by Katie Cherry
The class goes quiet, staring at him. Everyone stops what they’re doing and rush over to watch the game. Angela’s smile disappears. Narrowing her eyes at him, she prepares to serve again. Nathan watches her eyes. They flick over to his right once, briefly, but it’s enough- he now knows where she’s aiming. He crouches, preparing for the serve. The ball screams down the court. Everyone gasps, thinking that he’ll miss it for sure. He quickly whacks the ball back over the net. This time, Angela is ready for his return. She hits it back, sending it to the far side of the court. Nathan takes three large bounds and manages to hit the ball. It buries itself in the net. A small smile starts to creep back onto Angela’s face as she prepares to serve again.
The game goes on for another half an hour. Nathan is a little ahead- one more point, and he wins the game. Taking a deep breath, he tosses the ball in the air, watching it fall in slow motion before sending it into the corner of the box. Angela dives for it, but misses. The crowd erupts into cheers as Angela crashes to her knees, exhausted. She had been defeated for the first time. She looks up at Nathan, disbelief in her eyes. He walks over to her and helps her up.
“…Good game,” she says, not sounding happy about it.
He laughs. “You were amazing, Angela. I was lucky. You are the best tennis player I think I have ever seen.”
“Besides you,” she sighs, but she’s starting to smile again as well.
“Well done!” the coach says as he walks over to them. “You are an astounding tennis player! Even better than the tennis coach… not that I’m going to tell him that,” he adds to the laughter of the class. “If you don’t come to cross-country, then you should definitely join the tennis team.” Their classmates all agree.
Angela pipes up. “I’m in both. You should join at least one of them so I can keep kicking your butt!” she says, drawing more laughter from the crowd. Nathan smiles.
“Maybe.”
“Come on, it will be fun!” Angela says.
“…Alright. I’ll have to tell my mom when they meet, though.”
“Cross-country meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, right after school,” Jim Hefferson announces. “Until about five o’clock.”
“And tennis is on Wednesdays and Fridays,” Angela adds. “Also from five until seven o’clock. And both start next week.”
Nathan smiles, feeling included and accepted already. “I’ll be there.”
*****
After filling his tray with food, Nathan looks around the crowded lunchroom, searching for Angela. He finally spots her at a large table. Every chair is filled, except for the one to her left. What stands out to Nathan the most, however, is that the table is full of cheerleaders, all dressed up in their uniforms for the assembly after lunch. He swallows. So this is what she meant, he realizes as he walks toward them. The girls look up as he approaches.
“So this is Nathan?” A girl with short brunette hair says, tilting her head to the side and examining him. After a few seconds, she nods, satisfied. He sighs with relief and sits down. The girls all start talking at once, leaning towards him, their eyes bright with curiosity.
After a few minutes, Angela is able to quiet them down. “One at a time, girls!” she exclaims. She turns to Nathan apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I should have warned them first.”
“Oh… no, it’s okay…”
“They just want to get to know you,” she explains.
“Tell us what happened on the bus!” One of them squeals. Her hair is short and white, with pink highlights.
“I… I think Angela can tell you about that,” he says.
“She did,” another one sighs. “We want to hear it from you.”
“Oh… I suppose…” So he tells them his own version of what happened like he had with Angela, enjoying the rapt attention from his audience.
“Wow,” the one with the short white and pink hair whispers. “You were so brave!”
“Yeah, I can’t believe you punched it in the face!”
“You were so smart!”
“I would have been so freaked out!”
“That thing sounds so gross!”
Nathan laughs. “It was nothing, really. I was just lucky, plus it was really dumb.”
“You were still really brave and smart,” the girls insist.
The bell rings. Nathan looks down at his uneaten burger and sighs. He stands up. “I need to go to class,” he says, grabbing his burger and dumping the rest in the trash.
“Bye, Nathan!” the girls squeal, waving to him. Smiling, he waves back, then starts walking to class, wolfing down his burger at the same time.
*****
Come on, come on, come on… yes! Finally! Nathan thinks as the final bell rings at long last, releasing them from school. He grabs his backpack and heads to the bus. Partway there, though, he gets attacked. Again. This time, it’s a group of guys rather than a strange creature, although that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
The biggest one shoves Nathan against a wall. His head smacks against it. He can feel blood start trickling down his neck. “What… what do you want?” he asks, his eyes darting back and forth, sizing them up. There are six of them, and they don’t look happy. They all look like football players, big and strong.
The one holding him against the wall then punches him in the gut, causing him to double over in pain, eyes watering. “I don’t know what you did to get those girls to like you, but you need to cut it out. Angela’s mine, got it?” Confused, Nathan nods anyway. The six sneer at him. “Good. Now hurry and go catch your bus- looks like it’s leaving.”
Nathan turns quickly to see that what the big guy said was true. He takes off running, the six bullies laughing at him. He catches up to the bus just before it pulls into the road. He knocks on the door and the driver opens it, winking at him. Confused, Nathan gives him a small smile and collapses into an empty seat. The bus pulls out.
Angela plops down beside him. “What happened?” she asks, concern dancing in her eyes as she notices him wincing in pain. He tells her, and she frowns in response. “That was Jake and his posse… I’m so sorry. He’s such a jerk. Oh! You’re bleeding!” She gently touches the back of his head. He winces. “Sorry!” she gasps, looking at the blood on her hand. “Hey, it’s a good thing mom got me a medi-bot, right?”
Relieved, Nathan nods. “Mine’s at home, still packed away.” She smiles and pulls the tiny robot out of her backpack and pokes its chest. It wakes up and immediately gets to work, climbing all over Nathan’s body. It drips something from a tiny green vial onto his knuckles, which are instantly healed and the blood washed away. It does the same thing to his head. When it gets to his stomach, however, it tilts its head and makes a whirring sound as if it’s thinking. Then it just shrugs and climbs back into Angela’s backpack and shuts off.
“Hmm. I guess we can’t do anything for your stomach… but that shouldn’t last too long, right?”
He nods. “Yeah, hopefully. Thanks, Angela.”
She shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”
They sit quietly for a while. “Are you still going to come over to my house sometime this week?” she asks.
He chuckles. “Sure, if you want me to.”
“…Even with Jake being-”
“A jerk? Sure. I could take him if I wanted to anyway.” She looks at him with disbelief and admiration. Then she laughs.
“You’re crazy.”
He smiles at her. “Maybe. We’ll have to see… this is my stop. I’ll see you later.”
“I sure hope so,” she says, grinning as he gets off the bus. He stands on the sidewalk watching the bus until he can’t see it anymore. He sighs, then heads into his house.
“Mom, I’m home!” he calls.
“Nathan!” his grandma exclaims, hobbling up the stairs. “You’re finally home!”
He laughs. “Yeah, it’s been a pretty long day.”
“Oh?” she says, raising a grey eyebrow. “Was it that bad? It looks like you had an adve
nture to me! Look at all that blood in your hair and on your sleeve and pants!” she says sarcastically, touching her own curly, silvery-grey hair. Nathan laughs and tells her about his day while she makes him a snack. His grandma Beryl is the only one in his family who would believe him about the red and pink creatures, so she’s the only one he tells about them- and what they told him.
“Hmm… sounds like you’re in for a new adventure here at home!” she laughs, handing him the snack.
“As if being a Junior at High School wasn’t bad enough!” Nathan complains jokingly, wolfing down the food.
“Oh, come now! You thought that the Games were going to be worse than they actually were, now didn’t you?” Nathan frowns, remembering his trip to Zilferia. As far as he’s concerned, the only good thing that happened because of that was meeting Crystal, Ham, and Sierra.
“I… suppose. The mermaids weren’t as bad as we thought, and neither were the dragons, but that’s just because of Crystal. Now it’s just me…”
“So? Don’t you have two Gifts that can help you now? As well as that Matter Ring and the Lightning shoes… and let’s not forget about Greg!”
“Oh! Greg! Where is he?”
Beryl laughs. “Probably out terrorizing the neighborhood cats again. You know him. He’ll be back for dinner, I’m sure.” Nathan laughs as well, picturing the rat chasing cats down the street, howling and screeching.
“Yeah, you can always count on him to be on time for dinner,” he chuckles. “So where’s mom?”
“Picking your father up from his interview.”
“And Anna?”
“Your mother picked her up from preschool first. They’ll be home soon…” As she says this, he hears the garage door open. She smiles. “See? What did I say? Now then, let’s go see if your father got the job!”
The door opens, and the tall frame of John Parker Anderson fills the doorway. He catches sight of his son and rushes forward, grabbing him and giving him a noogie before he can get away. He’s laughing… until he notices the blood on his hand. He releases Nathan and inspects his head. “What happened?” he asks, his deep voice booming with concern.
“Oh… just a bully at school,” Nathan replies. “It’s nothing to worry about. …So did you get the job?”
“Yes, sir! You’re looking at the newest engineer at Theriosk, starting tomorrow!”
“Daddy’s an end-in-ear?” A small voice squeals, confused.
His mom laughs and picks little Anna up, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear. “No, daddy makes those little robots you play with. Can you say engineer, Anna?”
“En… gin… eer?”
Nathan smiles. “Good job, Anna! That’s right!”
The little five-year-old beams with pride. “I can say Engineer! Daddy’s a Engineer!”
“Alright,” Nathan’s mom sighs, setting Anna down and heading into the kitchen. “I guess I should start on dinner. Nathan, how was your day, dear?”
“It was… great, mom.”
“Did you make a lot of friends?”
“…Yeah.”
“And how many of them were girls?” she asks teasingly.
“…All of them. Unless you count the gym teacher.”
She laughs. “That’s fine… but you should try to make some guy friends tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure mom. One of my new friends lives near here. …She invited me over to her house. …Is that okay?”
“You’re going to study, right?”
“…Yeah, sure, of course, mom.”
“That should be fine. Are you going tomorrow?”
“Yeah, right after school.”
“Were you going to stay for dinner? I won’t be home until late.”
“Uh, yeah, I’m sure that will be fine. Thanks, mom!”
“Mmhmm… now go do your homework, okay? Dinner will be ready in a bit.”
“Okay,” he says, running up to his room, feeling better than he had in days. Tomorrow’s going to be great, Nathan thinks, a smile settling on his face.
CHAPTER TWO
Dumb Blonde
My alarm goes off suddenly, startling me. I leap out of bed and slam my hand down on it, turning the loud, annoying noise off. I breathe. Sitting back down on my bed, I let the breath I just took in escape in a rush. Great. School’s starting again… this is going to be horrible. Much worse than talking to vicious mermaids and hoping they won’t actually eat me. Teenagers… can be just as vicious- if not more so. With another sigh, I make my tired body stand and start getting dressed. Grabbing my backpack, I head to the kitchen to grab some food before I catch the bus.
I munch on an English muffin and stand at my bus stop, alone. A soft, cool breeze slips through the air, and the grey sky overhead seems to match my sullen mood. I am anything but excited to start school again. School has never been a great experience for me, and with my self-esteem at an all-time low, the bullying will only be more difficult to put up with. The bus then rolls up and I climb on, sliding into the seat directly behind the bus driver. I stare out the window and ignore everything around me.
When we get to the next bus stop, I’m startled when someone sits down in the seat with me. I look up to find a cute guy about my age, probably a senior, with blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a charming smile. My heart skips a beat.
“I’m sorry… should I sit somewhere else? You just seemed… lonely, I guess, so I thought…”
“You’re fine,” I say, turning and looking out the window again, ignoring him. Keep your emotions under control, Crystal, I order myself. Remember what happened last time? Or what almost happened… Brandon was Hunter in disguise, and he would have kidnapped me had Vlad not gotten to me first… and things would have turned out very differently. I can’t trust this guy. In fact, simply because he’s being kind to me proves he’s probably undercover for the Dragon Hunters. …And I’m so not ready to go back there yet… I’m even more powerless now than before, since they took my Gifts… No. Stop it. Just stop thinking about it, I order myself once I realize where my thoughts had been wandering.
I return my attention to the views outside of the bus. I can feel the guy’s eyes on me. He’s fishing for something to say. I roll my eyes. Sometimes they try just a little too hard, I laugh to myself. This imposer is pretty good. Acting nervous. …As if he actually… no, stop it. Stop trying to like him. He’s obviously with the enemy.
He clears his throat. “I… I’m Justin.”
“Crystal,” I grunt, not turning around or acknowledging him in any other way.
“So… are you a senior?”
“Junior.”
“Oh. Okay, that’s cool… Are you new here?”
“No.”
I can tell my short answers and lack of cooperation are throwing him off track. He gets more flustered and confused. “I… um… are you happy about school starting again?”
“Nope.”
“…Why not?” I hesitate. I want a friend, I want one so badly… I almost decide to tell him. But no… I can’t. I can’t let him get inside my head. He’s faking. He doesn’t actually want to help me or get to know me, he just wants to kidnap me or something. So I eventually shrug and avoid the question. “…Come on. You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone else if it’s a secret and you don’t want me to. …Everyone needs a friend, Crystal. Let me be your friend.”
I swallow hard. Surely… surely telling him won’t hurt anything. They say to keep your enemies close, right? So maybe it’s okay to at least pretend to give in… Comforted by the thought, I decide to confide in him. “I… that’s actually just it. I don’t… have any friends. Everyone… everyone hates me or at least avoids me, and I don’t really even know why…”
He cautiously lays a hand on my shoulder. “Well… you have a friend now, Crystal.” I slowly turn and look up at him, hope fluttering in my heart despite my best efforts to refuse it entrance. He’s just playing with your emotions… a small voice in the back of my head whispers. I smile a l
ittle to myself. Then maybe let’s play with his… I lay my head on his shoulder. He stiffens, then relaxes. After about a minute, he slowly puts one of his hands on my head and starts smoothing down my hair, tucking strays behind my ear. Butterflies erupt in my stomach. I try to ignore them, but it’s nearly impossible. I haven’t been this close to a guy since Lloyd and I fell under the Hausdorff tree’s spell back in Zilferia.
Before long, our journey is ended as the bus pulls up in front of the school. I find myself sad to have to leave my new friend, Justin; not to mention all the bullying. Sighing, I slowly get off the bus, stopping in the long, green grass to look up at the sky. There aren’t many clouds today, but one of them looks a little like… a person… riding a dragon, with fire flying out of its mouth…
I shake my head, banishing the image. That can’t be good… I’m starting to see things with dragons… I really need to stop thinking about Zilferia. …But my friends are in trouble, I argue with myself, lowering my gaze from the sky to the building before me. With the Dragon Hunters on the loose… with the Gift Stealer that I- stupidly- helped them fix… No. I need to go back to school. I can’t help them anyway- I’m more powerless than they are. I take a deep breath and walk into the school, pushing all thoughts of Zilferia from my head.
Heading to my first class, I have to squeeze between large groups of friends that always tend to form in the hallways and lobby. Someone shoves me. I keep walking. Something hits me in the back of the head- probably an eraser. I keep walking. Someone- one of the football players, I think- steps in front of me. “Where’re you going, Blondie?” he mocks.
“To class,” I mutter, trying to edge past him.
“Hear that?” he calls to his friends, who join him, blocking my way. “The dumb blonde wants to go to class!”
“Let me through,” I snarl.
He laughs. “What’s wrong, Blondie? Don’t you like me?”
“Let me through,” I repeat.
“Why? You gonna pay me to go through? There’s a price to go through this hallway, ya know.”