“How can I even pick one number between one and ten? I have two favorites. Two and Seven! Oh, what the hell, I’ll just say yes to whichever one she chooses.”
“Okay, I got it.”
“You picked two and seven.”
“What!”
Nathan snapped his eyes open, staring at her in shock. “How could you possibly know that?”
“It’s a gift,” Jessi said, linking her arm through his. “Come on, we gotta get going, or we’re going to be late.” They made their way down the hallway, and a grin spread out across her lips. Holy crap! I can read minds!
“Mark, where are we going?” Josi asked, following Mark through the crowd, and accepting the cigarette he handed to her. She lit it, blowing out a cloud of smoke, as they walked behind the bleachers of the football field. “I know we said we could make out today, but I wasn’t expecting it to be now!”
“We’re not going back here to make out,” Mark told her, as they neared the group of kids. “I want you to meet a few people.” He put an arm around her shoulders, pointing.
“That’s Darion,” he said, pointing to a tall, dark-haired boy wearing a black, leather jacket. “He and I have been best friends since we were nine, and the girl there, that’s Jackie.” He pointed to a short, petite girl with long, purple hair as she popped her gum. “We grew up next door to one another. Then there’s Michael.” He pointed to another dark-haired boy as he smoked his cigarette. “And finally, Amy.” He pointed to a tall, dark-haired girl as she played on her phone. “My friends. Everyone, this is Josi.”
“So this is her?” Amy asked, straightening from where she was leaning against the bleachers, and striding forward. She touched her fingers to Josi’s bright, red hair. “She’s kind of cute… I guess.”
“We’ve heard a lot about you, Josi,” Darion said, winking at her.
“You have?”
“Oh yeah. I’m kind of surprised through,” Jackie said, popping her gum, as she stared at her. “You don’t look like the type to give your virginity up to the first guy you meet.”
“I… what?” Josi swung around, staring at Mark. “You told them that we had sex?”
“Well we did.”
“Ah. No, we did not,” Josi said, turning and jabbing a finger into his chest. “You wanted to have sex, and I told you no, remember? So instead, we hung out, and made out. What is wrong with you? You can’t just go around telling lies to make yourself look good!”
“Then what are these?”
Amy held out her phone, and Josi took it. Swiping through the photos, tears filling her eyes. “Wait. You think… these are me?” she asked. “Look at this! The body isn’t even proportional to mine. You photoshopped these! Who and all did you send these to?”
“Everyone.”
“Everyone?” Josi lowered the phone, staring across the football field at everyone staring at her. Rage filled her, and she swung around, slapping Mark across the face.
“Hey!”
“You bastard! How could you do this to me? To us? I thought we had something special!”
“Please. As if I would spend anymore time with someone like you. You’re not my type. I was just using you, to send a message to the rest of the school. That you don’t belong here.”
“That is not your decision to make!” Josi snapped, turning, and slinging the cell phone against the bleachers. It cracked, shattering along the grass.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
“You’re just as bad as he is!” Josi snapped, jabbing a finger at Amy. “How can you even condone this? You’re a girl, just like me! We should be supporting each other, not tearing one another down. And for what? Because I wouldn’t sleep with him? That’s just wrong on so many levels!” She turned, and stomped off across the field.
“What?” she asked, glaring at the group of boys staring at her. “Do you want a piece of me too?”
“He’s an ass, Josi,” a young boy, dressed in his football uniform told her. “It’s not the first time he’s done this.”
“Figures,” Josi muttered underneath her breath, catching sight of the archery team practicing just a few feet away from her.
“Hey, you’re Josi, aren’t you?” a dark-haired girl asked, racing up to her, and holding out a clipboard.
“Yeah. What’s it to you?”
“You’re like the most popular person in this school!” the girl cried. “After what Mark did to you. He did the same thing to me two years ago.”
“What did you do?”
“I let it go. It wasn’t worth getting worked up about, plus I discovered the archery team. It’s a great way to relieve stress! What do you say? You want to give it a try? I’m Audrey!”
“I don’t know…” Josi trailed off, glancing over her shoulder at Mark and his friends, laughing, as they watched her. It wasn’t right. He shouldn’t get a way with crap like that, and no girl should be expected to just let it go.
“You know what, give me that bow,” she said. “I do kind of feel like shooting something today.”
“That’s the spirit!” Audrey cried, hurrying after her as they neared the archery team.
“You got a new recruit, Audrey?”
“The possibility of one,” Josi said, taking the bow from the teacher, and placing the arrow against the drawstring. She narrowed her eyes, staring at the target in front of her, and drew the arrow back. “Here goes nothing!”
She let the arrow go, lowering the bow, watching as the arrow sailed through the air and struck the target right in the bullseye.
“Whoa!”
Gasps sounded around her, as everyone turned to stare at her in surprise and Josi waved away their admiration. “Oh please! It’s just beginner’s luck. Give me another arrow.”
The teacher grinned, handing her the arrow.
Josi drew the arrow back. She let the arrow go, once again watching as the arrow sailed through the air, striking the target in the bullseye. Splitting the first arrow in half.
“Holy crap!”
“She’s a natural!”
“Maybe I am,” Josi murmured, shock filling her as she stared at the bullseye, not believing her eyes. How had she just done that? She’d never in her life had good eye-hand coordination. What was happening to her?
Except you have, haven’t you, Josi?
The voice sounded in her head, and she frowned. A memory trying to break free. What was that? She wondered. Orange? Fire? I’m forgetting something, aren’t I? What is it?
Behind her, laughter sounded, breaking into her thoughts, and she glanced over her shoulder at Mark and his friends.
“You know, I know something else you could try,” the boy from the football field said, winking at her. “It’d serve him right.”
“But I don’t want to hurt him!”
“Who says you’re going to?”
Josi just stared at him. “Who are you? And why are you being nice to me?”
“The name is Kyle, and I don’t like bullies.”
Josi bit back a grin, glancing over her shoulder at the teacher. “Do you mind, Miss…”
“Miss Ferguson,” the woman said, shrugging. “Go for it. In fact, I didn’t see a thing.” She turned her back, staring off into the distance. “But between you and me, that group could stand to be knocked down a few pegs.”
“So you know what he did?”
“Absolutely. It’s not the first time he’s pulled a stunt like that. There’s a reason he’s repeated his senior year, twice, Josi. But our hands are tied. With his father on the school board, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Then I guess let’s hope he learns a thing or two from me,” Josi said, readying the bow. She drew the arrow back, and let it fly. Watching as it slung through the air and struck the bleacher right next to Mark’s head.
“Hey!” Mark jumped back, staring at the arrow in the bleacher, then at her. “You could have killed me you know!”
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead!” Josi shouted back
. “But let this be a reminder. Don’t piss off someone who can shoot a bow and arrow!” She turned, glancing over at Kyle. “Thank you. That was fun.”
“Josi!”
She turned, gazing across the lawn at Jessi and Jami, as they waved at her frantically. “Uh oh. Looks like I have to go.”
“Wait! Do you want to join the club?” Miss Ferguson asked. “I know you’d make an excellent addition to the team.”
“Can I think about it?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay. Thank you!” She turned and raced off across the lawn. “Jessi! Jami! You are not going to believe what just happened!”
“We saw, Josi!” Jessi cried. “That was awesome! But we have something to tell you!”
“What?”
“That I can self-heal,” Jami said.
“And that I can read minds!” Jessi cried.
“Wait. What?”
“Here. I’ll show you!” Jami cried, digging the scissors out of her bag. She flipped them open, and cut a small line across her arm.
“Jami!”
“Shh. Just watch,” Josi said, pointing to the gash as gold speckles danced over it, and healed the wound.
“Whoa!”
“That’s so cool!”
“And I can read minds!” Jessi cried.
“Sure you can,” Jami said, crossing her arms across her chest. “You know, just because I can self-heal, doesn’t mean you have to top me.”
“I’m not, and I can prove it!” Jessi cried. “Josi, pick a number between one and ten.”
“Jessi…”
“Please. Will you just do it?”
Josi sighed. “Fine.” She closed her eyes. “Okay. I got it.” Ten.
“You chose the number ten,” Jessi said. “And you.” She pointed a finger at Jami. “You’re thinking about the quarterback! You think he’s cute!”
Jami’s mouth dropped open. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I can read minds, remember? Keep up, Jami!”
“But how?” Josi asked. “How is that even possible? And what about me? Why don’t I have a special gift?”
“You do have a special gift, Josi! The bow! You shot it, without even thinking about it!”
“But that’s not a gift!”
“It is, when you’ve never had good eye-hand coordination before this. But either way, I think we need some answers.”
“How?”
“From this.” Jessi lifted the DNA kit in her hands. “I think it’s time we find out who our parents are.”
“But they’re dead!”
“I don’t know if they really are,” Jessi said. “I’ve had this feeling all day, that something isn’t right. Like there’s something missing from my life, or memory, or something.”
“You know, I had that feeling too,” Jami said. “In the house this morning. I think you’re right, Jessi. I think we’re forgetting about something, and maybe, this will help us remember.” She gazed across the lawn at Tori, as she gestured at her. “But I have to go. Tori’s waiting for me. Looks like it’s time for tryouts.”
“Argh. Are you still doing that?” Jessi asked, then turned to Josi. “What about you? Are you in?”
Josi shrugged. “What the hell. It’s not like anything else can go wrong today. Did you guys hear about what Mark did to me?”
Jessi nodded. “Yes. We did. He’s an ass, Josi. He’ll get what’s coming to him.”
“I really hope so,” Josi said, sighing. “So, how long is this test going to take?”
“Not long. We just need a sample of blood, from each of us, and we’ll send it to the lab. Nathan said we’ll get the results later today.”
“Who’s Nathan?”
“This boy I met.”
“Ooh!”
“It’s not like that!” Jessi cried. “He’s just a friend, whose father works in a lab.”
“Ooh. The benefits,” Jami teased. “But let’s do it! I’m ready for my life to change.”
“Just because we’ll find out who our parents are, doesn’t mean our lives will change,” Josi said.
“True, but that doesn’t mean they won’t either,” Jessi said, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her across the lawn. “Come on, Josi! To the lab we go!”
Darkness swirled through the underworld, and Elijah grinned as he appeared in whirl of flames. Staring at the demons as they paused, to let him pass.
“Looks like we’re definitely home, my darling,” he said, throwing his arm around Julie’s shoulders and leading her inside the bedroom. “How are you feeling today, my love?”
“My head hurts,” Julie said, as she laid down on the bed. “And I feel weird. It’s like I’m not me. Like I’m the opposite of me. I feel like I’m going crazy!”
“You’re not crazy, Julie, you just need some rest,” Elijah said, squeezing her hand, and gesturing to the demon as he lurked in the doorway. “Hey, you! Get us some food, will you? And some water. My wife needs to stay hydrated if she’s going to bring my son into the world.”
“So soon?” Julie asked, groaning, as she leaned back against the pillows. “But we just got married!”
“We got married ten months ago, Julie,” Elijah said, frowning. Something’s wrong, he thought as he touched a hand to her cheek. God, she’s burning up. What’s the matter with her? Why is she so sick all of the sudden? “Don’t you remember?”
“I remember the ceremony, but after that everything’s kind of blurry. I keep trying to think back, to remember, but everything’s muddled. Did we go somewhere, Elijah?”
“We went to lots of places,” Elijah said, softly, smiling as he thought back. “We saw the Eiffel tower in Paris. We got to visit the pyramids in Egypt, we danced along the Rio, and ate and ate until we were full. Don’t you remember?”
Julie shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t.”
“It’ll come back to you,” Elijah said. “You rest, okay? I’ve got some business to attend to, and then I’ll be back to check on you.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and paused at the doorway, watching as she closed her eyes. “Seer!” he shouted, striding down the hall. “Seer, get your ass down here! I need to know what the hell is going on with my wife!”
“Five, six, seven, eight…”
Tori Anderson placed her hands on her hips, watching as her squad went through the routine. Watching as the girls twirled around the room, waving their pompoms, clapping their hands in the air, and shouting from their lips.
“Is this a bad time?”
“Jami!”
Tori turned, pulling Jami in for a hug. “I’m so glad you made it! Come on. Try outs are about to start!” She grabbed her by the arm, pulling her toward the group of girls sitting in the middle of the gym.
“Hey girls! Welcome to try outs!” she cried, clapping her hands together, loudly. “But before we get started, there are some stipulations to being a cheerleader I must go over. One.” She held up her index finger. “You must be enthusiastic about our football team! I don’t care if you don’t like football, but I want to see some enthusiasm! Some excitement, and most of all, don’t be boring! Number two!” She held up a second finger. “We have three spots we’re looking to fill. Whoever has the best tryouts, will be in. That’s it. No questions asked. Now, come on! Let’s win a championship! So who’s first?”
“I’ll go,” Jami said, rising to her feet. What the hell, I might as well get this over with, right?
“Who are you?” one of the cheerleaders asked, from where she stood to the side of the group.
“I’m Jami,” Jami said, as she took the pompoms from Tori. “I’m a freshman.”
“And you want to try out?” The girl grinned. “You’ll never make it.”
“Chelsea. We give everyone here a fair chance,” Tori said, sending the girl a look. “Jami, you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jami said, taking her place at the front of the group. She spread her legs out, bowed her head, and mu
sic suddenly filled the air.
“Five, six, seven, eight!
She snapped her head up, taking three steps forward. She stopped, looking left, then right, and shook her hips. Grinning, as she twirled in a circle. She lifted the pompoms, shaking them high over her head, and jumped high in the air. Returning to the ground in a split.
“Whoa!”
She jumped to her feet, wagging her hips. Walking forward, then backwards. She extended her arm, shaking the pompoms, then twirled in another circle. Sliding back down into another split, and fire suddenly spewed from her feet. She gasped, jumping back, as smoke poured out from the floor underneath her feet.
“Holy crap!”
“Fire!”
“Jami, here!”
Tori tossed a blanket her way, and Jami tossed it on the floor. She stomped the flame out, tossing the blanket to the side. Spinning on her heel, she leaped into the air, and slid to the floor. Placing her hand against her cheek, and nodding to the group.
“Well! That audition was great, Jami!” Tori cried, running forward and engulfing her in hug. “So, who’s next?”
“Me!”
Jami watched, as another one of the girls took her spot before the group, and turned, disappearing into the locker room. She passed the lockers, walking into the washroom, and turned the sink on. Splashing cold water on her face and grinning into the mirror. Look at that, Jami! You did it! And Tori loved you!
“You know, that was pretty impressive,” a tall, black-haired girl said, as she walked up behind her. “For a freshman, that is.”
“Freshman usually don’t try out?”
“They’re usually too scared to,” the girl said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “But not a lot of girls can pull a split like that off, either. Where’d you learn to do it?”
“Gymnastics,” Jami said. “I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember, plus I love to dance. I’ve learned most of my moves from watching videos online.”
“Well you’re dedicated, I’ll give you that, but there’s no way you’re making the squad.”
“I’m pretty sure Tori has the final say over who gets those three remaining spots.”
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