by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Six
Krystal sat down in the back of the last classroom of the day, after having introduced herself to the class. Again. But she had a big smile on her face. She’d missed school. She didn’t think that was even possible, but she really enjoyed learning from teachers, interacting with peers. And everyone had been so nice to her. She felt like she belonged here, where she understood her place, where things weren’t so vague and hidden in shadows.
She’d hadn’t had Natalia or Quinn in any of her classes, probably so they would be free to get chummy with the other students without being distracted by each other, or seeming cliquish themselves. But she had seen them at lunch, and it had been an…interesting experience.
Quinn was awkward. People were nice to him, especially the jocks who wanted him to join the football team, but he wasn’t having an easy time of fitting in. One senior guy that Krystal had in one of her classes seemed to have taken him under his wing, however, so he would be fine, although he hardly seemed in much of a position to uncover any secrets people may be hiding around him.
Even Krystal, who had fallen in with more of a nerdy, outsider crowd, was faring better than Quinn. It helped that she was from Louisiana and could identify with things from their daily lives easily, but she wasn’t sure she would be much help with this undercover business either. Sure, she was having fun, and enjoyed talking with the students, but she wasn’t exactly a master of manipulation and getting people to say what she wanted to hear. Natalia, however, was.
In the short time that Krystal had seen Natalia through the crowds of adoring students, the normally stoic hunter had been lit up with laughter, smiling like she was having the time of her life. She naturally fell right in with the popular crowd, who insisted on towing Natalia to the bathroom with them between each period, and made her the center of attention at lunch. Krystal had heard from a few new acquaintances that she was going to audition to be a cheerleader soon, and was already a shoo-in. And she’d overheard several guys confessing budding feelings for the hunter. Krystal was amazed, and found that she was proud to be a colleague of Natalia’s. It was amazing how fluidly she was able to shift her personality to suit the mission, like she was born to be prom queen and head cheerleader. It was shocking that she was so gifted at faking a role, but also a little scary. If any of these students could see how she normally acted, they would be astounded, and would wonder if they were seeing things. But as it stood, she was a riveting success. If anyone was going to coax information from the student body, it was going to be her.
A piece of paper suddenly hit her in the chest and fell to her desktop, causing Krystal to flinch and look up, trying to identify the culprit. She caught the eye of a blonde guy with clear blue eyes and a killer smile. He tilted his head to indicate the paper and she looked down at it uncertainly for a moment before unfolding it. Two words were scribbled onto the lined notebook paper in pencil: Remember me?”
She looked back up at the boy, who raised an eyebrow. Frowning, she tried to place him, wondering where they could have possibly met before. Being from Louisiana, it was certainly a possibility, and she immediately thought of Fern Dell, but if she’d met someone as handsome as him in her hometown, she was sure she would have remembered. Maybe they had bumped into each other in New Orleans at some point?
Shaking her head regretfully, he nodded, like he’d expected that answer, and returned to listening to Miss Lane.
Krystal couldn’t keep the boy from her thoughts though, and kept trying to recall where she could have met him, failing miserably and missing most of Miss Lane’s lecture on the imports and exports of Russia.
When the bell rang, signaling that school was adjourned for the day, everybody immediately began to scramble for backpacks and put away their notes and textbooks as Miss Lane called out the next day’s reading assignment.
As she slid out of her seat, Krystal was jostled by another girl on her way out the door, who didn’t bother to apologize, let alone look back, dumping Krystal’s notebook to the floor. Krystal glared at the retreating form of the girl and sighed as she leaned over to retrieve her book, surprised to see the blonde boy stooping to reach for it.
“Hey,” he said as he handed it to her. He flashed an adorable dimple at her. “I’m Steven.” He paused, as if the name would jog her memory of him, but at the blank stare she gave him, he must have realized quickly that it had had no effect. “Steven McCoy. We went to the same elementary school?”
She frowned. “In Fern Dell?”
“Yeah, silly,” he laughed and she felt her heart flutter. She continued to look at him until the name sunk in, and she recalled a skinny nerdy boy with thick glasses who she used to play with on the playground at recess. He’d moved away in fourth grade and she’d never seen him again.
Her eyes widened. “Steven McCoy? Are you…really?”
He laughed again as he walked her out of the room. “The one and only. I imagine I’ve changed a bit since then.”
“I’ll say,” Krystal acknowledged before blood raced to her cheeks. “I mean, you look very different.”
“You too,” he said, looking her up and down appraisingly. “The years have been kind to both of us, I’d say.”
“Kinder to you,” she retorted, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
He chuckled. “Who knew that those two snot-nosed kids would bump into each other in New Orleans five years later? It’s crazy.”
“Not that crazy,” she said, thinking of what her life had become.
Nodding, he followed her to her locker as students milled about around them. “Still, it’s nice to see you again. I really loved my time in Fern Dell. I hated to have to go.”
“Why did you move?”
He sighed, leaning against the next locker as she switched out books. “My dad moved to the city for a job.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah. But now I have a little piece of Fern Dell that came out to meet me.”
She laughed as she hefted her backpack over her right shoulder. “You make me sound like a bag of dirt.”
“Oh, you’re no bag of dirt,” he backtracked. “More like a…prized possession I thought I’d lost.”
Scoffing, she rolled her eyes at him. “A prized possession? Really?”
He shrugged. “The other girls seem to think I have a lot of game.”
“You could work on it a bit.”
Laughing, he nodded. “Agreed. I just haven’t needed it for a while. I haven’t been out to impress anybody lately with clever words.”
“Oh? Are you trying to impress me?” Krystal felt her heart skip a beat, and her head felt a little swimmy, like she was in a dream. Could this really be happening? A cute boy flirting with her like this? It seemed both so normal and so unimaginable at the same time.
“Only if you say you’ll hang out with me tonight.”
Krystal considered. “What would hanging out entail?”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “We’d get some food, go listen to some music maybe. You couldn’t have been in New Orleans long. You need someone to show you the sights.”
“True,” she agreed, pretending to be considering it as if her answer wouldn’t be yes. “I think I can clear my calendar for tonight.”
“Awesome.” He grinned. “Where do you live? I can come get you.”
Krystal felt a twinge of panic rise in her chest as she imagined his reaction to the haunted house she was staying at, before she calmly put on a smile. “I have a few things I have to do in town. How about I meet you somewhere? Where were you thinking of eating?”
“Tab’s Crab Shack. On Fourth. Best seafood in town. And that’s saying a lot.”
She nodded. “I’ll find it. Five o’clock okay?”
“Five o’clock is perfect.”
She sent him a warm smile. “Good. I’ll see you then.” As he turned to walk away, she added “and work on your game a bit bef
ore then, would you?”
He grinned back at her over his shoulder before walking away.
Krystal felt like she was riding a cloud as she made her way to the art hall, where she’d agreed to meet her fellow undercover hunters following class. They couldn’t be seen walking to the haunted mansion after class, so they would linger and discuss their findings in an empty room before regrouping with the others.
When she turned the corner down the hall, she saw Quinn waiting patiently on the floor, leaning back against a locker. “Have a nice day?” she asked as she reached him.
He squinted up at her and sighed. “I’m too old for this.”
She smirked. “Didn’t you just graduate from high school?”
“A few months ago,” he agreed as she slid down to sit beside him. “And I didn’t really care for it back then either. Although, I was much more popular than this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’re a different person now,” Krystal shrugged. “You’ve been through a lot in the past few months. Life-altering stuff. Sobering stuff.”
He nodded slowly. “I suppose I have.”
“Plus, you’re totally starting to look old.”
Snorting, he bumped shoulders with her. “Who was the boy?”
She looked up sharply. “You saw?”
“Of course. Not that you would have noticed me. You were too caught up in his gorgeous eyes, the color of the sky at mid-day.” He said the last part in a sing-song voice that made Krystal laugh.
“Sounds like you were studying him closer than I was.”
“He is dreamy.”
Chuckling, she leaned her head back. “It felt nice to talk to a boy like that. It’s a little escape from my crazy life of necromancy and monsters.”
“Good,” he nodded. “Just don’t lose perspective. We have a job to do here.”
“I think Natalia’s got it covered,” Krystal murmured, looking up as the other hunter finally arrived. “Speak of the devil.”
Natalia looked back over her shoulder as she approached them.
“Yeah, you don’t want to be seen talking to two losers,” Krystal said, getting to her feet.
“Speak for yourself,” Quinn scoffed, brushing himself off.
Natalia turned to them and frowned. “You two aren’t fitting in very well.”
“We’re not superspies,” Krystal said, crossing her arms. She shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. You totally look like you belong here. Like this is who you are.”
“It’s easy to fall in line if you observe properly,” Natalia told them. “You can be anyone you want to be with the right motivation. You just have to get into that head space and live it.”
“Well, apparently, we aren’t very good at it.”
Natalia watched her for a moment. “This is turning out for the best, I suppose. We are reaching different groups of students. We don’t know who is going to have the information, so the wider net we have, the better. Now that we’ve established ourselves, we can take this to the next level tomorrow.”
“You can do it tomorrow,” Krystal said, tossing her hair. “I have a date tonight.”
Natalia raised an eyebrow. “Impressive. I can give you tips on how to draw out information, if you’d like.”
“I think I’ve got this,” Krystal muttered.
“A date, huh?” Quinn nudged her. “With blondie?”
“Yes. The boy with eyes the color of the sky at mid-day.”
Quinn laughed and Natalia watched them with a puzzled expression.
“Private joke,” Quinn assured her. He sent Krystal a look. “One that will remain private.”
“I bet Shanna would love to hear it.”
Quinn paled and Krystal smirked. “I knew it,” she said. “You totally have a thing for her.”
“I don’t know where you get your crazy ideas,” he said, frowning. “She needs a friend right now. I’m being a friend.”
“And friends cheer friends up when they’re feeling blue. Which is exactly why I should share this with her.”
“God,” he muttered. “I am never joking around with you again.”
“I think enough time has passed,” Natalia interrupted. “Let’s return to the mansion.”
Krystal followed her clipped steps as they left the school, marveling at the difference between the Natalia she was seeing now and the one she’d seen during school hours.