A knock at the front door came unexpectedly. Kendall ran from the room, and down the hall. Oddily listened, but all she overheard was excited whispering. It wasn’t until Kendall returned that she knew the identity of their quest. Kip stepped into her bedroom after Kendall, and stood right in front of Oddily as the two girls found their place on either side of her bed. Kip was livid with anger and yet, he smiled down at her with his eyes only. Oddily found the smile to be more threatening than if he had scowled.
“Messed with any trucks recently?” His tone sounded satanic.
Oddily shook her head and became filled with terror when he pulled out a switchblade from his back pocket. She tried to scoot away, but it was too late.
* * * * * *
Later that night, Oddily sat on a chair in the living room, hiding herself under a large floppy hat while the Maple’s gasped and wheezed while they listened to Starla’s story. They were horrified that Oddily would do such a cruel thing to their precious child. Starla showed them a hand full of revised entries that Oddily re-posted, and they acted appalled when their daughter read some of them out loud. She failed to mention that what she read were replacements for her own mean and hateful ones.
Oddily peeked out from under the rim of her hat and gazed nervously at Starla’s parents. Mrs. Maple’s eyebrows were so knotted together they practically met above her nose. Whatever she thought couldn’t be good news.
“What are we going to do about this?” she whispered to her husband. “How can we keep Starla happy with this hateful girl living here? How could we have been so stupid to bring someone like this into our home? This little oddball is trying to give our child a tarnished reputation. The election is over with, and you won your spot on the city council, so we have no reason to keep her around.”
Oddily started to shake when she overheard the conversation. She was used as part of a campaign strategy! They wanted to impress potential supporters for their votes in an election. She tried to pull herself together while they continued to talk as if she weren’t in the room.
“I hate her, mom! If I have to see her ugly face one more time, I’m running away from home!”
Oddily drew in a breath so sharply Starla gave her a cold stare. “Stop breathing, you little creep!”
Oddily tried to hold her breath. She realized they were going to send her back into the foster care system. Although she didn’t want to go back, she could no longer stay. One way or another, it didn’t matter because she only had a handful of days left before her eighteenth birthday. That meant she had outgrown both this family and the foster system. What a horrifying realization, but so was staying there for even one more day.
Mr. Maple cleared his throat and announced, “We will send Oddily back tomorrow.”
“Excuse me,” Oddily jumped to her feet.
“You’re such an ugly toad!”
Oddily didn’t miss Starla’s last insult before she ran from the room. She reached her bedroom, and stood near the window for the longest time uncontrollably shaking. She needed to take her life into her own hands, but how? Where would she go? How would she eat and where would she sleep? She had no other options. She would have to fumble through and hope for the best. The moon looked at her through the curtains, but she found the remote, cold light in the sky to be of no comfort.
Oddily rushed to the closet, slipped on her sweater and boots, and removed her clothes from the hangers. She folded them neatly into her backpack, positioning the broken glasses between two of her dresses. She placed her toiletries into a side flap, and then tucked Teddy, her well loved pink bear, under her arm. The stuffed animal was the only thing found with her at the site of the accident where she was first discovered so many years ago. She looked around, and nothing that remained in the room belonged to her. After one final glance, she grabbed her backpack and snuck out the back door into the night.
After gulping down her fear, Oddily set her face towards Forest Ridge High. School was the only sensible place to go, so she headed for the campus, fighting her fear gallantly. The moon lit up the road, but the moonlight allowed her to see things, and nothing looked familiar. Once, when she was out at night with Starla’s mom, she thought she had never seen anything as pretty as a moonlit road crossed by tree shadows. Now, Oddily felt frightened by the dark, sharp angles of the trees. They were no longer friendly, appearing to be watching her. Even the meadows had put on a cloak of strangeness.
Just then, two eyes blazed out at her from the ditch up ahead, and an animal of unimaginable size ran across the road. What was that? Oddily couldn’t let herself think about animals or the strange sounds and nameless other things prowling in the woods. She kept her attention on the cold of the night, shivering in her thin dress and sweater, and wondered what life would be like not to be afraid of anything.
At one point, she tripped and fell on a stone, skinning her already wounded knee from a previous accident she couldn’t remember. In another moment, a truck came along, so she hid behind a tree until it passed believing Kip was on the prowl for her.
Oddily moved on after the car passed, then stopped in sheer terror of something dark and furry looming at the side of the road. She couldn’t pass it! She didn’t want to, but she did. Was the creature a large black dog, or was it something else? Either way, she dared not run in case it chased her. She felt moist with sweat while she stole a desperate glance over her shoulder and was relieved to see it move away in the opposite direction.
A star fell in the sky, but she didn’t make a wish this time. She had become too overwhelmed with worries, fretting that her legs would give out before she reached the school. Thankfully, the idea of being stranded in this nightmare forced her to continue. She became so cold she almost ceased to be afraid. Would she never get there? She figured hours and hours had gone by since she had left the house. In truth, only forty-five long minutes had passed when she spotted the school campus, and sobbed in relief.
CHAPTER 17
For five days, Maxim refused to let himself think of Oddily. He spent Saturday evening with his sister, Nexa. He reserved Sunday for tightening up security around the estate grounds. Monday, he hung out in the control room all day experimenting with Artificial Intelligence. He set Tuesday aside to revise and update several virtual holographic projections. Wednesday he drove to town and picked up repair parts for his miniature robot, Waffle. Today, he stayed on the grounds and did nothing at all.
Maxim found it impossible to ignore the connection he felt with Oddily. The harder he tried to forget, the more keenly and insistently he remembered. The mystery of the girl’s pathetic life both haunted and intrigued him.
In truth, the problem could have been easily solved by going to the school and asking around about her. Then he would have the assurance that her behavior was back to normal after their short-lived adventure. Despite this, he wouldn’t allow himself the luxury. It would be impossible to question anyone without having his inquiry overflow into a stream of gossip. He had to find another way.
“Nero, when are you coming home?” he threw his head back and shouted to his father as if he could hear him.
What’s wrong with you, Maxim? His sister’s voice echoed in his mind.
I need to talk with someone from my own gender.
Then go and speak with father’s Avatar!
Maxim frowned. Having a virtual father to consult with wasn’t the same as his real one, and his sister didn’t seem to need either one for advice. Nexa was headstrong, acquiring more of Nero’s advanced DNA than he did, and he marveled at her strong constitution. He, however, showed more primitive emotions like their mom, except the feelings going through him at the moment were relatively unfamiliar, and he became uneasy.
Leave me alone, sis, I’ll be fine.
I can tell you’re troubled, so allow me to help you.
No thanks! I’d rather go to the Avatar.
Taking off towards the virtual reality chamber, Maxim thought of Nero—his ‘Time Traveling?
?? father. He had come from the future, his advanced evolution being where all mankind was eventually headed. While the extraordinary man visited this timeline to collect data for his research, he became enamored by a young woman. She was a delicate, pale, blue eyed blonde, and he fell in love with her.
In the future, where Nero’s from, blonde hair and blue eyes became obsolete due to inner breeding between different races. Over time, all eyes evolved into various shades of brown, and hair on the human body became nonexistent.
Nero referred to his beloved mate as a primitive female from the ancient world and impregnated her. As a result, he and his sister’s births were not without hardship. Complications occurred during the delivery and their mother, despite all the advanced technology their father had to offer, couldn’t save her.
Because of their parent’s unlikely union, he and his twin sister came into this world already genetically advanced with the gift of a sixth sense making them outcasts to the world around them. Nero took on the responsibility to home school them with his own ideas of a school curriculum. His attention during this learning process kept them so busy they barely questioned the lack of motherly love.
Growing up, Nero kept his children isolated from the towns prying eyes, so they could spend their lives in relative peace. Their father feared for their safety, as well. If the world’s top scientists knew of their existence, they would undoubtedly be captured and reduced to mere lab rats in an attempt to discover their true nature.
Angry, Maxim tramped through the woods. He and his sister had just turned fourteen when Nero reluctantly declared he was leaving to check on some ‘Top Secret Project.’ He had left his stunned children to fend for themselves, promising to return as soon as possible. It had been five long years since that day and he still hadn’t returned. During his father’s absence, Maxim wanted to rebel—to throw caution to the wind. Now nineteen, he had become a young man, not the fourteen year old kid his father left behind.
Maxim abruptly changed course, bypassing the virtual chamber. “Damn you, father!” He shouted at the treetops. “I’m taking matters into my own hands!”
* * * * * *
Friday morning, Maxim sat in his car alongside the parking lot where Oddily attended school. He wanted a glimpse of her just to appease his mind, and the keenness of his disappointment surprised him when she didn’t show. What nonsense to be so worked up over a girl he had been with for such a brief time? After the students had gone, he decided to check the road to see whether she was a straggler late for class. With no sign of Oddily, he headed for her house. The driveway was empty, so he went to the side of the quiet house and peered into her window. Oddily’s bedroom was vacant.
“What’s going on here?” Maxim’s brilliant mind wouldn’t work for him. Then a sick sensation washed over him. He wondered if her delicate, fanciful mind continued to be unable to grasp reality from the game, and if so, had they sent her back to the orphanage?
After returning to the road, Maxim felt foolish for letting his imagination run away with him. He drove home and plunged into replacing malfunctioning parts in the leg of Tinley. Tinley was the humanoid who found the unconscious Oddily when she had fallen on his property and carried her back to the Stafford Manor garage—one of his many workrooms.
It wasn’t until lunchtime that Maxim could no longer stand the suspense of not knowing what happened to her. He went back to the school campus and waited in the bushes near the window of the gymnasium where Oddily had gym class. He peered inside, and when she wasn’t in class he resigned himself to do the one thing he didn’t want to do, and that was to go ahead and inquire about her. He remembered the blue Mini Cooper that belonged to Oddily’s foster sister and grudgingly decided to wait by the girl’s car until school was over.
Maxim started to sprint across the campus when he spotted a troubled looking school custodian walking away from the cafeteria with a mound of food on his tray, and Maxim caught up with him. The kindly janitor stopped, recognizing the tall sweatshirt clad kid who had helped Oddily out of the dumpster.
“My name is Maxim. Do you remember me?” He asked with a tense smile.
“Yep, I recognize the sweatshirt. I’m Jack. What can I do for yah?”
“I’m searching for someone, and I need your help.”
“Who are yah lookin’ for?”
“Her name is Oddily. Do you remember the small girl with medium length, golden, red hair and a crooked smile?”
“I know who yah mean.” His lined face became serious. “What do yah want with her?”
Unprepared for the old man’s questions, Maxim, uneasy said, “She’s a friend of mind. Have you seen her around?”
“Nope, sorry I can’t help yah.” When Jack started to walk away, Maxim begged, “Please, sir—I’m worried about her!”
Jack stopped and turned to stare into his pleading eyes. At that moment, Maxim didn’t care whether the old man got a decent look at him or not.
“Well, I’ll be. Yah care about her, don’t yah?!” his eyes sparkled with renewed hope. “Nice to know there’s decent folk around here. Are yah from around this neck of the woods, boy?”
Maxim casually replied, “I live in a rural part of town.” He hoped the custodian would accept his response, and fortunately, he did. If only the old man knew the truth about him—he would be shocked. The discovery would, in due course, have him and his sister poked and prodded for the purpose of scientific discovery; but, at the same time, unleashing family secrets.
The janitor hurried over to him and in a hushed voice whispered, “Yah say you’re a friend?”
“Yes. Do you have any idea where I can find her?”
Jack nodded his head in the direction of the custodian’s office.
“She’s in there?” Maxim’s heart raced and he excused himself from the old man.
“Wait a minute, there’s somethin’ yah gotta know before yah find her.”
Maxim stopped and listened.
“Gol’ durn, this burns me up! Bunch of hoodlums…” the old man trailed off in a grumble.
“What are you talking about?” Maxim’s eyes darkened.
“Some spiteful kids scalped Oddily, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout!”
“What do you mean, they scalped her?”
“They cut off her hair!”
“She’s bald?!” his voiced became louder, but the janitor hushed him.
“Darn near it—poor thing. She’d been mindin’ her own business when those…”
Not waiting for Jack to finish, Maxim ran for the office.
“Yah might as well take this tray of food with yah," Jack called after him. “She has a mighty appetite, that one. Don’t reckon I know how she packs it away with her pint sized innards.”
With no ears to hear, Maxim opened the door to where Oddily hid. When he entered, Oddily was in the office wearing a large floppy hat. He stood motionless, watching her straightening up the janitor’s equipment and she didn’t look up until he cleared his throat.
Oddily gasped, “Maxim!” In her excitement, she ran into his arms and gave him a hug; but then reality set in, and she became deeply embarrassed. For a brief moment, she had thought of him as her Prince from the virtual game coming back for her. How stupid and idiotic he must consider her to be! And, this poor guy who helped her out of the dumpster had to endure a hug from her.
“I’m so sorry,” she backed away with her head lowered in shame. “I thought you were someone else.”
Maxim wanted to take her hat off right then and there, to find out what the janitor meant, but hesitated. “You may hug me any time.”
When she said nothing in response, Maxim took his finger and placed it under Oddily’s chin lifting her face up to his. The rim of her hat was so floppy all he saw was the bottom of her nose and mouth. He removed her hat, and was saddened by what he saw. Her hair had been chopped into several different lengths. In some places, no more than one inch long and in others, three or four inches at the most.<
br />
However, her hair wasn’t what shocked him. It was her heart shaped face with peaches and cream complexion, her unusual hazel eyes full of such depth and sorrow, her imperfect nose with a handful of freckles across its bridge and of course, those pouting lips he had already discovered. She wasn’t aesthetically beautiful, but rather appeared as a cute, misplaced pixie.
Tears filled Oddily’s eyes, and Maxim couldn’t help himself. He reached for her and drew her to him for another hug. His heart tightened in his chest when she returned his embrace, holding on to him as if she never wanted to let him go. It was both strange and pleasant to have her arms wrapped around him. Even her scent appealed to his senses. In that moment, he realized that somehow this unlikely girl had touched him.
“I want you to come with me,” he took hold of her arms and gently pried her away from him.
Oddily released him and looked up, surprised or suspicious—maybe both. “Please don’t make fun of me,” she whispered.
“Make fun of you?” he uttered. “Never, unless having your hair professionally reshaped would be considered cruel.” Maxim gently placed Oddily’s hat back on her head, and the rim came down over her eyes.
Oddily pushed it up a bit to see again. “Why would you do that for me?”
“You’re in hiding, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am!” She made a silly face. “I would hate to have anyone see me like this.”
“Then let me help you.”
“What if Mr. Jack thinks I left, and I’m locked out of his office?”
“Jack knows you’re with me,” he said, taking her by the hand and guiding her out the door. Oddily quickened her steps to keep up with his long strides, and glanced up at his tall frame feeling smaller than usual. She became preoccupied with the warm touch of his palm against hers. She noticed the sleeve of his sweatshirt pushed up to his elbow, and stared at the smoothness of his skin. He had no hair on his arm.
The campus was fairly empty when they reached his car, a luxurious black BMW convertible with plush tan interior. For a moment, Oddily recalled the car Maxim drove in the virtual reality world. He also had a BMW, except in a different style and color. This was another confirmation that she was no longer in the game.