Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)(9)
“I think I’ll offer her that advice.” Isis turned to Griffin. He nodded, and smiled.
“Go ahead. It’s about time someone told her.” He nodded in Savannah’s direction.
Isis pulled herself out of her seat and began to walk towards Savannah with a gleeful determination to her step. I spun out of my seat, walked briskly to her and grabbed her arm in a harsh grip.
“Lay off it. You’re not going to say anything to her, understood?” I ground the words through clenched teeth, and felt my eyes glow in warning. I was descended from the Emmons line, which was known for their tempers.
To be on the bad side of an Emmons was deadly. I was strongest in the fire element, and when push into a rage my teeth would lengthen to poisonous fangs. We were known to be especially protective of our families.
Isis stared in wonder at the fangs protruding from my open mouth. Her mouth was wide at seeing them for the first time. Ordinarily, I controlled my temper, but lately I found my emotions chaotic.
“You will leave her alone.” My speech was slurred. Isis nodded, and I released her arm. Her arm was bruised in the shape of my fingers. I should have felt guilty, but seeing Savannah walk out the doors and I knew I couldn’t regret my actions.
Savannah
The first half of the school day passed quickly. I hardly noticed as the hands of the clock danced past noon. The lunch bell sounded and my stomach growled in annoyance. I stored my bag in my locker on my way to the cafeteria and took a few moments to check my cell for messages. I had a text from Maye and felt my stomach drop before I opened it.
Considering Maye’s bafflement at modern technology, I knew she must have spent a good while figuring how to send me a text, which was confirmed when I saw several more texts with the exact same message. It took seeing my parents’ names flash across the screen before I processed what she wrote me. Nausea engulfed me, as I stuff my phone into my locker and rushed to lunch.
Our basement level school cafeteria was somewhat unique. It was divided into four sections, which were then divided into cliques.
The first section was filled with the stereotypical jocks and Cheerleader’s, but also had people who I called the shadows. These were people who were notorious for shadowing these groups and were tolerated, but not encouraged by the actual group members.
The second section was filled to the brim with the norms, which were people who were literally the definition of average. Usually they refused to stick to a single clique, dangling between several.
The third cafeteria was littered with the smart crowd. These were not just typical geeks, but rather truly intelligent individuals. The last cafeteria was the unlucky one. Anyone in that section belonged in the invisible or obnoxious category. They were either so mouse like that no one noticed them or they belonged to the worse category filled with class clowns, Goths, or Punks. While the great population shunned the people in the last section, I found them to be the most worthy of knowing.
I walked through sections all four sections and paused when I reached the doors that led to the quad. My best friends were unquestionably section four students, but rather than be persecuted by high school stereotypes; they choose to ignore their status. We compromised with high school mentality by claiming a picnic bench outside during the warmer months and populated the library during winter.
Our bench was a mint green metallic monstrosity, but it was ours. During lunch, we were usually surrounded by herds of people who claimed the benches nearby. However, today I noticed that most of the benches were empty. I figured this had something to do with the light mist that covered the benches from the spring rain this morning.
Willow and Izzy were seated on opposite sides of the bench. This was usually the case since I was the thread that tied them together. Izzy was the obnoxious borderline Goth type, while Willow was the invisible moral type. They belonged at opposite sides of the spectrum, but when the three of us were together they glided from their opposing sides to merge in the middle.
Willow seemed distracted this morning, while Izzy chatted uncontrollably. When I approached, a branch snapped beneath my flats and caused them to turn. Willow looked up at me and smiled. Most people couldn’t see Willows beauty because she caved in on herself when around other people. However, when Willow wasn’t afraid that people might be judging her, she had a natural classic beauty.
Willow held her smile a bit too long and I noticed the strain behind her hazel eyes. Her chestnut brown hair was casually thrown into a messy bun at her nape with random strands falling around her heart shaped face.
Willow never wore her hair up unless it was arranged perfectly. She wasn’t the typical teen to concentrate on what was fashionable, but instead kept to a durable look. I knew something must be off about today; her hair was screaming it at me. I made a silent promise to ask her later. Willow knew my silent signals and quirked up the corner of her mouth. Willow had coupled her messy look with a pair of loose fitting jeans and a shirt that was at least a size too big on her.
“Hey, S.” Willow’s voice was quiet and soft. She was the embodiment of nature; quite, serene, and its beauty was often overlooked. If there had been any noise other than a light breeze on the nearby trees, I would not have heard her.
I sat down next to Willow and directly across from Izzy. Willow grabbed a lunch tray and pushed it towards me. I glanced down at some Bosco sticks with marinara sauce and garlic fries. Since Willow had a free period directly before lunch, she could get to the lunch room before the absurdly long line took over. Luckily, she knew exactly what to order for me on any given day. She claimed we had a psychic appetite connection. I thought it was more likely that it had to do with my picky appetite, the fact that I only liked five things on the menu, and I hated eating the same thing two days in a row.