Becoming (chapter two)

2. Mysteries1

“Jade, it’s 82 degrees out. Why are you wearing pants?”
Go. Away.
I mumbled an incoherent reply.
“Hmmm?”
“Because I’m cold.”
She made a phoof sound with her lips. “Don’t give me that crap, because you look like you’re about to explode with heat.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You even have leggings on under those jeans! You wear them so no one sees your legs when you change for gym. Are you insane Jade?”
“Not any more than you.”
“Thanks Jade.” Emmi walked away with such a disgusted manner that I knew I had hurt her. I hurt everyone that butted into my secrets.
The reason I moved was to get away from the horrors, but they just kept coming back and tapping my on the shoulder, begging to get my attention. Many had tried to learn my story, but the school counselor, Patty knew. My foster parents made sure that I was signed up for appointments. I just didn’t like being in this town, with all the memories.2

“There is no freaking way.”
“Yes, Jade, it’s obvious that you need them. Just try it out, because you are growing more and more distant each day. I’m worried.”
“You’re always worried,” I snapped.
My foster mother’s tone softened. “I don’t want to lose you, Jade.”
I sighed. “Alright, I will try the sessions, but only for awhile.”
She smiled, and then left my room without a word.
Insane.
So begins the horrors.3

I plastered a fake smile on my face for the rest of the day. I did actually begin to get cold, but most of the time I had to perfectly still so I didn’t break a sweat. I wasn’t even going to take off the leggings, because I didn’t want to have to see my scars.
“Jade, what’s your answer?” spoke the Algebra II teacher. I didn’t even do the problems. Okay, so the guy in front of my answered five, so I must have six… I looked down. Simple Algebra, I did it in my head quickly. 3x-8=7x, so x is -2 so the slope will be... “Five over two,” I said, at least fifteen seconds later.
The teacher blinked. I don’t even remember the poor guy’s name. You don’t want to remember the dismal teachers. I’ve stuck to calling him Mr. Mole. He has a large, bothersome mole on his cheek. His bald head had one two, but I pretended it wasn’t there, for my stomach’s sake.
“Good, Jade, but tell me. Did you get the answer of Jake’s sheet?” What the heck? I didn’t even glace at that flea-infested jerk!
“No.” I knew my face was blank and serious, like it always was.
Mr. Mole decided to take it a step farther with a threatening tone. This was actually the fist time it had happened. “Jaaaade...”
I began to glare. “I did not take his answer. Even if I had, you shouldn’t give a crap, because it’s just the answer to homework problems. You don’t even know if the idiot did the homework.” I had really crossed the line on the disrespect factor. You’re getting a good lecture from Abby and Mother tonight…
Mr. Mole was furious. He was so furious his fat face was almost purple with rage. I smiled, finalizing my doom. “OFFICE! NOW!”
My face was again blank, and I picked up my back, gracefully walking out of the door and into the hallway.
Of course, I had no intention of going to the office. I was out the exit immediately. Not just any exit though, the fire escape. I could hear the stupid alarm going off behind me, and I just smiled, almost evilly.
I was sick of school.
If I was thinking that I might regret my actions later, it didn’t affect my decisions at all. I just ran, laughing, free, and… happy. I was so happy, but then, for no reason at all, the tears came again.
After months of keeping them in check, never crying for sake of being strong, they showed up again, not wanting to hold back. They were making up for all the time I’d wasted pretending to be strong.
I just need music.
So pulled out my black iPod nano and struggled to untangle the wires. It’s not as easy as it looks, you know. After I finally got the stupid things in my ears, I tried to turn it on. “Ah! The stupid thing is on hold!” My frustration was bubbling over to the point where I was screaming, sobbing, and laughing.
It was quiet an odd combination, but that can happen when your life isn’t working the way you want it to at the time. I was still running though, not even knowing where I would end up.
Slowing, I picked a random song to drown out the noise of the world. Then I thought about pickles for a distraction.
Have you ever thought of them? Pickles are so weird. I wonder who thought of the word. I mean, it’s so funny to say. I wonder if Coronado found and cucumber, dropped it in the fire, and then picked it up and decided to eat it. That would be so weird, you know? Then he says ‘Behold the pickle!’ you know, with like, the sun behind him and the sound of crickets in the background.
By the time I got through with my pointless history of pickles, I had found the stream. I sat down and tried to sort out some of the mysteries of my life.4

I looked up at the white ceiling, trying to convince myself that I had fallen and hit my head. If I did fall and hit my head, it would mean that I could have dreamt the previous night.
“Hey, you’re up” a voice whispered beside me.
I looked into the sympathetic eyes of Adien.
Nope, not a dream.
My tears were about to fall again. Adien looked panicked. His eyes were big, and they kept looking behind him. The first thought that popped into my head made me nervous.
“Is he coming for me?” My voice was squeaking, afraid.
“No, no, shhhhh.”
“Then what?” I whispered, still worried.
“I’m not supposed to be here. You’ll be fine, but you need to make sure you get to Colorado. I’m resting a lot on you, okay?”
“What? What are you talking about?” It was one of those things where you were so confused that it felt like you were suffocating.
Adien shoved something in my hand. “Never lose this, ever,” he whispered, and then he ran, but not out the door, for he climbed nimbly out the window.
I opened my hand to see a necklace, with a pendant engraved beautifully with a dragon gracefully turning in midair. It was a white dragon, with hues of purple and green glistening off it’s scales.
When I rubbed my thumb over it, it glowed dimly, but when I blinked it the light was gone, replaced by the hall light flooding in for the guards chasing Adien.5

Now, rubbing the necklace again, I still could not get it to glow like it had. I never saw the boy again either. I knew it was a good mystery to solve, but it was hard not knowing anything.
I’m in such a regulated foster home system that I can hardly get on the internet without being monitored. I could hack into government systems to find out where that boy came from, but I would be in deep muck.
I had even tried to find if the picture on my necklace was a symbol for anything. All I found was a stupid myth about dragon masters tied with a bunch of Chinese legends. Since it was pointless to fantasize on years and years of alterations to one sighting, then I stuck with the fact that I just needed to get to Colorado.
When I had requested it, the foster system refused, and I was still stuck in Maine. Now, I needed to come up with a plan. I had a plan, but it was a pretty stupid one. It involved a tall building and spotlights.
So I went with a less… public one. I needed to get out of here, the little memory triggers were everywhere, and I had to get over the fact my mother would no longer be with me. It didn’t help my dad was in the jail less than ten miles away.
I reached under a rock and pulled out the knife I had hidden there. I glanced at my watch. I had a few minutes to think this over.
Basically, I knew that everyday a writer came here to think. She had never seen me, I made sure of that, because I knew that my plan would require this. She couldn’t know me, except for that my face was in the paper, the poor girl who saw her mother in cold blood.
She actually wrote a book about it. I died in the book. The irony was perfect, so I said that this was real luck. So when I heard the soft footfalls, I pulled a few tears to my eyes, which was the easiest part. The knife on my wrist, however, was scaring me. I’m not the type to resort to this.
Of course, that helped my cause, but I didn’t want to seem stupid. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended I was giving blood. I must have done it well enough, because the gasp behind me was exactly what I was going for.
I smiled, but when I opened my eyes an saw the blood, I fainted.6

In the hospital bed, I decided that there had been way too many times in my life now that I miss my transportations. I was quite sick of waking up in a different place.
The social worker in front of me was staring at me in disappointment. I didn’t really blame her, but I was getting closer.
She sighed. “I don’t suppose that we underestimated you, hmm?”
I raised my eyebrows, doing my best to seem innocent and depressed. I was depressed, but that didn’t make me lazy.
“Jade, there’s one family in Colorado that I think will fit you. They have already requested to adopt you.”
That was more than I needed. “Really?” I asked, pretending to sound uninterested.
“This couple both lost their parents to a murderer, and they bonded through that. They believe they can help you too.
This is what I was looking for. “Okay, great,” my tone was still cynical and monotone.
“They live in the middle of the Rockies… great views to draw and paint.”
I tried my best not to sit up, but a smile did come. My current foster parents whispered, and the social worker smiled too.
“Well, Jade, it looks as though you are going to Colorado, but only if you agree to a counselor and the possibility of home schooling.”
Painting for home schooling… home schooling for painting… “I’m going to Colorado!” Everyone in the room smiled.