The Onyx Rose
Chapter 2- Shopping and Goodbye
When Alex woke the next morning, the entire house was silent, quite a feat for a Saturday morning. Usually Kat would wake her up by jumping on her bed, begging her to make pancakes. Alex wondered where Kat was, but shrugged and got out of bed to get dressed. Moments later she emerged dressed in her usual 72-in wide leg black jeans, with a black baby doll top with the logo "I dig scrawny pale guys". Alex had pulled most of her hair up into a ponytail, but left a few loose strands to frame her face. On a whim she had tucked the stone rose behind her left ear, and to her surprise it seemed to bend itself to fit and stay perfectly. She also noticed for the first time that despite the expected weight of the stones it was light and easy to wear.
By the time Alex reached the kitchen she was positive she was alone in the house. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a plain white envelope bearing her name on it resting on the table. Alex walked over, and pulled out a short letter. "Alex," it started, "Dad fell down the stairs, Kat and I are taking him to the hospital. We wanted to let you sleep." "Yeah, right," Alex muttered to no one, "probably afraid I'd push him down another flight of stairs." She continued reading, "I don't know when we'll be back, so take my car and you can go to the mall on your own. I'll leave you some money, so get whatever you want. Love, Mom"
Alex groaned as she finished reading the letter. 'Take Mom's car?' she thought. If there was one thing Alex honestly hated it was her mother's junker car. She had had it since Alex was three, and the car was on its last legs. Though her mother tried to keep it in good condition, age was taking its toll on the vehicle. Every time Alex got behind the wheel she could swear that the car was trying to kill her. Still, if she was going shopping she would need someway to get all her new stuff home and her bicycle just wasn't going to cut it.
Alex put the letter down on the table and picked up the envelope. She peered inside and almost keeled over in shock at how much money was in the envelope. She pulled out the wad of bills held together by a rubber band and noticed a small note attached. "Alex, get some clothing and we'll get you the laptop you wanted later and have it sent to you." "Damn" Alex swore, shocked at this unprecedented display of generosity. She shoved the bills into her wallet and replaced it in her pocket.
Before she left, Alex wolfed down a bowl of raisin bran, the grabbed the car keys and headed out. She quickly decided to avoid the small mall that she had wandered around in the day before, driving instead to the larger mall that was a half-hour away. When she finally found a parking space, Alex stopped to count the money she had shoved into her wallet earlier. She finished, holding in her hand six hundred dollars. Alex swore again, but replaced the money in her wallet and locked the car before entering the mall.
Once inside, an overwhelming urge to leave swept over Alex, but it passed quickly and so she ignored it. For four hours Alex wandered the mall, making multiple trips to drop off bags at the car. By the end of it she was $400 lighter, but she had managed to get three new pairs of pants, ten new shirts, a new dress, a bag of socks, a few new pairs of boxer shorts, and a bag full of accessories. She was saving her most important stops for after lunch.
Alex gleefully gorged herself on cheap Chinese food. She was having a good time, and she found herself absently watching and rating the guys that passed. It was a habit that she and her old friends had, before her step-dad had dragged the family from California to Connecticut. Alex scowled. They had moved here over a year ago, but she still hated the place, and resented having to leave the house she had grown up in. She looked up to see a guy she recognized from the few days of school she had attended. He was heading towards her table, but she sent him a glare and her turned around and headed back the way he had come.
Alex finished her orange chicken quickly after that, and jumped on the elevator up to the third floor. She headed toward the north wing of the building, trying to remember where the jewelry store was. After ten minutes of searching, she found it. Calmly, she walked in, expecting to be glared at for her attire. Fortunately she didn't receive a single glare, and one of the sales girls quickly came over to help her. "What can we do for you today?" she asked Alex cheerfully. "Ummm..." Alex pulled the stone rose from behind her ear, "I'd like to know what this is made of and how much it's worth." She showed the girl, but refused to let it out of her hands. "Alright, let me get you one of the jewelers." The girl replied, and hurried off into the back room.
Alex looked around while she waited, taking in the beautiful pieces of jewelry. After a few minutes an older man came out of the back room and came over to Alex. "How can I help you miss?" he asked. "What is this made of?" Alex returned. She gently handed the rose to him, and he looked at it for a moment, studying it. "Wait here just a moment." he handed her back the rose and walked quickly back into the back room. A minute later he had returned with a jewelers loupe. She handed him the rose again, and he immersed himself in studying it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he handed back the rose and gazed at her quizzically. "May I ask, where did you get such a thing?" "It was my grandmother's." Alex found herself lying. "I see." The old man paused. "You have there a exquisite black onyx rose, complete with emerald stem and leaves. This is a priceless piece. If I may give you some advice? There is something very special about these stones, I would be very careful with who you show them to." He smiled at her, and before she could ask anything else, he turned around and walked out of sight.
Alex tucked the rose back into her hair, and headed off to her last stop. It took her ten minutes to get back to the car, and from there another ten minutes of driving before she pulled into the small parking lot of the apothecary. Alex spent another twenty minutes making a list of all the herbs she wanted and waiting for the tiny old shopkeeper to gather her purchases. Finally, Alex was finished and made her way back to the house only to find it was still empty. It took several trips, but eventually she had carted all of her purchases up to her bedroom. After a few minutes of rest, Alex headed into the attic, where she retrieved her large suitcase and her duffle bag and brought them downstairs.
Alex decided to put off packing until after dinner, so she headed downstairs to find something to eat. It took her a few minutes to find something to make, but she eventually decided on chicken and rice. She had just finished cooking the food and was in the middle of setting the table when Kat barged through the back door. "Dad's got a cast, Dad's got a cast!" the younger girl danced around the kitchen as their mother helped her father, wearing a bright pink cast into the kitchen. "Oh. You made dinner." Alex's mother said, looking at her with a smile. She helped her husband to a seat at the kitchen table, and helped Alex finish setting the table.
By the end of dinner, Alex had become very suspicious of her mother's motives. When the older woman had offered to help her pack, Alex and refused, but she still followed her daughter up the stairs and into her bedroom. They had left the dishes in the sink for later since Alex still hadn't packed. "Alex, can I talk to you?" her mother asked as she sat hesitantly on the bed. "I know you hate it here. I know that's why you skip school, and get in so much trouble. I wish you didn't hate it so much, but I understand." Alex glared at her, the thought 'What does she understand?' circling her mind. Before she could reply, her mother continued. "I hated my step dad too. He used to beat your grandmother and me, but she loved him. I know you don't like Aaron, but he's a good man. He treats us kindly, and he's a good provider."
She smiled at her daughter, then plunged on. "I hate having to send you away, Alexia, but I want you to be happy, and to get to know your dad's family." She kissed her older daughter on the top of her head, and stood. "Your Aunt is getting everything you'll need for school, but if you need anything write me and we'll do what we can." Alex watched her mother walk to the bedroom door and just before she left Alex asked "When do I leave?" Her mother turned, with a grace Alex had forgotten she possessed and smiled. "Your plane will leave Logan at 8:20 tomorrow morning, so we have to be up extra early to bring you. It'll just be the three of us, since Aaron needs bed rest after this morning." Alex was about to ask what had happened that morning, but her mother was already gone.
Alex spent the rest of the night packing, finishing up around two in the morning. She managed to fall into bed before she fell asleep. An hour and a half later a bouncing on the end of her bed woke her from dreams of long white hair and soft fuzzy ears. "Whaddayawant?" She groaned. "Mom says it's time to get up!" exclaimed an excited voice. "Kat, what time is it?" Alex asked, coming more awake by the minute. "Three-thirty on the nose!" the girl yelled, pointing to her own nose as she did. "Great." Alex grumbled as she rolled out of bed. "Why don't you go downstairs and tell Mom I'm up, and I'll be down as soon as I get cleaned up?" The younger girl nodded and raced away.
Half an hour later, Alex had showered, stuffed the last of her junk into her duffle, and was struggling to carry it all down the stairs. Amazingly she managed to get it and herself safely into the mud room. Her mother and Kat were already eating breakfast, but when she entered the room Kat begged her to do a runway walk and show off the clothes she had picked for her big sister to wear on this important day. Alex obliged, and her audience clapped. Paused to look at her reflection in a shiny skillet. She wore her long black velvet skirt (which she had proudly made herself), a matching black velvet tank top (another one of her projects) and a highwayman's jacket that had been a birthday present from one of her friends before the move.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur, and too soon Alex was standing in the security line tickets in hand, and all her bags but her backpack checked. Her mom had also boxed and FedEx-ed her rose plant last night, so she wasn't too worried. She had been forced to pack her switchblade in her large suitcase, but she had insisted on keeping the onyx rose with her, so it was safely wrapped in a t-shirt in her backpack. After an eternity of waiting, Alex made it through the metal detectors and reclaimed her backpack.
She couldn't help but miss Kat already. She had promised her sister she would call home as often as she could, and that she would send presents. She still had $100 left over from the day before, and her mother had given her another $500 worth of yen. So Alex bought lunch, and a few postcards. She passed time by writing to her old friends and one postcards to Kat. When she heard her boarding call, she got on the plane, making sure to get a window seat. From her backpack she produced a thick book and cd player, and didn't look up until the plane touched down in Los Angeles, six hours later.