Chapter 1 #2
As I sprinted up the stairs, my best friends’ voices were audible in the distance.
I followed the direction of their voices and passed a pink-decorated door that most likely belonged to Ayden’s six-year-old sister, Cara.
A tuxedo kitty that must’ve only been a few months old was perched outside of Ayden’s room as I walked in.
Once again, I was amazed at the sights. The walls were a forest-green color with many birds in the shape of an ‘m’ painted over it, and a gigantic floor mirror in one corner of the room. A green acoustic guitar sat beautifully in another corner. I wasn’t aware that he played guitar.
The bed was king size, with a slightly curved headboard. There was a bedroom bench right in front of his bed and a huge window behind his bed, with the curtains open almost all the way.
Ayden exhaled in relief once he caught sight of me, pacing over to me. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Peps. I can’t stand to listen to his stupid ideas any longer.”
‘Peps’ was my nickname given by Ayden during the time I was getting bullied, hoping to make others forget my name. Or maybe it was for me to forget.
But Hero never called me that. To him, it meant letting the bullies win.
Hero was sitting on the bedroom bench, rolling his eyes. “It isn’t stupid. I know what I’m doing.”
I crossed my arms. “Are you two seriously arguing again?”
“Well, I am not going to agree with him when he’s acting crazy!” Ayden pointed at Hero with exaggerated hand gestures.
“What is this ‘stupid idea’ you’re talking about?”
“He said we have to test the truth serum once it’s completed,” Ayden responded. “Tell him that it’s a terrible idea.”
“He’s right, Ro,” I sighed. “Do you even know how risky that is?”
“Do either of you know how science experiments work?” Hero asked in an annoyed tone. “We will have to prove to the class that it works, anyway. How will we do that if we don’t test it out?”
“Then we’ll do something else,” Ayden said.
“No,” Hero growled, leaping to his feet. He paused, softening his gaze. “I just want to make my ancestors proud. Please.”
I peered over at Ayden who seemed to be rethinking his decision. “I’ll let Peps decide.”
“Don’t put all that pressure on her,” Hero said. “You know she’s very indecisive.” Hero was right. I had a fear of making decisions, afraid I would make the wrong choice.
“Are you okay with this, Peps?” Ayden rephrased. I hesitantly nodded. I didn’t want to make Hero upset; it wasn’t very often that I saw him being visibly happy.
Hero grinned from ear to ear. “Let’s start. Take out what you brought.”
Ayden patted the beakers that he had already placed down on the table. I took out the gloves and goggles from my backpack. Hero pulled out the bulkiest book I had ever seen in my life and started flipping through the pages.
“What are you doing?” I asked curiously.
“This is my ancestors’ potions and spells book,” he explained, then looked up at me, “or a grimoire, as you called it. There are instructions on how to make all kinds of potions and cast spells. This book has been passed down for generations on my dad’s side of the family.”
“So, we’ll have exact instructions on how to make a truth serum?” Ayden asked. “Didn’t you say that nobody has ever made it before?”
“There are some errors,” he said, still flipping through the pages. “It has some instructions, but none of my ancestors have successfully created a truth serum. I could be the first person in my family to succeed in making it.”
My eyes widened, becoming intrigued in his family history. “That’s a huge deal.”
“Found it!” he exclaimed, setting the book down next to the beakers. Ayden and I moved closer to see the page.
Ayden scanned the entire page. “What language is that?”
“Sivad.”
“Where is that from?”
“It’s a language that my ancestors created. My dad taught me before he…” He cleared his throat, not wanting to finish that sentence.
He rarely spoke of his father and never told us what happened to him. I couldn’t blame him—I never told them what happened with my parents, either.
“So, what does it say?” I asked, changing the subject.
He pulled the book closer to his chest as if we were able to read it. “Actually, do you mind if I do this by myself? You’ll still get the grade and all. I just want this accomplishment to be my own.”
Ayden scoffed. “Are you serious? This is a group project, not an individual project. You can’t just exclude us.”
Hero stared at the page in his book, avoiding eye contact. “You helped with the beakers.”
“These stupid beakers?” Ayden grabbed ahold of the beakers.
Hero glanced up. “Put them down.”
“Why should I?” He cocked an eyebrow, visibly annoyed. “We aren’t included.”
“Ayd, it’s alright,” I jumped in. “We should let him do this. If it were your family legacy, you’d want to do it yourself too, wouldn’t you?”
“Yet he wants us to risk our lives by testing the truth serum?” Ayden asked, exasperated. “Why should we, if we weren’t even included?”
“Fine.” Hero slammed the book back down on the table in front of him. “Just do exactly as I say and don’t mess up. This is very important to me.” He glared at both of us.
I nodded quickly, looking over at Ayden who was still holding the beakers in his arms tightly. I nudged him, and he placed the beakers back on the table reluctantly.
A couple of hours went by of trying to perfect the truth serum, and Ayden slowly got irritated. “I think that’s enough for one day,” he said, rising to his feet. I did the same. Hero would criticize us on everything we did, and it was tiring.
“Give me one more hour,” Hero said, at eye level with the beaker.
“No, this is my house,” Ayden scowled, pointing to the door, although Hero had not moved his eyes off the beaker. “Get out.”
Hero finally glanced up at Ayden, the two of them giving each other death stares. I stood in the gap between them, ensuring they wouldn’t break out into a fight. By the looks they were giving one another, it was definitely possible. It wouldn’t be the first time, either.
“Ro, come on, let’s go.” I snatched the goggles off his face and placed them in my backpack. Afterwards, I tried to help him put the book back into his, but he shoved my hand away.
“I can do it myself.” He carefully put the book in his backpack, then swung the strap over one shoulder and walked out without another word.