Markings

Harlow Academy for Young Learners. What a joke. Everyone there was stuck up and too rich for their own good. They were all spoiled. Everyone except Aibell. Aibell got in because she was smart, not because she had money. Honestly, she hardly had money at all, seeing as she lived with her single father and two other siblings, and times were hard. Her father was a writer who usually spent his entire day, from morning to night, writing his book in his study.

The other two kids, who were twins, were only a year older than Aibell and would be graduating that school year. They'd been accepted to Harlow Academy years back, and Aibell had always laughed and said that you couldn't pay her enough to attend such a stuck up place. Of course, her Junior year, she realized how good that school would look when she applied for colleges and finally got herself accepted. It was pricey, but Aibell's dad pulled through. Besides, he only had to pay for two years for Aibell, one for the twins.

The twin's names were Ollie and Ash, and their misbehaving often got in the way of school, and Aibell knew that if they'd just sit down and pay attention, they'd be the most brilliant students at Harlow. But they didn't care, because they still managed passing grades and hadn't been kicked out yet.

One rainy Thursday morning, Aibell woke up and found herself sick, not able to attend school. Oh no. She'd felt like she would hurl, and couldn't barely stand up. Her father and brothers stood over her, looking thoughtful.

"Bit early, don't you think?" Ollie asked, running his fingers through his brown hair. "She's only 16. Didn't happen to Mom till she was 17, right?"

"Happens at different times for everyone, I heard," Ash said with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Right, Dad?"

"Yes," their dad muttered, his eyes narrowed. "Right."

"You realize I have absolutely no idea what you people are blabbering about?" Aibell croaked, her throat soar. "Explain, will you?"

Ollie shook his head. "Afraid we can't, little sister, it's top secret and you might get kidnapped by the FBI-"

"-and tested on like an animal," Ash finished, also shaking his head. "Maybe we should just throw her into-"

"Silence," their father grumbled. "Now, you'll have to stay home from school today. I'm going out to visit someone, for work purposes, but I'll have my phone on me in case you need something. Boys, get going to school."

Ollie and Ash shrugged and left the room, arguing over whether or not they should give Aibell up to Area 51.

"What are they going on about?" Aibell asked her dad. "I'm only sick, I'm not an alien."

"Of course you're not an alien, you're fine. Just probably the flu. Now, get some rest. I'll be back by this afternoon." He left the room, but not before throwing her one last concerned look. Aibell stared after him in confusion.

Obviously there was more to this little "flu" than her family was letting on. And what was all that about "it" happening when she was 16, when "it" happened to her mother at 17? And what would Ollie and Ash know, she died when they were all 4 and 5 years old, they couldn't possibly remember! She was in a car accident, she knew that. Her father had mentioned it before, but not often. It was obvious how much they were in love. There were still pictures of her mom with her dad all over the house. Pictures of all five of them.

Aibell fell asleep, her mothers face in her head. She didn't dream, but when she woke up, she felt a lot better. That is, until she saw her arm. With her tank top on, she could see her entire arm, which was now covered in a black marking, swirling all the way down to her hand. Her mouth was wide open, as she traced the line with her finger tip. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom down the hall to try washing it off. But, even with a ton of soap, it didn't even fade. The mark remained the same.

Panicking, Aibell put on a long-sleeved shirt and some jeans, then went down the hall, toward the front door. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter and swung it around her neck so it dangled at her side. Unfortunately, Aibell and the twins all shared a car, and that's how they all got to school. Since the twins took the car to school, Aibell would have to travel by bus.

Aibell and her family lived in Chicago, Illinois, in an apartment a while away from the school. Chicago was a big city, and it was always busy and full of thousands of people, roaming the streets, out driving, catching a bite for lunch... Aibell loved the city, and she wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but sometimes living in an apartment could get cramped.

As Aibell walked out of her apartment, there was an image in her mind, and image of someone she'd known her entire life, who took her to the zoo when she was nine, and babysat for her and the twins until she was eleven. He was Aibell's dad's best friend since they were very young, and if there was anyone who Aibell could trust, it was him.

Wishing that she'd worn a jacket, Aibell shivered against the cool fall breeze. Winter was on the way, and that meant she'd have to start bringing out her huge coat eventually.

Aibell waited at the bus stop, rubbing her arms to keep warm. The bus pulled up, and she hopped inside, giving the driver the name of the apartment complex she was going to, handed him 4 dollars and hurrying to the back to take a seat. She dug her watch out from the bottom of her purse, which she hadn't worn in months, and hurried to put it around her wrist, so she could keep track of how much time she had until her dad got home. Hopefully, she wouldn't run into him. Maybe he was already on his way home? Maybe he was all the way in another city?

When she got to her stop, Aibell hurried off the bus and looked up at the apartment complex in front of her. She bit her lip nervously and hurried up the steps, to the door of his apartment and knocked loudly. The door swung open, and she smiled with relief.

"Aibell," the man whispered in his thick British accent, and reached out to pull her into a hug. "I haven't seen you in almost a year! Come in, come in... How's your father? And the twins?"

"All fine," Aibell insisted, walking into the apartment. It was owned by Arthur. Aibell didn't know his last name, because nobody ever said it, or even used it. "Have you not had any contact with my dad lately?"

"Well, not recently. But, we keep in touch."

"Oh."

"So, why have you come today? Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I was sick this morning. Then I woke up."

"And?"

"And, well... this." She rolled up her shirt sleeve, exposing the black markings. Arthur didn't seem alarmed, or even surprised. He just stared at the mark with a cold expression.

"You haven't told your father?" Arthur asked, walking into the kitchen. Aibell hurried behind her.

"No... He'd probably flip out and take me to a doctor or something..."

"Well, maybe you need a doctor?"

"I doubt this is a medical condition."

"Then I doubt he'll take you to a doctor."

Aibell frowned, sitting in a chair at the kitchen table. "Well," she muttered, staring out into space.

"Well, what? Aibell, I'm afraid you've wasted some time coming down here. You should probably be getting home. And Aibell," he turned around to face her, "tell your dad, he can help."

"Help?"

"Your father isn't an idiot, you know," Arthur said, chuckling. "Actually, Marcus is a pretty smart man, I'm sure that he could handle the news. I remember, back in London-"

"Oh, great, not you too," Aibell groaned. "I think I hear enough of those stories about London enough times every day...."

"Well, this is a new one, I promise." Arthur laughed, putting some water on the stove to heat. "Back in London, when your father and I were in... well, you call it high school, perhaps, but I was in college... Anyway, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was sitting outside the school, reading, and your father approached me, and he was practically screaming. 'You have to meet her, Arthur, you have to!' That's all he said to me, you know. I didn't know who she was, or what he was talking about. I finally calmed him down and he told me, though.

"I hadn't met the girl your father was falling head over heels for until they'd officially started dating, two months later. He said he didn't want to introduce her to anyone until he knew for sure that they were together. Anyway, she was beautiful, and smart, and very nice. All I could think was, something has to be wrong with this girl! Nobody is this perfect. You have her eyes, you know." Arthur smiled at Aibell, who was already beaming.

"So, anyway," Arthur continued, "they dated for a few weeks, then something went weird. She turned 17, and they went out to dinner for her birthday. Suddenly, she felt a little sick. She ignored it, but the next morning, she called him, saying that she couldn't see him anymore, that she was moving to America." Arthur paused, as if deep in thought, then continued. "We graduated, and that's when your father suddenly decided he wanted to go to a University in America. He begged his parents, and they finally said yes. Of course, he begged me to come with, too, so he wouldn't be alone, and I applied. We got in, of course, being foreign on top of being smart. That's when the search began.

"Your father started looking for her. I thought he'd just gone crazy. And besides, he hadn't talked to her in a year. It was time to move on. But for that entire summer, before college began, he searched for her. It was a big surprise when he found her only three hours from where we were staying. He must have known she was in New York, where we were. There was no way he could have found her so quickly unless he did know.

"Apparently, Shea had missed him almost as much as he missed her. It was a classic love story. They dated another four years before they were married and had the twins. They were both young, but everyone knew they were so in love. Something curious had happened to her, though, when she was gone for that year... She got a tattoo, it seemed, which was strange. She had always been very against getting tattoos. The weird thing was, it looked very much like what you have on your arm."

There was a pause in the story. Then, the water was boiling, and Arthur began making some tea.

"You should be getting home. I'll give you a couple dollars for the bus. Tell your father, Aibell." Arthur pulled a five dollar bill from his wallet and handed it to Aibell, then smiled slightly.

"It was nice seeing you again," Aibell said with a sigh. "I'll convince my dad to invite you for dinner some night. We all miss you at the house. Bye, Arthur."

"Goodbye, Aibell."