I haven't blogged properly in a while. Nowadays, most of my blogs are about movies, books and my story. I think I'll just spend a few minutes blogging about something else for a change :)
High achievers was fun today. Ms N showed us the study wiz site and our whole class went into the chatroom and just chatted. Actually, I don't think it was our WHOLE class but yeh, it was still funny how everyone was talking our each other and and Ms was like, so noob at using the chatroom :L I also showed everyone my awesome wallpaper (inspired by Nancy) and they liked it so much, they told me to make it my permanent wallpaper :D
Geo test was gay. But hey whaddya expect? Its GEO, man. Enough said. Btw, did anyone else wonder why the passage on social networking was in that test? Like I know it kinda relates to community but seriously - was that the only comprehension passage they had that related to community?
In music, me, Booonie and Ifeelya were trying to use bluetooth to send files but everytime we searched for devices, a whole list of laptops and people's phones would come up. We spent like, 15 minutes trying to figure out which laptop was which and it didn't help that most of them were called: SA3133579302. I then realized that you could just click on My Computer and then it would show you your computer number :L What a waste of 15 minutes of my life T_T
& yes, I am supposed to be studying for maths but seriously, I cbb. It's not like I can go through the whole textbook and do all the questions right? Cuz that is the only way to totally prepare for the maths yearly. Well, you could always just read through the chapters briefly but that ain't gonna prepare you for the questions that'll be in the test. So stuff that.
I also finished watching 90210, now i'll just have to wait like everyone else for the new eps. Liam is SOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOT (L) I hate that new Ivy girl >:(
And now for some honesty. I feel different this year - whether its a good or bad thing I don't know but I've realized that I just don't care as much anymore. Whether its about school work or life or people, I feel very non-stressed. Like before in years 7 and 8, I used to stress a lot but this years different. I've realised that that some stuff that's been bugging me isn't important anymore. All I want to do is enjoy life and stuff what other people think. Lols look at me, I sound like a hippy :D
Ponyo song- sung by Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas
It's such a lame song. Too bad I can't stop listening to it T_T
I watched Ponyo on Friday night with Tian and my sister (and ate Othilia's giant gobstopper at the same time). Ponyo was was alright... certainly not as good as Hayao Miyazaki's other ones (Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away) but it was definitely cute. Ponyo is so adorable :) especially when she went hypo from just holding the light. And who can forget that cute scene where she runs to the boy and then jumps on him, almost suffocating him?
I finally had time to write :) But I think I'll only be putting up a chapter or two a week cuz there's stuff to study for (plus I'm running out of ideas). I included the last paragraph of the previous chapter just in case youse forgot what was happening. Enjoy, lols. Oh and this is a long chapter to make up for not writing much. No need to thank me :) I know how much you luuurve reading long, tedious samples of shitass writing.
P.S Nanc, does Jazzical sound familiar? :L (Hint: think Commerce in year 8)
*****
Drake starts humming a slow, haunting tune. It chills me to the bone but wakens a deep yearning inside of me at the same time. Blearily, I realise that I’m not in control of my body anymore. All I can see are those striking blue eyes and all I can hear is that rich, haunting voice. I find myself walking towards him and the bow drops from my hand. When we are only a few centimetres apart, he suddenly reaches out and draws me in close. Bending down to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, he whispers softly. “Join us, Dawn.”
“Hey!”
Two shadows drop down from the building, snapping me out of my dream-like state. A cold chill washes over me once I get my bearings and alarmed, I push Drake away. His icy eyes flash with something like annoyance but he turns around anyway and barks out, “Whaddya want?”
An Asian looking girl emerges from the shadows and behind her skulks a towering, sandy-haired boy. They both have an aura of something I can’t describe. It was both sinister yet compelling, kind of like Drake’s aura.
“We’ve been looking all over for you,” says the boy. “The boss wants you back.”
“Can’t you see I’m busy?” growls Drake.
“Doing what?” The girl’s voice is high pitched and whiny- the complete opposite to Drakes’. “You’ve been told to stay away from that girl. She’s no use to us – yet.”
I hated been talked about like an item but I didn’t have the strength to stand up for myself. Confrontations are not my thing. Still, that doesn’t stop the anger from bubbling up inside of me.
Drake makes a pissed off sound in his throat but follows them anyway. The girl smirks satisfyingly, obviously enjoying being able to boss Drake around. Who were these people? Why did they have such a strange, dark aura?
At the edge of the rooftop, Drake turns around, like he just realised I was still there, and says, “Think about my offer. I’ll be back for your answer next time.” Turning, he joins the others on the ledge and the sandy-haired boy rests his big hands on both of their shoulders in a gesture that might’ve looked menacing. Then, they were gone.
The breath caught in my throat as I watched them disappear. Shakily, I pick up my bow from where I dropped it and also my violin. After scrambling back inside my window, I close it with shaking hands and stand in the middle of my room trying to process everything. My brain was in turmoil and honestly, I was scared – scared of these strange people who suddenly appear on my rooftop and ask me to join them. And then I remember how Drake had somehow… hypnotised me and made me forget for a moment, who I was. It made me feel disgusted but I couldn’t deny that for a moment there, I actually had doubts of whether I wanted to stay with the Syrens. I felt like a dirty traitor.
*****
“Earth to Dawn…”
For the fifth time that day, Vicki snapped her fingers in front of my face, trying to get my attention. Even complacent Vicki, with her easygoing personality looked like she wanted to shake me awake.
“What’s wrong with her?” says Crystal. “She’s acting freakier than usual today.”
That comment woke me up and slowly, my eyes came into focus. Everyone was giving me weird stares. I shuffled uncomfortably on my window seat in the music store.
“Something happen, Dawn?” asks Vicki.
“Um no… I’m fine… really,” I lie.
This comment gets me a few disbelieving stares but everyone leaves it at that and goes back to sorting the boxes of music books that Vicki’s parents left in the attic. Her parents are really interesting people. I met them this morning and they didn’t act different or show any signs that they were actually Syrens. Her mom and dad both have chestnut coloured hair, work in the music store together and fuss over their daughter like any other parents. But Vicki reassured me that if the situation called for it, they would be able to mend any type of injury. It was kind of hard to imagine her breezy, laughing mother fixing broken bones with a just a few notes on her recorder – but hey, who was I to criticize the strangeness of the situation, compared to what I’ve been going through for the past few weeks?
“Hey look what I found!” shouts Leo gleefully. Excitedly, he shoves his hands into a cardboard box and draws out an old CD. It has “Jazzical” written on it and the cover is covered in a thick layer of dust. “I’ve been looking for this for ages!”
“Jazzical?” I ask confused.
“Yeah. It’s a fusion of jazz and classical songs. Awesome stuff, man.”
Leo walks over to the CD player and pops the CD in. Pretty soon, the whole room is filled with a funky, techno sounding melody that drowns out everything else. Vicki’s dad yells from below for us to turn it down but Leo just laughs and increases the volume. Crystal pulls Zack off his throne of crates and tries to get him to dance but he just laughs and tries to sit back down. Leo pulls out a few dance moves that looks more like rhythmic spasming. Normally, I would be laughing at this debacle but today, I didn’t feel like it. The events of the previous night were still rolling in my mind like a broken tape recorder. More importantly, I couldn’t get that silky, alluring voice out of my head. It was sickening.
Vicki heard my sigh and patted my arm reassuringly, “Don’t worry. Your powers will come one day. It’s no use stressing over it.”
She’s misinterpreted my sigh. I shake my head resignedly, “No, that’s not it.”
“What’s wrong then?”
I look at her helplessly. Should I ask? It seemed like something that I shouldn’t bring up. After all, they must’ve had a good reason for not telling me about Drake. Right?
“Come on, you can tell me. Maybe I can help.”
I give her a searching look and then make up my mind. I thought, what the hell, maybe she can clear things up a bit.
“Okay…. Well last night, this strange guy named Drake sought me out. He asked me to join his side and -.”
Crystal suddenly gave a small shriek and then covered her mouth with her hands. For the first time ever since I’ve met her, she looked traumatized. Looking around, I realised that the whole room had fallen silent. Everyone had horrified expressions on their faces and the only sound was the CD player, still churning out lively music that suddenly sounded like mocking laughter. Oh crap, I thought. What a way to ruin the mood.
I've actually studied A LOT today. I'm so proud of myself :D
Anyways, just wanted to say - I finally have a link list. It's over there on the side. Can youse please check if your one works? :L Cuz I kinda rushed and some links might be mixed up. LOL. Oh and if you're not on there (sorry), just tell me and I'll link you. I don't bite...
...much...
Oh and b4 I forget, I made up this awesomely awesome word today that expresses my love of all things zimbabwean:Cynthia + Zimbabwe = Cynbabwe
That is just genuis. I should totally win a Nobel Prize for that. :D
I know hardly anyone watches Australian Idol anymore but OMG, I JUST CAME BACK FROM WATCHING THE LAST FEW MINUTES OF IT AND NATHAN JUST SANG "MUSIC OF THE NIGHT" FROM PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Ok, sorry. I had to get that out of my system 8)
Such a sad sad day. I can't believe the holiday's over :'( Why does it always go so fast? I still haven't done half of the things I wanted to do (such as learn more guitar songs and shop for a school bag) and i won't have time to do them during the term cuz of studying and stuff. Oh wells...
Anyway, I've decided to stop writing my story for a while. 1) because I've got other stuff to concentrate on and 2), because I know some of you are secretly going "thank god she's stopping" >_> LOL jks jks. But yeh, I really do need to concentrate more on studying. I've grown so lazy over the weeks.
Yesterday, i recharged my phone and got a $60 bonus amount of credit but I think it expires in 15 days. I also won 150 free texts to people that are also with Optus :D
Most of youse know that I'm struggling in the Sunday tutoring class right? Well today, I actually managed to do a probability question and get it right, before the girl that sits next to me. Usually, she's the one who gets it right and I'm the one who sits and struggles but not today. I was so proud of myself - I gloated for like a whole 5 minutes :D And then, I realised that the reason she didn't get it was because she was from Vietnam and she didn't really know how to read the question properly...
*sigh* and I actually thought I had achieved something for once :'(
On a different note however, I found out that "The Host" - by Stephenie Meyer is gonna be turned into a movie as well. The article about that is here. That's something else i can add to my list of book to movie adaptions that I'm anticipating - along with "Beastly" and "New Moon". Although, I swear, if they butcher it, I'm gonna cry.
Click to enlarge.
Stolen from Nancy's and Anita's blog :L
Go to Google and type in your first name and the phrase. Copy and paste the first sentence/phrase you get that makes sense.
Q: Type in "(your name) needs" in the Google search.
A: Cynthia needs to learn how to wear clothes that don't drown her. LOL it's not my fault I'm too heavy to float.
Q: Type in "(your name) looks like" in Google search.
A: This is what the name "Cynthia" looks like in Japanese: "Cynthia" in Japanese characters. Lame. The second result was: Cynthia looks like a ghetto slut.
Q: Type in "(your name) says" in Google search.
A: The HiSoftware CynthiaSays portal is a joint Education and Outreach project of HiSoftware, ICDRI, and the Internet Society Disability and Special Needs ... errr.
Q: Type in "(your name) wants" in Google search.
A: Cynthia wants to go to Planet OKI!!! Of course I do. I just don't know where it is.
Q: Type in "(your name) does" in Google search.
A: Cynthia does it again: Worst Person in the World. EXCUSE ME? F5
Q: Type in "(your name) asks" in Google search.
A: When Cynthia Asks You To Meet Her About The Origin Pokemon What Do U Do? LOL I used to love pokemon. (L) Jigglypuff (L)
Q: Type in "(your name) goes" in Google search.
A: LOVE IS A LOTTERY; 10-year affair, then Cynthia goes back to husband and wins pounds 3.2million. Oooh, go me.
Q: Type in "(your name) likes " in Google search.
A: Cynthia likes this state park. Boring.
Q: Type in "(your name) eats " in Google search.
A: Cynthia eats pansies. Apparently cynthia is a rabbit 8)
Q: Type in "(your name) wears " in Google search.
A: Cynthia wears her hair in two loose ponytails which she places over her shoulders, toward her front.
Q: Type in "(your name) was arrested for" in Google Search.
A: Christian school teacher Cynthia Horvath arrested for allegedly having sex with 17 y/o student - Not Music. This was the closest one I could find. I'm too sneaky to be arrested for anything ;D
Ohohoho, I've been waiting so long to write this chapter. It's my favourite one so far :D
The next few days of my life fell into a rhythm. I went to school, daydreamed in class and met the others in the afternoon. We’d usually go somewhere deserted to practice but sometimes we just hung out and watched Zack busk. Vicki tutored me on the facts and history of Syrens whilst Zack and Leo tried different methods of coaxing the power out of me. They told me to get in touch with my inner power. That didn’t work. They tried different locations so I would be more in touch with myself– near the sea, on top of the cliff and even in the middle of a crowded street. I once played for four hours straight but still, there was no sign of what I had felt at the park.
What was wrong with me? Leo was already toying with the idea of dropping me in a vat of toxic waste but one look from Zack and he dropped the idea. Sometimes, Crystal would attend these meetings but they were usually to see Zack, not to help me with my lack of power.
“I give up. Maybe she’s doesn’t have the power. Maybe she’s not one of us!” says Crystal darkly, during one of our training sessions.
We all turn to glare at her.
“We’ve all heard her play okay? She does have it – it’s just not… you know,” Vicki says helplessly.
But deep in my head, a little voice whispers to me. What if they got it wrong? I’ve only ever had the feeling once. That doesn’t mean that I’m a Syren.
That night, I take my violin up to the rooftop again. When I’m up there, I realise that I don’t feel like playing anymore so I just leave it beside me while I gaze at the sky, mulling things over. The night isn’t cool and peaceful. Instead, there is a biting chill in the air and somehow, a feeling of … ominousness. There it is again – the strange feeling of being watched. I grab my violin and am about to head back down when suddenly I hear a voice.
“Such a shame… that they got to you first.”
I whirl around, eyes wide with panic. The rooftop is dark and empty and no one is in sight.
“Who… Where are you?” I say, a hint of hysteria in my voice.
A shadow silently drops down from the building next to me and a figure emerges from the darkness. It’s a man- no- a guy about my age. As he comes out into the light, I can make out a tough, lean build and dark, leather clothes. However, his face remains hidden in the shadows.
“Don’t run.” That wasn’t an order and yet I found myself staying where I was. His voice was like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It was rich and silky and so… compelling.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing,” he says. Dimly, I can make out a sharp face and chiselled jaw. “Just here to satisfy my curiosity.”
The rest of his face comes into the light and the thoughts immediately clear out of my head. He has spiked, platinum blonde hair and his high cheekbones are pulled into a sinister smile. However, I am only drawn to his eyes. They’re a piercing blue colour that stare right into my soul… and I can’t tear my gaze away from them.
“So you’re the new girl,” he drawls. His eyes rake me up and down and I can do nothing but stand there. “Pretty thing, aren’t you?”
I stay silent. That wasn’t a question. He continues to appraise me, blue eyes glinting in the dark.
“Do you know who I am?” he asks.
“No.”
He frowns. “So your friends haven’t told you about me yet, have they? Well, that’s a shame. I’m Drake.”
Somehow, that name seemed to suit him. I clench my bow tightly, unsure of what to do. Was this guy dangerous? Why was he even talking to me? I suddenly realise with a jolt that he might be the anonymous follower that’s been following me these few weeks.
“As I was saying – it’s such a shame that they got to you first.”
“Who are “they”?”
He sneers and spits out, “The Syrens.” Seeing my confused expression, Drake crosses the rooftop slowly until he’s standing just a few metres from me.
Startled, I point my bow at him and say, “Don’t come any closer.”
He steps back but then laughs. His velvet voice carries over the wind and strikes a chord in me. I feel myself faltering.
“You don’t know what your power is yet, do you?” he says.
I don’t say anything.
“Well, that doesn’t matter. It’ll come to you eventually. And when it does, I want you to join us.”
“Join you?”
“Yes, that’s also the reason I came. You see, your friends haven’t told you the whole story yet,” he grins slyly. “The Syrens aren’t the only ones with power. There’s also us.”
“Well I’m not interested,” I say.
“Are you sure?” he steps closer, smiling devilishly. “Leave your boring, Syren friends and come join us. We need a new recruit.”
Drake starts humming a slow, haunting tune. It chills me to the bone but wakens a deep yearning inside of me at the same time. Blearily, I realise that I’m not in control of my body anymore. All I can see are those striking blue eyes and all I can hear is that rich, haunting voice. I find myself walking towards him and the bow drops from my hand. When we are only a few centimetres apart, he suddenly reaches out and draws me in close. Bending down to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, he whispers softly. “Join us, Dawn.”
Just came back from CT and I'm so tired. My feet are full on covered with blisters from walking in uncomfortable new shoes and I feel extrememly deprived of sleep. For the last few days, I haven't slept a lot cuz of going out and stuff... Must catch up on some tonight.
Anyways, I bought two dresses and two short sleeve jackets. I'm not sure if I should wear the dresses for the wedding though cuz they're not that formal... Oh wells, I've still got time. Anyways, most of the day was spent at Chinatown but I also went to Kinokuniya and Allan's Music Store - which is this really big two storey music store that has practically everything that a musician needs. At Kinokuniya, I spent quite a while just staring at the people that were down below because it looked so cool when a whole mob of them crossed the street. I also read half of Evernight :)
I also saw a dark-haired, guitar-playing, busking guy outside Paddy's Markets. I wanted to see if his eyes were green but got dragged away by parents. T_T'
Ewww. I was planning on studying and starting on the english script thing tomorrow but noooo. My parents had other plans T_T' I have to go Chinatown tomorrow (F5).
Seriously, after having three days of tutoring and finishing tutoring hw, and also two days of going out, I was looking forward to staying home and sleeping in. I was also planning on watching 90210 and continuing my story which I haven't touched for one day :'( & I was getting up to the good part ><' I'm running out of time. The holidays are gonna end soon and I'm gonna have a whole lot of studying and catching up to do.
To the people who care, next chapter is up. Sorry, this chapter isn't really that exciting. It's just a whole lot of explaining. God, I realised that I should've planned the whole story out first cuz soon, I'm gonna realised that some things don't add up. WRITER'S BLOCK! (F5)
P.S I took a quiz thingo on net that was called, "What instrument are you?" OMG you know what instrument it said I was? The bloody clarinet! Like what the hell does a clarinet even look like? Gayyyyyy.
Vicki followed my gaze and sighed. “Crystal’s always been close to Zack. Ever since the… thing… happened, he’s been there for her.” She frowned suddenly. “Although, that whole lovesick thing is kind of getting old. She could get any guy in the city and yet, she chooses to go after Zack.”
I sat with my back to the couple on the picnic table. Vicki plopped down beside me and we watched as Leo tuned his sax and Crystal whistled a tune. Somewhere nearby, a bird answered with its own trill.
“So, do you have any questions you want answered?” asked Vicki.
“Heaps,” I racked my brain for the most urgent one. “Okay. Are there other Syrens out there or are we just the only ones?”
Vicki laughed. “Well, we’re not exactly “overpopulating the earth” per se, but yes, there are more Syrens out there. I don’t know if you’ve ever been out to Cabramatta but there’s an old hobbo who plays the sitar there. He might not look like it but he’s a Syren. Some Syrens have actually become famous pop stars. You know Madonna?”
“No way!” I said, shocked. “She’s a Syren?”
“Yeah, of course she is. How do you she managed to stay in the music business for so long?”
I sat back in shock. How many famous people out there were really Syrens? How many people were using something other than their natural talent for fame? It was mind-boggling how much this changed things. There was a whole new world out there that I hadn’t known about.
“Next question,” said Vicki.
“Okay…” I shifted my legs, getting comfortable on the soft grass. “Well, I already know everyone’s power. Everyone’s except for Zack’s that is...”
“Oh,” Vicki started looking uncomfortable. “Actually, that’s something you might want to ask him yourself.” Seeing my confused expression, she explained. “Zack’s powers are… different and I think it’s better if he told you about them himself.”
“Oh, ok,” I looked over at Zack. Why couldn’t Vicki tell me about his powers? Was there something wrong with them? I shook the thought out of my head and concentrated on my next question. “Well, I’m wondering, how many people know about Syrens?”
Vicki mused aloud. “Not many… So far, I think it’s only us… my dad and my mum.”
“Your parents know as well?” I asked, shocked.
“Well yeah. They’re Syrens as well,” said Vicki. “They’re both healers, like me.”
It took a moment for me to digest this information. If Vicki’s parents were also Syrens, did that mean that it was hereditary? Could my parents be…
“If you’re wondering if Syren powers are handed down through genes, then the answer is yes and no,” Vicki had managed to read my mind again. “Both my parents are Syrens so that’s probably why I was born with them as well. Of course, they never told me anything until I’d discovered my powers.” She then looked at me seriously. “However, this usually isn’t the case. Out of everyone here, I’m the only one who has parents that are also Syrens. It’s just something that happens randomly. Like a baby born with physical deformities.”
Seeing my expression, she quickly rephrased. “Not that I’m comparing you to a physically deformed person! I’m just trying to explain how it works.”
“Yeah, I get it. I get what you’re trying to say,” I said. Plus, I was pretty sure that my parents were not Syrens. That couldn’t have been able to keep a secret like that from me anyway.
We lapsed into silence again. As I pondered over everything she’d told me, I was dimly aware that the background noise hadn’t ceased and that the others were all caught up in their musical endeavours. With a jolt, I realised that I hadn’t asked a very important question yet.
“Vicki, how come you guys are able to control your powers and not have them spin out of control every time you play?”
“We practice, of course!” laughed Vicki. “Wouldn’t it be annoying if every time we played, our audience got brainwashed? Trust me - it took a lot of “accidents” before I was able to handle my powers. Seriously, some of my classmates still think they suffer from blackouts.”
I then asked the question which had been niggling at the back of my mind the whole day.
“How about me… What powers do I have?”Vicki just grinned. “Well, that’s just something that we’re gonna have to find out, isn’t it?”
And so the story continues...
At breakfast the next morning, my parents decided to drill me on the importance of getting home before dark.
“Dawn, you’ve got to understand. This isn’t like our old home, you can’t just walk around at night,” said my dad, pushing his glasses up.
I nodded into my tea, barely paying attention. I had had a crap sleep last night. I’d dreamt of being stalked by violins. The violins had mutated, grown arms and legs and started chasing me through the streets. I’d woken up with bags under my eyes and bruises on my arms and legs where I’d thrashed around in my sleep.
“Honey, are you listening?” asked my mom.
“Uh huh…” I replied.
My parents looked at each other. They exchanged knowing glances and then my dad turned to me and said, “Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Oh crap, I thought. I couldn’t just tell them about me being a freak. Why did they have to choose today to be observant? Nervously, I cupped my mug in both hands and shook my head.
My mum reached across the table for my hands. “You know you can tell us anything right?”
My dad agreed, “Anything at all. We’re your parents and you shouldn’t be afraid to talk to us.”
I was about to blurt out everything when my mom suddenly said, “Now that that’s settled, when are you going to introduce this new boyfriend to us?” She and dad exchanged triumphant smiles, taking my shocked silence as confirmation.
All I could do was shovel down my breakfast and get the hell out of there.
When I got to the music store, I was surprised to find that Leo was waiting for me outside.
“Hey Dawn, I was waiting for you. We’re not gonna be meeting here today.”
“Where are we meeting them then?” I asked, confused.
“Follow me,” he grinned.
On the way to the meeting place, Leo and I started talking. We talked about our families and I was surprised to find out that, despite his tall, rough appearance, he was actually from a very well brought-up background.
“Yeah, my dad owns a villa just outside of the city. We should go there one day. I’ve got a killer CD collection that I could show you,” he boasted.
“What kind of music are you into?” I wondered.
“I listen to a lot of rock and jazz,” he replied.
I nearly stopped in my tracks. “Jazz? You listen to jazz?” Somehow he didn’t strike me as a jazz type of guy, more like a heavy metal/rock guy.
“Well yeah, I do play the sax you know,” he said defensively.
“Oh.” Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t known what instrument Leo played. He’d knocked me out before I’d had a chance to see.
“Plus, the girls love a guy who’s into jazz,” he said, winking. “Oh, and we’re here.”
I thought that I had seen the best sights the city could offer. I mean, the view from my rooftop and the one on top of the music store were pretty spectacular but this one took the cake. Sydney Harbour was visible from the top of this cliff and it couldn’t have looked more beautiful. I could see the city below, rising up above the blue harbour. Numerous yachts and boats dotted the water and the seagulls circled above. There were also a few picnic tables up there that looked like they hadn’t been used for a while.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Pretty awesome, isn’t it?” said Zack, coming up behind me. He was wearing a leather jacket today and his guitar was slung over his shoulders. “This is where we usually come to play. Call it the Syren’s “stage” if you will.”
I turned around to face Zack, feeling oddly happy to see him, yet embarrassed about the way I’d treated him yesterday.
“Umm sorry about running away from you yesterday - I – I thought you were crazy,” I said honestly.
He laughed and I couldn’t help thinking that I wanted to hear that sound over and over again.
“Well, I’m sorry that I had to get Leo to knock you out. There was no other way that I could’ve made you listen and plus, you run like a freak!”
I laughed, “Then I guess we’re even.”
Zack smiled that heartbreaking smile again. Suddenly, he leaned in close, close enough for me to see his long lashes and into his smouldering, green eyes He said slyly, “But you know, you’re the first girl who’s ever run away from me. Most would be running in the other direction.” He kept coming closer, causing me to inch backwards until I was pushed up against the picnic table. “I found that kind of… sexy.”
Zack then slung his guitar off his back, hopped up onto the picnic table and started playing like nothing had happened - leaving me wondering if it was possible to die of an overdose of hotness.
“Hey, hey, hey people! What did I miss?” sang Crystal as she appeared on the hill. I waved to Vicki who was a few steps behind her.
“Hi,” said Vicki, “You didn’t bring your violin?”
I realised with a jolt that I had forgotten it. Trying to get away from my parents was the only thing that’d been on my mind this morning.
“That’s okay,” she said, seeing my apologetic expression. “We’ll just spend today, filling you up with the basics of Syrenology. Let’s just get away form all this noise first.” As we made our way to a small grove of trees, I saw Crystal flounce over to Zack. She said something funny and they both laughed. Seeing me stare, she then snaked her arms around his waist, nearly toppling him from the picnic bench. The message behind the gesture was clear. Zack is mine, so stay away bitch.
I went dress hunting today. My uncle's gonna be married in November and I needed a dress for the wedding. I spent 3 bloody hours searching for one at Macarthur (?) and guess what? I didn't find one. What a way to waste my life.
Actually I did find one that I liked but I didn't buy it. My mum goes, "Wow that looks pretty on you." and I'm like, "Have you looked at the price?" She goes, "Yeh, it's not that expensive...."
Well guess how much it cost? $52.
Not that expensive, my ass. You could feed a whole family from Zimbabwe for a year with that money.
At tutoring, I found out that I'm gonna be gonna moving down a class :D Most people would treat this as bad news but not me. I'm glad that I'm gonna be going to a slower class cuz this current class is driving me crazy. I sit there for two hours every week, not understanding anything.
But there's also a bad part to moving classes. Some of you know what that is, others won't.
P.S I don't know why but everyone seems to be feeling sad and stuff these days. Actually I do know a bit but not that much. Still, I think I'm the only one who's feeling lost. It's like I'm in this little bubble, separated from the whole world. Seriously, I'm so out of it, it's like I'm on Pluto and everyone else is on Earth.
I'm just gonna quickly recap what's happened in the story so far. Dawn met Zack, Zack's a guitarist and Dawn's a violinist. Dawn started feeling strange when she played the violin. She also felt like someone was watching her. Zack told Dawn that she was a "Syren". Dawn freaked out and ran. She got knocked out. When Dawn woke up, she was in a large room. She met Vicki and Leo who are also "Syrens".
I could only manage a nod. It took a while for everything to sink in. This was too much for me to handle in one go and I was pretty sure it would take me a few days to understand. After a few minutes of silence, I was finally able to get the power of speech back.
“Umm Vicki, where exactly am I?”
Vicki grinned, “Well you’re on the top floor of one of the coolest buildings in Sydney. Below us is the city’s biggest music store, hence the noise.”
“She’s just proud coz her dad owns this store,” butted in Leo.
“Shut up!” said Vicki, punching him in the arm. “You know -.”
“Hey people, have you seen Zack?” a loud voice bellowed up from below.
Vicki and Leo exchanged another look. “Oh crap, she’s here,” said Leo.
A girl about my age or older suddenly flounced into the room, bringing with her a waft of heavy perfume. She was very pretty. No pretty wasn’t the word. She was stunning. Her short, blond hair was straightened and styled and she was wearing a halter top and jeans. As her light blue eyes caught sight of me her smile suddenly turned into an icy sneer.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” she purred. “If it isn’t Zack’s new, little… toy.”
Straightaway, I didn’t like her.
“Zack’s not here, Crystal,” sighed Vicki. “He’s out somewhere.”
Crystal continued sizing me up, like I was some sort of opponent. She started humming a tune under her breath.
“He’s not here, Crystal!” snapped Vicki a second time.
“Huh. Alright then, I’ll be off. I’ve got some gigs at a club tonight,” said Crystal, smiling slyly as she walked back down the stairs.
“Crystal! You better not do anything stupid!” shouted Vicki after her. Turning to me, she sighed and shook her head. “Crystal’s a bit… full on. But you’ll get used to it.”
“Uh huh,” I said unconvinced. “What’s her instrument?”
Leo spoke this time, “She doesn’t have one.”
“What?” I said, baffled.
“She uses her voice,” explained Vicki.
“Yeah, out of all of us she’s probably the closest thing to a traditional Siren,” added Leo. “You know those Sirens from the myths – the ones who sing and lure sailors to their death? Well Crystal’s like that. She attracts people and forces them to do her bidding, just by singing. But then again, I reckon she doesn’t need the voice. One look at her body and PHEWW, you're already under her spell.”
Vicki smacked the grinning Leo over the head. “Attract people? More like attract guys,” she huffed under her breath. “Still, you don’t need to worry about her. Her powers fluctuate; they come and go because she still hasn’t learnt how to use them properly.”
Inwardly, I let out a sigh of relief. I had a feeling that if Crystal hated me enough, she wouldn’t hesitate to use her powers against me. If her powers came and went, then that was good news for me.
“Hey Vicki, I think Dawn’s had enough today. Maybe we should continue this tomorrow,” suggested Leo.
I couldn’t have agreed more. I felt zapped and it wasn’t just the mental blow that had done that. Everything that I had found out today was all crashing down on me and I needed time to think.
After getting directions back home, I promised Leo and Vicki that I would come back tomorrow and then I headed back home. The sky was dark at this time but the streets couldn’t have been more alive, especially around the Kings Cross area. I passed many clubs and every time that happened, I couldn’t help imagining that Crystal was inside it, seducing men with her voice. It was a disturbing thought.
I was a few kilometres away from home when I had that feeling again - the feeling that someone was following me. At first, I just ignored it and hoped whoever it was would just go away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another two people emerge from an alleyway. So it wasn’t just one follower… There were three of them, or more, I couldn’t tell exactly. I spent the rest of the journey home being followed. Well what else could I do? If they were gang members, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. Only when I reached the apartment did the feeling go away. However, my hands still shook when I opened the door to the apartment. Whoever had followed me was looking for something and I was pretty sure they had been there at the park as well.
“What’s wrong honey?” asked my mom when she saw my expression. “And why were you gone for so long? Your dad and I were getting worried.”
Oh nothing much, I thought. I’ve just found out that I’m a freak who does strange things when I play the violin and this afternoon I got knocked out by a strong sound wave. There’s also this crazy girl who doesn’t like me and oh yes, I had my own personal entourage on the way home.
That’s what I wanted to say to my mom but I wisely kept my mouth shut. Plus my scatterbrained mother had already focused her attention on something else. She was too busy trying to free Nancy, who had somehow managed to get her little head stuck between the stair rails. I sighed and trudged back to my room. Then, I collapsed onto my bed and fell into a deep sleep.
This story is filed under "The story" in my label cloud so you can catch up on old chapters if you're bothered. Although I get the feeling that the number of people who do read this is very very small :) like maybe 1.
I was flying. I was flying high above the city and the people below looked like little ants. They scurried to and fro, getting into cars, talking on their phones and chatting at cafes. There was also a square filled with uni students and friends that lounged against the stone statue set in the middle. Such a pretty sight, I thought. It was one that could rival my rooftop any day.
“You think she’s awake?” said a deep throaty voice.
“Huh. After you hit her with that wave blast? Not likely Leo,” it was a girl’s voice this time.
“Crap. Zack’s gonna kill me!” whined the guy called Leo.
“Serves you right. Who told you to knock down the whole street anyway?” hissed the girl. “Thank god I came with you. Otherwise we’d have people running around telling stories about blacking out on the street.”
I groaned and rolled over. The wonderful feeling had fled from my body and I’d realised that I wasn’t flying. Instead, I was lying right next to a giant window that looked down onto the street below. My head throbbed painfully and I wanted to vomit. Where the hell was I?
“Well whaddya know? She’s awake!” whooped Leo.
“Shut up you oaf. Can’t you see she isn’t feeling well?” said the girl. “That wave blast doesn’t exactly leave people feeling all high and happy you know.”
I felt someone’s hands underneath my head, supporting me and helping me sit up. I was in a large room, filled with numerous boxes and crates. Underneath the wooden floorboards, I could faintly hear the sounds of music and chatter.
“There you go, Dawn. Take it easy,” said a girl with chestnut-coloured hair. Her eyes peered critically at me from behind her glasses. “How’re you feeling?”
“I feel like vomiting,” I groaned.
“Leo, make yourself useful and go grab a bucket.”
Leo, who had been sitting on top of a tower of crates suddenly hopped down, causing the floorboards to shake.
“Geez you heavy load!” muttered the girl. “Gramps isn’t gonna be happy if you break the floor.”
Leo smiled sheepishly and shoved his hands into his pockets. He was really, really tall and his light brown hair flopped over his eyes, making him look like a hairy Saint Bernard.
“Can’t you just haze her?” he asked.
“No…,” hissed the girl. “We don’t know what would happen. She might run off again.”
“Hey um, I’m right here, you know,” I said. “And how do you even know my name?”
“Oh! Sorry. We haven’t introduced ourselves! I’m Vicki and that’s Leonard, though we all call him Leo,” she grinned at me. “Zack told us about you. Welcome to the club!”
“Wait. What club?” I asked confused. “And Zack told you to bring me here?”
“Yeh… Sorry about that,” said Leo. “I didn’t mean to knock you out so hard but Zack said that you might be a bit… difficult.”
I touched my head self consciously. Where was the bruise? Vicki saw me touching my head and figured out what I was doing.
“There’s no bruise, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“What?” I asked confused.
“It was a mental thing,” she said, like that explained everything. “Leo can deal mental and physical blows. Obviously we didn’t want to hurt you… too much, so he did it the soft way.”
“Right,” I muttered.
Vicki and Leo exchanged looks.
“You don’t know about the Syrens yet, do you?” asked Vicki.
“Well Zack mentioned something about that…,” I trailed off. “Wait, you mean you guys believe him? That’s crazy!”
I hopped off my bed on the windowsill and started looking for the exit. This room was obviously on the top floor of a building of some sort so that meant I had to look for the stairs.
“Dawn, wait! Let me show you something first,” said Vicki. “Leo, make sure she doesn’t run.”
Leo crossed the room and stood in front of me, arms crossed. He wasn’t menacing exactly, but he didn’t look like someone I could take down. After making sure that I wasn’t gonna run, Vicki walked over to a small table that held a black box. She removed the lid and took out a flute. After making sure that I was watching, she drew the flute up to her lips and blew.
At first, I didn’t notice anything besides the fact that she was just playing the flute. And wow, did she play. She was really good at it. But then I realized that the more she played, the more strange I started to feel. There was a tingly feeling up near my head. It was like a… a presence that clouded my thoughts. Actually, it didn’t feel so bad. When Vicki stopped playing I realised that my throbbing headache had disappeared.
“I’m a healer,” she explained at my dumbfounded expression. “But I can also do a bit of brainwashing if the situation calls for it.”
“Oh,” I said, dazedly.
“Um, Vicki, she’s not looking so well,” said Leo nervously.
Heck! I didn’t feel well at all. It wasn’t the headache, that had disappeared already. I was feeling confused and honestly, very scared. Zack had been right! I was one of these people. Stuff was happening that I couldn’t control. I felt like more of a freak than usual!
Vicki came to my side and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Leo also came a bit closer although he still kept his distance.
“Dawn, relax. We both know what you’re going through. I mean, we went through the same thing,” said Vicki consolingly. “Leo discovered his powers at his school concert. He sent the whole room flying backwards! Lucky I was there to patch things up but when my powers came to me, I had no one.”
Leo grinned, “She sent her whole class to sleep in the middle of a music lesson!”
“It wasn’t funny!” scowled Vicki. “I was scared, okay? Everyone just suddenly dropped off. I thought I’d killed them!” She turned her attention back to me. “Point is, Dawn. We’re here for you. You don’t have to be scared coz we’re gonna help you get through this.”I could only manage a nod.
Hehehe, I'm nearly getting up to the fun part: creating more characters. If you have any suggestions or whatever, feel free leave them in the comment section or tagboard. (Just don't say stuff like, "Name her Nancy the awesome").
P.S Nancy is awesome. All hail her :L
After the impromptu concert at the park, Zack and I went to the city to grab a bite to eat. Along the way we chatted about the different songs and artists we liked. Actually, I did most of the chatting to distract myself and he just nodded along. Something was up with him. I could sense it. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
“What? No, nothing’s up,” he said distractedly.
“No…. Something’s definitely up. You’ve been acting all quiet since this afternoon.” I jumped ahead of him and blocked his path. Normally I’m very shy person. I wouldn’t push people if they didn’t want to tell me something but this time was different. I don’t know why but somehow Zack’s dishonesty was getting to me. The events of the afternoon had shaken me up.
Zack’s expression was calculating. He spent a few seconds looking at me until I started feeling a bit foolish. I felt like I was on the edge of a knife. Whatever he said next was going to be important. His eyes suddenly glinted and he pulled me towards a narrow alleyway. His grip was urgent and he kept looking around to see if anyone was watching.
“What do you feel?” he asked.
“Huh?” I was flustered. Was he asking me how I felt about him?
“You know, when you play the violin,” he said impatiently.
“Oh! Umm… it feels normal… most of the time.”
“Are you sure? How about today? Was there a… a jolt or anything out of the ordinary?” His green eyes were flashing with an almost maniac expression and his grip was getting tighter. I was scared. Of him and of what had happened today.
“C’mon Dawn, I know you feel it,” he continued fervently. “Please tell me you do! Yesterday when I played at the harbour, I knew you were different. Dawn, there are people like you and me- people who can do strange things with their music. You’re one of them!”
“No! Let me go!” I tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he was strong. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
“Listen Dawn. Listen,” Zack pleaded with me. His voice grew softer, like he was talking to a baby. “There are people in this world called Syrens. They can do things with music, just like the Sirens in the myths can and I’m pretty sure you’re one of them. Now just tell me if you felt any of that… that power today.”
I ran through the choices in my head. One; I could aim a powerful knee jerk between his legs and two; I could break his pretty face by smashing my violin case into it. The first choice might not work because he seemed like a tough guy who might recover quickly and the second choice might damage my violin, something that I really didn’t want to do, no matter what situation I was in. That only left option three.
“Okay, okay, I did feel something today. It’s just… I’m scared. Scared of what’s happening, okay?” I said, looking down at the floor.
“Yes, I knew it!” Zack’s trademark smirk was back.
“Now could you…” I looked purposely at his grip on my shoulder.
“Oh yeh, sorry,” Zack suddenly seemed to realise the proximity of both of us in the alley. I also realised it too. He had trapped me against the wall and we were both standing very close to each other. Very close.
He let go of my hand and we walked back out to the street. The moment I stepped back out into the sun, I ran.
“Hey! Dawn!” Zack swore as he chased after me. I ignored his oaths and kept running - back past Hyde Park and the State Library. He was fast – but not fast enough. Here was a girl who had spent her whole life out in the forests. If there was one thing I could do better than playing the violin, it was running. Years and years of clambering up trees and trekking through tree roots had strengthened my legs and I was not about to be caught by a freak who believed in magic or whatever.
His footsteps eventually faded as I rounded a block. Stooping to catch my breath, I thumped the wall in frustration. The morning had started off fine. Why did everything have to be ruined by stupid Zack and his stupid stories that didn’t even make sense? To tell you the truth though, I was even more scared that what he had said was true. No! I mustn’t think that! All this weird, mythical… supernatural stuff was only okay when my mom talked about it but not okay with someone my age.
Brushing myself off, I picked up my case and headed back down George St. I’d barely taken a step when a sudden earsplitting sound from my left forced me to my knees. It was like a physical blow, a suffocating wall that reverberated throughout my whole body. I was able to catch sight of a tall figure emerging from the shadows before the force caused me to squeeze my eyes shut. Then, I blacked out.
Today was a shit day. I woke up at 12 and got a call from tutor telling me that class was rescheduled to 1:30pm. I had to come early cuz I missed out on class last time. So I wasted 2 and a half hours of my life sitting there and not knowing what I was doing. I also got 2 chunky booklets for hw. They are due this Sunday, when I have class again.
My parents forgot that I had tutoring (surprise surprise). I called them at work and asked them who was gonna drive me there. They told me to ask my aunty and then my mum said she would pick me up. Well guess what? She forgot to pick me up when class ended and I stood there for half an hour feeling like an idiot. Somehow, they never forget to pick my sister up.
I am capped and I don't know why. I haven't been drama-ing or anime-ing in the holidays. The only thing I've watched is 90210 and that was from Anita. FAAAAAAR. Now I have to wait 3-4 days for my net back.
I realised that the holidays are half over. That means that in another two weeks, we will have the science yearly. And the week after that is gonna be the maths yearly. Yay.
The highlight of my holiday is over. I've been waiting to watch Wicked for ages and now that I have, everything else I do just seems boring. There is nothing else that I'm really really looking forward to. I want more Wicked ><'
Last of all, I realised that my eyes are really really bad. I can't see past the outside of my room, I can't look out the window without everything turning out hazy. I can't even watch the fucking television without everything going all blurry. God. And the worst thing is, eyes don't get better. They only get worse and the best thing you can do about it is try to slow it down.
“Hey everyone, this is Dawn,” he grinned at me and towed me towards the middle. “She’s here to play along.”
“What? No, I can’t I-,” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because the audience started chanting my name.
Dawn, Dawn, Dawn!
“No Zack! I’ve never busked before. What-.”
“C’mon, help me out a little,” he gave me a puppy-eyed look. “I’ll play the chords, you play the melody.”
Jesus, why’d he have to be so cute for?
“Alright, but it’s not my fault if I drive away your audience.”
He gave my hand a grateful squeeze and picked up his guitar again. My hand tingled where he’d touched me. Dammit! How was I supposed to play when my mind was in such a whirl and my heart was beating out of control? I tucked my violin under my chin and nodded for him to start.
Zack played the introductory chords again. I counted to three and then joined in with the melody.
Well open up your mind and see like me
So I won’t hesitate no more, no more
I had to admit, we sounded great together! His guitar provided a solid backing and my violin’s melody swelled above it. And hell! The crowd sure enjoyed it. I grew confident and started adding more trills and harmonies to the song. Closing my eyes, I swayed as I played, oblivious to everyone else.
And then I felt it, a strange tingly feeling inside. At first I thought it was just my imagination but then the feeling spread. It became a jolt that travelled to my arms, to the tips of my toes.
Suscitatio.
There was a whisper in my head, caressing and tickling my thoughts.
Awaken.
The jolts became feverish. Something was happening but I couldn’t stop it. Some part of me was conscious; the other part was playing intensely, passionately caught up in the music.
I felt… powerful.
But something was wrong. I could feel it in the conscious part of my brain. Was it the power? No, it was something else. Intuition told me to force my eyes open and just like that, the feeling vanished. I felt normal again. No powerful force, no dreamlike trance was driving me.
However, I still had the strange feeling of someone watching me. Was it Zack and his penetrating stare? Still playing the violin, I half turned to face him but for once, he was just strumming the guitar, not staring at me. Something flickered at the edge of my vision but when I turned again, it was too late. The person had gone.
The sound of cheers and applause brought me back to my senses. Without realising it, we’d finished the song. I tucked my violin under my arm and blushed furiously as Zack came to my side, took my hand and bowed. Nearly all the people at the park were giving us a standing ovation. I couldn’t help laughing and smiling along. I’d figure out all the strangeness later.
I checked my reflection in the hallway mirror and tried tying my long, raven black locks into a ponytail. I had inherited my mom’s natural dark hair and my dad’s eyes. Sometimes I wished it was the other way round, that I had inherited my dad’s hair instead of his eyes. I mean, my light, grey eyes often unnerved people. Picking up my violin case, I shouted goodbye to my mom and headed down to the harbour.
When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was that it was a beautiful, sunny day. The second thing was that Zack was nowhere in sight. I walked the length from the IMAX theatre to the Opera House a few times but no one was there. Children’s shrieks were coming from the playground and the smell of coffee emanating from Starbucks was making me drowsy. The water’s rhythmic lapping was not helping either. Propping myself against a tier, I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the sun’s rays on my face.
A guitar strum woke me up from my peaceful reverie.
“Feeling tired at this hour?” whispered a voice in my ear.
My eyes flew open in shock. Zack was lounging against the tier as well, his green eyes twinkling at my expression.
“What were you doing all night? Playing the violin?” he smirked as I tried to compose myself.
“Well not for the whole night,” I muttered.
“Come with me, we’re not playing here today,” he said.
Hopping up, he beckoned for me to follow him. As I was running to catch up, I mulled over his words. Did he just say we were going to play? As in, me busking?
“Here we are.”
I looked around. We were at a large park filled with many, many people. A giant fountain was stationed in the middle of it and huge oaks and gum trees formed a green canopy above. Cyclists, businessmen, families and lovers were all gathered here. Some were sitting on the edge of the fountain; others were setting up picnics on the grass. It was an awful lot of people. Zack wasn’t really thinking of busking here, was he?
Zack found a spot next to the fountain. Taking out his guitar, he looked just like a guy jamming in his room, not a guy who was playing in front of half the city’s population. I could already see some girl’s taking an interest and couldn’t help feeling a little stab of jealousy. Ugh, I was so pathetic.
As the first chords of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” started to play, I forgot about the crowds again. Zack was such a great guitarist and when he played, it was so … so calming. Already, a huge crowd was forming round the fountain. Couples were holding hands and people were singing along.
Look at the 90210 screenshot above.
Notice anything?
No?
Well look at the background.
*GASP* What's that I see? O-M-G It's the Wicked Poster!
*Shrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek*
HAHAHAHA ignore me. I'm just so excited cuz I'm GOING TO SEE WICKED TONIGHT.
LOLs sorry people, I'll shut up now. I don't want to rub it in anymore :( 
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Anyway, on to other stuff. Last night, Tian came over and we watched The Secret Garden. It used to be one of my favourite movies and now that I've rewatched it, I totally understand why I was so obsessed before :)
It is like THE CUTEST MOVIE ever about a girl named Mary who discovers a secret garden after moving to a manor house in the country. With the help of a friend called Dicken, she helps restore the garden. She also discovers that there's another boy who lives in the manor house as well. He's actually the Lord's son, Colin. Colin has never been outside before because people have told him that he's very sick and could die. However, when Mary moves in, she changes the way he sees the world and slowly he starts to get stronger.
The actors are just so adorable.
Mary: It's so dark in here. Can't we at least open
some windows?Colin: NO! You can't open them! They've been nailed
shut.Mary: What?! You mean you've never seen the sun
before in your whole life?Colin: Yes. I'm deathly ill you see. If you open
the windows, the spores will get in. My lungs wouldn't be able to handle it
and I would die.Mary: What are spores?
Colin: ... I don't know.
Hahahaha I also love the bit where Mary and Dicken are sitting on the swing. Colin sees them staring at each other and he gets jealous :)
Read if you want to. Don't read if you don't want to.
I'm writing so much tonight but tomorrow, I'll probably go back to my lazy self :L Just to clear things up, this is going to be a fantasy story. I would say urban fantasy but I'm not even sure what that means (?). Fantasy in urban areas? Oh and I realised that I haven't even described my protagonist. Oh wells, I'll do that in the next chapter.
“Mom, I’m home!” I yelled as I opened the door to our penthouse.
“Oh thank God you’re here, honey. Nancy’s been running round the apartment in her nappy and I can’t get her to stop! Could you catch her for me?”
I laughed as I put down my violin case. My mom was a babysitter/volunteer-worker/gardener who usually bit off more than she could chew. For example, she once volunteered to look after our neighbour’s kids and then spent the whole day trying to meditate on the rooftop. Needless to say, our neighbour never asked her to babysit again.
When we finally caught Nancy (who was poking her little finger into the electric socket), we sat down to a meal of lasagne that my mom had managed to prepare.
“How was your day, hon?” she asked. “Where were you after school?”
“Oh, I was out… To the harbour and stuff.”
“Great, great. You should always remember to be around water. Water is a part of nature. And that’s something that we don’t have much of here,” grumbled my mother. “Everywhere you look there’s buildings, buildings and more buildings. I mean, how do people live here? The air is so suffocated with fumes and noise that it is nearly impossible for a person to get in touch with their inner self!”
My mom was getting worked up again. Her red face was starting to look the same shade as her dyed hair. I would’ve laughed but it seemed a bit inappropriate.
“Calm down mom. You could always go to the parks,” I said.
“I guess you’re right, Dawn. Plus, we all agreed to move here for your dad. We shouldn’t stop him rising up the career ladder.”
I nodded in agreement. My dad was a novelist. Before, he’d always written his books at home but ever since he became successful, his publisher had proposed that he move to the city to be closer to other publishing companies. I was happy for him. We now had such a nice, big apartment and I got to go to a prestigious school. It was just, sometimes, the city was too loud and busy for a girl who’d always lived near the forest.
After dinner, I tried doing some of the history homework but my mind kept turning back to Zack and the strange, searching stare he had given me. Why did he suddenly seek me out and talk to me? Something seemed off about the way no one had noticed it. And should I even go to the harbour again tomorrow? I thumped the desk in frustration, causing most of the pens to roll off and hit the floor. I sighed and closed my history book. At times like these, the only thing you could do was play.
I grabbed my violin, unlocked the bedroom window and climbed out. Outside were a flight of stairs that led to the rooftop and that was where I liked to play. Because of the height, there were no neighbours to complain about the noise and even if they did hear, they didn’t say anything. I sat on the ledge and dangled my feet over the edge. Sure it wasn’t the safest place to sit, but hey, the view was to die for. All the city lights twinkled below me, stretching out as far as the eyes could see. The sky was dark and mysterious and tonight, there was a full moon. Perfect. I think I might’ve inherited some of my mom’s hippy genes. I tucked the violin under my chin and started to play. The song I chose was an old English lullaby about the moon. It seemed to fit so I closed my eyes and let the song take me away.
Playing the violin always gave me a strong sense of peacefulness. My head cleared the more I played. There was nothing else in the world besides me, the instrument and the notes that floated away on the breeze. Some people thought it was weird that music could make you feel so many things but they were the blind, sceptical ones who didn’t know anything. Music was a sanctuary, an escape from the world. Time could pass so fast and you wouldn’t even notice because you were so caught up in it. When I was like this, my parents would say that “Dawn’s in her impenetrable bubble”. (LOL)
When I lowered my bow, I finally felt clear-headed for the first time that day. I knew what I was going to do. Tomorrow, I was going back to the harbour to find Zack.
*IMPORTANT: Read Chapter 1 before you read this.*
Ok, it took FOREVER to figure out a name for the guy but after an hour, I finally found one with the help of Nancy :) Oh and these aren't exactly "Chapters' but I don't know what else to call them.
The guitar boy was famous around these parts. He played near the harbour on Friday nights and every single time, he would draw a huge crowd. And who could help it? I could feel myself being mesmerized by his soulful voice. Put that together with his ruffled, dark hair, lean build and piercing green eyes and the end result could melt any girl’s heart.
“Hold on now your exits here
Halfway through the song, he suddenly looked straight at me and winked. I froze like a deer caught in the headlights. Did I just imagine that? I peeked left and right. The only people standing there was a woman with a baby and an old couple holding hands. Somehow I don’t think he was winking at them. He continued singing, his eyes never leaving my face. I started feeling uneasy. That intense stare was causing a slight blush to appear on my face and I didn’t know where to look anymore. Every time we made eye contact, it felt like he was searching for something. No one seemed to notice that he was staring at me though. Everyone was too caught up in his song.
When the song finally ended, a hat was passed around and all the onlookers contributed generously. I dropped a few coins into the hat, picked up my violin case and was about to walk back down the boardwalk when someone suddenly gripped my wrist.
“Hey! Violin girl, don’t walk away yet.” I looked up into the smirking face of the guitarist. He was holding his guitar under one arm, his other hand was on my wrist.
“You know, you’ve been coming down here a lot. I recognise you by your violin case.”
O-kay, this was awkward… I thought.
“Um yeh, I just… I… I really like the way you play,” I said, blushing furiously, “I mean, you have a great voice as well.”
“Or so they tell me,” he grinned. “I’m Zacharias by the way, but people call me Zack.”
“Hi, I’m Dawn.”
“Nice,” he said “Dawn as in, the beginning of a new day?”
“Yeh, my mom was a hippy. It was either Dawn or Rainbow. To be honest, I was glad I got Dawn,” I said, shrugging.
He laughed, “Nah, that’s a cool name. Better than Zack anyway. Mine means, the Lord remembers. Like, what the hell?”
We both laughed as we walked back towards the city. Zack was a pretty cool guy, despite his unnerving stare.
“So, how long have you been playing the violin?” he asked.
“About ten years.”
“Woah! Did you start when you were like, six?”
“Actually yes, I did. We lived out near the forests, my family and I. The only thing I could do was play violin. That, or help my mom find samples of possum poop for her garden.”
“Wow, you must’ve had an interesting life.”
“Yeh, that’s one word for it,” I murmured. “How bout you?”
“Well you know, mine’s not very interesting. I like going out to the harbour to play coz it helps pay the bills, you know?”
“Uh huh,” I nodded like I understood, when really I didn’t.
“Anyway, I gotta catch my bus here. Nice meeting you Dawn,” he said. “Hey! By the way, I’m playing at the harbour again tomorrow. Bring your violin.”
Zack winked one last time before heading off for the bus stop, a wink that sent a shiver up my spine – in a good way of course.
Today I felt like writing a story. So I wrote one :) Read if you want, don't read if you don't want to. It is kinda long LOL. Oh and it's not finished. It's gonna be like one of those long stories, not a short story. Although... my attention span is around 0.0009mm long so there's a big chance that tomorrow, I'm not gonna feel like continuing it :L
Anyways, if you do read, feel free to leave some feedback. (Okay I'm lying, YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME FEEDBACK :(
“Thank you Dawn. That was wonderful, as always.”
I walked back to my seat, ducking my head to avoid the awed stares of the other students. Even though I’d been here for two months already, many of them still hadn’t gotten used to my violin playing. It was… different when I’d been homeschooled. The only audience I’d had was my family, the parakeets, possums and other numerous wildlife that would invade our cottage near the rainforest. I missed all the animals. They never stared at me when I played.
When the bell rang, I picked up my stuff and headed to the next class. The sheer number of students rushing past always gave me a headache. How did people get used to crowds like this? But then again Charles Victor High was situated in the middle of Sydney. It was only natural that they’d have so many students.
“Hey Dawn, great playing in music! I’m so jealous,” gushed Marissa as she walked past.
“Oh thanks. It was nothing special…” I murmured.
“Are you kidding? It was totally awesome. I wish I could play an instrument,” she laughed.
I smiled in return as another group of students congratulated me. Honestly, this was tiring me out. I wished people wouldn’t make such a fuss about my violin playing. It seemed like that was all they knew about me. I was Dawn, the violin girl. Very few people actually knew anything else about me besides that.
The rest of the school day passed in a blur. I went to class, stared out the window and daydreamed while the teacher talked. Most students would probably get lectured for this but not me. The teachers had long since given up on making me pay attention. And plus, they wanted to cut me some slack since they thought I was still settling in to this new school. Hah! As if. It was just too hard to pay attention. I tried. Believe me, I tried. It was just so hard to sit in a claustrophobic little classroom while there was so much to explore outside.
School finished at three and I ran out early to try and beat the crowd that was sure to follow. Today, I decided to take a detour. I couldn’t stand having to go back to our apartment after spending six hours in a little classroom. And so, I turned away from the direction back home and headed down the busy street.
It was twilight by the time I reached Circular Quay. Most of the tourists had already left but many locals had remained to watch the sun set over the harbour. I had to admit, as much as I missed my old home, the city wasn’t such a bad place to be, especially at places like this. As I walked, I tried to keep an eye out for him. He should be here at around this time. The sound of strings being strummed and a voice to die for suddenly cut its way through the chatter and when I pushed my way through the crowds, there he was.
After coming home from the library and dinner at Canley Heights, I really really wanted to take a shower. Me: Mum, I'm gonna take a
shower.
Mum: No! Let your dad go first. He's tired
from work.
-1 minute later-
Sister: Mum, can I take a shower?
Mum: Yes of course. Do whatever you
want.
Leave a Comment