Lightning Streaks the Sky

I’m sitting in the principal’s office. Alison, still crying slightly, but keeping her head down, was here with me. Miranda and Tacey also.

“I’m going to ask this one time: Who. Started. The fight?”, the principal asks through his teeth.

“Umm, I guess I did, sir,” Alison sniffles, looking up, revealing her face for the first time. Her eyes were red and tired, her nose a little runny, her hair was dripping onto the carpet. “Nina had been helping me with Science, and I just wasn’t getting it, so — as a symbolic thing — I threw my book behind me. Then it hit Tacey, and she tried throwing it at Melody, but I caught it. Then we exchange a few words, Tacey tried to slap me, and I poured a bottle of water on Tacey, revealing that she dyed her hair. It was a stupid motion, that I had no idea what would happen. And I’m not gonna lie, but it was sort of bitter-sweet. Besides, it’s just water. It’ll dry. Then I dump another on Miranda, and Tacey dumps two bottles of water on Kendall and I. Then a few words are exchanged, and I try to leave before it got really ugly, but Miranda called me a chicken. I was on impulsive-mode, so I went and attacked Miranda and Tacey, punching and kicking and all of that. Because she brought back a lot of … unpleasant memories. And I know I overreacted, but when Kendall came back into the cafeteria and started beating up Tacey, she was just sticking up for me. I take full responsibility for this whole thing. Because I know Tacey and Miranda will eventually just try starting a fight with us again tomorrow.”, Alison says, getting faster and faster with each word spoken. “But I won’t say I’m sorry, sir. They’ve been calling us names since day one.”

“Sir, she’s lying —”

“Zip it, miss Moore. Miss Ochsner is obviously taking responsibility for her actions, and the actions of others. Something you have never done. I actually saw the entire thing. I’ve seen you two walk over to their table, and I seen the restraint miss Anderson has been trying to keep for this past week. But, miss Ochsner, two outbursts. Detention.”, Principal Booth says, frowning.

“Yes, sir,” Alison says, hanging her head.

“No! That’s not fair! Alison’s a hard-working student, who’s already planned what college she’s going to and everything! And she’s young and impulsive, sure! But she’s taken full responsibility for her actions! And she’s taken the responsibility for Miranda, Tacey, and my own actions! I don’t care what she did, but that took more courage and maturity than most of us have! She told the entire truth, and didn’t take any crap from these two idiots! But I can tell you another thing about Alison! If they had just been insulting her, she would’ve sat there quietly and taken it. But because they were insulting her friends, she did something! And, sure, it was stupid and hurtful! But she doesn’t deserve to be punished!”, I yell angrily, glaring at the principal.

“Kendall, it’s okay —”

“No, it’s not, Alison!”

“Alright! No detention!”, the principal says, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. “Just … all of you, get out of my office! And stay away from each other, or the next fight, all of you are expelled.”

I grab Alison, pulling her out of the school quickly. We had spent most of our time in the principal’s office … again.

“Hey,” Max says, forcing a smile as I let Alison go.

“You okay?”, Dylan asks automatically, jumping in front of me.

“Well, I’m not allowed to play football —”

“Damn,” Leo grumbles.

“But, Alison’s home-free. She’s just gonna be tied to her chair during lunch, from now on.”, I say teasingly.

“That’s a dumb idea, Kendall. I could use the chair as an advantage.”

“Then we’ll glue the chair to the floor! You’re learning impulse-control!”

“Then lock me in a room with my dad! He’ll teach me some impulse control!”, she yells, looking around quickly before running down the street as fast as she could.

“Damn,” I breathe, frustrated. “Damn it all!”

I go running after her, realizing with a few streams of cusses that she was flying up to Thunder. “Damn it all!!”, I growl, frustrated. I close my eyes, squeezing them shut as tight as possible, before running. Not sure where, just running.

♠ ♣ ♠

I had eventually flown up to the cloud, a little calmer. But I was still pretty frustrated. I needed to know what was going on, whether or not Martin was keeping Alison safe. But I couldn’t do that without starting up a riot. I was twitching as I tried meditating at the edge of te cloud, trying to relax but failing competely. I kept thinking about Alison, about Tacey’s fury once she realized Alison was there. It was driving me to the point of insanity. I needed to get over there, quick! I couldn’t take it! The suspence, the worry, the constant flickering of possibilities running through my mind! It was all driving me over the edge! In a more literal sense than some may realize at this moment.

I stood up, and began pacing around the cloud worriedly. What if she’s hurt? I think, looking up at the cloud, barely darker than my own, a little ways across the horizon. Or worse! What if Alison’s dead?!! Oh, Max would never forgive me! And especially not Kevin! I mean, Alison’s his niece, for crying out loud! I think, feeling my own stress lines form.

“Alright, Mel, what’s up? You’ve got your stressed face.”, Dylan says teasingly.

“Not now, Dylan, I’m thinking!”, I say, continuing to pace.

“Mel, stop! Tell me what’s wrong?”, Dylan says, gripping my shoulders to make me look at him.

“I … can’t, Dyl. Just please let me continue pacing.”, I say, looking away from him.

“Alright. But who’s the first that you’re gonna tell?”

“Ash?”

“Who’s your best friend?”

“Alison.”

“Oh, c’mon!”

“Gosh, Dylan! I’m only kidding! You’re going to be the first person I tell! And you’re my best friend.”, I say, kissing his cheek. He grins, letting me go, and I continue my adventurous pace! Okay, in my head I’m doing a superman pose, and that was way cooler. Yeah, I am way over stressed. I’ve gone insane.

“Melody! Umm, can I talk to you for a minute?”, Kevin asks, dragging me toward where the rest of us and the Thunders met. “What is my niece doing with the Thunders?!!!”

“Umm, well … see …”

“ALISON?!!!!!!”, Max yells, gaping.

“Yep! I won, Maxwell.”, Martin says, smirking at him, keeping his arm around Alison’s waist, as she keeps her head down.

“What is she doing with Thunder?!!!”, Kevin growls, shaking me.

“I don’t know!!! I went running after her but she was already flying up to the cloud with Martin! What was I supposed to do?!!! Make her fall out of the sky?!!!”, I yell, glaring at him.

“That would’ve been better than finding her on Thunder with some random guy wrapped around her waist. Hell, Max could’ve knocked her up and I would’ve been happier!”, Kevin says, flinging his arms up in the air.

“I can hear you!”, Max yells, glaring.

“You know what I mean! I’d be happy with anything as long as she wasn’t on Thunder!”, Kevin yells, already beginning to pace. “Alison, get over here!!!”

“You still aren’t an authority to me.”

“I’m over five-hundred years old!!! I better be an authority to you!!!!”

“You could be born back during Adam and Eve.”

“Calm down, Kevin. She came by her own choice.”, Josh says, seeming completely un-phased by Kevin’s anger — shocker? No.

“I don’t care if she came by her own free-will, or if someone dragged her!!!!”, Kevin yells furiously.

“Kevin, calm down,” I say calmly, walking over to Alison. “Why are you with Thunder?”

“Because I want to,” Alison says quietly, crossing her arms over her chest, staring at the ground. Martin left her side, and Max was close to killing him now that he wasn’t so close to her.

“There’s something behind it. You hate Tacey, Josh, Joan, Colby, Beatrix, and just about everyone else on Thunder.”

“Maybe I just wanted to join Thunder all along.”

“What’s going on? I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t go on Thunder unless you knew something that we didn’t.”, I say, glaring at her. She looks up, shaking her head.

“It’s nothing, okay?”

“There’s something. Now tell me or I’ll let Kevin drag your ass back over to Lightning.”

She laughs a little, smiling as she looks up, but what she said surprised me, “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Alison, I died and came to a place that’s so rare, most of the other creatures haven’t heard of it. I think I’m at the point where I’ll believe anything if it’s the truth.”

“Exactly. I’m telling you the truth right now: I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Is it —,” I pull her to the side a little, before saying, barely above a whisper, “your dad?”

“That was part of it. But, Melody, I’d rather talk about stuff when Kevin isn’t close to murdering me.”

“Fine. Then I’m going to Thunder tonight. If you’re not gonna tell me why then, then I’m sending Kevin.”

She winces, nodding silently. “See yah then.”

And I let her go. She walks back over to Martin, who wraps his arms around her waist. I could see her grimace from behind her hair, making me roll my eyes, chuckling under my breath as I walk back toward my group.

“Well?”, Kevin asks, popping up right in front of me.

“She doesn’t wanna talk about it,” I say, shrugging.

“Oh, I’ll make her talk,” Kevin growls, already walking toward her. But I grab his shirt, pulling him back.

“And mainly because she knows you wanna murder her.”

“I’d rather her be dead than be in Thunder.”, Kevin grumbles, pushing my hand away. I glare at him, fighting the impulse to slap him across the face. “The only thing worse than Thunder is actual hell. Which is where she’s gonna find herself if she doesn’t get her ass over here.”

And I slapped him. I couldn’t stop myself. Alison’s my best friend, and him talking about her in hell just made me snap. I stomp away from him angrily, staying at the edge of the group, toward the back. I squeeze my eyes shut, rubbing my temples in hopes of calming down. I heard someone walk toward me, and turned around quickly to see Alison. She shrinks a little, taking a step back quickly.

“Umm, you okay?”

“Yeah … yeah, it’s just Kevin. He was such an —”

“Hey, why do you think I don’t listen to him?”, I laugh with her at that. “He said something about me in hell. Hey, I hear it ain’t that bad.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yep. But, like I said when we first met: I’d burn a million times in hell. As long as everyone I love is safe.”

“Yeah, I remember. You also told me Josh was kidnapping me.”

“Not in exact words. I sent hints, sure, but it wasn’t obvious enough for anyone to even get it.”, Alison says, laughing slightly. “Which is kind of sad.”

“Sad? More like hilarious!”

“Okay, yeah, pretty hilarious.”, Alison laughs, rolling her eyes. “Oh, well I better get going. See yah tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see yah,” I say, waving back at her as she and Thunder leave.

“What’s going on tomorrow?”, Kevin asks suspiciously.

“School,” I say, rolling my eyes. “We have the same homeroom.”

“Yeah, well, you hit hard.”, Kevin grumbles, rubbing his reddening cheek.

“Well that’s what you get for threatening to send my friend to hell.”

“I was angry! I say stupid stuff!”

“Doesn’t matter. You were asking for it.”, I say, rolling my eyes. I walk away then, down toward my house. I know it’s early, but I don’t wanna pass-out while Alison’s telling me why she’s with Thunder. So, I put on my PJs, and hopped into bed, quickly falling asleep.

♠ ♣ ♠

I woke up around midnight, quickly rolling out of bed, and changing out of my PJs quickly. I grab my flashligh, opening the door outside slowly. I peek out quickly, before walking out and closing the door behind me. I go running behind my house, as quietly as possible, before slowly feeling my wings spread out, and flying off the cloud. It was hard figuring out where Thunder was, but I finally felt the rain against my back. I flew up the edge of the cloud, folding my wings into my back, standing up on the cloud. I look around, hesitating before I take a step.

Alison probably felt the exact same way. Except a little safer. She had Martin, I think, shaking my head. “Alison?”, I whisper, barely audible to my own ears, making me question whether I said it out loud. “Alison?”

“Alison’s asleep, Melody,” Josh says, chuckling as he pops up behind me, scaring me half to death as I jumped about half a mile up in the air. “Sorry.”

“Where is she?”, I hiss, glaring at him.

“With Martin. He’s hardly sleeping. He’s just staring at her.”

“That’s creepy.”

“Try walking in there yourself. He makes you feel like you walked in on something. I just check every hour to make sure she doesn’t get raped ‘cause I’m sure you and Kevin will tag team.”, Josh says, chuckling as he rolls his eyes.

“And?”

“He hasn’t tried anything. Martin gets a natural sense of someone’s personality by even the tiniest physical contact.”

“So, when Alison linked her arm with his back at the party …”

“Actually sooner. She brushed past him in the hallways.”

“Ooh … he’s got it bad.”, I say sadly. “Poor Martin.”

“What? I think Alison’s starting to fall for him.”

“Yeah, right. Alison doesn’t believe in love. And if she did, she wouldn’t date while she’s in middle school.”, I say, laughing slightly.

“Oh,” Josh says, looking down. “He thinks Alison’s ‘the one.’”

“Wait until Alison hears that. She’ll be scared stiff for a month. And, then she’ll start breathing!”, I say, laughing quietly.

“She’s got a fear of relationships or something?”

“Umm …”

“Melody! Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! Please tell me Kevin’s not on his way to drag my sorry ass back.”, Alison says, stumbling over to Josh and I. “Hey, Josh. Umm, if Martin wakes up, tell him I just needed some air. You owe me.”

“Yeah, I know,” Josh grumbles, rolling his eyes before disappearing.

“He owes you?”

“It’s complicated, Mel.”

“Okay, whatever,” I say, holding my hands up defensively. “Besides, we’re here to talk about why you’re with Thunder.”

Alison sighs, sitting down at the edge of the cloud. “I’ve just … been kind of edgy lately, Mel. I’ve just got this gut-wrenching feeling …”

“Explain.”

“Something’s coming. I don’t know what it is. Remember the other day when Max helped you to sleep? Then I screamed ‘BUNNIES!!!’?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“I was trying to see what it was. But all I found was blackness. Then this … bunny. I didn’t get what it meant. Max has been helping me try to figure it out since I got here.”

“So that’s why you two have been spending so much time together?”

“Yeah! What’d you think we were doing? Making-out at his house or whenever Kevin’s back was turned? That’s just gross, Mel!”, Alison laughs, making me laugh with her.

“No, but I just thought he was doing some kind of influence thing that made you hang around him.”

“I was starting to think that, too. But I didn’t wanna ask him if he was.”

“So, why are you with Thunder?”

“Remember yesterday? When Miranda was teasing us? Well … it reminded me of back when I was at this one school. There was this girl who laughed at me. I threw a punch at her, but it never hit her. And Miranda reminded me so much of her! And when she started teasing me, calling me a chicken …”

“It brought back unpleasant memories, and you snapped. Then it brought back even worse memories, up to the point where you broke down.”

“And one of them was my dad. He’s the reason I have trouble expressing my feelings. Every time I think about falling in love … I start thinking about my mom. She thought she was in love. And then he cheats on her. After I was born. And he does it every time! I just can’t take it anymore, Mel!”, and she broke down again.

“Alison, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! It will never be okay!”

♠ ♣ ♠

Alison had cried, and I think she was feeling better. But, it’s never easy to tell with her. She could be forcing a smile while she’s tortured inside.

“Look, Alison, I completely understand that you don’t wanna be near Kevin right now. I mean, he’s basically your dad’s brother … but Max is close to murdering Martin —,” I say in a rush, before Alison starts laughing shakily.

“Melody, I’m not staying. But there is another reason why I’m here.”, Alison says, finally gaining control over herself.

“What is it?”

“Well … I had a vision …”

“And?”, that didn’t make sense. Alison’s told me some of her dreams, and the only ones she’s had that could make her leave is if Kevin was planning on murdering her.

“Max told me … he loves me.”

“So? That’s not so bad?”

“Yeah, but … I kind of like him. But, if anything, I’d just want to be friends. I’m only thirteen and he’s like … a hundred years old.”

“And your dad used to tell you he loves you?”

“Exactly! Now, if anyone says it … I get all choked up, and I can’t even think straight!”, Alison says, looking up at the sky.

“Alison, it’s okay. If you just tell Max that you just wanna be friends, he wouldn’t hold it against you. He’s still pretty new at love.”, I say, laughing slightly.

“You don’t get it, Melody! It just … it’ll be all weird and awkward after that! And Max is really nice and everything! I can see myself falling for him! And I just — I can’t —”

“Calm down! Breathe, breathe!”, I say, shaking her.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t get caught up in romance until I at least had a job and a secure life. I’m thirteen. I still rely on my mom to make my meals and clean my clothes!”

“Trust me, Alison. If your heart tells you it’s right —”

“I don’t care! I refuse to be a love-struck puppy. I’m dating when it feels right.”

“Fine. But if you wait too long, Max will be too young. He’s not aging, Alison. And he can make it so you don’t either.”

“But what if I’m good enough for heaven, Mel? I still doubt it, but … what if? And I’ve still got a future. Plus, what about Sophie?! I’m not leaving her just for an eternity at thirteen.”

“Yeah, well, I better get going …”, I say, standing up. Alison grabs my hand, pulling me back down quickly.

“Could you, umm, tell Max that I’ll see him at school?”

“Sure,” I say, smiling at her. I stand up, as Alison soon follows.

“See yah at school, Mel,” Alison yawns, waving slightly as she walks away.