“I don’t understand…. It hasn’t been this bad before,” Amanda said, twisting her Gatorade bottle around in her hands.

“Are you sure?” Austin asked, chewing on his burrito. He leaned across the table so Amanda wouldn’t have to talk too loud, as was her wont when she got upset.

“Of course I’m sure. You think I haven’t been paying enough attention to know when something’s wrong,” Amanda replied, slapping the bottle back on the lunch table and leaning back in her chair.

“I didn’t say that, I just-” Austin cut off abruptly as Crystal approached with her lunch tray. He turned his eyes on her, warily.

“May I sit here?” Crystal asked in a perfectly cheerful voice that suggested that she hadn’t heard a word of Austin and Amanda’s conversation.

“Does it involve me doing any work?” Amanda asked her usual, playful sardonic tone. Apparently, if Crystal was going to pretend, then so was Amanda.

“No,” Crystal replied.

“Knock yourself out,” Amanda said, gesturing to an empty chair beside Austin.

Crystal slipped in next to the big guy and set her tray down.

Just then, Troy limbered over and looked at Amanda, Austin, and Crystal. Crystal didn’t like the look in his eyes. “Forming a clique?”

“Yeah, it’s called the drama queens. You’d fit right in, Troy,” Amanda rattled off. She was terrific at improvisations and comebacks.

“Did somebody say drama queen?” Daniel asked popping up on the other side of Austin.

“No one said queer,” Sam muttered at Troy’s left.

Crystal opened her mouth to stick up for Daniel, but Amanda snapped out, quickly, “So then what are you doing here, Sam?”

Troy and Austin laughed and Sam turned a bright shade of red. Amanda looked at Crystal and said, “Try and forgive him. He’s ‘special,’ after all,”

“Yeah, okay, Ritalin aside,” Sam said, sitting down next to Amanda. Troy sat at the head of the table for more leg room, and Daniel pulled up a chair.

The six of them grew extremely quite. The only time that they had been together since the Ms. Itemiser incident was in Biology, and that wasn’t exactly chat time. It was awkward and definitely uncomfortable since there was a lack of trust amongst them.

Crystal put a little salt on her carrot sticks (though she didn’t know why; it just seemed like a good idea) and turned over her intentions in her head. She wanted to warn them and tell them about the demons and stuff that were lurking all over the place, according to Kaine. Kaine had revived her after the fight with the demon dog and told her all about the nature of demons. He went on to say that the leader of the “enemy” was the man who’d rallied an army to overthrow Crystal’s mother as ruler. He had killed Crystal mother and destroyed the Balance all those years ago. That meant that he would probably be out to get her and anyone else she had confided in.

“So…” Austin began, “How has everybody’s day been?”

“Fine,” everyone said at once.

“Ms. Hoffmann’s being a bitch, though,” Amanda put in, picking at her food.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Troy said, casually stealing Sam’s snack cake.

“Mine,” Sam said, snatching it back.

“Hey, can I have some of your Doritos?” Amanda asked Sam in a very sweet voice.

Sam made a dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes. “Sure,” he muttered. Crystal knew the boy had intended to say yes the whole time.

“Well, I had an invigorating interlude last night,” Daniel said, proudly.

“With who? Your hand?” Amanda teased.

“Hey, some people are eating,” Troy growled.

“Well stop. You don’t want to ruin that girlish figure,” Amanda replied.

To Crystal surprise Troy batted his eyelashes and held out his hand like a diva. “Well, there is nothing wrong with the hand,” Troy said, glancing at Daniel apologetically.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Yeah, maybe for you guys who aren’t sexy enough to attract the opposite sex,” Austin said, flexing his muscles.

“What about members of the same sex?” Daniel purred, pretending to stroke Austin’s arm. Austin shrugged him off, scooting closer to Crystal.

“Hey, Sam,” Troy said playfully. Troy did something under the table that made Sam turn red choke on his Gatorade.

Amanda laughed; Crystal thought she seemed a lot less intimidating when she smiled. Amanda said to Crystal, “If they weren’t so damn funny, I’d have no compunction about putting them in cages.”

“With little hamster wheels,” Crystal asked.

“Spiffy!” Amanda cheered.

Sam paled at that mention, while Troy and Austin scowled.

Crystal said, “But then where would we get our sexual pleasure?”

“That’s what vibrators are for,” Amanda replied. Troy spat out his half-chewed banana and sip of milk, “Troy, what’s that creamy substance at the corners of your mouth?”

“Hey,” Sam said, wiping spilled Gatorade off of his mouth, “Is it true that women can have an orgasm without touching themselves?”

“Uppers, buddy,” Amanda said.

“Really? I haven’t tried that,” Crystal said.

“Oh, it’s really simple; all you need is a good imagination,” Amanda said, “Or just a really active washing machine,” At this point, all four men had their jaws wide open.

It was at this point that Kaine had chosen to make an appearance. “Hello,” he said, very neutrally. The room abruptly seemed to drop a few degrees in temperature.

“What’s up,” Amanda said byway of greeting; she wasn’t smiling anymore. Crystal smiled, but she noticed that none of the guys seemed to warm to Kaine’s presence; Troy looked about ready to tear his throat out. Still, Crystal shuffled sideways, allowing Kaine a place to sit.

Attired in the typical Duriarb School uniform and not having the appearance of the mystical, staff-bearing priest did give Kaine a downplayed, teenage charm. The sagging khakis, the faded polo and the ball bearing chain necklace made him seem more like a pothead than someone who could pin a 6’5” guy to the ground in one move. Still, after seeing what he could do, and hearing what he represented, Kaine seemed like a much scarier entity than any kind of teenager.

“So…” Austin said with a sidelong glance at Kaine.

“Well, Uh…” Amanda began, picking again at her Gatorade.

“Hey, Troy, are you going to call my sister tonight?” Sam asked.

“Damn it, Sam, can’t you say anything relevant?” Amanda snapped.

“Rowr, rowr,” Daniel said mimicking an angry kitty.

“What does relevant mean?” Sam asked.

“My God, you hang out with these people?” Kaine asked Crystal.

“Oh, you believe in God?” Amanda asked, intrigued.

“C’mon, the guy’s a priest,” Austin said to Amanda.

“What kind of priest is he, anyway?” Troy asked, “What kind of priest goes around icing old ladies?”

“The good kind,” Austin said. He bit into his sandwich.

“I didn’t kill her, Amanda did,” Kaine said, defensively, “I wasn’t going to kill her anyway. There is a way to kill evil without killing the host.”

“Are we talking parasites?” Daniel asked.

Crystal patted Daniel on the head; “It’s too advanced for you, dear. Go back to sleep.”

“How is that going, by the by,” Kaine said turning to Amanda.

“What?” Amanda asked.

“Your abilities? Have you worked with them?” Kaine pressed.

Amanda shifted, uncomfortable. Austin gave Kaine a wary look. Crystal gathered that Troy knew what was going on as well because he was studying Amanda intently. Sam seemed pleasantly clueless, but then Crystal gathered that was normal.

“This isn’t exactly lunchroom conversation,” Amanda said, quietly.

“And talking about sexuality is?” Kaine asked pointedly. He waved his hand and Crystal heard a dull roaring. The lunchroom suddenly became gray, like some old black and white movie. Sounds became muted and unintelligible; people’s motions slowed, and finally everything was still and devoid of color. The only ones still moving and in color were the seven of them sitting at the table.

“Comfortable, now?” Kaine asked.

Amanda said nothing, but Austin rose to his feet. Troy fairly jumped up, eager for a fight and Sam was right behind him. Daniel shrank down in his seat.

“Change them back,” Austin said. It was not a request.

Kaine said nothing; he sipped his chocolate milk.

“That’s it,” Troy moved for Kaine. Kaine glanced at him. Troy froze in place of his own accord.

“Would you like me to trounce you again? Or throw you through a wall?” He asked both Troy and Sam.

Sam flinched, but Troy didn’t back down; “What have you done to them?”

“I froze them; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that,” Kaine said irritably.

“Change them back,” Austin repeated.

“Let’s talk,” Amanda said in a deadly calm voice.

Kaine stared hard at Amanda. Crystal saw what she thought she had seen before…a violent anger lurking in the other girl’s eyes. Kaine was not intimidated. He waved his hand and both action and color were restored to the lunchroom with the occupants pleasantly oblivious to the minor time-freeze. Troy, Sam, and Austin sat down, feeling slightly awkward, and more than a little wary.

“Nobody even listens, anyway,” Amanda said, with a dismissive gesture, “And as for my, my…my…thingy, it’s…. Well, it’s…coming along just fine.”

“What have you done?” Kaine asked, more than a little interested.

“Nothing really, just… Nothing,” Amanda looked extremely uncomfortable at being drilled on such a secret matter.

“Does your power follow your command?” Kaine sounded like he was talking about a video game.

“I guess so, mostly,” Amanda said.

“Sometimes not,” Austin said, quietly.

“You know of this?” Kaine asked.

“We all know; we were there when she killed Ms. Itemiser,” Troy said. He took a deep breath, staring at Amanda; “And there are other things that she...”

Sam coughed. The lunch bell rang, signaling the start of sixth period. Before Amanda and the others stood to leave, though, Kaine said, “We need to meet to further discuss this. There is more here than meets the eye,”

No one said anything as they left.