Chapter Ten – Judgement Day
Breakfast passes without further incident, although Andy receives plenty of strange looks before they get used to his colour. He seems to take it in his stride though, and generally comes across as very laid back in his manner, yet for all his outward chirpiness I can’t help but notice a sadness in his eyes, like there’s more bothering him than he’s letting on. I make a mental note to ask him about it after breakfast, but no such luck – a member of staff approaches to usher us into the communal lounge, another to eye him curiously as we all gather for whatever announcement he has in store.
“No, it’s not make-up,” Andy corrects before he’s even opened his mouth, “I really am green. Not the only one either,” he finishes with a cheeky grin.
“Do all your family have fangs, Leo?” he asks me suspiciously.
“No,” I reply truthfully, but find myself having to think really hard about just how many of my family are human. “I know my brother and sister don’t,” I offer, not wishing to delve any deeper. I didn’t wake with a headache, and I don’t fancy that changing any time soon.
“Okay,” he acknowledges slowly, before changing the subject back to what he grouped us together for. “Anyway, although it’s been boys versus girls, there can only be one winner in the end, and this is the part where we find out who that is.*”
We all share eager looks as I rub my hands together in anticipation.
“The show hasn’t been aired yet, so it was down to our very own panel of judges to decide who fared best in the tasks that were set,**” he explains, “The scores were very close, and they had a hard time choosing, but…” So saying, he pulls out a card from the envelope he was holding. “In third place, for the girls, is Katsumi!”
“Woooo!!” she cheers, doing a little dance in her seat. I chuckle a little as we all give a little clap, “Girls rule!”
“Yeah, right,” I tease, “We don’t know who’s won yet!”
She playfully pokes out her tongue in my direction, so I do likewise back at her.
“Hey, put that back in,” Andy teases, “We don’t know where it’s been!”
I eye Alec knowingly before we both snigger.
“Save that for later,” he hints with a wink. Alec laughs before the staff member clears his throat.
“In second place, for the boys, is Zamir!”
Now it’s his turn to give a cheer as we clap some more.
“
Boys rule!” he teases.
“We don’t know who’s won yet!” Kat replies.
Alec, Andy and I look among each other, laughing at how ridiculous they sound.
“The show’s over folks!” Andy calls at the bickering couple, “You can stop the fighting now!”
Kat pokes her tongue out at Andy, but gets more than she bargained for when he returns the gesture.
“Oh my God, his tongue’s even green!” she giggles.
“Of course it’s green!” he protests with an innocent smile, “What did you expect, purple?!”
“That’s if you caught it in a door,” I remark with a grin.
“Erm, no, it would just go a greenish-black colour,” he ponders aloud, before realising he has an audience, and decides to react to it. “Yes folks, even my blood’s green, that would explain why the rest of me is, huh?” he finishes with a wink.
The member of staff is left eyeing me with mild disdain. “You have strange family, Leo!” he muses.
“I know,” I grin in reply, “Now you know where I get it from…!”
Andy breaks into a fit of stifled titters as the man returns to the card, and everyone makes shushing noises as Alec and I exchange excited glances.
“And the gender defender for the boys, the man of the house…”
“Boys rule!” Kii teases with a gleeful grin.
“The winner of this competition, is none other than Leo!!”
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA!!”
Poor Andy, and even Alec, are left wiggling their fingers in their ears, but I’m in no mood to care. After the distress I suffered last night, this has made my week!
“Well done you!” Alec grins, pulling me into his arms.
“It’s official, boys rule!” I proclaim with a cheeky smile, triggering another bout of laughter.
“This time,” Ginny warns playfully.
“Yeah yeah,” I wink back, “Pays to have a weird background sometimes, eh?”
Andy chuckles, before glancing at the window. “Looks like your folks are coming to pick you all up,” he observes, before turning to me, “Come on you, let’s get your stuff shall we?”
“I guess so,” I mutter, the elation gone as quickly as it arrived. I don’t want to leave – not only did I make some new friends, but there’s one in particular I will really miss. That person looks just as disappointed as we reluctantly rise from our seats.
“I’ll give you a hand if you like,” Andy offers him as we go.
He slowly nods in reply, already looking how I feel. I’m only glad now my eyes were too puffy for eyeliner.
With all our things at the door, and with everyone’s numbers stored in my phone, there is nothing left now but to bid our sad farewells as, one by one, the others get taken back to where they came from. Zamir tells us we’re welcome to visit him in Puerto Rico sometime, while Kat offers us a little tour in Japan. Kii and the others give similar promises about the States, although Autumn reassures me she’ll keep in touch with Luca, despite what happened with them last night. Thankfully Alec is the last to depart, even though he’s the only one who’d moved here permanently. He may as well be going back to Australia, the way we’re both feeling right now, and there’s no stopping the flow of tears with either of us as we linger in each other’s arms.
“I’ll stay in touch, I promise,” I vow, clinging to him tightly. I can hear him sniffling in my ear, before feeling his lips against my cheek. He pulls his head away a little while clutching my face in his hand, his thumb moving now and then to wipe the tears from my cheek as he speaks.
“Me too,” he replies, “We can still see each other, you know? We’re in the same area, you can show me round…”
“Yeah,” I agree, trying to remember to count my blessings. “I’ll look forward to it.” I run a hand along his cheek to dry tears of his own. “I love you Al,” I smile, running a thumb along his lips.
“I love you Leo,” he responds, and with no further words he places a firm kiss on my lips as our grip tightens round each other.
“Alec!!”
The yell cuts through our tender moment like a hot knife through butter, his eyes screwed shut as he mouths one word to explain his new anxiety.
“Mum…”
My head lowers, as I remember his panic when I told him that our parents knew about our encounters under the bedclothes. He kept saying she’d kill him… my stomach ties into knots as a horrible feeling nags at me, that I’m about to witness the murder.
He quickly wipes the tears from his cheeks as he turns to face her, and I count blessings of a different kind; I’m lucky, my parents and even my adult cousins can understand our motives, but it seems this lady can’t. Is this what would have happened if I’d had ‘normal’ parents?
“Look, Mum…” he begins, but she doesn’t let him finish.
“What were you thinking Alec?? He’s a child! There’s an age limit for a reason you know, he’s far too young…”
“He has a name you know,” I interrupt angrily, my arms crossed, “And he’s old enough to think for himself, thank you.”
She glances at me as though I’m not important enough to intrude on her tirade, and glares at him.
“Get in the car,” she growls, “and you stay away from him, you hear me?”
“Mum!!” he protests, but she jabs her finger at the waiting car.
“Go!”
Throwing up his hands in resignation, he reaches for his guitar, now tucked away snugly in its vinyl case, and drags his heels as he goes.
“Look,” I try to explain, “He didn’t take advantage if that’s what you’re thinking, it was my idea as much as his…”
“Underage sex is a criminal offense!” she reminds me harshly, “He could be in serious trouble, do you realise that?”
“Since when do a bunch of politicians know what’s best for the rest of us?!” I growl.
“Don’t go there Leo,” she dismisses, “Rules are rules, and I’m not going to see my only child go down for the sake of an infatuation…”
“You think that’s all it is?” I challenge.
“First boyfriend at fourteen, and you think you’re already in love?!” she retorts. “Come on. It’ll take a lot longer than that before you’ll even have an idea…”
“Yeah yeah, bet my parents had that too,” I counter, “They’ve been married for about seven years…”
“So where are your parents?”
“In bed,” I tell her, “or rather coffins, since they’re vampires. That’s why my…”
“Yes, very funny,” comes the predictable response, before she wiggles a menacing finger at me. “You stay away from my boy, understand? He’s been through enough already, he doesn’t need any more trouble.”
“I wouldn’t give him any trouble!” I complain, but she remains rigid in her stance.
“You already have!” she defends, “No more, I mean it!”
She walks back to the car with the rest of his belongings, and I can only watch helpless as she drives off, tears trickling down my face as she takes with her any hope of seeing – or even hearing from – him again. Pressure on my shoulder reassures me that I’m not alone, but it gives no comfort.
“Tell me this isn’t happening Andy,” I whimper, “Please…”
“I’m sorry Leo,” he says, his gentle voice drifting through my mind like a summer breeze through a bush fire. “We’ve been very lucky with our parents regarding our impulsive moments, but this is reality’s slap in the face I’m afraid.”
I gaze pleadingly up at him, but all I can react with as he pulls me close are hysterical sobs.
“Come on,” he eventually coaxes, “Better get you home.”
The drive is quiet, and I remain that way once we get inside. Even Andy is sullen as he helps me bring in my things, and my poor siblings get a shock when they try to give a happy greeting.
“What’s happened?” Jo asks.
“Better wake your parents,” he tells them, “I don’t fancy repeating myself, and I know Leo won’t.”
“You want a drink?” Luca offers.
I nod as I head for the front room, letting myself crash into the nearest chair and leaning my head against its back, my eyes shutting out the light in an attempt to stem any further attack against my aching red eyes. I don’t move from that position for a while, not until Luca brings my drink and Andy finishes explaining the scene he witnessed earlier.
“Oh dear,” Mum remarks as I take a sip from my cup.
“Yeah,” I muse softly, “That’s putting it mildly.”
Now I can understand his panic before, why he was reluctant to go any further when we first kissed. They call it the ultimate expression of love, but how ironic for that closeness to now drive a wedge between us. If I was just two years older this wouldn’t be a problem, but instead we face a spaghetti junction of red tape and angry parents. All I can hope for now is that eventually she’ll see sense, but in the meantime we need to find a way to stay in touch, whatever it takes.
* These are the
results from the contest
** I don't know how it works in the States, but here they usually premiere
before the show starts, not after, so it was a surprise when we had to describe the premiere in round three. This is my way of getting round it - there were gonna be elims too, but maybe due to so many dropping out that didn't happen in the end.
