Tyler and the Valaholics: The Beginning

Chapter 36

Song of the chapter- 'The Greatest' by Sia ft. Kendrick Lamar

'Uh-oh, I see another mountain to climb, but I got stamina.'

"Finally!" I sing when the food arrives and I dig right in, wolfing down half of the lasagna on my plate before I look up at the sound of snickering.

Stacie, Rosaly, Natalia and Lauren are laughing their heads off but Van, Vi, Tracie and Josh are too busy digging in to notice me defending myself as Cynthia tries hard not to laugh, "Hey, I'm pretty hungry!"

"Yeah, well, so are we but these idiots won't stop gawking at those who appreciate the amazingness of the glorious necessity in our lives that is food. Ignore them, Val," Van manages to get in between two bites before she resumes the act of scarfing down her food.

"Good advice, Van!" I say shortly, not wanting to waste any more precious time not eating.

"You three are impossible!" Nat laughs, indicating the incredible similarities between the way Van, Vi and I are eating.

"Impossible is my middle name, Nalia," Violet throws in, surprising all of us.

Sure, she's always called Nat Nalia but her words seem to shock even Stace as Ros is the first one to talk, "Learnt that from Val, did you?"

"I learn the best things from Vallie!" Vi claims enthusiastically, her attention returning to her food.

Tracie decides to clear it up for her friend, "Let, she asked you if you learned that from Val!"

"Aww, we understand, Tracie, thank you for clearing it up!" Lauren says, Tracie giving her a hug, the two of them being plenty close.

"So, Erie, if you don't mind, I'd like to know you better, all of you," Josh adds thoughtfully, claiming we're interesting people.

"Whatever you want to know about Val, you can ask us. We know her pretty well," Ros says nonchalantly.

There are still times when I find it hard to believe this is the same Rosaly that lost it the other day and demanded Lauren leave. She even tried to get me to change sides but now she's talking normally to all of us. Sure, she was kind of weird for a day or two after the incident but then she behaved normally with all of us, even Lau after that time. Even though the most probable explanation is that she came to her senses and realized she was in the wrong, I don't believe it for one second. Knowing Rosaly as I do, I know she doesn't have a simple mindset and tends to complicate everything which makes everything more difficult to comprehend for herself. Even if she were to have come to terms, Ros would have apologized to Lau but she never told me of any of the sort. Is she keeping something from me? What could be the reason behind it?

I suddenly realize where I am and quickly tune back in to the conversation to hear Lau telling Josh of my love for blues, blacks, purples and greens and him either looking at the speaker with a lot of interest sprawled across his face or goofily grinning at me.

"Let me guess, you're either Taurus or Gemini?" he asks me, giving me my go to join the conversation.

"Both of those are wrong!" I exclaim.

"Cancer!" Lau and Thia exclaim at the same time, high-fiving each other.

"So close," Josh mumbles under his breath, causing Ros and I to guffaw loudly, startling nearly everyone in out vicinity.

"How have you even tolerated her for however long you have?" Josh grumbles, shaking his head at me.

"Well, for starters, I'd never have even stood a chance of passing out of college without her," Cynthia blurts out.

"With who else can I geek out about my favourite music?" Lauren adds.

"Plus she's cute," Ros winks at me as I pretend to cry.

Nat immediately jumps in, "Yeah, and she isn't a bad singer per se."

Van decides it's time for her to weigh in, "She also distracts Violet so that I can watch television to my heart's content!"

Violet scrunches up her face at the revelation but lets it go as she speaks, "She plays with me, and you don't, Nessa!"

Tracie clucks her tongue at Violet and says that she thinks I'm pretty cool, leading Stacie to smile at me, maintaining eye contact as she realizes it's her turn to speak, "I love the fact that she's only 12 but is so intelligent and mature when it comes to taking decisions. She's so independent and she can take care of her self, and others as well. I've known her for so many tumultuous months but she's never once complained. Most of all, what I like about her the most- she's here."

A warm fuzzy feeling pulses through my veins but it's coated heavily with guilt and sorrow. Guilt that the mere existence of my sisters and me in her life is holding her back from going all out and conquering the world for herself and Tracie, and that she's glad for my existence only for me to decide to throw it all away the night Mom passed but just hold myself back. Sorrow for all of these people because they began to like the wrong person. I'm not implying that I'm a bad person but they could all love someone so much better. Well, atleast Josh hasn't fallen into the trap yet, has he?

My thought is immediately proven wrong as Josh's eyes dilate as he beams an electrifying smile at me, his words clear as crystals but also dreamy as clouds, "Well, there hasn't been one thing I don't like about Erie. She's thoughtful, clever, selfless even to the point where it hurts her (although that does irritate me a bit), she doesn't dwell on what could have been long enough to have it affect her present. She's considerate and loving, she is an amazing friend to have (and I certainly stand by that even though I haven't know her for longer than a couple of days). Thank you, Erie!"

His words send me into a dizzy, leaving me unable to process the reactions of those around me. He's done for, and if he ever were to stand a chance of escaping, I need to cut him loose.

So I say the only thing I can muster at the moment in the most serious tone I can use, "Jeez, Joshua, get out of here before I kill you because I hate you so much!"

- - - - - - -

Plot twist! Sorry for the delay but I'm guessing this is how updates are going to be from now on (damn you, college!)

Why do you think Valerie responded like that? What would you say if you were praising Val? Was it right of Erie to say what she did? What's going on between them?

Anyways, hope to see you soon with a new update!

- - - - - - -