The next day, Aydeen was back in class. He breezed into Speech class, his hair poofing swaggily, his button-down shirt’s sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His walk suggested that he owned the place. When Mrs. Porter took the role call, Aydeen called out his name like he didn’t have any worries in the world. Rai wanted to glare at him for his arrogance, but he turned back and smiled at her, his hand reaching out to brush hers. She grinned back, used to acting the small-brained girl by now. As he pulled his hand away, a note fell from it and onto Rai’s desk. She swooped it up before Mrs. Porter saw. It read,
Glad to see you again. I missed you yesterday :(
Rai read it and forced herself to write back,
Me, too.
She watched a grin grow on Aydeen’s face as he read the note. Inwardly, she sighed, watching the incorrigible git run a hand through his hair. He obviously thought that he had gotten her hooked, and she obviously had to pretend that was true.
Rai turned away from Aydeen and focused her attention back onto Mrs. Porter, who was teaching about a type of speech called a Duo Interp.
“It’s the only speech with two people. A pair of ‘speechers’ find a script that is about ten minutes long and make a speech out of it. This is kind of like acting, but it is more formal.” Rai thought, Great. More acting. Lee, sitting next to her, obviously knew what she was thinking and chuckled under his breath. Aydeen shot a sharp look at Lee, who sheepishly looked away from Rai. Aydeen eased down again, convinced that Rai was still his girl. Rai almost glared at Aydeen, but remembered her mission just in time and stopped her annoyance from showing. She breathed out, returning Aydeen’s concerned expression with a dismissive wave. Mrs. Porter started pairing up the class, making partners for the duos and giving them scripts.
“Lee and Vanessa,” she said, pairing Lee up with Aydeen’s ex, “and Aydeen and Rai!” Rai felt a sick churning in her stomach. Jaff went off with his partner and Lee went off with pretty girl Higgins, leaving Rai to follow Aydeen to a section of desks. Plopping down into one of the chairs, Rai looked at the script. Oh, geez. The script was literally called ‘Love’. Did Mrs. Porter have any idea what she had done to Rai? Of course she doesn’t, Rai scolded herself. She would have to deal with this speech, and hopefully things would turn out fine. Aydeen took the lead, clearing his throat and reading,
“Oh, how beautiful art thou, fair lady.” Rai gritted her teeth and read the next line.
“And you, mine handsome prince.” Aydeen grinned, pleased at what the script had her saying. She forced herself to smile back, pretending that she loved the script. Aydeen, playing his part, took Rai’s hand and twirled her. His hand was cool and inviting, and despite how much she detested him, Rai couldn’t help but feel slightly comfortable where she was. Quickly looking down at her script once more, Rai read,
“Oh, love of my life, thou be the sun as I am the moon! I cannot shine without thou’s light shining on me!” Following the script, Rai swooned, but Aydeen did not catch her in time, and she fell back onto the floor, cracking her head on the tile floor.
“Aydeen-Jay McLaughlin! You help Miss Choi up right now! What were you thinking? You have to pay attention to your partner at all times!” Mrs. Porter yelled. Rai lay half-conscious on the ground. Lee rushed to her side, checking her for any actual injuries. Aydeen glowered at Lee, but he took no notice, too concerned about Rai’s livelihood. Mrs. Porter asked Lee to carry Rai to the principal’s office,
“I’m sorry you have to carry her. I normally wouldn’t ask, but she’s in no state to walk… she might have a concussion.” Lee nodded that it was fine. As he walked away, he thought to himself, She was right. My sweet baby girl was right. She obviously felt some foreboding sense, and we didn’t believe her, and now she’s hurt. He wanted to punch himself in the gut.
In the nurse’s office, Lee told the attendant on duty what had happened, distraught, feeling like he had failed his girlfriend. The nurse, much to his dismay told him that it might be a concussion, and that while some schools had ways to test for concussions, Whitewall Academy did not. Rai would have to go to the hospital.
The ambulance came speeding into the school parking lot, whirring its sirens and flashing its lights.
“You sent for an ambulance?” Lee asked in surprise.
“They know what to do in these situations. It’s better this way,” the lady replied. Lee looked out the window, worry fresh on his face. Hospital attendants rushed into the building, greeting Lee and the nurse with a smile.
“Where is Miss Shellie Loyd?” one of them asked. The nurse led them to Rai’s bed, Lee drifting worriedly behind. The ambulance staff loaded her onto a stretcher, as she was still unconscious. They had Lee explain exactly what had happened, and then assured him that Rai would be okay. Lee ran and grabbed Jaff, and they all rode to the hospital together. Halfway through the ride, Rai woke up with a groan.
“It feels like I got hit by the truck!” she whispered. The hospital attendants leaned forward, listening.
“Tell us more, sweetie,” one of them asked. Rai shuddered, her breath weak and faint.
“My head is pounding hard, really bad.” Lee knew that this wasn’t the worst pain she had ever experienced; he remembered worse pain, captured by enemies on missions, tortured. This mission wasn’t as dangerous, thank God. The trio still bore scars from hard trials… Lee knew Rai would be okay with this pain; he knew she was exaggerating a little. Still, he felt bad for the pain she was facing; he would gladly take it from her. Jaff sat next to Lee, and Lee knew he was thinking the same thing. Rai looked at Lee and Jaff, her eyes slightly out of focus, a watery half-smile on her face. Lee knew that Rai was good at acting, but she wasn’t the best actor, meaning that some of those tears and some of that wincing was real.
At the hospital, they went in the long, marble entryway, the smell of cleaning supplies filling the sterile air. They laid Rai on a table, letting her rest while they waited for a doctor. When he came in, he introduced himself as Dr. Lister and started to examine Rai’s head. Lee sat there, tense, worried that she had more than a concussion, that something else was wrong. After a few moments the doctor said in a deep, throaty voice,
“She has a concussion. Not very severe. No sports or anything, but school is fine.” Jaff let out a sigh of relief while Lee restrained himself from running to Rai and kissing her full on the mouth. Jaff punched Lee in the arm, obviously knowing what he was thinking. Rai sat up a little, slowly easing her body up from the table she was laying on. Dr. Lister cautioned her to be careful. She protested,
“I’m fine, I truly am!” Dr. Lister chuckled,
“I know you want to get out and about again, but you need to rest! You don’t want to injure yourself more.” Rai sighed her consent, letting the nurses help her off the table. Then, the nurses asked Rai who her parents were. Rai hesitated for a quick second before saying,
“Soren and Malacha Loyd, miss.” The nurse nodded her head. Lee, Jaff, and Rai each had fake profiles for their parents including phone numbers that would hook up to a government agent who would pretend to be a parent. The nurse called the number, and one of the only government agents of whom the trio knew their name (Mikeyla) answered.
“Hello, this is Malacha Loyd!” she said in a chipper tune that even Lee and Jaff could hear. The nurse responded,
“Your daughter is currently at Larkspur Hospital. She has a minor concussion and needs to stay home for the next two days.” Lee and Jaff both tensed a bit, hoping that Mikeyla could keep her head. She had barely kept it after the authorities had found Rai on the streets, tortured by the enemy, left to die the year before. Mikeyla had almost gotten fired, but the trio all liked her and had pleaded her case. Therefore, Mikeyla was still Malacha Loyd. They heard her answer again, in a slightly less chipper voice,
“Awww, is she okay? I’ll be there to pick her up in twenty-five minutes. Tell her I love her!” The nurses repeated this sentiment to Rai, though she had already heard it. After a few minutes of intense persuading, Lee, Jaff, and Rai were all sitting in chairs in the lobby talking under their breath about this bad turn their mission had taken. Rai tried to apologize, but the boys stopped her.
“It was all stupid Aydeen’s fault!” Lee said. “If he knew that you were one of the golden trio that he was working for, he’d have been much more careful with you.” Lee said angrily. Rai laughed a tiny bit, smacking Lee lightly across the head.
“You’re just jealous that my hotness brings all the boys asking,” she smirked. He hung his head in pretend defeat. For a moment, Lee, Jaff, and Rai all felt like normal teens having a fun day together- until Mikeyla pulled up.
They all got into the car, Mikeyla assuring the nurses that she was friends with Lee and Jaff’s families. Immediately, Lee related not only the story, but his feelings about it. Of course, most government agents knew about Lee and Rai, and it didn’t concern them too much. Mikeyla listened, slightly bemused. Jaff and Rai chuckled along while he talked, him too annoyed and into the storytelling to notice them laughing. As they drove, Lee calmed down, Mikeyla talking on the phone with her boss about the whole situation. Rai, quickly regaining her energy back, started a game of hand-slap with Jaff while Lee massaged her shoulders. Each time Rai smacked the back of his hand, Jaff winced as he tried to retaliate, but Rai was the champion of hand-slap; she beat Jaff and she beat Lee every time.
Once Mikeyla was done with her call, she listened silently to the three teens in the back of the pick-up playing hand-slap. She heard their laughter, felt their sadness, sensed their foreboding for the day to come. And it made her start to cry. They would never get to be normal teenagers. Tears filled her eyes, but she did not let the trio hear her cry; they had enough worries already. Once the trio reached the farmhouse, Mikeyla let them out, speeding away into the darkness, finally letting the tears fall.
The three knew that Mikeyla was crying; their ears had become attuned to small noises. They didn’t let her know they had heard, though, and they didn’t feel bad. They had had so many people cry over their fate that it didn’t phase them anymore. Lee took Rai’s hand and led her to her bedroom, making sure she felt okay before he left. Jaff met Lee outside her bedroom door and they walked into the living room together, both sinking onto the couch.
“I’m worried,” Lee immediately said.
“I know you are,” Jaff replied. “She’s your girlfriend, for goodness sakes!” Lee smiled, but it was a weak smile, sad and confused. He didn’t know how to make her better. He didn’t know how her mind worked. How was he supposed to comfort her when no one was there to comfort him? Jaff knew Lee well enough (they were like brothers) to know what he was thinking.
“I’ll always be here for you, bro,” Jaff whispered. Lee hunched his shoulders and let out a deep breath, letting Jaff reassure him. The two boys sat there and talked for hours, much like brothers would, their conversation getting wilder as they got sleepier. Rai stirred several times, but every time she fell back asleep, and so they kept talking. Jaff pulled out his phone, playing music as they danced around, laughing themselves silly.
After a while, it woke Rai up, but they didn’t realize it. She crept to the door, which was cracked open and watched her two best friends gallop and dance, and it made her smile. But at the same time, another fear she had had for a long time was building up inside of her. She had loved Lee since they were very young, but now that she was older, her feelings were changing, and they were both starting to mature in ways that she’d rather not think about. Was having Lee as a boyfriend a good idea? No, she didn’t think so. As they grew older, it could get awkward and messy. She would have to tell him in the morning. It would break his heart… but she hoped he’d understand. Sneaking back into the bedroom with a heavy but resolved heart, she closed the door. At least there wasn’t any school tomorrow.
Lee and Jaff kept rolicking around, not knowing the decision Rai had just made. They turned their music up and jumped around, forgetting the girl who was supposed to be asleep in the back room. Finally, after many more bounces around the living room, they collapsed onto the couch.
“Goodnight, bro,” Lee said, his voice barely audible.
“G’night,” Jaff replied. They both drifted off, not knowing that their loud partying had drawn the attention of an unwanted visitor… Aydeen-Jay McLaughlin.