Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series (5 page)

Here Ian had to laugh. He wasn’t at all
superstitious--ghosts were no more real to him than goblins or
leprechauns. Though part of him felt bad for the previous owner,
most of him just found the situation hysterical. “That guy got
ripped off,” he said, trying to stop himself from laughing. “This
place is awesome!”

“Yeah, I know,” Hazel murmured quietly, lost
in thought, as if his bold statement would somehow jinx the house.
“I feel really bad for him though. None of us have heard a thing
since we moved in here three months ago.” Turning her head slightly
to the side, she added, as if clarifying herself, “Of course, we
haven’t gone in there yet, but I don’t think that’d make any
difference.” A slight grin on her face, she stared at Ian as if he
were an adventurer waiting to take on a challenge: “If you want to
check it out though, go right ahead.”

“Good idea.” She was right about one thing;
he badly wanted to prove that previous homeowner wrong. There was
no such thing as a haunted attic and he wanted to confirm this
truth to Hazel, as she seemed rather inclined to believe the ghost
rumor. “I’ll think about it, Hazel.”

Her face grew tense again. “Great.” Pausing
to straighten out the carmine ribbon in her hair, her face suddenly
lit up, her nervousness melting like frost on a sunny morning.
“Anyway, just so you know, I love your costume, Ian.”

“Costume?” he asked, equally confused and
annoyed by her words, as well as bewildered by her sudden
happiness. Was he talking to the same girl?

She just grinned, only further baffling him:
“Yes. You’re a gang member, aren’t you?”

“No way.” He stared down at his black leather
jacket and torn blue jeans and shuddered; how she got a gang member
out of this, he didn’t know. “These are just regular clothes.”

“Regular clothes?” she murmured, her sky blue
eyes glimmering with mild excitement, as she tapped her feet
lightly on the floor. “I never saw you wear that jacket to school
before.”

Suddenly uncomfortable, Ian tried to shake
away his embarrassment. How would she know what he’d worn to school
and what he hadn’t? Did she keep track of his whole life? He didn’t
even want to know. “Ok, ok, you got me, Hazel. So my jacket’s a bit
nice … but that still doesn’t mean anything.”

But Hazel only shook her head lightly without
saying a word, while laughing softly to herself.

Disconcerted by her unreadable expression,
Ian lifted off his baseball cap and fastened it on one of the many
deep-red wooden pegs on the wall beside the rustic door, next to
some other caps, a few jackets, and even a winter coat, as he
thought back to Eddy’s bold claim not too long ago… that he was
going to talk to Hazel or Tianna tonight. Although back then Ian
had thought that he was just joking, his friend had definitely
guessed right, and this made Ian rather suspicious, though he
suspected that Eddy was just a lucky guesser and nothing more.

Still though, it unsettled him, and as he
returned back to Hazel, he half hoped that she would just finish
her conversation with him and move on to talking to someone else,
so he could leave before Eddy saw him chatting with her.

Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t the
case.

Acknowledging his presence with a slight nod,
she returned to the same topic with a zestful eagerness that made
it seem like she wanted to talk to him all night. “Ok, I think I
got it now.” She smiled slyly at her friend Tianna, who’d just
joined the conversation and was listening to it intently. “You’re
either an electric guitarist or a motorcyclist.”

A lump in his throat, he strangled the
malaise clouding his mind. Why did she have to be so persistent?
Though he didn’t think it were possible, he was actually starting
to get angry with her. “No … I’m not supposed to be anyone. I’m
just being myself.”

Curiosity imprinted itself onto her face as
she gazed at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Yourself? Do you
always dress like this?”

Ian had had enough; he grit his teeth, not
even knowing why he was so upset, yet badly wanting this
conversation to end … and quickly. “Of course not,” he murmured
angrily, entirely flustered. “But this is normal apparel for a
party.”

At the word “apparel”, a wide grin burst
forth on her face, a faint blush arising on her cheeks. He knew
he’d said something wrong. “Apparel, Ian? Really?” She spun a
finger in her long hair, her face aglow with impishness. “Since
when did you become a gentleman?” She burst out laughing, as the
eyes of her friends descended upon Ian and laughter resounded
throughout the room.

Trying to recompose himself in front of
everyone, he leaned his back against the wall, uneasiness wrapping
itself around him like a boa constrictor. “I didn’t,” he refuted
her question. “That sort of slipped out.” His hands shifted in his
pockets, his neck stiffer than usual; glancing at Hazel who still
looked unsatisfied with his excuse, he sighed and tried to further
justify himself: “Ok, I guess you could say I’m still a bit
overwhelmed by all the
gallantry
…” He coughed into his
hand, hoping she hadn’t caught his second slip up, before quickly
adding, “
Scenery
outside. That’s all.”

Looking worriedly at Hazel, Ian saw her burst
out into even heartier laughter and knew she’d caught his mistake;
she never let anything slide. His cheeks burned a deeper red.
Apparel? Gallantry? Where were these stray words coming from?
English class?

As Hazel calmed down, Ian watching her with
dread, she examined at him, a mock frown on her face. “You’ve been
reading way too many fairy tales, Ian,” she chided sarcastically.
Then her face lit up with a pixyish smile as she gazed at Ian
sweetly and admiringly: “Prince Charming … gallant Prince
Charming.”

Embarrassment swept through his heart--he
felt sick. “Are you kidding? I haven’t read a fairy tale since I
was seven.”

His comment didn’t faze her at all though,
and she was just about to throw out enough playful insult, when
Ian’s waylaid friends, Eddy and Darien, no doubt basking in the
Halloween atmosphere outside and studying the decorations, finally
stepped in through the open doorway, slipped off their shoes, and
put them down softly on the Oriental rug.

Looking up at Hazel, who closed her mouth as
soon as he entered into the house, Darien greeted her with
enthusiasm. “How’s it going, coz?”

“Pretty good,” Hazel replied nonchalantly, as
she winked once at Ian, likely implying she wasn’t done humiliating
him yet.

He caught this, as Eddy just laughed at
seeing Ian standing next to Hazel. “You haven’t been teasing him,
have you?” asked Darien.

Her blue eyes sparkled innocently, as she
halfway avoided his question: “Only as much as he deserves.”

Darien liked her response. His mouth curving
into a grin, he folded his arms across his chest, his head nodding
as if in complete agreement with anything Hazel’s mind could
concoct, while Eddy chuckled softly and slapped Ian gently on the
back. Then, as if realizing that Hazel worked best when alone, he
quietly left the room, Eddy tagging behind smirking at Ian with an
“I told you so” look on his face.

Left alone again, Ian, hating to end on such
an awkward note, irritated that Eddy had seen him talking to her,
murmured, “So, Hazel, what’s the plan for tonight?” Stepping away
further from the doorway, he heard laughter and loud voices
outside. More people had arrived, including Jeff Burnes, a tall
burly short brown-haired football player, and Kenn Ashton, a
dark-eyed brawny man with thick black hair the color of spilled ink
and a dangerously tannish complexion. For some reason, even though
the girls liked them, especially Shayla, he didn’t care for either
of them, as they always seemed cold and aloof whenever he tried
talking with them, as if they were holding some secret grudge
against him.

Backing away from them, as they glanced at
him spitefully before quickly turning away, Ian gazed at Hazel,
suppressing the rising resentment in his heart, as he awaited her
reply.

Looking deep in thought, Hazel folded her
hands in front of her, not distracted by the noise, while swinging
her right foot back and forth. She had calmed down considerably.
After several more seconds had passed, she finally broke the
silence: “Well, let’s see--there’s gonna be a ping pong tournament
downstairs once everyone’s here, then maybe a bowling tournament,
and after that everybody’s free to do their own thing.” Hazel
paused and brushed her long blonde hair out of her face and behind
her small, dainty ears before adding, “Oh, and if you want to check
out the exercise room on your way to the attic, go right
ahead.”

“Thanks. I’ll think about it.” Why would she
even mention the exercise room? Did she think he was one of those
weight-lifting gurus? Hopefully not.

As he turned to leave, she stretched out her
left hand, signaling him to stop.

She smiled faintly again as he looked over
his shoulder at her. “If you wouldn’t mind, I
would
like to
challenge you at chess before the night is over though.”

Frozen, Ian looked down at the floor with
discomfort. Everyone in school knew he didn’t have a great IQ--and
due to that, he wasn’t good at chess either; the two went together
in his mind. “But you know I’m bad at it, Hazel,” he muttered.
Throwing his leather jacket onto the mahogany sofa, he then popped
up the blue collar on his dress shirt to hopefully dispel the
frightful notion that he was a gentleman or Prince Charming. As bad
as the gang look was, it was worlds better than being a chivalrous
knight. “If I challenged you, it’d be a complete disaster.”

“No,” replied Hazel, shaking her head, a
smile drifting onto her face at seeing his popped-up collar. “I’m
sure you’d do just fine.”

Seeing no point in arguing with her, for it
would only extend the awkward conversation that had already drawn
far too many glances, he forced a “thank you,” told her he might
play the game, and then coolly walked away from her, following
Jason Miller, Samantha Wilson, and Amanda Whitman into the kitchen
and then down a long staircase, anxiety rushing through his mind;
if this was what it meant to be liked by a girl, then he didn’t
want it--at least not yet. He wasn’t ready to have his every word
used against him in such humiliating ways. He wasn’t ready to feel
like a complete idiot. He just wanted to have a normal
conversation, but so far, it wasn’t happening.

As he stepped into the basement where a dozen
or more people congregated, Ian, trying to forget the conversation,
examined the basement.

True to the rumors, it was spectacular, way
bigger than any basement he’d ever been in before, and had a small
bowling alley, two ping pong tables, and many other sports-related
equipment set up throughout the area.

As he took it all in, deeply impressed by its
gigantic size, a foosball table caught his eye.

Searching for an opponent, he spotted his
friend Eddy, who was transfixed on watching Kenn Ashton and Spencer
Gordon bowl against each other. Spencer, a calm, lean young man,
who always appeared to be in control of every situation, never
seemed to get competitive or angry, though occasionally he did get
worried and stressed. Besides his anxieties though, he generally
took things at a stride and seldom bragged on himself if he did
well.

Despite his good qualities, however, Ian
rarely talked to him, as their personalities conflicted with each
other at after turn and they seemed to be complete opposites.
Besides, he always suspected that Spencer was too good to be true
and that inwardly he was a horrible person. Even if this weren’t
the case, he still didn’t foresee himself talking to the man
anytime in the near future.

Turning back to the game, Ian watched as Kenn
knocked down all the pins, snagging himself a spare. Watching
Spencer’s rather humble demeanor as he praised Kenn for his
brilliant shot, Ian felt disgusted and shook away his thoughts of
Spencer, before nudging Eddy, breaking his friend out of his game
hypnosis. With only a little prompting, he then convinced him to
play foosball with him.

After only several minutes into the game, it
was clear that Eddy didn’t have a chance, and a few minutes later
Ian quickly beat him 10 to 2. Wanting a rematch though, Eddy
demanded they play another game, and Ian accepted the
challenge.

Unfortunately for Eddy, this game turned out
even worse than the previous: 1 to 10. Aggravated at the
humiliating loss, Eddy told Ian that he was unstoppable with a
teammate and that he was just having a bad day, but Ian ignored his
excuses.

After standing there, watching Eddy drift
over to watch a ping pong game between David Hille, a logical,
intelligent math genius who also, annoyingly enough, happened to be
a star basketball player, and Aaron Karodi, a brawny runner back
who seemed to live and dream football, Ian decided that he’d better
leave the foosball table in case someone else wanted it.

No sooner had he left it than Hazel traipsed
downstairs in her flowing pink dress, woven out of fine silk,
drawing the attention of several people.

Smiling brightly at them, Hazel walked
gracefully over to an Italian leather couch as if she were a fairy
floating on air and sat down next to her cousin Darien, who gladly
moved over to make room for her.

After whispering something to Darien, she
stood up and silenced everyone. Once everyone had quieted down, she
spoke in her informal voice: “It’s time for some ping pong.” Her
light blue eyes danced with playful joy, as she added, “And I think
we should have a tournament--what do you think?” More than half of
the people nodded their heads in satisfaction, including those
currently playing their own games of ping pong, and those involved
in other games.