Chapter 2 (Delivery girl)

The evening mass was about ending and the choir sang the hymns. Keres sat in front of the mirror in the tiny room brushing her hair slowly like it was the only thing she had to do. The hymn was one of her favorites and the choir did a good job in delivering all the notes, feelings. Especially the feelings. Why sing a hymn if you wouldn't arouse any feeling in the person listening? She threw the brush she had in her hand away when the phone by her side rang. It was time.

"Keres here"

"Tonight, it must not exceed tonight" the caller said

"I'll retrieve and send it immediately"

From the shadows where the dim light couldn't reach, she pulled a handgun and cocked it. Smiling to herself she stood up and walked outside. The sky was dark. Lightning struck and thunder clasped. It soon began to pour heavily. She picked up the rain coat hanging outside and walked into the church hall while the mass went on. She recited the Psalm 23, made the sign of the cross and walked out of the church premises. Behind the church there was a power bike already waiting for her. She needed it for her mission. Her destination was already programmed into it and she arrived there within minutes. Damn technology.

She took out her wrist watch and set her appointed time. "Fifteen minutes Keres. It must not exceed fifteen minutes"

She walked towards the enormous building and took out her instruments of destruction. Within seconds she lassoed herself to the floor she needed to be in, took out her gun and blinded the security cameras around. She located the elevator and left fake finger prints on the buttons then made for the stairs. She walked to an office and placed a mini bomb on the steel door, stepped far away from the door and pressed the go-off button on the control. The bomb went off triggering the control system.

Keres coughed slowly and walked into the dark office. She turned on her flash light and walked to the shelves behind the desk, pushed them with her might and power behind the Psalms she recited. The bug they had previously planted in the secret room was all she came to retrieve. Too bad she had to take a door down in the process. The thing must have cost a fortune. She had just four minutes left out of fifteen and she was convinced she was getting old on the job. Keres mounted the table in the secret room and pulled a portrait from the wall. The sirens from the security vans approaching could be heard from afar. The damn security alarm must have went off at their base.

She turned the portrait and removed a tiny camera from it and placed the portrait back in its position

"One minute left" She began running this time. Keres got to the railing outside the office and jumped down to the ground, mounted her bike and drove off.

"Keres here, I've retrieved it"

School was tiring but enjoyable for Sally so she didn't complain one bit but slept like a log of wood till the morning. The morning mass didn't get her up like usual and even the church bell felt disappointed as she didn't stir at it's sound. She laid on the bed with her legs spread apart, snoring wildly with drool falling out of her mouth. When it was past seven the Priest who didn't see her come to him for the morning prayers visited her room to see if she was still there. And if there was a word worse than a pigsty it would describe the way her room was at that moment. She was so tired she didn't have the time to tidy it up. That was by the way. She was going to be late for school.

"Sally! Sally!!" The Priest called. She didn't budge. He picked up a book and threw it at her. That seemed to do the trick. She sprang up from the bed and began wiping drool off her face.

"Father. Why are you here so early?"

"Unbelievable. You are going to be late for school at this rate" he said

What was he saying? It wasn't day break yet, right? She looked at the time and felt she had been slapped on her face.

"Sweet Jesus! I'm late for school! Father, why didn't you wake me up on time?!" She wailed

"I've been trying to. Get ready" he said and walked out of the room

Sally had the quickest bath in history and rushed out of the church with her shoes in her hands. She looked crazy. There was no volunteer to take her to school that day because the previous volunteer told the others that she could possibly have a psychological problem because she didn't utter a word to him in the car when he tried to preach the gospel of creation to her. He didn't know she had her own problems. She got into the first taxi she saw and murmured her destination. The mud she had on her socks was the most disgusting thing she thought she had seen apart from Julius' penis in Junior High.

"Gross"

"Is there something wrong with the taxi?" The driver asked

"No, I wasn't referring to you. Or your taxi" If she told him an asshole in her junior year took down his pants to show the girls the new bush in his pubic area he would think she was a pervert.

Luckily, she did all that needed to be done to look like a normal student who didn't wake up late and had a rushed bath before they arrived at the school. She got down from the taxi and walked in. Oscar, a classmate saw her from afar and raced towards her

"Hi Sally!" He said placing his hand around her shoulders

"Hello Oscar"

"Are you off to class?" he asked

"Yep, where else would I be going to?"

"Let's go together" he said

They walked past the Teacher's room and saw Mrs. Peters by her desk. She dropped the book she was holding and began looking at Sally inquisitively.

"Hey, why was Mrs. Peters staring you down like that?" Oscar asked when they passed the Teacher's room

"I don't know. Perhaps she placed me in her black book?" Sally asked

"Because you answered her question correctly? Nah, I don't think so. Mrs. Peters isn't that cheap" Oscar opened the door to their classroom. Ray was the first to notice her.

"Hey there Sally!" He shouted

"What's up? You seem happy to scream my name like that" she said

"You're late" Sandra said

"Yeah, I over slept"

Legend walked up to her and took her face in her hands. Was she gay? No, Sandra said she dated Nikolay.

"Sally, what happened to your face?!" She asked

"My face?" Sally asked

Ray and Oscar turned her face to the left and a big scratch was evident

"What's wrong?" she asked. Sandra handed her a mirror and she could see for herself

"Wow, I guess I might have scratched myself with my nails" She said seeing the injury

"No, this can't be done by your nails, your nails are trimmed" Emma said holding her fingers up

"How did it happen then?" Sally wondered

"It looks like some kind of metal scratched your face" Sandra said

Emma screamed startling them all. Now, these girls were definitely mad. Sally felt like she left her body due to the shock from Emma's scream. The girl sounded like a Banshee.

"Ian!" Sandra called and walked away with Legend following

"Look at them..... They didn't act that way when I had diarrhea and couldn't come to school for six weeks" Ray said sitting down

"You had diarrhea?" Sally laughed

"You think it's funny? I thought I'd poop out my intestines" he said frowning

"You're so funny" She saw Harlequin's male model. "Hi Nikolay" she waved

He had his head phones on and his eyes were closed. Why she said hi and did the waving thing again, even she had no idea.

"Don't bother, he's a loner. I wonder why Legend likes him when I'm here" Ray said

"What's up Ray?" Ian asked walking up to them with the girls by his side. He looked like a young sugar daddy

"Were you sick? Even if you were sick did your fingers get paralyzed? How come you never picked up your phone and you never told us where you live" Ray scolded

"That's true" Emma said holding onto Ian's wrist

"If you guys knew where I lived I won't be able to have a private time" Ian said flashing them his gummy smile. Sally thought he was cute.

"Hey, knock knock" Ian said hitting Nikolay's head phone. He opened his eyes and looked at him. His eyes were glittering. Sally was mesmerized.

"You're here?"

"Was that a question or a statement? What are you doing on my desk?" he asked

"Sorry, I decided to pair with Ray for a while" Nikolay said picking up his bag

"Why?" Ian had failed to notice Sally and she was getting offended. "Your desk is perfectly..." Ian began and turned to look at Nikolay's desk. Aha! He saw her. Finally.

"Who.....?" he asked drawing closer to her

"Hi, I'm Sally" she said. Big, bright and bubbly it was.

"Oh, I get it. Don't worry Nikolay, I'll pair with Sally here and you can pair with Ray" Ian said

"Okay" Nikolay said and placed his head phones back on. He looked at Sally and saw the scratch on her face then closed his eyes. Ian sat by Sally dismissing the girls.

"Don't mind him, he doesn't like being close with girls that's why" he whispered to her

"Ahh, I see" she said glancing at Nikolay. He didn't like girls? Was he gay? Was everyone?

"Let's get settled, Mr. Luke would soon be here" Legend said

Sally saw Ian's fingers when he dropped a book. She grabbed his hands and looked at the mark on it.

"What's wrong?" he asked pulling away. Okay, grabbing his hands was weird

"Nothing. Sorry" she said and turned away. Nikolay picked up his bag and made to leave.

"Dude, where are you going to?" Ray asked holding him back "Legend said Mr. Luke would be here any moment. That's exactly why I'm leaving" Nikolay said. As he walked pass Sally he dropped a non-scaring bandage on her book and walked out

"What's this?" she asked picking it up

"Your face" Ian said touching her cheek

"Thanks!" she said but Nikolay had left the classroom

"Does he normally carry these around?" She asked Ray

"Maybe, I wouldn't know" Ray replied as she placed it on the scratch

"Okay, students shall we begin class?" Mr. Luke walked in

"No.....!"

The dining hall was filled with students from different classes having lunch. They chattered amongst themselves while some were having a face off on who could eat faster. Henry, a Senior was competing with Lucy a Junior. The students threw in their bets. Their soda, milk, iced tea or water. The winner took it all. This was probably the way gambling started in the past. Henry had his mouth filled with food. The twist in this bet was the fact that the participants weren't allowed to have a sip of water. One could choke and die in the process but they didn't care. Or maybe Henry didn't. He was always in a match every week. The champion of the eating contest. That was what he called himself and he wasn't going to lose to a Junior especially when she was a girl.

"Gosh, Henry is so gross" Raymond said watching the face-off. Legend had to pinch him to get his attention to their table because he was always a spectator.

"Isn't Nikolay having lunch again?" Sally asked

"He skips his meals just as he skips class" Ray said

"Why don't you take lunch to him Legend?" Emma suggested

"We broke up. It's over, so why would I do such?" Legend asked

"Then I'll take it to him" Ray said

"You'll make him lose his appetite" Ian said throwing a piece of lettuce at him. That was some balanced diet he had in front of him "Sally, you do it" he added

"Me? He'll not accept it, maybe someone else should" Sally said

"He might not refuse you because he doesn't want to be rude since you're new but if it's us he wouldn't even spare us a glance" Ian said

"Ah, you can use this opportunity to say thanks for the bandage" Oscar suggested

"I already said thanks" Sally said

"And did he hear you?" Emma asked

"No, because he walked away" Sally said

"Exactly, so go say thanks and hand him this lunch. He can't starve" Legend said

"If you're so worried take it to him yourself" Sally said

"We broke up" Legend said

"Say it honestly, did you guys even date? I heard you say yesterday that you didn't date him" Sally said

"Sally, that's a great question. I've been dying to ask" Ian said amid laughter

"She ended her one sided crush that's what she means" Ray explained

"Ah, so pitiful" Sally picked up the lunch bag

"Where is he?" she asked

"The football field" Legend replied

"He goes there every Tuesday" she added

"I see, Miss stalker" Sally said and walked away

"It's not stalking. It's love"

Sally walked into the field wondering how Ian got the mark in between his fingers. She had the exact mark on her thigh. Seeing him have it too was troubling her. Maybe a past relative who had the mark passed down to him?

She was still thinking about the mark when she saw Nikolay lying on the field with a book over his face. Man, he was exactly like the male character she always crushed on in Harlequin books. With a cough she announced her presence but couldn't look him in the eye. He sat upright when he knew he had company. The new girl. His desk stealer.

"Umm... the others were worried about you so they said I should give this to you" she dropped the lunch bag at his feet "Legend made it herself" she added

"I don't need it" he said looking away

"Eh? Just take it. It'll make her and everyone else happy" she said

"New girl, you're disturbing me right now. Are you aware of that?" He asked

New girl? She had a name. Sally. Sally Hall.

"It's Sally and do you think I want to be here asking you to accept to eat lunch as if you're a kid? I have better things to do other than disturbing you" she said getting annoyed

"Then leave" he said

"What?" she asked

"You said you've got better things to do so go and get them done" he said

She thought he was an asshole. One that had a stick up his butt.

"You're holding me back from doing them, just accept this and let me go get what I want to do done, okay?" she said

"You're really annoying. Do you know that?" he said

"I can get more annoying once people start irritating me and you are beginning to irritate me so get ready for me" she said and kicked the lunch bag towards him.

"You better eat it. And when you're done make sure to say thanks to Legend because it's rude to accept something and not say thanks" she said and turned around to leave

"Really? I see you used my bandage well" he said stopping her

Shoot! She meant to say thanks but the whole talk made her forget

"Right" she said facing him again "Thanks for the bandage earlier, it won't scar thanks to you" she said and walked away

At closure, the students walked out of their classes to the school gate exchanging notes and anything exchangeable between students. Anything. Sally felt happy walking out of school with her new friends. She was beginning to feel normal. After the incident that caused her to leave her previous school she thought it would affect her begin in North Valley. Now, she had friends who were so curious about her. Curious for good reasons.

"Where do you live?" Ray asked Sally

"At a church" she replied

"A church?" Emma asked surprised. She looked amused.

"Yep, the Priest there adopted me so I live in the church" she explained

"Oh" they cooed together

She turned towards Nikolay who walked in silence and glared at him angrily. He wasn't saying thanks to Legend after her sermon on the field. His eyes met hers and he got the message. But he didn't eat the lunch. He gave it to a stray dog he always played around with so if anyone was going to say a thank you to her it had to be from the dog and not him. But her preaching must have gotten to him because he murmured a thank you to Legend and walked ahead of them

"Huh? What did he just say?" Legend asked not believing her ears

"He said thanks" Sandra said

"You're welcome!" Legend shouted "I'll make more for you tomorrow! It's a promise!" she said happily. She had no idea a dog was eating her Mom's delicacies

"My God" Ian said laughing hard

"Thank you so much for giving it to him Sally" Legend said holding onto Sally's hands

"Oh, it's fine" she said

"Did you perhaps tell him something or give him something else besides the lunch bag?" Emma asked looking at her suspiciously

"No, I didn't. When I said it was from Legend he just took it" Sally lied

"Do you know what this means?" Ray asked

"What?" Oscar asked

"He hates the fact that Legend gives it directly to him" Ray said

"Maybe he didn't want people to know that he likes me if he accepted it from me" Legend said feeling hopeful

"No, it means he might have a crush on Sally here" Ray said

"What? No way, he seemed very happy that you made it for him. He even said thanks to you now" Sally lied

"Think about it, he gave her the bandage and then took the lunch from her. It's a sure deal with Sally" he said

"No, it's not. I mean it" Sally tried assuring Legend of her position as the Queen of the school's Ice King

"Why?"

"If Nikolay likes Sally is there a problem with it?" Ian asked

"No, if he's happy then I'll be happy for him" Legend said and began to walk away

"Hmm, seems like she's heart broken again"