Heavy

When the bell rang for fifth-period lunch, Angel exited her class in a fog. The weight of everything burdened her shoulders. For one, Cassia was attacked on Sunday by a creature that manifested itself through stolen energy. But where it hid its actual body was unknown. And last, the creature said to Cassia, “I blocked the sky to stop them.” Who is the ‘them’ it referred to?

As Angel walked the hall she met with her sisters and caught them up on their latest headache. The new girl, Skye Martinez.

“So, the new girl teased you in class to get a rise out of you?” Mina asked Angel.

“Yes. And when I approached her, her magic energy nearly spilled on the floor as she called me a Valkyrie.”

“Just as we suspected. The new girl was masking her energy,” Cassia said. “And if she knows what we are, does that mean she's from our realm?”

“She claimed she's from Texas,” Angel said. “But wherever she’s from, she’s certainly hostile to us. And I guarantee she wants Emilia.”

“Hell yeah. You saw how quickly she came over to introduce herself to Em?" Mina said.

“Exactly. But no worries since I invited this Skye girl to talk with us after school today.”

“Talk?” Cassia looked at Angel.

“Yes, talk.” Angel squinted. “Although her very life hinges on what she says to us.”

Loved

The sisters walked down the stairs and toward the cafeteria. But when they entered, the crowd noise blasted them. “Ugh! The lunchroom is always rowdy,” Angel muttered. 

“Hee, it’s just students expressing themselves, dear sister,” Cassia said. 

“Yes, well. When I’m president they won’t be confined to this building and will enjoy food from the town vendors!” Angel raised her fist in triumph.

“You have to win the election first, sis,” Mina snarked. 

“Mere details!” 

As the sisters strutted to their table, they spotted Emilia sitting and talking to Alice. “Em is here. Good, I already feel better,” Angel said as they all plopped down around Emilia. 

“Hi everyone!” Emilia greeted. 

And as Emilia smiled, the Krieger sisters’ spirits lifted. For they’d learned in their observations that Emilia’s celestial energy was not the sole source of their comfort. But instead, it was also Emilia herself. For she was a sweet, hard-working student, with a giving personality that proved addictive to the sisters. 

“Emilia, are you still sour with us?” Angel asked as the Kriegers hugged her. 

“Eh?” Emilia blushed. “No, I see you all behaved in class. And I believe you and the new girl Skye exchanged kind words in government, Angel. I mean, I saw you talking to her at her desk and you were both smiling.” 

“Ah, yes,” Angel said. “Skye and I are on the same page at the moment. So, please forgive our troubling you.” Angel then glanced over at Alice with an evil smile. “Oh, hello Alice. You're just the girl I wanted to see.”

“I am?” Alice asked. 

“Of course. May I have a word with you in private?”

“Um, sure.”

"Excellent." Angel then stood up and led Alice away by the hand. 

Motives

As Angel walked off with Alice, Cassia glanced at them. Hm? I wonder why Angel is bothering cute little Alice. But before she could intervene, Stephanie arrived at the table. 

“Hi everybody,” Stephanie greeted. 

“Hi Steph,” everyone replied, including Emilia. 

“Mina, let me steal you for a sec. We're taking team pics by the cafeteria mural since most of us are at fifth-period lunch.”

“Ah, cool!” Mina smiled while sitting with Emilia. “But give me a second, I’ll be over soon.”

“No problem.” Stephanie smiled before turning to Cassia. “Cassia, I wanted to tell you I added you all on Style-o-gram. And wow, you’re blowing up!”

“Am I?” Cassia pulled out her phone. 

“Yeah, you had two hundred and twenty followers when I last checked.” 

“Two hundred and twenty-two now,” Cassia corrected. 

“Wow! And that’s all because you guys looked so beautiful in those dresses! Even you, Krieger. With your legs in heels,” Stephanie teased. 

“Hey, now.” Mina blushed. 

“But too bad you all didn’t invite me to your party, I would have shown you my style.”

“So, jelly-jackets and roller-skates are a style?” Mina joked.

“What? Shut up. That's my diva look. You didn’t know?” Stephanie laughed but then turned to walk away. “Anyway, Krieger. Meet you at the wall.”

“Be there in a second.” Mina stood up and patted Emilia on the head. “You good?”

“I’m fine. Go take pictures with your jock friends,” Emilia teased.

“Heh, heh, I will.” 

But as Mina stepped away from the table, Cassia followed. “Mina, may I have a word?”

“What’s up, sis?” 

“It’s about your pretty new friend,” Cassia replied in full Norwegian. 

“Steph? Yeah, she’s cool.”

“Mhm. And she seems to like you.”

“I think so.”

“Right. But you do understand she saw all of those photos you took on Saturday with Emilia. And now she wants your attention.”

Mina frowned. “Come on Cassia. Stop making Stephanie seem so shallow.” 

“Feeling left out does not make one shallow, dear sister. But I am warning you, be prepared to take a lot of selfies with Stephanie as she overcompensates for not being invited to our party on Saturday.”  

Mina shrugged. “So what do you want me to do, sis?”

Cassia frowned. “Mina. Do you like Stephanie?”

“Ah…” Mina looked away. “Yeah, sis. I do like Stephanie. A lot. But I can handle the situation.”

“I’m sure you think you can.” Cassia stepped forward and caressed Mina’s face. “But listen to me. I’m not against your dealings with Stephanie. You two make a cute couple. But Stephanie is not Emilia. And girls like Stephanie don’t like to share their pretty things. At least not for long. And I will add that it’s not in our best interest for you to break Stephanie’s heart. And then have her reaction reflect on us in this school. Do you understand me?”

Mina nodded. “Yeah, I do. And I’ll manage her expectations of me, sis.”

“That’s not the right answer.”

“It ain’t. But I hear you. So, may I go now?”

“Sigh. Yes, you may, but come here first.” Cassia then cleared Mina’s hair from her face, tightened her collar, and dashed her with lipstick. “Just a touch for color.”

“Come on, sis. I’m just taking pics with the team,” Mina resisted.

“I know. But you should still look your best,” Cassia replied while grooming Mina. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Mina smiled while Cassia finished. She then kissed Cassia, Mua. “Thanks, sis. I love you.”

“I love you too. But remember what I said.”

“I will. And if I don’t, you’ll remind me,” Mina teased before escaping to the other end of the cafeteria.

“Tsk, tsk. My dear sisters,” Cassia muttered while watching Mina. She then turned and spotted Angel caressing Alice’s face. “Eh?” Now, what in the world are those two talking about over there?

Sweet Alice

Angel led Alice away from the table and toward the cafeteria entrance, where the noise was low and where most people wouldn’t hear them. Once there, Angel smiled at her shorter classmate.

“Alice, I hear from the other students that you're excellent at crunching statistical numbers. Is that true?”

“Eh?” Alice tilted her head. “Oh, I guess they're talking about last year's student festival. I did the surveys, Q and A’s, and statistical tallies on-”

“How fascinating!” Angel complimented. “My my, just from you speaking I can hear your passion.”

"Well." Alice smirked.  "I wouldn’t call it that. But I did enjoy-”

“Alice! Are you aware that I’m running for school president?”

“You are? That’s great. I’ll vote for you.”

“Thank you.” Angel stepped close to Alice and cleared the bangs from her eyes. “I appreciate your vote. But you see, Alice. With your gift for numbers and such, I'm going to require your expertise as a member of my campaign team.”

“Campaign?” Alice looked around. “You won't make me give speeches, will you?”

“Oh, no, no, no. Dear Alice. The work that I would ask of you would be behind the scenes. More like gathering data, analyzing trends, and fetching my tea. That sort of thing.”

“You mean a campaign manager?” Alice’s eyes lit up. 

“Manager?” Angel scowled. “Right. Well. If you like that title, it should work.” 

“It would look great on my college resume!”

“Yes, it would! And I’m happy you understand. But rest assured.” Angel’s face grew serious as she leaned in close to caress Alice’s face. “I will expect one-hundred percent out of you, Alice.”

“No worries, Angel. You can count on me!”

“I know I can. Since I know you won’t disappoint me. Will you?”

“N-no. I won’t,” Alice said, shaking. Then she had a thought. “But Angel, to get your name on the ballot, don’t you need a running mate first?”

“Tch!” Angel squinted. “Yes, yes. A small matter that I’ll soon rectify. In the meantime, you start thinking like a campaign manager.”

“Right! The first thing we need to do is get flyers and a motto and, aw man. I’d better get started! Can I text you later?”

“By all means. I’m always accessible. And thank you, Alice. I won’t forget this.”

“Sure, it sounds like a fun project! Anyway, I’ll see ya,” Alice said, waving and walking away. 

“Yes. See ya,” Angel replied with a grin. But as Alice stepped off, something caught Angel’s eye across the cafeteria. When Angel looked again, she spotted the new girl, Skye, sitting at one of the tables laughing with some other students. But as Angel watched her, Skye noticed and stared back at Angel. This made Angel squint back at Skye, who then winked at Angel. “What? How dare you!” Angel pouted and stormed off. The nerve of that girl looking at me. I didn’t even know she was in fifth-period lunch. But as Angel headed back to her own table, she stole another glance at Skye. And this time, Skye smiled and stuck her tongue out at Angel. “Ah! How rude!” You silly girl. I’ll wipe that grin off of your face after school. Hmph!

…

 

 

Where my Angel fans at? ^_^