by Sarah Carter
She winks. “You may not want to hold hands, then. It makes it kind of obvious.”
“No, kissing her would make it kind of obvious,” Connor counters.
“Ooo,” Maddie draws out. “Kissing already. Connor, you must be very smooth.”
He puffs out his chest. “I get all the ladies.” Lexi’s jaw drops, and she gapes at him. “No, no, no,” he stammers. “I was only joking.”
She grins in return. “I know.”
Suddenly, Lexi is grabbed from behind. She turns and swings around, locking the person in an arm lock. Derrick yells, “What in the hell, Lexi??”
Quickly letting go, Lexi says, “Sorry, reflex.”
“Geez,” Derrick groans, stretching his arm in a circle. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“My family,” Lexi explains. “It’s just a big group of fighters. I’ve been learning since I was a kid. My mom is the worst. She has me practicing a few times a week. She does every day, and I think she’s insane. So, again, I’m sorry. You just caught me by surprise.”
Derrick smiles. “It’s all good. I will just remember to have you on my side if I get into a fight.”
“Yeah, I’m like a one-person army,” Lexi teases.
“Come on,” Connor snorts. “Let’s get to class.” He interlocks their fingers again, but Lexi immediately pulls her hand away. “What in the hell?” Connor gasps.
“Good morning, Connor,” they hear.
They all turn to see Jackie. “Good morning,” Connor states, politely.
“Are you going into the school?” Jackie giggles. Lexi rolls her eyes and wants to punch Jackie in the face.
“Yeah, I have to go to my locker and get a textbook,” Connor replies. “Are you going to walk with us?”
“Of course,” she giggles again. She pushes her way through everyone and stands next to Connor. “So, what did you do last night?”
Connor stares at her point blank and says, “I went on a date.”
Jackie bristles and turns her gaze to Lexi. “That’s nice,” she snips.
“If you don’t mind,” Connor says. “We have some things to discuss.”
“I thought I would walk you to your locker,” Jackie offers. “I have a question that I need to ask you privately. It’s really important.”
“Jackie, now is not the time,” Connor replies. “Please, just back off a little.”
“Connor, please, it’s very private. You’re my friend,” Jackie pleads, giving him big round eyes.
He looks up at Lexi. She rolls her eyes behind Jackie’s back and then nods. “Fine,” Connor groans. “Let’s go.” Before, he leaves with her, Connor bends over and kisses Lexi on the cheek. “I will see you later.”
“Text me,” Lexi whispers, giving him a heated look.
“Oh, most definitely,” Connor replies.
Derrick watches him go and then turns to Lexi and Maddie. “God, I hate that girl.”
“Pretty much think we could start a club,” Maddie snorts.
“She has to have some redeeming qualities,” Lexi draws out, as they start to walk.
“Umm, yeah, sure,” Derrick replies. “Let’s see...” There is a heavy, silent pause. “Yup, got nothing!”
Lexi gestures, “I wonder what she had to talk to him about.”
“Who knows,” Derrick says. “She’s a twit.”
“A twit?” Lexi laughs. “I like that. Twit.”
“Well, she is!” he exclaims. “So, are you going to let me cheat off of you today?”
She raises her eyebrow. “No, what are we doing today that you need to cheat off of me?”
“I have no idea,” Derrick laughs. “I was just trying to throw that out there like a lifeline because I didn’t study last night.”
“Oh,” Lexi draws out. “You have no idea what we are going to talk about today.” He makes a face and then shakes his head. “All right, I will see if I can explain it to you in fifteen minutes.”
“Well, as much as that sounds like fun,” Maddie interjects. “I’m going to go this way.” She points the other direction.
Derrick smiles at her. “Okay, stay out of trouble.”
“What’s the fun in that?” Maddie laughs.
“I will try to catch you in between classes,” Derrick says. “Keep an eye out.”
Maddie’s cheeks turn red, and Lexi has to press her lips together to keep herself from smiling. “Yeah,” Maddie mutters. “I will see you in between classes.”
“Bye!” Lexi calls out, as Maddie turns to leave.
Suddenly, the liaison officer for the school walks up to Maddie. “What in the hell?” Derrick says.
The officer bends down and whispers something to Maddie. She shrugs and nods her head. He puts his hand on Maddie’s back and starts to escort her down the hallway. Derrick starts to go after them. “Leave them be,” Lexi says. “I think I know what’s going on.”
“She may be in trouble,” Derrick snaps. “We have to go see what’s wrong.”
“I doubt they would tell us anything anyways,” Lexi says. “We can grab her after class.”
Derrick has a very worried look on his face. “I don’t know, Lexi. She isn’t the type to get into trouble.”
“Like I said, they wouldn’t tell us anything anyways. I can guarantee we will be the first to know anything. Text her quick, and tell her to get ahold of you ASAP when she’s done.”
“Good idea,” he murmurs, grabbing out his cell phone. “Maybe I should tell Connor.”
“Don’t you think that will just make him worry? We have no info to give to him. What good would that do at all?”
“He still should know,” Derrick says.
“All right, then text him too,” Lexi sighs. She really hopes that Connor plays along and doesn’t blow this. She bites her lip. This could go well or really, really bad. Alan never saw them nor thought anyone was in the house. So, it’s just Connor that knows something. Lexi doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. She is trusting a guy she doesn’t even know. Quietly, she groans to herself.
Finally, nodding, Derrick says, “I sent a text to both of them.”
“We should get to class,” Lexi suggests.
Derrick looks down the hallway one last time and then sighs. “Yeah, we should.”
“She’s going to be okay,” Lexi says. “I promise. Maybe it’s nothing bad. What if it’s something good?”
“What could possibly be good from a cop coming to get you before school starts?”
“You never know,” Lexi draws out. “Maybe it is something good. We will find out after class or when she texts you.”
“No, this teacher is really strict on phones. I won’t know until after class.” Suddenly, he pulls his phone back out. “Connor isn’t too worried. It’s not like Maddie ever does anything wrong. He is saying maybe it’s something good, too.”
Lexi nudges Derrick. “See, even Connor isn’t too worried. Relax. It will be alright.”
“We have to look out for her, you know?” Derrick sighs. “Always have and always will.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, now we have ten minutes to go over the homework,” Lexi laughs. “Ready to learn quickly?”
“I’m open for the knowledge; go!”
An hour later, the bell rings. Derrick snatches out his phone. “What did she say?” Lexi asks. Jackie turns up her nose and walks away. She didn’t say a word to either Lexi or Derrick all class. She just kept throwing steely glares at Lexi.
“She says meet her at Connor’s locker.”
“We had better get over there then,” Lexi suggests.
“Let’s go.”
They come across Connor on their way there. “Did Maddie text you?” Derrick asks.
“Yeah, she said we had to talk ASAP. I wonder what it’s about,” Connor says back.
Derrick looks forward. “I don’t know.”
Lexi sees Connor look at her through the corner of his eye.
Lexi winks, and Connor smirks. They finally get to Connor’s locker where Maddie is waiting. She starts jumping up and down. “Guess what!?”
“What?” Derrick gasps, obviously worried.
“Alan confessed!” Maddie gleefully cries.
With his jaw dropping, Derrick says, “What?”
“No way,” Connor interjects. “That’s crazy. What happened?”
“I guess he called 911 last night, sobbing, babbling like an idiot. He confessed to everything.”
“What’s going on?” Lexi asks.
Maddie turns to her and whispers, “When I was in the eight grade, this guy Alan did some very bad things to me. We thought he was going to get away with it because there wasn’t enough evidence. I was just told that he confessed to everything. EVERYTHING!”
“Justice!” Connor cheers, giving her a high five.
“This takes such a huge weight off my shoulders,” Maddie sniffles, brushing away tears. “I held onto this for years. I can start to let it go.”
Derrick grabs her into a fierce hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
She wraps her arms around him and says, “Thanks.”
They stand there for a minute like that. Finally, Connor furrows his eyebrows. “Okay, I want a hug, too.”
Letting go of Derrick, Maddie rushes to Connor and bear hugs him. “I’m so happy,” she whispers.
“See, you are safe now,” Connor murmurs back.
“This is exciting news,” Lexi finally says, extremely happy that this crazy plan worked.
“It is! Still, please don’t tell anyone,” Maddie pleads. “It may get out into the papers again, but if it doesn’t, then I would be happy for no one to know.”
“I will speak of this to no one,” Lexi promises. “We should really get to class.”
Connor turns to her. “Where are you going?”
“English Lit,” Lexi replies.
“It’s a little out of my way, but I will still walk you there.”
“Thanks.”
Derrick looks at Maddie. “Grab your books; I will walk with you.”
“Really?” Maddie gasps.
“Yeah, of course,” he replies, smiling.
Maddie looks at Lexi. Lexi winks, and Maddie shoots her a look. Lexi looks up at Connor. “Let’s go, so we aren’t late.”
He grabs her hand and starts to pull her away. “See you guys later!”
“Bye!”
“So...”
Lexi shoots him a look. “Don’t talk about it, Connor.”
“Mum’s the word,” he laughs. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything, but you’re welcome. I would have to assume that whatever happened felt really good. I gave some thought to what you said about helping solve cases.”
“Really?” He chirps.
She nods. “Yeah, I could make a huge difference in this world. I couldn’t go all out and solve a hundred cases a day, but I could nudge and help as much as I could. It would be sort of amazing.”
“You can’t see yourself, right?”
“No,” Lexi replies. “I also really can’t see you.”
“I wonder why.”
Shrugging, Lexi says, “I have no idea.”
“Maybe I am going to be around you a lot, so it’s going to be hard to see me because of that,” Connor offers as a suggestion.
“That could be it. I want that to be it,” Lexi giggles. “So, I have to ask. What happened with Jackie?”
“Oh, it was ridiculous. She wanted to know if she should do something different with her hair. She is really grasping at straws. I was kind of pissed that that’s what she had to ask me. I let her know that, too.”
Lexi shakes her head. “She is going to be a problem.”
“I will handle it once and for all if need be,” Connor promises. “It may be me not talking to her at all anymore, but it really needs to stop. It’s gotten very old and quite annoying actually.”
A big yawn comes out of Lexi. “Ugh, I am so tired.”
“How much sleep did you end up getting last night?” Connor asks.
“Only six, but I legitimately need like ten hours of sleep at night because of everything. It was a lot worse when I was a kid.”
“That’s fine. I like naps.”
She laughs. “That’s good, so do I.”
Connor grips her hand hard. “I’m glad you came to school here.”
“Me, too. This isn’t going to be easy, you know. We really have to hide it. Keep it very much a secret. That may be a little hard.”
“Well then, no making out in your room,” Connor says.
“Maybe, if no one is home,” Lexi teases.
He looks down at her and smiles. “Does this mean you are going to make out with me?”
“I don’t know; I guess you will have to wait and see,” she giggles.
Bringing up her hand to his face, Connor kisses it. “I can’t wait to find out.”
They walk down the hallway. Suddenly, Lexi grabs him and stops him. “Hold up.”
“What?” Connor gasps.
Suddenly, a football comes sailing across the hallway and slams into the lockers next to them. “That’s what.”
Connor spins on her. “What? Oh my gosh, it’s true. I thought you couldn’t see us.”
“I can see Larry, though,” Lexi replies. “I can see Larry. I know everything there is to know about Larry. Larry secretly likes to watch Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Really? So, you know everything there is to know about everyone.”
“Only when I choose,” Lexi says, starting to pull him down the hallway. “It’s not like an onslaught of information. It’s what I specifically look for.”
He shakes his head. “And you can’t tell me how you do this?”
“Honestly, we have no idea how I can,” Lexi states. “We have no way of knowing. Only my mother would know, and she died when I was two. There’s no one else with the information.”
“Wow, is it like hereditary?”
“No, it’s not, but I really can’t get into it, Connor,” Lexi replies. “Please, try to understand that.”
“No, I get it. I’m sorry for pushing.”
She smiles. “You’re not pushing. I know you have to be curious. I would be if I were in your shoes, but I really can’t say anything.”
“I got it,” Connor replies, squeezing her hand. They stop at a classroom door. “Well, here you go. I have to fly to get to class.”
“Okay, see you at lunch?”
“Definitely,” Connor says. He leans over to her ear. “I’m giving you a fantastic kiss right now.”
“I do have to say that I enjoy it.”
He stands up straight. “I will see you in a little while.”
“Okay, bye,” Lexi calls out after him. She turns and walks into her classroom, blissfully happy.
Lunchtime comes around, and Lexi immediately goes to Connor’s locker. He’s waiting for her. “Hey, you,” he says, stepping forward. He leans over and kisses her on the cheek. Lexi jerks back. Connor whispers, “It was a kiss on the cheek, not on the lips. Relax a little.”
“Sorry,” Lexi mumbles nervously. “Just worried.”
“It’s that big of a deal, huh?”
She raises her eyebrows and looks at him. “What do you think?”
“That’s true. Sorry. Are you hungry?” Connor chimes, with a smile.
“I will let you know this now, I’m pretty much always hungry. Like a bottomless pit.” Lexi quiets down to a whisper. “I don’t know if it’s because of what I can do or because of who I am, but I need sleep and food.”
“Got it. Well, let’s go eat, then,” Connor suggests, waving his hand forward.
They start their way to the cafeteria. Suddenly, they hear, “Connor!”
Turning around, they see Jackie coming up to them. Lexi actually hears Connor groan. “What’s up, Jackie?”
“Are you going to eat lunch?”
“We are going to get lunch, yes
,” he replies. Connor reaches over and takes Lexi’s hand.
Jackie looks down at it and then looks back up at Connor.
“I see. Well, we should all eat together.”
“Jackie, be serious,” Connor says.
“Oh, so now we can’t be friends,” Jackie snips. “I see how it is.”
“Of course we are still friends,” Connor sighs. “Just don’t be a bitch.”
As she passes him, Jackie says, “I’m not a bitch. I’m trying to be a friend.”
“We know that’s not it,” Connor says. “But, whatever, let’s go eat lunch.”
Jackie has a near skip to her step all the way to the cafeteria. They go in and find Derrick and Maddie waiting. Maddie looks at Jackie. “What’s going on?”
“We are going to eat lunch,” Jackie chimes.
“Since when do you eat lunch with us?” Maddie asks. “You are always with your clique.”
“Don’t be silly. I eat with you guys,” Jackie giggles.
Maddie raises an eyebrow. “No, you don’t.”
“Well, I just wanted the enjoyment of your company today.”
“You hate everyone but Connor,” Derrick says. “There’s going to be no enjoyment of company.”
“I can change,” Jackie states. “I want to show you that I can change. I can be your friend.”
Everyone stares blankly at her. “Okay,” Connor draws out. “Let’s go get some food.”
They go to the line and order. When they sit, Lexi takes one side next to Connor, and Jackie slips into the other side. Lexi can’t help but roll her eyes.
“So, what did you do last night?” Jackie asks.
“I went over and met Lexi’s family,” Connor replies. “It was a lot of fun. Her house is like a museum. It’s really fascinating.”
“I wouldn’t say a museum,” Lexi draws out.
“It is,” Connor states. “You have artwork worth as much as a house.”
Jackie shifts in her seat. “I’m not much into art,” she states sharply.
“You’d be into this art,” Connor says. “It’s beautiful. A wonderful treat to see. Plus, Lexi has taken the coolest pictures in her room. She’s traveled the world.”
“I see. That’s interesting,” Jackie says, forcing a smile, looking as though it hurts.
“I’ve seen a lot,” Lexi says. “The world is an interesting place.”
Derrick leans forward. “What’s the coolest place you’ve been?”