Hidden Moon

by K. R. Thompson

  “No, I’ll be fine, honest. You just drop me off at the house and then go home and get your nerves ready for tomorrow’s driving lesson. You’ll need your rest. I may make it into fourth gear tomorrow morning!” I laced my arm through his and grinned up at him.

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind to come up.”

  “I’m sure.” I smiled and tried to change the subject, “So I wonder what they’ve got to eat for lunch today?”

  He laughed. “That wasn’t very subtle, but I’ll let you off the hook if you promise you’ll call me if you need me.”

  “I promise.”

  John and Beth were sitting at the same table as we got our plates and came over to sit with them. The table across the room was empty. I felt panicked, though I didn’t know why.

  Beth looked over at me and smiled. “They go back to the reservation at noon, two or three times a week to learn their ‘traditional’ stuff. Penny explained it to me last year when I did an article for the paper. It’s part of how they keep their tradition alive.”

  “I’m surprised they talked to you. I didn’t think they would like outsiders.”

  “Quite the opposite. They are a very proud people and they like to share their way of life with others. They like to teach, you’ll see. I overheard Mrs. Graham say that we’ll be going over to the reservation soon for a field trip. I’ll have to get ready to write the article for that, although it should be the same as it is every year.” She frowned as if thinking of different ways to describe the same thing that happened year after year was going to be a challenge.

  “Speaking of articles,” I said, “thanks for not putting me in one.”

  “Don’t get too comfortable. The only reason you’re not is that I know that now you’re part of the squad and something better to write in the next few days may pop up. I’ve seen Tiffany give you some evil looks today. I’d watch out if I were you.”

  “You could take Tiffany, hands down.” Brian grinned at me, and then he added, “but all kidding aside, you may want to watch your back where Tiffany is concerned. She’s sneaky, so keep your eyes open.”

  I sat there staring down at my half-eaten burger and wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into. I now had an arch-enemy and it was only the second day of school.

  The rest of the day went by at a snail’s pace. I realized that I was looking forward to seeing Adam after school. I kept replaying the moment outside the door of English class. Thankfully, none of the teachers called on me to volunteer any answers even though a couple of them looked at me as though they suspected my mind was elsewhere.

  The bell rang and Brian drove us home. He hesitated when I thanked him and jumped out of the truck. I leaned back in to grab my book bag.

  “You’re sure you don’t want me to stay?” he asked in a worried tone.

  “Yep, I’m sure. I will be okay.”

  “Promise me again. You’ll call if you need me, right?” he asked, catching my hand. “I can be up here in just a minute, you know.”

  “I promise. You worry too much.”

  “I don’t think so,” he muttered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Reluctant, he turned loose of my hand and put the car in gear, leaving me to stand and watch him drive down the road. I shook my head. I could take care of myself. After all, it was only Adam.

  Mom had left me a note to say that she and Emily had gone out shopping for paint for the house and that they would stop and grab a pizza on the way home. I went upstairs to tidy up my room. I caught my reflection as I went by a window and decided I was the one who needed tidying up. I went into the bathroom to inspect my reflection.

  My hair was doing its usual chaotic blonde frenzy around my head. I turned on the water, using my fingers to flick little drops of water in my hair to tame down the flyway curls. I gathered the mass up and pulled it through a scrunchie at the base of my neck. It was as good as it was going to get, I decided. I shrugged and went back outside to see what the construction workers had fixed that day.

  On the porch, I noticed a new window that looked better than the previous one that had sported the duct tape. I walked around the side of the house, inspecting all the little changes. I smiled at the thought of the paint that my mother was bringing home.

  “It’s looking good.” Adam stood next to me, looking at the house. His thumbs were tucked in the pockets of his jeans as if he had been standing there for hours.

  “I didn’t hear you drive up.”

  “You wouldn’t have. I walked.”

  “You walked? Isn’t the reservation a couple of miles from here?”

  “It is,” he grinned.

  “Did you walk down the road or come through the forest?” I asked, interested in the location of his arrival.

  “The forest, of course,” he nodded toward the little path I had discovered earlier.

  You didn’t think I was going to walk past Brian’s house, did you?

  He was frowning. The small wrinkle formed between his brows. He saw me looking at him and his face went blank.

  “So, did you bring your book?”

  “No.”

  “That’s fine. We can use mine,” I said, trying not to stare in his eyes again. “Let’s go inside and get started.”

  We went upstairs to my bedroom so I could grab my textbook. Adam looked at the chair that I had placed in front of the window. A small smile twitched on his face.

  “You like watching the woods.” It seemed more of a comment than a question.

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t think I would like you when I saw you the first time.” His voice was a barely audible whisper. He turned back to stare at me again.

  The air was getting warmer again, hugging me in a warm heat. I walked over to the window and tried to tug it open. It stuck after a couple inches, leaving me to yank on it with all my strength.

  I felt him before I heard him. Adam’s arms circled around me as he put one hand on either side of mine. “Here, let me help.”

  The window slid open. A cool breeze hit me full in the face and I took a step back. His chest was solid against me and I could feel his sharp intake of breath as soon as I touched him. It startled me enough that I tried to turn and take a step back toward the window at the same time. I toppled backward and once again his arms were there catching me, steadying me back on my feet. I flushed, feeling like an idiot. A warm hand came up to push back an errant curl that sprang free to spiral next to my cheek.

  “Okay, English,” I said, ducking around Adam to grab my textbook off the bed. I held it in front of me like a shield.

  “Okay, English,” he repeated, smiling.

  I sat down cross-legged on the top of the bed and pointed, indicating I wanted him to sit, too. I opened the textbook as he sat down. Then I put on my best teacher face.

  “I think we should start at the beginning,” I said, giving him my most serious look.

  He smiled at me. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “Nouns,” I started. “What are they?”

  He shrugged, and stared at me, waiting for me to answer my own question.

  “Nouns are the subject of the sentence,” I explained, “for example, if I were to say, ‘the tree is green,’ then tree would be the noun.”

  He frowned, and then nodded. The little wrinkle of concentration was back again, crinkling between his eyes as I gave him another sentence and he tried to guess the right noun. I found myself staring into his eyes again, getting lost in their depths. He cleared his throat and I found him staring back at me.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “Well, what?”

  “I asked if that was the right word.”

  I looked back down at the book, trying to find the sentence I had given him, “Yes, that’s it.”

  I concentrated back to the task at hand and gave him more sentences. I started with the easier ones, then made them harder, as he guessed every one of them right. I stared down into the book, searching for the hard
est ones, when I felt him reach up and pull my scrunchie free. My hair cascaded around my shoulders and down my back.

  “You are beautiful,” he whispered. He gave me a shy smile as I looked up at him, “You would be the noun.”

  “Um, yes. I mean no,” I stammered, then looked at the floor. “That’s a pronoun.” My face started to flush, and I started to feel the air begin to snap around us again, even though the breeze still blew through the window.

  I heard a car pull up and hopped up off the bed to look out the window.

  He was still smiling at me when I turned around. “That’s my mom and my sister. Let’s take a break and go downstairs.”

  He nodded and followed me down the staircase.

  “Hi, Nikki,” Mom said as I came around the corner of the kitchen. “I didn’t think you would be home yet. Didn’t you have a study date?” She stopped and smiled as she saw Adam come into view, “Hello.”

  “Mom, this is Adam,” I introduced him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Adam. I’m sorry the house is such a mess. I thought Nikki was going over to study at your house, or I would have cleaned up more.”

  “That’s okay, Mrs. Harmon. We thought it would be easier if I came here instead, so Brian wouldn’t have to wait and Nikki wouldn’t be rushed,” he explained.

  Emily came from outside and into the kitchen in her usual full speed, not seeing Adam by the door. He must have heard her coming, and stepped ever so slightly to the side to keep her from running full into him. She stopped in front of him and her eyes widened.

  “You’re a real Indian,” she whispered in awe.

  He grinned at her. “Yes, I am.”

  “Wow.” Emily’s face flushed in excitement. “Did you come from the woods? You know, Nikki thought she saw someone outside her window the first day we were here.”

  His smile froze for a second, and then warmed up again. “Yes, I came through the woods. You will have to come visit us sometime. I hear that the school is bringing everyone on a field trip soon.”

  “I know. I can’t wait,” she beamed at him.

  “Emily, you need to go up and get started on your homework. You can talk to Adam later. Here, take some pizza up with you.” Mom herded Emily to the door, and handed her a paper plate.

  “‘Bye, Adam.” Emily waved around our mother’s legs.

  “‘Bye, Emily,” he grinned at her.

  As she left, Mom turned around and smiled. “Sorry about that. She’s your typical six year-old. She would have pestered you the whole time you were here. I didn’t see your car outside. Do you need us to give you a ride back?”

  “No, ma’am. I’ll be okay. I’m used to walking. It won’t take long to make it back home.”

  “Make sure you’re careful when you head back. I think they’re calling for rain tonight.” She smiled at him and then turned to me. “I saw Anita today. She was telling me about Brian’s scheme to get you into driving.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, it’s a scheme.”

  “Well? How did it go?” she prodded.

  “Ok.” I shrugged.

  “Once you get the hang of it, we’ll have to find you a decent car. I think Brian is sweet to be taking you to school every day, but I’m sure you would like a little freedom of your own. Now, you guys grab some pizza and go study.” She stuck half of the pizza on a plate and shooed us out of the kitchen.

  Back upstairs, I nibbled on a slice as I looked through the book. Adam scarfed down two pieces, one after another, as he peered over my shoulder to see what I had planned for him next.

  “No cheating.” I pushed his face back over my shoulder.

  We worked until dusk. Loose sheets of notebook paper covered the bed with our notes. It would be dark soon. I stretched and rubbed the crick I had gotten in my neck.

  “I think we’ve made quite a bit of progress today.”

  “I think so, too. Thank you for helping me. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Adam said. His eyes narrowed an instant later.

  I heard the phone ring and my mother answer it, though I couldn’t hear what she said.

  “Brian is calling to check to see if I have smudged your reputation,” he said dryly.

  “Nikki, phone. It’s Brian,” Mom called up the stairs.

  I groaned as Adam smirked at me.

  “Tell him I’ll call him back in a few minutes,” I yelled back to her.

  “I need to go,” Adam stood, and then walked towards the door. “Thank you again for the help.”

  “Wait. Hold on.” I jumped up from the bed, trying to pull my shoes on, half-running, half-stumbling, as I tried to catch up with him. “I’ll walk out with you.”

  “You should call Brian back. I know the way out.” His amber eyes seemed to flame with contained rage.

  I looked up at him, perplexed. I didn’t know what I had done to bring this sudden tirade on, so I said, “I would like to walk you out, if that’s okay with you. I will call him back later. He can wait.”

  He snorted. “You’d better not make him wait for too long, I can hear him pacing all the way up here. He’s trying to decide whether to come up or not.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Lucky guess. It’s what I would do,” he shrugged, and then gave me a small, reluctant smile. “Come on then. Walk me out.”

  Once we were outside, I didn’t realize that I was leading us to the path that I had found at the edge of the woods.

  “We could drive you home,” I said, looking at the shadows that lurked a few feet beyond us. “You’re not going to make it home before it gets dark. It could be dangerous in there.” I stared at the ominous darkness that seeped toward us.

  He laughed. It was a short quick burst that lit up his face. “You’re worried about me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I know this forest better than anyone. I’ll be home before full dark and I’ll be fine. I’m not Little Red Riding Hood, you know,” he grinned. His eyes gleamed with humor at some joke that he only knew.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” He reached out and gently touched my cheek. “Good night, Nikki.” He turned and walked into the woods out of sight. The darkness enveloped him.

  “‘Goodnight,” I whispered into the dark, empty stillness.

  I walked back to the house and found Mom sitting in the living room. She grinned at me and tossed the cordless phone into my hand. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered as I took the phone upstairs with me.

  I flipped to the back of my binder where Brian had sketched his number in bold numbers with a big smiley face in place of the zeroes. I dialed and waited for him to pick up. It didn’t make it through the first ring when I heard him pick up.

  “Well?” he demanded.

  “Well, hello to you, too.”

  “Hello. I’ve been waiting for forever. What happened?”

  “We learned nouns.” I yawned into the phone, trying to sound bored.

  “Oh.” He seemed mollified. “Well, when is he coming over again?”

  “I don’t know, Brian. We didn’t get around to setting another one up. You called, so he went home and I called you back.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry at all. In fact, he seemed to like the idea that he had made Adam go home.

  I grinned, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice, “Not a problem. So are you picking me up early again in the morning?”

  “You bet. It’s your turn to drive again, you know.”

  “Yeah, don’t remind me,” I groaned. “Listen, I’ll see you in the morning. I think I’m going to head to bed early tonight.”

  He laughed. “Okay, good night, Nikki.”

  “‘Night, Brian.”

  As soon as I clicked the phone off, it rang. “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s me again,” Brian said. “I’m sorry, but I forgot to ask you something. There’s a group of us going to hike up on the Appalachian Trail this weekend
, would you like to go with me?”

  That sounded like a date, I thought.

  As if he had read my mind, he continued, “Just as friends, I promise.”

  “Sure, it sounds like fun.”

  “Okay, great.” There was a smile that came through the receiver in those words. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The phone clicked off again. As I set it down, I wondered when the next call would come that ended up being a date. Even though he had promised to stay as friends, something told me that he wouldn’t want it to stay that way much longer.

  FOUR

  I HAD A plan. I’d spent half the night thinking about it. If there was a group of us hiking, who was to say I couldn’t invite more people? There was only one person that I wanted to see.

  “Hi, Adam.” I smiled, as he slid in the seat beside me. English class was almost ready to start, so I had to hurry.

  “Hi,” he answered. He seemed preoccupied. This could be harder than I thought.

  His long black hair was pulled back into a tight braid that ran down his back, leaving his face open. The lines of his jaw and cheekbones were more pronounced. So far, he seemed to be trying to ignore me, looking around everywhere but at me.

  “So, there are some of us going on a hike up the Appalachian trail this weekend,” I began. I stopped when he turned and pinned me with his piercing eyes. I took a breath and went on, “I was wondering if you were going.”

  His eyes never wavered from mine as I watched different emotions well beneath their surface. Then, his face became guarded again.

  “It isn’t safe,” he said and turned away.

  So much for my big plan, I thought, as Ms. Barker came in and started the class.

  “Okay guys. You’ve had a couple days to get in your first study date. I want to see if you know the basics. We’re going to start at the beginning. I’m going to write a sentence on the board. I want a volunteer to tell me what the pronoun is.” she walked over and wrote on the chalkboard, then turned and asked, “Who wants to volunteer?”