It’s so bizarre watching my dream come to life. Sibeal’s eyes reflect so much sadness, I can barely stop myself from running over and hugging her. Her glassy eyes stare back at the reflection like she thinks it will tell her the mysteries of the world. The agony she feels is reflected in her posture. I hold my breath as Sibeal pulls her hand away from the glass. She watches the reflection a second longer before turning away.
She’s the only one who does. I stumble back against the bathroom stall as Sibeal’s reflection stays where it was. The noise of me tripping snaps the reflection over to me, and I see in that brief second, the vileness of the crazy Sibeal from my dreams. My foot knocks into the base of the toilet and I barely catch myself before falling in. My elbow is screaming at me, though, after getting whacked on the porcelain.
“Arra, are you okay?” Sibeal calls out.
I groan, knowing she must think I’m the one who’s a nutjob. “Yep, fine. Just tripped on my …” I glance down, remembering that I wore my Tom’s today and don’t have any shoelaces like I was about to claim. “…on my own feet,” I finish lamely.
Sibeal chuckles softly. “Be careful,” she chides.
I push myself, and my flagging self-esteem, out of the stall and over to the sink to wash my hands. I try to act normal. I really try. When Sibeal walks toward me, I flinch.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks.
“Just embarrassed.”
We abandon the ladies’ room and head back to the main hallway. “I’ve got to drop some stuff off at my locker, but I’ll find you in a minute. I’m sure Bas and Dani are already in there.”
“Oh, sure.” When she turns around, I practically sprint for my locker. I know Tanner’s last class was clear across campus, so he’s usually a little late to lunch on B days. I hurry to dump all my art stuff into my locker and find my math book so I can snag Tanner before he makes it to the cafeteria. I am racing through the halls, but I barely manage to grab him before he hits the chow line.
Tanner stares at me with concern, but says, “Either you’re super happy to see me, or you and Bas just got in another fight.”
“Wrong on both counts.”
Tanner pouts, making him look so cute, but I don’t have time to enjoy it. “Sorry, I am happy to see you, but this is about Sibeal.”
Now Tanner is really paying attention. He pulls me away from the cafeteria doors. “What happened?”
“It was just like my dream!” I half whisper, half shout.
“Which dream?”
I shake my head and try to collect myself. “The first one. I followed Sibeal to the bathroom after class and I watched her from my stall, and it was so freaky! She stared at the mirror all weird like Dani said, and then when she turned away, her reflection stayed put! It scared me half to death and I tripped and nearly fell in the toilet …”
Tanner chuckles at that part, which I ignore.
“And, then…the reflection looked at me!” I squeak.
“It what?”
I pull him even farther away from the doors. “It looked at me!”
Tanner’s eyes dance around the hallway, as if Sibeal’s reflection has somehow escaped the mirror and come to find us. When his eyes finally make it back to mine, he looks appropriately freaked out. “What on earth is going on with her?”
“I don’t know, but it is seriously starting to weird me out.”
“No kidding. I didn’t even see it and I’ve got goose bumps.”
I press my hand into his and try to draw on his warmth. “What do you think it means?”
“I think it means it wasn’t medication that is keeping psycho-Sibeal from coming out to play. Something really strange is happening with her.”
“Do you think …” I trail off knowing what I’m about to say will sound really stupid. Although, I just told Tanner that Sibeal’s reflection looked at me, so how crazy can it really sound? I try again. “What if it has something to do with that shadow soul thing? Maybe she used whatever weird power she has to, I don’t know, lock up her shadow soul?”
Tanner just shrugs. “I really have no idea. At this point, I think you could tell me it was the Easter bunny and I’d have to admit it was a possibility.”
“Could her shadow soul be sentient enough to actively send me the dreams?” I wonder.
“I don’t know, Arra. Maybe.” He sighs and presses his lips to my temple. “But if that’s true, helping her doesn’t sound like a good idea. I don’t think anyone wants to set loose Sibeal’s alter ego.”
He’s completely right about that. The evil look in nasty-Sibeal’s eyes is more than enough to make me believe in monsters under the bed again. I feel like we’re onto something, but once again, that strange sense that I’m not seeing all the pieces to this puzzle assaults me. I just wish I could figure out what I’m missing.
“Maybe I’ll try to talk to Kivera tonight. She might know something about these shadow soul things.”
Tanner shakes his head again. “This has got to be the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Ditto,” I say with a laugh. Although, I’ve had some doozies of conversations lately. It’s getting hard to compare them.
“Well,” Tanner says, “I’ll think about it during my next two classes. Eventually we’re going to figure this out, but for now, let’s go get some lunch and see if Sibeal does any other weird things today.”
When we grab our lunches and head for our usual table, part of me feels bad to see Sibeal sitting at the end not talking to anyone. The other part of me…well, it totally understands wanting to keep my distance. Dani is sitting as far away from her as possible and is chatting with Bas about something, probably the next class social event. Tanner and I sit down near Sibeal, though Tanner takes the seat closer to Bas.
“So, Arra,” Dani says as she leans around Bas, “the first official archery practice is going to be this weekend.”
“This weekend? But …”
She doesn’t let me finish. “Don’t worry, David can come. It’ll be fun for everyone to meet him. Plus, I heard he’s pretty hot.”
My nose wrinkles at her comment. I mean, sure David is handsome, but thinking about him like that is gross. I decide to refocus Dani. “What do you mean by official?”
“Well, official might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s the first practice where everyone who’s planning to try out for the team gets together to show off. You are trying out, right?” she questions.
My eyes dance between Bas and Tanner. The conflict seems to be gone, so I say, “Uh, yeah. Bas brought me the registration forms last night.”
Tanner looks over at me. “He did?”
“Yeah, he came by after you left. He said he was going over to your house next.” I glance over at Bas with narrowed eyes. If he didn’t apologize to Tanner like he promised, the ride to Portland is going to be very, very long.
“He did,” Tanner says, “he just didn’t mention he had seen you.”
“Anyway,” Dani interrupts, “we usually make a picnic out of it, so …”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, I’ll see if my mom will make some treats.”
Dani isn’t the only one happy to hear that.
“Maybe we should do something Friday night, too,” Evan suggests. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a bonfire on the beach.”
Heads start bobbing around the table. I know Dani loves throwing bonfires as much as Evan, but her head stops bobbing as she turns to Bas. “Hey, what time are you and Arra getting back from Portland?”
Bas and I lock eyes, instantly realizing neither one of us told Tanner about the trip. Tanner isn’t usually the jealous type, but his fork stops before making it to his mouth. First, he turns to look at Bas. Bas’s mouth starts to open, but closes again right away. Tanner turns to me for answers.
“What trip to Portland?” he asks slowly.
“To pick up David.”
He leans in closer to me, no doubt hoping the rest of the table isn�
�t dead silent and intent on eavesdropping. Which they are. “And you’re going with Bas?”
“I didn’t really have a choice,” I explain. “My parents are both busy, but they won’t let me drive down by myself.”
“I could have …” He shakes his head as understanding dawns. “He said no, right?”
I nod quietly.
“But Bas?”
“He was there when my dad mentioned David coming home and he asked him. To be honest, I don’t even know if we’re going. Bas has to ask his parents first.”
Tanner looks up at Bas. “Did you ask them?”
“Yeah,” Bas says, “they were fine with it. Don’t worry, man, I’ll take care of her.”
The level of sincerity in his voice has an odd effect on the table. Most of the eavesdroppers seem to take that statement to mean the drama is over. Why not? If Bas says something will be alright, they trust him without a doubt. I, on the other hand, am having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Is he so concerned because he knows how much I mean to Tanner? It’s reasonable, but when he turns to look at me, I’m not so sure anymore. Tanner’s reaction surprises me the most. His easy grin returns and he reaches over the table to clasp Bas’s hand.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you looking out for her.”
“No problem,” Bas replies.
I sit back in my seat, unable to say another word. That was the weirdest thing ever. I’m not sure whether to be insulted that Tanner isn’t concerned about me going on a road trip with another guy—his best friend, no less—or if I should take it as a compliment that he trusts me so much. What bugs me the most when I think about it is that it isn’t either one of those. It all has to do with Bas. Bas can do no wrong. He would never consider moving in on his best friend’s girlfriend. Nothing bad could ever happen when Bas is around. If Bas says it will be okay, then it will. It’s strange, and odd, and for some reason it really irritates me.
Chapter Twelve
Every minute that I haven’t spent on homework this week has been dedicated to trying to figure out the latest dream. The internet is crawling with stories of magic, demons, and fairies. I have gobs of information at my fingertips. Figuring out what to do with it was a whole other mess. How am I supposed to figure out which, if any, of these matched what Sibeal was doing?
My mouse clicks on the search bar again. I delete my previous search, but can’t think of anything new. For a moment I contemplate going back to my assignment and tinkering with it a bit longer, but it’s been done for days and I’m sick of looking at it. I love graphic design, and I was really excited when I saw the high school actually offered it as an elective, but the beginner course is so easy compared to the classes I have already taken that it barely occupies any of my class time.
Deciding to focus on something other than Sibeal’s power, I contemplate where the dreams were taking place. It definitely didn’t look like Boston proper, but perhaps her family had a cottage out in the country. Knowing that I won’t find any personal information like that on the web about Sibeal’s family, I instead search for pictures of the Massachusetts countryside.
I am so engrossed in searching the pictures for something familiar, I don’t notice someone approaching until Bas flops down in the seat next to me. “Planning a trip to Massachusetts?”
“Uh, not exactly. Just trying to find something,” I say.
“Find what?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. It was just a picture I saw. I was trying to figure out where it was taken.” I close the window and look over at Bas. “I was just bored, really.”
A grin splits his mouth. “Awesome, because I need your help.”
My head falls back dramatically as I groan.
Bas rolls his eyes and starts pushing my rolling chair across the room to his computer. “You know you love telling me what to do,” he taunts. “I’m sure you get all kinds of pleasure over feeling superior to me.”
Well, maybe that’s true. I make it a point to maintain my scowl. Really, though, I don’t mind helping him. It beats sitting at my computer googling random stuff. Plus, it’s the only real chance I get to test my knowledge and push myself in this class. Bas jerks the chair to a halt in front of his computer.
I feign annoyance and say, “Fine. What’re you stuck on now?”
“I can’t get this gradient layer to work right. It keeps trying to apply it to the whole image, not just the layer I have selected.”
I smile to myself, laughing at how many times I’ve had trouble with the exact same thing. I don’t tell Bas that of course, but I do explain how to fix it. He listens attentively without joking or teasing, and without managing to get me in trouble for once. He always claims his pranks are accidents, but I don’t know how he could possibly get me into trouble with so many of my teachers so many times and it still be merely accidental. I’m still convinced he bumped into me on purpose yesterday in chemistry and made me spill the catalyst I was about to add to our solution.
Explaining the intricacies of Photoshop slowly pushes out every other thought. I walk Bas through the next couple steps of his project. Sure, I’m practically doing it for him, but he seems to be paying attention and asking questions so I don’t complain too much. Before I know it, class is winding down.
“You can probably finish the last few steps on your own,” I tell Bas, “but if you need help, just ask.”
“That’s unusually nice of you,” Bas says.
I stick my tongue out at him. “Other people think I’m a very nice person.”
“You’re actually nice to other people.”
Closing Photoshop, I keep my eyes off Bas. “Funny, that’s exactly what I would say about you.”
He doesn’t say anything right away. I close out of the other programs he has open and shut down the computer. When I finally look over at Bas, he has one of those impossible to interpret expressions on his face. I’ve learned to ignore them, for the most part. Switching from Photoshop to our plans for this afternoon, I start thinking logistics.
“So, my dad is going to meet us at my house during his lunch hour. You’re still okay swapping cars, right?”
Bas’s face goes from unreadable to a grimace at the mention of giving up his truck. “Why can’t we just take my truck?” he whines.
“Because I am not driving that thing. It’s a tank!” I shake my head at him. “I’ve never driven anything bigger than my mom’s Volvo.”
“Then why don’t you let me drive?”
I smack his arm. “Because this is my road trip, you’re just tagging along. I get to drive, not you, so ha.”
“So ha?” he mocks. I ignore him.
“Just meet me in the parking lot after next class.”
I start to get up so I can push my chair back to my desk, but Bas is too fast. He plants his foot on my chair and shoves me toward the aisle. My chair goes flying, crashing into a desk, whacking my elbow against the table, and making a huge racket! Ms. Carpenter, who was half asleep at her desk, jolts up out of her seat.
“Arra! How many times do I have to tell you kids that the chairs are not an amusement park ride!” she yelps.
“Sorry.” I stand up and carefully push my chair back to my desk, glaring at Bas the whole way. This is going to be a really long day. I walk out of the computer lab without another word to Bas and head for the art room. My prophecy of a long day takes one more step toward fulfillment.
Sitting through art with Sibeal is a new form of torture. Every time I look in her direction I find myself scouring her for any signs that something weird is going on. I flinch when she mutters something to herself and erases part of her drawing. Dozens of questions are banging around in my mind, but it’s not like I can actually ask her. What would a psychotic, freaky power wielding girl do if someone found her out? I don’t really want to know.
It’s with a huge breath of relief that I step out of the art room and head for my locker. Tanner is there waiting for me, which brings a smile to my face. My bag
drops to the ground at his feet and I practically fall into his arms.
“Long morning?” he laughs.
I groan. “You have no idea.”
Wrapping my arms around Tanner’s waist I press myself against his chest.
“What happened?” he asks.
“Well, after Bas pushed my chair into a row of desks and bruised my elbow, I had to sit through art with Sibeal. I have to admit, it kind of freaks me out to be around her. Every time her lips move, I worry she’s trying to do something weird.”
Even as I say it, I know it sounds stupid. Maybe the dreams are more symbolic than literal. I just have no idea. Tanner doesn’t laugh at me like Bas probably would. Instead, he cradles me against his chest and kisses the top of my head.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I sigh and tighten my hold on him. “I’m not really looking forward to this trip either. I mean, I’m excited to see David, but I don’t know about being stuck in a car with Bas for two hours.”
Tanner chuckles. “And you wonder why I’m not jealous about this? I have to admit, your dislike of my best friend is weirdly cute.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I wish you were coming instead.”
“Me too, but I’ll see you tonight at the bonfire. Is David going to come?”
“I don’t know. It’ll probably depend on how tired he is and whether my parents are back by the time we get home. My dad is scheduled until ten o’clock, but he was going to try and get off early. Mom won’t be back until at least eight.”
Tanner lifts my chin and kisses my lips. “I hope he comes. I’m excited to meet him. Hopefully at least one of the men in your family will like me, and maybe he can convince your dad I’m not so bad.”
“Of course,” I say, but in the back of my mind I know changing my dad’s mind will be no easy task. Especially after I managed to make it worse the last time we talked about it. I shrug off thoughts like that and force myself to pull out of Tanner’s grip. “Walk me out to meet Bas?”
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