Chapter One - Sylvie

Sylvie

          You hear those stories don’t you? In magazines, on the news, on the street. Everywhere. There are stories of fear, neglect, cancer and betrayal. I’m guilty of reading a few on my break, I like it because the whole activity makes me realise that my life isn’t so bad and that it has some significant, poignant meaning.

          Not once did I ever contemplate that one of those things would ever happen to me. It had of course and it was all down to two of my so called friends who thought it would be funny to stand in the centre of the AstroTurf and shout from the top of their lungs that my mum was crazy.

          She’s not la de da crazy. I mean, she doesn’t talk to herself or count how many cracks are in the pavement and such but she’s emotive. She psyches herself up about the smallest of things like completing the shopping but it can just be something just as minimal that switches her to suicidal.

          Life’s tough for me and Amy at the best of times, now they’d really pushed all the wrong buttons. I’d been home for lunch to see if mum was all right, Amy had been home earlier and had screamed at her and told her it was all her fault. You can’t blame Amy for being angry and hurt, just like it wasn’t poor mum’s fault that she was suffering. It’s hard to cope with the tribulations of being a teenager sometimes never mind a mental illness.

          ‘I’m really, really sorry Sylvie.’ Carly whines at me as I pull out the red wooden chair from behind my desk. ‘I don’t know what came over me.’

          ‘No you’re not sorry. Not yet, but you will be. If word reaches the forbearers they’ll execute her. But of course you already know that don’t you?’ Carly’s eyes widen in horror, her left hand flies to her mouth as she gasps for breath.

          ‘Gosh, look if anything comes of this I’ll swear that it was just a joke between friends.’ I feel my eyes glower at her, if she were to be wearing red now she wouldn’t stand a chance of staying upright. Friends? What planet had she been on for the past hour? I have no friends. Everybody has gone into hiding since the big announcement. And yet here she is telling me that she understands

          ‘No because if they do find out you’ll be history. My mother’s illness is not a joke. If you’d seen how torn Amy had been you’d get that into your thick skull!’

          ‘I’ve said I’m sorry. What else can I do?’

          ‘You can start by getting the hell away from me.’ She lowers her head and then smiles playfully. I clench my fists, ready to attack her with whatever nonsense leaves her mouth next.  

          ‘Kenzie wants to see you tonight.’ She pulls herself up onto the caramel brown table, allowing her legs to swing back and forth. ‘Right where the old alley lies round the back of the school. Quarter past four suit you?’ I roll my eyes clockwise. She and Marie have been trying to set me up with him since the day we’d met. Of course, every time they’d tried to set us up, Kenzie had refused to have anything to do with me in that way and that he just liked me as a friend.

          I’d found that I’d loved him ever since we’d glided over Molten Falls at Hephaestus’ Cauldron, he’d originally planned to go with his friend Rob but he’d chickened out at last minute. I wasn’t brave, I mean I couldn’t stand being in a swimming pool let alone thousands of feet up from the lava that was bubbling below. Somehow, Kenzie has always had that effect on me; he was always making me strive for better when the odds were five hundred to one. Maybe that’s how come I’d allowed myself to fall in love with him. It was easy enough to do right? At the same time though I felt ridiculous for feeling something for him, knowing that he didn’t feel the same way about me.

          ‘Quit playing games with me.’ I snap.

          ‘I’m not. Honestly, he does. It’s perfect.’ I don’t know what she meant by perfect but I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to meet him. I’d probably go and he wouldn’t be there and then they would make me the butt of their jokes for the rest of the duration. Well, it wasn’t going to happen. Not tonight. Not ever.

          ‘I thought Kenzie wasn’t interested in dating.’ Kimberly sidles up beside me. Carly’s jaw hardens.

          ‘He is he just doesn’t show it as much as everybody else.’ She protests. ‘Just because he’s not like all the other guys bragging about their conquests doesn’t mean he’s any different.’ Kimberly’s hands fly up to surrender.

          ‘All right, jeez, I was only saying.’

          My heart freezes at the sight of Kenzie hurrying in through the open door. He races around the room, making sure that every chair was in its place and that there was no rubbish left around in the open spaces.

I swallow hard as my eyes watch eagerly as he runs his fingers into his short, dark brown locks then lowers them to the base of his neckline and down to his yellow and red tunic that bulks out because of his toned torso. I will myself to look away, surely he’d realise that I was staring at him like some petulant stalker at some point and then what? His right arm flops beside him, his eyes focusing on everyone else but me.

‘Sir’s coming. He’s got someone with him.’ Everybody in the room begins moving to their seats, the scraping of the wooden legs echo off the walls along with the mixed chattering of voices. Kenzie’s big, round emerald eyes latched on mine and I feel my heart slowly begin to beat again, I can hear the blood pumping through my veins as his thick, red lips twitch into a warm smile. I give him a smile back, knowing fine well that I was turning the darkest shade of tomato red. He takes his seat without saying another word while the curiousity bubbles like the desire that was motioning through me.