A Flash of Silver

I looked over to see the new girl - Mira Starr, I think her name was - get shoved into a locker. Great.

We've all been through the degrading initiation process James and his gang have so kindly taken it upon themselves to bestow. That doesn't make it right.

"Hey James!" I call out. "I heard your mom left when you were little, is that why you turned out so trash?"

He looks shocked, and for a split second I feel guilty. His mom's departure is a bit of a sore spot for him, as I know too well. But the feeling quickly fades when he scowls and spits on the poor girl's shoe.

"Whatever, Liz."

He storms off, and I feel a mild sense of accomplishment. I then walk over to Mira and pick up her books.

"Hey. Lizzy Torres. Hope James didn't make to much of a bad impression, we aren't all horrid."

She seems startled, perhaps by a human displaying something other than hostility. Who knows what her home life is like? Then she smiles and blushes at the same time.

"Miralee Starr. I, er... Mira."

"Nice to meet you, Mira." I hold out my hand for her to shake.

When the bus rolls up to my driveway, I can already hear shouting coming from the house. Great. I stalk towards the door, hoping that no one pays enough attention to me that they realize my parents are making the noise.

I walk through the door without bothering to alert my lovely parents of my presence. They would hear the door open if they weren't so self absorbed. I catch a few snippets of their conversation as I head to my room and lose myself in my music.

Ever since I've been little, music has been my escape. The rhythm and simplicity, it draws me in. I enjoy the pleasurable sounds I can make an instrument make, unlike the noise I hear so often. I'm terrible at most subjects, but music is the one thing I excel at.

My mind turns to the girl that I met earlier, Mira. It's not a huge secret that I like girls, but I don't think my family pays enough attention to me to know much about my life.

James and I used to date, before I came out by kissing Sarah Grindstone at the school dance. We had a huge fight about it, not that it was any of his business. For a while, whenever he saw Sarah and I together, he made a point to do something awful, but now he just mostly leaves me alone.

The arguing gets louder, and I here something smash. Mom and Dad have been fighting for as long as I can remember, but lately it's been getting worse. My sister ran off two years ago with a boy from her LIT class, and my dad had an affair. I sigh and flop down on my bed to take a nap.

My mostly peaceful rest shatters as my younger sister Beth runs into my room. My mom named us all Elizabeth, but we go by different nicknames. My older sister went by Elle, then there's me, Eliza and finally Beth.

"Lizzy, I can't find Elle Junior." Elle Junior was given to Beth after my sister left by the family therapist. It's become somewhat of a comfort blanket to her.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. Where did you last have her?" I ask. Stay calm, that's the trick to Beth.

"Hmm." She ponders and flounces down on my bed. "The living room!"

"Okay, let's check there."

Elle Junior is sitting on the coffee table, but that isn't what makes Beth stop suddenly. She runs to grab her teddy bear and then whispers, "Lizzy, why is Daddy sleeping on the couch?"

"Oh, ummm..." I struggle to come up with a believable lie. "Mommy's tired. He must not want to disturb her by snoring."

Her frown widens. "But it's Mommy who-"

I interrupt her quickly. "Oh, look at the time! You should be in bed." I boop her on the nose and hurry her along. "Teeth brushed?"

"Yup!" She climbs into bed and snuggles under the covers.

"Night," I whisper softly, and turn out the light.

I bite my lip, trying to remember the lyrics I'd worked out last night and open my locker at the same time. "Smashed pottery on the floor, I hurry siblings out the door. Don't look, don't watch, don't let them see. A broken family." I hum quietly to myself.

"Hi!" I whirl around, dropping my books on my feet in the process, to see that girl from yesterday, Mira Starr. "Ow!" I yelp.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" she says, and the remorse in her face is sincere. She bends down to help me pick up the papers from my math textbook. "Did I startle you?"

"Don't worry, I'm used to it," I laugh. "What do you have?"

"Maths with Mrs. Andrews," she replies, and I can see a dimple peeking out of her smile.

"Same," I reply. I straighten the edges of my leather jacket and bend down to retie my bootlace. "Want to walk with me?"

She nods, and I smile.

Mira is seated in front of me, so I use math as an excuse to memorize her face. She has long, straight black hair that glints silver when the sun shines on it and almond shaped brown eyes the precise color of melted chocolate or roasted walnuts. She raises her hand at every question and is always right. Mrs. Andrews had been waiting a long time to find someone with enough enthusiasm for math to match hers. Mira's face scrunches up in concentration when she's working on a difficult problem, and halfway through the lesson she stops to put her hair up in a bun. That's dedication.

The more I see Mira, the more I admire her and doubt myself. She is so confident. You wouldn't think it, but she's hiding brains under her pretty black hair. Before long, she gains a reputation as the smartest student in school. James stays out of her way.

I learn between walks to the mall after school and homework sessions in the park that she hopes to go to Berkley. She has pet rabbits, which I met at the park. They were a surprise, but a welcome one! She tells me they have babies all the time and I am welcome to them. I laugh and tell her not to tempt me. She plays the violin, which I am curious about. I can play piano, guitar and saxophone, but the more delicate instruments have always been a mystery to me. She draws out perfect notes and harmony from it's strings, traditional Chinese melodies and newer American songs. We talk about everything, but never her family, and never mine.

September fades into October, giving way to the gray skies and light frost of November. My mother leaves, taking Eliza and Beth with her. I stay with my dad to take care of him.

The thing is, I know my parents love each other. Love just bleeds to hate so quickly. My parents fought a lot, but there were the good times to. Sunshine breaking through the storm, small victories. Elle couldn't take it, though. She left in her senior year. Left a note and never looked back. I think that was what broke my dad. He started drinking more. So my mom grew more distant. She wouldn't help with it, so I did. I covered up for him to my younger siblings. Filled the empty bottles up with water. I don't know why he had an affair. Maybe it was because my mom was never around for him. But he loved Elle so much, and now he doesn't even know what city she sleeps in.

It's both easier and harder with my mom and younger siblings gone. On one hand, I no longer have to hide Dad's drunkenness. On the other, I am responsible for the cooking, the cleaning, the everything. If I forget, we don't eat. I don't have clean clothes. The floor is dirty. So I do it all without complaint, though it gets harder and harder to pretend everything is okay.

One day, Child Services shows up. They take Dad away. They contact my mother. My dad goes into rehab. I go to live with my mother. And Elle calls.

It is the spring of my long winter.

I feel safe now. I run to Mira's house. I knock on her door, and she opens it, and I kiss her. I run my hands through her hair. And though she kisses me back, it feels... wrong. Strange. She feels...

Her hair slide off, revealing smooth metal underneath. I look down, and realize she's barefoot, and her feet aren't human. They gleam silver in the weak morning light.

"I'm sorry," she chokes out. "I tried to tell you..."

Then she runs away into the tangles of the city.