Rising Shards

“So that’s where we’re at,” Zeta said. “Do you have any holiday traditions you’d recommend?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of holiday cheer this year,” Aira said.

Aira didn’t want to leave her friends empty handed; she was still surprised they wanted to speak to her at all. But she also wasn’t sure what to say. She ran into Zeta and Oka at a little cafe stand the school had put up for the holidays that served hot cocoa and other seasonal treats. 

“That’s OK!” Zeta said. “We’re just brainstorming.”

“Well, there is one…usually I go to the jellybean factory. That’s a pretty good time, they have nice holiday tours.”

“There’s a jellybean factory near here?” Zeta asked.

“And they have tours?” Oka said.

“Yeah…” Aira said. “I usually go with Laenie.”

“Hey, punks,” Someone nearby said. “Better watch how you use that name.”

“What the heck…?” Oka said. 

Zeta hid behind Oka. Aira tried to see who said it, as there was no one immediately present. A rattling garbage can next to the cafe revealed that Kyre Krista had snuck into it. She tried to pop the lid open, but Aira put her elbow down on, preventing Kyre from escaping the trash can.

“I’m not sure if I should let you out,” Aira said. “Are you gonna try something?”

“I just have a message for anyone that brings up the boss’s name.” Kyre said.

Aira let go, and Kyre slowly crawled out, defeating whatever intimidation tactics she had. Kyre had never been much of a bully or anything when Aira was at Rising Shards, so she didn’t seem like a threat. That said, her words did have Aira concerned. Kyre got out a switchblade comb (Zeta thought it was a knife and somehow hid even further behind Oka) and brushed it through her gelled-up hair, which made an unpleasant goopy noise.

“Whose name? Laenie’s?” Aira asked.

“Uh huh.” Ema said. “She’s put together a crew of the most dangerous Cani at both this school and Wildfire Hearts.”

“And you’re in this group?” Oka asked, seeing Kyre as even less of a threat than Aira did.

“Well, I don’t fancy myself as dangerous,” Kyre said. “But with the play on vacay, I gotta show that Kyre can play.”

“So Laenie formed a gang?” Zeta asked. “I’d say that doesn’t seem like her, but…”

“Yeah,” Oka said. The two shot concerned glances at Aira that made her feel guilty. She didn’t like having anyone worry about her this much.

“A biker gang.” Kyre corrected.

“O-oh.” Zeta said.

“Uh huh, I’d be quaking in my little booties too if I were you,” Kyre said as Aira wondered if she was rhyming on purpose. “Laenie’s gonna prove she’s the toughest.”

Aira really didn’t like the sound of that. She and Laenie had lost their ways badly when they were chasing after Laenie’s brother Rem. When Aira finally had enough, they had made zero progress on actually finding him, and in hindsight Aira wasn’t sure Rem was lost at all. 

“I’m spreading the word about the new power around these parts, Talons and Daggers.” Kyre said. She turned to reveal a big logo on a printer paper sized patch sewed onto her plaid jacket. “We…couldn’t afford leather. So we went with plaid. Because plaid’s cool.”

“Hold on, were you just waiting in that garbage can for someone to bring up Laenie?” Aira asked.

“I…no,” Kyre said. “Maybe…” She gasped. “Hey, look! There they are now!”

Aira followed Kyre’s point to a nearby window. Outside on the nearby grounds a group of five students wheeled bicycles around, all in the same plaid jacket as Kyre. All of them had sunglasses. Of the group, Aira recognized Ema Kari and Snake Riley, who unlike Kyre actually were bullies, but ones who were too stupid for anyone to be concerned about. And of course, their diminutive leader. Laenie was leading her group with a bright pink bicycle, pushing her sunglasses up every few seconds. She was clearly trying to act tough, with an emphasis on acting. 

Aira had been so afraid of seeing Laenie again. Full on couldn’t sleep at night, staring at the ceiling from how badly things had gone between them. So it felt absurd that she found herself struggling not to laugh at this. 

There Laenie was, finally out of her Exa Cani form. But now she was leading a dorky little band of bicycle enthusiasts. It was cute.

“I’m gonna go be with my crew,” Kyre said before leaving. After Kyre rejoined her biker gang, they all left. Aira gave a moment’s thought to going over there and talking to them. At apologizing to Laenie for abandoning her, but also hoping Laenie would apologize for everything she had put Aira through.

“Are you alright?” Oka asked.

“Yeah, that’s a lot…” Zeta said. “I didn’t know Kyre could be scary.”

“Well, she wasn’t,” Oka said. 

“Really? I thought she had a knife!” Zeta said.

“It’s Kyre,” Oka said. “Even if she did have a weapon, I could take her. I’d protect ya.”

“Aww.” Zeta said. “But…Laenie, though…”

Aira winced. Zeta and Oka looked at her like she was about to cry, but an entirely different emotion overcame her, and she couldn’t hold it back in anymore. She started laughing. She laughed harder than she’d laughed in ages, almost doubling over from it.

“Is this a good laugh?” Zeta asked. “Or a ‘everything’s busted and I’m losing it’ kind of laugh?”

“Good laugh,” Aira said. “She just…didn’t Laenie look cute there? Laenie, I mean. Kyre’s not very cute…”

“It was kinda precious, I guess,” Oka said. “But what’s with her?”

“If I had to guess,” Aira said. “Someone at Wildfire Hearts told her she had to prove her toughness or something if she wanted to get her brother back. They dangled the Rem carrot for her and that got us both to go very far on our quest in the void…but I have a feeling it’s just a carrot to be dangled. I hope Rem’s safe, obviously. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this was just Wildfire Hearts messing with Laenie.”

“Just like that pyramid scheme I almost got into,” Zeta said. “They promised me a lot, but Stella told me there’s no way I’d get a jet ski at a painting job.”

“So…should we try and help her?” Oka asked.

“I…think we should let her handle this one on her own for now,” Aira said. 

“Are you sure?” Oka asked.

“I think so,” Aira said. “After what we went through, I think it’d be good for us to be apart for a while. I’m alright, really. I mean, if they actually start hurting people, we should probably say something.”

“But for now, we can just…ignore them?” Zeta said.

“Something like that.” Aira said.

As Zeta and Oka continued their small talk, making some early plans for visiting the jellybean factory, Aira looked out at the snow, where the trails of Laenie and her group’s bikes were still visible.

We’ll go our own way for now and figure ourselves out. I really, truly hope you find what you’re looking for, and that Rem’s OK. And once you do that, maybe you can go back to the Laenie I know and love. And maybe someday things can be like they were. But for now, I just want to heal.