Dude, I said to myself. You’re pathetic.
I checked my phone for the time and saw that the bell was ready to ring. Majorly disappointed, I went inside. The early morning had been a waste. But the moment I set foot in the door, my disappointment vanished. I felt it off in the distance. It descended on me like a cloud of salvation. My muscles relaxed and a wave of calm washed over me. The lottery was still a possibility. I’d staked out the wrong entrance, that’s all. I still had a shot at fourth period.
I zombied through my first three classes and headed for room 217 the second the bell rang. I was the first kid in the room. I presented my paperwork, assuring the teacher that, yes; I’d seen the textbook before. No, I didn’t need after-school assistance to catch me up. I almost high fived her when she finally released me.
Trying to look casual, I grabbed a seat in the back, eyes locked on the door and everyone who passed through it. Not him, not her, not her, not him. I was starting to get a little worried. But seconds before the bell, in rushed a couple of girls, and a wave of power swept over me.
Nice!
The first girl was blonde, hot, and dressed to kill. I focused on the waves of energy radiating from her direction thinking this could be interesting. Then a smaller girl appeared from behind her and stopped short as if she’d hit a wall. Her book bag crashed to the floor. She clutched her chest and let out a gasp with her mouth in an O.
And the power practically lifted me out of my seat.
Every cell in my body electrified and stood at attention. It waved over me, sending synaptic brushfire through my nervous system. I was so startled; my own energy slipped a little—my bad—and probably slammed right into her.
She turned and tore out of the room.
Abruptly, the connection snapped like a rubber band. I slumped in my seat, gasping for air. Luckily, no one noticed, since everyone was focused on the fleeing girl. This all took place in the span of, say, five seconds. But it was one of those gonna-crash-my-car-slow-motion scenarios, where it seems like ten times as long. And to make things worse, I was almost certain I gave the kid a power-slam.
My bad, my frickin bad.
The blonde tossed her stuff on a desk and glanced at the teacher, who nodded. The blonde grabbed the fallen book bag and took off after the other girl.
I just sat there, stunned. I couldn’t frickin believe it! It was the little chick. I didn’t even get a good look at her. I just saw a haze of sloppy, non-descript, no-color clothing, an oversized, black hoodie, and big, ugly glasses. The energy pouring off her had been so strong; it was all I could do to absorb it, much the less notice details.
I didn’t even hold in my own power—what a wuss. It was just so unexpected. And I swear, I would never have thought energy of that magnitude could come from someone so small and inconsequential. And now I’d scared her.
Smooth move, Constantine.
I had to grip the sides of my desk to keep from hauling-ass after her. But I stayed glued to my seat. No way did I want to call attention to the fact that her exit had anything to do with me. I might have won the lottery, but I hadn’t cashed in the ticket yet. And until you have the money in your hand, you don’t have the prize. So I just sat there, trying to figure it out.
I knew it had to be a student, but I expected someone bigger for one thing, older for another. And not to be sexist, but power that strong, I figured it had to be a guy. Instead, it was some shrimpy, little chick.
About thirty minutes later, the blonde returned, handing the teacher a note. The teacher nodded, and the blonde sat down looking anxious. She slid me searching looks every few minutes from behind a curtain of hair. I smiled, trying to look harmless, but she completely avoided eye contact. She bolted the second the bell rang so there was no chance to talk to her. I was losing my game left and right. I used to be pretty good with chicks before.
Of course, everything was different before.
“The hell?” Lex stared at me anxiously as I slumped down the wall outside Spanish. “What was that? Are you okay?”
I couldn’t speak. I held my finger up in a wait a minute motion while I took a couple of deep breaths. Something really strange had just happened, and I didn’t have a clue what it was. I was lightheaded and disoriented…to say nothing of majorly confused. I needed to go home. I needed my tree.
“Are you going to Oz?” she asked, concern pouring off her. “Are you?”
“I don’t know,” I managed to sputter out. “No, I don’t think so. I’m not shimmering or anything, right?”
“No, but you’re white as a sheet.” She took my hand and pulled me up off the floor. “You’re okay, though, right?”
“I think so. I will be. I’ll explain in a minute. But first, I need a tree.”
“No problem,” she said, steering me down the hall and out of the building.
A teacher saw us leave and followed, probably ready to read us the riot act. But when she looked at me, she got concerned and asked what was going on. “Are you feeling okay?”
Lex took charge as usual. “She has cramps really bad, Ms. Summers. I think she needs to go home.”
“Autumn Jones, right?” she asked. “I’ll call your parents. Is there anyone home?” She looked down at me all maternal-like. Sometimes teachers could be okay.
“My dad,” I managed to answer. It wasn’t even noon yet so Sam should be able to drive a few blocks. I wrapped my arms around my middle.
“I’ll stay with her till he comes,” offered Lex.
“Thank you, Alexandra,” Ms. Summers said. “I’ll make the call. If I don’t come right back, that means he’s on his way. When Autumn gets picked up, come to the office, and I’ll give you a pass.”
“Thanks, Ms. Summers,” we said in chorus. She waved and went back inside.
“Give me a minute to recharge,” I said, heading for the closest tree. Lex followed silently. She was good about giving me space when I needed it. I leaned against the tree with relief, my cheek against the bark to absorb the most energy. I stood there for about a minute just soaking up the calm. Then I turned and gave Lex a weak smile. “Okay, I think I’m stable.”
She held her hands up, palm out. “All right, already, spill.”
“You know that energy thing that happened yesterday and then again this morning when we got to school?” I began.
“Yeah…”
“Well, as we got closer to Spanish, it began to build.”
“Elaborate.”
“Grow, expand. It got stronger and weaker, back and forth all morning. It rocked to have the static buffered, and after a while, I just went with it. I felt better than I ever have at school, as if I had a tree with me, nothing scary at all. I mean, it was calming. But when I walked into Spanish, BAM, something hit me like a wall of electrified water. It was the most intense thing I’ve ever felt.”
“Shut up,” she said, arching her eyebrows. “Did it hurt?”
“No, it didn’t hurt at all—quite the opposite, actually.”
“Then why’d you run out of the room?”
“It was so unexpected. I felt totally out of control…like I was going to get yanked into a trip or something. I panicked.”
“But you’re okay.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“What was it like?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to find a coherent explanation. Then I pointed to the tree. “Tree energy is slow, steady, and even. It’s powerful, but smooth and comforting, like a humming, vibrating, electric blanket. It grows and expands, but it’s always steady, never shocking. What I was picking up all morning was like that…calming and soothing. But when I got to Spanish…”
“It was different?”
“Yeah, way different,” I nodded. “It was direct, intense, and sudden. It almost knocked me off my feet. It felt good but it wasn’t calming. It was—I don’t know—exciting, stimulating. It’s hard to describe. It felt good, but the kind of good you don’t want t
o feel in public.”
“Really?” She drew out the word and smirked.
I instantly knew what she was thinking. “Yes,” I said, “but it wasn’t like that. I mean, located there. This was a whole body feeling, like all my cells were having a good time.”
“Sex is a whole body feeling.”
“Yeah, but it’s concentrated down there. This wasn’t. Besides, that’s not the point. No matter how good it felt, I can’t have something controlling me like that…or someone.”
“You think someone is causing this?”
“Not for sure. But as we were walking to our seats, when you moved out from in front of me, there was this new guy sitting there. That’s when it hit me.”
She closed her eyes, probably reviewing the scene. “Oh yeah—in the back…tall, big shoulders, dark hair…possibly hot.” She looked at me. “You’re right, there was a new guy.”
“Exactly.”
“In fact, I was checking him out as we walked in. But then you had a spaz attack so I—”
“Where’d he come from?” I interrupted. “He wasn’t there yesterday.”
“Well, new guy,” she stated the obvious. “You sure it was him?”
“It had to be. It got stronger as I walked into the room but it was manageable. The moment you moved from in front of me, it hit me hard. It was him.”
“Whoa,” she said, dropping down beside the tree trunk. “This is big.”
“Ya think?”
“So, WTF?”
“Beats me,” I said, sitting down beside her. “I’m really freaked. What do you think the deal is? What if he’s some kind of alien or something?”
“Like from another planet? That seems unlikely—”
“Yeah, well, maybe I’m an alien. It’s the best guess we’ve ever come up with for my strangeness. There has to be some explanation.”
“It wouldn’t matter…not to me. It would be cool. You would still be you and Ipod would be in sci-fi heaven.”
“Yeah, well, there’s something different about this guy, and maybe I’m just the only one who can sense it.”
“You go home.” She laid her hand on my arm. “If you picked up something from him, maybe he felt you. He certainly had to be curious as to why you looked at him like that and ran out of the room. Unless he was doing it deliberately.”
“Deliberately? That’s kinda creepy.” I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Deliberately doesn’t have to mean bad,” she said. “Don’t pre-freak.”
“He could be anything,” I said, with a shiver.
Lex just looked at me for a moment without saying a word.
“What if he’s—I don’t know—dangerous?” I asked. My mind started whacking out on all the possibilities. “What if he’s, like, from the dark side or something?”
“The dark side of what?” she asked, arching her eyebrows.
“You know, like vampire dark.”
“Please…besides, he had a tan. Aren’t vampires supposed to have really white—?”
“Whoa, what if he’s after me? What if he’s looking for me? What if he knows?”
“You mean about…”
“Yes!”
“How could…”
“How should I know?” I asked, my tempo increasing along with my volume. “This is so not cool. Something’s going on here and we’re completely in the dark. How can I go back to that class if he’s going to affect me like that? What if—”
“A.J.” She grabbed my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. “Chillax. Shrink Four, ‘Instead of freaking out, assess the situation and make a plan.”’
“Right,” I said. “I know that. I just—”
“Hey…scary to be you, sometimes.”
“Yeah, right?”
She leaned against the tree, and I sat back and put my head on her shoulder. I could tell the wheels were spinning, because she pulled out her phone and started playing Angry Birds. She said that helped her think. I waited, knowing she’d take charge. It made me feel safe when she did that. I didn’t wait long.
“You go chill in the tree house,” she directed, exploding another space pig. “Will you be okay by yourself until school is over?”
“Yeah, sure, of course.”
“Because, if not, I can always call Arthur and use the ‘cramps excuse’ to get out of my afternoon classes.” Arthur was the Chihuahua’s assistant. He handled all things Lex, from parent/teacher conferences to paying our grocery bills and Lex’s very generous allowance, which she split with Ipod and me. Lex had him wrapped around her little finger.
“No,” I shook my head. “Don’t skip over this. Save it for when we really need it. I’ll be okay.”
“Good,” she said, tossing her phone in her bag. “I want to get another look at him. As soon as Ipod and I get home, we’ll figure it out. How is it now?”
“Smoother. I’m okay, just a little dazed and confused. It was the surprise that threw me. What did the guy look like? Did he seem—I don’t know—scary?”
“No, not that I remember. I was busy watching you run out of the room.”
“Great. I bet everyone else was too. Lucky me.”
“You kind of blew rule six out of the water,” she said, laughing.
“I blew about four rules out of the water. How can I ever go back to that class?”
Just then Sam drove up. He started to get out of the car, but Lex yelled at him that we’d be right there.
“Be careful,” I said.
“We’ll deal with this,” she said. She tossed my bag in the backseat, while I got into the front with Sam.
He looked at me intently. “You okay, Honey?”
“Hi, Sam,” Lex said, before I could answer. “It’s just a girl thing. She’s okay.”
“Thanks, Lexie,” he said, visibly relieved. “Come on, Autumn, let’s go home.”
“Be careful!” I mouthed to Lex as we drove away.
“I got your back,” she mouthed back at me.
I knew she did. I could tell that she’d realized something was going on. She hustled back into school, looking right and left as though checking for—I don’t know—vampires or Voldemort or something. She was fearless but not stupid. She always believed me. Not that I was necessarily right about things, but that I was telling the truth, no matter how freak-show it got. I really loved her for that. No matter how screwed up my life was, at least I had her on my side.
As for the rest of it? I didn’t know what to think.
I became a one man/one goal detective agency, immediately snagging her name from a girl on the way out of class. If I couldn’t meet her then, I could at least track down some info. She’d definitely left the campus. I couldn’t pick up even a hint of her energy. I wasn’t too worried. I figured she’d be back the next day.
I crossed the street to Jalino’s. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with the lunchroom scene. I had to figure out where I fit here at Boulder High before I’d tackle that. Besides, I couldn’t argue with pizza. The minute I walked in the door, I knew the pizza would be kick-ass. It smelled really good. The place was a little crowded, but no big. I was okay just standing there, smelling it.
I paid for my slices and headed for the creek behind the school. It was cool how the creek ran right through the upscale town. The sound of the flowing creek was soothing, and even though there were other kids around, everything was mellow. I had to admit that it was a sweet lunch spot. I scored a tree, flopped down, and pulled out my tablet.
I cued up last year’s online yearbook and searched for her name. No surprise—photo unavailable. There was nothing else. I found the blonde quickly in the junior A’s. Her name was Alexandra Archer. She was seriously hot, and from what I could gather, popular. She was in the drama and debate clubs and had several miscellaneous shots. She was laughing in every one of them.
I couldn’t find an online profile for the Jones kid which was telling in itself. No web presence at all, which sucked, but didn’t surp
rise me. It was the same for freshman year. Obviously, she stayed off the grid—smart. I kept my own online stuff really generic. Mostly, it was just band shots and stuff like track and snowboarding.
So far, no good but no big. I had some serious hacking ability at home. The Guild relied on the younger Editors to deal with all the high-tech equipment, which gave me access to programs that weren’t on the market. I figured I’d find out more when I could tap into that.
I kept my radar up all afternoon, but I picked up nothing, not even a blip. I didn’t see the blonde again either. After scanning the usual spots and finding nothing, I headed home. As far as moving forward with the plan, the day was a bust. But for the first time since the accident, I had hope.
At that point, it occurred to me that there was probably some rule about reporting a Shadow to the Guild. I immediately pressed delete on that option. I wasn’t about to let the Guild loose on some innocent Shadow kid. No, this little lottery ticket was going to stay my secret, at least until I got her to help me. Besides, I’d been known to break a few rules now and then. I was already on the black list.
And the Shadow was my one chance to get off it.
Sam steered the Subaru, looking at me anxiously and smiling his sweet Sam smile. I patted his arm and leaned back on the seat with my eyes closed. At home he shuffled me inside, lugging my book bag. I hit the john and then I headed to the tree house.
Once inside, I leaned against the trunk and soaked up calm, leaving my mind blank. After a few minutes, I replayed the morning to see if I’d missed anything that was only obvious in hindsight. I’d picked up a little something as we’d approached the school that morning. “It’s happening again,” I had told them.
“You sure?” Ipod had asked. “Well, at least we know it’s related to something or someone at school. This is the second time in the same location. Not necessarily conclusive, so pay attention. Make notes. We’ll figure it out.”
After a brief locker stop we took off for class. By third period, I was getting used to it. I had no explanation but it didn’t feel threatening. I mean, it was wonderful not to have to deal with the usual sensory overload. I felt really good. So I concentrated on class stuff and shoved it to the back of my mind. As for Ipod’s request, there was nothing to note.
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