The Hidden Hybrid Within

Chapter 4: Meeting New Friends

      Claire stepped from the room in front of me and we stood together in the hallway waiting for the next move. A middle-aged lady came from around the corner with a snooty smile and wire rimmed glasses that looked too big for her face. She was a little taller than me and dressed like a sophisticated business lady. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail at the back of her head and she walked like she owned the place. “You two follow me.” She motioned leading us back out to the main hallway and over to the staircase. “You two are on the sixth floor.”

      She started up the stairs and we followed, I noticed as we got closer to the top both her and Claire were slowing down and sounded out of breath. I just shook my head and continued ahead of them till I reached the top and leaned against the rail to wait on them. “How in the world did you do that? Aren’t you winded? I walk these steps twice a day and they never get any easier.” Lynn just kept going on and on, and I was trying to be nice and not tell her what a wimp she was.

       She walked us down a long hallway till we came to the end. I noticed the large door at the end of the hallway and my mind wondered what was behind it. “You two get to bunk together, this will be your room.” She opened the door and we both gasped at it.

       The room was huge, there were two full size beds that both had large green comforters and a ton of pillows, there was a large patio door that led out to a balcony where we could get fresh air. There was a couch that sat in front of the other windows. There were two doors, one door was a large walk in closet full of clothes and the other was a bathroom, there was a shower, toilet and huge sink. In the room there were also two dressers, one on each side of the closet door.

        “I don’t know what you two done to get this room, but you should find everything you need. Everything in here belongs to you two including the clothes so enjoy. Why don’t you get settled in and be down for dinner at five?” She shut the door and left me and Claire standing there, shell shocked.

      “I think we died and went to heaven, and I am so glad to be able to room with you.” Claire bounced across the room and wrapped her arms around me. I stiffened for a moment and then hugged her back, I was pretty sure I was going to like her, she reminded me of my best friend Shay.

     “Yea this is much nicer than my last place.” I sighed as I wiggled from her embrace and walked over to one of the beds. I held my arms to the side and free fell back on the bed. “So, Claire why are you here?” I had to ask the question, so I knew what kind of person I was rooming with for the next four years, and figured there was no sense in tiptoeing around it, I might as well ask it and get it out of the way.

      “Stealing,” I rolled over facing her sitting on the edge of her bed with a questioning look on my face. I watched her take a deep breath before continuing. “My mother is a drunk all she ever did was w***e around and drink and my father ran away when I was young leaving me, mom and my baby brother alone. Mom never cooked, never kept anything in the house for us to eat, the only time we ate was when we were in school. Summer break came and we weren’t in school and mom had disappeared." She took a deep breath, and looking at her eyes, I could see she loved her brother as I did my siblings, "Devon, my brother, was becoming weak and sick from lack of nutrition so I stole food from the grocery store to feed us. I didn’t take much, chips, bread and some peanut butter and jelly. Anyway, the first three times I did I didn’t get caught, well I thought I didn’t anyway, so I got braver. I wanted to take my brother away from there and take care of him. One night I found my mom’s gun, it wasn't loaded, but they didn't know that. Yea, well anyway I took it, and my backpack and went to the grocery store I had been stealing from. I packed the backpack full of stuff to do us a few days till we got away and then I held the clerk up at gun point till he gave me one thousand dollars. I ran from that store as fast I could until I reached home. I dropped the bag, money and gun in the weeds and ran inside to get my brother, but little did I know that they had watched the security cameras, saw my face, and sent the police to my house. Long story short, they found my father, that turns out my mother fled from taking us and he took my brother, my mother was locked up for child abuse and I was sent here for robbery with a handgun.” I could see her tears running down her face and my heart hurt for her, she was like me, doing what she had to do to protect her family.

        She finally regained control of her emotions before she looked up at me, “And you Sin, why are you here?”

       I stood up and walked around the bed to sit on the edge like her, facing her. I knew she had the right to know who she was rooming with too; she shared her story so once again I shared mine with a stranger.

       When I was done Claire looked at me for a second and then leaped around my neck hugging me tightly. “You are such a bad ass Sin!” And that had us both laughing. 

       We took our showers and freshened up, much to my surprise the clothes weren’t orange or grey sweats. There was actual clothes, dresses, jeans and shirts, nothing showing that they were prison clothes at all. We both opted for jeans and t-shirts with plain tennis shoes. We both agreed it felt nice to be in regular clothes again.

      “Come on Sin, let’s go roam around before dinner.” Claire grabbed my hand leading me out of the room and back down the hallway toward the stairs.

       We wondered around the hall toward the library, I couldn’t help but notice all the books about supernatural stuff, and witches, and legends. I always liked reading about that stuff I would have to take notes on these stories, I had never seen them before and didn’t recognize the authors either. I found the communication room and noticed no one was in line for the phones. I wanted to hear my brother and sister’s voice. My dad and my big brother were gone, and obviously mom couldn’t care less, at least I had them.

      “Claire I am going to make a quick call. I will meet you in the dining hall.” She nodded and left me at the phones.

       Picking the phone up and taking a deep breath I called home. I hadn’t talk to them since I had left the hospital, I needed to hear from them. The phone rung about ten times and then the line went dead. I tried calling again and it was just busy. I hung the phone up in defeat and walked back into the library till I found myself in the hall.

      “Hello Miss, are you Sidney?” A young lady called from the doorway across the hall from the library.

     “Please call me Sin and how can I help you?”

     “Please follow me, I need to look at that arm. I tried to catch you before you went upstairs but I was too late.” She motioned me to follow her in the doorway, I had actually forgotten all about my arm. It wasn’t hurting and thinking about it, it didn’t hurt when I was in the shower or while getting dressed.

      “Please sit here and remove your shirt.” She pointed to a small examination table in the middle of the room.

      I took my shirt off and it left me sitting in my bra and all my scars exposed. I looked at my arm and suddenly realized, there was nothing more than scratches visible. That’s odd, I know those claws penetrated deeper than that, or at least I thought they did.

       “Well looks like there isn’t much for you to do.” I smiled at her and she looked down at my arm.

     “Oh my, I was under the impression that they were much worse than this.” She took the alcohol and washed the wounds before placing some sav on them and placing a bandage on top. “Alright Sin, you may put your shirt on and go to dinner. That will be good as new in no time.” I gave her smile as I slid my shirt on and exited back into the hall.

     Entering the dining room, I was amazed by everyone. There had to be six hundred people in there. Boys, girls; of all different ages, and much like high school I could see that there were the clicks. The nerds, the jocks, the goths, the cheerleaders, the preppy kids, and then the ones that didn’t look as though they belonged anywhere, and that is where I belonged.

      I saw Claire waving from the distance and I made my way over to her; not paying attention to my feet I felt a foot out in front of me and before I knew it, I was headed toward the ground; thinking quickly I tucked and rolled back onto my feet and kept going as I listened to whispers and gasps. I could literally feel eyes burrowing into the back of my head. I approached Claire and noticed she was sitting with some boys and girls that much like me didn’t look like they belonged to any group.

      “That was pretty awesome girl.” Claire snickered in my ear as I took a seat.

      “It was nothing really. I just learned a long time ago to roll with the flow.”

        I couldn’t help it anymore, the eyes burrowing now into the side of my face were driving me crazy; I turned to see a boy sitting with his jaw on the ground and almost looked pissed. I assumed he was the one that tried to trip me. He had a powerful aura that emanated off him and demanded respect, but you guessed right, I didn’t care. Respect is given if earned. His eyes were the color of the sea and his hair was the perfect blend of blonde and brown. His muscles looked like they wanted to rip through his shirt right then and judging by his size I would guess six feet at least. He was dressed in high end clothes and if I was guessing, he was a jock and popular kid.

     “That’s Xander Russell,” One of the girls from the table spoke up, I guess she noticed me staring. I turned to look at her. “My name is Sophia by the way.” She stuck her hand out for me to shake and I did. “That is Alpha and Lady Russell’s son. He is a trainer here and goes to school with us, only because his parents run this place. They say when he graduates from school, he is headed back home to run the family business, since his dad is here.”

       “Wait a minute did you say Alpha Russell?” Boy the man didn’t seem that arrogant to me but calling himself Alpha is taking it a little too far, I thought to myself.

       “Yep, Alpha. Xander is next in line for Alpha back home. But he can’t do anything until he turns eighteen. Which is in two years.” I just nodded at Sophia, I was surrounded by arrogant men.

      “So, is there anything to do here, besides school and chores?” I asked the group of kids I was sitting with.

     “Well, there is that, but we basically live like normal teens, you know. Football, Cheering, wrestling team, track, and more. But there is only so much us girls can do. There is also a really nice gym outside in the run.” The guy next to Sophia spoke up. “Dustin by the way.” He also stuck his hand out for me to shake and I did.

     The rest of the dinner period we all sat and ate like normal teens discussing lots of different things, typical teen stuff. I couldn’t help but notice out of the corner of my eye every once in a while that Xander was still staring at me.

     Deciding I had had enough of the staring I got up and grabbed my garbage; I turned to Claire, “I am going to go for a walk, I will meet you back in the room.” She just smiled at me and turned back to her conversation with Sophia.

      I walked back toward the entrance and came to a stop when I noticed Xander stuck his foot out again and was still staring. I put my hand on his shoulder and bent over slightly before whispering in his ear, “You know staring isn’t nice, and when you take a picture it last longer.” I stood back up straight before looking him dead in the eye, “And seriously a foot in the walkway, how old are you again, because I am pretty sure that became a thing of the past about two years ago.” I reached down and grabbed his pant leg and swung his leg back under the table. “Thank ya darling.” And I made my way to the garbage can to deposit my trash before exiting back into the hallway and toward the outside.

       Stepping out onto the grass I slid my shoes off running my toes through the blades and giggling at the way they tickled the souls of my feet. I finally stood back up straight from admiring the grass under my feet and I walked to a large willow tree that stood in the middle of the benches and plopped my butt down at the trunk of the tree before leaning against it. Looking around I couldn’t really believe the size of the place, the trees in front of me looked like they went on for miles, but I knew they didn’t because the building was a complete circle that encased the outing area, but in those few minutes I felt like I was free, sitting in one of my favorite parks in Georgia where I use to go to just clear my mind.

       “I have never saw anyone stand up to Xander that way.” I heard a voice coming from behind me. I turned to see a young girl, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had long straight blonde hair and freckles which honestly were cute as a button. Her eyes were grey like Mrs. Russell’s and she was beautiful.

      “I just don’t like being bullied.” I shrugged my shoulders.

     “Well, whatever it is, I applaud you. Bout time someone put him in his place. Mom and dad very rarely even stand up to him.” I turned to look at her again. Of course, she is from the same perfect gene pool, these people were flawless. “Names Eva. Actually, it is Evana but everyone calls me Eva.” She plopped down beside me.

     “Sidney but everyone calls me Sin.” I smiled at her and leaned my head back against the tree before closing my eyes to breathe in the fresh air.

      “Nice to meet you,” Eva smiled back, and we sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. “So, Sin since you are new here, I want to give you a few pointers, please don’t take offense.” Without opening my eyes, I just nodded. “Okay so Xander and his click are relentless, they will probably torment you till you give in. His girlfriend, head of the cheer leading squad is Jessica and her own goon squad, Olivia, Tess, and Kat. Trust me you can’t miss them. Also, there are a few clubs you might like, there is the book club, warrior in training club, track club, cheer leading team, self-defense club and um…...oh yea fashion club.”

      “You seriously have a fashion club?” I scoffed; I mean really. “Wait a minute did you say warrior in training club and self-defense club?” That kind of peaked my interest.

     “Yea but you have to be a boy to join those clubs, they are kind of like military in training clubs, I don't even know why I told you. However, they do have a women’s self-defense club.” She beamed.

      Sounds about right, I thought to myself, arrogant men.

     “Well, I think there is a first for everything.” Maybe I needed to make a point to these arrogant men, girls can do it too. “Who is the head of the warrior club?”

      “My father is the coach, he always says, it’s the best way to train future warriors and keep their tempers in check. And Xander is the captain, with his best friend Jake his second.” I noticed the pitter patter of her heart and flutter of her words when she mentioned Jake’s name.

     “So, Jake huh?” I laughed.

      “Yep, he is just dreamy. And my future ma…. future man, he just doesn’t know it yet.” I turned my head to look at her and I could see the blush causing even her ears to burn red. “You have a boyfriend?” She spit out, quickly trying to change the subject.

      I started laughing at her, and then thought about my father’s words, “Train hard, study harder and make your own path in this world. The man that will be your future will never hold you behind only help clear the waters to help you shine.”

       “No, no boyfriend. Don’t have time for one. I got big plans.” I laughed at myself again.

      “Well, it’s almost dark, time to go in.” Eva stated as she stood up and brushed her butt off.

      “Let’s go,” I stood with her and we headed toward the entryway.

       She followed me up the stairs and continued till we came to the end of the hallway. “You didn’t have to walk me to my room you know, I promise I was coming here.” I pointed toward my door.

      She laughed and pointed to that strange door at the end of the hallway I had noticed earlier, before taking her key out to unlock the door and punching a code into the keypad. “We live through here. Mom, dad, me and my brother. They didn’t want to live away from the facility and wanted everyone to fill like this was a home not a prison. So, we blocked off this area and it is for us.”

       “Oh okay, makes sense.” I blushed a little at my wild accusation. “Well, see you tomorrow.” I stepped in my room, closing the door behind me.

        Claire was fast asleep on her bed and I just shook my head, light weight, I thought to myself. I walked through the room opening the sliding door and stepped out onto the balcony. I propped against the rail and peered out over the yard below.

       From there I could see the vastness of it, but what caught my eye was the obstacle course and the training area were not far from where my balcony was. I also noticed looking around, other than the few rooms to my left there were no other balconies, I could only assume the balconies to my left belonged to the Russel's part of the facility.

      My attention was quickly jerked away from searching for other balconies when I heard grunting and punching sounds from below. I focused in on the noises and noticed none other than Xander and another boy I assume was Jake playing around with the punching bags.

       They were talking low enough I couldn't hear them and from where I was standing, Xander looked pissed, I smirked to myself thinking I might be a little at fault for that. A few punches here and a few round house kicks there, not bad, of course their technique could use a little fine tuning,I thought to myself, but who was I to judge.

        My speed, strength and technique, was to only be used in self-defense, or to protect, not to start fights. My dad’s words ringing in my head, as I turned and headed back into my room. It was time for bed.