Ivory Chronicles

Act I - Catalyst Revolt Part 2

BEYOND ORDINARY

        As we headed to Ivory's house, we found ourselves in the town of Pueblo Jaguabico. Despite its size and popularity as a tourist destination, it was also one of the poorest areas on the island. Many of the local's homes were in poor condition, with poor infrastructure and little support from the government. The town was known for its well-connected highways, with the main one, Highway Rose, the island's Great Artery, leading from the cruise port to the airport and connecting to other roads that crisscrossed the island.

Leaving the main express, we enter a street with a sign that says Barrio Mezcla. The house was located in a quiet, secluded alley, that looked like a small street surrounded by poor homes and a distinct lack of activity.

As I entered, I was quickly greeted by Hailey, a quirky, 5-foot girl, a singer of a locally famous band. Which meant, her co-vocal and guitarist Braden was here. Calling Braden a dick, it's an insult to them. He always looks at others as if he's superior to them and ignores anybody who is not in his circle, I speak from experience. Braden, it's his stage name, like Hailey's. But he was the one who convinced her to change it to a Columbus one so they could attract more people from outside the island.

"Hey! Justin, right? I'm Briseida. Or you can call me Hailey, like everybody else does." The way she said it, it was obvious she didn't like her Columbus name.

"Nice to meet you, Briseida." Calling people by their real names, makes them trust each other more. Or so that's what I'm trying to do here.

She smiled when she heard me call her name. "Sit down here." She led me to a couch in the middle of the living room. As I sat down, I looked around to see the house. A spacious living room, with a comfortable sofa and one armchair next to it. Walls painted on a warm neutral color and adorned with portraits of old photos of the people of Vanity. The floors of the entrance of the house were made of polished hardwood and the rest of it was made of cheap ceramic tiles but with a large rug in the middle of the room. From the living room, you could see the small kitchen with a gas stove and a refrigerator. There is a sliding door that leads to the backyard. I would never have guessed that Ivory lives as humble as most in this forsaken island.

Charles was nowhere to be seen but Alexander was at the end of the sofa on his cellphone, while Braden was tuning his guitar on the armchair. "Want something to drink?!" yelled Ryan while he was heading to the kitchen.

"Water is fine." I replied.

"Water is not fine. I'll bring you a beer, we're still keeping the party going!" He got two local beers out and gave me both of them. I looked at him confused. "You chug the first one and the second one you slowly drink it. That way, you get a quicker buzz, it stays longer, and you puke much later on. Enjoy it, fucker, you're going to need it." He winked at me while going back to grab two beers for himself. The wink worried me a little. I'm still unsure about all of this and I feel kind of out of place here.

As soon as Ivory walked in from the hallway, she greeted me and quickly introduced me to the others, even though I already knew most of them, I'm sure they don't know who I am. "Yeah, we all know Justin. Ryan never stops talking about him." A voice came from the screen door, and a tall light brown skin girl came in. She had a ponytail and her brown eyes looked tired and were small, compared to her body. I don't think I know who she is.

Ivory laughed a little and said, "Justin, this is Jennifer. She is the highest honor student in the local university." Of course, she has to be someone awesome too. "She's a little quiet but very honest, as you can see."

Ryan put his hand around me as he exclaimed, "Hey! I don't mind it. He's my bro, I'll talk all night about this fucker if you let me."

"Yeah, I knew you threw a bone to the other side now and then." Jennifer replied.