dirty bloods. Tucker looked down thinking. A while later he said:
“You're probably right.” Kyle smiled victoriously. Shortly afterwards the doorbell rang. Funny, the lesson went pretty fast and seemed very short to me. The three of us went to the cafeteria, which wasn't that many at the time. Most of them were probably a little afraid because of the broken table, because of course this was not an everyday occurrence. We quickly got something to eat and I followed Kyle to a table in the corner of the room, where Liss and Cornelius were already waiting for us. They did what was already clear: they argued violently. You could tell that Liss had her powers in play, because you didn't hear a peep.
Before we could put our food on the table, Liss pushed Cornelius aside, who stumbled over the bench behind him and fell with a crash.He began to swear loudly, but Liss didn't care. She walked around the table, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out of the room. Her face was red with anger and very tense. I turned around and saw that Kyle and Tucker were trying to line up Cornelius, but he couldn't get up at any cost. Sara stood by and looked after us, shaking her head. A wall appeared in front of me, so I turned the corner. I looked again at Liss, who was dragging me to the girls' bathroom.
When she opened the door, a slightly damp smell crept up my nose. We were both alone. I felt a little awkward and stopped after the door closed. Liss let go of my hand, went to a sink and turned on the water, the sound of which filled the room. She let it run into her hands and splashed copiously on her face, whereupon she took a deep breath. Was she waiting for something? I looked behind her at what she seemed to be feeling. It was quiet for a while before Liss turned to me. Her eyeliner was smeared a bit, but you didn't really notice. She looked me in the eye, which made me regret slightly, even though I had no reason to. After another pause, Liss broke the silence:
“Did you see Ayumi after the incident?” I was a little confused, but shook my head anyway. Liss continued:
“What did she say to you?” You could hear a slight anger in her voice.
"Nothing." , I lied.
"Don't lie to me!" She shouted, which made me shiver. I didn't know Liss that upset until now. “I know she threatened me!” I tried again to remember what Ayumi said to me in the hallway. Better tell her to stop before something bad happens to her, she said. Liss was right, Ayumi had threatened her. But how did she know? “Cornelius told me.” She leaned against the sink and tried to get a grip on herself again. "He's now afraid that Ayumi might know who we are and spread it. All my friends hate me now." Tears crept into her eyes. I tried to hug her.
"That's not true. Nobody hates you." She slapped my hands away.
"Oh yes. Everyone except you, because you just don't realize how serious and dangerous our situation is now." I looked at her and saw what I had never seen in her. The actually strong, courageous and funny Liss had none of the mentioned qualities. She looked fragile and hurt. I just couldn't see her like that, but I couldn't go away either. I just wouldn't bring myself to leave her alone now.
The door to the girls' bathroom opened and Sara stepped in. She watched the whole scene and finally went to Liss. She hugged her and whispered something in her ear. Then she looked at me and made a nod towards the door, which meant that I should go.Without hesitation, I went out into the stuffy hallway with my head bowed. When the door closed I stopped and raised my head. Kyle and Cornelius stood in front of me. Cornelius broke the silence of the empty corridor:
“What's wrong with her?” I quickly answered the question:
“She thinks you hate her.” My voice, or rather little voice, sounded squeaky, which I hated.
“I hope it's not because of me.” Cornelius seemed genuinely worried, which I didn't really understand, because he and Liss hated each other more than anything.
"I would say we go now and leave them in there," suggested Kyle. He threw his arm around me and pulled me into the cafeteria, but I tore myself away. He didn't seem to understand the world anymore:
"So what's going on?"
"I'd rather go out."
“Should I come with you?” I managed a small smile.
“You don't need to.” I turned around and walked towards the exit. That I might hurt him again at that moment hurt me, but I just had to be alone. I opened the door as quickly as possible and felt the cold draft of fresh air on my face. It just felt great and I smiled. I quickly took a few steps to the meadow in front of the school and sat on it. It was quiet and I only heard the couple of cars passing by. I took a deep breath in and out. The air was freezing and it stung my throat easily. I thought about Liss again. It really hurt to see her so weak and fragile. I don't think that Cornelius told her that Ayumi threatened her was the only reason why she cried. I took my long chain in my left hand and squeezed it very hard. I didn't understand why I did this myself, but it distracted me a little.
"Takara?" I heard Tucker's voice. I turned around and saw that he was standing right behind me. A smile spread across his face, he took a step forward and sat to my right. “What are you doing here, so alone?” I shrugged.
"I think I needed some time for myself." He nodded with a stern look.
"Hmm understand. That Kyle left you alone is really a miracle. After all, he always wants to protect you." He shook his head, laughing. Protecting me made me feel uncomfortable, so I quickly changed the subject.
"What did you actually do?"
“I got an ice pack for Holmes.” He raised his right arm to show me the blue bag in his hand. "He hit his head pretty hard on the floor."
"He didn't look that bad," I countered and Tucker smiled.
"Holmes just tries to be a real man. It's a bit tough when you're two years younger than the others." I looked surprised, which he noticed immediately. “You can't tell by what?” I shook my head. On the contrary, one might think that Cornelius is much older because he is much taller and more muscular than his classmates.Tucker quickly changed the subject for no reason. "What about Liss? How is she?" I would have loved to avoid this topic, but I had no choice but to answer.
“She cried quite a bit.” Tucker looked serious.
"That with Holmes was definitely too much for her. She has quite a lot of problems in the family right now."
“Family problems?” Tucker looked at me. He was just as surprised as I was that Liss hadn't told me about it. He nervously kneaded the ice pack in his hands and finally decided to tell me.
"Your mother died."
"What? Died?" I whispered in disbelief.
"Or even murdered. She doesn't quite know yet. But a few from school saw it on TV. She was found dead in her hotel room by her manager after one of her performances." That was bad news, even though I was her mother didn't even know. No wonder Liss was so devastated. After all, she still loved her mother, even if she didn't see her often.
“We have to get to her quickly.” I got up quickly, but Tucker grabbed my hand.
"You can't do anything for her, believe me. I know Liss."
"But I'll try anyway. We can't just let her suffer like that." Tucker shook his head, but got up anyway and went with me into the school building. Right then the doorbell rang and people stormed out of the rooms. Kyle and Cornelius also met us. Tucker handed the ice pack to Cornelius, which he immediately placed on the back of his head with relief. I immediately inquired.
"Where's Liss?"
"She went home," said Kyle.
"Can't we visit her?" I asked him, looking at him pleadingly.
"Takara ..." he started.
"Kyle, please!"
“No!” I looked at him disappointed. "She needs rest, Takara. That you show up is what she will least need."
"Then tell me the address, I'll go there alone." I replied poisonously, which I hadn't expected from myself. Tucker giggled and Cornelius looked mockingly at Kyle. Of course, it quickly became uncomfortable, whereupon he took my arm and dragged me into the next lesson.
In the last hours of school of the day, I was no longer paying attention. Instead, I spent the time worrying about Liss, which wasn't healthy for either me or Kyle, because every time I was engrossed in my worries, he tried me out in every way he could to wake up my trance. But mostly it didn't help, which annoyed him very much. When we finally stood in the parking lot and waited for Ann, he gave up.
"Well then, I'll take you to Liss!", Came out of him very quickly and surprisingly for me. I looked at him happily and fell on his neck. "Please, please," he said in response to my thoughts. I quickly caught myself again."I'll take you there and then pick you up later, okay?" I nodded eagerly. Then Ann came along, laughing and watching the spectacle. She quickly opened the door and let us in.
"Please let Takara out of Liss," Kyle said to Ann. She didn't ask either and drove off. I looked out the window and saw houses I knew. At an intersection, she then turned left and drove in the direction of the city center. And looked closely at the houses and the streets, because I've never been here. The houses looked a bit older, but well-kept. They were three-story, one-family houses lined up one behind the other. There were a lot of parked cars and a lot of children were playing on the street, which made it very difficult for us to drive. Ann parked in front of a house that looked like any other. I opened the door and Kyle showed me which house she lived in with his hand. A little hesitantly, I climbed the stairs and rang the bell that read "MeRone" in large letters. I didn't know what to expect and wanted to run away. The door opened quickly. A tall man with short, black hair and a mustache stood across from me. He had the same charisma as Liss and smiled at me:
"Hello. And