Scout saw where he was going before he got there. No, no, no, no, no, her mind begged. But he ignored her telepathic pleading.
“So this year, we’re going to pair you with the person closest to you in percentage.” Scout felt like someone had karate-chopped her in the throat. “Scout and Trey, you two are together on this one. Given how you are both excelling at this class, I’m excited to see what you will come up with.” Across the classroom, a book slammed to the laminate floor, the echo bouncing off the walls. There were approximately four seconds of frozen silence, and then as one the entire class turned to stare at Kylin. She glared at Scout like somehow this had been her nemesis’ diabolical plan all along.
“Kylin, please pick up your book.” Mr. Zornes sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he had anticipated this. Kylin slowly reached down, doing as she was told, but her stormy eyes never left Scout’s face. Scout contented herself with staring back mildly, wondering if Kylin ever ate. The girl was stick-thin and angry. All the time. In Scout’s opinion, she just needed to eat more and her entire countenance would improve.
Mr. Zornes went through the rest of the class, pairing everyone up without further incident or tantrum. The bell rang and they all got up to leave. Scout waited patiently, hoping Trey and his starving girlfriend would go too, but Trey hung back. Scout frowned, glancing over her shoulder at him, which she never, ever allowed herself to do. His thick eyebrows and unruly black hair, the multiple bracelets-but-not-bracelets that boys wore, the thermal shirt hugging his broad shoulders — these things distracted her, made her forget she hated him ever so much.
When he didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave, she sighed and turned back to her teacher. “Mr. Zornes, can I talk to you?” she asked, hesitating near her desk, her finger absently rubbing a broken heart scratched into the wood.
“Of course, Scout, what’s up?” Mr. Zornes leaned against his desk and gave her a friendly smile. He was her favorite teacher, not because he was young and cool, but because he was nice, and she was counting on that niceness now.
“Can I do the project on my own?” Scout heard a sharp breath behind her, but didn’t risk another glance at Trey.
“That is a fabulous idea. Trey and I can work together.” Kylin rushed to the front of the room, her platform heels clacking against the ugly green fake tile. Scout had forgotten she was even still there.
Mr. Zornes tipped his head, considering Scout and ignoring Kylin completely. “The reason I paired you two together is because you’re my two best students and I was excited to see what you could come up with together.”
Scout shook her head, chuckling, but viciously. “Nothing Trey and I work on together ever turns out well, Mr. Zornes.”
“Wait a sec.” Trey stalked past her, his big arms crossed against his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Scout said between gritted teeth, “that I would work better on my own.” She turned back to Mr. Zornes, forcing a smile. “I want to be a Zoologist. Doing well on this project would look really good on college applications.”
Mr. Zornes opened his mouth to respond, but Trey beat him to it. “And what, you think I’m going to ruin that? Having my help on the project would—”
“He doesn’t even want to be a scientist! He wants to be an architect!” Scout pointed a finger at him like she was accusing him of the worst of sins, because really, she was.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Trey sighed, turning toward her.
“Why are you fighting her on this? Just let Mr. Zornes pair you with someone else!” Kylin screeched like an owl, and Scout winced as her eardrums threatened to rupture. Trey said nothing, just continued to glare at Scout. Mr. Zornes finally cleared his throat. “Scout, I didn’t realize you two had… issues, but I think it would be really good practice for you to learn how to work with those you find difficult.” He gave her an encouraging smile. “Think of it as character building.”
“I am not difficult,” Trey muttered.
Scout bit back a sarcastic reply and nodded, staring at the floor. “Yes sir,” she said instead. Grabbing her messenger bag off her chair, she spun on her heel and stomped from the room.
She fumed about it all day long — Zoology was her first class, and she was still beyond angry when she got to drill practice, her last class. Scout was on the drill team, so she got to school early to practice, and her last class just continued into practice until five p.m.
She’d loved to dance since she was tiny, but since the car accident a year ago, it was more pain and less fun. But she couldn’t quit. Her heart wouldn’t let her, no matter how much her body protested. Stupid body. Besides that, her little sister loved to watch Scout dance. She always had. If it made her happy, Scout would do it.
She tugged on her high tops, glad that they were working on their hip-hop routines. They needed the practice before the football game on Friday.
“Hey Scout.”
Scout looked up from her laces, tangling her fingers in the knot as she did. “Hey Andi.” She smiled at the petite, blonde, blue-eyed girl who was currently swearing at her locker. Andi always had trouble with her combination.
Scout didn’t have close friends. She preferred it that way, after realizing that when she needed them, friends weren’t really there for her. Only little sisters were. But she liked Andi. Of all the girls on drill, maybe all of the girls in the entire school, Andi was probably her favorite.
“Ready for today? Kamille is going to work us like crazy. She wasn’t thrilled with our performance last week.” Andi said as she toed off her sparkly ballet flats and dug in her locker for her high tops.
“She was right not being thrilled. We sucked.” Scout sighed, finally freeing her fingers. She pushed herself to her feet. “See you out there,” she called over her shoulder. Scout knew that she definitely hadn’t performed her best. The pain made her afraid. She hadn’t danced her best since the accident, and the rest of the girls seemed to have been dragged down with her.
“Scout,” Kamille called as soon as Scout walked out into the gym. She was the petite, full-of-energy drill coach, and all the drill girls loved her. Because she was so tiny, she looked more like a high school student than any other teacher in the building. And she was gorgeous — so all the boys loved her too. Besides that, she was an amazing coach, and they all hoped she could get them to the national competition again this year. They had been able to go last year, except for Scout. Because of the accident, Scout couldn’t compete. She had barely been walking again when the rest of them went to California for Nationals.
As Scout jogged over, Kamille said, “I found some stretches that might help your back. I want you to try them out every day before practice and see if it helps.”
“Okay.” Scout nodded, but the football team had started filing in across the gym, and Kamille had lost Scout’s undivided attention. Trey was on the football team. He was a wide receiver. “Why are they in here?” she asked, interrupting Kamille mid-sentence.
Kamille blinked at her before glancing over at the boys filing into the room. “They need to do sprints or something and the field is all muddy.”
Awesome. Scout had already been forced to spend the morning with Trey. Twice in one day wasn’t something she should be expected to endure. She resisted the urge to throw a scathing glare over her shoulder and instead plopped herself on the ground at Kamille’s feet. “Want to show me those stretches?”
****
“The field wasn’t that bad, Trey. Why exactly are we in here today?” Cole asked, spreading his arms wide toward the whole gym. Trey glanced at him briefly, and then searched the room again. There she is. Scout was sitting on the floor, folded in half with her head on her right knee, her long, honey-brown hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. “Oh. That’d be why.” Cole grunted in disgust and shoved Trey in the shoulder, but Trey’s eyes never left Scout.
“Dude, you have a girlfriend, remember? And it isn’t
that one.” Kasen said, nodding toward Scout with his chin.
Trey shook his head. No, he’d lost Scout. Now she hated him and he had to resort to sneaky plans and extensive plotting to even see her anymore. Which was saying a lot, since he lived only three houses down from her. And he deserved it. Every ounce of hate she threw at him, he deserved it.
“You do this very often, and she’ll rearrange her schedule again so she doesn’t have to see you.” Cole said quietly. Cole was Trey’s best friend, and had been since he’d moved into the neighborhood eight years ago. He was shorter than Trey by several inches, and black, but Trey felt like he was more of a brother than Trey’s actual brothers were. He was also powerful and fast and when he had the ball, no one could stop him. He’d already had several college scouts by to watch him play and they were only a couple months into their senior year. Although the season ended in less than a month, unless they made it to state…
“Trey. Ya in there?” Kasen asked, waving his hand in front of Trey’s face.
“Yeah. Sorry. Thinking about State.” Trey glanced at him quickly before his gaze jumped back to Scout, watching her stretch, wondering if it hurt as she moved, knowing it was his fault. She hid her pain well, but he guessed by the close watch Kamille kept on her, that it was still a major issue. He swallowed the guilt threatening to choke him. “Anyway, I thought we should practice in here because of that weird disease everyone keeps talking about. They think you get it from being outside,” he finished lamely, but neither of his friends believed him. He didn’t believe him, either.
“Hanlin! Davis! Slater!” The football coach bellowed, startling them all. Scout raised her head, watching them jog across the gigantic room, and Trey felt his cheeks burn. Of course he would get her attention now, when he didn’t want it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smirk before switching legs and going back to her stretch.
He tried to focus on his sprints, he really did. When he’d told Coach Cavenaugh that they needed to work inside today, it hadn’t just been so he could see Scout. They needed a good workout, and the fields really were muddy. But the music started and the drill team started practicing, and Coach Cavenaugh pretty much ceased to exist — not just for Trey, either.
Scout was good. She danced like she’d been born for it, and she’d won all kinds of awards. But that was before the accident. Before you ruined her life. Now, even as he sneakily watched her, he could see the stiffness in her movements, the fear and the pain. Still beautiful, but not as free. And it was all his fault.
Trey swallowed hard, again, at the guilt eating away at him. “Hanlin! Pay attention!” Cavenaugh snapped. Trey hit the floor, throwing himself into his push ups.
Three interminable hours later, Cavenaugh finally relented. “Clean up, guys. You were all terrible today. Extra reps on the weights for all of you,” he grumbled, waving them toward the locker room. “Great idea, Trey. Remind me to listen to you next time you suggest working inside,” he said as Trey jogged past him.
“Sorry, Coach. I really thought it’d be a good idea.”
“I’ll bet you did,” Cavenaugh shook his head, and Trey followed his gaze to where Scout was working. Even the coach knew Trey’s ulterior motives? Awesome. That wasn’t embarrassing at all.
He waited for her after practice, knowing she finished up about the same time as he did. While he waited he leaned against the wall, counting tiles on the ceiling, watching the sun sink lower in the sky, anything but staring in hopeful terror at the locker room door. “Man, she’s hiding in there waiting for you to leave.” Cole said with a half-disgusted shake of his head as he walked by, heading for the parking lot.
Trey waited.
He was on the verge of believing Cole was right when she came out of the locker room, digging through her messenger bag for her keys. Her messy bun had fallen into an even messier tangle of curls, only half-held by her elastic band. She carried her gym bag and still wore her dance clothes. His heart thudded painfully in his chest as he fought to memorize every detail. “Hey Scout.”
Her feet froze as she raised her head slowly, glaring before her eyes even reached his face. “What, Trey?”
He pushed away from the wall where he’d been leaning for the last several minutes. The extra reps had about done him in. His biceps had never been in so much pain. “When do you want to get started on our project?” He kept his voice mild and tried not to meet her eyes, like he planned on doing if he ever came face-to-face with an angry mountain lion.
“I’m not working with you, Trey,” she said, her voice dripping icicles.
“But our project—” he objected.
She folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t care.”
He sighed, rubbing his neck. “Scout, we both know you do care. You’ve got all kinds of scholarships lined up, and you need this project.” He tipped his head, waiting until she met his eyes. “When do you want to get started?”
She stared at him for several minutes until her eyes softened just a bit and she nodded. “Tomorrow night? We’ll both have easier practices since the game is on Friday, so we should be able to get started earlier.”
“Sounds good. Six at my house? My mom makes spaghetti on Thursdays.” Trey sounded breathless, even to his own ears.
A hint of a smile crossed Scout’s face. “I know. I remember.” And then the smile was gone and her eyes hardened again. “I’ll eat before I come. See you at six thirty.” She spun on her heel and walked away, leaving him alone in the hall.
“How’d it go?” Cole asked as Trey walked up to the truck. Cole leaned against it patiently, and Trey felt bad making him wait so long.
“Sorry, forgot it was my turn to drive today.” He unlocked the truck so Cole could climb in. “She hates me as much as ever.”
“Yeah. I don’t think that’s gonna get any better, Trey.” Cole said as he slid into the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt.
“No, I don’t think it will.” When Trey tried to sleep at night, he still saw the flashing red and blue lights. He could still hear the sirens. And every time he drove past that stoplight, he saw the whole thing again, heard Scout scream as he spun the wheel, trying to avoid the semi, and then the echoing silence as her scream was cut short.
****
“Hi Scout. How was school?” Lil Bit met Scout at the door and Scout planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“Long. How bout you?”
“Not long enough.” Lil Bit frowned. Scout’s sister was eleven, looked like she was eight, and was treated like she was six. It drove the little girl nuts. Scout refused to do it, which might be why Lil Bit loved her the most.
“They made you take a short day again?” Scout asked, hanging her bags and jacket on the hook in the mudroom.
“Yep. I thought I saw…” Lil Bit froze, her hand clapped over her mouth.
“Hey.” Scout squatted down so they were face to face, peeling Lil Bit’s hand away from her face. “You can tell me. I’m safe, remember?”
Lil Bit peered through the doorway and looked over her shoulder, comically making sure they were alone, although Scout was pretty sure she wasn’t being comical on purpose. “I thought I saw soul stealers.”
Scout sat back on her heels, her eyes widening. Soul stealers were new. She’d never heard Lil Bit talk about them before. Unicorns, yes. All the time. “What are soul stealers?”
Lil Bit’s face paled, making her big brown eyes look like pits of terror in her face. “They’re monsters.”
Scout cracked a smile. “I assumed that, kiddo. What kind of monsters? Where did you see them?”
Lil Bit had been ‘seeing’ things since she was tiny. Their parents put her in a special school and had taken her to all kinds of doctors. For a while, she had quit talking completely. It hadn’t been until Scout spent three months in the hospital that Lil Bit had finally opened up — and that was only because she thought Scout was unconscious and couldn’t hear her.
“I saw them on TV, on the news.
But they’re coming here. They’re coming everywhere,” Lil Bit whispered.
Who let her watch the news? Scout wondered furiously, but she didn’t say it. “What do they look like?”
“Like… like black skeleton ghosts. All hunched up. With long claw-y fingers that they use to steal souls.”
“Good grief.” Scout pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around Lil Bit, trying to block out all the scary things that assaulted her on a daily basis. “I’m so sorry.”
She stroked Lil Bit’s black silky hair until Lil Bit pushed her away with a grin. “You talked to Trey today.” Lil Bit had been amazing Scout with the things she knew for years, but it still surprised her every time.
“How’d you know?”
Lil Bit had loved Trey. His abandonment hurt her as much as it hurt Scout, almost. But her hurt hadn’t turned to hatred. She still waved every time she saw him outside. Lil Bit turned and skipped from the room. “I just did. What’d he want?”
Scout rose to her feet, groaning as her back shrieked in protest. Right after the accident, the doctors had told her she’d never walk again. She’d proven them wrong, but her back still liked to remind her constantly that the pain was in charge, not her.
Lil Bit paused in the living room, looking back at Scout expectantly. “We are stuck together on a science project,” Scout said as she followed her in, collapsing on the couch to pull off her shoes. Lil Bit said nothing, just continued to stare at her with those big eyes, so Scout continued, “I don’t want to work with him. I don’t want anything to do with him.” It was amazing how one could be simultaneously in love with someone and hate him at the exact same time. Only Lil Bit knew the truth, and she wouldn’t tell.
“Scout? Is that you?” Scout’s mom, Laila, called from the office. She worked from home as an office manager, which meant she could be a workaholic and an active, participating-in-their-lives kind of mom at the same time.
Feudlings In Smoke (Fate On Fire Short Story) Page 7