Diversions || on hold

chapter eight

I brush away my confusion as the next girl approaches me. She is quite short, her eyes at the same level as my shoulder, and her chestnut-brown hair is twisted into a single braid that is draped over her shoulder. Her blue eyes twinkle as she smiles up at me.

"Welcome to the Diversions, Cammile!" she says cheerfully. She sounds excited, but not as hyper as Essie. "My name is Mellifluous Dagne, but everyone here calls me Mellie."

When she notices the face I make at the sound of her name, she sighs. "My parents were very...creative," she says, and I sense a tinge of sadness in her tone. "But apparently they didn't have enough inspiration when it came to my brother."

As she says this, someone behind her shouts, "Its not my fault!" Seconds later, a boy pushes her aside and she glares at him. He appears to have eyes and hair similar to Mellie's, as well as height. This must be her brother.

"I'm not blaming you!" Mellie says, though I can tell from her facial expression that she does indeed blame him.

The boy sighs dramatically. "Oh, sweet Mellie, how you exhaust me," he says, holding his hand to his forehead in a mock faint.

"Who are you?" I say, forcing them apart before they can start arguing more. I've always been an only child, so I'm not used to sibling rivalries.

The boy turns to me as if noticing my existence for the first time. He blinks once, twice, then immediately grins. "My deepest apologies for you having to witness that little episode. Dear Mellie can be troublesome occasionally."

"I'm not trouble-" Mellie starts, but the boy shushes her, cutting her off.

"My name is Mick," he says, turning to me. Seeing he and Mellie standing side-by-side makes me realize how similar they look. Their eyes have the same round shape, and the exact same tint of blue in their eyes. Not to mention they both are extremely short for what I assume their ages are.

"Are you twins?" I ask.

Mellie nods. "Sometimes I wish he was older because maybe my parents just got more creative when I was born - "

"Mellie!" Mick suddenly shouts, startling both of us. "You need to let that drop. You're annoying Miss Frank here."

I almost thank Mick for his interference, but I don't want to embarrass Mellie anymore than she has been already. I can understand why she's upset, but she must have been complaining about it for at least eighteen years, and after only hearing it for four minutes has already annoyed me.

I notice Mick whispering something inaudible into Mellie's ear, and, nodding, she turns to me and says with a smile, "It was nice to meet you, Cammile! I'm looking forward to working with you!"

Mick winks at me, then, holding onto his sister's arm, leads her away. I watch them return to training, then wonder how many are left to meet. There's supposed to be seven, I think to myself. I start counting them up. Charlie, Clyde, Essie, Bella, Raven, Mellie, and I. That's seven.

I'm about to go find Charlie when someone from behind me whispers, "Boo." I jump, then spin around to see Hael leaning against a wall, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face. "Are you ever not going to be surprised?" he asks, pushing himself off the wall to stand beside me.

I glare at him, not answering.

He eyes me, then asks, "So what do you think of the girls?"

"They're fine," I reply, "though I don't see how either Essie or Mellie can focus enough to train."

He laughs. "You'll just have to watch them then." He puts his hands on my cheeks and turns to my head to where Essie is practicing jumps and flips. When he drops his hands, my face tingles at the warmth he leaves behind, but I ignore it.