Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

the drama, I studied and secretly envied our differences. Tatchi, with her long, tan legs could have any guy at South Tahoe High School she wanted. Her iridescent blonde hair flowed like cascading water down her shoulders; a perfect match to her azure eyes. I, on the other hand, the Irish redhead that freckled in the sun, walked around school unnoticed by guys. Constantly smelling like sunscreen and chlorine didn’t help either.
    She lapped up my account like a lonely dog whose master had just come home. She never cared how similar the stories were. To Tatchi, my words were her lifeline to society, to a real life she craved—her live reality show with me as the narrator.
    “Oh, wow. What did he do?” Tatchi rolled over onto her stomach and kneaded her hands together, hungry for more.
    “Nothing. He acted like nothing happened. The whole thing kinda backfired.”
    Tatchi laughed and laid her chin on her folded hands. “Serves her right. Then what happened?”
    The longing on her face tugged at my heart. I turned away to watch the endless span of sparkling water across the lake—only the snow-covered mountains gave away its end—and shook my head. “Nothing. I came home. Just another totally boring day.”
    “Not in the slightest.” Tatchi giggled. “I can’t wait ’til this is our life.”
    I smiled, knowing we’d be breaking out of this tourist trap soon enough and she’d be free. Then she’d finally see that living the drama was vastly different than hearing about it—especially when the heartache happened personally.
    We sat in silence for a moment as the past drifted in like the tide in my mind. Tatchi would love nothing more than to finish her senior year in public school, but her parents were super strict—similar to mine. Only, their concern didn’t lay with what kind of education she’d get at STHS or the influence from her peers. No, they hid a big secret. One I’d discovered a long time ago and was the reason I avoided her house.
    “Do you have swim practice tonight?” Tatchi asked, interrupting my thoughts.
    “No.” I jumped back into reality. “There’s some banquet for the teachers so it was cancelled.”
    “Nice to have a break, huh?”
    “Meh. I like practice and it’s not like you can do anything anyway. You’ve got a curfew—”
    “Not for much longer. How many days again?” Tatchi sat up and copied my pose by curling her arms around her legs too.
    “Like I have to tell you.” I scrambled over and pulled the tattered brochure from my book bag. Every word on that thing had been read at least a hundred times.
    Last summer, I’d gotten the hair-brained idea to get a post-office box so Tatchi could apply for colleges in secret. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea, afraid how her family would react, but after we sent out applications and were accepted to Florida Atlantic University, we both became excited about the possibilities.
    “Only five months and six days ‘til we‘re free,” she said with a coy smile, though nervously fidgeting with her charm bracelet, the vile of blue liquid sparkling in the sun just right.
    I grabbed her hand. “Your family will be thrilled, I know they’ll be. You’re the first to go to college and on a scholarship. They’ll be happy for your accomplishment.”
    Tatchi and her twin brother Fin helped run the family sailing business, Captain Jack’s Charters. My Gran’s curio shop, Tahoe Tessie’s Treasures happened to be on the same pier. Without college, both of us would be slated to stay and eventually take over the family business, putting down roots like our parents.
    “Well…,” she said with a sigh, a glint of worry reflected in her eyes. “You just don’t know them.”
    The childhood flashback of her dad’s angry face shimmered across my vision. I gulped down my hesitation. She needed me to be strong for her when she finally told them.
    With a deep breath and as much compassion as I could muster, I looked her in the eye. “How could they not be proud of you? Sure, they’ll have to find someone to take your place in the office, but that’s nothing. And you can’t pass up a scholarship—”
    “It’s not that. It’s other things.”
    My stomach clenched. Now seemed like an opportune time to finally discuss what I saw so many years ago. Her dad had a serious problem. In fact, keeping the family secret to herself wasn’t healthy, constantly living vicariously through my warped interpretations of other