Chapter Five

I woke up with a throbbing migraine and almost fell off the bed for being so clumsy. The dreamless sleep I had after visiting the library drained all the energy I was supposed to gain. Struggling to keep my legs from falling, I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth before using the shower that washed away most of the sleep residues. I picked black skinny jeans and paired it with a neutral color, oversized, long sleeve shirt. I found white converse somewhere in the wardrobe and wore them before leaving my room. I was not in the mood to bump into Aunt Courtney this morning so I hurried down stairs to grab an apple placed in a basket on the empty dinner table before rushing to the front porch. I was going to wait for whoever was going to take me to school-preferably not Courtney-and get ready for my first day of my 1439^th school this year.

“I thought as much.” Ken snorted when he saw me carrying my back pack and pacing impatiently on the front porch. “You are avoiding her, aren’t you?”

“Would you blame me?” I asked Ken, but he did not answer. Instead he used the keys in his hands to unlock a black Audi Q8 not too far from us.

“No way!” I exclaimed, my eyes almost fell off my face. “Is that yours?”

Ken just simply smiled and walked over to the car. I jumped in as well and fastened my seatbelt. I prayed Ken did not inherit the reckless driving his mother was fond of.

He started the car and the main gates opened before us. The drive was smooth and I still couldn’t wrap my head around how they managed to score themselves a mansion in the luxurious side of town. Mom and I could only dream of having such a life. Maybe we would’ve had it if only I wasn’t born the way I was. Ken and I would’ve still been really close if not for that dreadful incident that made me look like a monster in his mother’s eyes.

“Yes, I saw your 7000 messages. Is it not clear to you that I’m purposefully ignoring you?” Ken said over the phone that he held with one hand while the other turned the steering wheel, making a turn into the main road. “Yes… Yeah, fine. I’m on my way, we’ll chat then.” He dropped the call and turned to me.

“What were you doing up so early last night?” Ken asked and I frowned. Wasn’t he supposed to be asleep at that time? It was in the middle of the night.

“Nothing.” I mumbled. “How do you know I was up last night?” I questioned back.

“I didn’t. You just told me.”

Oh, what a lovely trick. That was smooth!

“I couldn’t sleep.” I decided to tell him.

“I know.” He gave me a brief look before stopping at the red traffic lights. “I heard you screaming.”

I shot him a perplexed look before chewing the insides of my mouth. I didn’t think I was that loud.

“I was about coming to check up on you, but mom was already at your door. She told me not to. I guess she wasn’t there to check up on you.” Ken said. He picked up his phone and did some tapping before dropping it on his lap again.

“She was there to stop you from checking up on me.” I concluded when it dawned on me. My head turned to my window and I watched as the adolescence pooled around the entrance of what looked like a prestigious high school. Cheerleaders in their extra miniskirts with Blue River High School colors on them shot flirtatious looks at Ken as he drove pass and parked on a spot that should be restricted for student.

“Maya, I know you have changed. What happened in the past was-

“Unforgivable… According to your mother at least.”

It was true. What I did, almost killed Ken and I don’t blame Courtney for protecting her own as much as she could. Just like that voice in my dreams said; Courtney is afraid of me, she does not want me in her house.

I’m only around because I have nowhere else to go and she loves her sister so much so the least she could do for her is take me in after her death.

I opened the door before Ken could say another word and waited for him to lead me to the principal’s office. But before he could make a move a gang of 4 jocks tackled him. If I did not know better I would’ve thought they were bullying him, but because he was laughing the whole time they tried bringing him down, I knew they must somehow be his group of friends.

“Kennedy, you missed the damn party on Saturday, how dare you!” A blonde male mumbled as he ruffled Ken’s already messed up hair.

“And he missed yesterday’s practice.” A taller guy pointed out

“Yeah, Kenneth.” The blonde agreed.

“And he hasn’t been answering any of his messages.” Another dude added. This guy had raven hair and a baseball hat. He was holding one leg of Ken’s while the blonde guy held Ken’s upper body, the taller dude was tickling Ken. Ken was half hopping on one leg while the last guy was digging in his pockets and pulling out cash.

“What do you have to say, Kendrick.” The blonde boy continued tickling Ken. Ken had lost all strength to fight back as he burst out laughing. The nudging he was doing was not in his favor as they took their play up a notch and decided to drag him around to see if his free leg that was dangling could help him out.

I can’t lie. It was humorous and I found myself snickering.

“Ok, Ok. I’m sorry. Let go of me.” He pleaded.

“Guys, Kendall says we should let go of him.” The blonde boy says looking at the other three. He has referred to Ken by so many names that it got my head spinning. Ken is just Ken. I know him as Ken and that is what we all called him at home. There is no full name.

All four guys released Ken at the same time and he crashed on the ground with a thud and a groan.

“Assholes!” He whimpered before getting up. His friends chuckled but help him out anyway.

“Kenan. You never told us you have a new cherry.” The blonde threw his arms around Ken’s shoulders while acknowledging me. He sized me up with a look I was all too familiar with. The lust emitted out of him like clouds of thick smoke ready to engulf me in its intoxication.

“She’s not my cherry, you bum!” Ken scolded. “She’s my cousin.”

Ken walked over to me and introduced us. The blonde was Chris, the tall guy was Austin, the one with black hair was Timothy, and the last guy was Duke.

“Nice meeting you, Hermione. You look lovely by the way.” Chris mentioned. The look Ken gave him did not go unnoticed and Chris’ smile dropped before he cleared his throat.

“I’ll see you guys later.” Ken told them.

He led me up a flight of stairs while giving me a mini tour of the building. The building had multiple awards and achievements flooding the corridor. Blue, silver and black splashed all over the placed, reminding everyone about the school’s signature colors. It was hard not admiring the many students that made this school very proud over the years. We finally got to the principal’s office door. Ken said something about meeting him at the field or the cafeteria before leaving.

I knocked on the door and led myself in.

Principal Thompson. A stiff lady in her late 40’s holding a grim look that effortlessly added wrinkles to her sagging look. The make-up was minimal and done in a way that would cause no mistake. In fact, her whole look was somehow. Military uniformed, strict and flawless, but high school friendly if I should say. She looked ready to shout orders as I sat there trying my best to look everywhere else other than her laser eyes.

“You are Mabel Hernandez’s granddaughter.” She spat. I did not know if that was a question or not, but I was not ready to answer. I was told I resemble my grandmother quite a bit that it was hard not to compare. I can change my surname, change my name, move to the other side of town… somebody will find out. They always do.

“How Ken O’ Brian managed to dodge being related to that Godforsaken woman is beyond me.” She continued. Her eyes bore huge holes on my forehead. I was worried I will walk around the school without a face if she continued with that death look. “The learners will soon find out one way or the other. Just so you know, their actions towards you will be as a result of what your grandmother put their families through with her witchcraft.” Principal Thompson said.  She brushed off imaginary dust from her pencil skirt then handed me a pamphlet.

“That is the school’s pamphlet. Your subjects are there. You will find your assignments on the school’s website under your grade. You fail to do your tasks on time you will face the consequences.” That sounded more like a threat.

I jumped out of my seat and zoomed out of her office immediately she dismissed me. She said something about a student leading me to my class. I saw a girl with headphones on as her head bobbed back and forth to whatever she was listening to. She wore cargo pants, a red drop shoulder super crop hoodie with a white top.

“Hi” I said, waving my hand in front of her.

She pulled off one earphone as she scanned me from top to bottom.

“You must be Ken’s cousin.” She blurted. The aura was not inviting so I did not bother answering her.

I moved down the hall and she followed me. “So what’s he like? What’s his favorite colors? What does he like eating? Have you seen his abs?” The questions kept pouring out and I felt disgusted.

“Ok, how about you get me to my class and maybe I might consider telling you something about him.” I said to her.

“Your first class is the third door on your right.”

“Great. Now get lost.” I told her before walking away. I heard the B-word behind me but ignored it and knocked on the classroom door.

“Hermione. Welcome. Principal Thompson did mention that you will be joining us. You can call me Mr. Morgan.” The class teacher said and I smiled in response. He was a man in his prime, wearing a formal attire but ditched the tie. “Everyone, this is Hermione Anderson. I pray we will all welcome her with open arms.”

A brunette that looked like Barbie in the making, raised her hand and Mr. Morgan acknowledged her. “Is it true that you are related to Ken O’ Brian and live in the same house now?”

Wow, news spread like wild fire here.

“Yes.” I rolled my eyes. I did not want anyone dragging Ken’s name because of me. He had managed to hide the identity of our grandmother pretty well so me being here will ruin that for him. I really do not want them treating him the same way they treat me. He seemed to have lived a better life and I am happy for him, I just don’t want to be in his life like a giant ball of bad luck.

Mummers and whispers buzzed around before the teacher calmed the class down. He asked me to take a seat wherever I chose and I picked a spot at the corner of the class. It was only after I had sat down did I realize I was seated next to someone familiar.

“Hey beautiful. Remember me?” He said. How could I forget those striking blue eyes that resembled summer’s clear sky. Bright and joyful.

“Dave?” I asked.

“Close.” He chuckled. “It’s Derrick.”

“Right.”

“We meet again. And this time you’re seated right next to me.” He smiles. “Must be my lucky day.”

“Must be.” I agreed.

Those sandy blonde locks fell on his face when he looked down to wear his reading glasses. His whole look changed to nerdy, in a very attractive way, but I wasn’t around to stare. I need no distractions while I’m here.

Time flew and it was lunch break already. I did not find Ken on the field, neither did I see him anywhere in the cafeteria so I opted to chill in the library on my free time. Maybe I could find what I was looking for.

I searched around the ancient history section, but couldn’t see anything interesting. Suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood and I swallowed hard. I felt very weird when the library doors closed. Somebody walked in and I tried my very best to turn around and see who it was, but my body wouldn’t respond to what I wanted. The feeling got intense and my breathing hitched. The book I was holding felt from my shaky hands, but luckily the floor was carpet so there wasn’t much noise from the fall.

I was frozen in place and I did not know how the hell this was possible. It only happens in horror movies and dreams, and I prayed I was dreaming so that I could quickly wake up from it.

 I finally managed to turn around but that feeling was still very tense. My eyes locked with his hazel ones and they glowed. A bright golden yellow. Impossible! It was definitely just my imagination playing stupid games with me because there’s no way human eyes could glow like that.

He had dark hair and a decent amount of muscles on either of his arms. He wasn’t bulky like Ken and his friends, definitely did not look like he played sports, but he did look like he was ok with that. He had this stern look on his face like I was bothering him. It wasn’t close to what Principal Thompson gave me this morning, but it wasn’t approachable either. He wore a hoodie and had earphones buried underneath.

“You are Mabel’s Granddaughter aren’t you?” He said in a low tone. I was not sure if that was how he normally spoke or he was following the library rules, but either way, it gave me chills. “Avoid me as best as you can. Right now, I’m your worst enemy.”

He gave me a last look before walking away. Once he left the library, I felt my inside loosen and I could finally breathe again. How the hell did I inherit Mabel’s enemies? What have I done so bad that all of this is hunting and haunting me?

There was something about him though I couldn’t put my finger on it but instead of fearing him, I was drawn to him. It was a strange eerie feeling I did not understand.

“That is Hector. Blue River’s smart loner” The red crop hoodie from earlier said, coming to stand next to me. “He never walks up to any girl to talk to her. You are literally the first. Whatever superpowers you possess you have to share.”

“It’s not superpowers it’s bad luck.” I told her. I picked up the book I dropped then walked away.

“My name is Candice by the way.” She yelled and the librarian yelled something back at her.

It was finally home time and I had never been more glad to get the hell out of that school. Worst first day so far. If it wasn’t me dodging a group of girls trying to get info about Ken, it’s the students whose families were affected by Grandma Mabel’s diabolical spells. And if not that, then it’s some random guy trying to get a number of a phone that I don’t even possess. What a day! I was drained. I couldn’t answer Ken when he asked me how was my day.

I just asked him to take me straight to my mother’s house. All the answers are in her bedroom for sure!