by Ryan, Matt
The bell rang. I looked at the clock and settled into my chair. Mark wasn’t in my class.
“Everybody chill down and let’s just rap for a minute,” Mr. Briggs said. “I want to talk about the fire yesterday. It appears to be an act of vandalism, and if you hear anything or know anything, let me or any other teacher know.”
It was probably a kid who really didn’t want to go to school. I laughed to myself at his request. Like anyone would come forward and rat out another person for getting everyone out of school for the day. Even though I was pissed about having to spend much of the day around Spencer, I wouldn’t say a thing. Let the teachers figure it out.
The classroom door opened and Mark strolled in. I leaned forward and took him in as he handed Mr. Briggs a piece of paper. I had hoped he would wear something plain, something awful, but he hadn’t obeyed my wishes and was wearing black slacks with black shoes and several perfectly layered shirts. He’d even styled his hair to frame his face. He looked even hotter than before, and it didn’t take long for the rest of the class to take notice.
The Dolls exchanged open-mouthed glances, and my heart sank. There was absolutely no way they wouldn’t snag him.
Mark looked at the class and did a double take when he saw me. Our eyes met, but Bridget must have thought he was looking at her, because she gave him a small wave. She tilted her legs into the aisle, making sure he saw her tanned, silky legs.
Mr. Briggs stood up from his desk. “Class, we have a new student, Mark Duval.”
The class greeted him with a mixture of grunts and hellos. Mark waved to the class as a whole and smiled. I wanted to grab his warm, beautiful smile and keep it for myself. I didn’t want the rest of the class to share in it.
“You can share a desk and a book until we get you one of your own.” Mr. Briggs handed him a folding chair and gestured toward the class.
“Okay, thanks.” Mark looked at me and nodded.
Again, Bridget missed the difference of inches in his stare. Maybe she never even thought it was possible for someone like Mark to look past her, but she shuffled her books and slid her chair over to make room. The other Dolls slumped in their chairs as they expected Mark to sit next to Bridget.
But he didn’t. He never even looked as he passed her. His smile was all for me.
“Hey, Allie,” Mark said.
I felt the heat from Bridget’s stare and I did a quick glance to confirm. She scowled at me and then at Mark’s back. Swinging around, hair whipping, she sat rigid and upright, her hands clasped on the desk. She scooted her butt sideways and centered her chair with the desk.
“Hey, Mark.” I moved over to make room.
“Pretty cool we’re in the same class.”
“Yeah, small world.”
After a few hours, I started getting used to being elbow-to-elbow with him. I could tell he was a serious student. He didn’t fake his interest in Mr. Briggs’ lecture; it was genuine.
I watched him from time to time and he’d catch me and smile before returning to the lecture. He and I shared the history book and he read it intently, like I would a Jane Austen novel, his eyes ping-ponging back and forth as he devoured each page.
“You done with this page?” he asked.
“Yes.” I wasn’t, but I didn’t care. I’d already read most of the book at my leisure.
He turned the page. I skimmed through it and then purposefully leaned in closer to him, fake-reading the right side of the page.
The lunch bell rang.
Mark looked up, disappointed. “I guess we’d better get some food.” He stood up. “Come on. You can show me around.”
I nodded and followed Mark out the classroom door. The loud hall didn’t give me a chance to tell him where we were going, so I pointed and he followed. I led him to the end of the hall and to the back door.
He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned close to me as we shuffled through the crowded doorway. “I like your outfit.”
I’d wondered if he’d notice my low-cut white tank and black jacket, basically the only thing I owned that even resembled fashion. I’d even tried on my makeup this morning. “Thanks. You look nice as well.” I turned so he couldn’t see me and closed my eyes. I swore I’d find something witty to say to him at some point.
Past the door and down the stairs, the crowd of kids split up. The open eating area was called the “quad.” I surveyed the area, looking for the place everyone else bought lunch. Typically, I brought my lunch and scurried off to my tree, but Mark wasn’t carrying anything with him. He was a buyer.
“I think it’s over there,” I said.
“That’s the gym,” he laughed. “Maybe I should be taking you to the food court.” He took my hand and pulled me into the motion of the crowd.
I resisted for a second before allowing his contact and direction. Glancing around, I wondered if anyone else was watching us holding hands. Mark seemed to think nothing of it and I tried to match his confidence, strolling next to him, keeping my hand intertwined with his. A few eyes turned my way and I lowered my head, moving closer to him.
He let go of my hand, wrapped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me snug against his side. “Lift your head up, Allie.” He laughed when I lowered my head more. “You’re so cute.”
He led me to the chimichanga line. I’d seen a few other kids carrying around this treat on plates, but I never wanted to wait in line for one. I was curious, though. The thought of a deep fried burrito was intriguing.
In a matter of seconds, Mark had started up a conversation with someone standing next to us. He released me and shook hands with the guy.
“Me? Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
I raised an eyebrow at Mark’s declaration. What happened to Baker, California and the world’s largest thermometer? I looked up as Mark conversed with Tommy, of all people. Tommy glanced at me a few times, but seemed more interested in talking with Mark.
A breeze kicked up a scent—bubblegum and slut. Bright colors hit the corner of my eye, forcing my attention to the approaching Dolls. I positioned myself on the other side of Mark as they approached.
Bridget took point in their triangle of skank. She strutted with one long leg in front of the other. It was a waste of time, however, because Mark never looked up to appreciate the display. He kept talking about some sport or other and Tommy was eating it up, laughing and joking along.
“Hey.” Bridget announced her arrival.
Mark turned and looked at her. “Hello.”
“So, you’re the new guy, and we wanted to welcome you to Summerford High.” She talked in a long, drawn-out sigh.
“Thanks. It’s been a friendly town.” Mark glanced at me and smiled.
I strategically kept him between me and Bridget.
Bridget leaned to her left and tilted her head, making eye contact with me. “Is that Allie back there? You know, Mark,” she flirted, shifting her attention to him, “you could hang with us over at the gym bleachers.” She pushed her Tetons forward, but Mark showed no interest in her mountain chain.
“Thanks, but I’m going to hang with Allie.”
No one ever brushed Bridget off, and I watched her face crunch up with confusion and anger.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m in line with Allie. I don’t want to hang with you at the bleachers.”
A few people in the chimichanga line oohed. Bridget’s head jerked around at the people in line who were mocking her. She stopped moving, raised an eyebrow, and then a stupid I-know-a-secret grin covered her face. She wagged a finger and laughed. “Oh, I get it. You’re one of those guys.” She jutted her pinky nail back and forth.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, come on.” She pointed at me. “Is she your hag? Or is she some makeover project you plan on submitting to Bravo?”
The Dolls laughed and cuddled together. The line froze in silence.
I looked at Mark’s face. He didn’t seem to care at all about the comments, offer
ing only a smirk of amusement. But I wasn’t as calm and accepting of someone trashing one of my friends.
I rushed for Bridget with my fists clenched. Mark put a hand on me and held me back. Bridget noticed my aggression and laughed again.
“Let her go. Bring it on, bitch,” she said.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Mark whispered in my ear. “It’s what her type wants. You’re better than they are.”
“Yeah, keep holding your hag back, twink,” Bridget taunted.
Mark sighed and kept his hand on me. I wanted to punch her stupid face. He faced her and stuffed his hand in his pocket for a second. I thought he was holding something in his hand, but then it was gone.
The chimichanga line had all but stopped as each person turned to watch the spectacle unfold.
“Bridget, I know you don’t mean what you say. People aren’t born like this.” He pointed at her. “They’re made. So, what’s your story? What made you this way? Was it some guy?”
Bridget’s eyes went wide and she looked at her friends. “You don’t know me.”
“A college guy, I think. He probably said all the right things one night, and then you made the terrible mistake of thinking you’d found true love. Didn’t you?”
“Shut up!”
“You didn’t realize how much alcohol he was bringing you. You trusted him. You worried he could never like a person like you, but he did for a little bit, didn’t he?”
“How…” she stammered. “You don’t know shit,” she said, but I saw the tears building in her eyes.
What was Mark doing, and how?
“And then he did things to you, didn’t he? Terrible things.”
She wiped her nose and looked at the people surrounding her, judging her. Tears streamed down her face. I put a hand on Mark, but he pulled away and stepped closer to Bridget.
“Only it wasn’t just him. Everyone got a turn, didn’t they?”
Bridget’s face became red with anger. She pointed her finger and opened her mouth, but Mark cut her off.
“I want you to know it wasn’t your fault. You’re a beautiful person, Bridget, just not on the inside. You’ve let this guy ruin you. He made you this way. You’re letting him win. You need to forgive him, not for him but for you. Screw the asshole who made you this way. Kick him in the balls a million times in your head if you have to, but stop being a bitch to the people around you. If you can act like a human being, I’ll be here for you—we’ll be here for you.” Mark grabbed my shoulder and held me.
Bridget was sobbing. I hadn’t noticed how quiet everything had gotten. The Dolls pulled at her and tried to console her, but she yanked away from their arms and pointed her finger at Mark.
“You don’t know shit, and you’ll regret this.” She pointed at me. “You both will.” She brushed off her friends and stomped away.
The anger left me. I watched Bridget disappear into the crowd of kids surrounding us and I felt like chasing her. At one time, a long time ago, we’d been friends. I never knew what had happened to her. Now I felt sorry for her, and wondered if Mark had been right. Had some guy literally screwed her over? How did Mark know?
I looked at him quizzically as he stared at the space Bridget had occupied.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said, and shook his head. “It wasn’t the right thing to do, and I created an enemy for you.”
“We weren’t exactly besties to begin with.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t right. I need to make it right.”
Maybe he’d pushed it a bit far, but it was over and in the past. No take-backs.
“Line’s moving,” someone said from behind us.
Mark ignored whoever it was and grasped both my hands in his. He locked eyes with me with an intensity that felt like he was grabbing my soul. I held my breath and waited for whatever he needed to tell me.
“You made something for my mother yesterday, something extremely rare and very valuable.” He pulled the small penny purse from his pocket. “I took it from her. You remember this?”
“Yes.” I gawked at the small bag.
“This can turn back the clock a couple of minutes. If both of us use it, maybe only a minute or so. I’m not sure.”
I shook my head and scowled at him. I didn’t like being played with like a child. “That’s not possible and you know it.”
“Hey, can you speed up the clock and move the line forward?” the guy behind us asked impatiently.
Mark ignored the comment. “I told you I’d prove it to you today. If you won’t believe me, then you’ll have to see for yourself.”
He took my hand and held it palm up next to his. He turned the bag over above our hands and the stone rolled out, stopping where our hands intersected. The stone began to flatten and he took my hand and clasped it over his. I felt the spherical rock begin to melt into my skin.
A loud noise sounded, like wind blasting, but I didn’t feel anything. I closed my eyes and felt the ground under my feet fall away. Grasping at the air, I yelped, and Mark held me tight. Another second and my feet landed on solid ground. The howling noise disappeared.
“Hey,” Bridget said.
I opened my eyes and she was standing there, staring at Mark. The puffiness around her eyes was gone; her face was back to its normal spray-on-tan color.
“Hello, Bridget,” Mark said.
I looked from him to her and wanted to shake him. What had he done? Had he actually turned back the clock?
“So, you’re the new guy, and we wanted to welcome you to Summerford High.”
The déjà vu made me nauseated. This couldn’t be possible.
“Thanks for the offer, Bridget. Might I say you look great today?”
I stared at him as he flirted with her.
She smiled and pushed her shoulders back. “Thanks. You look good too. So, we’ll be at the bleachers in the gym if you want to hang.”
“Thanks. We’d love to visit with you guys.” He wrapped his arm around me and kissed the side of my head.
Bridget raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down. “You’re with her?”
“Yeah.” He squeezed me. My dumbfounded look did little to confirm the notion.
“Whatever.” Bridget turned and walked toward the gym. She glanced back over her shoulder and stared at me, looking as if she was trying to figure me out.
“Hey, can you move the line forward?” the guy behind us asked.
I was the one to ignore the tremendously hungry guy this time. I grabbed Mark’s hand and yanked him out of the chimichanga line. I glanced at each person nearby and kept pulling him along.
“No fried burritos, I guess,” Mark said, staggering along with my pull, obviously finding the whole thing amusing.
I had no room for amusement and wanted answers. Somewhere private, though. I hurried along past the gym and the shop classroom, all the way to my tree. Standing under my tree, I turned and crossed my arms, facing Mark.
He had a whimsical smile spread across his face.
I opened my mouth, wanting to curse him about how what he’d done wasn’t possible, but I had witnessed it with my own eyes. We’d gone back in time, if only for a couple of minutes, and not another soul seemed to notice.
He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for me to speak. I took in a deep breath and tried to find a question that wouldn’t make me sound like a crazy person. “Show me something else.”
He laughed. “You’re the alchemist, not me.”
“Prove it.” I wanted to find something to mix. I wanted verification. It couldn’t be real.
“My mom keeps the stuff in her hutch.”
“Fine. After school we’re going to see your mom. I want some answers.”
His expression changed from whimsical to serious. “No, my mom will use you to make stuff. You don’t know what you’re getting into with her.”
“You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to just drop this in my lap and act like it’s something normal. It isn’t
.” It hit me right then and there: I didn’t even know this guy. “Wait, are you normal?” Maybe he was something or someone entirely different, hidden behind the veil of a cute face and a hard body.
“I’m as normal as you are.”
“I won’t take no for an answer. If I can do these things you claim, I need to know for myself. I have to see it, or I’ll go completely insane … if I’m not already.” I put my hand on my forehead and felt a headache building. I hated not understanding things around me. I kept people away for the most part and kept those around me close. Even Janet and Spencer, as awful as they were, were comfortably dependable. If this ability was part of me, I had to understand it and bring it into a comfortable realm.
“How about this: we meet at the treehouse right after school, okay?” he offered.
“Only if you bring something I can make. Some alchemy thingy. You got it?”
Mark stepped closer to me. I licked my lips a little as he moved his face near mine.
“I made so many mistakes today.” He put his hand on my shoulders. “I never should have used that stone on Bridget,” he said, then let go of me and looked behind him as he laughed. “Do you have any idea what’s going to happen when my mom finds that stone missing? She’s going to kill me.”
“Just bring something.”
“Fine, but we’re going to start off small. Alchemy is a dangerous path, and I don’t think you even realize it yet. People will do terrible things in order to acquire these stones.” He again looked behind him, toward our houses.
I paced at the foot of the tree with my arms crossed, staring at the path leading to it. Ever since Mark’s time-jumping act, it was all I could think about. Did every stone do something different? Was there a book on what different combinations of ingredients made? I wondered what the first thing I had made for Ms. Duval did. My mind refused to slow down and it scrambled with a million questions at once.
The bushes rustled and Mark appeared with a bag in one hand. It had better be what I’d told him to bring, I thought. He regarded me with a smile and lifted the bag, as if he was presenting a fresh kill. “Signed, sealed and delivered,” he said.