Ela
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As I walked downstairs one afternoon, I paused to stop in front of an unused room. It was strange--every room in the mansion but this one was in use by club members. I often wondered what it was that made this one so special.
And today, I decided, was the day that I was going to find out.
I wiggled the doorknob and the door creaked open slowly. I looked around to make sure that Akira or any other members were not around, and quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
The room was not any different from any of the other rooms. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a mirror, and a balcony. Perfectly normal. Well, that was disappointing. I sighed and walked over to the elegant, wooden nightstand beside the bed, tracing the patterns etched into the woodwork. I pulled open the top drawer and was greeted with a small box. On further inspection, I realized that it was a small box of… cigarettes. I frowned. Guess Akira needed to keep her secret stash somewhere.
I curiously reached down to pick up the box, and upon contact with the cardboard, a pulse like electricity ran through my skull. I staggered backwards, fumbling the box in my hands as I tried to catch my balance, and a flash of blonde hair and dark blue eyes clouded my vision for a fleeting instant. What the hell? I stared at the box and quickly put it back in the drawer, paying no attention to my suddenly shaky hands.
I left the room, closing the door behind me with a click, and walked to the living room. Most of the members were seated on the various chairs and couches and were conversing with the others, reading, or just sitting there blankly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Keefer talking to his sister, Melina, who had appeared on our doorstep a few days ago. Since her arrival, Keefer had seemed happier, somehow.
Yet it was still strange to not see the nymph, Ash, hanging around. I thought back to her goodbye a few weeks ago. She had said that the club wasn’t really what she had been looking for and that she needed to find her own way, yaddah yaddah. It was a shame, though. Although she hadn’t been the most… colorful member of the club, she was one of the few that I could actually stand being around for long periods of time. Plus, she had entrusted me with her secret, which made me feel as though she truly trusted me.
Of course, these memories led me to the realization that I pretty much had no friends in the club. Sure, I had hung out with a few members, and I played video games with some of the guys every now and then, but did I really talk to any of the members on a daily basis outside of meals? I decided that it was time to change that.
I strode over to the spot where Violett was standing, flailing her arms vigorously as she spoke to Griffin and Locke. I gave my best friendly smile and wave as I joined them.
The short girl turned to face me. “Oh, HI!” she waved, jumping up and down. I suddenly had flashbacks of talking to Kateri. Yikes.
“H-hi. What’re you guys up to?” I asked, caught off guard by her enthusiasm.
“Oh, nothing!” Violett responded. “I was just showing Griffy and Locke what I can do with my nose! YOU WANNA SEE?” I stared at her as she pulled her nose with her finger up to a pig-like position.
I laughed nervously. “Oh. That’s, um, nice.” I bit my lip as I backed away slowly, trying to not to say the true thoughts that were currently running through my brain.
“You’re leaving? LAME-BUTT. But bye, anyway!” she called cheerily.
Okay, so maybe Violett wasn’t the best candidate.
Sighing, I walked over to the wall where the extremely pale and dark-haired demon-man Nodin stood, mouth covered by the always present flu mask.
“’Sup?”
Nodin merely stared at me curiously.
“Oh, right. I forgot that you don’t talk.” I smacked my forehead.
The aerico quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and held it up for me to read. Sorry.
“Nah. It’s cool.” I waved my hand dismissively. “I like people who don’t have much to say, anyway.”
I turned away and attempted to speak to several more of the members, but each one of them either ignored me, annoyed me, or questioned why someone so rude was trying to speak with them.
Feeling defeated, I walked to Akira’s library. At least even if I had no companionship in the other members, I would always have a book to keep me company. I grabbed a volume from one of the shelves and turned it over. The cover read “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. Eugh, Steinbeck. I sighed. At least the book was thin enough that I could read it in a few hours and be done in time for whatever the club was planning to do that day. I walked back to the living room, novella in hand, and sat down in one of the unoccupied chairs. I opened the book and began to read.
A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard…
The sudden feeling of vibrations from within my picket caused me to jump. Irritated, I closed my book and pulled my small, square, black phone from my pocket. Akira had made all of the club members get one a month or so back. She had said that they were to be used in emergencies, like if a member got lost in the woods surrounding the mansion, or was discovered for what they really were on a visit to a nearby town. Unfortunately, the phones kind of sucked and all they could do was send and receive calls and text messages. I frowned as the words (1) New Text Message flashed across the screen. Who the hell would be texting me? I had made it my mission to make sure that only a few members had my number. I clicked the View Now button, and was greeted by a short, simple message:
Run.
I checked the callback number--Unknown. Just wonderful. I looked around. None of the members in the room were messing with their phones.
Who is this? I replied. A serious time lapse followed, and I wondered if I was actually going to get a reply. Had I just been part of the worse prank text session ever?
But soon, the phone vibrated again.
Don’t worry about it. Just GO.
Who the hell do you think you are? How did you get my number?
I’m a friend. Just listen to me.
Oh, go screw yourself.
And I turned off the phone.
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DUNDUNDUNDUNNNN. Who is this mysterious text senderer?
Lol Ela feels unloved. BUT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO READS LITERATURE I MEAN GOSH -shot-
Also this is probably the worst post i've written so far BUT HEY PLOT ADVANCEMENTS ARE ALWAYS FUN
