In Lakewood, a small town with a reputation of crime, gangs, outcasts and violence, Lana Takumi is an orphan and a gang member disguised in ripped jeans of her late mother and old flannels of her late father. She feels stuck in an endless cycle of b...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
E V E R E T T
The next day, I was staring at Lana's empty seat next to mine during physics when Ali snapped me out of my daze. I met his puzzled dark brown eyes when he asked, "Dude, are you okay?"
"I don't know. Something bad happened between Lana and me and I don't know how to fix it. I kinda messed up and that too when we were almost becoming friends," I explained.
Astonished, he blinked at me twice. "Friends? With Lana Takumi? That's...surprising."
I nodded. "She's been warming up to me lately."
"Really? Then why don't you just talk to her?"
"She might be upset or angry with me. Maybe both."
"But don't you have anything to say to her about what happened?"
"Of course I do. I want to apologize," I replied. I had been feeling guilty since yesterday. I should've been more careful. Grabbing her hands, was a huge mistake on my part. Especially after I witnessed how it affected her.
"Then go for it. Give it a shot. What else can you do?"
"Okay, but do you think she wants to be friends? I mean, her attitude towards me has changed since we first met."
"Lana befriending anyone outside of The Sirens just sounds unbelievable, but if you think she's warming up to you then give it a try," Ali advised with an encouraging smile.
"Was she like this before her parents died too? Quiet and cold."
"Yeah, and when I think about it, her situation has changed more than she has," He answered, throwing me in a pit of both confusion and curiosity.
"What do you mean?"
"She got messed with by gang members a lot at Lakewood High before she joined The Sirens."
"Wait. Seriously?" I couldn't imagine anyone coming close enough to touch Lana, let alone mess with her.
"It's when she joined The Sirens she went from getting pushed around and made fun of to terrifying and powerful and everyone has been scared shitless of her ever since."
"Why was she bullied?"
"She used to be too naive and didn't know how to stand up for herself. People take advantage of that around here. Plus, her disability. People pushed her in the hallways and laughed at her."
