Strange imaginations, Bridget Kathleen [best young adult book series TXT] 📗

to see again so that was good enough for me. "Here." he handed me another napkin and and ate a banana slice off my shoulder in the process, as for me, I tried to clean the goop out of my hair and clothes.
     "Ugh. It's everywhere." I said in defeat. "I can't go home like this."
     "Why?"
     "I don't want my parents to start asking questions. I also don't need them calling the school and storming in there. It would only make things worse."
Zalor scratched the back of his head and looked to both his sides. "I think you should tell your parents."
I shook my head quickly. "No. Trust me."
Zalor sighed and then said, "Ok. Come to my house. My mom will wash your clothes and that way you will finally be able to meet her." It was a good idea and I was willing to risk being late. All I knew was that the longer I stood in these sticky clothes the worse my mood got.

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Zalor lived way farther than I expected. In fact we ended up taking a bus to get back to his place. He paid my way of course, but I felt extremely silly sitting on that bus with a strawberry milk shake sticking to me. When we arrived to his home I wasn't exactly surprised to find out where he lived. It wasn't terrible, just small. A tiny apartment complex next to a small park where a few Jabos little kids were playing. They waved to the both of us. My only guess to this friendly jester was because they had not fully come to terms about the truth of all races. They were still young and innocent at heart, not caring who anyone was as long as you were nice. Zalor invited me into his home, the smell of cookies came rushing at me. "You first." he insisted. I walked inside half expecting to see something a little more run down. Now who was being the judgmental one? I felt ashamed of myself and booted those nasty thoughts out of my head. "I'm home, mom!" Zalor called behind me. He took my book bag and set it by the door and led me farther into his home.
His mom came round the corner and we nearly collided. "Oh dear!" she said. "Who is this, sweetie?" Zalor looked just like his mom. Her golden blonde hair was done up in a messy bun and her ears were round and cute. Her tail on the other hand was much bigger and more fluffy than Zalor's. I now knew who Zalor took after by his moms petite body type; she was still a little bigger than me, though. She then realized the messy state I was in. "Oh uh. My...you're a mess. What happened?"
    "Someone threw a milk shake at her after school as I was walking her home. What they said to her was worse though. This is Anya, mom."She smiled. "It is so nice to finally meet you. I didn't think it be this soon though. Still, I am glad. Come, this way. Let's get you cleaned up. By the way, my name is Rebecca." I followed Rebecca to the bath room where I saw a family sized bath tub. I hadn't seen one is years and very surprised to see one in this tiny apartment. I'll bring you some of my clothes while I wash yours. You just think about getting into that bath and clean yourself up." Rebecca was a very nice lady and the smell of those cookies were making me hungry again.

 

I sat in the huge tub with a bunch of bubbles surrounding me. I had washed my hair before getting in and just focused on relaxing for a few minutes, letting my body lather in all the nutrient salts I put in. I scooped up some of the bubbles with both hands and blew on them, watching them fly. I giggled, remembering that I had not done this since I was six. When it was time to get out I took up the long blue towel Rebecca left for me and dried myself off and rubbed at my ears a few times, making sure they were nice and dry; same with my tail. I put on the clothes Rebecca had left for me also. They were soft and very comfy, leaving me feel like I was wrapped in a cloud. As I stepped out I heard the two talking. I didn't want to spy on them so I made myself known right away, seeing a plate of cookies on the table with a table cloth over them. There was only one chair in the living room and a coffee table. Zalor and his mom knelt down at the table, waiting for me.
     "Are you hungry, dear?" Rebecca asked. "I'm making carrot soup. It's almost done. You are welcome to stay and eat with us and then you can enjoy some cookies with us later on too if you like."
I smiled a little, very pleased and happy to be invited and gladly took a spot at the table with Zalor on my left and his mom on my right. "Thank you very much. I would love to join you."
     "Wonderful!" Rebecca clasped her hands together and then stood up. "I'm sure the soup is done, so I will get just that. I'll be right back."
I looked to Zalor. "Your mom is very nice."
Zalor nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. She works too hard though. I'm surprised she's still up. She gets up at five every morning to catch the bus to get to work and she doesn't get off most days until five or six. I guess she finished her work early today."
     "Where does she work?" I asked.
     "Oh, various places. She cleans a lot. She used to cook, but that became too much of a hassle once we moved here. Now she just sticks to cleaning houses in the rich neighborhoods. It's the only place that pays well."
     "Is it good money?"
He nodded. "Yeah. We get by. Finding work in the cities outside this one is almost impossible." he sighed. "Life is better though, no matter the new struggles. We can take it." he smiled and just as he did Rebecca returned with our bowls of soup and a stick of celery on the side to dip it in.

 

This tiny and clean apartment left a homey feeling in my heart. I enjoyed it here not matter how little I had spent here in this quite little neighborhood. Despite the fact that I would be returning home late, Zalor had shown me once again many great things and had taken farther around the city than I have with my family or friends. He has opened my eyes to so many things, left me with questions I can't even begin to ask because I'm afraid I won't be able to stop once I start. I have lived such a simple and quaint life until he came into my life.
     "How is the soup, dear? You like it?" Rebecca asked.
Some of the soup slipped off my lower lip and back into the bowl when she asked. I licked up the remains of it and smiled. "Yes, its very good."
     "Zalor tells me you befriended him right away."
I bit my lower lip and reached for my celery. I nodded. "Yes, I did." I glanced over at Zalor. "He was sitting in my seat in the homeroom class. I asked him politely to move." I looked back to Rebecca. "We don't have assigned seats or anything, we just choose where we want to sit and usually stay there."
     "Zalor told me. Thank you for asking nicely. Others don't normally do that."
I dipped my celery in the soup and munched in it, chewing it carefully before I spoke again. "Its because of your race...isn't it?"
I saw Zalor reposition himself from the corner of my eye. He always did that or scratched his head when something or someone made him feel uncomfortable.
Rebecca only nodded once and took a spoon full of her soup before talking again. "We came here for a better life. Well...we found it." She smiled, but only for a moment.
I remembered then about the schools' festival and I spoke on it right away to lighten the mood. "Oh! I just remembered." They all looked up from their food and looked to me. "The school is having a festival for its fiftieth year of being open!"
     "When is it?" asked Zalor.
     "Next week. They always hold it during the second semester. Don't ask why, 'cause I have no idea. Just how they do things, I guess. But, would you like to go? I'll be going with my friend Grace, of course. She won't cause you any trouble, I'm sure. People look to have fun at these kinds of events. There won't be anybody there picking a fight."
Zalor thought about it for a moment and then looked to his mom. "Well, what do you think?" he said to her."I don't think its a bad idea. In fact, this will give you a chance to meet people on a good occasion. It just might be easier for you to make friends during this. I say go for it. You can always come home if something goes wrong."
Zalor looked to me, but only for a second and then said, "I'll go. Next week, right?" he went to finishing his soup.
I nodded, glad to be hearing this. "Uh huh. Next week on Friday. It starts at seven and ends at twelve-thirty."

 

Rebecca reached to turn on the radio sitting on a little book shelf. She messed with it some to get a station to come in and soon enough music started to play. "Oh, I love this song! Zalor, get up and dance with me." she got up even before she finished talking and started pulling on her sons arm. Zalor reluctantly got up with an embarrassed smile on his face and started to dance. I laughed, grabbing a cookie. I watched as Zalor lightly carried his mom around the room in a circular motion, humming to the music. Rebecca's face lite up like a bunch of tiny stars grouped together. She was happy in this moment and I saw for the first time what Zalor truly cared about: his mom and making her happy and always trying to make her life just a little bit easier even if it was just a simple dance. Suddenly Zalor hit the book shelf on their second time around and they stopped. The empty flower vase sitting beside the radio scooted to the edge. "Oh, careful, Zalor." cautioned Rebecca.
     "Ooops. Sorry." He made a silly smile and pushed the vase back in place with his tail. The song was coming to an end, though, and Rebecca went to turn it down. They both sat back down and grabbed a cookie and joined me in consuming the sweets. "What year are you, Anya?" Rebecca asked me.
     "A second year, Ma 'am."
     "Oh? So the same as Zalor. I should have guessed. And how old are you?"
     "Seventeen. I was born in May."
Rebecca giggled a little. "You're seven months older than Zalor."
I looked to Zalor. "Born in December huh? I hear being born during the winter brings good luck Especially during the first snow fall.
     "And during the new years." he added, grabbing another cookie.I looked to the clock resting on the wall and gasped. "Shoot! Its almost seven-thirty. I need to get home!" Rebecca checked the clock just to make sure and she started cleaning up the mess seeing how late it was getting.
     "Do you want me to take you home?" Zalor offered.I was about to say yes, but at the same time I thought about calling my parents, but what would they say and do when they'd find out where I was and who I was with?
I stumbled on my words. "I-I