by Amber Lynn
There are times I wish I had that kind of glitter in my eyes. Truthfully, I can’t remember ever having it. Maybe when I was two or three, I might not have realized how screwed up the world is. By the time I was five, I had things figured out.
“That kind of spontaneous combustion doesn’t generally happen in real life.”
As I work to find flaws in his abnormally creamy white complexion, I manage to take in his words. Is he a human just fishing for information? It sounds like he knows something, otherwise he wouldn’t be questioning me, but I don’t see how that’s possible. I also don’t see how in the world he’s gotten rumors of my temper.
“You think I climbed up in the ceiling before class and set it up to explode?”
His eyes roll slightly. It’s hard to tell whether it should be taken as he thinks I’m stupid or he’s just frustrated that I’m playing dumb.
“I saw you talking to Mike at lunch, and the moment you realized what he is. I’m guessing I don’t give you those same kind of tingly sensations.”
I squint my eyes slightly as I give Scotty another once over. I take it Jimmy is the Mike he’s talking about. I think I like Jimmy better, but that’s beside the point.
I’m getting no extra spark of energy from Scotty, which means he’s either really good at hiding it, or he’s human. If it’s the latter, he needs a little brain reset. I guess I should try to throw him off whatever trail he seems to be going down.
“You get tingly sensations when you’re around that jerk? That’s totally wrecked my day, because that accent of yours is probably going to be on my mind the rest of the day. Hearing you’re into Mike means I’m going to have to dream of someone else tonight.”
Flirting is not my specialty, but I can try. It’s not like I’m being serious about any of it. The blush that creeps onto his cheeks lets me know that I probably did something right.
“I’m not into Mike. And I wasn’t implying I thought you were either. I just know how enchanters feel the power around them. Obviously, I can’t feel it myself, but someone like Mike has to put a lot of it out there.”
Rather than reply with anything, I look around us. We’re in the middle of a hall with other students rushing around us to get to class. No one seems to pay us any attention, but Not-so-smart Scotty just blurted out I was an enchanter. He evidently sees the dilemma in my eyes and is quick to expound on his actions.
“Don’t worry. If anyone is talking about Fae business, the humans just hear garbled stuff. They probably think we’re talking about baseball or the weather or something.”
“The humans?”
It feels like we’re past the point of me discouraging the idea that Fae exist. He clearly knows we do, but if he’s not human, he’s got to be a ghost of a Fae or something. I’ve never run into a ghost myself, but I’m pretty sure he’s not one.
“Yeah,” he says slowly. “I guess that sounds weird coming from me. What’s your last class? We’ve got about two minutes to get you there.”
If the numbers by the doors are any indication, I’m two doors down from my location, so I haven’t been overly worried about getting there on time. I’d wanted to get in there early like my other classes, but at this point in the day, I really don’t care about seating and avoiding extra scrutinizing.
“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you, and I’m not sure I want to know. So, I’m just going to leave now, and we can pretend this conversation didn’t happen.”
I should’ve just kept walking. He’s all but spelled it out that he’s a human, and I don’t have time to play with him. Even if he’s kind of cute for a human.
After a quick deep breath, I turn and push my way between a few people to get to the door I’m looking for. If there really are just a couple minutes left to get to class, there’s way too many people still in the hall.
I feel Scotty on my heels as I enter the classroom. Looking over my shoulder, he holds up a book as soon as he sees my attention is back on him. I don’t bother reading the cover that I’m sure mentions Spanish. Even if I wanted to verify he isn’t just stalking me, a deep voice draws my attention into the room.
“Periwinkle?”
My nose cringes at both the name and the fact it’s being uttered by a bloodsucker. I’d almost made it through the whole day without being stuck in a classroom with one. The bitter taste of wormwood that indicates his species makes me want to hurl the couple bites of potatoes I’d had for lunch.
I try to remain composed as I take in his dark features. He’s not ghostly white like some movies portray vampires, so his brown eyes and black hair don’t look goth against his light-olive colored skin. The fact that he’s behind the desk in front of the room and wearing a tie tells me he’s probably the teacher.
Groaning internally, my mind races to decide whether breathing for the next hour is necessary. I suppose I can make it so it isn’t, but that would mean I let the bloodsucker get to me. Between the elemental and the bloodsucker, I’m going to have to spend the night brushing my teeth.
The buzzer announcing it’s time for class to begin takes me away from my dilemma, and the fact I haven’t responded to the fact Mr. Teacher seems to be familiar with me. Since the human still hovering behind me has heard of me, it doesn’t surprise me the teacher has as well.
“Class, if you could excuse me for just a second, we’ll get started in a minute.”
The teacher manages to take his eyes off me long enough to share the information, but they are quickly back on me. If I was self-conscious, I’d be concerned about the attention. It doesn’t feel like he’s creeping on me in a pervy way. There’s just some weird recognition and disbelief.
“Periwinkle, if you don’t mind, I think we should talk out in the hallway.”
He moves out from behind the desk and is almost to me before the words come out. I stand my ground, but the power coming off him feels odd. It was hard to get a feel on it with the wormwood overwhelming all my senses, but there’s more power walking in my direction than a bloodsucker should have. Power really isn’t the right word, but something about his energy feels strong.
“Most of the other teachers today have just made me introduce myself to the class. Is that something we need to discuss beforehand?”
I’m completely confused about what’s going on, if that hasn’t already been made obvious. The only thing I can come up with for him wanting to talk is that my reputation precedes me so much that he wants to make sure I’m not going to be a holy terror in class. That’s a smart move on his side of things, but he’s got to realize I like to do the opposite of what’s asked. If that isn’t in the dossier the Fae community sends out about me, it really should be.
“Is everything okay?” Scotty asks.
His voice goes from the friendly sort of know-it-all to a weak whisper. There’s even a hitch in the word okay.
“Nothing to worry about, Ian. I just want to go over our new student’s past curriculum real quick to see if this is the right class for her. Why don’t you go sit down?”
The bloodsucker is two feet in front of me, as we sort of hover in a stalemate with me deciding whether I’m going anywhere with him. Scotty whimpers under his breath. I’m sure no one else hears it, but it doesn’t give me a strong feeling as he maneuvers around me to follow the instruction.
I get the feeling he doesn’t have a choice in whether he takes a seat or not. Bloodsuckers have the ability to control humans with their words. It’s a cute trick, one that thankfully doesn’t work on me. Whether I decide to go anywhere is all up to me, and since I’m suddenly feeling kind of curious, I turn around and lead the way.
Chapter Nine
“What are you doing here, Periwinkle?”
The question comes out of his mouth before the door has even finished closing behind him. If I didn’t know better, which I suppose I don’t, I’d swear there’s panic in his voice. My reputation must really precede me.
“Would you stop calling me that? As far as everyone
here goes, it’s Jazz.”
I turn around to face him, trying to search again for some sign of recognition. Even if someone has heard about my escapades, that doesn’t necessarily mean they know what I look like. As far as I know, the Council hasn’t tagged me with anything to give others warning.
“Wait, Jazz, as in the new student in my class, Jazz? You’re going to school here now?”
I never thought bloodsuckers were brainiacs or anything, but this guy has to have a few screws loose. Did he honestly think I was holding the books in my hand for fun?
“Yes,” I sound out slowly. “Since you know who I am, I’m guessing you know I’m a little old for school, but my mom’s being a spaz.”
There were a lot of other things I wanted to call my mother, but I decide to keep them to myself. Something about the guy makes me think he’d narc on me, and Ophelia gets a little edgy when I badmouth her.
“Your mom’s here too?”
His head pivots, as if he’s expecting to see her standing there. My thoughts about him being panicked before totally missed the mark. There is straight-up fear in his eyes at the idea my mom is around.
“How long have you been in town?”
The focus is back on me, and it seems he’s tried to wipe away some of the edginess, but I can still see it in his almost-black eyes. The idea that my mom scares the crap out of one of the teachers bolsters me some. I’m fairly certain any mentions of detentions will easily be avoided.
“A few days. Is there a problem with us being here? Because personally, I’d love there to be a reason for us to move.”
I probably shouldn’t sound as eager as I do about that, but I’ve wanted to escape the town from the moment we crossed over the border. It registers that he questioned whether my mom was around, which seems odd. I thought it was common knowledge we were attached at the hip. If it isn’t, I wonder how I can use that to my benefit. There’s got to be some advantage to that.
“I don’t get it. Why would she come here?”
The guy slips into his own world as he starts rubbing his fingers against his forehead and paces in front of the lockers in front of me. I don’t mind at all, because I’m still lost and trying to focus in at that whole advantage thing. If you haven’t figured it out, I’m all about gaming the system in my favor.
“Who made your schedule?”
About ten seconds of thinking elicits that bizarre question. I thought this was a school where kids were challenged by the curriculum, but I’m having trouble believing this guy can make his way out of a paper bag.
“The pant-suit principal lady I’m pretty sure. Evidently, my mom signed off on it or something, but I’m not sure why that would make a difference.”
Or why I’m being nice enough to stand around and explain my life.
I’m usually not as helpful. I’m blaming it on the stupid Angelica they have around the school. I cannot wait for the day to get over, so I can act like a normal person again.
“She knows I’m here, and she brought you anyway. That can’t be good. I’ve only been here a few years.”
The thought process on this guy is impossible to follow. It sounds like Ophelia being around is a bigger issue than I am. Maybe. Who knows?
“Look, I don’t know what this little panic attack is about, but I’d like to get this conversation over with, so I can get on with my day.”
I’m hoping his issue sends me home for the rest of the day. I wasn’t looking forward to his class anyway, and maybe whatever issue he has will give me an extra hour to myself every day.
He stops his pacing and looks back at me. No matter how much I wonder what’s going on in his head, I’m not dipping into the thoughts of a bloodsucker. My power is weak in that department, and I just don’t have the energy to care enough.
Looking hesitant, he nods. “You’re right. We can talk about this later. But, first, your mom hasn’t mentioned me, has she?”
It’s hard to say whether the question is hopeful or leery. Something miniscule passes through his eyes making me think the idea isn’t abhorrent. Either I’m seeing things, or he’s clearly nuts.
“I can honestly say that if she mentioned a bloodsucker, even in passing, none of the words were good.”
It’s not breaking news that enchanters have no warm feelings about bloodsuckers. I know it’s probably seemed like that’s just a me thing, but our species don’t play nice together. That’s probably why there aren’t any other enchanters hanging around Newberry. As cutesy-tootsie as it is, now that I can feel the other Fae out there, I know the gritty feeling that accompanies them would make it hard to live in the area for very long.
That’s sort of secondary to the fact that no enchanter would be caught dead in such a Podunk town. But, I digress.
The bloodsucker schools his face towards the blank as an empty chalkboard state, making it impossible to tell if I hurt his little feelings. I kind of hope I did.
“Yeah, I suppose that’s how it is now. I still don’t understand what you guys are doing here, but I’ll just have to ask the – what did you call her? Spaz, that’s right. I’ll just have to ask the spaz myself.”
He seems happy coming to that decision. I decide not to tell him any questions he has to ask are at his own peril. Mom has a bigger problem with bloodsuckers than I do. Again, that does nothing to explain why we’re in a town with at least a handful of them, but we’ve already gone over the fact that I don’t have a say in picking where we live.
“Good luck with that.”
There’s not much else for me to tell him, so I let him stand there pondering as I head back into the classroom. I hadn’t gotten a chance to really look at the seating situation, but I’m hoping something in the back of the room is available. The further away from Mr. Teacher, the better.
All eyes are not surprisingly staring in my direction when I walk in. The intense glares from Jimmy and Scotty stand out the most. I hadn’t even realized angel boy was in the class, which only adds to my current annoyance. I flip him a mental bird. There’s a fifty-fifty chance he gets it.
Scotty’s glare is intense, but it doesn’t have the same hostility I feel from Jimmy, not that Jimmy has a right to be hostile towards me. At least not yet. Scotty looks worried. Or maybe it’s sadness. I get the feeling he’s kind of like a lost puppy dog and someone just took away his only toy.
If I was any good with empathy, I’d throw him a bone or something. Since I’m not, I just want to swat his nose with a newspaper and tell him to get lost.
The only available desk is next to that lost puppy. I suppose it’s better than having to sit next to Jimmy again, but the margin is so small it feels like a coin flip.
The bloodsucker coming in the room pushes me to hurry to the empty seat. I’m really going to have to remember to bring a handful of toothbrushes if I cannot convince Mom to stop the charade. I have a feeling after a single brushing a toothbrush would be ruined.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” he says as he walks to the chalkboard. “I’m sure you noticed we have a new student. Since we’re running a little behind, and I imagine you’ve had classes together throughout the day, so you’ve been introduced, we’ll go ahead and get the lesson started.”
I feel some of the eyes leave me as I take my seat, but the ones in my direct vicinity, the puppy dog ones, evidently cannot find somewhere else to look. I glare over to my right where Scotty is sitting.
He mouths something, maybe a couple syllables, but I’m not paying close enough attention. Like in the rest of my classes, I’m focused more on trying to prove the teacher wrong. If I’m going to be stuck going through the motions of being a student every day, it’s the only thing I have going for me to break up my boredom, which seems sad and pathetic. I really need to come up with a better idea, because there is no way I’m even going to make it a week if that’s all I’ve got going for me.
Towards the end of class, I’m staring at the clock, willing it to move faster. Time manipulation is a thin
g, but I’m guessing the angel in the class would throw a fit about it. Maybe that can be my thing. Needling and pushing Jimmy each day to see how quickly I can make him snap. I probably don’t want to be around when it happens, but it’s something to at least consider.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact I can read your mind.
My eyes dart over to Jimmy sitting three rows over from me. He’s got an idiotic cocky look on his face as his head tilts to the side and he shrugs his shoulders. His attention on me only lasts a second as he turns to face the front of the room, but it feels like his eyes can somehow still see me.
If I cannot convince Ophelia to leave immediately, I need to brush up on my angel reading. It hasn’t been anything I really needed to have handy in the past, but some guy pushing thoughts into my mind is not something I need on a daily basis. There has to be a way to block him from reading and projecting things.
As soon as the bell finally rings, I’m gone. I don’t look to see the expectant faces I’m sure are on the bloodsucker and Scotty. Both seemed to want to continue the conversations we’d started, but I’ve had enough for one day. The only person I want to talk to is Ophelia, and that’s just because I have to ask her what the hell she was thinking.
Chapter Ten
My boots clomp across the kitchen floor, echoing my mood with each stomp. Making sure Ophelia isn’t confused about how my day went, I slam my bag on the center island. She’s sipping her tea, blowing on it like it could burn her.
Sometimes her pretentious habits get on my nerves, but I have bigger fish to fry. I’m thinking these fish are blue whale size.
“Do you know how many weirdos are in that school?”
Since her eyes haven’t left her cup, I lean over and bang my head on the counter and groan. It’s not necessarily to get her attention. I’ve just been wanting to do it all day but didn’t want to do it in front of anyone at school.