CHAPTER NINE: RECONCILIATION OVER BBQ

It was already nightfall. The night sky was aglow with bright lights coming from the Sage's backyard. The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky. The soft music coming from the Sage's backyard broke the silence of the night.

Andrew was by the barbecue grilling some of the meats while Helen discussed with Mrs Carmen. Sandra watched them as they laughed from a distance. She subtly envied their perfect relationship. Sandra sat down beside her brother as she pressed her phone and he watched cartoons on his iPad. Her father sighted her and told her to come and take pictures of him as he grilled the meats.

As she took the pictures, he told her that he wanted to see them. So she went to her gallery and a pop-up came and it displayed,

Memories from last week.

In it were pictures of her and Indigo. She saw them and immediately, she had a lump in her throat and was blinking away the tears. Then her father patted her on the shoulders and said, "Apologize before you both regret it." Sandra nodded in affirmation, she gulped and then headed for Indigo's home.

Just as she was about to reach his home, he also was coming out of his home, dressed in his usual dark clothing. The level of awkwardness was beyond 100. They stopped and stared at each other for a while, till Indigo broke the silence. "I was heading to your place. Where were you headed?" He asked with his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.

"Yours too," Sandra said as she adjusted her hair and looked away from him. Shortly, both of them apologized to each other simultaneously. They couldn't hear their selves well so Indigo said, "I'll go first." Then he continued, "Sandy, I'm very sorry. And I shouldn't have said what I said, I'm basically a dick head."

"No, you're not. If you're a dick head then I should be more than a dick head. I pushed you In, and I'm sorry." Sandra said, choked in tears. They both hugged for some while and they said to themselves, "Best Friends Forever." And they hugged again. Shortly, they went over to Sandra's place and as soon as they walked in, Carmen, Andrew and Helen all applauded them.

"Oh my God, I wish I got that on camera!" Helen said to Carmen as they both cheered. After that, Andrew served Indigo and Sandra their meat with some juice afterwards. Their barbecue was a success! They all went to bed while Andrew cleaned up the whole place before he went to bed.

Throughout the week, Sandra and Indigo prepared for their school's resumption. They picked out clothes and school materials. The only person anticipating the return to school was Sandra, which was odd. It finally came, Sandra woke up excited, "It's here mom! It's here!" She squealed. Her mom was in the kitchen preparing Sandra's breakfast. She turned back to have a look at Sandra,

"Okay Sandra, I'm loving the vibes with you!" Her mother said. Sandra was on a white turtleneck and on top of it she wore a sweater that wrote Gilmore High, then she topped them off with tight jeans and a Chucky T all-stars. She also packed her hair up into bun's. She was embarrassed after she heard what her mother said, "Come on Mom, there are no vibes with me."

Shortly, her father came in saying the same thing her mother said, "May I ask who's teaching you guys what you just said?" Sandra said embarrassed for her parents. "We're not old, we know these things, baby," Helen said. Their doorbell rang, and then Sandra went to get the door. It was Indigo, he stared at Sandra like a deer in headlights. "What?" Sandra asked frozen Indigo. Then he got himself back together and told her that she looked pretty.

"Aww, thanks." She said as she went out with him. "Sandra, what about your breakfast?!" Helen yelled. "I'm not hungry! I love you, dad, I love you, mom! Tell Mikey I love him too!" Sandra yelled as her voice diminished.

...

GILMORE HIGH

Carmen dropped both of them at school. When they got there, Indigo briefed her on the do's and don't as they walked. "One, don't ask questions. Two, talk only when necessary. Three, if you see any strange thing, like what you'd consider to be not 'human' tell me and I'll explain. Four, stay away from the jocks, especially Jesse." Sandra interrupted him and asked him, "Why Jesse? What's wrong with him?"

"If you wanna survive Sandy, you'll have to heed my advice. Five, you're pretty, so many people would want to fuck with you. Don't let them."

"Aww thank you In," Sandra said as she smiled at Indigo. "It wasn't a compliment. Six," As he was about to continue, Devi and three other girls came to confront the both of them. Under his breath, Indigo said to Sandra, "Six, avoid Her."

Devi was a werewolf, she was a boss lady and the school's most popular cheerleader. She possessed a bitchy attitude and was ready to eliminate anyone that stands in her way. She is blonde, with sweet curves and small-sized breasts. "Indigo," She said wearing a fake smile. Then she turned to look at Sandra, she eyed her from head to toe then she said, "You must be his sister?"

Her friends laughed when one of them murmured, "Obviously from another mother. Because what the fuck?!" Sandra stood there anxiously and eagerly waiting to leave their presence. "Listen, Devi, she's not my sister okay? She's new here." Indigo emphasized the new so that Devi would back off. Devi was shocked to hear that a new student was in Gilmore High.

"I suspected. Because no one wears this shit on a first day!" Devi blurted. She was referring to the cardigan Sandra wore which wrote out boldly, Gilmore High.

They started to murmur saying to themselves, does she know? What's she doing here? The last Indigo wanted was for Sandra to know that she was in a town where supernaturals and humans coexist. Sandra's inquisitiveness came into play when she started asking questions. "Oh Honey, welcome to Gilmore High," Devi said as she laughed and ordered the girls to fall behind her as they left.

"What's her deal, and what don't I know?" Sandra asked Indigo. "That's Devi, you're gonna be seeing lots of her around her. And it doesn't matter what you don't know, that's just how they are, they wanna make you feel so inferior that you begin to fear them." Indigo lied.

"I already despise her," Sandra said as they went inside the hallway. As they walked the hallways, they watched how students greeted each other. Some expressed their happiness by talking while some went overboard by kissing each other. "Yuck!" Sandra blurted as she averted her eyes. Indigo briefly chuckled then he said, "This is just the tip of the iceberg, wait till the regular Friday night parties."

"So you've attended one?" Sandra asked out of curiosity. "Nah, heard stories. The school has a daily newspaper called the Glimmer Daily and a social platform where you could get all the juicy and nasty news you want." Indigo replied. They kept on sluggishly walking the hallways because their class doesn't start until 8 am.

"Has your name ever been mentioned on any of these platforms?" Sandra asked. "Only once," Indigo said. Sandra, eager to hear said, "Tell me!" Indigo then said, "It was during my Sophomore year, just like you are now. It's not something I like to recall, but I'll say it." As Indigo was about to tell Sandra, his eyes diverted and they widened as he saw posters of Hailey on the wall. It read, Missing Lady, last seen at the Gilmore High summer party, please If found contact, 444-556-6603.

Indigo's heart began to beat rapidly. He stared at the picture for long, as various thoughts ran through his head. Things were getting too real for Indigo, he couldn't handle it.