Rebirth: The Awakening Of A Witch

by Jessica S. Quinn

  It was the first time that a game went this well for me. It was nice to feel some adrenaline rush even if the game we were playing wasn’t a competition. Finally, we scored another one. One of the girls from my team spiked the ball, and no one from the other team was able to touch it.

  “Ace!” Mr. York cried out enthusiastically. I could tell that he was pleased with how the game was going for both teams. He blew his whistle again, signaling the end of another set. He once again told us to change courts. By the time I walked over to the other side of the court, I was feeling confident myself.

  Mr. York told me to start the serve again. This time I managed to get the ball over the net in one try. “Nice one, Matthews,” Mr. York called out. I grinned at that small compliment.

  This set, like the one before went well, too. Both teams were tied. Everything was fun until Kaye threw all of their team’s passes at me. She must have seen me as the weak link and told all her team mates to pass the ball at my direction, possibly hoping that I would just run away and leave my team mates to rescue me. I was doing well at first.

  I got really confident, and I was able to hit every single one of their passes and leave my team mates to return the ball. Then she suddenly spiked the ball towards me, and all my confidence crumbled. I just stood there, closed my eyes, and waited for the impact. But it never came. Despite the panicked chaos in my head, I felt a sudden rush of air coming towards me, carrying that strong aura that I have been extra sensitive to since last week.

  I still waited for some sort of collision to happen. Nothing. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a tennis racquet just a few inches from my face. I blinked back once. Twice. Thrice. I was still confused when I saw the ball lying on the ground. That’s when I turned to my left.

  Adrien Fields stood there with his right hand extended, holding the racquet that saved my face from coming into contact with the ball. An overwhelming feeling washed over me at that moment, and I just gaped at him, completely in awe. I didn’t even notice that he was anywhere near me.

  Someone shook my shoulder. I stared at Sarah, one of my team mates. “Skylar, are you okay?” she asked, checking to see if I was hurt anywhere. When she sighed, I turned back to Adrien. He already dropped the racquet by then. His back was still facing me, but he had his head turned sideways so he could look at me.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled. He gave me a small nod, a blank expression on his face. He started walking away when Kaye came running towards me.

  “Oh gosh, Skylar! I’m so sorry,” she said, looking really mortified. “I got all competitive. Are you hurt?” She held my hand and roamed her eyes to check if I was, not even bothering to wait for my reply.

  “I’m alright, Kaye. It’s really no big deal,” I assured her. She seemed to take that as a sign that I forgave her. And I did. No one got hurt so I didn’t feel the need to hold it against her.

  “You’re so lucky Adrien happened to be there,” she said, biting her lip and looking guilty all over again.

  “Yeah. Lucky me,” I said sarcastically. I didn’t consider myself lucky for having to owe that guy anything, but I guess that couldn’t be helped anymore. And I already thanked him, after all.

  When Mr. York was certain that everything was alright, he blew his whistle and announced that class was over. I hurriedly changed out of my gym clothes and went straight to the school cafeteria, fully intending on avoiding Adrien.

  I didn’t realize that I left Nick, too, and we usually go to the cafeteria together.

  “Hey, Nick.” I smiled apologetically. “Guess what? I actually did pretty well in gym class,” I said, still a bit excited with what happened earlier. I really did feel proud of myself.

  “Oh really?” he asked, clearly not believing me and totally forgetting that I left him after gym class. Obviously, he didn’t watch me play. I just nodded and smiled at him, glad that he didn’t seem to mind being left behind.

  When we were already seated at our usual table in the now crowded area, I felt that same strong air somewhere. I turned to my side and saw Adrien again. He was carrying a tray of food and was about to sit on one of the tables not too far from us.

  He was soon joined by two of the best tennis players in our school. Wow. Looks like someone’s being recruited. I smiled to myself. At least he won’t be by himself anymore.

  I immediately stopped myself there. Why would I care? I was probably just feeling a bit grateful. I was so annoyed with myself and took it out on the apple in the middle of my tray. When I finished eating the poor fruit in a savage way, I had that weird feeling that someone was watching me. So I turned my head to the side, only to find a pair of amused, deep silver eyes.

  Adrien was looking at me. He was sitting comfortably in the metal chair, letting his chin rest on this hand. I could tell that he was pretending to listen to what his companions were saying, but his eyes gave him away. He didn’t look away from me like he would normally do.

  In a matter of seconds, he did something I would never have imagined him doing, knowing that I was looking right at him. He laughed.

  Chapter 4 - Suspicious Plans and A Nightmare

  I felt my cheeks blow up in flames. Oh. My. God! Adrien saw that. He actually saw me make a fool of myself by ravishing that poor apple within minutes. No, seconds maybe. I felt like I could be mistaken for a tomato with how much I flushed right now. Oh, God. Please let an earthquake come now, leave a big crater, and let me fall into it. I would really love to welcome the idea of falling into an abyss right at this instant.

  My friends must have noticed me all flustered up, because the conversation at our table suddenly stopped. I sighed. “I just remembered something,” I explained. They seem to buy it and continued on with their talking. I turned the core of the apple and stabbed my fork through it. Traitor.

  I glanced back at Adrien. He was now talking with his companions, but it was clear that he still held some contained laughter within him. I clenched my hands into fists. This is so annoying! I desperately wanted to punish myself for exposing myself like that in front of him.

  Afternoon classes started. We only had two more classes left before we were done for the day. I had Calculus with Anne, so we made our way to Ms. Solis’ room together. Not many people were there yet. We chose the seats in the middle of the room and headed over to get settled for class.

  I was busy fumbling through my things when I felt that strong aura again. Oh, go away! I commanded it and continued on searching inside my bag, looking for my pen.

  I heard someone clear their throat beside me. I looked up and was shocked to see Adrien there. He still had that entertained expression on his face, and his eyes still shone of laughter. I blushed and again got irritated with myself that he was able to see me like that. He flaunted a crooked smile, which was enough to set my heart into one of its marathons once again.

  “This seat taken?” he asked, his deep voice almost forming a melody. Wait, what? He was referring to the seat on my side. Stupid. I felt like I was having a heart attack. I literally shook my head to wake me up. “Nope,” I said, turning back to look through my things for that thing I was looking for earlier. Great. I even forgot what I was looking for. Suddenly, a black pen shot out in front of my face. I turned to him and he just raised his eyebrows at me, cocking his head to the side. He placed the pen on my desk.

  “Err… thanks,” I mumbled. I watched him distrustfully. How did he know? Is he psychic?

  Just then I felt Anne lean in closer to me as she moved her desk nearer mine. She brought her hand down on my desk. “Hi! Anne Perry,” she said, smiling as he shook her hand.

  “Hey! Adrien Fields,” he replied.

  “We haven’t been formally introduced,” Anne said, a teasing tone in her voice. My jaw dropped open. “So I took the liberty to introduce myself,” she continued on. I groaned. That’s just great, Anne. Thanks.

  Adrien just laughed at her. “Actually, Skylar and I didn’t know each other,” he said in his smooth voice. Geez!
Even his voice is beautiful. I flushed at that observation. “We just met on my first day here,” he clarified.

  Only then did Ms. Solis enter the room, making both of them stop with their friendly chat.

  Oh. There is a God! I shot Anne a hateful look and she just wagged her eyebrows at me.

  Calculus class seemed to run by so slowly that I felt like time was playing a trick on me. I couldn’t really focus much on Ms. Solis’ lecture. I was too preoccupied with the boy sitting next to me. I couldn’t really understand him, let alone keep up with him. Maybe that’s the reason why I was so bothered with his presence, because he was unlike anyone I’ve ever met. His mood swings are out of this world, and he has the ability to change them as if he was just flicking a light switch, which drives me crazy. I wish he would just make up his mind and stick to one, so I could decide if I was going to stay angry with him.

  What’s bothering me more was how drawn I was to him. It wasn’t because of his looks, but how he acted towards me. No one’s acted the way he acts around me. He was completely ruining my life since he came here. It’s like he turned me into another person. I used to be civil with everyone in this school. Now my clean record was ruined the moment he stepped foot on Masonville High. It’s weird, and I’m having a hard time figuring it out. That may be the exact reason why he appeared so… appealing. There’s just something about him that I can’t quite piece together.

  When Calculus finally ended, I waved Anne goodbye and was about to leave the room when I remembered something. I turned around to where Adrien sat to give him his pen back, but he was not in his seat. I instantly scanned the room and found him leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, whistling to himself. I went over and gave him his pen back. He just shook his head, sending his long dark brown hair in a mild tossing motion. My heart stumbled on its beats again. He pushed the pen back to me.

  “You still need that for the next class,” he said and started walking. I was left there standing with a surprised expression on my face. Ugh! He is so confusing. “You coming? We’ll be late for Social Studies. Mr. Roberts wouldn’t be happy,” he said, clearly bored and annoyed about something.

  Oh crap! I hurriedly ran past him and I instantly felt happy about that small victory. This is just childish. Really, Skylar? You’re that bothered with him, huh.

  “Thanks for the pen, by the way,” I called out, staring straight ahead as I was briskly walking to the classroom.

  When I reached Mr. Roberts’ room, Nick was already there. He turned around and raised his eyebrows when he spotted us walking in. Please don’t let the atmosphere turn out the way it did this morning. I’m not sure how much self-control I had left to keep Nick out of trouble and leave him to do whatever he pleases with Adrien. I smiled at Nick and went to place my things on the empty seat beside him. I was shocked when I saw them shake hands.

  “Nick Adams.”

  “Adrien Fields.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Nick paused. “Thanks for helping Skylar out at gym class this morning,” he said, cocking his head to the side and using it to point at me.

  What the—? He knew about the gym incident, and yet he acted so innocent that he didn’t see me play. Another traitor.

  “No problem.” Adrien smiled. “I was just lucky to be standing near her.”

  “I hope she didn’t bother you much, though,” he joked, immediately shielding his head as I mildly slapped the back of it.

  “Pig,” I declared. And they both just laughed at me. I sighed. I’m surrounded with traitors. First Anne now Nick.

  Social Studies was a bore as usual, but I managed to make it through with my eyes wide open, which was a first. I was still bothered with Adrien’s presence, and that made it hard to focus on anything else. Despite being troubled by him sitting right next to me, I was also becoming weary of him. I feel like I’m throwing away precious energy at being constantly on my guard around him.

  Finally admitting to myself that I was that bothered by his presence felt like a release for me, and I instantly felt lighter. I somehow felt normal… much more normal than I actually was before I met him.

  The last time I felt like this was when my parents were still alive. Sure, I have Nana and my friends with me. And I always thought that was enough. But when my parents left, I felt that some part of me died along with them, like half of me got disconnected with the rest of the world. Now I could feel that connection again, despite how unhealthy that bond might be. I was completely perturbed that the mere appearance of this boy could have this much effect on me.

  I risked glancing at him from the corner of my eye. He was resting his chin on his hand as he focused on what Mr. Roberts was talking about. I was silently thanking him in my head, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing that he just had a great effect on my life. I was somehow grateful for his sudden entrance into Rattford Cliffs… even if his appearance did bother the hell out of me.

  I watched as he drummed the desk with his fingers and stretched his legs out under it. When I dragged my eyes back to his face, I noticed a smirk on his lips. I frowned and dragged my eyes higher to his eyes. I felt my eyes widen when I saw that he was looking back at me, his eyes burning with victory. Ugh! That was his plan all along. Bother the hell out of me through his nearness then catch me red handed.

  I felt my blood rush to my cheeks as anger washed over me. I forced my eyes back to Mr. Roberts, who was now discussing something about slope fields. I cocked my head slightly to one side, allowing my hair to fall to the side of my face, thoroughly covering my view of Adrien.

  Finally, the last bell for the day rang. I sighed and stretched my hands in front of me. Mr. Roberts gave out a few more instructions before finally dismissing the class.

  “Hey, you guys up for snacks?” Nick asked both of us.

  “Sure,” I immediately replied. I was feeling a bit hungry. Adrien didn’t answer, though. I saw that as a lucky sign and smiled to myself. I turned around to see that he was standing right next to my desk with that uncertain look back on his features. I smiled. I found it funny that he was feeling so indecisive about trivial things as snacks and was completely confident stomping his way to school on his first day. What a weirdo!

  He just looked at me. Nick was outside the room now, trying to contact Anne and the others on the phone, and we were both left alone in the room. He suddenly smiled at me, his eyes throwing me one of those ‘game on’ look.

  “Anne said she’ll meet us at Flora’s” Nick came back in.

  “Actually, I already have plans. Thanks anyway,” Adrien suddenly said. He waved at us before leaving the room.

  What now? I frowned. I was so sure that he was coming with us, what with that look he had on a minute ago.

  The whole drive to Flora’s café was torture. I couldn’t get Adrien’s face out of my head. He is up to something. I tried my best to join in with what Nick was saying, mostly just nodding at whatever he was talking about. But I couldn’t fully concentrate on anything.

  When we arrived at the little café that was just a fifteen-minute drive from school, Anne, Jessica, and Sandra were already there. As soon as Nick and I were comfortably sat, everyone started with their everyday chitchat. This was how every get together with my friends would start. Despite seeing each other at school every single day, we still found something to talk about, which was always one of the reasons why I enjoyed their company.

  Just when we already finished ordering, I felt that familiar atmosphere surround me again. This time I couldn’t help having an awful feeling about it. Jessica suddenly squealed like a little girl, and I just had to turn back to the direction she was staring. My eyes widened at the sight of Adrien parading into the café.

  When he saw us, he smiled and immediately went over to our table. I groaned inwardly as I felt my heart race as he was slowly approaching us. Why does he always have to appear everywhere like this? Just when that thought struck me, I concluded that the world was punishing me for reasons I don
’t even know.

  “Hey,” he smiled at everyone in greeting. When his gaze dropped to me, he smirked, a clear challenge in his eyes.

  I felt my blood boil. This was clearly his plan. Damn, Dagger Eyes!

  I really couldn’t do anything else with what happened next. My traitorous friends insisted that he sit with us, especially Jessica.

  “Thanks,” he smiled. “I really appreciate it,” he said as he sat down right next to me, much to my dismay. He should have sat beside Jessica, who obviously looked disappointed that he didn’t choose the empty space beside her. I immediately felt bad for my friend and instantly annoyed at the guy who was sitting to my right.

  “Didn’t you say you have somewhere else you had to go?” Nick asked, curiosity evident on his features. Yes, he did. Thank you, Nick. What exactly happened to that plan? I thought as I observed him while he explained himself.