to find Reeve entertaining some girls. The same girls who had turned away from me.

“I’ll be outside.” I said to him as I hurriedly walked away. Though I was far away, I was still able to hear them ask him, “Why are you hanging out with her?”

Making a u-turn, I walked past Lillian and her table, past Henry, who had looked up at me with unreadable eyes, and went straight to the parking lot to sit in my car where I let myself release a few frustrated tears.

~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~

“Where did you go? I thought you said that you would be outside?” Reeve said as he came up beside me as we walked to our math class.

“I forgot something in my car and went to get it. Decided to relax a little while I was there too.” I said. I turned to look at Reeve when he said nothing. His forehead was wrinkled into a frown as if he was deep in thought.

Math went by unexpectedly fast as Mr. Kelson quickly taught before handing out worksheets. For the rest of the period he just sat behind his desk, eyes glued to his laptop. I somehow had a feeling that this was how it would be for the rest of the semester with him.

“Did you get anything that he taught?” Reeve asked as we walked out of the classroom fifty minutes later and went into the crowd. Some guys in jerseys passed us by and gave Reeve high-fives. He obviously had no difficulty in making friends. For some odd reason, everyone avoided me, even Henry. Henry’s rejection hurt the most though. I was used to every other rejection that I received, 90% of them being girls. At least I had Reeve.

“Sort of,” I said as we made it to our science class. After receiving our signed schedules back, the teacher gave us assigned seats. Reeve waved good-bye as he sat down in the second row while I made my way to the very back to the seat that was closest to the side door. As more students piled in, I kept my head down, mindlessly drawing waterlilies on the margin of my notebook.

“Pretty flowers.” A girl said. I was shocked as I looked up. It was the girl from earlier that had first given me an inspection as she hung onto Henry’s arm.

“Thanks.” I mumbled. I watched as she placed her stuff on the seat in front of me before turning back around.

“I probably gave you the wrong impression earlier. Sorry about that.” She flipped her perfectly waved hair over her shoulder as she smiled at me.

“It’s okay.” I said slowly, unsure if this was really happening. A girl was actually talking to me.

“I’m Nikki, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Nikki. I’m Kyra.”

“Is your last name Derketo?” she asked. I swallowed as I nodded my head, unprepared for her squeals of delight.

“My closet is practically all Derketo. I absolutely love Charlyze! How are you two related?”

“She is my grandmother.”

“No way! Would it be too much to ask for an autograph?” her eyes gazed at me with hope.

“Um, okay. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. I’ll see if I can bring it tomorrow.” I smiled and she beamed just as someone stopped in front of the chair next to me.

“Hey Henry.” Nikki smiled at him flirtatiously.

“Hey.” I heard him say gruffly before scraping his seat back and sitting down.

“I’m sorry you have to sit next to me. If you want, I can ask for a different seat.” I said when he pointedly ignored me.

“It’s fine.” Was all he said. A girl joined Nikki, giving me a nasty look before giggling with her friend. I did what I hadn’t done since I had first learned that my mother was never coming back: I retreated into my head, pulling myself out of reality. It was like pushing a button that put me in robotic mode. I stayed that way until the bell rang for lunch.

Quickly gathering my stuff, I shoulder-slammed the backdoor open, ignoring Reeve’s calls. I practically ran into the nearest bathroom, shutting myself into the big stall made for the handicapped.

“I heard that the new girl’s grandmother is Charlyze Derketo.” I heard a girl’s voice say.

“Who cares? She probably thinks she can get whatever she wants. I wouldn’t be surprised if she slept with all of her teachers here just to get a good grade. With her looks, she’ll probably steal every guy here. Better put blinkers on your Todd," another girl said before they both left the bathroom snickering. When the echoes of their laugher had finally died down, I slid to the cold, tiled floor and wept into my drawn-up knees. I tried to control my painful sobs, not wanting anyone to hear them. For a moment, my heart went out to Calista. No woman had ever befriended her. I wondered if I had the same fate. The possibility of it being true tore at my heart and caused another wave of anguished tears.

Pulling myself together after ten minutes had past, I gathered my stuff and unlocked the stall door. Going to the sink, I washed my hands and face, erasing any evidence of tears. When I walked out, I nearly ran into Reeve whose face had a worried expression.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he gently gripped my shoulders. Oh God, he probably heard me crying. Had I been that loud?

“I’m fine.” I said with a tight smile. I decided to test him and see if he would mention it first. If he didn’t then he didn’t know unless he was being kind.

“You missed one.” he said before his hand dug into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He slowly brought it to my cheek as his eyes stayed on mine. Something happened when he wiped my tear away. Some sort of trigger. Instantly, my mouth began to tremble and before I knew it, the tears started all over again.

“I’m sorry.” I put a hand over my mouth and was about to turn away and go back to the bathroom when Reeve surprised me by pulling me into his arms. His shoulder cradled my head as I cried. His hand made soothing, circular motions on my back as he whispered comforting words in his native tongue. Unconsciously, I inhaled, getting a whiff of the after-shave and cologne that would probably take me to the green hills of Ireland if I just closed my eyes.

Through my tears, I was able to see a blurry figure walk by and turn their head in our direction from the end of the hall, no doubt hearing my sobs. I blinked and noticed that it was Henry and he was making his way towards us with a worried expression. I stiffened in Reeve’s arms and he must have felt it because he gently pulled away to look at me before noticing Henry, who was now standing in front of us.

“Are you okay? Did someone hurt you, Kyra?” Henry asked.

“She’s fine,” Reeve said curtly and earned himself a glare from Henry.

“I wasn’t asking you. Did you do something to her?” he challenged, already taking a step towards him.

“You mean like the way you have treated her? No.” Reeve said with disgust. Henry took a surprised step back at this.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, eyes locked into mine, begging for forgiveness and understanding.

“Whatever. Let’s go Kyra.” Reeve put his arm around my shoulders and was about to steer us away when Henry shoved Reeve away from me.

“What are you doing?!” I asked, looking at Henry with shock, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me at all. Instead, he and Reeve were practically chest to chest as they challenged each other.

“That’s enough of that!” Lillian said as she squeezed herself between them.

“Maddox was right. I can’t believe how fast you were able to get yourself a boyfriend.” Henry fumed as his accusing glare pinned me to the ground.

“What are you talking about now boyo?” Reeve crossed his arms over his chest as he theatrically sighed.

“Shut up! This is between me and Kyra,” Henry said.

“What are you doing?” I asked warily when he advanced towards me but was pushed back by Reeve.

“What are you, her guard-dog or something?” Henry shot at him.

“You can say that.” Reeve actually smiled at this.

“I can’t believe that you would let him in so quickly. You hardly know him! For crying out loud, you just met the kid!” Henry directed his statement to me.

“Reeve has been kind to me—” I began, but Henry interrupted me.

“Many jerks can be kind. It’s called a facade.”

“Now wait just a minute—” Reeve began.

“Like yours?” I challenged Henry. “You save my life. Ask me to meet you. I miss one appointment and you throw a tantrum!” I shoved my hand not too lightly at his chest, pushing him away as I advanced, ignoring my tears that dripped down my chin and to my knitted blouse.

“What?!” Lillian and Reeve gawked at both of us.

“What are you talking about?” Reeve waited for an explanation.

“Whoa! What’s going on here?” Maddox’s voice boomed over us as he came to stand by Lillian, eyes searching our faces questioningly.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” Henry said before walking away. Lillian gave me an apologetic look before tugging on Maddox’s arm and walking after Henry.