by Joshua Laack
Chapter 2
About five minutes into class, a knock on the door echoed into the room and the door swung open with the screeching protest of infrequently oiled hinges. In the doorway stood the principle and behind him, another figure Andrew couldn't see clearly.
“Ms. Frankin, I have a new student for you.” She set her book down on the table and motioned for them to enter. The principal turned and left and the girl standing behind him stepped into the room. As she stepped into the light, Andrew's heart began to pound within his chest.
He glanced around and wondered why no one said anything about it. It sounded like thunder in the midst of a summer storm as it echoed in his ears. Surely they had to be able to hear it, as loud as it was. No one was looking at Andrew though, they were all trying to get a good look at the figure in the doorway.
From where Andrew sat in the second row, across the room from the door, he could clearly see the glow of sapphire eyes set in smooth, pale skin. Her dark brown hair cascaded past her shoulders like water over a fall, shimmering like the finest silk strands despite the terrible florescent lighting. She was tiny, with delicate features, though there was strength in the way she carried her small frame. Strangest of all, she seemed to actually glow as a bright light in the midst of darkness and it dazzled him. He wanted to stay here for the rest of the day and stare into that glow.
Those sparkling blue eyes glanced at Andrew and he felt them pierce through him as if she were peering into his soul. His pounding heart beat faster and louder still. For a moment, Andrew feared it would burst. Then, while still looking into his soul, she unleashed a small smile. Andrew almost fainted.
The whole exchange lasted only an instant, but it felt like forever. Then it was over and she turned to face the teacher who was welcoming her to the class. Jason was saying something beside him and the rest of the class was all whispering as well, but Andrew heard none of it. He was lost to the real world. For that short moment, he had felt a strong connection to the girl.
Andrew frowned. That wasn't quite right. It was more than that. It felt like he knew her from somewhere, but she was a transfer student so that didn't seem likely. He didn't understand the reason for the feeling. A smile crept upon his face and Andrew felt a lightness within himself that he was unfamiliar with.
There had been brief glimpses of light all throughout his life, but they were nothing compared to the unexpected burst of clear hope that filled him upon seeing her. There had been darkness in his spirit for as long as he could remember, but for some reason, she seemed to repress that darkness.
Andrew shook his head. It was insane. Who felt so happy about someone they didn't know and had never even spoken a single word to? The girl turned to the class.
“Hello,” she said with a smile. “My name is Josefina Sanchez.” There was a scattering of hellos from the class, though they seemed somewhat unenthusiastic based on the brightness of the beauty Andrew saw before him.
Josefina glided to one of the empty desks in the room with a grace that made Andrew's still rapidly beating heart catch in his throat. Watching her move, he again felt certain that he knew her from somewhere, but that was ridiculous. He couldn't know her. He snorted to himself with a shake of his head. He had to be imagining the feeling. He wished he knew her, but what guy wouldn't?
Josefina sat down and the class attempted to resume as it had been before the interruption, though the result was far from perfect. Andrew tried to pay attention as well, but he couldn't focus. His thoughts and his beating heart continued to race out of control.
As Andrew stared at the front of the room struggling to tame his wandering mind, he felt the hairs all over his arms and neck stand up. It was like the feeling that someone was staring at him. Andrew stiffened, but forced himself to relax. If she were staring at him, he didn't want to let her know that he was aware of it.
As nonchalantly as he could, Andrew placed his head down on the desk and allowed his eyes to wander back around the room until they reached Josefina's desk. She wasn't looking in his direction, but down at the temporary book that Ms. Frankin had given her. Despite the obvious fact that she wasn't looking at him, the feeling of being watched persisted. As it did, the light and hope he felt with Josefina's presence vanished and he sank back into an even blacker black than he was accustomed to. The vengeance of its return dulled Andrew's mind and buried him into a depression far stronger than he was accustomed to. It was at this point that Andrew realized what was going on. He was losing his mind. It was the only explanation he could fathom that came close to explaining what was happening.
The rest of class dragged by at a snail's pace. It took most of that immense period of time for Andrew's heart to slow back to a normal pace, or at least close to it. As his heart calmed, the hairs on his body, which had remained at attention to this point, calmed as well. At the same time, the darkness within him faded back to normal as well, if such a word could ever be used to describe it.
The bell rang to end class and Andrew rushed to get up and away from the the craziness that he was feeling. He was still feeling lightheaded from the excessive blood and oxygen that had been pumping through his brain. He felt himself waver for an instant before he got it under control. As he did, the most intoxicating aroma he had ever inhaled in his entire life filled his nose.
It was a strange scent of wild flowers and some kind of citrus fruit. When Andrew breathed in that scent, his heart shuddered to a complete stop in his chest. It didn't just feel that way either. It literally stopped. The black upon Andrew's mind grew so strong that it faded the world in his eyes. All color vanished into shades of gray and it was difficult to make anything out. Everything seemed as if he were staring at it through water.
In a daze, Andrew turned and there she stood, right beside him. In the midst of dimming vision, she was brighter than ever, shining in a halo of light and gleaming in full glorious color. She stood out like a polished jewel resting among a pile of ordinary rocks. Her blue eyes stared up into Andrew's hazel ones and she smiled the same half smile she had when she looked through him upon first coming into the room.
“Hello Andrew Marks.” Her voice of silver chimes rang in his ears as he started to fade out of consciousness from the complete and sudden lack of oxygen to a brain somewhat adjusted to an excess. She reached out as if to steady him. As her cool white hand touched the skin of his arm, Andrew was jolted with an electric current that flowed from her touch into him like the paddles on a defibrillator. His heart began to beat again at its normal, steady pace. At the same time, Andrew heard the strangest growl emanating from somewhere nearby. The current he felt at her touch doubled and then the blackness screamed. The sound echoed in his ear and then a different blackness rose up and took him from the world of the conscious to a place where not even dreams interfere.
There was no awareness of time in that blackness so Andrew was not certain how long he lay there before a small circle of light appeared in that darkness. The light rapidly grew larger, like the light at the end of a train tunnel rushing closer and closer. Soon, the light took up more space than the black did, and it continued to grow until it overwhelmed the blackness leaving the space brighter than staring into the morning sun.
Andrew blinked, still seeing nothing but the brightness of that sun as she stood over him. As he looked, the circle of people standing around him faded into view. They were still not in color, but this time the color had been washed out by light in front of his eyes instead of being faded away by darkness. Josefina remained the only one in color as she knelt beside him, her hand now on his face instead of his arm. The current still flowed between them, though no longer as strong as it had been in the moments before he had passed out.
“Whaa...” Andrew cleared his throat to remove the large frog coiled up there. “What happened?”
Josefina removed her hand and with it the current. She stood and stepped back into the circle of people that included Jason and Ms. Frankin. Colors returned as the sun vanished
from his eyes and Andrew sat up.
“Careful Andrew. Don't try to get up yet. The nurse is on her way. You just fainted.” Ms. Frankin sounded quite concerned which surprised Andrew. He never expected anyone to care about him, and when they did, it always took him back a little. He turned his head, searching for the sun and caught a glimpse of her face in the background. She smiled at him, winked and walked out of the room, leaving Andrew staring after her lithe figure in wonder.
What had just happened? Andrew tried to put the pieces together in his mind. The last thing he remembered was his heart stopping. Had she started his heart again with her touch? What had caused the current flowing between them? Whatever it was, his heartbeat was now steady and as strong as it had been before. Another thought hit him as well. As far as Andrew knew, he didn't recall saying his name to her, or anyone else mentioning it either. How in the world had she known it?
“Whoa man! That was crazy!” Jason's voice was on Andrew's other side. Andrew turned and looked up at him.
“What was crazy,” Andrew asked? Jason snorted and stared at him.
“What do you think I mean? The new girl said hi to you and she knew your name. Then you fainted. That seems crazy to me.” Andrew nodded and then stood up despite the protests of Ms. Frankin.
“Yes, I would agree. Completely crazy!” He turned and walked from the room.
“Wait,” Jason called after him! “How did she know it? Hey! Where are you going?” Andrew kept walking, pretending that he didn't hear his friend as he had no idea what the answers to either of the questions were.
Andrew met the nurse walking in the hall toward the class and walked with her back to the nurse's office behind the main offices. After a moment of examination, Andrew told her that he had stood up too fast and the blood had rushed to his head. The nurse pronounced him fine and sent him on his way. By this point, the bell for next hour rang and Andrew headed to his locker and then to class. He avoided thinking about the events of the previous class as he walked toward Trigonometry. An hour with Mr. Anderson, as dull as it would be, might be a nice break from the craziness in Andrew's mind.
That thought was dashed. Somehow, Josefina was in both his Trigonometry class and after that, health class with Mr. Roberts. Andrew learned nothing in either class. His eyes kept wandering to the figure who still seemed to glow in his vision. Andrew knew she must not glow in reality since no one else was remarking upon it. So it was just him that saw it. He wondered if this whole day was just in his head. He did have some strange dreams sometimes. Maybe this was just one of those dreams. He knew it was not.