The Bad Angel - Four

I walked along the corridor, looking for Room 47.

It was the last hour of the school day, and I was supposed to meet with the arithmetic team for the first time. I was eager for the school hours to end and get this done and over with because tomorrow would be a weekend.

I found the door and opened it. As soon as I did, I saw that the room was dark and I went in. The room was really quiet and cold, there probably wasn’t anyone in there. As I stumbled around to look for the light switch, I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder.

I screamed and bent down, covering my head, my eyes squeezed shut.

“DON’T KILL ME!! I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!”

The lights were switched on and a male British voice said, “Whoa. Chill, scaredy-cat, I’m no killer.”

Slowly, I opened my right eye and looked up; there stood a guy, with an amused look on his face, extending a hand towards me. He had spiky, messy dirty blonde hair that stuck up all over in tufts, his hair going a little past his collar, and a dark labyrinth of bluish-green eyes in which I almost got lost in for a moment. He wore the school uniform neatly- I consider it neat, because he had the school blazer on- and had a mature, serious air around him. I guess he was no killer. Cautiously, I accepted his hand and he pulled me onto my feet.

I was still a little shaken and took a seat at one of the desks in the room. I studied the guy. I grudgingly admit he’s hot, with a nice strong jaw, nicely proportioned cheekbones, a nice refined-sort of nose and a lean figure. Harmless-looking. Still, never judge a book by its cover.

“So, what’re you doing here?” the guy asked, he took a chair and sat in front of me, facing me. I dragged my chair backwards, trying to get as far as I could away from him.

“I should be asking you that. Isn’t this the room where the arithmetic team was supposed to meet?” I asked. “Please, keep your distance.”

“Yes. That’s right. So what are you doing here?” Apparently, he didn’t seem the least bit fazed that I was treating him like some kind of contagious disease.

I frowned at him. “I’m supposed to be on the team. Excuse me your Highness, if my presence is bothering you.”

I think I’m starting to learn that not all hot guys have an awesome personality at first glance.

He chuckled. “No, you’re wrong. I’m no Highness. My name’s McKnight. Skyler McKnight.” He continued in his soft British accent. “And maybe your unsettled aura is kind of disturbing the peaceful aura in here. Other than that, no, your presence isn’t really bothering me.”

He noticed my confused look.

“I’m British you know. I transferred here from England some years ago. I’m a junior now. You look too young to be one.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m a sophomore. Does that fact bother you as well? Sire?” I asked, sarcastically. I tried my best to give him a death glare.

“Hmm… you sure have one heck of an attitude. You don’t really give a toss about it huh?” he asked me. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Yes, I don’t give a damn. Do you have a freakin’ problem with it? I’m sorry I’m a sophomore, sorry that I’m on the team. When are you gonna say sorry for attempted murder?” I asked hotly.

“Looks like someone’s cranky,” he said with a chuckle. “And I did not attempt to murder you; I was sleeping in here when you came in and made a lot of noise.”

I flushed. I guess that part was true.

“So you’re the new addition huh? You don’t look like you study all the time,” he commented. “I was expecting someone a little more bookish looking.”

I glared at him. I may suck at arithmetic but I’m good in art and literature subjects. “Don’t judge a book by its cover, Einstein. ‘Sides, you don’t look like you hit the books much either.”

“Ooh, touché, you’re right. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get good grades,” he winked at me. Somehow, that wink reminded me of Ashton. I went a little red.

“Ahh, looks like someone’s a little embarrassed,” he laughed. So much for having a mature, serious air around him. Pfft, he’s probably a goodie-two-shoes in school and out of school, he’s probably an irresponsible party animal.

I shot him a dirty look and then a couple of other students came in. To be exact, two guys and a girl came in.

“Hey Sky, who’s this?” the girl asked. She had wild reddish orange hair that was swept up into a messy bun and really pretty green chartreuse-colored eyes which were hidden behind glasses. She reminded me of Jenny Parker. Minus the fact that she looked older, and was not as hostile-looking as Jenny.

“Hi. Let me introduce you to uh- what’s your name?” he asked me, a little note of embarrassment in his voice. Hah. Loser.

“Hera Wolfe,” I supplied helpfully. See? I can be nice sometimes right?

“Right. This is Hera Wolfe. Sophomore. Be careful, she’s a feisty little lady and she bites. Also, don’t attempt to surprise her, she’ll assume that you attempted to murder her,” Skyler announced, as if he knew me forever.

“Oh, don’t be mean, she’s cute. You can be really mean sometimes,” the red head scolded him. She turned to me and smiled at me broadly. “Hey, nice to meet you. Don’t worry about Skyler, he’s a jerk.”

I nodded at her. “I think they got his name wrong when they were drawing up his birth certificate.”

She laughed. “At least you have a good sense of humor. By the way, I’m Mikayla Parker. Call me Kayla. I’m a senior. Welcome to the team.”

Parker? She must be related to Jenny then. Although she seems way different from Jenny.

“Are you related to Jenny Parker?” I asked.

Kayla arched her eyebrows. “You know my younger sister?”

Oh well, that explains the resemblance.

“Kinda,” I answered.

“I’m Nicholas Hyde,” a dark-haired, very, very serious but cool looking guy in glasses introduced himself to me. “Senior.”

He promptly sat down and took out writing materials.

“Hi. Nice to meet you Nicholas.” Okay. Anti-social much?

“Rayne Lark,” the other guy politely introduced himself as well. He had mouse-brown fluffy hair and big sleepy walnut eyes. “Nice to meet you Hera. Nice name. I’m a senior as well.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks. Rayne’s also a cool name.”

Rayne smiled at me as well. “Thanks. You’re not so feisty.”

Well, I guess I was wrong. They didn’t look the least bit like geeky nerds who played too much computer games.

“All right. My cousin is also supposed to be here, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, he won’t be able to attend for a while,” Skyler told us as we all settled down.

I raised my hand.

“Yes? The little blonde girl who bites.”

“Your cousin?” I was tempted to say something offending back to him, but I decided not to.

“Yes, my cousin’s supposed to be here today, but he told me he wouldn’t be able to attend for a while. No idea why though,” he explained.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Rayne said. “So anyway, shall we test the new kid?

The others agreed. Promptly, Nicholas came up to me with a piece of paper and handed it to me.

“Answer the questions. I’ll grade it for you,” he told me curtly before going back to his seat.

“Thanks?” I squeaked. I took up a pen and started on the paper. Thirty minutes or so later, I finished the paper and gave it to Nicholas. He graded it quickly and returned it to me with a disapproving look on his face.

“You’re not much good at this subject are you?” he asked me, almost, I said, almost a little sympathetically.

I shook my head. “I’m hopeless.” I looked at my score. I had gotten a sixty-five percent. I sighed.

To my utter surprise, without a word, Nicholas dragged a chair opposite me and sat down. He took out a blank piece of paper and a pen of his own.

“What?” he asked, noticing me staring at him. He took my paper from my hands.

“Nothin’,” I answered.

He beckoned me to come closer, so I did.

“Be careful Nicholas!” Skyler yelled over to us. “She bites!”

Jerk.

Nicholas stuck up his left middle finger at Skyler, which took me completely by surprise. I might come to like the guy someday.

“Ooh, tough,” I heard Skyler say.

“Oh just shut up Sky,” I heard Rayne say.

“Here,” Nicholas started, “Ignore him. Here is how you solve this question….”

I paid rapt attention to Nicholas. He was a freakin’ good arithmetic tutor. Within minutes, I understood everything that I never understood before in class. Meanwhile, the others were timing each other, solving arithmetic problems. I think they have calculators in their brains or something.

Even if I didn’t miraculously discover hidden talent for arithmetic, at least I wasn’t semi-killed on my first try and even if Nicholas was a little anti-social, at least he doesn’t give me death glares like Jenny. Anyway, Nicholas was nice guy; he’s really interesting to talk to. And he told me to call him Nick. Kayla told me that I’m the only person he’s told to call him Nick. She said that the rest of them are still only allowed to call him Nicholas. I’m serious. And they’ve known each other since they were freshmen.

I stopped outside a cheerful-looking vintage café, I had just come from buying myself a couple of new suits for swimming. There were circular vintage iron wrought tables with glass table tops under umbrellas. The chairs surrounding each table were matching iron-wrought chairs with lacy cushions over the seats. The outer part of the café was really like an orchard, with sweet-smelling fruit trees and flower bushes and was enclosed with a white picket fence. There was a pebble pathway that snaked towards the entrance of the café. At this time of day, the café was usually empty.

I walked into the café, the bell tinkling, signaling my entrance. The inside of the café was beautifully decorated. I recognized several paintings and sculptures with tiny initials ‘H.W’ with pointed ears over the letters signed on them, being displayed. When the café first opened, Eleanor, who was old friends with the owner, offered him to get paintings and decorations for free to decorate his place. He had agreed. I had been the one who did the paintings and sculptures.

“Well, well, look who’s here! The budding Picasso and trouble-maker herself, Hera Wolfe!” I heard a loud booming voice say.

I noticed the owner of the voice and smiled. “Hey Martin, how’re ya doin’?” I greeted.

Martin Winters was the owner of the café. I met him when I was ten and he’s an old friend of Eleanor’s and mine. As a regular patron of the café, that was just the way Martin always greeted me.

“Afternoon Hera. I wasn’t expecting you till tomorrow,” he said to me, cheerfully. He was busy sorting powders into containers.

“Well, I’m actually here to meet someone,” I admitted.

“Well now, is it a boy? You’re dressed quite nicely this afternoon,” he said to me with a twinkle in his eyes.

I looked down at myself. I didn’t see what was so special about the way I was dressed today. I was wearing a plain white camisole with a black ribbon laced around my waist, plain black shorts and plain white ballet flats.

“I am? I don’t think there’s anything special about the way I’m dressed,” I said, taking a seat at one of the tables by the window.

He guffawed. “I’m just pullin’ your leg Herr.”

At that moment, Eleanor -who was dressed in a light green, long-sleeved flower-patterned cotton dress and plain black high-heeled shoes- came in. She’s a tall woman with silvery hair tied up in a messy bun and grayish-blue eyes. She has a heart-shaped face and high cheekbones, making her look lovable but serious at the same time.

“Good day, Martin, my dear,” she announced in a polite British accent.

“Good afternoon Eleanor,” Martin cheerfully greeted. “Hera’s already here.”

Eleanor noticed me and advanced towards me. I got up excitedly.

“HI ELEANOR!” I squealed happily like a little girl. I enveloped her into a bear hug as best as I could. Remember, I’m slightly on the shorter side and Eleanor’s a tall English lady.

“Hello darling, Hera. My, aren’t you a little ray of sunshine?” Eleanor smiled at me. “Come on darling, let’s sit down.”

I sat down with Eleanor and Martin ambled towards us, a notepad and pen in hand.

“What can I get for my two favorite ladies?” he asked. “It’s on the house.”

“Thank you Martin. Can I get an iced blueberry and strawberry tea? I’d also like some melon cream puffs,” Eleanor said.

“All right. How ‘bout the you little Herr?” Martin asked me.

I shook my head. “No, that’s all right. I’m actually meeting someone else after this. That someone lost a bet to me so I’m being treated.”

“I see. Well then, I’ll get a glass of water for you then,” Martin said, walking away.

“Thanks Martin!” I called.

“No problem!” he replied, before disappearing into the kitchen.

“So Hera, how have you been?” Eleanor asked me.

“I’m fine, I guess. What about you? How was your trip to Paris?” I asked.

Eleanor brightened, “Ahh, Paris; the City of Lights. The art galleries there were absolutely wonderful! You should’ve come with me Hera; we would have had a wonderful time together.”

I grinned. “Well, you know, I have school and stuff… anyway, did you manage to acquire any new pieces for your gallery?”

Eleanor nodded. “Well of course, that’s the main reason I went there! My dear, you should’ve seen the number of people at the auction! There was a lot of competition for the art pieces that were on auction.”

“Enough about Paris, let’s talk about your new project. It’s the good news,” Eleanor said.

Martin came over to our table with a tray. He set down two coasters and set Eleanor’s tea and my glass of water on them. He put a plate of melon cream puffs in front of Eleanor.

“Fresh from the oven,” he declared. “Now, please excuse me ladies. I’m keeping an eye on the clock to see that my staff don’t take a longer than necessary tea break.”

As soon as he disappeared into the kitchen, a couple of waiters and waitresses came into the café and headed for the kitchen as well.

“Anyway, what do you think about working with an interior designer?” Eleanor asked me.

“That sounds fun. I’ve never worked with any interior designers before. What am I supposed to do?” I asked, excited. Uncle Ash may have banned me access from any art rooms at school but I’m still allowed to do art out of school, just that I don’t have that much time for completing my art pieces anymore.

Eleanor took a dainty bite out of one of her cream puffs. “I told this particular interior designer all about you. She was extremely interested of the artwork you did in my gallery. I asked her if she would like you to work with her for free. She was absolutely delighted.”

“ She told me she might ask you to paint portraits of the family, make sculptures and she also might ask you to paint various designs on the walls and maybe the floors. Also, I told her about your knack for landscaping gardens. She wishes for you to help plan out the garden, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“That sounds pretty fun,” I commented.

“Indeed it does. It’s a long-term job by the way,” Eleanor told me. “You can go meet her tomorrow if you wish. She says, the sooner, the better. Is it too much trouble?”

I shook my head. I didn’t have any swimming or arithmetic club. “I’m really free tomorrow. Where am I supposed to meet her?”

Eleanor took out a small piece of paper. “Here you go, the good woman’s name is Naomi. Go to this address tomorrow morning at nine o’clock.”

I accepted the paper from Eleanor and as I studied it, Eleanor finished off her cream puffs and iced tea. She got up.

“Well, I have to go now darling. I’ll see you soon all right? Have a good day!” she kissed me on both cheeks and called out goodbye to Martin and left.

I collected the plate and glasses and brought them to Martin.

“Aww kid, you shouldn’t have. That’s the reason why I pay them workers,” Martin said, nodding his head towards his staff that were stationed around various parts of the café. He took the plate and glasses from me.

“That’s okay Martin. It’s the least I could do for you,” I assured him. I walked back to my original seat.

I heard the tinkling sound of the bell and the waitresses who were stationed at the door welcomed the new customer. I looked up and saw that the waitresses were semi-hyperventilating and I saw Ashton walking in, looking out of breath, his hair windswept. He flashed a smile at the waitresses, saying ‘thank you’ and he noticed me.

His eyes lit up and he waved enthusiastically at me, “Hey Herr! Did you wait long?”

I noticed Martin coughing unnaturally loudly. On purpose, no doubt.

Ashton walked quickly towards me and I saw the waitresses giggling like mad. My eyebrows and the corners of my mouth twitched. So Ashton had that kind of effect on older females as well huh?

He took a seat opposite me and grinned. “Hey Herr. Your executioner’s here.” He winked mischievously at me.

“Were you busy sharpening your axe?” I said back, smirking. “You look out of breath.”

“Now, now, I can’t give out my secrets about my methods you know,” Ash teased.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several waitresses scrambling to come take our order. Martin, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and came up calmly towards us, beating the waitresses to our table

“Well now, don’t you two look perfect for each other? On your first date?” he questioned innocently.

Both Ash and I blushed. I gave Martin a dirty look. He just winked at me.

“Umm, actually, no. I’m just treating my friend. I lost against her in a bet,” Ash said hesitantly. “We’re just friends.”

I felt a bit sad. Then I remembered. Right. As soon as I had met Ash, I already knew that he was out of bounds for me. I tried to clear my head. We’re just friends.

“Just friends?” Martin said, he handed two menus to both of us. There was a note for me on the first page in Martin’s handwriting.

‘He’s a good looker Herr. Remember, what counts is what’s on the inside, not the outside!’

I gave Martin a small smile.

“Well, not really just friends I guess. We’re very good friends,” Ashton smiled broadly at me.

Oh well, at least he acknowledges me as a ‘very good friend’.

Ashton read the menu. “I would like a frozen Greek yogurt parfait. Extra golden kiwis and absolutely no mangoes please and thank you. “

I looked at him in surprise. I was going to order the same thing. Except I was going to ask for extra golden kiwis and Australian strawberries as well. And the mango would’ve suited me just fine.

Apparently, Martin was kind of surprised as well. “That’s funny you know, because usually He-“

I nudged his foot and discreetly shook my head. He mustn’t know me and I mustn’t know him.

“-Henry, my nephew, he usually orders that as well. It’s his favorite,” Martin finished.

Ashton looked up, “Really? That’s my favorite as well!”

I gave Martin my order and he disappeared into the kitchen, menus under his arm.

“I thought mangoes were your favorite,” I told Ash.

“I hate mangoes. Greek yogurt’s my favorite,” he admitted. “But Jen seems to think she knows all my favorite things.”

“Really. I think mangoes are okay, but I like Australian strawberries and golden kiwis the best. Greek yogurt’s my favorite actually,” I said, a bit embarrassed.

“I know,” I heard Ashton say softly.

My head shot up, “Excuse me?”

He coughed, “Nothing. So what business did you have before coming here?”

I thought about my answer for a while, “I went shopping for new swimsuits and then I went to meet an old friend. She just returned from Paris and I haven’t seen her in a couple of months.” I furrowed my eyebrows, if I heard it properly; Ash was saying he knew what kind of frozen yogurt was my favorite.

“Oh… so who were the chick and dude with you just now?” he asked, playing with the napkin in front of him.

I raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“Lunch time?”

“I told you, Raychel Kidd and Shane Lancaster,” I said.

“What did you mean by ‘your other halves’?” Ash asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I meant they’re my absolute best friends. I’ve known Shane since pre-school and Ray since third-grade,” I explained.

“Ahh… that’s more understandable,” Ash nodded his head.

“So I never really got to know more about you. Becky and Faith stole you from me,” Ash said jokingly, I think my ears turned red or something. Cause they felt really hot. “Why do you hate swimming so much?”

“I had a horrible experience when I was learning how to swim when I was really young,” I told him. “There was once, I jumped into the deep, adults’ pool without thinking. I was supposed to stick with Shane and stay in the kiddie pool, but somehow, I got separated from him. Anyway, I didn’t know how to swim, I was going to drown.”

“Did you?”

I shook my head. “There was this kid there. Although he was just a little older than me, he was a really good swimmer. He saved me. But I don’t know, after that, I hated swimming. And my rescuer just tormented me for the rest of the course of swimming lessons I took. I have no idea why, before my near experience with death, we were really good friends.”

“Maybe he was trying to make you mad at him so that you would get over your fear and prove that you can swim?” Ash suggested quietly. “I don’t know, kids have unpredictable minds you know.”

“I guess, but I really hated him back then. He made me miserable. I wonder where he is now though,” I added thoughtfully. “Probably living in a house with a pool and swimming for university or something.”

Ash shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“My turn to ask you stalker questions,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

He laughed. “All right, go ahead.”

Martin came over with our orders and set them on the table, “All right. Enjoy!”

“So,” I said, after a spoonful of frozen yogurt, “Are you and Jenny together or something?”

Ash made a face, “No way. What makes you think so?”

“She’s really into you. In case you didn’t know.”

“I know.”

“Someone’s a little egoistic.”

It was his turn now to stick out his tongue at me, “I am not. I mean, Jen’s always hovering around me and trying to get me to bring her out alone. Truth to be told, you’re the first girl I’ve brought out. Ever.”

My spoon paused in mid air. I was surprised.

“You’re kidding.”

Ash shook his head. “I’m not. Really.” He looked at me earnestly.

“Well, that’s surprising. I’d figured you were the type of guy who changes girlfriends every week,” I said.

“I’m hurt.”

“I was kidding.”

“Really?”

“I swear.”

“All right. I believe you.”

“So, why haven’t you brought other girls out before?” I asked, curious.

Ashton seemed to hesitate for a while before he answered me, looking into his parfait. “I guess cause you’re different. You’re not like most girls. Well, I guess I could say that I feel comfortable around you.”

“Thank you, I feel so touched,” I said, dramatically, putting my right hand over my heart. Ash chuckled.

I laughed with him. “So what were you doing before you came here? You looked like you ran all the way here.”

“Actually, I hurried all the way here so you wouldn’t have to wait too long,” Ashton said. “I was busy helping my mom sort out stuff at home. She says she has important people coming over or something.”

“I see…”

“So what’s in your life?”Ashton asked.

“Me?”

“Yeah. Any guy in your life? Or are you too much of an angel to even have a relationship?” he asked humorously.

“Nope, there’s no guy in my life. Never was one. Unless you count Shane, my best guy friend,” I told him. I wasn’t gonna tell him that I was a bit attracted to him. Never.

“Are you sure? You don’t even have a thing for anyone?” Ash asked me, mildly surprised.

“There was a kid once, when I was little. I kinda thought he was cute and nice,” I admitted. The kid was actually the kid who tormented me during swimming lessons ten years ago. I know, weird world huh?

“But that was ten years ago.”

“Oh really? What was his name?” Ashton asked.

I shook my head. “Truth to be told, I never even got his name. It was kind of a blind crush.”

-WRTINGMON! over and out

Chapter Two - The Bad Angel

Disclaimer: I own ALL characters in this story and the storyline as well.

Chapter Two

It was already 3 o’clock in the afternoon. I was in a baggy t-shirt and shorts with my bikini underneath, waiting by the school’s poolside for the swim team to appear. My hair was still in its ponytail. I felt dumb wearing my bikini. I knew that competitive swimmers didn’t wear bikinis, they wore one piece suits. But I had no one piece suits. My uncle told me to wear whatever suit I had, the coach wouldn’t mind. As long as I showed up.

I was drawing patterns in the water with my right toe when I felt someone approach me from behind. I turned around and saw a tan guy in blue swimming trunks. A really hot guy. He had tousled blue black hair, navy eyes, a strong, nicely-shaped jaw and he was tall and muscular. He wasn’t like the football players who were way too muscled or one of those skinny guy types either. Still, he had abs. And did I mention he was seriously smokin’ hot?

“Hey, ‘sup?” he asked me, smiling.

I got up and smiled back. “Hey.”

I never had trouble talking to people. Even hot guys like him. He’s hot all right, but he’s also just a normal human being. Just that he was blessed with good looks.

“Don’t mean to be rude, but who’re you?” the guy asked me tilting his neck slightly downwards to look at me. “And why’re you here?”

“I’m Hera. Hera Wolfe. I’m here to be on the swim team,” I answered.

Apparently he found that a little hilarious. “That’s funny. You don’t look like you swim at all. You don’t look very athletic. You look so feminine and your skin looks as if you never went out into the sun at all. You look more like the cheerleader type.”

Apparently, he on the other hand, had no trouble speaking out his thoughts.

I huffed. “I don’t swim. And I do sports all right? I do track and field sports. I think being a cheerleader is overrated. I never asked God to make me a freakin’ blonde or to give me skin which won’t darken no matter how darned long I’m under the sun.”

“Seriously?” he gave me a skeptical look. Ugh, now I kinda hate him. At least he didn’t say I look like the good girl-type who ran for class president which most people thought I looked like.

“Your hair looks too bright to be natural,” he told me.

I rolled my eyes. “I told you, I never asked for my hair! It’s natural! Do you want me to pull out one to show you my roots?”

Without waiting for an answer, I plucked out a strand of my hair without flinching and showed it to him.

“See?”

He leaned in to take a closer look. And squinted his eyes.

“All right, I believe you.”

“Thank you.”

“But still, you’re too fair to be athletic. I never heard of people whose skin won’t darken no matter what. Does that mean you can’t get sun burnt? And that you don’t need sunscreen?”

I took a deep breath. Okay, I might be a little strange. But aren’t I a strange person?

“I won’t say I’m super athletic and I love sports, but I will say that I do, do sports. I have no idea why my skin is strange as it is. And I still do use sunscreen because after staying under the sun, my skin will turn red and hurt for a while. The next day, it returns back to normal. Anything else?”

This guy didn’t even introduce himself and he’s asking me so many questions.

He blinked a few times and studied me closely. “Prove it.”

“Huh?”

“Prove that you do, do sports. If you do sports, you should have at least some muscles.” He flashed a grin at me.

“Are you asking me to strip for you?” I asked him sarcastically.

“No, you should at least have some muscles in your biceps right? Or your calves?”

Huh, easy for him to say. It wasn’t easy for me to develop extra muscles in my upper arm or calf areas. The only area which I seem to develop extra muscle was in my abdomen. One of my girlfriends who is a hardcore volleyball player told me that I was lucky. She told me that she hated her muscular biceps and calves. They made her look so manly.

“You’re so lucky Herr, your arms and calves don’t get flabby or too muscular either!” my friend had said. “I have to keep fit in order to not let them get too flabby. But then, the muscles become too large, and then I have to go muscle shaving! It’s tedious!”

I was a little curious about what she meant by muscle shaving but I figured it was none of my business.

“I have no visible muscles there, sorry.”

“Meaning?”

“Okay, aside from having weird looking hair, freaky skin, I can’t seem to develop visible muscles in those two areas.”

“So meaning you have no visible muscles?”

I hesitated. I didn’t want to be such a slut and show him my abdomen. It might be discriminating.

“Well, I do…but they’re on my ya know, my abdomen?” I said hesitantly.

He didn’t look at all bothered. “All right, that’s fine. “

I hesitantly lifted up my shirt just until above my belly button and showed him half of my femininely sculpted abs. The guy didn’t come very close to look. He must sense that I feel insecure showing him my stomach. He looked at it for a few seconds.

“All right, that’s enough proof. Nice abs by the way,” he flashed me another one of his grins.

I dropped my shirt. “Thanks.”

I thought he had way nicer ones. I mean, it’s not, like, they make me look super hot. They totally made him look hotter than he already is.

“Sorry to intrude your privacy like this,” he said apologetically. “But it’s weird that someone like you is being put on the swim team. You told me that you don’t even swim. I have to be honest with you. You look like a…”

I waited for an answer. “Yep? A Barbie?”

He shook his head laughing. “No, I was going to say you look like one of those angels or goddesses in paintings.”

I flushed a little. “Thanks,” I said again.

He led me to the bleachers by the poolside and we sat down. I snuck a glance at my watch. 3. 15. I’ve been talking to him for about fifteen minutes. Practice started around three thirty.

“Are you part of the swim team?” I asked.

“Yup. My name’s Ashton Taylor. Nice ta meet you!”

I looked at him in surprise, “You have the same first name as my-“

“Yeah, the principal.”

Oops, I was gonna say ‘my uncle ash’. I didn’t really want people to know I was related to him. Not cause I’m embarrassed, cause maybe they’d think that my uncle favors me or something.

“Well you have the same surname,” Ashton said.

I lied without batting an eye. “Yup. Small world, huh?”

I pretended to be interested in a lock of my hair.

“So… why’re you here anyway? You told me you didn’t swim,” Ashton said.

“Well, do you know about the rat thing in the cafeteria today?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t there. But one of my buddies told me about it. They said it was hilarious.”

Oh really? Yeah right. My mind flashed back to when I was watching all the students, guy or girl, were frantic and clamoring onto the tables. And it was only six rats for goodness sake.

“Hmm… I was the one who did it.” I confessed.

“Seriously? Man, that’s so awesome. How’d you have the guts to do it? You surprise me even more. What’s next? You’re the president’s daughter?” Ashton laughed.

“Well, I was just planning to let them go back to their nests quietly. Somehow, I think they got really afraid and started going berserk and ran around the cafeteria. I never meant for it to turn out the way it did. Honest.”

“It’s okay. I believe what you say. And also, I’ll keep the secret that it was you. So, what does that incident have got to do with you joining the team?”

“The principal thought that I lacked discipline or proper common sense. He thinks by banishing me from the debate team and Arts club into the activities I detest most, I’d be more disciplined,” I said, wrinkling my nose.

“Huh, interesting. So, even though you look like an angel, you’re like a trouble maker?”

“I wouldn’t say that. I was doing what I thought was right.”

“Sure,” instead of a smile or grin, he was giving me a teasing smirk.

“Hey Ash!” I heard an unfamiliar voice call from across the pool.

Both me and Ashton looked up and saw a group emerging from the pool entrance. They were all dressed in baggy t-shirts and shorts. Leading the group, I saw a young woman, probably in her late twenties, with a whistle around her neck, wearing track pants and a white t-shirt with the caption ‘ I’M NOT PROUD, I JUST HAVE DIGNITY’, with her chestnut hair done up in a ponytail.

Ah, that was probably the coach.

I leapt of the bleachers and Ashton followed suit behind me.

“C’mon,” Ashton beckoned me to follow him towards the group.

I came face to face with the members of the swim team. They looked so intimidating. I heard from my uncle that they were all juniors and seniors.

“Who’s this? Your sister?” a girl with short, straight red hair asked. She had sparkling green eyes and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose.

“That’d be weird Jenny, they both look so different. Ash’s a brunette and well, she’s blonde,” a tall, broad-shouldered guy with spiky, strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes said. He gave me a secretive wink. I was a little surprised. I didn’t even know him.

“Well, well, who do we have here?” the coach stepped forward to stand in front of me. “Hera Wolfe?”

I grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s me.”

I swore I heard one of the girls give a small gasp.

“I’m Coach Nancy Grey. Nice to meet you. Welcome to the team,” she smiled warmly and held out her right hand.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” I said back, shaking her hand. Her hand had a nice, firm grip.

“Well, these are your teammates,” she gestured towards the others.

“That’s Faith Randall.” The coach pointed to a tall girl with straight dark brown hair which was a little past her shoulders and hazel eyes. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back.

“And that’s Warner Foxx.” She pointed to a muscular guy with caramel colored buzz cut and green eyes. He held up his hand in greeting, I nodded at him.

“He’s Zachariah Ray.” Coach Nancy pointed at the strawberry blonde guy who winked at me just now. He grinned at me.

“This is Jenny Parker.” She pointed to the red haired girl who asked Ashton if I was his sister. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes clearly showed hostility. I made an effort to give her a smile.

“That’s Rebecca Sears.” She gestured towards a girl with reddish brown hair and green eyes. She smiled perkily at me. Sears. That sounded a little familiar. Rebecca sure looked familiar too.

“And last but not least, your captain, Ashton Taylor. I presume you’ve met him?” Coach asked.

I nodded. “Uh-huh”

All in all I had six teammates, not counting me or coach.

“Well guys, this is Hera Wolfe. She has been put on the team due to some unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, from today onwards, she’ll be your new teammate. Work hard and please cooperate with her,” Coach Nancy introduced me.

“Hey. Sorry to intrude on your team. Sorry if I should suck or do anything to drag you down. I’m not exactly the best swimmer on earth,” Hera said a little apologetically.

“Nah, it’s all right,” Zachariah said. “Pretty girls are very welcome.”

“All right guys go prepare yourselves, practice starts in ten minutes,” the coach ordered.

The team advanced towards the bleachers to put down their belongings. I lagged a little behind and Ashton noticed this.

“What’s up Herr?” he asked.

“Herr?”

He shrugged and grinned. “Can’t I call you that?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“So, what’s wrong?”

I sighed. “I don’t know if you noticed it or not, but I’m not exactly wearing a suit that’s suitable for competitive swimming.”

“You mean you’re wearing a two-piece?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Don’t you have any one piece suits?”

I shook my head. “Nope. I told you, I don’t really like swimming. I was only told today that I was to be on the team.”

“Well, that sucks. Why don’t you go ask coach? She’s over there with the others.”

“Yeah, okay.”

I followed Ashton towards the others. Swimming captain huh?

“Hey coach, Herr said that she’s not wearing a one piece,” Ashton said quietly to the coach so as not to embarrass me in front of the others who were taking off their shorts and shirts.

“I know. The principal told me already. That’s okay Hera. Uhh, I need to ask you something… would you mind? Ashton?” Nancy gave Ashton a pointed look.

“Sure,” he walked off towards his buddies.

“So Hera, are you wearing a string bikini?” Nancy asked quietly.

I shook my head. “No, I chose one that I thought was most suitable. I’m almost wearing something like a one piece, except the middle part is missing.”

“That’s all right. But I expect you to get a one piece as soon as possible all right?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Go get yourself ready.”

I nodded at walked towards the girls of the team.

“Umm… mind if I put my stuff here?” I asked a little cautiously.

The perky and energetic one, Rebecca Sears gave me a friendly smile, “No, we don’t mind. Welcome to the team! By the way, do you know my brother?”

I cocked my head to one side. “Your brother?”

“You know, Ruben Sears? He looks exactly like me. Except he’s a guy, a little taller and his hair is short and spiky.”

I thought hard. “No, sorry.”

“Seriously? But I swear that I heard from his friends that a girl named Hera Wolfe rejected him. And I’m sure no one else has a unique name like yours in this school.”

Ruben. Ruben. Ruben. I thought hard again. Did I reject a guy named Ruben? Suddenly I remembered. It was a month ago; I had been busy, going back and forth from the art supply room to the art room I which I was doing my current work in. That time, I was busy making a life-sized model of Uncle Ash.

I remember carrying a huge pile of old newspapers and crashing into someone when I almost reached the art room. I remember apologizing profusely and thanking the guy who I crashed into for helping me pick up the newspapers. That guy had been fairly tall; he had reddish brown hair and green eyes. I remembered him by the onyx stud in his left ear.

“That was your brother? The tall one with an onyx stud in his left ear?” I asked.

Rebecca nodded excitedly. “Yeah, that’s him. Is it true you rejected him?”

I thought again. I remember him saying that he liked short people and asking me if I wanted to go to a concert with him. I was a bit dizzy from all the noise around us and I had just told him sorry and I was busy. Then I got up and went back to the art room for peace and serenity.

“I’m not sure really. He asked me out?” I asked, giving her a confused look. “I just told him I was too busy because I was busy working on a project.”

Rebecca laughed delightedly. “Exactly! That was you wasn’t it? Ruben’s my twin brother and a lot of girls in his class think he’s so hot. That made him really egoistic and vain. Getting rejected by you, a sophomore had been a first for him and you definitely crushed his ego! I salute you!”

She suddenly bounded towards me and enveloped me into a crushing bear hug. “You’re just so adorable!”

“Quiet down Beck, don’t get overexcited. You might suffocate her,” Faith said, an amused look on her face.

“Can’t you hurry up? Practice is gonna start soon,” Jenny said loudly. She gave me an annoyed look and brushed past us, towards the edge of the pool.

I blinked. Was it just me or does she hate me? I looked at her back, confused.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked Rebecca.

She smirked. “Not really. Well, maybe in her case, you did. Jenny is like, totally gaga over Ashton. I mean, seriously, have you ever seen someone as hot as Ashton?”

Yup, I definitely never saw someone as hot as him all right. I glanced over where the boys were laughing loudly about something. When he laughed, Ashton’s eyes seemed to sparkle, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Anyways,” she continued. “When Jen saw you and Ashton, she got really pissed.”

“Why?”

“Because, I’m not sure if you noticed it or not, but you guys were sitting like, real close,” Faith told me.

Really? I never noticed. We were talking too much.

“So Jenny thinks I’m stealing Ashton away from her?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing together.

“Exactly. Well, Ashton doesn’t even belong to her. He doesn’t seem to be very interested in girls somehow. Pity huh?” Rebecca said.

She let go of me so I could take off my t-shirt and shorts. I slipped out of my shorts, deep in thought. There was no reason for Jenny to hate me. I mean, she’s pretty. I wouldn’t say model pretty but prettier than me at least. And I was just a sophomore. She shouldn’t feel worried that I’d steal Ashton away from her. I mean, as soon as I laid my eyes on him, I had a feeling, no matter how much I fall for him, he’s really unattainable.

I folded my shorts and placed them on top of my bag. I proceeded to slipping my shirt over my head. And I folded that too.

“Hera!” I heard Rebecca squealing.

“Yeah?”

“You’re wearing a two piece! You have a great body!”

“Gee, I don’t think I do. But thanks Rebecca.”

It was weird. My body matured really quickly, but my progress in growth of height was painfully slow. At the age of twelve, I was already fully developed. I thought it made me look really fat. That’s why I doubled my effort in my track and field sports.

“No! You have really great abs! Even nicer than Faith’s! No offence girlfriend,” she added to Faith.

“None taken.” She assured her friend. “But really Hera, you’re curvy, but you have them at just the right places. How do you control that?”

The two of them looked at me incredulously as if I was an alien whom they’ve never seen before in their entire life. Is today really the most unfortunate day of the year for me? First, I get banned from my own choice of clubs, next, I get assigned to activities I hate most and finally, it’s as if everyone chose today to say various things about my body.

I wasn’t sure what to take as a compliment or an insult anymore.

“I don’t know,” I told Faith. “It’s all natural I guess. I’ve been on track and field sports for as long as I can remember.”

“Faith! Rebecca! We’re starting!” we heard Jenny yelling.

She left my name out. No matter. I didn’t really want to be on the team anyway.

“Eeps! Let’s hang out later all right? I have tons to ask you!” Rebecca said. She grasped Faith’s and my hands and towed us along with her to the pool where the team was gathered around Nancy. I felt the others staring at me.

“Stop staring,” Nancy said. “It’s rude. Hera can’t help it. She’s not much of a swimmer and she was told last minute that she was on the team. Don’t make her feel uncomfortable.”

“Nice ass,” I heard Zachariah whisper to Warner who nodded his head. Jenny was giving me a hateful glare. I ignored them.

Ashton caught my eye and gave me a sympathetic look.

“It’s all right!” he mouthed.

I nodded slightly.

“All right, pay attention to me! Warner, Zack, Jen, Beck and Faith, the five of you, do ten laps across the pool. Five breaststroke, five butterflies. Ashton and Hera, stay here,” the five of them departed to complete their orders.

“All right you two, come closer.”

Ashton and I moved closer to Nancy.

“So Hera, how fast do you swim?” she asked.

“As fast as a snail on land,” I declared. I heard Ashton stifling his laughter. Jerk.

“We’ll see about that. Come here you two,” she led us towards the starting end of the pool.

“Stand up there,” she pointed to a mini platform. I looked over to where the others were diving off other similar mini platforms into the pool. I stepped up.

“All right, bend down, the tips of your fingers touching your toes and your chin tucked in between your knees. That’s how you prepare to dive.”

I followed her instructions.

“Okay, that’s good,” I heard her voice say. “Ashton .”

I didn’t hear anything for a while but the splashing of the others swimming on the right side of the pool. I was about to stand up again to see what had happened when suddenly, I felt two strong warm hands which sent tingles up and down my spine, touching my back and forcing me forwards.

I plunged head first into the ice-cold pool. Ashton had pushed me off. I cleared my head of angry thoughts when I suddenly realized how deep the pool was. Suddenly, I couldn’t see the floor of the pool anymore. Everything looked dark and endless. Like a hole, ready to swallow me in. I was terrified. I was going to drown. Instinctively, the training from ten years ago kicked in and I kicked my legs. Hard.

I swam and swam and swam. No other thoughts but swimming as fast as I can before I could drown. The chlorine from the pool burned into my eyes but I didn’t care. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, my right hand touched a wall, and I reached up, groped around and held onto a ledge.

I brought my head up, panting. I didn’t care that my arms were aching from all the strain. I forcefully hoisted myself up, out of the pool. I needed to get out. And fast. After I made sure I was at least ten centimeters away from the edge of the pool, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

I reached up backwards to my ponytail and wrung the water out of it. Loose curly tendrils had escaped from my formerly dry and neat ponytail and were framing my wet and if it were possible, much whiter face. I looked towards the left and saw Nancy and Ashton jogging towards me, astonished look on their faces. Nancy was holding a stopwatch. Ugh, probably to tell me that they were so surprised that someone who can swim that slow actually existed.

As they reached me, I glared at Ashton.

“I could’ve drowned,” I said icily.

“But it was worth it!” Ashton said, with an excited look on his face. I can’t believe that this extremely uber hot guy almost pushed me to my death.

“Why? Cause you got a chance to see the slowest person in the world swim?”

“Not that. Ashton’s the fastest swimmer for the hundred meter events. He usually clears it in about thirty-seven seconds. You, on the other hand, cleared it in thirty seconds!” Nancy said. Her excited face looked like that of a kid’s on Christmas Day.

“I don’t believe you. I swear that I took at least five minutes for that swim.”

“No. Really Herr, you did it much faster than I usually do. Even on my best days,” Ashton had an earnest look on his face.

“Dude! She’s like a freakin’ fish!” I heard Zachariah holler towards us. “The chick actually beat Ash’s time! That’s, like, incredible!”

“Good job Hera!” I heard Rebecca and Faith call over.

“Back to your strokes! I know you’re not done yet!” Nancy ordered.

“Yes coach!” they chorused.

Wow. Beginner’s luck huh? Anyway…

“I could’ve drowned,” I said stubbornly. I didn’t freaking care if I swam faster than the star of the swim team. I didn’t care if they thought it was incredible. I wanted justice.

“But if we just told you to dive off yourself, you’d probably not do your best,” Nancy said. “The principal told us that it was the best way to start you off and let us see your true potential.”

I was gonna get Uncle Ash later. See if I don’t.

“It might be beginner’s luck,” I answered.

“Wanna race?” Ashton suggested. Without waiting for my answer, he pulled up onto my feet and led me back to the starting point.

“Listen,” Ashton said, as we got onto our own respective starting points. “If you win, I’ll treat you. But if I win, you have to treat me and do your best in the swim team.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” I protested. But Ashton was already pulling on his goggles. He threw me a pair. He flashed me another one of his heart-melting grins.

“All right. On the count of three and the blow of the whistle, the race starts!” Nancy called out.

I pulled on the goggles and secured them properly around my eyes. I got into a diving position. I didn’t want to admit it, but I wanted to kick Ashton’s ass.

“One, two….” Immediately at the blow of Nancy’s whistle, I dived off into the pool, this time, taking care not to breathe in any water.

I started kicking my legs hard and pushing myself forward with my arms in freestyle. One, two, one, two. Before I knew it, I felt the familiar cold wall and felt upwards for the ledge. I poked my head out of the water and looked backwards. Sure enough, Ashton was still a few stone throws away, swimming towards me.

Whoa. I caught myself off-guard there. I could swim. Fast. What’s going to happen next? I find that I’ve turned into a mermaid?

A few seconds later, Ashton reached the edge of the swimming pool and hoisted himself up. I was already sitting on the edge of the pool.

“So,” he said, between pants. “Do you like ice cream?”

So he was indeed a man of his word. Nancy jogged up towards us.

“Nice one, Hera. Not bad too, Ash. But you might want to work on your arm strokes more, Hera,” Nancy said.

“All right, you two go take a break. The real practice will start in a few minutes as soon as the others are done.”

I got up and advanced towards my bag and took out my towel. I patted my face dry and returned the goggles to Ashton who was sitting beside me.

“Keep those. They’re yours now. So, I thought you didn’t swim?”

“I don’t. Honest. I had no idea I could swim that fast,” I confessed. I fiddled with the strap of the goggles. ‘Ashton Taylor’ was written in black, small handwriting on the inside of it. Probably permanent waterproof ink.

“Wow, you’re good,” Ashton said, good-naturedly.

I muttered thanks, a bit shy.

“Well, I had no idea you were captain. How long have you been swimming?” I asked

He seemed to ponder my question for a while. “Well, I’ve been swimming since I was in fifth grade. I guess it was kind of a hobby. I was made captain of the team last year when the previous captain graduated.”

“Gee, belated congratulations,” I said.

“Thanks. So, what do you think of the Tropical Snow?” he asked.

Tropical Snow was a café that mainly specialized in fruit based sorbets, ice cream, yogurts and the works. Perfect. I’ve been going there every Saturday afternoon since I was old enough to go around town on my own.

“Sure. That sounds great,” I answered.

“Cool. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at four after school. Where do you live?” he asked.

I took out a piece of paper from my memo pad and wrote down my address. I handed it to him. Ashton took it and read it. A look of realization dawned upon his face.

“You seriously live in that huge house?” he asked, awed.

I thought about it. My house wasn’t exactly huge. My mom just went overboard when she was designing it. She’s an architect. My house spanned around three stories, not counting the extra floor underground. There was a pool out back and a greenhouse on the front. All that still left plenty of space to park three cars, a Japanese-style koi pond, complete with a bridge overhead and a patio which my mom used for having garden parties.

“It’s not huge. Just slightly big,” I said.

Ashton scoffed. “Really. Your house is huge. All this time, me and my buds thought some old, bizarre millionaire lived there.”

“Do I look like an old, bizarre millionaire?” I asked, innocently.

“No. So, who do you live with?” Ashton asked.

“Me, my parents and my uncle. Just the four of us. I have no siblings,” I said.

“Oh… but your house isn’t based on one kind of design huh?” Ashton asked.

“My mom wants it to be unique,” I explained. “She’s an architect.”

“Ah.” Ashton nodded with understanding. “I understand you. My mom’s an interior designer.”

“So your mom designs your home interiors?” I asked.

“Yeah. She doesn’t just let our house have the same design permanently. She’s always changing the designs. She says it’s practice for her job,” Ashton said. “Your mom’s a huge gardening fan? That’s one huge greenhouse”

I shook my head. “No. My dad has his own organic health industry. You’ve probably seen the commercials on TV. It’s called ‘Wolfe for Health’. The greenhouse is for him to grow his organic vegetables and fruits.”

“Man. Your dad owns that company? Now I’m convinced that you’re a millionaire. My mom loves your dad’s diet program. She’s a worshiper,” Ashton said, laughing.

“I’ll pass that on to my dad,” I said.

“Hera! Ashton! Time for practice!” we heard Nancy call to us.

“Looks like practice time,” Ashton said. “C’mon, let’s go.”

I nodded. I followed him towards the team and for the rest of the afternoon; I spent my time perfecting my freestyle and backstroke. Throwing the occasional glance at Ashton.

Chapter Three - The Bad Angel

Disclaimer: I own ALL characters in this story and the storyline as well.

---

Chapter Three

“I’m home!” I yelled out at the open front door. It was already five o’clock.

I took off my shoes and went straight to my room. My room was located on the ground floor of the house. Instead of a private balcony like my parents, I had my own veranda which led out to the pool. Besides my room, I had my own bathroom; there was the kitchen, dining room, living room, the lounge, a library, laundry room and another bathroom. On the second floor were my parents’ bedroom, Uncle’s bedroom and my parents’ own offices, Uncle Ash’s study and two guest rooms. The third floor on the other hand, was my own art studio and mini library. The extra floor underground was an entertainment room. There was also another smaller building out back, a few distances away from the pool area which was the storehouse.

I went straight to my room, dumped my bag and hurried to my bathroom, into the shower. I shampooed my hair twice with my favorite strawberries and cream shampoo and conditioned my hair for a few minutes. I had no desire for my hair to turn slightly greenish from the chlorine.

After a warm soak in the bath tub, I felt very refreshed and content. I put on a lilac tank top and a pair of navy shorts. I collected my dirty laundry and headed for the laundry room.

“How was practice?” my mom asked me as I entered the laundry room.

“Terrible,” I lied. “You and dad didn’t say anything about me having a change of clubs!”

“It slipped my mind,” my mom said, winking at me. My mom, Rochelle Rain Wolfe (her maiden name was Rochelle Rain Silver) is in her late thirties. For someone her age, she looked relatively young. She has blonde hair like mine, except that it was cut shoulder length and wasn’t as light-colored. She has blue sapphire eyes which I inherited and she has a short but petite curvy frame. Just like me.

“But it’s not fair,” I muttered. I dumped my clothes into the washing machine, tipped in some laundry soap and set the timer.

“You need the discipline, angel. And besides, sometimes a change would be a nice thing. Think of this as a whole new experience,” my mom told me.

“Right. A whole new experience.”

I left my mom to do her laundry and walked into the kitchen. I saw my uncle reading a book and drinking hot chocolate at the same time at the kitchen table. He’s not a big fan of coffee.

“Well, well, look who’s home. Hera the wolf,” Uncle Ash said, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Ha-ha, how not funny,” I said, sticking my tongue at him and his lame joke. I opened the refrigerator and took out a couple of tomatoes. I went to the counter next to the sink and took out a chopping board and knife.

“How was swim team?”

I began cutting the tomatoes in half and scooping out the membrane.

“It was extremely horrible. I think my hair turned green already.”

Uncle Ash laughed. “I think it still looks perfectly fine. Surely if you look after your hair properly, you wouldn’t need to worry about green hair. Not all swimmers have green hair”

I diced the tomatoes. I guess that was true. My teammates all had normal colored hair.

“Fine. My hair’s gonna be really dry and frizzy because I have curly hair,” I said back, I put the diced tomatoes into a mixing bowl and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and some lemon juice.

“I already told you. Take good care and you wouldn’t have damaged hair,” my uncle said patiently. “Making bruschetta for dinner?”

I nodded and added basil, black pepper, salt and some minced garlic. I began mixing it, taking care not to crush the tomatoes. And again, he was right. My teammates all had real nice and shiny hair.

“Ms. Grey told me you had a ‘hidden talent’ for competitive swimming,” Uncle Ash said, I heard him sip his drink.

“She called you?” I put cling wrap over the mixing bowl and put it into the fridge. I reached downwards and took out a chicken which I had marinated this morning. I grimaced a little at it.

“No, I did. Roast chicken? Is it okay for you?” he asked, noticing my look.

“Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll make a garden salad. I never knew you were such a stalker, unc,” I said.

I am a vegetarian. When I was three, I watched a documentary on how people killed chickens before sending them to the markets. I was terrified and the rest was history. Now do you see the point of why I tried setting the rats free? I set the chicken onto a tray, added some herbs and sauce and slid it into the oven.

“I’m not a stalker. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t run off or something,” he said. “So how was it ‘extremely horrible’?”

“Just horrible. Let’s see, apparently, the coach and captain received orders from a concerned individual to drown me on my first try,” I said sarcastically. I began washing potatoes and dropping them into boiling water added with salt and I covered the pot. I went back to the refrigerator and retrieved vegetables for making a garden salad.

“But it worked, didn’t it? That concerned individual must be a really smart person,” my uncle remarked.

I placed the lettuce under the tap and washed it.

“Personally, I think that, that so called ‘concerned individual’ was very inconsiderate,” I answered. I proceeded to tearing the lettuce leaves and putting them into a salad bowl.

“Really,” I heard my uncle finishing off his drink.

“Herr? Ash?” I heard my dad call.

“Looks like your dad’s home,” Uncle Ash said, getting up to wash his now-empty mug.

My dad entered the kitchen and saw me furiously chopping vegetables and my uncle peacefully washing his mug without a care.

“Silent argument?” my dad asked. My dad’s name is Wyvern Ashton Wolfe. Yeah, and my uncle’s is Ashton Wyvern Wolfe. Apparently, their parents had a really good sense of humor.

I sniffed in disdain. “Uncle Ash tried to kill me.”

“Well now, who’s the stalker?” I heard Uncle Ash mutter. He dried his mug and hung it up back to where it belonged.

“So you don’t deny that you tried to kill me?”

“So, how was work?” Uncle Ash asked, ignoring my dad’s and my question.

My dad retrieved a tall glass from one of the many cupboards and headed towards the refrigerator.

After filling up his glass with some random juice, he turned to us with an excited look. “Guess what? I sealed a couple of deals today. I got a new sheep farm and an organic strawberry orchard in Australia today!”

“Way to go dad!” I said, genuinely happy for him. My dad had wanted to buy a sheep and strawberry farm for years now.

“Do you want to trade in shares? I don’t think the men diet programs are bringing in huge profits,” my dad told me.

Instead of allowance, my dad being an eccentric business man and father gave me shares from his company. In exchange, I usually come up with ideas to help him expand or improve his business.

I nodded and turned back to the salad I was making.

“All right Hera. I’ll see to the transfer of shares. Meanwhile, Ash, will you help me come up with ideas to improve the men diet programs? They don’t really have the interest……” I heard my dad’s voice getting fainter and fainter as he and my uncle headed to the library.

I savored the moment of silence and solitary for a few moments until I heard the phone ringing. I set down the knife I was holding and dried my hands with a towel and headed towards the phone.

“Hello, Wolfe speaking,” I said in a very too-fake cheerful voice.

“Hello? Is this Hera Wolfe?” I heard a familiar husky, British-accented voice speak up. Maybe today wasn’t the worst day after all.

“Eleanor!” I squealed into the phone loudly.

Eleanor Griffiths was a middle-aged English lady in her early forties who owns a really popular art gallery in town. She’s the one who always looked out for opportunities for me to show off my passion for art since I was young. I met her when I was ten. You could say we’re kindred spirits if it comes to art.

“Not so loud little wolf,” she scolded. “I’m already rather deaf. There’s no need for you to make it even much worse.”

“I’m sorry. So how’re you Eleanor? I haven’t seen or heard from you in like, eons!” I said.

“Now, now, there’s no need to get excited is there? Listen, are you free tomorrow? I need you to meet me at the usual place at around four maybe? I have absolutely wonderful news for you!” she said. I could hear the excitement in her voice.

“Sure! I’m free after school tomorrow!” I answered without a second thought.

“Perfect darling, I’ll meet you at the Tropical Snow then. Ta-ta!” she said in a sing-song voice and hung up.

As the line went dead, Ashton’s face flashed into my mind.

Oh.My.God. I was supposed to be at the same place at the same time with Ashton tomorrow! I didn’t want to miss the meeting with Eleanor because I haven’t seen her in so long… But on the other hand, this will probably be my only chance to hang out with Ashton alone.

I squeezed my eyes shut and slumped down to the cold marble floor. Think. Think. Think….

And then I heard the phone ringing again. Hopefully it’ll be Eleanor saying she can’t come after all. With renewed hope, I picked up the phone.

“Hello, Wolfe speaking,” I quipped, hopeful, into the phone.

“Uhh… Herr?” I heard an all-too familiar low voice which made my heart beat faster.

“A-Ashton?” I asked.

“Oh! Hey Herr! What’s up?” he said cheerfully.

“Not much. What about you? Did something happen?” I asked. I felt my heart drop a little. Maybe he was going to cancel the meeting tomorrow. Yes, meeting, not date. I already drew a line between him and me. There was no way am I gonna fall for him or even crush on him. He’s unattainable. Especially with Jenny Parker hovering over him like a shadow.

“No, well, actually, I kind of have a couple of things to do after school tomorrow so I’ll probably be late in picking you up…” he sounded apologetic.

I instantly felt much happier. At least he wasn’t cancelling it. “No! That’s okay Ashton. Actually, I have something to do around there as well. I’ll just go there by myself and meet you at the café.”

There was a pause. “Are you sure?” he sounded reluctant.

“Absolutely.”

He seemed to sigh in relief. “All right,” he said happily. “I’m really sorry though, Herr. I really wished I could pick you up but my mom-“

“It’s okay,” I said, interrupting him. “Really.”

“Well, thanks Herr. I owe you one.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said. Actually, I owed him one.

“All right, I guess I’ll see you around?” he asked.

“Okay. Bye Ashton.” I answered. There. Problem solved.

“Ash.”

“Excuse me?”

“Ash.” He repeated over the line. “Don’t call me Ashton. It’s a mouthful. I’ll call you Herr and you must call me Ash. I insist.”

Well, that’s surprising. “All right…Ash.” I smiled to myself.

“Perfect. Night Herr. Sweet dreams when you hit the hay!”

There was a click and the line went dead. I was relieved. At least I wouldn’t have to bail on either Eleanor or Ash.

“Who was it?” I turned around and saw my mom standing at the archway, which lead into the kitchen.

“A friend,” I answered, walking back into the kitchen. I saw that my mom had helped me scoop out the potatoes and peeled them for me.

“A boy?”

I nodded. “How could you tell?” I bluffed, faking ignorance.

“His name was Ashton wasn’t it?” I heard the familiar mischievousness in her voice. Sometimes, I wonder if the reason of why I had a mischievous streak was because of my mom.

“I think so.”

“From?”

“Swim team,” I answered, a little grudgingly.

“I told you, a whole new experience,” my mom said, winking at me.

“Right.” I went around the kitchen collecting cutlery and chinaware and brought them into the dining room. As I set the table, my mom came in with the food.

Setting them on the table, she said, “Is he cute?”

“Please mom, not now.” I wrinkled my nose.

“Come one Hera, you can tell me can’t you? I’m your mom. I swear not to tell your dad,” my mom pleaded a little.

“He’s cute I guess,” I answered, a little embarrassed.

“Ahh… my little angel has finally grown up,” my mother said, disappearing again into the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at her affectionately. And then, I suddenly realized something.

How in the world did Ashton get my phone number?

---

“Heeerr!!” I heard a sing song voice call to me.

I turned away from my locker and came face to face; well actually, I was facing her neck, but whatever, with a tanned, bespectacled brunette girl who wore her hair in a short bob and straight bangs.

“Hey Ray!” I greeted her. Her name was really Raychel Kidd, but I call her Ray and she calls me Herr. She’s been my best friend since third grade. She was the new kid back then, but she had attitude. She just came up to me while I was sketching a drawing of a tree and said, “What’s that? A demented old man with an afro?”

And just like that, we became friends.

I studied her glasses closely. “What happened to your contacts? You won’t be able to play hardcore volleyball if you’re wearing your glasses.”

Ray was a hardcore volleyball player. And by hardcore, I really mean hardcore. She used to break her glasses all the time while playing it until her parents got fed up and got her contacts.

“Oh these?” she asked, touching her glasses. “I dropped one of my contacts in the bathroom yesterday and couldn’t find it. So I’m temporarily wearing these glasses until my dad gets a new pair of contacts for me. Meanwhile, I’m not allowed to play volleyball.”

Mr. Kidd was an optician. She grimaced at me.

I nodded at her sympathetically. “I understand you. My unreasonable uncle made me switch clubs.”

Ray gave me a surprised look. “No way. Seriously? Was it because of the rat rampage?”

“Hey, it was hardly a rampage! But yeah, you’re right.” She knew it was me because she had been with me.

“So what clubs did he make you join?”

“Swim team. And the arithmetic team. Lame, I know. I hate swimming and I’m hopeless at solving formulas.”

Ray laughed. “Lots of other people in the school who’re hardcore swimmers would kill to be in your shoes. And lots of math lovers would also love to be in your shoes.”

I shook my head. “Don’t remind me. Let me focus on thinking that this is a bad thing.”

Again, she laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. Come on, let’s get some lunch girlfriend.”

She grabbed my hand and I hoisted my bag strap onto my left shoulder. We headed to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was rather crowded. Lots of the students ate food from here because they served good food. My dad and a couple of other business men and women had donated a frozen yogurt machine, a salad bar, dispensers that gave out hot drinks and the works. My uncle on the other hand, made sure he hired cafeteria ladies who knew how to cook kick-ass food. The food here is so good that even the teachers drop by to buy their lunch.

“Mmm… I smell grilled chicken and cheese sandwiches,” Ray said. She may not look like it, but Ray is a huge glutton.

Ray and I separated for a while to get our own food. I made a beeline for the fruit dispenser. As I slot in the special card that my uncle had gotten made for me (so that I didn’t need to pay for the food), I pushed the buttons to get a green apple.

“Not a fan of red?”

I turned around and saw a male Rebecca look-alike smirking at me. I noticed the onyx stud in one of his ears. Ooh… lookie, that’s Rebecca’s brother. Ruben Sears.

“Excuse me?”

“I said are you not a fan of red?” he repeated, pointing at the apple in my hand.

I looked at it. “Oh, no. It’s not that. I prefer green apples. That’s all. I like red. In fact, it’s one of my favorite colors.”

I stepped aside from the machine to avoid blocking the others. Ruben followed me.

“Oh, red is your favorite color is it? I think I should dye my hair red,” he said, flirtatiously winking at me.

I cocked my head to one side. “Do I know you?” I asked, faking innocence.

I proceeded towards the frozen yogurt machine. Ruben stubbornly followed me again. As I pushed the buttons to get a frozen Greek yogurt, Ruben said, “Of course you know me. I’m your savior.”

I privately rolled my eyes. He just helped me pick up newspapers. I turned to him with an innocent but apologetic look on my face, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember meeting you. Honest. I swear on Picasso’s grave.”

I turned away and started towards the table where Ray was sitting at, waving at me with an amused look on her face. I rolled my eyes at her. Ruben, unfortunately, he wasn’t familiar with the names of famous artists. He stopped dead in his tracks with a confused look on his face.

“Who’s Picasso? Your dog?” he called to me. I heard several students snicker at him.

I ignored him and sat down at the table, putting the plastic bowl of yogurt on the table.

Ray laughed even harder. “That’s one silly puppy.”

I gave her a look. “Ya think?”

I looked at her tray in disbelief. “You aren’t seriously gonna eat all that are you? I mean, sure you have a healthy appetite, but you usually eat less than this.”

On her tray were two grilled chicken and cheese sandwiches, one crème brulèe, one chocolate pudding, three slices of mushroom and pepperoni pizza, a small bowl of Mac and cheese, two cans of soda, a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries and cherries.

“True. But Shane said he’s joining us for lunch today. I bought extra in case he forgot his wallet again. Besides, I can eat all of this if he does remember. It’s not much.” Ray said, picking up a sandwich and starting to chew on it. As if on cue, a tall, lean guy with dark, wavy hair and caramel colored eyes took a seat at our table and made himself at home.

This is Shane Lancaster. He’s been my best –guy-friend since pre-school. And in Ray’s case, since third grade.

After meeting her, I was showing her around the school and taking her to meet Shane when she noticed him herself. Shane was practicing soccer that time and Ray called him a sissy who couldn’t kick a proper ball. Shane, being hot-tempered, had called her a ‘stupid chick with a stupid name because it’s spelt ‘R-A-C-H-E-L’ and not ‘R-A-Y-C-H-E-L’.

Ray had told him she liked his spunk and told him, “I allow you to be my friend. Oh yeah, by the way, have you met Hera? She’s into drawing old demented guys with afros.”

Shane had just given me a confused look and I just shrugged. Ahh, the good ol’ days. Also, Shane and Ray loved to argue and compete on who was a better friend to me. But I love both of them equally.

“Hey, what’s shakin’?” Shane reached for my yogurt and I smacked his hand.

“Your stuff is on Ray’s tray,” I informed him.

He just shrugged and took the other sandwich from Ray.

“Love the windows,” Shane commented, jerking his head at Ray.

“For your information Shane, these are called ‘glasses’ or ‘spectacles’. Windows are the ones that are a teensy bit bigger and are built into walls,” Ray said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Shane polished off his sandwich in a few bites and reached for a pizza. Like Ray, he also has a healthy appetite. “Ahh, so I see that Herr has a new admirer.”

I shook my head. “You saw that?”

He nodded at me, his mouth full. “What’s not noticeable? One of the most popular guys in school, following a little girl, now that’s a classic.”

I scowled at him. “I’m not little all right? For God’s sake, I just don’t have enough tall genes!”

“Anyhoos,” he said, ignoring me, “I heard you’re kicked off the debate team and restricted from the art rooms.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Where’d you hear that?”

He reached for the chocolate pudding. “I took a trip down to your uncle’s office today. I was just gonna ask him to sign a permission slip for us to play a friendly match against our rival school. We got talking.”

Huh, not only was my uncle a stalker, he’s also got a big mouth.

“Yes, I got unjust punishment for setting innocent prisoners free. He tried to execute me as well. Too bad I survived,” I told him. “I would have been better off a drowned rat.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, the school janitors who are expert rat-trappers caught them and you can go visit your prisoners who were drowned in your place in their own glass cells in Biology Lab 5,” Shane told me with a wink.

I looked at the rest of my melting frozen yogurt and pushed it towards Shane. “Be my guest.”

He took it from me and starting eating it for me. “Thanks. But I prefer lemon yogurt.”

I gave him the evil eye and he just concentrated on the yogurt.

“What do you mean execute? It was absolutely necessary,” I heard another voice say behind me. “Besides, you’re still alive, aren’t you? Don’t be so dramatic.”

I turned around and saw Ashton sitting at the next table, facing me from his seat with a spoon sticking out of his mouth. He was sitting with Warner and Zachariah who were engrossed in talking with each other. Did I mention he looked extra-hot in his uniform? If not, well, Ashton looked extra-hot in his uniform.

His hair was tousled, as if he had just woken up. His school shirt was untucked, with the first few buttons undone and school tie and blazer nowhere in sight.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop.” I said disapprovingly.

“Who’s that? He’s a hottie,” Ray whispered to me. “The other two with him are hot too, but he’s way hotter.”

“You should see him shirtless,” I muttered back.

Ashton grinned at me. “Hey Herr.”

I nodded at him. “Hey. Your uniform’s not up to standard.”

“Yours isn’t exactly up to standard either.”

I turned to Ray and Shane. “Meet my executioner. Ashton Taylor. Part-time executioner and part-time captain of the school’s swim team and student of this school. Beware, he’s dangerous. Ash, this is Raychel Kidd and Shane Lancaster, my other halves.”

He gave me a little frown. “Aww, come on, I’m sorry about that but the principal said it was necessary. If we didn’t do it, we would never have uncovered your true potential.”

I heard Shane snicker. “That’s funny dude. I went with her to her first swimming lessons like, ten years ago? She’s a total scaredy-cat. Her true potential’s just clinging onto her friends and saying that she’ll die.”

Again, I gave him the evil eye. Trust Uncle Ash to tell him only the bad stuff, not the good stuff. He shut up.

Ashton just pointed his spoon at me. “This girl here is one wicked swimmer. You should watch her sometime. She’s fast.”

Before we could say anything else, Jenny came up and sat up close next to Ashton with a bowl of frozen yogurt.

“Here you go Ashton,” Jenny said, emphasizing his name. She gave me the evil eye. Except she did it much better than I did. “Mango, your favorite.”

Ashton rolled his eyes and gave me a wink. I stifled a giggle.

“Well now, who’s the wicked witch of the West?” I heard Ray breath to me. “No one gives my darling Herr the evil eye.”

“Possessive much?” Shane asked. He got up. “Be right back.” He disappeared into the crowd.

“That’s Jenny Parker,” I said in a low voice. “She has an invisible tag with her name on it, clipped onto Ash. She’s also on the swim team. She wasn’t very happy when she found out that she’s now the third fastest swimmer on the team.”

“Ahh…” Ray nodded understandingly. She patted my back. “Don’t worry; she’ll regret giving you the evil eye one day.”

“Who’s worried?” I said.

“So I never knew you were a fast swimmer. You said you hated swimming.”

“I do. I never knew either.”

“I’m proud of you Herr.” Ray gave me a broad smile.

“So am I.”

Shane came back with a new bowl of frozen yogurt with slices of strawberries and golden kiwis in it. I suspected he raided the fruit salad station for the fruit slices.

“Greek yogurt. With your favorite Australian strawberries and golden kiwis,” he said, smiling at me. “Congratulations on your triumph Herr. We’re really glad for you.”

I smiled at him in return. “Thanks Shane, really.” I took the bowl from him and started eating it. I noticed Ray giving Shane a dirty look.

“I thought you forgot your wallet.”

“I had some spare change in my pocket.”

“Give me back my money.”

“That can wait.”

“Sissy jerk.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m gonna get Herr a better present.”

“Be my guest. I’ll outdo you.”

Writingmon: I guess that's all the chapters I have for now. Better scram and sleep before the sun rises. I think my eyes are repeatedly gaining those few extra pounds. Better go sleep those off. COMMENT! (: