Adopted By The Biersack's Part Nine

I was so happy to hear the last bell ring. My first day back at a real high school was finally over.

The day as a whole wasn’t that bad. Celestia, Walden, Stanton, Raoul, Alyson, and Rufus had made it pretty high up on my list of people that I don’t like. I had Rufus, Stanton, and Raoul in my English class, and Walden was in my Physics class. My favorite class was my Creative Writing class. Thankfully, most people in that class seemed pretty cool. But the students had that stupid unwritten rule about not socializing with people outside of your clique. I tried to make friends with this girl who was clearly a raver. I almost got punched in the face.

When Cyra, November, Malachi, and Calloway had explained that the students were expected to treat each other like shit, they weren’t kidding. I think I was the only person that didn’t say anything mean to anyone all day, and that really got some people talking. A lot of them kept asking me why I was being so nice, so I told them to shut the fuck up and that it wasn’t their business. That quickly changed their view on me.

I was absolutely devastated about taking the bus home. I hadn’t ridden a bus since I was 9 years old, and it was a horrible experience. Kids on there were nasty to each other. We were elementary school kids at that time. Now, it was high school, and these students were expected to be nasty to each other. I wasn’t happy about having to re-live my elementary school bus rides.

I walked out the front door and looked around at all of the different buses and students. Which bus was I supposed to get on? I know Amy told me, but I couldn’t remember. Two? Twenty five? Sixteen? I know it reminded me of something, but I couldn’t remember what. The buses were only going to be around for another few minutes, so I had to remember fast. I didn’t want to have to call up Amy or Brock and ask them to come pick me up because I missed my bus.

I paced up and down the sidewalk in front of the buses, looking at all of the different numbers. I ran into a few people who shoved me out of the way and told me to get a life. Fucking pricks. I hated this school.

After a minute, most of the students out there had gotten on a bus. They began to pull away, and as the first one drove out of sight, that’s when I remembered-fourteen. I remembered because it reminded me of Valentine’s Day. But having the luck that I did, fourteen was the first bus to pull away. I smacked myself in the face and looked around. I saw the friendly familiar faces of Calloway, Cyra, Malachi, and November. They were walking towards the parking lot, headed for what looked like a silver pick-up truck. I was tempted to go over and ask if they could take me home or something, but I had just met them that day, and I didn’t want to seem needy. Before I could even make up my mind, Cyra noticed me and called out.

“Hey Toril! Come over here!” she hollered. I picked up the pace a little and went over to them. She embraced me with a hug, “where are you headed?” I was very pleased with the welcome, because I collect hugs, but I was a bit surprised. They were being so friendly, and they’d only met me a few hours ago. But hey, I wasn’t complaining.

“I’m actually not sure now. I missed my bus, and I don’t have any idea where I’m going,” I told her. The four of them exchanged glances before looking back at me.

“Do you wanna come hang out with us? We’re just going to a little café on the other side of town,” Malachi invited. I had to. I had nowhere else to go, and there was no way I was passing up an opportunity to make friends.

“Sure, I guess. I mean, if you guys don’t mind,” I agreed. Malachi went over and opened up the driver side door of the silver pick-up truck. I figured it was his.

“Awesome! You’re gonna love this place,” November cheered.

“I call shotgun!” Calloway yelled, running for the passenger side door as fast as he possibly could. We just laughed and followed him over.

“I just need to text my…parents…and tell them where I’m going,” I said. Calling them my parents put a lump in my throat and a heaving in my heart, but what else was I supposed to call them? As long as these guys didn’t know who the family was, I was going to have to refer to them as my parents. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to do to date.

“I want your number when you’re done,” November told me.

“Me too,” added Cyra. I was really surprised with how nice to me they were all being. I enjoyed it, I really did, but it was so new to me. The whorehouse was worse then hell compared to this high school.

Calloway hopped out of the shotgun seat so Cyra, November, and I could get to the back. After we were in, he hopped back in, shut the door, and Malachi headed off.

“So where exactly is this little café? I’m gonna need to tell my parents so that they’ll know where to come get me,” I asked. I opened up my phone to text Amy and Brock and tell them where I was.

“No worries, we’ll take you back,” Calloway offered, “And it’s on the other side of town, not too far from here. You’ve heard of Alcatraz, right?” I nodded and raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s called the Alcatraz Café. The owner’s grandfather was in Alcatraz, so his restaurant was inspired by the prison look. It’s our favorite place to hang out,” November cut in. I sent my message to Amy and Brock and found my number in my phone, handing it to November so she could put it in hers.

“That’s so fucking awesome. I have a weird fascination with creepy things, so I’m sure I’ll love it and never want to leave,” I explained. November gave me my phone back, so I handed it over to Cyra.

“We go there a lot, so most of the workers know us. I’m sure they’ll love you,” Cyra told me, pulling out her phone to add in my number, “There’s usually not a ton of people in there, but if there are, they’re all usually people our age. It’s mainly geared towards the younger generations.” She went to type in my number, but paused, “You got a message Toril. It’s from someone named Amy.” She exited off of it and put my number in. After handing it back to me, I quickly opened it up. She had said that she was happy that I was making friends and to just let them know when I was getting back. Relief flooded over me as I closed my phone and put it in my pocket.

“So what do you guys typically do for fun?” I asked them, “y’know, besides hang out at this little prison café.” Raq reached into her backpack and pulled out a small digital camera. I had no way to predict where this was going.

“We do all sorts of crazy shit, and I always take pictures. I never go anywhere without my camera. One thing we do it go to a lot of shows. We’ve seen Black Veil Brides, Motionless In White, Falling In Reverse, and Pierce The Veil, just to name a few,” she explained, pushing a button on the camera until it turned on and scrolled over several pictures, “See? This is us with Black Veil Brides. They’re a huge inspiration to all of us, and telling by your necklace, they are for you too.” I took my necklace and ran my fingers over it as all of the memories of receiving it came back. I had gotten it from my dad one day, just completely out of the blue. My parents never bought me things out of the blue, so I was very surprised and completely ecstatic. It was one of my most cherished possessions. And Black Veil Brides wasn’t just a huge inspiration in my life and my music, but they’re what got me through the last two years of my life.

“You could say that. I write music, so they’re a huge influence on my style and lyrics,” I replied, “It also helped me when I was living at the stupid whorehouse. Their music kind of kept me…sane, if you will.” Before I knew it, we were parked in the parking lot of the little Alcatraz Café.  The exterior looked like a stereotypical prison, especially in movies. It was made of large grey bricks that were clearly painted and wheathered, because the paint was coming off. The door was made of bars and had black wood filling the spaces. Without the sign above the door that read Alcatraz Café in dripping letters, it would just look like a shady little abandoned building where drug deals took place.

Calloway hopped out of his seat and tilted it forward, allowing November to climb out, followed by myself, then Cyra. He put the seat back up and shut his door. Malachi locked it behind him with an automatic button on his keys, and we all headed into the café.

Malachi held the door for me, and I stared at my surroundings in awe. It was probably the coolest place I’ve ever seen in my life. The lighting was dim, but still bright enough that you could see. It was as if the fluorescent rods in the lights were dimmed on purpose for the sake of the restaurant’s atmosphere. The walls also had the look of peeling paint, and some spots were rusty. The floor was dirty, but it was clearly made that way on purpose. The tables in the center of the room each had two chairs to them, and the booths along the sides of the wall looked like they were made of old mattresses and the tables made of cinderblock. The windows had bars over them like the door, but the spaces were filled in with glass. The waiters and waitresses were wearing orange prison uniforms, and the cooks and people behind the counter were wearing striped ones, complete with the strange little hats. I nearly died from the sheer joy that I was feeling inside.

“I think she likes it,” November laughed, heading over to a booth in the corner. There were a couple of other groups there, and they were all either in middle school or college students.

“I think I just died inside. I’ve always wanted to go to Alcatraz, but this will have to do for now,” I responded, my voice caught in my throat from the sheer excitement so much that I could hardly talk. We went over to the corner booth and took our seats. I sat on the end on one side next to Calloway, and Malachi, November, and Cyra were on the other side. There was a sticker stuck to the table with a number on it, “What’s this for?” I asked, gesturing to it.

“It’s our table number. When you go up and place your order, you’re supposed to tell them the number so they can bring it to the correct table,” Calloway explained. I nodded in understanding.

“So you said you write music? Do you wanna make a career out of it? Like, form a band and shit?” Malachi asked me. I moved my bangs out of my eyes and shifted my hair to my liking.

“It’s more of a hobby. I actually want to be a published author,” I told him. Calloway was looking at a little drink list that he had taken from by the salt and pepper shakers, so I peered over his shoulder to take a look at it. I was really glad that I had brought some cash with me that day.  After quickly scanning over the list, I knew I wanted grape juice. Call me lame, yes, but it’s one of my favorite things in the world. That, and cottage cheese.

“Have you written anything yet?” November wondered. I nodded and pulled out a small notebook. It was where I kept all of my ideas I got for my current novel.

“I’m working on a novel. It’s about a girl who is deeply suicidal after her brother dies, and the ghost of him comes to her and shows her what kind of person she becomes and what the world would be like without her,” I explained. Cyra scooted out and scampered off to a nasty looking door, which I guessed was the bathroom. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but for now, I decided to ignore it.

“That sounds really interesting. Do you have a working title yet?” Calloway questioned.

“I don’t have anything yet. I haven’t really loved anything that I’ve thought of,” I responded, “I’m not too worried right now. The novel’s only halfway done, and it’s not the end of the world if the title is the last thing I come up with.”

“How about…Escape From Beyond The Grave,” Malachi suggested. Cyra facepalmed, and November resisted the urge to laugh.

“Dude, that’s irrelevant and completely stupid,” Calloway snapped before turning back to me, “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

One by one, we went up to the counter and ordered our drinks and our food. I was glad I decided to take up on their offer to come with them to the café. I already felt like we were becoming close friends, and I knew we would only grow closer as the days went by.