Fraternizing With The Enemy

When He Arrives

OUT OF ALL THE STUDENTS in that classroom, Pet is paired up with Heath O'Neal. She doesn't know if she should ask the teacher to change her partner or just stay quiet. She chooses the latter, reluctantly of course.

"Hey, partner," Heath whispers in her ear, causing Pet to stiffen. "Seems like we're going to spend some time together."

Pearl gives the biggest eye roll and huffs. "Don't get too excited about it," she says, finding herself a little surprised at her reaction.

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" He says cockily, but Pet remains quiet, ignoring him. Also, she doesn't want Mr. Dellia to reprimand her for talking in class.

The teacher starts handing the scripts. "Okay, listen. Each screenplay was written by you last month, remember? The one you have in hand could be the one you wrote or the one your partner wrote. Or maybe not. Anyways, you have to choose one scene and you'll act it out on November 1st, which means you have exactly twenty-nine days to do this. This is worth 30 percent of your grades. Don't mess around with it," Mr. Dellia explains and Pearl gets nervous. She doesn't like to mess around with her grades, but she's afraid Heath doesn't share her principles about school and grades.

When Mr. Dellia dismisses the class, Mack and Pet join at the door, to head to their next class, which is Math. But before they can go any farther, Heath approaches them, calling Pearl. "Yes?" She speaks.

Heath's smile is so smug; Pet can't even stand to look at him. "So, when are we going to practice?"

"Well," she eyes Mack briefly, who's waiting for her, leaning against the lockers, backpack hanging from his shoulder, a book in hand. She looks back at Heath. "Are you free on Saturday?"

He winces. "Ugh, I've got a party to attend on Saturday," his phone buzzes on his hand, and Heath darts his eyes down to check it, and then back up at Pet.

Pet fights the urge to roll her eyes. "We can meet on Saturday morning. That party surely starts at night, right?"

"The day usually starts at noon for me on weekends," he chuckles. "It's just how it works."

"You'll have to make an exception," she says in all seriousness. "This is important, and if we want to get a good grade, we'll need to make some sacrifices, don't you think?" Pearl is a very quiet girl, but when it comes to things she cares about or worries about, she doesn't take a second to speak.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Blanchard," Heath snickers, obviously trying to get on her nerves. Pearl only turns around, beckoning for Mack to walk with her. "Oh, come on," he pulls her by the arm, making her turn around. "Sorry, okay? Don't you have a sense of humor?"

Pet stares at him, freeing her arm from his grasp. "When it comes to my grades, no, I don't."

"Fine," Heath sighs. "How about we meet at my house at nine o'clock in the morning? Does that work for you?" He raises his eyebrows.

"That works for me," Pearl nods. "Thank you." At least, Heath knows when to stop his little jokes and be serious. Pearl's grateful for that.

Heath winks at Pearl, causing her to puff and turn around, to meet Mack's gaze. Both friends head for their next class, no more interruptions from Heath. As they enter the classroom, Mack and Pet are chatting about the chemistry homework from the previous day. Mack is one of the handfuls of people Pearl can talk to comfortably without minding what he'd think of her or thinking he might find her boring. Even if he's even quieter than Pearl, like any other human he needs to speak and interact with other people. They always spend time together in school, and even though they have never called each other best friends, in the eyes of Pearl's family, they are. Elijah likes to tease her saying they'll end up together and getting married- Pearl goes against that thought. And it's not that she doesn't find Mack attractive because he is, but she's just not interested in him that way.

If there's one thing Pet knows about herself it's that she's very clear and secure about her feelings toward others. She knows she cares about Mack, even if she doesn't say it aloud, but she also knows she'll never be able to see him as anything more than a friend. She knows she loves her brother, even when he makes her have homicidal thoughts. She loves her parents and cares deeply about Beth and Abraham. All of them being the only ones on the list of people Pearl cares about and can talk to freely, without a problem. Of course, she talks with classmates sometimes, but mostly they are short conversations about homework.

Elijah enters the classroom; along with Heath- funnily Pearl has all her classes in common with Heath. Both guys seat in the back and Pearl turns her attention back to Mack. "Anyway, are you going to the homecoming?"

Pet mulls over his question, wondering why Mack's asking her that. She never goes to homecoming, and it's not that she doesn't like it; it's only that Pearl doesn't find interest in such activity. And as far she knows, Mack never goes either. "No, why do you ask?"

Mack sighs, looking away. "Here's the thing... I lost a bet with Raven. So, I have to go to the homecoming..." He scratches the back of his neck, still not meeting her gaze. Raven is Mack's older sister. She graduated two years ago and now studies at Boston University. Just like with Elijah and Pearl, Raven and Mack are complete opposites.

Pearl smiles softly. "You want me to go with you? Is that it?" Mack finally looks at her, appearing embarrassed, and nods. "Fine. I'll go with you."

"Thank you, Pet." Both smile at each other, and Elijah appears calling their attention. With a cheeky grin plastered on his lips.

"Hey, guys," Pearl glares at him, Elijah seems oblivious to his sister's gaze, nonetheless. "So, I had practice yesterday, and I forgot to do my home-"

"I'm not giving you my homework, Elijah," she cuts him off. "You had one hour free yesterday, and I told you to do it. Instead, you decided to take a nap."

"I was tired, okay?" He whines. "I needed some rest before practice." Pearl can only think about how much of a child her brother can be sometimes.

She rolls her eyes. "No, go away, Eli."

"You see how mean she is to me?" Elijah asks Mack. "Such a meanie." Mack takes his notebook out of his backpack and hands it to Elijah.

"That'd be fifty bucks," Mack says.

"A pleasure doing business with you," Elijah beams, and both boys shake hands as Pearl sighs, looking away.

Their math teacher, Mr. Walter is well known for always being punctual, but oddly he hasn't arrived, which makes Pearl think how lucky her brother is. Mr. Walter not arriving only means more time for Elijah to finish the homework, she has to roll her eyes at that. About fifteen minutes later, Miss Gilmore, the principal's secretary enters the classroom, with her long ponytail, round-framed glasses that always remind Pearl of Harry Potter, and a dark tailored suit.

"Good morning, kids. Your math teacher Mr. Walter had an inconvenience, so he won't be coming to school." Everybody cheers, happy that they'll have the period free, but Pearl doesn't react the same way. Sure, she doesn't mind having free time, but it doesn't make her feel good that Mr. Walter didn't come. Since none of them know what sort of inconvenience he had.

Miss Gilmore leaves the classroom; soon enough Elijah appears next to Mack and gives him his notebook, along with fifty bucks. Most of the students leave the classroom, probably to go to the cafeteria or walk in the halls. Mack tells her that he's going to the library, and Pearl decides to stay. Elijah eyes her briefly and sticks his tongue out at her before leaving. She takes her phone out of her backpack and uses it to waste some time.

When she hears the faint sound of rain coming from outside, Pearl stands up, walks to the window, and watches the downpour of rain, crazy chaotic drops smashing against the asphalt of the parking lot. Gloomy clouds, hindering light from breaking through the mass of condensed vapor floating, high up above the ground. And there is such ferocity in the way the rain falls, with no breaks, and giving the illusion that it'll never end.

Pearl isn't a big fan of rain. Yes, it's comforting when you're at home and can snuggle on your bed with a bowl of popcorn, or a big box of pizza, and a good movie to watch. But having to be out of home whilst it's raining cats and dogs is something Pearl doesn't find very appealing. She decides she's had enough of rain watching, grabs her backpack, and walks out of the classroom, not sure of where to go now.

Idly, Pearl drags her feet around- she left her book at home, which irks her significantly- having nothing to do. At the end of the hallway, Mallory and Heath are having a much-tensed-looking conversation. Well, the only one looking tense and quite vexed is the blonde girl since Heath has his back rested against the wall, with a lackadaisical manner. Showing little attention to whatever, she's telling him when she's about to walk past them, his gaze falls on her.

"Mal, I am very fond of our conversations, but this ship needs to sail," Heath cups her face, and plants a kiss above her forehead before winking at her. Not waiting for Mallory's response, he approaches Pearl, the corners of his mouth turn up and white perfect teeth are shown in a coquettish simper.

Pearl eyes him very briefly but doesn't stop walking, only darting her gaze ahead once more. To say it's odd that Heath is paying quite a big amount of attention to Pearl is an understatement. Most of the time- to not say all the time- her presence goes by unnoticed to Heath O'Neal. He's too focused on maintaining his bravado, and starboy persona, which Pearl likes to believe one day will end. That, hopefully, he'll have one of those book-like romances that change people forever.

Or maybe society is going to get him off his cloud after graduation when he realizes that being popular in school isn't remotely important in college or for getting a job. Pearl doesn't consider him as a bad guy, he's just too consumed by high school stereotypes, his friend's admiration, and the girl's adulation.

"What are you up to, Blanchard?" He wraps an arm around her shoulder, which she quickly removes with her hand, stepping away from him. Pearl isn't very fond of having other people touching her- aside from her family-, it makes her feel uneasy.

"I don't know," Pearl answers casually, hoping he won't try to annoy her or anything like that. And when she arrives at her locker, Heath rests his shoulder in the locker next to hers, crossing his arms in front of her chest. She puts the combination on her padlock and unlocks the locker, putting the books she's not going to use anymore inside.

"You're a fan of Kodaline," he states, giving a nod toward the picture pasted on the inside of her locker. "Predictable."

"Why is it predictable?" There's no venom or intent of being harsh in her voice. But she does feel sort of offended by the way he pronounced the word predictable.

"You just give me that vibe," he gives her an insouciant shrug. "Let me guess, you like Imagine Dragons, am I right?" Pearl nods slightly, keeping her eyes on her locker, pretending to be organizing her books. "And Vance Joy?"

Pearl shuts her locker rather harshly, looking at him, her hand still settled on the hard metal of her locker. "Your point is..." She heaves a sigh.

He looks up and then back at her. "I don't think there's one. Here's another question: why do you seem to dislike me so badly?"

"I don't dislike you," Pearl responds faster than she intends to and fears her reaction might be misunderstood. Heath doesn't seem to think wrongly of it, though.

Right when Heath is about to say something, Elijah appears out of the blue, standing next to his sister, and wrapping his arm around her shoulder protectively. "My sister is way too clever for you, O'Neal. Go find yourself another prey."

Pearl shoots her brother a glare for the use of words he chose. Prey isn't a nice way to refer to a girl. If anything, it's offensive, and even, she feels insulted, although his brother didn't use it to refer to her. "Elijah, it's okay."

Their eyes lock, and Elijah says, "Are you sure?"

"It's offensive that you think I can't hold a conversation with a girl without trying to get in between her legs," he presses a hand against his chest.

"You earned it; don't you think?" Elijah arches his eyebrows. "Get lost, Heath."

"Only if Pearl asks me to." Annoyance creeps onto his voice. She looks to his brother and then to Heath. Before anything can be said, Imogen is making her way to the three of them, walking furiously, and once in front of them, she grabs Heath by the shoulder, makes him face her, and then slaps him, the sound of her hand slamming against his cheek reaches her ears, and Pearl flinches.

"You're unbelievable," Imogen snaps, clenching her fists, looking infuriated. "I'm the captain of the cheerleaders. You can't just choose who's in and who's out. That's not your choice to be made." She jabs her finger on his chest. "Stick to your games and scores."

Pearl finds it hard to believe how Heath can keep himself under control, it doesn't matter the situation. "You weren't going to let her in the team just because she likes me, but you know she's really good."

"I don't care if she's good or not-"

"Imogen," he cuts her off. "Come on; let's talk somewhere else, please?" He pleads, and she nods. The couple leaves, walking away, keeping up with their discussion as they disappear in the hallways.

"He's such an i***t," Elijah blurts, running his fingers through his hair. "Why doesn't she break up with him already?" It's more of a rhetoric question as if he is making this question to himself, instead of Pearl.

Elijah walks Pet to her next class, where he pinches her cheek and gives her a small smile before turning around and walking away. She takes a seat next to Mack, both smile at each other. They establish a small conversation for a few minutes until the teacher walks in. And that's just how the rest of the day passes by, without any other special events. No Heath being weird with her and no couple fights in front of her. Though, Elijah's words linger on her head, the way he pronounced them, the choice of words he made. Why doesn't she break up with him already? There's something to it, but she can't put her finger on it.

After school, football practice is canceled because of the rain. It had stopped but the sky is still cloudy, gloomy. Since the weather is utterly cold, she's wearing Elijah's hoodie, who gave it to her right when he saw she was freezing. They go home, music filling the car, both siblings singing loudly along, forgetting about any sort of worries they might have. He turns off the car engine, and they get off the car.

The first thing Pet sees is a boy. A young boy with chestnut hair, and a thin frame body. She can't make out the rest of his features since he's standing with his back turned at her and talking with Beth. As soon as the elder woman sees her, she waves at them. "Kids, hi! Come here. I want you to meet my grandson."

The boy turns around as the twins approach them. Pearl recognizes him in a fraction of a second. Chestnut hair and soft blue eyes, that give the feeling of being in a lake with warm water when you look at them. And Pearl regrets it when she looks at his lips, they are very rosy. He stands a good 6 ft tall, just a few inches taller than Pearl. Even with a prominent jaw and good height, there's something that makes him look sort of sweet. The same adorable features he had on the pictures she has seen of him as a kid.

"This is my grandson, Asher," she introduces him. "Asher, these are Elijah and Pearl, our neighbors." Beth beams, notoriously happy that her grandson is here.

"It's nice to meet you," Elijah shakes his hand, politely. And Pearl knows that if Asher is as good as he seems to be, her brother and he will more likely get along pretty well.

"It's nice to meet you, too." His accent wraps around his words, giving it a sound that Pearl finds pleasing. And he looks at her, saying, "I've heard many things about you, Pearl. Nana always rambles on about you."

He offers his hand, and she accepts it, shaking it gently and letting go. "I should say the same," Pearl says, unsure of what to say. And tries her best at giving Asher a kind smile.

"I made apple caramel cheesecake. Do you want to come in and have some?" Beth invites them gleefully, wrapping her arm around her grandson's waist.

"I'd love to, Betty," Eli says. "But I've got a school project to do with a friend. Save me a slice, would you?" He smiles broadly.

"Of course. You go do your homework." Pearl feels a little sad that Beth believes Elijah does his homework or anything productive aside from soccer.

"I'll go inside to check on Oreo first, and then I'll join you," Pearl says. All of them agree and part ways. Beth and Asher go to their house while Elijah and Pet walk in theirs. As soon as the door is locked, she says "You are going to meet up with a friend to do a school project? That's like Oreo rejecting a piece of chicken. It never happens."

"Unlike to what you think, I do homework sometimes, Pumba," Elijah throws his backpack to the sofa, and goes to the kitchen with Pearl following behind. Oreo appears, running around with excitement.

"Do you want me to call Geppetto, Pinocchio?" Pearl bents down, to pat Oreo's head. "Are you going to tell me where you are going?"

Elijah opens the fridge, and serves himself a glass of cranberry juice, once finished he gazes at her. "I already told you. I'll be at Nash’s; in case you want to know." He pats her head and walks out of the kitchen.

Pearl hears the front door close, and sits cross-legged on the floor, giving Oreo the chance to lie on her lap. "What's Elijah up to, huh?" She caresses the soft fur of her dog for a few minutes, playing with him.

After that, Pearl gets up from the floor, washes her hands, goes to her room, and takes off Elijah's hoodie, putting it on the bed. She knows Beth must be waiting for her, so taking one last look at her reflection in the mirror and fixing her hair, Pearl leaves the house and heads to the 55Landers residence. Beth opens the door, telling her to come in instantly. The scent of freshly baked cake invades her nostrils. If there's one thing that can never be denied it's the fact that Beth has a talent for cooking. She can go from a simple thing like spaghetti to really fine and fancy recipes.

In the dining room, where two large windows let the light in- even though, it's not much because of the overcast sky— Asher sits on one of the chairs, eyes cast downwards, as he reads a book. But as soon as Pearl takes a seat in front of him, he gazes at her, closing the book, and sliding it to the side. There she notices how there is a little, yet captivating amount of gold flecks around his pupils. Asher blinks once and leans back. "So, you're really good friends with Nana, huh?"

"Yes, we spend a lot of time together," Pearl answers simply, even if she's dying inside. She doesn't know what it is, but meeting new people makes her uneasy. There's this constant reminder of having to be nice, and thinking before you speak, so you don't say anything wrong or offensive, and that way you can cause a good impression. Besides, she's never been good at making conversations.

"Here it is," Beth enters the dining room, cheesecake in hand, and places it on the table. It looks so good; Pet already wants to take a piece of it. And the smell, it's just worth drooling over. "Let me go get the plates."

"No, it's okay. Stay here, I'll do it," Asher says, standing up, and leaving before Beth can say anything. She takes a seat in the chair at the head of the table and glances at Pearl.

"I didn't know which one to choose, there were just so many recipes to do, and varieties," Beth giggles. "Oh, and I found this website for vegan cakes. It's fantastic, I can't wait for us to do all of them," she adds with excitement."

"Vegan?" Asher questions, as he enters the room with three plates and spoons. He sets them on the table, next to the cheesecake, and take a seat where he was before, glancing at his grandmother. "Did you go vegan now?"

"No, Pet is vegan," Beth points at Pearl with her thumb. "She's been vegan since... Oh, this memory of mine, I'm starting to forget things already."

"Since I'm nine years old," Pearl says, as her cheeks rose, the reason for it unknown to her. She has never been ashamed of being vegan if anything she feels proud of herself for that. Pearl is a loyal defender and supporter of animal rights since she was a child. The decision came to her as she grew up and saw the treatment and use animals receive.

She knew she couldn't be part of something like that. Preventing the exploitation of animals is one of the reasons for her to become vegan, it remains the main factor in her decision to stay vegan. She believes from the bottom of her heart that all sentient creatures have a right to life and freedom, and that does not change just because certain creatures can't speak as humans do.

And even if there are millions of people out there that still kill animals and consume all kinds of products made out of them, Pearl likes to think her abstinence from doing so, contributes to the cause, maybe not much, but at least a little. Though, she doesn't criticize anyone that isn't vegan, aside from everything, respect and tolerance are two of the main values Pearl has.

"That must require a lot of will," Asher says, as Beth starts cutting the cheesecake, to serve a piece for each one of them.

"Not really," Pearl shrugs. "It doesn't require a lot of will for you to eat meat, right? It's the same for me." She's aware of how defensive her answer might have sounded, so she adds a smile.

Once each of them has a plate with cheesecake on it, Beth says, "I didn't tell you, but Asher is going to move here, isn't that great?" The grin on her face is so big and contagious, Pet has to smile back. "He's moving here and he's going to study in your same school. That's so wonderful," she takes his hand. "You guys can even be friends. Let me tell you, Pearl is a little genius."

"Beth, maybe not that much," Pearl laughs softly, shaking her head.

"Perhaps, I'm overreacting," she waves her hand in the air. "But you are a very smart girl. That's true."

Pearl stays silent, as Beth keeps talking and Asher has his eyes on her. They stare at each other for just a few seconds before loud steps can be heard, and everyone's head turns to look at the one entering the dining room. Abraham raises his arms in the air, with a broad smile and it doesn't take long for Asher to rush toward him and embrace his grandfather.

"Son, it's so good to see you," Abraham grabs him by the shoulders, looking at the boy from head to toe. "A man already."

Both of them approach the table, and Abe plants a kiss on Beth's lips before turning around to greet Pearl. "You guys are all set up already. I hope there's a piece of cake for me."

And they eat, talk, and laugh, just having a good time. But Pearl can help but think she should go home. Abraham and Beth wish to spend time with their grandson, who just arrived. She feels as if it isn't her place to be there. Though, if they don't want her here, they're good at hiding it. Don't be stupid. Pearl scolds herself.

Then, she decides to leave because she has homework to do, and says goodbye to Abe and Beth, thanking Beth for the cheesecake. Asher offers to walk her to the door, and as she opens it, he says, "It was nice to meet you." There's the trace of a smile on his lips.

"Nice to meet you too," Pearl says, with a flustered feeling on her stomach. She instantly dislikes it.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, then."