Chapter 4 - Gen 1 - Lilly

~ COUNT ON ME ~

"You know Lilly you really should not let them see you cry"

Stunned, hearing somebody speak, a voice I did not recognize, I looked up quickly to see who it belonged to.  Ive been sat here sobbing, head in hands, because I thought I was alone.  Running into what I thought was an empty room with tears in my eyes I hadn't seen him, the orange boy, he must have been sat at the piano all the time.  As he stood up he knocked a few of the piano keys and they made a loud clunking sound, "I'm sorry"  he mumbled, I was not sure if he was apologizing for the noise or for watching me crying.

I stand up, trying to decide whether or not to just run, so embarrassed that he has just sat there hearing, even watching me sobbing my heart out.

"They used to pick on me too, but the more you let Lime see that it bothers you the more she will do it, Lilly."  He said my name again, I wandered how he knows my name when I don't have a clue what his is, I have seen him around the school a few times and we only share a few classes, but don't know a thing about him - he is always so quiet.

"Sorry, I don't know your name ...."

"Mango, but you can call me Nerd if you want to, everyone else does around here." he said then he smiled at me "I know how it gets, I am just trying to give you some friendly advice where Lime is concerned."

"Friendly advice ...." I repeated his words out loud, more for my own benefit, was he actually being 'nice' to me??  I'm not really sure why I suddenly felt dizzy, my legs wobbled and I felt myself swaying.  Mango must have noticed because he grabbed hold of my arms to steady me.  

"I think you should sit back down for a while don't you."  he carefully helped me back to the sofa, not letting go of me until I was sat down then he sat down beside me - he showed no signs of worrying that he had just touched me.

"I didn't see you at breakfast or lunch - have you eaten today?" he ask me which I thought was pretty strange that he would even notice I actually had not been anywhere near the canteen today.

"No."  was all that I could say

"It is no wander you're dizzy, you shouldn't skip your meals it's not healthy."  This boy is very strange!!! "You do it a lot don't you - skip meals!!"  Definitely strange, what does he do - watch me, isn't that a little creepy???!!!  I do skip meals, usually when Lime and her lapdogs are giving me a hard time and I can't face the hassle, but why should this boy noticed when I hardly knew he existed until ten minutes ago.

We started talking, I was a little wary at first, I have learned never to trust anyone, but as our conversation went on I started to relax a little and actually found him easy to talk to.  So when he asked me what they had done to upset me so much, without realizing it, I spilled my guts out to him warts and all.  I was having my very first conversation with someone who is treating me like a person and not a colourless freak and I liked it.

"You know we all have our problems here in one way or another, Lime especially, she is an orphan, her whole family were faded in a house fire, Lime was the only one who survived, she is very bitter and twisted because of it, but I know that does not excuse her for what she does to everybody - especially you."  he paused for a moment but when I didn't speak he carried on "Maybe we should stick together, I can help get them off your back, I'll put a stop to them bullying you."  Is he for real? - can he actually do that?  Bullies are not easily stopped, but he did say they used to pick on him, past tense, so he must have stopped them somehow, maybe he can - but why would he do it for me??

"Why are you being nice to me?"  I couldn't hold it in any long, I had to ask him  "Are you not scared of my colour or lack of it?"

"I hope I am nice to everyone ....."  he paused and I thought that was all he was going to say, he looked and me curiously for a moment then continued  "..... and I don't see colour - I'm completely colour blind, I only know that you have no colour because everyone has talked about it, to me you look no different to anyone else I see."  Colour blind, I had never heard of such of thing.  Mango explained to me that his world was basically black white and grey he does not see colour like I do, he inherited it from his Dad, and that most of the males in his family are colour blind.  "As for being scared of your lack of colour - why should I be, you are the way you are because of a medical condition, just like I am."  Well that is news to me!!!  Nobody has ever sat me down and explained to me why I am colourless.

"Why do you say I'm colourless because of a medical condition."  I ask him because he seemed so sure he knew why I was this way, how could he when I didn't know myself.

"My parents are doctors, surgeons, and that's what I want to do, I read a lot and research things, your condition being one of them, you are not the first colourless person I have come across, there is a boy in the town where I come from, he is just like you." 

That cheered me up a little - so there is boyfriend material out there for me somewhere after all - I always imagined I was the only one like me and as we can not colour mix I would grow old lonely, never have children and never find anyone to love me.

After what seemed like hours of talking Mango insisted on taking me to the canteen and made me eat something, while he sat there to make sure I ate it.  I found it a little uncomfortable, but he meant well, it felt strange to have someone worrying over my well being.

After I had finished eating he walked me back to my room and I really didn't want him to go just yet, I have been so lonely for so long I was enjoying his company, I wanted him to stay a little longer so I invited him in.  I guessed he would stay a while longer, make his excuses then leave - but it didn't quite work out that way.  He hardly left my side from then on, and for the first time in my life I found I had my first real friend.

Mango moved into my room, although the live in teaching staff, who are responsible for looking after us out of school hours, were not too keen on the idea at first, there is a strict no girl / boy room sharing policy, but Mango somehow managed to persuade them.

Mango came bursting through the door with his bags and suitcase, a big grin on his face, he dropped them all on the floor and collapsed onto the sofa laughing.  "I'm gay."  he blurted out then started laughing again.

"What?!  Really?!"  For a moment I thought he was being serious, not that it bothered me, he just took me by surprise.

"I'm a genius!!  They were having none of us two rooming together until I told them I'm gay ....... suddenly it was in the best interests of the other boys' that I be moved out of a boys room."  He fell about laughing again.  I just sat looking at him with my mouth open.  "Don't worry, Its not like I am ever getting a girlfriend in this place, not unless they move a nice orange girl in here, not that that matters where I come from - so they will never know I am not gay."

I was a little confused "Not that what matters?"

"Mixing - there are plenty of mixed berries where I come from - colour doesn't matter as much like it does here.  My mother is mixed - yellow and purple - she has yellow skin and purple hair and eyes so I am told, my Dad is pure orange, I didn't inherit any colouring from my mother but I look like her.  Just think if I did have any of my mothers colour in me they would never have let me into this school that's for sure!!"

In this town, and where I am from, there are laws against colour mixing, you can even get sent to prison for having a mixed colour relationship.   I found it pretty weird that there were towns where colour mixing was allowed, maybe another reason why Mango actually looks at me, he looks past my colour which nobody has ever done before.  Colour has never been an issue for him being colourblind and being in the place where he is from.

I have not missed a meal time since Mango moved into my room - he just doesn't allow it.  The other kids in school call him a nerd and he readily admits that he is one, he obsesses over some strange thing - food being one of them but of course that is for medical reason.   Although I am not sure eating with the teaching staff is a good idea with Mango's fake gay status, or is going to earn us any brownie points with the other pupils - but it is something he has always done and changing it now might make them suspicious he thinks.

The weeks started to fly by and Mango only leaves my side when we have classes that we do not share.  There is so much I have not done in my life up until now, simple things, even as stupid as a game of pool or chess, never having a friend there are a lot of things that I have never done that most people take for granted.

Although sometimes I think Mango gets a little fed up of having to teach me things that really I should already know but have never experienced before.  Chess was a bit of a trauma, I have never been the sharpest pencil in the box, Mango has a very high IQ level and takes chess very seriously.  The chess pieces went flying a few times before I managed to take it all in, much to Mango's horror, he banned me from touching his own chess set as he feared I might break it so we only play it in the park now.   It makes me laugh because we don't get to play as often as he would like, but if I am being honest chess really is not for me, I don't like it but I wouldn't dare tell him.

Music is something that I never really heard much of as a child, the only noise in our house was my parents arguing.  Being colour blind there are certain things that he finds difficult or can't do - Art being one of them you can't paint a decent picture if you don't know what colours you are painting onto the canvas.  So instead of doing Art he spends a lot of his time during and after classes in the music room his passion being the piano.  After classes if he is there I am generally there with him, I find his piano playing quite relaxing and I am quite happy sitting and reading a book while he plays.

 We spend a lot of time especially at weekends on the park opposite the school, sometimes behaving like children - I feel like I have a childhood to relive as I missed out on mine ........

and other times we talked and talked until our throats are sore.  Slowly we are beginning to learn everything about each other, he feels like the brother I should have had but didn't.  Thinking about the word brother and Mulberry crosses my mind which upsets me, I really want to see him, but know its not possible, I get a pain in my chest, a lump in my throat then the tears start flowing.  I now have a shoulder to cry on, and I'm sure he must get sick of me soaking his clothes with my tears, but he never complains, he usually holds me till I stop crying or fall asleep.  I am not sure I will ever stop crying over Mulberry.

"Hey I just realized something - the nightly visits have stopped, they haven't been to play any pranks for a while!!"  I had been so busy with my change in life, I had not even noticed.

"Yeah I know I told them to pack it in - there won't be anymore unless Lime does her own dirty work, which is highly unlikely at the moment, she is too busy worrying over her colour - you know you really shouldn't keep winding her up over you turning her colourless."  he looked at me with that concerned face of his.

"She'll live besides isn't it nice to see her squirming for a change?!"   I giggled to myself.

"It is but I hope you know when she finally realizes its rubbish she is going to come at us like the devil possessed - you have made a right fool of her even Alpine is laughing about it - once she knows she can touch you ..........."  He stopped suddenly like he didn't want to say the rest

"She'll use me as a punch bag - I know - I used to be Prelude's punch bag, I'm not going to die from a few bruises, I haven't yet!!"

"She won't touch you, not if I can help it, she'll have to get through me first!!"

 He has already changed my life for the better in so many ways and I will never forget that.

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Song:  Count on me by Bruno Mars (Song) (Lyrics)