Talent Hall

“You’re out of your mind if you think this will work,” Evie says with her husband behind her, massaging her shoulders.

When she’s in trying to relax is the best time to bother her with crazy questions or weird requests. Weird in her mind. I know how much they want a child and I know this isn’t an easy thing to ask of them, but I don’t want Grace to go to a prison cell for something she’s forced to do. I guess I was hoping they could help. I don’t even know the husband, but I assumed he would be of help since he loves Evie and wants a child too. Not just Evie. Well, two days obviously wasn’t enough time to ask…

“I know this is a weird and huge favor, but… you could probably adopt Grace. Isn’t this what you wanted?” I… should probably shut up now before they slap me or something.

“Danny, I get that you want us to be happy as well as Grace. It’s sweet, and we all appreciate it. If we could, we would adopt all of those kids, but they’re in prison for a reason. You saw Grace’s brother. He’s in too deep. There’s no way we’ll ever be able to adopt him as well. If we adopt her, she wouldn’t have her brother. Didn’t you say they shouldn’t have to separate?”

“Yes, but for now, it’s best for Grace. I want to go back and try to talk to him and all the kids in prison. But for now, I need Grace to be where I know she’s safe and I know she’ll be safe here. If I have to, I’ll look after her.”

“Look,” Logan says. “I’m sure your intentions are pure, but do you honestly believe you’re going to change the rioting kids with words in five days.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to change them. I’m hoping to kind of calm them down and make them see that they were lied to about me. If anything, I want to change how they see us, not who they are.”

Eviesighs. “Blake, would you like to say something about this? Anything?”

I turn around and look at Lisa and Blake, hopeful they’ll be on my side. They look down and then look back up. Lisa looks at me, worry filling her eyes. “Like Logan said, your intentions are pure and amazing, but this is… It sounds like you’re living a fantasy life. This is the real world, Danny. You have to understand what we’re dealing with,” Blake says.

“I know this sounds crazy,” I say. “All I want at this point is for you to look after her until I get home to do it. That’s it. I will take care of the rest, Evie. Please.”

Logan kisses Evie’s forehead and whispers to her. I can’t make out what they’re saying exactly, but it does have something to do with Grace and I. I can’t help but smile and hope for the best. Evie sighs and nods her head.

“We’ll do it.”

“Thank you,” I say.

“I do have something to add though,” Lisa says, clearing her throat. “If this distracts you from your lessons and dance practice routines, you’re done. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Blake wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her cheek. The front door opens and then Kayiah runs right into me, knocking me down. Evie stands back and snickers. I groan and sit up. Kayiah tries to help, but I grab her hand and smile. She looks down as she helps me to stand. Me telling her I’m capable of standing on my own doesn’t go so well. Evie walks away with Logan, Blake, and Lisa following her. Probably going for another cup of coffee. I look at my schedule with Kayiah over my shoulder. She leans against me and sighs.

“I was thinking we could sit by the lake. Sometimes I like to watch water flow. It’s kind of my happy place. Makes me feel happy. Helps me connect with my inner self and nature. Kind of sad to go alone though.” She leans her head against the wall, her eyes gleaming.

In the winter? “I don’t know if you noticed. A lot of people don’t,” I say with light sarcasm. “But it’s a little cold outside. The lake might be slightly frozen, if you know what I mean.”

“It snowed two days ago.”

“Right… Forty eight hours ago.”

“Fifty,” she says. “And London is having a heat wave.” She opens the curtains. The sun is shining bright. Right in my eyes. I have to shield them. To prove a point and convince me to go sit by an ice cold and possibly still frozen lake, she blinds me.

“You know this how?”

“I was outside all morning with Aiken. It’s lovely. The snow is melting.”

“It’ll snow again,” I say.

She pouts. “Come on. Please?”

“He’ll go!” Blake shouts from the kitchen. I guess it was answered for me.

I’m blushing. Not in front of Kayiah. Come on. Well, either she notices or she’s giggling at Blake’s kind response for me. I clear my throat and straighten my shoulder.

“What he said.”

The lake is clear and calm. I can see why Kayiah feels at home when she thinks of the lake and the ocean. Plus, she grew up around lakes and oceans before Aiken saved her life. Being around water just gives her life and energy. Kayiah splashes the water and smiles at the water. See what I mean? “Isn’t it beautiful? It just has a way of calming nerves. You know?”

“It does. It’s relaxing,” I say.

It really is. In eighth grade, my teacher brought in some seashells and one of those wooden things that drip water and create a relaxing sounds. Perfect for taking tests, and that’s exactly what we were doing. It was actually a post test at the end of eighth grade, which was stressful, so we thought it was thoughtful of our teacher to bring it. Especially since I panic under large tests and so did half of the class. And there was no way for us to make it up, so she had us all relax. Take deep breaths. Listen to music, seashells, and the water thing. Because of her kindness, I passed with a B plus. Wasn’t the grade I had hoped for, but it’s definitely better than an F.

“I know the feeling,” I say. “So what do you do really do while we’re in London? Are you still working side by side with Aiken?”

“Well, he’s hosting this year. Occasionally, I’ll help him learn his lines.” she sighs. “I don’t expect you to understand completely, but our relationship isn’t always strict boss and obedient secretary. We talk over morning coffee and breakfast. But to answer your question, I’m bored all day because there’s no schedule here.”

I nod. “I’m trying to understand, really, but it’s different.”

“It is. I’ll admit that.”

I notice our hands are touching. She looks down and smiles. It’s like electricity flows through my veins. My heart is relaxed, but excited at the same time. She smiles and uses her other hand to play with the water falling. She’s playing with the water. I lean against the ladder and watch her giggle at the clear water she’s attempting to hold in her hands.

“Have you ever been swimming in a lake?”

“Not recently, Kayiah,” I answer with a smile and then catch on. She wouldn’t! “Kayiah… It’s too cold”

She laughs. “Not really. I was planning to swim now. I was just asking. Whenever I ask, people usually say it’s gross.”

“I love swimming in lakes. Better than public pools.”

“Same. More room. You can dive and if you’re with your weird friends or alone, you can pretend to be a mermaid without being judged.”

I chuckle. “Wow.”

Kayiah tries to stand up, but her shoes squeak, and the air is filled with a water splashing sound. I rush to the end of the docks and see Kayiah splashing around and then sinking. My heart racing, I take my jacket off and start to dive in. I’m about to when Jack is chuckling from a few feet away. I glare at him. If looks could kill, he’d be drowning instead of Kayiah.

“You’re going to risk your life for a girl?” he laughs. I growl and then dive in. I can hear from shouting, “You can’t blame me because she’s a klutz, Daniel!”

Not caring about Jack or what his intentions were or are, I search frantically for Kayiah. As soon as my body hits the water, my body temperature drops twentydegrees.

I find Kayiah reaching the rocky bottom of the lake slowly.I realize her a few things: Her eyes are closed and she’s not moving, and a giant metal box shaped figure is sitting in the water where she fell. Perfect.

I kick my feet faster until I reach her arm. I pull her up higher and wrap my arm around her waist. As I hold her tightly and comfortable, a school of tiny minnow fish swim by her face, not afraid of seeing two humans who hunt their kind.

Panicking, I begin kicking and using my other arm to swim up to the surface. If you don’t swim very well or you’re afraid, it’s easier to sink. Kayiah was probably afraid when she fell, so she started sinking instead of floating. Sometimes the pressure of the water can lighten or push you down, but it doesn’t seem to be heavy right now. Maybe just her fear and clogged mind.

Once I reach air, I take a deep breath, hold on to the docks and hoist an unconscious Kayiah to safety onto the docks and then, hoist myself up there so I can help her. I lean over her and check for breathing, but she’s not. My heart pounding in my chest, sending pain waves to my brain, I press against the top of her rib cage, hoping to squeeze the water out of her lungs. Her mouth was open so there’s no doubt she swallowed a ton of water. I haven’t taken CPR in four years. They taught us in fifth grade, but I don’t remember much.

This isn’t happening.

Since she isn’t waking up for coughing, I push my lips against her and start to blow air in her mouth. Her stomach makes a noise before her body forces upwards to cough up the water that’s in her lungs. I pat her back softly but hard enough to help her get the water of her airway. She gasps and coughs one last then. Holding onto me and breathing heavily, she softly weeps. I wrap my arm around her and kiss her forehead.

“You’re okay,” I whisper.

Her grip her arm has around my torso is tight. Of course she’s afraid. She nearly died from drowning. Oh… What’s Aiken going to say?

“You are so soft,” Jack says from behind us. I totally forgot he was here.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. “And why did you-”

“I didn’t do anything. She slipped.” I growl under my breath, biting my tongue to cut off more screams and the unfriendly words that fog my mind. “Aw, I guess I’ll tell you. One of my loyal servants said they saw you. Thought I’d come say hello. I’ll admit, I was going to push her when I saw how close you both were, but I saw her slip and I knew instantly that me pushing her wasn’t needed. Not when she’s clumsy enough on her own.”

“Joke’s on you. I’ll never let you hurt anyone I care about. Is there a reason ruining my life so important to you?”

He bends down to my level, and that alone makes me nervous. “I’m not ruining your life. I’m helping you with your feelings.” I roll my eyes. “See, when you fall in love, it clouds your judgment. Ruins perfect and reasonable thinking. And usually, the one you love is the one that kills you. I don’t want you to have to go through that. I speak from experience. I knew you would jump in to save her and would be crushed if she died from drowning. It would teach you a painfulbut needed lesson about the heart.”

“You are something else.”

I start to stand up, Kayiah in my arms. I carry her bridal style, but not before shoving Dad towards the water. All he does is smirk and watch me leave. Kayiah watches him as we walk away from the docks, the lake, and the evil man who was supposed to love me. Kayiah shivers. I take that as a hint, saying she’s cold and wrap her jacket around her. Of course she is! I’m freezing too. I can’t believe I let Blake talk me into coming out here with her, but it’s better than her going alone. Had I not been here, Jack could have drowned her himself and that could kill me.

She smiles. “Thank you.”

I nod and continue walking. She turns on my phone and gasps about the time. “I don’t care about the time. I need to take you home first.”

“I can walk, Danny.”

“Are you sure? You ju-”

“Yes. You don’t have to carry me. Let me walk.” She hops out of my arms and I wrap my arm around her and keep walking down the path that leads out of the forest. She leans against my shoulder and hands me my phone back. “Thank you… For saving my life.”

I peck her temple.My lips form a smile, but deep down, I’m afraid of losing her. Even if we aren’t official, I’ll still protect her from anything dangerous. Like drowning. Didn’t I do such a good job at doing that?

I’m kind of mad at myself for not blowing the dust in the in face like I should have.

Slowly, we reach the end of the forest with the opening we entered through and take a right turn. The bank right next to the gas station. As we’re walking, we receive multiple stares from from parents, but no one says anything. Kayiah groans about her head. That’s when I decide to stop and check her head. Her head has a little blood around a small bump.

“You hit your head on a metal box thing in the water. Do you remember falling?” She shakes her head.

“No, but obviously I did otherwise you wouldn’t have jumped in to save me.”

“We should probably go to the hospital first. If you don’t remember and your head hurts, well, those are signs of a concussion. Trust me. I’ve had far to many. I have experience.”

“You’ve had a concussion before?”

“I’m not… coordinated. Falling down several stairs is my specialty. Makes me wonder why I received a nomination for dancing if I can’t walk on flat surfaces.”

“You can’t be too uncoordinated if you jumped in the lake, saved me and didn’t slip or hit you head. Had I not fallen, you wouldn’t have had to jump and get wet.”

“You almost died and you’re worried about me getting wet?” I ask in disbelief.

She doesn’t answer.

The hospital is packed when we get there. Filled with kids with blood gushing out of their bodies, broken bones and some elderly ladies who fell down the stairs and have a broken hip or something. One of the first people we see is Aiken talking to a nurse. The minute he spots us, his eyes widen with worry as he rushes over to us. Kayiah hugs me and sighs deeply. He holds and her and glares at me, demanding an explanation. I clear my throat.

“We were on the docks by the lake and she slipped, hit her head and was unconscious for a few minutes. She might need to see a doctor about her head. She said she doesn’t remember and her head hurts. Those are two key signs of a concussion…” I sigh.

He nods his head and squints his eyes. “And are you leaving anything else out?”

“The Elimination were planning to push her, but she slipped on water on the docks instead. That’s all.”

“Did you know there they there?”

“If I knew, we wouldn’t have gone at all.”

Kayiah sniffles. “It was my idea, Aiken. I asked him to go. It was a stupid idea. I wanted to conn-”

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” He caresses her head. “I’m just glad you’re alive. What time do you need to be back, Daniel?”

“Eleven. I’m about to leave.”

It’s at least ten after eleven. I’m so late. Evie and Lisa might not be so happy, but Kayiah needs to see a doctor. Since Aiken’s here and knows what happened, I’m sure he’ll make sure Kayiah gets checked out, and I can come back to check in on her later.

“It’s eleven thirteen… I’ll write your mentor a note. What’s her name?”

“Evie Baker, Mansion of Dancers.”

He asks a woman by the vending machine to sit with Kayiah and writes on a small slip of paper. His message and signature, giving me and Evie an excuse to not have the tardy talk. If you’re late to practice or school too much, she’ll sit down with you and talk to you. If that doesn’t go so well, then she’s required to involve the parents.

“Were you hurt at all? Do you need to see a doctor before you go back to Evie’s mansion? I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“I wasn’t touched.”

“Thank you. Can I make it up to you?” Aiken asks as he hands me the slip.

“Just make sure she’s okay.”