CHAPTER 4
ASTREA AND ROMINEOUS
During the Trojan War in Macedonia two humans fell in love with each other and pledged their eternal love by stinging themselves with a thorn from a black rose. After the ceremony, both humans searched for Aphrodite to give them her approval. Both went to seek answers from the Oracle and the Oracle told them “To receive the approval and the blessing of Aphrodite, you must agree to replace your first daughter’s face with the face of a horse’s. The humans agreed to the conditions and suddenly a bunch of roses appeared giving the humans a sign that Aphrodite had blessed the eternal love between Astrea and Romineous.
Two years into Astraea’s and Romineous eternal Love, a child was born. It had green eyes, a big smile, and beautiful dark hair. Astrea was happy that her first child was a boy. While her first child was growing up, Romineous began creating paintings about his dreams. Every night, he would dream of a beautiful young woman with gorgeous eyes, with rosy cheeks, silk blond hair and a beautiful porcelain skin grabbing him by the hands and dancing in a rose garden.
A year later her second child was born, and the child was another boy. Astrea decided that it would be a clever idea if Romineous made a garden of roses to commemorate the love between each other. Romineous saw it as a sign from the gods that the girl from his dreams is real and is coming to meet him one day. He agreed with Astrea to make the den. The garden took a month to make. While Romineous was building the garden, Astrea decided that she would not have any more children to prevent the agreement between Aphrodite and them. Astraea’s action made Aphrodite mad, and two weeks later a black rose appeared on the front of the house. Romineous picked up the rose and brought it into the house.
After the rose garden was completed, Astrea was expecting another child. Romineous did not know that he was expecting another child, so she decided to hide the baby and keep it a secret from everyone else. She produced a plan to make a house in the rose garden to place the child. Nine months later, Astrea gave birth to the most beautiful girl in the village. The girl had beautiful eyes, rosy cheeks, silk blond hair, and beautiful porcelain skin. Astrea was saddened by the outcome and knew that the promise she gave to Aphrodite was going to come true at some point.
Fifteen years later the girl grew to be the most beautiful woman in the village. Her mom went every morning to the secret house hidden in the rose garden to bring meals to her daughter. However, during her morning routine, she left the hidden entrance to the house in the garden open Romineous followed her into the garden and discovered a hidden opening
to the house in the garden. He stayed outside and watched until his wife left the place. Then he entered quietly and found the most beautiful woman in the world. He said, “That’s the woman of my dream” while laughing. Romineous was about to get closer to his daughter, then Astrea came and pushed him away and said “THIS IS YOUR DAUGHTER ROMINEOUS” while crying. Romineous seeing his wife crying brought him back to his senses and left immediately. After the incident, Romineous and Astrea stopped talking to each other.
Over the days, the black rose disappeared and the roses in the garden started to become black. Romineous’ obsession with his own daughter made him mad to the point of killing his loved ones. As the day passed, all he could think about was the beautiful face of his daughter and how much time he wanted to spend with her face. On the 13th of September during nighttime, Romineous grabbed a knife he had secretly hidden and used it to kill his family except for his daughter. For his daughter, he had something much worse planned. Something that was going to scar her for life. Something that would eventually lead her to an unfortunate tragedy. After he killed his family while in their sleep, he went to the garden of black roses to his daughter’s secret room. When he arrived at her room, he found her sleeping and noticed that he did not care about his daughter, it was her face that was amusing to him. He felt that he could spend the rest of his life with just her face. So, he left the room and went to the barn where the horses are, and he skinned one of the horses’ face and went back into the room. He went back into the room quietly, but his daughter heard a noise and woke up. The daughter saw his dad covered in blood with horse skin and began to scream for help. Romineous panicked and hit his daughter on the head knocking her unconscious. He grabbed the knife from his side and began gently skinning his daughter’s face. After he finished skinning her face, he proceeds to sew the horse skin to his daughter’s face. When he finished, he left for an unknown destination where he could spend all the time he wanted with that face.
As for his daughter, she woke up several days later without knowing what had happened to her. She saw a group of men in her parents’ house grabbing all their things. She ran to the men and tried to seduce them as a form of stopping them but instead she was met with the words “MONSTER” and “FREAK.” The men immediately grabbed her and sold her to an old guy as a form of entertainment for the village. After three months of becoming an entertainment “Freak” for the village, she decided to hang herself to free herself from the misery that her father had brought into her life. As she took her last breath, a black rose appeared in front of her letting her know that Aphrodite was watching her and her family the entire time.
30
LITERATURE
30
FIGURE 36. BYRON PAGAN HERNANDEZ. The Goddess Made of Roses.
OLD PHOTO
This memory was born in a flash
Smiles forever encased in a piece of plastic
This is what I love about the past
Our jokes back then were classic It was a night filled with laughter
We lit candles with match sticks
Played video games with blasters
Made food with passion
Watched movies with great actors
Now I sit in this chair missing the attraction
Looking at this old photo brings me sorrow For this was the one day I felt true attachment
I miss you my old friend but I can see you tomorrow For this is the last day I wander this planet Your love was the one thing that you let me borrow
COSMIC HEAVEN
I drift out of a nebula
My mind sparking to life
You glow brightly as you caress the gas around my being You weave a neck, a body, arms and legs
“We are stars,” you spoke My body was complete, you made me complete I turn to see out into this place where we amass This place is gorgeous, beyond comprehension
The womb was a nebula made of different colored waves
Azure clouds with golden beings singing songs of death and rebirth
A cheerful titter escaped me as stardust tickled the soles of my feet
Content was the only feeling, joy was abundant
All because of you I was home. You are home
“You are a cosmic heaven and your beauty knows no bounds.”
GOLD SKIN
I’m a boy with gold skin and grease in my hair
This world has me scared due to recent affairs
There’s hate in the air No love anywhere
I’m hated for something I cannot control For I have skin made of gold With a warm glow to unfreeze the cold
My people marched in the streets In scorching heat
Cans of tears fell upon them
From a line of armed men
This world is falling apart at the seams
I see a world where people would love me for me Not hate for the color that they see
My gold skin is happily named melanin And it comes in all shapes and sizes
My ancestor held each other up like prizes
They would see nothing wrong with anyone
As if they lived with closed eyelids
This world needs to change Or everyone will remain in pain
Racism is a stain that can only be wiped out if we all preach love and kindness
I will tell my next of kin
Be proud for you are are a child with Gold Skin
31
FIGURE 37. DEVON DRAKEFORD.
FIGURE 38. DEVON DRAKEFORD.
FIGURE 39. DEVON DRAKEFORD.
DON’T LOSE YOUR HEAD
CHAPTER 1: KEEP A COOL HEAD
“Her head popped off!”
One of her classmates pointed at her when it happened, and the others joined in.
“Oh snap!” another one said, covering her mouth in shock.
As Vynx stood up from her desk and scrambled to retrieve her rolling head, another classmate scooped it up from the floor and studied it intensely.
“What happens if I do this?” he said as he shook her head violently like a snowglobe, causing her to stumble a bit at the sudden dizziness that overcame her from the shaking.
“D-don’t do that, please,” she begged as she struggled to make her way towards the classmate with her head in his hands.
“Why not?” he said tauntingly as she got closer.
Just as her head was right within her reach, he tossed it over to a classmate behind her. The one behind her was Zaires, and he was the one who started all of this torment. He flew up from his seat with his large wings and caught her head.
“Nice pass,” he chuckled as he held her head up to his face and looked her in the eyes.
“Oh, do you want your body back?” he asked sarcastically.
“Zaires, please just give my head back,” Vynx said pleadingly as her eyes began to well up with tears.
“Please, Zaires.”
A small hint of red crept across his face as he saw her on the brink of crying, and he quickly looked away from her. He cleared his throat in an attempt to regain his composure. When he returned her gaze, he no longer appeared to feel sympathetic or embarrassed. Instead, he gave her a malicious grin.
“Let’s see how far her head can be from her body,” he said as he quickly flew out of the classroom with her head still in his hands.
“Can you stop?! Why are you even doing this? What did I ever do to you?!” she yelled.
She looked up at him to see if he’d respond. All she saw was the bottom of his chin and his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. She looked left and right, studying his fingers that cupped her cheeks. His middle and ring fingers were closest to her mouth. She knew he wouldn’t stop if she asked politely, so she had to make him. She bit down on his middle finger, hard, to the point where she drew a bit of blood.
“OWW!!!” he yelled out as he dropped her head from the sudden shock.
Instead of her head hitting the ground, it landed safely into her own hands. Her body had caught up to him, and while he was flying she was right behind him figuring out how she would get her head back. Her head on its own may not be able to do much for itself, but her body was fast and nimble and made up for that.
She looked at him with such anger and frustration. The flames that erupted from her neck were blue, and they only ever turned blue when she was mad. Extremely mad. She stomped towards him, still gripping her head as the flames at her neck grew larger.
“H-hey, I’m sorry okay? I was just playing around!” Zaires said as he backed away from her slowly.
Everything in her wanted to kill him. To just burn him up in her flames until there was nothing left. But the small voice in the back of her mind advised her against it. It was her first day at this school and burning a fellow student wouldn’t be such a good look. And if she did that it would only prove her classmates right, that she was something to be feared.
Vynx sighed heavily as her neck flames shrunk and went back to their neutral orange-reddish hue. She placed her head back on her neck and twisted it to the right with a quick crack, almost like tightening a loose screw that only needs one more twist. Zaires looked at her in amazement, but then averted his gaze and remained silent. And so did she. She just looked at him, trying to figure out why. Why he would do something so cruel when he didn’t even know her. When she gave up looking for the answer she turned around and walked back to their classroom, leaving him there with that hint of red that never left his cheeks.
This school was praised for its inclusion and diversity, which is why she thought coming here would be different. They apparently had every monster under the sun attending this place, so she didn’t have any worries about being mistreated. Never would she have thought that just one sentence could’ve ruined it all for her again, just like it had in the past.
All it took was her telling her classmates that she was a dullahan. Once that word escaped her lips all of the stereotypes of the headless horseman flooded everyone’s minds.
The first one to judge was Zaires and instead of asking her about her old school or literally anything else he felt the need to ask: “Is someone about to die or something? Why else would a dullahan come here?”
32
FIGURE 40. DESTINY CACERES.
33
34
35
36 1: 9, 2: 3, 3: 7, 4: 1, 5: 3, 6: 8, 7: 14, 8: 6, 9: 3, 10: ∞
That led everyone else to join in with their disrespectful questions of if they could rip her head off and would she really survive if they did, or if she was really a harbinger of death like the legends say. Someone even asked if she really owned a horse. That’s what made her head pop off, which happened whenever she was nervous, surprised, excited or angry. And she hated herself for it. She hated the fact that she was so insecure and that every little comment made her anxious. She wouldn’t mind it as much if she had a way of hiding those feelings like everyone else did, but once her head would pop off it was basically letting everyone know that they got to her. Letting them know that they won. What was worse was that she normally had sharp reflexes and could always catch her head when it fell, but she was completely caught off guard with the ambush of questions that her reflexes had failed her. Now more than anything, she just wanted to go home.
Once the end of the day finally came, she was more than ready to rush out of the school. She quickly ran to her locker once the teacher dismissed the class. Vynx held her books over her head just above her horns as she fled the class in an attempt to hide herself from her classmates. Luckily for her, most of her classmates were too concerned with getting home as soon as possible that they didn’t even notice her. Once she got to her locker she sighed in relief as she put in her combination. Her relief only lasted a short while because Zaires found his way to her.
She heard his large wings flapping in her direction and she tried her hardest to hide her face with the door of the locker. Before he got to her, one of the teachers in the hall yelled at him.
“No flying in the halls, Zaires!” the teacher yelled.
With that, Zaires’s feet hit the ground with a loud and heavy thud as he groaned, accidentally knocking over the student next to him as he landed.
“Ok, fine!” he grumbled.
Zaires looked over at the student next to him and held out his hand in an attempt to help him up.
“You alright?” he asked as he reached for him.
“P-please d-don’t hurt me!” the classmate said in a panic as he jumped up and scurried away.
Zaires stood there for a moment, looking at his hand as if he were searching for something. Maybe he was looking for a reason why the guy ran away from him when he only tried to help. Vynx couldn’t really tell. But looking at him being treated that way made her feel as if she was looking in a mirror and she actually found herself feeling bad for him. But she immediately felt enraged again when she thought about how he bullied her and was about to do it again. Why would he pick on her when he already knew what it was like to be villainized? She couldn’t for the life of her understand why, but she was determined to find out.
When Zaires finally made his way to her locker, she sighed heavily with agitation.
“What do you want, Zaires?”
“I just had to see you one last time before the day ends,” he said sarcastically.
“For what?” Vynx said as she slammed the door of her locker closed.
“For this,” he said as he suddenly grabbed her two horns with his hands and tugged upward, attempting to remove her head.
“Ugh, stop it!” she yelled.
Vynx slapped his hands away as she rubbed her neck in pain.
“You know it doesn’t work like that! Are you trying to kill me?!” she screamed in anger.
“That’s what I’d like to ask you,” Zaires said as he slowly approached her.
“Aren’t you here to kill me and all your other classmates? Isn’t that what your kind does?” he said accusingly.
Vynx gritted her teeth as she tried to keep a cool head, but she could feel the heat building up at her neck just beneath her chin. Before she knew it her head was already in her hands because it popped off in a flash, and she had no trouble catching it this time.
The flames at her neck were blazing blue reaching a few inches above Zaires’ head, and Zaires was at least 6 feet.
“You keep saying that I’m here to kill everyone. You keep saying that I’m dangerous,” Vynx grumbled in a low and angry tone as she slowly walked towards him, making him step back.
“You want danger that bad? I’ll give it to you!!” She yelled as her flames flickered and burst upwards.
From the end of the hall she heard someone scream in terror. Then another scream erupted from another corner of the hall. In a matter of seconds the hall became a cacophony of screams and their eyes all landed on one person. Vynx stopped herself and looked around the hall only to realize that they were all looking at her. They were screaming at her. They were afraid of her.
Up until this point, her classmates only ever saw her head come off and the small, weak and timid pinkish flame that sat at her neck when she was nervous. They didn’t know the extent of her flames and how powerful they could become, so they had no real reason to fear her. They only saw her as a fun new toy to play with and pick on since they didn’t think she posed a real threat. But now, they knew. They knew she could be dangerous. Now, not only did her classmates know but so did the majority of the school and everyone else in that hallway who happened to see her.
Zaires quickly stepped away from her in fear.
“I’m sorry, ok? Just don’t burn me please!” he pleaded.
Whispers rose from the crowd of students.
“She was really gonna burn him?”
“I hope she’s not in my class.”
“I knew dullahans were violent!”
“Are we next?”
A small smirk crept across Zaires’ face as the crowd turned in his favor. This is what he wanted all along. He wanted to make people afraid of her. Her classmates mindlessly messing with her clearly wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to make her an outcast. And from the looks of things, it worked.
37
She was even more upset after seeing his plan fall into place, but after looking at the fearful expressions on everyone’s faces all she felt was shame and regret. She was angry with herself for falling into his trap. She was even more disappointed with herself for losing her cool and proving him and everyone else right, that she was dangerous.
The flames at her neck quickly shrunk down to a pitiful flicker and pop of purple, the color they turned when she was sad. Vynx glanced at Zaires once more, and once again she noticed that hint of red in his cheeks and for a moment his smile faltered. He even looked a bit regretful. She just couldn’t understand what he was thinking and why he would do this to her. What she really couldn’t understand was why he would treat her so awfully just to seem like he regretted it later. Regardless of his reasons, she was hurt. She held her head tightly in her hands and ran out of the school as the other students quickly scattered out of her way in fear. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she ran. Her first day was over in a flash and so were her chances of having a good school year. All it took was one moment to ruin her reputation and something told her that no amount of time would change that.
CHAPTER 2: GET INSIDE HIS HEAD
The ride home was uneventful. Vynx held her head in her lap as she sat on the bus, trying her hardest to wipe away her tears and hide her face from the other passengers. There were creatures of all kinds on the bus, ranging from a tiny elf to a tall ogre. She wished that her school was like the bus, diverse and blasé. No one on the bus cared if a dullahan got on board, and they definitely didn’t care if her head was crying in her lap. Everyone on that bus had their own problems to deal with and couldn’t care less about some girl missing her head, so why did everyone at her school have to?
Once she got home, she quickly rushed past her mother in the kitchen and snuck upstairs to her room. Her mom usually got home before her because she worked the night shift and the last thing Vynx wanted to do was worry her about her first day. She was surprised that her mom didn’t call for her when she walked by so she cautiously crept back down the stairs and poked her head out over the banister using her hands to take a peek. Her mother’s head was resting on the table in the kitchen as her body sat in the chair beside it. Her arms were crossed over the table and she was fast asleep. She must have been so tired that she didn’t hear Vynx come in.
Vynx carefully placed her head back onto her neck and slowly twisted it to the right with a quiet crack. She crept down the stairs quietly as she made her way to the living room. She slowly walked towards the couch and grabbed the fluffy blanket that usually laid upon it. Tiptoeing quietly, she made her way over to her mother and draped the blanket over her shoulders.
“I know once you wake up you’ll be so worried about how my first day went,” Vynx whispered to herself as she watched her mom sleep.
“I really don’t want to talk about it and I really hope you don’t ask, but I’m just glad to be home.”
She heard a low, tired muffle and yawn rise from her mother’s head.
“Welcome home, sweety,” her mother said sleepily, barely opening her eyes. “What were you saying about school? How was your day?”
Vynx’s heart sank into her stomach as she dreaded telling her mother the truth. Her mom had worked so hard to find her this school just so she wouldn’t feel like an outcast anymore. She would be heartbroken if she found out that the same thing was happening again. Vynx tried to look away from her mother in an attempt to hide the sadness and shame written on her face.
“...it was fine. Nothing really happened,” Vynx said, avoiding her mother’s gaze.
She heard her mother pick her head up from the table and reconnect it to her body. She reached for Vynx’s cheek and turned her face so that Vynx was facing her. Just one look at her and her mother’s face twisted with worry and sorrow.
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” her mother said softly as she gently stroked her cheek.
She should’ve known that her mother would know. Nothing got past her and she always knew when something was wrong with Vynx. Her father was the same way and always had a way of knowing that she wasn’t ok. He wouldn’t be home for another couple of hours, but she was dreading it because she knew that she would have to go through this again with him.
“I had a dream that you’d come home sad, but I was hoping it’d be wrong,” she said as she pulled Vynx into a warm hug.
Vynx tried her hardest to keep it together. She had finally finished crying and she didn’t wish to cry again. But she felt so weak and helpless in her mother’s arms, much like a glass that was about to hit the ground and shatter to pieces. The tears filled the rims of her eyes and fell again. Her mother just quietly stroked her head as she cried, not needing to say a word. They stayed like that for a while until Vynx was ready to pull away. She wiped her eyes and sniffled as she tried to compose herself. Her mother gently slid the tissue box that was on the table in her direction and quietly rose from the table. She worked her way to the stove and got started on their dinner.
“So,” her mom began. “...do you want to talk about it?”
Vynx pulled a tissue from the box and blew her nose.
“...no, I don’t.”
She watched her mother’s back as she cut up some onions. She knew that her mother was worried, but she was trying to hide it by keeping herself busy. And she knew that her mother wasn’t the type to pry it out of her.
“...but,” Vynx started again. “I know that I should.”
38
She knew that if she could see her mother’s face right now, she’d be smiling. Her mother hated when she held in her pain and she was always so happy when she was willing to share it with her. So Vynx decided to tell her. She told her everything from the moment she stepped into school to the moment she ran out. As she explained everything, she noticed her mother’s chopping speed up. By the time Vynx had finished telling her what happened, she was left with a pile of way too many chopped onions.
“I’m so sorry they did that to you, honey,” her mom said sadly.
That sadness turned to anger in a flash as she gripped her knife and slammed her fist against the counter.
“How could they treat you like that?! That school’s supposed to have every monster attending, so why is it a big deal when a dullahan shows up?!”
Her mother started working faster and more aggressively as the tone in her voice rose to near screaming levels.
“Do I have to go over there?! Because this is unacceptable!” she yelled as her head popped off and blue flames shot from her neck.
She swiftly caught her head just as Vynx rushed over to her. Vynx held her shoulders from behind in an attempt to get her attention and calm her down.
“Momma, please!! Calm down! You don’t have to go anywhere, it’s fine,” Vynx said.
Her mom took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She placed her free hand over Vynx’s hand as it lay on her shoulder.
“But it’s not fine,” her mom started slowly. “My sweet girl shouldn’t have to go through this. You’re wonderful and I wish there was a way to show them that.”
Vynx sighed as she let go of her mom’s shoulders and sat back down at the table.
“It seems like my chance to do that is ruined now.”
Her mom sighed sadly as she put her head back on her shoulders and grabbed a plastic zip bag to store the extra onions she chopped. Vynx mindlessly tapped her finger on the table as she recalled the events of her first day.
“What I really don’t understand is Zaires,” Vynx said curiously. “I don’t get why he’d act like that when I’m pretty sure he knows what it’s like to be an outcast. I’m even more confused as to why he seemed like he regretted it each time he bothered me.”
“Maybe he likes you and doesn’t know how to show it,” her mom chuckled.
“Momma, please. This isn’t kindergarten. Who still bullies their crush? So childish,” Vynx huffed as she felt her cheeks warming up.
The thought of Zaires liking her made her cringe but at the same time there was a small part of her that didn’t mind that thought. Something told her that there was more to his character than he was letting on. And despite how awful he made her first day, she
still couldn’t bring herself to hate him because she could see a bit of herself in him.
“I don’t know momma, I feel like there’s something more to this. I think he’s hiding something. If anything, it actually feels like he might be afraid of something,” Vynx questioned.
“Well sweety, why don’t you ask him?” her mom said as she turned up the fire on the stove.
“Ask him? I can’t do that! Especially after today,” she sighed. “I don’t even know how I’m gonna survive tomorrow. Maybe I’ll just stay home.”
Her mom slammed her knife down onto the counter.
“No you will not,” she said angrily as she turned to face her. “Do not let those bullies run you out of this school. You have every right to be there just like everyone else and you are strong.”
Vynx looked up at her mother with determination. She was right. Vynx wasn’t a coward. She was strong enough to face them, and it isn’t like she hadn’t dealt with this before. But this time things would be different. She ran from her old school but this time she was willing to fight back.
“You’re right momma,” Vynx said. “I’m not gonna run away this time.”
Her mom smiled at her as she held her cheek.
“That’s my girl. If you really think there’s more to him,” her mom said as she sat back down at the table. “Get inside his head. Figure him out.”
Vynx nodded as she smiled. She would never know what he was thinking if she didn’t ask him.
Vynx was determined to figure him out today. She already knew that if she wanted to get her answers, it would have to be when they were completely alone. Judging from his previous actions and behavior he seemed like he wasn’t going to pick on her without an audience, so getting him alone would be the only way to get him to talk.
She watched him intently throughout the day, waiting to find the perfect opening. As Vynx watched Zaires, she realized something about him. In each class that she shared with him he always sat alone. There wasn’t a single class where he was sitting with someone and even as people walked past his desk they would quicken their pace just to get away from him faster. Both Vynx and Zaires were now getting the same treatment from their classmates and it wasn’t a nice feeling. She had wondered if that was his goal all along. But some things still didn’t add up for her. It just didn’t make sense.
Once they got to their final class, Vynx found her opening. It was gym class and they were playing various games throughout the gym. In one corner there was badminton, in another corner was volleyball, the third corner held a simple game of catch and in the
39
⁘ ⁘ ⁘
final corner was a small game of ping pong. In the middle of the gym there was a basketball game going and Zaires was playing. Vynx wasn’t participating in any games today and just chose to walk around the gym instead. As she watched Zaires’ game, she noticed how none of his teammates ever passed the ball to him despite how good he was on the court. She even heard the others he was playing with tell him that he wasn’t allowed to use his wings during the game because apparently that would be “cheating,” even though there were other winged monsters playing the game as well and making full use of their wings.
Eventually, Zaires had stepped off the court and made his way to the hall. She had assumed that it was to get a drink, or maybe it was just to get away. Regardless, that was her opening. She swiftly followed behind him at a safe distance so he wouldn’t notice her. She peeked at him through the window of one of the double doors, watching him as he quietly leaned over the water fountain. She could feel the anxiety building up inside her, bubbling just below her chin and threatening to pop her head off. She lightly pushed her head down and readjusted it, giving herself a mental pep talk in the process. When he finally took a drink, she quietly pushed open one of the doors and slipped into the hallway. Zaires must’ve heard her anyway because she saw one of his ears twitch and he immediately tensed up once she stepped into the hall.
“I’ll be back on the court in a bit,” Zaires said a bit submissively. “Just give me a minute.”
“Forget the game,” Vynx said boldly. “I’m here for answers.”
Zaires tensed up again once he heard her voice, but he didn’t turn to face her. He remained quiet as he leaned on the water fountain.
“Well Zaires, why don’t you turn around and face me?” Vynx said quizzically.
Zaires still remained quiet. Vynx could feel herself getting angry, but she tried to remain calm this time. She wouldn’t get anywhere with him if she lost her temper again.
“Hello? I know you hear me.”
Still no answer.
“Come on, Zaires! You know why I’m here!” Vynx yelled. “Why did you target me?”
Zaires still wouldn’t turn to face her. She could feel her blood starting to boil.
“And why won’t you look at me?!” she screamed as she reached for his arm and tried to get him to face her.
“Because I’m ashamed!” Zaires finally yelled back, face flushed with red as he tried to hide it with his hands.
“And embarrassed. This isn’t like me at all,” Zaires continued. “I’ve never been the type to bully anyone.”
There was a silent pause as Vynx waited for him to continue.
“I never meant to hurt you,” Zaires said weakly. “I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Take what?” Vynx questioned.
“Before you came to this school, I was the target.”
Vynx couldn’t believe her ears. The high and mighty Zaires was a victim too?
“Well, not exactly bullied but ostracized nonetheless. I’m the school’s first and only dragon, so of course people were gonna be scared of me.”
He made his way to a bench that sat in the hall and he quietly plopped down onto it, placing his head in his hands.
“...They didn’t even give me a chance,” he continued quietly. “Once they saw how tall and menacing I was, they immediately kept their distance. Anytime I tried to approach anyone, they thought I was trying to hurt them. And any friends I tried to make just begged me to stay away from them because of how terrified they were.”
Vynx frowned as she quietly took the spot next to Zaires on the bench. It was strange to see the once mighty Zaires look so small and weak in front of her. She truly felt for him, mostly because she could relate to everything he was feeling.
“That went on for weeks,” he started again. “I never even got the chance to talk to anyone or show them who I am. Just when I was at my limit and couldn’t deal with it anymore,” he paused, looking at Vynx. “That’s when you showed up.”
Vynx swallowed hard as she anxiously waited for him to continue.
“You told us all that you were a dullahan, and I knew this school didn’t have one of those yet,” Zaires sighed heavily as he continued. “...That’s when I got this really dumb and ignorant idea,” he said as he faced Vynx sadly, still avoiding her gaze.
40
“It’s no excuse, but I was so desperate and lonely at the time. I thought that if I targeted you, they’d finally leave me alone. I also thought they might think I’m more approachable if I bothered you. I even thought they’d stop being scared of me.”
Vynx sighed as she shook her head. How would they stop fearing Zaires as a bully if people are afraid of bullies? She really couldn’t understand his logic.
“All of that for what?” Vynx said angrily. “They’re still afraid of you anyway and you still don’t have any friends!”
“That’s not true, they’re not that afraid of me anymore!” Zaires said, trying to retort.
Vynx stood up abruptly and crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes, looking completely unamused.
“Oh yeah?” she said questioningly. “There was literally a guy yesterday who ran away from you begging for his life just because you tried to help him up.”
Zaires gritted his teeth as he thought of another way to defend himself.
“Well, I do have friends!” he retorted once more. “ Just look at the guys on the court, they love playing ball with me.”
Vynx sighed heavily as she sucked her teeth.
“Oh come on!” Vynx said angrily. “Couldn’t you tell those guys were playing you? They even stopped you from using your wings to ‘keep it fair’ when all the other winged monsters got to use theirs.”
Vynx sat down next to Zaires once more as she looked him over.
“None of your teammates even passed you the ball.”
Zaires sighed as he hung his head in defeat.
“...you’re right.” he said quietly.
Zaires finally turned to face her as he kneeled down before her, looking her straight in the eyes while holding her hands.
“Vynx, I am so so sorry for what I did to you. I don’t know why I thought passing the pain onto someone else would make mine go away. I should’ve tried to become the friend I wanted instead of becoming your bully.”
Zaires bowed low before her, showing her the base of his wings and horns, something dragons and other winged and horned creatures only ever did as the ultimate sign of respect and remorse.
“I don’t deserve it, but I hope you can forgive me one day,” Zaires said regretfully.
Vynx sighed as she lightly patted his shoulder. She couldn’t stay mad at him, especially when he seemed so lost. It made her sad that he felt so trapped to the point where bullying someone else seemed like his only option.
“Come on, get up,” she said nonchalantly. “It’s not that serious. You’re not the first to bully me and you probably won’t be the last. It’s fine.”
Zaires joined her on the bench once more.
“But it’s not fine!” Zaires protested. “I probably ruined all of senior year for you-”
Vynx held her hand up to shush him.
“Listen, I already forgive you,” Vynx said calmly. “Don’t make me change my mind.”
Zaires smiled to himself as he nodded. They sat there in silence for a moment, quietly enjoying the newfound peace between them. Before they knew it, the bell rang and class was over. With that, everyone quickly rushed out of the gym to get to their lockers. This time while Vynx was at her locker, Zaires didn’t come up to her. As a matter of fact, he never even looked her way. It felt like she had finally reached an understanding with him, and maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that they could start over.
Once Vynx walked into class the next day, she found Zaires sitting alone at his desk again. He was leaning his chin on his hand, looking out the window beside him and not paying any mind to the classroom he was in. She loudly pulled out the seat next to him and sat down with him, placing her books neatly inside her new desk.
“Hope you don’t mind,” Vynx said lightheartedly as she jabbed his arm with her elbow. “But this seat’s mine now.”
Zaires beamed at her with immense delight, that hint of red finding its way to his cheeks once more.
“I don’t mind,” he said happily, still smiling at her. “I don’t mind at all.”
41
FIGURE 58
TANNER DEMARCO Drift Tide Logo and Branding Campaign
