Night Wings – Emelia
Sunday Scribblings #207 Prompt: Demands
“Did you see what she was wearing? I can’t believe she thought that sack looked anything resembling good!
“I know. That’s what happens when you get your fashion advice from your mother!” Emelia was bored with this whole conversation. She was bored with her friends, bored with school, and bored with Nick. Tired of there never being enough money.
“Emelia! Did you hear what I just said? Where is your head, girl?”
Damn, Rayanne was talking to her again and she had drifted off. If she wasn’t careful, she would be the next subject of conversation in the cafeteria and it would not be flattering. “What? I was thinking about something Nick said.” That should keep Rayanne off her back. She had more of thing for Nick than a best friend should have for your boyfriend.
“I asked you if you are going to Shannon’s party?”
Emelia tossed her blond hair. “I guess. It’s going to be the same old crap. Nick will drink too much beer, the nerd Mekanek squad will come, Shannon’s house will get trashed and someone will break up with someone. Melodrama will ensue.”
“Emelia what is up your butt lately? You used to be fun.”
“Whatever. Do you want to go to The Human Bean for lattes after class?”
“Yeah, if you promise to get over yourself before then.”
Emelia nodded. “I’ll be in a better mood after I get chem out of the way. See you out front.”
Emelia walked in the classroom and went to her customary seat that no one would dream of sitting in because after all, Emelia sat there. After a completely mind numbing hour of note taking on something she obviously would never use, the bell finally rang and she put her book and notebook in her designer backpack and sighed.
Rayanne was waiting out front with all their friends. Emelia just wanted coffee. Now she would have to deal with everyone. They were milling around, making sure they were seen. Hair perfect, jeans just tight enough. What a bunch of losers.
“Can we go already?”
Rayanne pushed open the door at The Human Bean and stepped inside, smiling over her shoulder at Emelia. At the counter, Emelia ordered a soy caramel latte with no whipped cream, her usual. “Don’t forget, I said no whipped cream.” She paid with the little bit of allowance she had, and waited. The girl behind the counter was new, but looked familiar. She waited some more, tapping her foot.
Rayanne already had her macchiato and was sitting at the table giggling at something one of Nick’s friends said. Emelia counted – Rayanne had managed to touch the guy three times in five minutes. Way to not be obvious, Rayanne. The foot tapping was getting faster and a little more emphatic.
“Excuse me! Are you having to go all the way to the coffee farm? It’s just a latte, what’s the problem?” Emelia stood with her hands on her hips now.
“I…I’m sorry, it’s my first day and we are kind of busy. Here’s your latte. You’re Emelia, aren’t you?”
“Finally. Yes, and you are?”
“I’m Sandy. I sit behind you in History?”
“Um yes, whatever. Thanks.” Emelia turned and started to the table. She took a sip and whirled around, stomping back to the counter. “Excuse me! What part of no whipped cream do you not understand? You are slow, the least you could do is get it right!”
Sandy was cleaning a carafe and as she turned toward Emelia, she dropped it and tried to catch it as it fell. It hit the edge of the sink and instead of grabbing the carafe, she grabbed a piece of glass that broke loose. It lodged deep in her palm and she turned pale.
“Could you be any more clumsy?” Emelia sounded irritated and reached for the injured hand. When she touched it, the glass fell to the floor and the hole it left, closed up. Sandy stared at her for a moment and then snatched her hand back, not saying anything.
“Lucky you didn’t cut yourself.” Emelia stared back at her, eyes wide.
“Yeah, lucky. You want another latte?” Sandy wasn’t making eye contact.
“No. No thanks. This will be fine.” Emelia turned and nearly bumped into Rayanne. She jumped and nearly dropped her coffee.
“Rayanne! Could you not sneak up on me, please?”
“Chill, Em. I just wanted some biscotti. Get a grip, why don’t you?”
Emelia shivered and walked back toward the table. Instead of sitting down, she bypassed her friends and kept going out the door.
Rayanne turned around with her biscotti just in time to see the door close and Emelia walk away from the coffee shop. “What the heck is wrong with that girl, anyway?” She went back to the table just in time to laugh at a joke Nick’s friend was telling. Jordan wasn’t Nick but he wasn’t totally gross and he was the son of a Mekanek. She glanced at the window, thinking about Emelia again. It looked like that idiot behind the counter had cut herself. Maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks. She looked back at the counter and saw the girl staring at the door with the weirdest look in her eyes. She looked afraid.
Emelia glanced down at the coffee cup in her hand. She dropped it in a trash can on the sidewalk, no longer thirsty. What was happening to her? Did Sandy cut herself? Was she just imagining things? She felt heat when she touched the girls hand, and then icy cold. Was she going to end up being one of them? One of the changed “gifted” ones? This kind of thing couldn’t happen to her. She had worked too hard to get to where she was. She was the queen at school. She didn’t kid herself. The only reason Rayanne was friends with her was to look cool. Same with Nick.
She walked along thinking. She could not have faced all of them at the coffee shop. She had too much on her mind to giggle and smile and flash her eyes at every stupid word out of Nick’s mouth. She heard footsteps behind her. She glanced in a window to see who was behind her and she caught a glimpse of a tall guy with brown hair, wearing jeans and a denim jacket. Hadn’t she seen him across the street from the coffee shop?
She decided to cross the street and turn around. It was late and she had walked further than she intended. He crossed the street too. Was he following her? Maybe not. Maybe she was losing her mind. This day had been too weird. She sped up and he walked faster too. Enough! She whipped around, more angry than afraid.
“What do you want?” She stuck out her chin and held her backpack to her side in case she needed to throw it at him and run, if she could run in these stupid shoes.
“Don’t be afraid. You’re Emelia.”
“I know who I am but I have no idea who you are and I’m not afraid. What do you want?”
“Something happened back there in the coffee shop.”
“Yeah, I had an idiot for a waitress who couldn’t get an order right if you wrote it on her hand!”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
I don’t know a thing, including you. This conversation is over!” Emelia turned and stalked away. She heard him call after her.
“I will be around if you need me…and you will.”
She ignored him and kept walking. She didn’t need him. He was crazy. She saw Rayanne step out of the coffee shop. She started to wave when Sandy walked out behind her. They were deep in conversation and Sandy looked up and pointed at Emelia. Rayanne’s mouth hung open. Emelia turned around and walked quickly back in the direction she had just come from. She saw the brown haired guy standing in the shadow of a doorway with his arms crossed. It made her mad to think he waited there for her.
She walked past him like she didn’t see him and turned the next corner. In a few minutes he caught up with her. “What do you know?” She asked him angrily, without slowing down.
“I know that you are changing and that you are going to need to get out of here pretty quick.”
Emelia didn’t want to believe it but there was no arguing with the facts. She had touched that girl and her hand healed. She might not like it but she was going to have to do something. Rayanne would love to see her knocked down. She would go with him for now. She needed time to figure things out.
“I want to go home and get some stuff.”
“There really isn’t time for that. How long do you think it will take your friends to spread the word?”
“Who are they going to tell? I am going home and get my stuff. I’m not leaving without some necessities. I don’t even know you. How do I know you’re not some crazy?”
Ryall stepped into a deep doorway and turned his back to her. He raised his arms and there were wings on his back. Emelia shook her head and closed her eyes and opened them again. She wasn’t hallucinating. He put his arms down and turned back around. The wings were gone. Emelia stood there with her mouth hanging open for a moment.
“Okay, fine. You could still be crazy.” She sounded more serious than angry now. “Do you have a decent place for me to stay? I’m still going home first.” She glared at him.
He sighed. “Fine. But let’s hurry.”
She led him down the side street they were on. He might think he had come to save her but she knew more than one way to get around. She made some turns and came up behind her house.
“I’ll wait behind the storage building. If you aren’t out here in ten minutes, I’m going to leave without you.”
“Fine. Suit yourself.” She started for the back door. Without turning around she asked him how he knew about the storage building.
“This isn’t my first time to come here.” She walked into the house. No one was home, big surprise. Her parents were always working. She was used to coming into an empty house. She ran to her room and started throwing stuff into a leather bag. Clothes, toiletries, her feather boa. A girl had to have a few things. She dumped her jewelry box in and grabbed her diary out from behind the loose baseboard. She started to grab a picture of her and Nick and instead threw it on the floor. She was so over him. She thought about leaving a note. What would be the point. Now they could spend creds on themselves and they wouldn’t have to worry about feeding her anymore. She grabbed the bag and headed back to the kitchen and threw as many cans of food in as she could and returned to the back yard. He was still waiting.
“Are you ready now?”
“Might as well be. Do you have a name?”
“Ryall. Let’s go.”
They walked back the way they had come except they turned toward downtown when they got near the coffee shop. “No sense risking going past there again. Turn down here.”
“So you can fly?”
Ryall just turned and looked at her.
“Duh. You said you had been to my house before. Why?”
“We knew you were going to change soon.”
“We? What do you mean we?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Sign me up for a copy of this book when you publish. I’m hooked. =)
What a wonderful compliment, Carina. If I can get this puppy finished and cleaned up and blanks filled in, and all the other things that need to happen to it – you will definitely be on the list
What a solid prequel about Emelia to fill us in and show us that the gift of healing has been thrust on a fractious, bitchy teenager that probably wants this gift like a hole in the head.
You must be getting quite a thrill of satisfaction writing this work now.
I’d like to say that it satisfies me but I don’t think I will get that until I have brought it to the end. I seem to do bitchy teenager pretty well – not sure what that says about me! Thank you as always!!
I’ve missed bits of this, but now things are starting to gel.
Thanks, Stan – there is a long way to go but it feels like it might actually be able to get there
Excellent piece! You do a fabulous job with Emelia’s voice.
Thank you – I’m not happy with the setting, but I felt good about voice. Of all the characters, I seem to have the clearest feel for Emelia.
Ooh, fantastic a character I have not met before. I love how this seems to be a scene between ‘ordinary’ teenagers but underneath is still that undercurrant of their magical powers and their magical world. Have you read any Charles de Lindt (not sure if I have the name entirely right and I am sure you have read him but your writing reminds me of him). Thanks as ever for your visit..Jae
I have not read Charles de Lindt but I will now – thanks!
you were good before my hibernation but now you’re better.
nice writing
Why thank you, sir!
I LOVE this! Sign me up with Carina. I’m a big fan of Charles de Lint and he does do some stuff about teens in magical situations. I am in awe of your teenager–I was writing about a young punky grrl awhile back and was combing novels from the teen section in the library to figure out how they’d talk… yours is better than any of them!
Wow, thank you. It probably comes from having 2 of my own that have recently passed through that valley and are just now turning into real humans. not to mention working in a high school LOL. In reality there would be profanity, however…
I had a bit of a hard time when I read this last week; I think I was just too fuzzy at the time, and I couldn’t appreciate what you were doing with this scene. It was much clearer to me with this evening’s read: I could really feel the disturbance in Emelia’s life, as she begins to be drawn out of all that has defined her heretofore. I could really feel the pain and anger and disorientation of all that. She’s a harder character to connect with than some of the others, but wonderfully complex.
I thank you but the comment I left you wasn’t fishing, prof – at least not for comments. I was hoping for some Murat alchemy
If she is harder to connect to now, doesn’t that give her more room to grow than if she sprang to life fully formed? I guess I’m trying to explore that aspect, though the scene doesn’t really go with night wings the way it is written so far.
I completely agree. She’s definitely a keeper as a character, wonderful bucking horse of a spirit. It’s not my place at all to plea for any particular character development, but I’m tempted to plea that she never get too softened…