14 Chapter 14 (2/2)
When Troy looks up, he sees fox ears sticking out of the top of Darren's head. ”A-A... laibah!?” Troy panics. Darren folds his hands together and comes down at Troy with his fists, like a hammer. Troy's nose began bleeding a lot more, and then the other kids stopped kicking Wyatt and Kemal.
Darren gets off of Troy and begins walking towards the other kids. The rest of them began to panic and run. When Darren looked down at Troy, Troy was already shuffling back onto his feet and trying to run. When Darren realizes what had happened, he tried to run away from Wyatt and Kemal in fear. However, something grabbed his leg, preventing Darren from getting away. As he looks down, he sees Wyatt holding onto Darren's right ankle. ”Don't go” Wyatt says in a shaky voice.
Darren looks down at the grass in front of him. ”I bet you guys think I'm a monster now, don't you?”.
”Monster, not a monster...” Kemal says as he leans up against the log, ”I stopped caring about that stuff long ago”.
”You're still our friend” Wyatt says. ”You're the first person I've made friends with...”.
Kemal laughs for a split second then says, ”You might wanna change back before someone else sees you though”.
”R-right...” Darren says as he changes back into his human form. The three of them talk for a short while, before Darren asks ”Are you guys sure... you're fine with being friends... with a laibah like me?”.
”Hey, are you the one who was kicking us while we were down?” Kemal asks.
”Well... no, but-” Darren says.
”You also didn't start the fight, did you?” Wyatt interrupts.
”Uh... no, I didn't even want to-” Darren responds.
”Then what part of that makes you a monster?” Kemal asks. Darren fell silent. Both shocked from Wyatt and Kemal's reaction, but also happy that someone accepted him.
”I don't think laibah are monsters...” Wyatt says. ”I didn't know what to think of them before, when all I've ever known about them is what I've heard from other people. But now that I've met one, I think I can easily say... you're a lot cooler than Troy”.
Darren and Kemal laugh a little, then Wyatt asks ”What? Did I say something weird?”.
”You are weird...” Kemal replies.
”Thanks, you guys” Darren says. When Wyatt and Kemal look over at Darren, they could see tears rolling down his face.
”Hey...” Kemal says, ”it's not our choice to decide how we're born. But we can always try to be the people we want to be... don't sweat it, we won't tell anyone about you”.
Nearly three weeks later, the three of them met again on the same log. ”My family and I are moving out...” Darren says. ”Looks like the whole neighborhood figured out we're laibah, and none of them want us here”.
”I-it wasn't me!” Wyatt says.
”No, I know it wasn't you guys...” Darren says. ”Troy and the others probably told everybody. Even if they didn't know for sure if we were laibah or not, they probably don't wanna take that chance...”.
”But... Darren...” Kemal says. ”Why?... How can we help?”.
”I think we're past the bargaining stage here...” Darren says. Darren then looks over at Wyatt and Kemal with his hand out for a handshake. ”Even after I move” Darren says, ”no matter where we go, or how far apart we'll be... you think we can remain friends?”.
”I think we're more like brothers” Kemal says as he and Wyatt shake his hand.
”If we ever meet again” Wyatt says, ”we can still be brothers then, too”.
After Kemal and Wyatt return home, they told their parents about Darren, leaving out the part about him being a laibah. ”I'm sorry, kids” Ann says. ”I know it was hard for you two to make friends... is there anything I can help with? Is there something we can do to help them stay in the neighborhood?”,
Kemal and Wyatt look at each other, surprised that neither her nor their dad heard about Darren and his family being laibah. ”I... I think it's already too late for that” Kemal says.
”I hope you kids learned your lesson about fighting” John says.
”Yes, sir” both Wyatt and Kemal say.
”Still” John says, ”I know it's hard, but don't let it get to you. You're still keeping up with grades, and maybe one day, you both can go to college. I have high hopes for you two, so make sure you don't let this fighting bring you down”.
Back at the Harrison University dorm, where Emma and Wyatt lay in bed, Emma was thinking to herself about the story Wyatt just told her. ”Was your father mean to you and your brother sometimes?” Emma asks.
”Well...” Wyatt says, ”he always tried to be tough, but he wasn't really mean”.
”Do you get along with your parents?” Emma asks.
”Oh, yeah” Wyatt responds. ”One of them may be too polite, and the other a little rough, but in the end, they're still... my mom and dad, you know?”.
”Yeah...” Emma says. ”I think I get it now...”.
The two of them slowly began falling asleep. Although, Emma was having more troubles doing so. ”It should be fine if I told him, right?” Emma thinks to herself. ”Maybe I'm overthinking this... but maybe I should wait until we can get closer. It might be harder to tell him at that point, but maybe he'll understand better by then...”.
The next day arrives, and everyone shows up to class like usual. Before lunch began, Emma tried talking to Emily again. ”I know you probably don't want to tell anyone” Emma says, ”but what's wrong? Why are you always so... mad?”.
”If you know I probably don't want to tell anyone...” Emily asks, ”then why ask in the first place?”.
”Come on, tell me what's wrong” Emma says. ”I get it, you have a secret. We all have secrets. But what's so bad about your secret? What's making you act so... spiteful towards everybody”.
”I have nothing to say to you” Emily says.
”Why can't you let me help?” Emma asks.
”Why can't you leave me alone?” Emily asks.
”Look, I'm close friends with Matilda” Emma says, ”you can trust me!”.
”You think I care?” Emily asks. ”Let me get this across... I do not want to be here, I do not care if you want to help, I don't care what your relationship is with Matilda or anyone else, and I do not care about your secrets. Stay out of my business. I don't plan on playing your game of house at college...”.
”Still no luck, eh?” Jackson asks when Emma arrives on the roof.
”Unfortunately, no” Emma says. ”I just wanted to help...”.
”It's fine” Wyatt says, ”it's not your fault. If she really doesn't want to open up to people, then she won't. However, if she eventually changes her mind, I'm sure you'd be the first one she comes running to”.
”Why can't people mind their own business?” Emily asks as she sits in the classroom alone with Refus again.
”From the sounds of it” Refus says, ”even taking into account your story, I'm sure she's just concerned”.
”Why is it any of her business?” Emily asks.
”Well... it's not, but-” Refus begins to say.
”But what?” Emily asks.
”Well... I'll let you in on a little secret” Refus says. ”Emma tried avoiding people during the start of school. Now that she has friends that she talks to often, she probably sees herself in you, like a mirror”.
”And this is significant... because why exactly?” Emily asks.
”Well... Emma was... a special case” Refus says. ”When she had signed herself up for this college, she never had any parents with her, or any mention of her parents. My guess is, she also doesn't have her parents anywhere near this city. On top of that, she was quiet... but someone wouldn't stop trying to help her either. Eventually, she made lots of friends, and she probably wants to help you the same way. It's like paying it forward”.
”Let me guess” Emily says, ”next thing you're going to say is 'she also came from a laibah family' or something like that?”.
”Actually” Refus says, ”we don't know anything about her family. What I do know, is that she herself is a laibah”.
”She is?” Emily asks. ”But she makes clothes and stuff that she sells at Matilda's store! Matilda talks about that all the time! Why didn't Matilda ever tell me about that?”.
”Not only that” Refus says, ”but she's a laibah, as well as half of her friends are human... I'm sure she wouldn't have any problem trying to help you”.
”And why are you telling me this?” Emily asks. ”Aren't teachers supposed to hide the identities of their students?”.
Refus shrugs and says ”I get the feeling I can trust you with that information. Just think about it for a while. Take into account what they might've gone through before trying to help you”.
”R-right...” Emily says, ”I'll guess I'll... keep that in mind. I don't promise playing nice though”.
”I don't really expect you to” Refus says.