The Half-Barldon Heroine

Chapter 2

Hello again, if you think this story is a piece of crap, please let me know.

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Later that day, I got a call from Brandon, my twenty three year old cousin. He talked about his life in Brazil with his new fiancée and I scolded him about my chocolate cake, my temper subsided only when he told me he'd get me a new one.

"I'll make sure it's filled with chocolate too, Amanda is going to make it." He said through the phone.

"Cool. Say hi to her for me." I quietly replied.

"Don't worry, I will." He said back. "How are things like, back in England?" He asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, you know, just peachy." I murmured, leaning against my bedpost and playing with the strings on my bed.

"Lily, you don't sound so well, what's going on?"

I let out a sigh. "It's nothi-"

"Oh, don't give me that crap. I know how you sound like when you're in a bad mood. You're always so distant and snappy." He sighed. "I just wish I could be ther- Oh wait. Hold on." He suddenly said before hanging.

I looked down at my phone in confusion. Why would he hang up on me? Was I boring him too much?

I let out a sudden yelp when dark smoke exploded in the middle of my room. I started coughing when I accidentally swallowed saliva down the wrong pipe. I couldn't hear the visual explosion, but I definitely saw it.

Brandon appeared scrunched on his knees right before my bed, his eyes closed shut from his little adventure.

"Unfortunately, no matter how much I like transporting, it doesn't get any less painful. But I'll get used to it, someday…" He said, still out of breath. Then he opened his blue eyes and jumped on his feet. "So, how is my favorite cousin?" He said smiling widely, his arms opening for a hug.

I kept quiet for a few seconds before lifting my hand and smacking the back of his head. "Couldn't you at least warn me before doing that? Gosh, you and grandma are just the same." I said.

Brandon rubbed his head with one eye closed. "I'm sorry, mum." He winced before opening his arms again and pulling me towards him. "Oh Lily, I missed you so much." He said happily squeezing me in his arms.

I sigh and returned his hug just as tight. "I missed you too Brand, even though I saw you last week." I smiled against his chest and finally allowed myself to relax a bit. "It's been such a long day." I murmured tiredly.

"Come on, let's sit. And don't hesitate to tell me everything, okay? I'm here for you." He said gently before making me sit on my bed again and sitting beside me. "Go on, I'm all ears." He smiled and waited.

"Well… Where do I start?" I asked before lifting my eyes to the white ceiling. "Dad called again and spoke to grandma."

"That assho-" He started before I interrupted him.

"Brandon, now is not the time. So, he called and said something about my time coming up to enroll in high school. I just need some advice since you graduated Barldon High School three years ago, because they'll probably send me next month since it's the beginning of the school year." I said looking at him expectingly.

"Yeah, about that, have you not discovered your ability yet?" He asked.

"No, obviously not. You would've been the first to know, believe me." I replied slouching my shoulders and running my hands through my long dark hair. "It's just frustrating, you know? Most folks my age already know about their Barl. I tried my very best at everything and I basically read every ancient book about The Barl, but I still can't find mine."

"Hey, don't beat yourself about it. Yes, most Barldon teens find their Barl by sixteen, but you forget that a few don't discover it until they enter high school. The Barldon Professors there will surely help you discover it. That's what they're there for." He said soothingly trying to resonate with my situation.

I knew a lot of Barldons don't discover their ability only when they get to high school, but I always had my doubts, with me being only a Half-Barldon. It's scary. What if I never discover my Barl? What if I don't even have one? What if. What if. What if.

"Oh, I remember when I first got into high school. God, everyone was exited and scared at the same time. The first few days were very nerve wracking, I'll give you that. But after that, it's the most beautiful experience you'll ever get to have. Learning about your Barl, training and studying about it is so exhilarating and incredible. I honestly can't wait for you to experience all that." He smiled and took my hand in his, his eyes lost in a swirl of memories.

"Yeah, I guess." I quietly said, trying to imagine all the things he keeps mumbling about.

"You know? I also met Amanda in high school, and that only made my experience there a thousand times better." He said still grinning widely.

"I know. You wouldn't shut up about it for a whole year when you met her, it was frankly annoying." I chuckled slightly at his lovestruck face. I was only nine when that happened, I also remember telling him every night to tell me about their outings and how he asked her to be his girlfriend. I was basically their number one shipper.

"Yeah… Those were the days, man." He ran his fingers through his red hair, his eyes still daydreaming about the past. "Anyway, back to you." He sobered up and looked at me again. "Please, don't fuck this up. This is your chance at a wonderful teenage life, because honey, you'll never get to experience this ever again. My only advice to you, is to enjoy it as long as it lasts, okay?" He concluded before closing his eyes to rest for a bit.

"Wise advice, Shakespeare." I laughed again and leaned against my pillow before closing my eyes as well. I could only hope to get a whiff of the extraordinary experience he seemed to have enjoyed back in his highschool years.

After I graduated middle school as the top student of my class and valedictorian of the school year, I took two years off since the right age to enter Barldon High was sixteen. You could say these last two years have been the most uneventful years of my life. I just kept to myself and enjoyed my time with my grandmother and her old lady friends, I even learned how to cook properly and how to sew.

Never thought I'd enjoy the company of gossiping old ladies more than fun-having, hormonal, stupid teenagers. But being anti-social also came with a price. I never knew how to keep a conversation going, it even got to the point where my last resort was talking about that time I threw a Justin Bieber doll out of the window just because it freaked me out. And it always ended in an awkward silence and an even more awkward good-bye.

I also remember this one time when a boy came up to me at lunch and asked me to go to the movies with him that weekend, and I ended up mumbling my way through a conversation which I pretty much think went like this…

"Um…uh… What?" I asked as my hands played with my sleeves.

The beautiful blonde boy looked at me as of he was talking to a retarded seal. "I said: Will you come with me this weekend to see a movie?"

My mind raced with a hundred things to say and my mouth struggled to let out a coherent word. Was this gorgeous boy asking me out? On a date? What is my Grandmother going to think? What will happen there? And most importantly: What if he decides to kiss me?!

"I- I... Have…uh…diarrhea." Wait a what.

What the hell did I just say? My eyes widened as I realised what came out of my mouth. My hands instantly coming up to my face as a horrified gasp left my lips.

The boy- Jack, If I recall correctly- made a disgusted face, turned around and run back to his group of friends.

Suffice to say he told everyone and after that day, my middle school experience was the shittiest experience of my life. Period. And I never want to go back to school ever again.