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.
