Labelled by Blood

      I woke up to my alarm. I didn't have to snooze; I felt rested and ready for the day. I got up and changed into something a little more bold: a pair of skorts with leggings, a white dress shirt, and a sweater vest. I looked at myself in the mirror and felt different. I looked nice. I looked put together. I pinned my bangs up and went to eat some breakfast. Mom and Dad left a small spread for me. I had my helping and headed out the door. Today was Thursday. And I had an itch to write another poem. Maybe Toby and his mom will stop by and I could ask him for some tips.       I left the house and jaunted down the concrete sidewalk. My shoes scraped every now and then, but I felt like I was floating. We survived the Collector. Hurt it. Sure, it was out there, somewhere. Maybe even terrorizing someone else. But we showed it we weren't pushovers. I almost skipped to school. When I got there, the sun was starting its slow ascent upwards and the sky was a lovely blend of blue and yellow. I beamed and pulled open both sides of the double doors open wide and stepped inside. It was almost totally empty, but that was fine.       I saw a few familiar faces and waved with a confident smile. They waved back and even returned my smile. I found the spot I settled into on Tuesday and plopped down. I dug out my diamond-embellished journal and opened it up to the messed up poem on fire, force, and water. Parker was right. And I was going to rewrite it. I took my mechanical pencil and flipped to a new page. I started with the first word of a new, better, poem. When my lead touched the page and made the first swipe, something was off. The lead felt too scratchy. The roughness sent an uncomfortable feeling running up my arm and I had to stop. My heart had spiked and a cold sweat broke out.       The feeling reminded me of how the Collector's voice rattled in my head. I stared at my page for over five minutes. My breathing calmed, but something lingered in the back of my mind. What if we were still being watched? No. Well, maybe. But we didn't have to worry. The Collector said so itself.       I was able to find the courage to continue and wrote. But my heart wasn't in it anymore. I had to stop and look at the polished floor tiles. They reflected light with apathy. The scratch grooves making light scatter and not perfect. Polished or not. I took in a deep breath and stood up. Class was starting sooner than I realized and the hallways were coming to life. Ms. Rohd strolled in late, but Toby wasn't with her. Nor the twins.       That was weird. I wanted to ask, but that seemed creepy. Toby and I weren't really friends. And the twins weren't hers to watch over. Instead, I went to class. Mr. Hakim was writing some instructions on the board and I was one of the first kids there. He saw me and gave me a big smile before going back to what he was doing. I wanted to talk to him and let him know that things were looking up, but more and more kids streamed in after I did. It'd be better if I waited until the end of class. I got my journal out and readied a pencil. The bell rang and we immediately jumped into it. I didn't raise my hand a ton, but when Mr. Hakim called on me, I was right every time. He beamed at me multiple times and I returned his smile every time. He was proud of me, I could tell. When class ended, I approached him before he could call me up. He was at his desk fiddling with some lesson plans.       "Ah, Alex, it is great to see you," he said, half looking up at me. "You seem in good spirits. Can I assume all is well now?"       I nodded. "Right. Me and my friends all got together and then--" my voice cut off on how I wanted to say this next part. "It was a straight shot to solve it."       There was a twinkle in his eye. "I'm happy to hear everything is going well for you."       I couldn't help but smile again. His eyes glanced down at his desk and mine followed. He slid a little blue oval sticker that read "I'm proud of you." My fingers carefully reached out for it and I analyzed it.       "Is it okay?" He asked.       I peeled the sticker from its safety and unhooked my stapler from my belt loop. I gently laid the sticker down on the top of it and smoothed it. "Everything's perfect, Mr. Hakim," I said.       He cleared his throat and stifled a smile. Kids from the next period were coming in. I had to go. I waved him goodbye and headed to my next class. Mr. Hakim, that meant the world to me.       The next two classes were nothing special. Things went like business as usual, and then it was lunch. I decided to suffer through the traffic and I just avoided going outside at all. Jesus' words gonged in my head when I passed by the door I had gone out of Tuesday. The memories relived themselves for me like someone forced my eyes open while in virtual reality. It was flashes of rain. Mud caked everywhere. An earthy petrichor that was clear as day. My rifle raised but lacking any confidence. Jesus' wicked smile and determination to just give me an early exit from this world.       Someone bumped into me and I gasped for air. Breathing was hard and shaky. My arms had gone numb. I was lightheaded. No. We're okay, Alex. Get it together. Keep it there. It was time to eat lunch, not time to fight for your life. Right. With that, I was able to walk the rest of the way to our courtyard with only the occasional jump from someone wearing sunglasses and some terrarium project with dirt.       I made it in one piece and Parker was there, sketching. He had his sandwich spread out on its wrapper and he paused his work to take a bite.       When I got closer, he glanced my way. "Lex! How's it going today? You doing alright with all this?"       "Kind of. It's been better than usual. But I'm not over everything."       "Yeah. I get flashes. Tech Comms class was hell. So much static." He shivered and stared off somewhere else until I nudged him. "Sorry."       "What for? You were the reason we survived."       "Nah," he shrugged. "You got the thing to finally leave us alone."       I shook my head, but when I opened my mouth to protest, Jesse's voice called out from behind us. "Alex. Parks. Sorry I'm late."       We gave him a hard time about it, but we both moved on as if nothing had happened. Jesse seemed normal, but every now and then, he'd glance around the courtyard. He looked over his shoulder a couple of times, too. He stuck to me like we were glued at the hip. I didn't mind it.       "So," Parker sighed. "Burning question. After school plans?"       "Right," Jesse said with a click of his tongue.       "Right." I chewed my lip.       After everything, going back into the forest seemed ridiculous. And, y'know. "We need to keep up our physique. Can we go to the gym?"       Jesse stared at me with mouth agape and eyebrows raised.       "You sure?" Parker asked.       "Yeah. I think I want to start going more. Though I need you guys with me."       "Of course," Jesse scoffed. "I'm never leaving your side again."       I wanted to laugh. Even smile. But knowing why he said that made me only force a dry chuckle.       "Alright, Lex," Parker said. "Growing all bold and confident, huh?"       This got me to actually laugh. "Mmhmm." Our eyes met and his smile was less intense but somehow said more than ever.       He mouthed something. "I'm proud of you," I think.       "We can pick up proper training later," Jesse said.       "I mean, just because that thing let us off still breathing doesn't mean it won't come back someday," Parker added.       Our moment was over.       We kept talking about future plans. But we all agreed the next few days should be pretty laid back and fun. Maybe we'd even go to the arcade sometime. Lunch was fast after that and, when the bell rang, Jesse was the first to go. He gave me a passionate kiss before leaving. My heart swelled and it made life good. Parker turned the other way to leave. I stopped him.       "Hey, Parks," I called out. "Thank you."       "For? I didn't do anything worth thanking for."       "You," I hesitated. "You showed me that there are people worth fighting for that aren't just Jesse. You showed me what it means to love someone like family."       He scoffed and looked away, hiding his smile. "Thank you, too."       "For?" I asked. Then added, "I didn't do anything worth thanking for."       He rolled his eyes. "For being my family."       My throat clenched and I was in awe. All I could do was mutter his name. He nodded his head and walked away.       "You and Jess both taught me what real family looks like. I'll see you two after school."       I couldn't stick around and take in what he said. Foot traffic was building up fast and I needed to get to class. The entire rest of the day, Parker was on my mind. He really was the best brother I could ever have found. They were the best family I could have found.       Me, Jesse, and Parker.