One week later...

Ja'Marco came up for air, his body heaving after another grueling practice with the swim team before his debut swim meet. "Boy, I never felt this tired even after being on this team," he lamented as he came out of the pool, accepting a towel from Francis. "I will admit that I am grateful for being on the swim team for the local Y back in California."

"True," his father agreed as Melinda, Frederich, Dominique, and Ferguson joined them. "And hey, you're starting to get into the team spirit. With a little more time with the guys here and full participation in the Triton Mystique Initiative, you'll soon see things start clicking into place."

Ja'Marco only nodded, averting his mother's gaze as he took off his swim cap and goggles before wrapping the towel around his waist.

Gentle reader, the tension between mother and son can vary after an argument between the two. For Ja'Marco and Melinda, things haven't been resolved since the young man hasn't apologized for what he said at the afternoon tea. And while he knew that he would receive no peace until he did make amends with Melinda, Ja'Marco stood by his word and never backed down not even once. In his eyes, he was willing to keep his resolve even if it meant little to no time to himself.

Even now, he was still remaining firm as a week of being under everyone's company flew by without warning. His classwork and homework assignments never got easier as he spent his Labor Day weekend catching up on schoolwork while juggling various activities and the invites that he received at the formal.

"Ja'Marco, it would be nice if you and your mother made peace," Dominique suggested gently. "She really wants the best for you, darling."

"I don't want to talk any more about what I said last week," Ja'Marco deferred as he waved hello to a couple of seniors."

"Son, this heated rivalry between you and your mother is getting too far, even by your own standards," Frederich commented, giving his nephew a pointed stare. "I'm sure that you want to have some private time for yourself since the guys can be a bit clingy. Just apologize to Melinda and let us work with you in being the man you can become."

The teen sighed heavily, not wanting to look into his uncle's sea-green eyes despite his own being the same color. "Look, I meant what I said and I said what I meant," he replied. "I just can't and won't forgive someone who's too domineering and favoring her stepdaughter over her son by blood. Even if I could do all that she asks with total conviction and sincerity, she'll still want more and more. Can't y'all understand that things aren't going to change unless she's willing to loosen her grip?"

No one said a word as Ja'Marco sulked away from the adults and made a beeline for the locker room in need of a shower.

"Ja'Marco?"

Said teen whirled around to see a frowning Isaiah, the blonde-haired jock crossing his arms and looking more like a dominant athlete in his triangular competitive swimsuit. "What, Isaiah?" he asked.

"You know that you're being unfair to your mom, bro. I know that things aren't easy and you want to take it at your pace, but you have to be fair with everyone here," Isaiah said as he stood in front of Ja'Marco, both of them inches apart. "All everyone asks is a simple apology and for you to be a true team player. You know that you want to have some space, so why let all of us hound you day by day? Just make things right with Aunt Mellie and get into the game, bro."

Ja'Marco shook his head. "I'm sorry, Whitney, but I can't do that and I won't. As long as my mom is being such a micro-managing and fame-chasing diva, I won't apologize to her and I'm not backing down. I'll go along with what everyone's planning for me, but that's it. Take it or leave it."

With that, Ja'Marco headed for the shower stalls, leaving behind a frustrated Isaiah Whitney.

*****************

The school library, three days later...

"Hey, Ja'Marco."

Ja'Marco let out a soft gasp as he soon faced a well-dressed Candide Weston, the caramel-skinned teenager dressed tastefully in a simple pink blouse, form-fitting jeans, and her favorite pair of knee-high boots as her braided hair was tucked in a ponytail. "Candide, how did you get here?" he asked before granting her and her parents Douglass and Edilean a big hug. "I thought that you and the others are banned from this school with the threat of death if you-"

"Believe it or not, it's your uncle Frederich who allowed us to see you," came the voice of one Felicia Adamson as she (dressed in a simple blue T-shirt and jeans and her face devoid of makeup) joined the others with Frederich following suit. "And it's only fair that we came to see you mainly because the Westons and I are leaving town by tomorrow."

"Wait, what?"

Candide nodded. "Yeah. With my dad's job requiring him to transfer to Nashville and Felicia feeling homesick, we decided to cut our time here in Glenview Valley short," she remarked. "That, and we think that coming here wasn't a good idea."

"Does Ro'Niah know what's going on?" Ja'Marco wanted to know.

"He does, and understood what's going on. Wasn't thrilled about my family heading to Tennessee, but knew that Dad's job meant business."

Ja'Marco turned to his uncle. "Can I speak with Candide and Felicia alone?" he asked.

"But of course," the older man replied, granting his nephew a small smile. "I'm sure that I can have Miss Weston's parents for some tea and cookies as a parting gesture."

Mrs. Weston sighed deeply. "I do love tea," she remarked. "Douglass?"

Her husband turned to his daughter. "We'll be in the main office, Candy," he said. "You get ten minutes."

The adults headed out of the library as Ja'Marco led the girls to an empty table. After some chit-chat, Ja'Marco dove right in. "I've been missing y'all like crazy," he said. "Everyone's been on my case with being involved with this Triton Mystique, Nexus, or whatever. And things between my mom and me have been more than before since I told her off."

"Well, Ro's still figuring out what's really going on with this place and how you're connected," Felicia replied. "We've been dealing with the surveillance from your sister and cousin for the longest with them popping up whenever there's an event going on here at GVA."

"This place still gives me the creeps," Candide piped up, shuddering slightly. "Anyway, the real reason why my parents, Felicia, and I are leaving because we all felt some sort of strange power that's flowing around this town. I dunno what it is, but it's connecting all the guys here at this all-boys school as well as throughout this town. Ro'Niah thought that it might've had something to do with how Jose became Joseph and Marquez became Martin. And he could be right. He wanted me and my family as well as Felicia to leave this town before we got affected too. And with Dad being transferred, it's probably for the best that we do."

Ja'Marco nodded slowly, understanding the situation. "Well, just make sure to pray for me because you already know that I'm slowly becoming more like them," he commented. "And I think that I have something that can help Ro with this investigation."

"What is it?" Felicia asked.

Ja'Marco reached into his bag and extracted the journal that he kept away from his mother's grasp. "This belonged to someone named S.G. Hedare and Mrs. Lancaster said that it might help me understand what I'm facing," he explained, giving the journal to Candide. "Already read a few entries, but had to hide it from everyone to avoid having it being taken away from me. Make sure that Ro'Niah or Uncle Jeremiah gets this and keep it in a safe place. Once everyone does find out what's going on, I'll know what to do next."

"We promise," Felicia replied. "Be careful, Jay. Things are getting too hot around here and you're in the middle of what's going on behind closed doors. Even though you don't know everything, you could be in grave danger."

That caught Ja'Marco's attention. "Why's that?"

A shadow of emotions crossed Candide's made-up face. "Let's just say that Ro'Niah and his parents have intentions of their own," she said in a cryptic tone. "No one is who they say they are anymore, Ja'Marco. Once you do learn the whole story, you'll have a choice to make: to live the life that you need...or the life that you want. Sometimes, you have to play it safe for the former...and sometimes you gotta play the most dangerous game for the latter. But know that once you do choose, there's no going back."

Sometimes you have to play it safe to live the life you need. But sometimes you have to play the most dangerous game to live the life you want, Melina's voice emanated in Ja'Marco's head as he stood to his feet and began hugging the girls. "Thank y'all for stopping by," he said. "And thanks to this visit, I think I gotta playing by their rules so I can gather my own intel about what's going on around here."

"Just be careful," Felicia warned. "All eyes that are closed don't meant that people are asleep, Jay. And once you do find out the truth...just know who your real friends are."

"I will," Ja'Marco promised just as the bell rang. "You guys better get going. I got classes and all, plus the first swim meet."

"Good luck, Ja'Marco. May the eyes of your late grandparents watch over you," Candide said in parting, sadness laced in her voice as she steeled away the tears that were threatening to pour. "Be brave, be wise, and BEWARE!"

As the girls left the library, both of them knew that it would be the last time that they would see Ja'Marco before they left town and go about their separate ways. They just hoped that he would be ready to make the biggest decision of his life when his birthday rolled around and he knew the entire truth.

This was very sad to write since I know what's going to happen to Ja'Marco while Candide, her parents, and Felicia knew that there were indeed dark and scandalous intentions going on. All the same, folks, things are going to get very interesting from here on out.

Coming up next, it's the first swim meet at GVA as Ja'Marco plans to play his own kind of game. Don't go anywhere!

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