He probably had hordes of students swooning over him, and he was probably sick of all that attention. Her face flamed. Was that what he thought of her? Just a silly schoolgirl with a crush on a teacher?
~
When Ethan woke up, even the barrage of strange dreams couldn’t keep him from remembering what day it was. His birthday.
He had no plans or expectations other than to enjoy himself. It was a day to revel in his strength. After his normal hour-and-a-half workout, he took a hot shower. Then on a whim, he made a phone call.
“Hello?” The woman’s voice on the other end was anxious and unsure.
“Hello.” His own voice was composed, surreptitious.
“Who is this?”
“How are you today, Noreen?”
“Tom? Is this Tom?” Her voice rose in pitch.
“Tom has been gone over thirty years. He’s forgotten all about you by now.”
“It is you, Tom, isn’t it? Come back. Please.”
“You’re still waiting, are you?” Ethan’s voice dripped with skepticism. “Do you know what day it is?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. Of course I do. It’s one hundred and eighty-three days past our thirty-second anniversary.”
Ethan couldn’t help but smirk.
“Tom, I need you.” Her voice turned pleading, breaking on the last word.
“Tom’s not coming back. Why would he?”
“Please, Tom. I’m afraid.” And the sobbing began.
“What are you afraid of now?”
“It’s dark.”
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“The light’s out in the bathroom. Even if I leave the door open, there are shadows.”
“So change the lightbulb.”
“I’m not due for another shipment of bulbs for two more days.”
“So go get more,” Ethan said, knowing full well what the response would be.
“Leave the house?”
Ethan sighed.
“And Tom, it’s the postman. He came by yesterday. Came to the door.”
“I’m surprised you opened it,” Ethan said calmly.
“There was a package that wouldn’t fit in the mailbox.”
“He forgot the leave-all-mail-at-the-door policy?”
“I think he was new. But Tom, when he handed it to me, h-h-he touched my hand!”
“The nerve.”
At this, she broke out in uncontrollable weeping.
Silently, Ethan shook his head. What a weak, paranoid tub of lard. What a pathetic excuse for a human being.
“Well, this was a great conversation.” Sarcasm oozed from every word. “But I really don’t have time to continue it.”
“Wait, Tom—”
“Good-bye, Mother,” he said, and hung up the phone.
The next week, Jade stumbled into the biology classroom, cringing when she saw the image of the snake on the projector screen. Apparently the girl near the aisle felt the same way about reptiles because her face was turning green. A wave of nausea passed through Jade’s body as she hurried to the back row, as far from that girl as possible. She settled into a seat on the end, one chair away from a guy with short, strawberry-blond hair styled like intentional bedhead.
The nausea passed. Due to her proximity, she could feel the jovial attitude of the young man next to her most clearly. Her own mood lifted, matching his, a carefree calm settling over her. While she analyzed the feelings, she was careful not to look at him, instead fiddling with her book bag, looking for a pen. After a moment, she felt his eyes on her and couldn’t avoid his gaze any longer.
“Hi, I’m Cam.” His voice was friendly, and his clear, blue eyes blazed brightly at her. His athletic build and tanned skin made him look more like a Californian surfer than a native Coloradan.
“Hi. I’m Jade,” she said, a little timid but determined to return his friendliness. The cheery aura that engulfed them was almost like a caffeine high.
At that moment the instructor entered the classroom and began passing out copies of the syllabus. A glance down at the extensive semester itinerary had her overwhelmed—and apparently her neighbor, too.
“Geez, we have to do lab time, too?” Cam groaned as Jade handed him the stack of papers.
“At least it’s only twice a week.”
“Tuesdays and Thursdays,” he read.
“… Lab is right after class, and you will each have a lab partner,” the instructor said. He finished his explanation of the coursework and then paired classmates according to where the students were seated.
“Cameron Schuyler and Jade Edwards.” The instructor wrote their names on the lab team roster. “Okay, class is dismissed for today. Please read the assigned pages for tomorrow.” The students around them began to file out.
“I hope you don’t mind being stuck with me,” Cam said. “I can’t make any promises about my biology skills, but I’ll do my best.”
“I don’t know if I’ll make a very good partner either. If we have to dissect anything, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it.”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I can totally handle the dismembering of amphibians.”
Jade grimaced. “Well, that’s one less thing for me to worry about.”
They grabbed their books and walked out of the classroom. “See you tomorrow,” Cam said as they parted ways.
Jade smiled to herself. Meeting new people didn’t have to be as bad as she always feared. Surely biology would be easier to handle since it was only an hour a day.
She was getting better at controlling her reactions—she hadn’t run out of class this time. That’s really what it all came down to—control. She couldn’t dictate what she felt, but she did have a choice whether or not it ruled her behavior. Determination rose within her as she walked to her car.
Practicing her control, she kept her face calm as she drove out of the town, although her nerves were on edge at the thought of the new situation she was about to enter: her first job. It was just part-time work at Mountains of Books, but that was more than she’d ever done before.
Sometimes it irritated Jade to think of how tightly her parents had sheltered her. Not that she’d ever wanted to go to public school, or to church, or to, say, the grocery store. But somehow she had been deposited into adulthood, and now the world was this huge, daunting place she had to face alone.
She knew why her parents had done it. She remembered her only sleepover, and how it had ended in tears and her begging to go home. And the time her babysitter had tried to bring a few of her male friends over, and ten-year-old Jade had been attacked by the raging hormones of the teens.
The strict protection had been necessary and for her own good. She knew that, but now she had to adapt. She needed to enter the real world.
That evening when Jade arrived home from work, she called her mom.
“How was your first day at the new job?” Cynthia Edwards’ voice was warm and youthful, and it reminded Jade of home.
“Better than I’d expected. Running the bookstore is pretty straightforward. There weren’t many customers, so I just took it easy. It might take me a few days though, to remember where everything is.”
“How about your boss?”
“Mr. Thompson? He’s really nice. Friendly, helpful. He explained the sales system and then left me on my own for the rest of the afternoon.”
Her mother gave a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you didn’t have any problems around him. Your father and I were a little concerned about you getting a job so soon.” There was a slight edge to her voice as she continued. “You know, there’s no need to work yourself through college. Our bank account isn’t hurting, and there’s no rush for you to become independent.”
“Mom. I’m an adult. I know you guys can afford it, but I feel like I’ve been taking advantage of you. It’s not right. I need to pay my own rent.”
“Oh, honey. It’s really no problem. We’re much more concerned about you being safe, emo
tionally.”
“I know, Mom, but I’m tired of letting my handicap keep me from living a normal life. Sooner or later I’ll have to support myself. I might as well start now. I may have a disadvantage, but I’m ready to take responsibility for dealing with it.”
Her mother gave a soft, almost undetectable sigh. “As long as you’re being careful.”
“I am. The bookstore is perfect. It’s out of the way, so there aren’t a lot of customers at once.”
“How are your classes?”
“Well… not as easy as working, but I think it’s getting better.”
“That’s good. But I still can’t imagine you sitting there in a classroom full of kids… I just keep visualizing your first day of kindergarten all over again.”
“Mom. Nothing even close to that has happened. You don’t need to worry so much. I’m fine. I even made a friend today.”
“You did? What’s her name?”
“His name is Cam Schuyler. He’s my lab partner, so I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot of him.”
“I’m sorry, dear. I know that must be hard for you.”
“Actually, I don’t think it’ll be half bad. He’s easy to be around.”
“Well, he must be something special. I don’t think you even said that about Lauren or Sydney for several months.”
“Yeah. Well, maybe I’m getting more resilient.”
After the phone call, she settled down on the sofa with a newly purchased journal from the shop. As she wrote, she analyzed her feelings, putting into words anything that was concrete. This is how she would validate her own emotions.
~
The next morning Jade overslept and had to rush out of the apartment with only a granola bar for breakfast. She hurried into the classroom right as the teacher began lecturing. As she snagged the same spot from the day before, one seat down from Cam, he looked over at her and winked. “You made it just in time.” The warmth of his sunny mood filled her heart, melting her anxiety the way it had the day before.
The class went by quickly. Jade tried to focus on her notes, but Cam kept interrupting with humorous comments about the professor’s hair and whether or not it was a toupee interspersed throughout the lecture. Once the teacher looked right at her, and she had to fight to keep her face serious. She succeeded in nodding solemnly, but as soon as the instructor looked away, she nearly burst into fits of silent laughter. At that moment she made eye contact with Cam and saw that he was also having a difficult time keeping quiet.
As soon as the period was over, Jade breathed a sigh of relief. “You know you are completely evil, don’t you?” She feigned a glare.
He blinked innocently. “Who, me?”
Jade rolled her eyes, but felt giddy inside. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so lighthearted with anyone. Being a part of Cam’s emotions was quite entertaining, a first for her.
They walked to the lab together, and Cam signed them in at the front desk. Scanning their paperwork, Jade followed him to a table.
“So, what are you studying?” Cam asked when they were about midway into their assignment.
“I haven’t declared a major yet.” She hesitated, and then added, “But I’m thinking about maybe English. Possibly going into writing or something.” The idea had occurred to her the previous night after writing in her journal. “I always did well in that subject in high school. How about you?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t really found the right thing yet. I took a few years off after graduation, so I’m really behind. I’m trying to get my basics out of the way. Which is why I’m stuck taking summer classes.” He made a disgusted face.
“Yeah, I understand.”
“So what else do you do? For fun, I mean?”
“Well… I like to read. Oh, and lately I’ve been enjoying decorating my apartment.”
“Reading? Don’t you ever get out? Like, hang out with friends or do something outdoors?”
“Sometimes I hang out with my old friends from high school, but they go to school in Denver so I don’t get to see them that often. I guess I’m just more of a loner.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have expected that. You seem like a pretty cool person to be around.”
Jade blinked. When had she become cool?
“So, what did you do after you graduated, before you started college? You said you took a few years off.”
“I moved to California with some friends. We got jobs as surfing instructors and spent our free time hanging out on the beach.”
Jade raised her eyebrows.
“It was fun for a while, but then I sorta started feeling like my life was going nowhere. I decided to come back home and get my degree and some kind of career. Still have a ways to go. Thus the summer school.”
“And what about your friends? Did they move back, too?”
“Nope. Still out there, living the life of beach bums.”
“You sound like you envy them.”
“Nah, not really. Only the free time at the beach.”
They continued to work on the questions, taking turns looking up references in the book. When it was Cam’s turn to write the answer, Jade flipped through the text book, searching for the clarification between the terms “genotype” and “phenotype.” Finally, she found it. “Okay, here it is.” She read the textbook definition aloud.
Suddenly, a chill shot through Jade. Cam’s flow of emotions had halted. She looked over at him and froze. He was completely still with a blank expression, and his pen hadn’t moved an inch. His eyes looked different somehow, clouded, almost dead.
“Cam?” For an instant, fear gripped her. What was happening to him? It was like he was… gone. But then she felt her fear being sucked out, replaced with his normal emotions. He blinked and came to. She stared at him, perplexed. “Are you all right?”
“Crap. I’m sorry about that.” A wave of embarrassment surged over them. “I sort of have a problem. I, uh, black out sometimes.”
“Oh. Is it serious?”
His mood lightened slightly. “It’s really no big deal. It usually only happens for a minute or two. The worst thing is that I can’t control it. I never know when it’s coming.”
“So, this happens to you often?”
“It happens sometimes. Ever since my snowboarding accident in January. They’ve done tests on my brain and everything comes up completely normal. No trace of anything crazy going on in there. It’s just this random thing that happens to me.”
“So what happens when you black out? Is it just vision that you lose or hearing too?”
“Well…” He hesitated, looking around cautiously and lowering his voice slightly. Students were turning in their work and leaving the lab. There wasn’t anyone within hearing range. He leaned closer to her and his eyes met hers. “When I said ‘black out,’ that wasn’t exactly what I meant.”
She frowned.
“I don’t actually black out, but that’s what it looks like to anyone who’s around me.”
“You’re conscious? It seemed like you weren’t… here… somehow. You didn’t respond.”
“I’m conscious, yeah, but not connected to the world at present. To you it looks like I’m blacking out, but to me it’s like I’m having déjà vu.”
“Déjà vu? I’m confused.”
“Déjà vu, but more… intense. I’ll try to explain. But I’m warning you, it’s weird. Seriously, promise me that you won’t think I’m a freak.” His apprehension pricked at her insides.
“Of course not.” She touched his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. How could she look upon another soul as strange when she had her own issues? “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable though. You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s not that. I really don’t mind telling you. I just don’t want… well, I don’t want this to make things awkward between us.”
“How about if I promise to still be your friend, no matter what?” Odd, how easy it was to say
that. His personality had infected her. It felt like they’d always been friends.
“I’ll hold you to it. What I meant about it being like déjà vu is this: when I’m like that, I experience the last few moments of whatever happened right before I blacked out.” He paused, checking her reaction, and then continued. “It’s more than me remembering what happened. I can see every minute detail of what took place, and perceive every nanoparticle about that moment.”
“That’s not so weird. Not typical, maybe, but I wouldn’t use the word ‘freak.’”
“Okay, well, there’s more. When I have an episode, I may only be away from reality for a handful of seconds, but to me it feels like minutes—like it’s happening in slow motion. All my senses are, like, supercharged. All at once, I can see every detail, I can smell and recognize every scent in the room, and I can hear every conversation, literally every pin drop. Not only that, but my mind somehow gets it without an overload.” He shook his head.
She frowned. “That sounds overwhelming.”
“No, you don’t get it. My déjà vu is a trip. It’s so much better than real life.”
“Wow. It sounds like an amazing experience. Except for the blacking out, that is.”
“Yeah, only, it makes me feel like when I’m not in that state, I’m sort of living in 2-D. Like watching a fuzzy, old television instead of an HD one.”
“So, what did you experience just now?”
“Well, I can tell you that the girl sitting across the room has exactly five different shades of highlights in her hair. The dude at the front desk of the lab is listening to Coldplay X&Y on his earbuds. And that guy alone near the back of the room is wearing Polo cologne.”
Jade glanced at the student and arched a brow.
“Oh yeah, and,” he continued nonchalantly, “I can quote word for word everything on pages 13 through 198 of our biology book that you just flipped through.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Actually, that comes in quite handy. I can finish the rest of this assignment, no problem.” He picked up his pen and jotted down the answers for the last six questions. “Done.”
Empath: The Flawed Series Book One Page 4