Wear - Chapter 28

The next morning, Wyatt and Emma go back up to Savvy Threads again to see if Matilda’s boss was there. When they get there, Matilda says “Oh, Dylan! It’s the one I was telling you about!”.

“He’s here so early?” Dylan asks as he comes out from the back of the store.

“Is it… too early to be here?” Wyatt asks.

“No no no no no, it’s fine!” Dylan says. “Come, we’ll speak in private about a job position”.

As Wyatt and Dylan move to the back of the store, Emma and Matilda were left alone at the front. “So, Emma” Matilda says, “anything new happening lately?”.

“Well, I’ve met a couple rather… interesting people the other day” Emma says. “One of them was one of Wyatt’s childhood friends. I didn’t realize he went to our school until recently. He’s a laibah, but he’s also really… loud. Or maybe… careless?”.

“Who else did you meet?” Matilda asks.

“Wyatt’s brother” Emma says.

“First his old friend and now his brother?” Matilda asks. “Did you guys go meet his family or something?”.

“N-no! Nothing like that” Emma says. “One goes to our school and the other came to visit”.

“Are they nice people?” Matilda asks.

“Nice is one word…” Emma says. “‘More like overly-friendly and eccentric. I don’t think I’d be able to stick around his brother for long periods of time though. Too loud and energetic… he makes me anxious”.

Matilda laughs and says “I guess that’s why most people are hesitant to let their lovers meet their family! Most of the time, people tend to not get along with each other’s family”.

“Oh… it’s not like that” Emma says. “They’re nice but they make me nervous”.

“Why is that?” Matilda asks.

Emma thinks about some of the things Kemal was talking about, like Emma being his future sister in law. “N-no reason in particular” Emma says.

“Child, you’re a bad liar” Matilda says. “Come on, out with it”.

“No, I’d rather not” Emma says.

Suddenly, the door opens and Emily walks inside. “What are we talking about?” Emily asks as she rubs her eyes.

“Finally wake up?” Matilda asks.

“Yeah, something like that” Emily says, then yawns. “What’s up, Emma?”.

“Nothing much…” Emma says.

“Emma met Wyatt’s brother” Matilda says.

“Oh, really?” Emily asks. “Cool…”.

“She’s also not telling me about it” Matilda says. “You know how I am when people try to hide something from me like that”.

“Can we drop it?” Emma asks.

“Why?” Emily asks. “Is he an asshole?”.

“No, he’s a nice guy” Emma says. “But he’s just too loud”.

“Ah, well there’s the problem” Emily says.

“You girls are picky about the silliest things” Matilda says.

“I already told you” Emma says. “I don’t hate his brother, I just don’t think I could be in the same room as him for long periods of time!”.

“Are you breaking up or something?”

Emily asks.

“What!?” Emma asks. “No! Absolutely not!”.

“See?” Emily asks. “Problem solved”.

“Emily, dear” Matilda says, “I’m not asking in order to solve a problem. I’m asking because I’m curious”.

“Then stop being curious” Emily says. “Another problem solved”.

“Pfft- ha ha ha!” Emma starts laughing.

“You girls have no class” Matilda says with a soft laugh.

“You don’t need class when you plan on living a quiet life” Emily says.

“A quiet life is one thing” Matilda says, “but sleeping all of the time when you don’t have anything to do and don’t want to help out at the store is another”.

“Hey, any time is bed time when you’re depressed” Emily says with a shrug.

“Girl, you need a new perspective in life…” Matilda says with a worried face.

After about half an hour, Wyatt comes out from the back of the store. “So?” Emma asks.

“Dylan says I can start working here next week!” Wyatt says. “I can work here as Matilda’s assistant”.

“Too bad you can’t work here full time” Matilda says. “We need another person to help run the store. It’s just me and Dylan here for now. Oh, and Emily here”.

“Hooray…” Emily says with a sarcastic tone.

“And now I can keep my eye on you” Matilda says to Wyatt.

“Okay… but why?” Wyatt asks.

“Just in case I need to” Matilda says.

“You worry too much” Wyatt says.

“That’s what old people do” Matilda says.

A few days later, on Wednesday of December 11th 2019, Emily comes up to Wyatt’s dorm and knocks on the door. When Wyatt answers the door, Emily says “I’m bored and Matilda doesn’t want me sleeping in too late”.

“I’m here too!” Jessica says as she pokes her head into the dorm room.

“Great, the circus is in town” Jackson says.

“Still being a miserable twat?” Emily asks. “How long is it going to take you to realize that’s why Aeris left you in the first place?”.

“Bite me” Jackson says.

“Bite me?” Emily asks. “What are we, seven years old?”.

“Why are you two even here to begin with?” Jackson asks.

“Well, we’ve got a lot of free time until the next semester starts” Emily says, “so Jessica and I were wondering if any of you guys wanna hang out to pass the time”.

“Sure” Emma says.

“I’ve got time to kill” Wyatt says.

“What are girls doing in the boys dorm?” Darren asks as he approaches the group.

“We got permission to talk to people, but not go in any of the dorms” Emily says.

“Well, count me out of your plans” Jackson says.

“Gladly” Emily says with a stern look.

“Oh come on, Jack!” Darren says. “Aren’t you supposed to be the third wheel of this relationship?”.

“Third wheel?” Jackson asks. “The hell are you on about?”.

“Come on, Jackson” Jessica says. “It’ll be better than laying in bed all day”.

“I would like to disagree” Jackson says.

“We can go get Aeris to join us too!” Jessica says. “We’ll have Aeris with us!”.

Jackson freezes for a moment, then says “That sounds like incentive to not join you guys”.

“You two really need to talk it out” Emily says. “Your constant moping is getting real tiresome”.

“I’m not moping” Jackson says. “This is what I always do”.

“Is that how you’ve become an asshole?” Emily asks.

“Look who’s talking” Jackson says. “I’m not the only one who’s bitter all the time”.

“I’m not bitter!” Emily says. “I just can’t be nice to stupid people!”.

“If I may…” Darren says, interrupting, “why not try just talking to this… Aeris person and see if you can work things out? Think of it like this, if you want things to work out between you two in hopes of getting back together, then you taking the initiative to be the first one to talk it out would show her that you’re not as bad of a person as they once thought. If you simply want to prove them wrong, then prove it by being the guy they didn’t expect you to be”.

Jackson was silent for a minute, thinking about what Darren had said. “I guess you’ve got me there” Jackson says. “Alright, fine. But only because I got a good enough laugh from you guys embarrassing Emma and Wyatt last weekend”.

“What happened?” Jessica asks.

“That’s the spirit!” Darren says.

“Oh, I get it. I’m being ignored again” Jessica says.

“So, to Aeris’s house?” Jessica asks.

“Wait… do any of you even know where that is?” Jackson asks.

“N-no… do you?” Jessica asks.

Jackson sighs and says “So you guys needed me so you could include Aeris? Lucky for you, I do know”.

The group walks for a while. About two miles south of the town, they found a house in the large clearing, far away from the forest. “This is it” Jackson says. “Who wants to knock?”. As Jackson turns to look at everybody, everybody else was looking at him. “Alright, fine” Jackson says. Jackson walks up to the front door and knocks. After a few seconds of waiting, Aeris answers the door. As soon as Jackson raises his hand and begins to speak, Aeris closes the door. “Well, I tried” Jackson says, then starts walking away.

“Oh no you don’t” Emma says as she pushes him back up to the door. “You’ve gotten to laugh and Wyatt and I, so now you’ve got to do what you came here for!”.

“And who’s gonna make me, shorty?” Jackson teases.

Emma’s fox ears pop out of her head as her face shows a stern and angry expression. “I believe shorty is gonna make you if you say that one more time” Emily says.

“Geez” Jackson says as he turns around to face the door. Jackson then mumbles under his breath “Short girl; short temper, I guess”.

“I heard that!” Emma yells.

“Why does her ears have purple fur on the tips?” Darren asks, confused.

“Shh” Jackson says, “shut up for a minute”.

Jackson knocks on the door again, and Aeris answers almost immediately. “What?” Aeris asks with a stern look.

“Well…” Jackson says, “they wanted to ask if you’d come out to hang out with them and needed me to guide them to your house and-“.

“Jackson…” Emma says, tapping her foot repeatedly on the grass in frustration.

“W-What I mean is…” Jackson says, “is I need to talk with you”.

“About?” Aeris asks crossing her arms.

“I wanted to… apologize” Jackson says. “I’m sorry I screwed up. I know I should’ve done better to compose myself, since we were so close to accomplishing our goals… but I messed it up for everyone”.

“Do you think an apology is enough?” Aeris asks.

“N-no!” Jackson says. “I-I mean, I’ll make it up to you… to everyone. I’ll make sure to fix this, and I promise I won’t let this situation get out of control! I’ll protect all of our friends from taking the fall for my mistake, and I’ll make things right! So, do you think we can start making things right… between us?”.

Aeris thinks for a moment, then says “If you can start by being less of an asshole, I’ll start by throwing away that silly old notebook”.

“T-then is that a-” Jackson says.

“This does not mean we’re dating again” Aeris interrupts. “Don’t push your luck. I will, however, give you a chance to fix this… without ignoring your existence this time”.

“Well, isn’t that nice?” Darren asks.

“Who are you again?” Aeris asks.

“You already forgot about me!?” Darren asks. “I’m the newest member of your club!”.

“But we haven’t made the club yet…” Aeris says.

“Well… I’m the newest member” Darren says.

“That doesn’t make any sense…” Aeris says.

“He’s an old friend of mine” Wyatt says. “He’s a second year student at our school. His name is Darren Forray”.

“He seems like kind of a playboy…” Aeris says.

“Is that… supposed to be a compliment?” Darren asks.

“Take it however you want. I don’t really care” Aeris replies. “So, what is everyone else doing here?”.

“The rest of us were wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us” Jessica says.

“I guess I could use something to do with my spare time…” Aeris says. “Have you got any plans on what to do?”.

“I was just thinking about hanging out in the school grounds” Jessica says. “We could all relax in a common place, maybe scout for more members to join the club when we do make the club next month”.

“That sounds ridiculous” Jackson says.

“Sure” Aeris says. “That could be a good idea”.

“This was not a good idea” Jackson says as The Rejects all sit in the courtyard of the school in the cold.

“You’re being too pessimistic” Jessica says. “You’ve just got to look forward to meeting the right people while we’re out here!”.

“Well, if it isn’t The Rejects” Refus says as he approaches. There was a girl who looked to only be a year younger than most of The Rejects by Refus’s side. “What are you guys doing out here?”.

“Mr. Maloney?” Jessica asks, “who’s that with you?”.

“This?” Refus asks as he looks at the girl by his side. “This is Catherine McSurry. She’s a high school student that’s interested in attending this school next year and I’m acting as her guide”.

“Catherine McSurry?” Jessica asks. “Cat?”.

“Wait…” Catherine says, “Jessica!?”.

“You two know each other?” Refus asks. “I guess that helps move introductions out of the way”.

“I haven’t seen you in years!” Jessica says. “What happened!?”.

“M-my brother was in an accident and I went to see him in hospital!” Catherine says. “We had to move immediately so he could recover in a larger intensive care unit. I didn’t get the chance to tell you about what happened because of how sudden the moving process was and-“.

“I’m sorry!” Jessica interrupts and hugs Catherine. “I thought you just started ignoring me like all the others did in school! I didn’t know about your brother!”.

“Now it’s awkward…” Jackson says.

“Try being more positive, you asshat” Aeris says.

“Well, at least… they got to meet again?” Jackson says.

“Should I… give you guys a moment?” Refus asks.

“S-Sorry, Mr. Maloney” Catherine says.

“It’s alright, take your time” Refus says. “I’ll be waiting by the main doors”.

“Mhm” Catherine says as she nods her head. “Okay”.

“Where’d you have to move to?” Jessica asks.

“Genovyra” Catherine says. “It’s close to this city, but it was too far away from the high school to be able to visit. I got transferred to a new school and I’m graduating this year. I had no idea that you go to this school!”.

“Is your brother doing any better?” Jessica asks.

“Mhm” Catherine says. “For a while, it didn’t look like he’d ever get out of that wheelchair, but he’s able to walk and run perfectly fine now! He’s even on a sports team in high school! He’s one of the star players on the football team!”.

“That’s great!” Jessica says.

Jackson opens his mouth and takes a deep breath as if he were about to say something. However, Aeris interrupted him by pointing at him and saying “Don’t say it”. Jackson groans and then Aeris says “See? Wasn’t that easy? It’s probably better for you, if you practice the art of just not butting into conversations”.

“Right…” Jackson says.

“Anyways” Catherine says, “now if I come here after graduating, I’ll know at least one person here! I look forward to coming here next year!”.

“Good luck getting a dorm though” Jessica says. “Apparently there were too many female students who requested dorms this year, so there are no opening for dorms currently”.

“Actually” Aeris says, “a lot of students have already begun leaving the school. A lot of dorms should be open now. I’m even going to ask about getting my own dorm so I can move out of my parent’s place”.

“Oh, really?” Jessica asks. “That many student are leaving?”.

“Yeah, apparently so” Emily says. “Mostly first year students too. Turns out a lot of them just couldn’t stand having a laibah teacher after all”.

“A laibah teacher?” Catherine asks. “Laibah can be teachers now?”.

“Yeah” Aeris says, “although most schools refuse to accept them still”.

“I wonder what the laibah teacher is like…” Catherine says.

“You’ve already met him” Aeris says. “Mr. Maloney is that teacher”.

“What? But he’s so nice!” Catherine says.

“Is it a surprise that laibah can be nice?” Jackson asks.

“N-no, I mean…” Catherine says, “I’m surprised that so many students don’t like him. It’s hard to imagine that people could hate someone who is that nice to everybody”.

“You’re from a weird family too, aren’t you?” Emily asks. “Or are you a laibah?”.

“M-me?” Catherine asks. “W-why do you wanna know?”.

“Don’t worry” Jessica says. “Most of the people in this group are laibah, but we’re all still friends”.

“Are you a laibah?” Catherine asks as she looks at Jessica.

“Well, no… I’m human” Jessica says.

“Just tell us already” Jackson says. “It’s not like we’ll hate you for it”.

“… Can you tell me about yourselves first?” Catherine asks.

Jackson sighs and says “I’m a laibah. Aeris, Emma and Darren are also laibah. “Wyatt and Jessica are humans, and Emily is a human who was adopted by laibah parents. Good enough?”.

“P-promise you won’t think I’m weird?” Catherine asks.

“Why would- will you just freaking tell us already!?” Jackson asks. “If you’re worried about us being bothered by the unconventional, Emily is a human who was ADOPTED BY LAIBAH. On top of that, those two over there, Wyatt and Emma are dating even though one of them is laibah and the other is human. What more do you want?”.

“T-then it’s okay?” Catherine asks.

“Is WHAT okay?” Jackson asks.

“T-that I’m only half laibah…” Catherine says.

“Half laibah?” Emily asks. “You mean, one of your parents are laibah, and the other is human?”.

“Y-Yeah” Catherine says. “I-I knew it’d freak people out…”.

“So it IS possible for laibah and humans to have children!?” Emma asks with a new light in her eyes.

“That’s amazing!” Wyatt says. “I can’t believe it’s true!”.

“I-it’s true…” Catherine says.

“Emma and Wyatt are alarmingly happy about this…” Jackson says.

“Don’t worry” Jessica says as she hugs Catherine again, “we don’t think you’re weird. Your secret is safe with us”.

“R-really?” Catherine asks.

“No, seriously” Jackson says, “is no one else going to acknowledge how alarmingly excited Emma was about this?”.

“Shh” Aeris says to Jackson, “they’re talking about something important”.

Jackson sighs and says “Alright… whatever”.

“Looks like you and Wyatt won’t be the first to have half children!” Darren says as he pats Emma on the head.

Emma’s face grows red, and the suddenly burst of embarrassment caused her fox ears to pop out again. Emma puts her hands over her ears until she shifts back into her human form. “Why were her ears… purple?” Catherine asks.

“I KNOW, RIGHT!?” Darren asks. “So I’m not the only one who noticed that!”.

“It’s part of her bloodline” Aeris says. “She’s from The Amethyst tribe, so of course she’d have a little bit of purple fur. The old tribe used to have purple stripes, but seeing as how their bloodline is almost nonexistent at this point, most of those features are gone by now. I’m surprised you couldn’t tell from her eye color alone…”.

“What the hell is an Amethyst tribe?” Catherine asks.

“I dunno either” Darren says.

“Try picking up a book sometime…” Aeris says.