Oceane finishes reading a part of the book she's been reading, through the video call.
"I'm telling you guys that scene was just like how Kyle dropped me off!" She finishes explaining, sliding the book on her desk.
"Omg, that's crazy!" Yamma squealed. Covering a hand over her mouth in shock.
"Hmm, is it?" I trailed off, mindlessly pattering my foot on the carpet.
"What's the name of the book?" I hear Yamma ask Oceane, whilst my vision unfocussed. "Dancing with you."
My vision restores.
She reveals the book , through her screen. Presenting a cover of two people dancing together in a forest.
But why did I say something stupid like that?
I could have of handled it a different way. First of all, I should have just reported him in that instance, but I didn't.
"Wasn't there also another book you mentioned, you were reading before?" Yamma asks Oceane, once again.
"Yeah, it's called…hang-on what was the name?" She brushes a hand through her long silky brown hair.
"Hologram." I remind her, staring out of the dark starry window. "Yeah, that was the name."
"Anyway, enough with that. Ember, you seem off today?" Oceane focuses on me.
I look back at my phone, acknowledging them. "Yeah, ever since you left the chill out area in the hide-out." Yamma adds worriedly.
Do I tell them? I mean they know I went to the shadow kingdom and Yamma came with me. But he said I can't tell anyone he's a shadow cr- "Did something happen?" Ocean asks.
How should I explain this? "Kind of," I tell, they both lean in towards their devices where the facetime is being recorded.
"Go on," Yamma adds, waiting for me to speak again. I sigh.
"Promise not to freak out." I say, still unsure if I should tell them. "Promise." They both agree.
Telling them he's not from this world, and from the shadow world is completely different.
Right?
At least that's what I'm letting myself believe.
"Remember the last time me and Yamma went to the shadow kingdom," I began, "yeah, what about it?" Ocean questions me, unsure on where this conversation is headed.
"I didn't tell you guys because I didn't think it was a big deal until…" Will he actually kill me, If I tell them. There's a possibility. And there's a possibility of him not knowing I told anyone.
"What is?" Yamma persists, on knowing.
I inhale. Then exhale. Pause before continuing this top secret conversation.
"That day when we were walking to the shop, I accidentally bumped into someone, and-"
"They found out, you're an ELE guardian!" I shake my head, denying Yamma's exclaim.
"Then...What?"
"He recognised me at school and-" I was about to go on, when Oceane interrupted.
"He goes to our school!" I nod.
"And he dragged me into a classroom today. While you guys were training." They both act surprised, with a mixture of shock.
"And asked who I was." They stay quiet, listening to my tea.
"When a couple from Yamma's class walked in, misinterpreting us as a couple." I explained.
"Taylor and Sandra." Yamma adds.
I nod.
"Then he threatened me, not to tell anyone I knew he was from-well... not from earth." I finished.
"What did he say?" Oceane asks out of curiosity.
"He'd tell people looking for the ELE guardians that I'm one of them." I sigh.
"How would he know you're a guardian?" Ocean asks.
"He doesn't."
"Then how--" she begins, but Yamma interrupts.
"Because he'll lie about it. Duh." Her tone is soft and slightly agitated.
"Then how-" she begins, when Yamma interrupts. "Because he'll lie about it. Duhh." Her tone is soft and slightly agitated.
"So, what are we going to do?" Oceane wonders, unable to see a solution.
"Nothing." They both give me a confused look. "Nothing, because you guys won't get involved in it," I say, myself clear.
"What, but--" Yamma begins, but I cut her off.
"You're not supposed to know, remember?" I bury my face in my hands.
"Right." Yamma says quietly.
"You know what this situation feels like?" Ocean changes subject.
"The mafia book I was reading, Hologram." Yamma and I burst out laughing.
"What, it's true!" Ocean defends herself.
Literally, what I thought, I muse to myself.
"The mafia boss asks if she's working for anyone, but she denies it. He doesn't believe her, so he threatens to go after her family. When she reveals she's not close to them, he threatens her with something else—her freedom," She summarises.
"And throughout the story, they slowly fall in love." She tilts her head to the side as she finishes.
"Those things don't happen in real life, though." I point out.
"Who knows? Anything could happen," Yamma adds.
*
"So, are we still on for the picnic?" I ask Oceane and the others on FaceTime.
"Yes," Sven replies, looking for something on his computer screen.
"No one can say no. I've been waiting for this picnic all month," Yamma exclaims, packing food into her rucksack in her kitchen.
"Don't worry, we won't cancel it," Sven reassures her.
"How do you know?" Cole asks, brushing his hair in front of a mirror.
"Because I've done the logistics," Sven replies.
"And what are they?" Oceane asks, applying gloss to her lips, in her bedroom mirror.
"I've checked all your schedules and calculated the possibility of anyone canceling due to family. There's at least a ninety-five percent chance you will all be able to come tonight," he finally finishes.
"I see." I comment, brushing my hair in front of a mirror.
"I don't get it," Oceane remarks.
To be honest, I'm not shocked, because I don't get it either.
Okay, to be real--I wasn't listening to half of it.
I was too focused on something else. Callob--I had no idea he was like that.
Among my friends, he's a nice, caring guy. However, in reality, he's a cold-hearted betrayer.
Among my friends–-he's a nice, and caring guy. However, in reality–a cold hearted, betrayer.
Or does he just act like that with me?
I still can't let go of how betrayed I feel. I shouldn't even be thinking of him.
He's on the enemy side.
He's from the shadow kingdom, and no one from there can be trusted.
This just proves it.
"Ember!"
How he seemed so nice, until you really got to know him.
"Ember?" Mamma's voice buzzes through my phone. "Hello? Are you frozen?"
"Ember!" Oceane shouts.
Why are they shouting? I must have been zoned out again.
"Yeah?" I answer, placing my attention back on my friends.
I wonder...
"Why weren't you answering?" Kyle asked.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of something," I say, brushing off it off.
"To be honest, you've been like this all day," Cole notes, pulling his socks on. "What's up?"
"Just Cal-" I freeze. I immediately realised what I am about to say and cut myself off before his name could escape my lips.
"I mean the shadow kingdom." I say instead, "they're still a threat and I don't know if we will defeat them this time." I exhale.
"Of course we'll defeat them," Oceane assures me.
"There's a fifty percent chance that we'll defeat them," Sven corrects her.
"Anyways…Ember, what are you taking for the picnic?" Oceane changes the topic, ignoring Sven's smart mouth.
"I'm going to take dessert, snacks and another blanket." I smile, ignoring the unsettling questions wondering around in my head.
After talking for fifteen more minutes. We ended the call and I got ready to leave for the park. Cole said he messaged Callob, the time and where the picnic is and told him he can bring anything he wants.
"Mum! Oceane and Kyle are here!" I shout from the front door.
"Okay, honey!" Her voice echoes back from the living room.
"I'll be back around 11pm." I tell her once more, just in case she forgot.
"We're here," Kyle says as he pulls into the parking lot next to the park.
I push open the car door and get out. "Are the others here yet?" I ask.
"Yeah, they are waiting for us near our usual spot," Oceane says.
*
We've been playing UNO since we've got here, and the sun is finally starting to set. We've only been eating snacks so far, but we'll probably have dinner in a few minutes.
"Guys." We all turn to look at Cole. "Let's play a different game."
I sigh, looking back down at my cards.
Only two left.
A red four and a blue plus two. Right when I was about to win.
I let out a sigh.
"Alright." Sven sighs revealing his last three cards.
Two greens of two and a blue four.
"What should we play, then?" Yamma asks.
We all think for a second until Cole speaks. "Truth or dare?"
"I don't know," I say.
"Yeah. Aren't we too old for that now?" Oceane notes.
"One game," Yamma adds.
"Fine." I shrug. Everyone else mutters they're agreement.
"Who starts?" Kyle asks, re-adjusting his position next to Oceane.
"I'll start," Cole says, leaning forward. "Sven, truth or dare?"
"Dare." Sven says, finally setting his phone down by his side.
Cole smiles. "I dare you… to not go on your phone for the rest of the night. Unless it's necessary."
Sven's eyes widen in shock.
"Noooo…can't you choose anything else" Sven whines as Yamma snatches his phone from the blanket.
"Sorry, buddy, but you need a break from screens," Yamma says.
"Alright." Sven looks around the circle, looking for his next target. "Yamma. Truth or dare?"
She doesn't hesitate before responding. "Truth."
"Are you talking to anyone?" Sven's lips widen as he asks her the juicy question.
Yamma lights up in surprise. "Yes."
We all looked at her in stock.
"Who?!" Oceane immediately blurts out.
"You asked if I was talking to someone. Not who I was talking to," Yamma notes, smiling.
"Kyle. Truth or Dare?" Yamma asks, looking past me toward the end of the blanket where he sits next to Oceane.
"Truth," he informs us, leaning back on his hands and stretching his legs out in front of him.
"What do you like about Oceane?"
Oceane turns face him, waiting as he thinks.
"I like how she's humorous and energetic," Kyle says finally, looking over at Oceane.
"And how she's clumsy but confident." He reaches out, brushing his fingers through her hair.
Socute.
I smile, genuinely glad they have each other.
"Oceane. Truth or dare?" He asks her, his fingers still tangled in her hair.
"Dare."
"I dare you to run up to that tree and back," he points to a massive oak tree about thirty meters away.
"Okay." Oceane stands up and gets ready to run.
"Be back in a sec-" she says, running off.
We all watch her sprint into the distance.
"She's nearly back," I comment a few moments later.
"She's fast," Callob points out.
"Truth or dare, Callob?" Oceane asks finally arriving back at the blanket, while catching her breath.
"Truth," Callob responds smoothly. "I've got nothing to hide."
"Okay. Is it true that you don't have magic powers?" Oceane asks, sitting back down between Kyle and Yamma.
I spot a surprised look on Callob's face for a split second, but as always, it's gone within a blink. His face turns tense.
"What do you mean by magic powers?" He asks.
"Because how else do you get top marks on every exam?" she exclaims.
You can see his face lighten a bit.
"You even got a top score in Biology. Which no one except for Ember normally gets," she remarks.
Callob places his attention on me. "Is that so?"
I lower my head, ignoring the looks and stuffing my face with French fries.
"Ember, truth or dare?" He asks in a low, strong, yet calming tone.
"Truth." I look up, locking eyes with him.
He leans in. "Is it true that I got one mark higher than you on our last biology test?"
Is he trying to annoy me? Well, it worked.
"I don't remember," I lie.
"Really?" he asks, studying my every move.
"Oh, I remember!" Yamma interrupts. "It was-"
I snap my eyes to Yamma, glaring at her as a warning to not say anything.
She seems to get the gist.
"Ah… actually, I don't know." She quickly corrects herself.
We move on to Cole.
"Cole. Truth or dare?" I ask. He places a hand under his chin, pretending to think deeply.
"Dare."
What should I dare him to do? Run around the park? No.
Go up to a stranger, ask for directions, and then walk the opposite way? Nah.
There is something Cole does that Yamma always complains about, and I want to see if he'll admit to it.
Lost in my thoughts, the wrong question comes out of my mouth before I can stop it from sliding off my tongue.
"Do you check yourself out in the mirror for more than two hours?" I stutter, laughing at my own mistake. It's a completely ridiculous question. Something I'd never ask. And definitely not a dare.
Everyone stares at him, suffocating their laughs while waiting for his answer.
"Umm... Yes." Cole mutters.
"Told you," Yamma comments, taking a sip of her apple juice.
Everyone else is dead silent in shock.
"What? It's not like you guys don't do that," Cole defends himself.
"yeah, but for less than thirty minutes." Oceane adds.
"Seriously? Knowone else?" Cole asks, looking around.
I shake my head.
"You're just--" Yamma begins.
"Hey!" He voices back, cutting her off.
"Hey, Callob. You're new in town right?" Ocean asks smoothly changing the conversation.
"Yeah"
"I was wondering if you'd like a tour?"
"Saturday, maybe?" She asks him.
"Oceane. We can't Saturday," Kyle reminds her, tapping her shoulder.
"Oh, right..." She pauses, thinking fast before speaking again. "Embers free, though."
Yeah, right. I'm free. I still have a whole season of The BIG BANGTheory to finish, and then I need to start another series that's been sitting on my watchlist.
But wait…how does she even know I have nothing on?
"You don't mind if Ember just shows you around, right?" She asks him.
I mean, I do usually tell her my schedule for the weekend, and she hers.
But you can't go telling people I'm free without consulting me first. Or anyone, for that matter.
"No, that's alright," Callob says looking my way. "I want to talk to her either way."
Yeah. Talk… about how he's going to threaten me more.
The next day, Yamma and I are collecting our books for the next class from our lockers.
"What do you think we're going to do in biology?" I ask.
"Not sure. Mr. Stan will probably give another lecture about the digestive system," she replies with a heavy sigh.
Unexpectedly, I feel a hand drop across my shoulder.
"Boo!" Oceane says abruptly, scaring us from behind us.
"Ahh! You scared me!" I snap back, spinning around to face her.
"Pfft, you always get scared," Oceane laughs, while I just shake my head and smile.
"What's up?" Yamma asks Oceane, who is still giggling over the fact that I get scared over the tiniest of things.
"Well, you two are getting dressed up this friday," she tells us.
"Huh? I don't remember having anything on this friday," I mention slowly.
"Well, now you do."
Yamma and I look at one another, completely confused.
"Hang on, don't tell me you've set us up on another triple date," Yamma guesses.
"Yep" Oceane answers confidently.
"ugh," I whine.
"Who is it this time?" Yamma questions for us both.
"Two of Kyle's friends from his old school," She tells us.
Okay…no rando's this time. That's better, right?
"What are they like?" I ask.
"I heard that they're both really nice. One is really funny, and the other one is said to be not so sociable," she finishes waiting for a complaint.
"Names?" Yamma asks, leaning back against the lockers.
"Henry and Fin," she answers.
"Their our age, right?" I asked worriedly.
"yes."
Thank goodness.
"Wait, don't tell me..." I close my locker shut with a sudden wave of realisation, then look her dead in the eyes. "You set me up with the quiet guy, didn't you?"
She quickly darts her eyes to Yamma for assistants. "Umm, well--"
"Oceane!" I yelp in frustration.
"That's my cue to leave! See you guys after class," she says, backing away.
"Oh, and I'll text you guys the details!" She adds before spinning around and running off down the hallway.
"hey! I'm not done!" I call out after her.
I let out a heavy sigh. As I do, I feel someone hovering directly behind me.
"Not done with what?" Callob asks.
"Oh, just a triple date Oceane set up for me and Yamma," I explain casually—regretting it instantly.
Definitely not something you should say to your enemy.
"A date?" he repeats.
"Yeah, Oceane keeps setting us up because she wants to go on a double date eventually, but she doesn't know any other couples," Yamma explains in more detail.
"But it's not that bad," I add reluctantly.
"not that bad!" Yamma exclaims.
"The people she finds are totally weirdos—no offense to them," Yamma says, totally disagreeing with me.
"True," I agree. "But this time, it's not random dudes she picked off the street." I jokingly mention.
"Right. This time it's Klye's friends from his old school." Yamma states.
"Well, hope this one goes better," Callob says, warmly wishes us luck. Weirdly.
"I hope so too!" Yamma responds in a joyful tone.
"I'm mostly hoping it goes better for Ember, since she was set up with the non-sociable person," She adds, looking me in the eye, and trying not to laugh.
"I hope so too, but oh well. I can't do anything about it," I shrug.
Callob moves into the space between Yamma and me, looking down at me with a questionable expression. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to say no to Oceane, and maybe I'll be able to gain something out of it."
"Gain what, exactly?" he asks.
"I don't know," I reply uncertainly.
He lets out a short breath. "So you say you might be able to gain something from it, but you don't even know what?"
"Yes, is that a problem?" I reply, my voice growing agaitated.
"Guys, we have one minute to get to class. I suggest we hurry." Yamma exclaims, holding her wrist to show us her twenty-four hour watch.