Now You See Me

by Debbie Viguié

  She got her phone out of her bag. There were only a couple more minutes until the end of school. She gathered everything up and then walked slowly to the front of the library. As she passed by classmates they each turned to look at her. She could feel the heat in her cheeks but she held her head high.

  “That boy is trouble,” the librarian said when Opal reached the front of the room.

  At the moment she didn’t care what anyone thought. She just knew that for the first time in weeks she didn’t feel like crying. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to her aunt letting her know she was going to coffee with some girls from school. A minute later her aunt texted back telling her to have fun.

  The bell rang and Opal hurried from the library and avoided looking in the direction of the display case that had the picture of her mother. She made it to her locker and stuffed the books she’d need to do her homework in her backpack. She shut the door, turned around and was startled to find Mal standing there, staring at her with a huge grin on his face.

  She smiled back, feeling her heart start to race a bit.

  She noticed that everyone else was giving him a wide berth. “Good luck on the audition,” she said.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Is that all I get?”

  She blushed. “For now,” she said.

  “Okay, I suppose I’ll live,” he said, giving her a wink.

  He turned and walked down the hall, his stride strong and confident. She bit her lip as she watched him.

  “Ready to go?”

  She turned and smiled at Ginger and Annie. “Yes.”

  “I’ll drive,” Annie offered.

  “Great.”

  She fell into step with them as they headed out to the parking lot. They were at Annie’s car, a cute little red Ford, when the blonde girl from lunch came running up. “Wait for me!”

  “Hannah! I thought you had cheerleading practice,” Annie said.

  “I faked cramps to get out of it,” Hannah said with a smirk. “I didn’t want to miss coffee.”

  They all got in and ten minutes later they were parking on a side street. They walked a block and were on the pedestrian mall area of downtown. A block down they came to Coffins. The coffee place had bats and black cats decorating its windows.

  Inside they found a table at the back with overstuffed chairs and they all settled in.

  “Do we order at the counter?” Opal asked.

  “Only if you’re taking it to go. If you’re staying here they actually come around,” Annie said.

  Sure enough a barista approached them a minute later. “What would you like to sink your teeth into?” she asked. When she spoke Opal could see that she had vampire fangs.

  “Oh wow,” she said.

  “Told you this place was cool,” Ginger said.

  “Um, I’ve heard a lot about the chocolate muffins that bleed raspberry jam, so I’ll have one of those. And I’ll have an espresso with extra foam.”

  The rest of them ordered. As soon as the barista had walked away Annie leaned forward, her eyes huge.

  “I heard that the librarian caught you and Mal kissing during study hall,” she said.

  “He finally kissed you?” Ginger asked.

  “I heard the librarian caught him doing more than that,” Hannah said with a wicked gleam in her eye.

  The other two girls gasped and Opal felt herself flush to her roots. “We just kissed. And how did you hear about it? No one else saw.”

  “Apparently Miss Fussypants was spitting mad and said a few things. People figured it out,” Annie said.

  “She was pretty mad looking,” Opal said. “It was pretty clear she doesn’t like Mal. Actually it seems like several of the teachers don’t really like him,” she said, remembering the encounter with Mrs. Jennings at lunch.

  “Try all of them. They hate his guts,” Hannah said. “And they’re not subtle about it either.”

  “But why?”

  All three girls dropped their eyes and got instantly quiet. Frustration welled in Opal. She wished someone would just say whatever it was. She was about to demand an explanation when Ginger pointed.

  “Look, here comes our drinks and muffins.”

  They busied themselves for a minute with eating and drinking. The other girls offered her samples of their muffins. They were all delicious, but she had to agree with Annie that the chocolate raspberry was to die for.

  “So, now that you know the answer, is Mal a good kisser?” Hannah asked.

  Opal smiled at the memory. “Electrifying.”

  “I knew he would be,” Hannah said with a grin.

  “He’s taking you to the homecoming dance in a couple of weeks, isn’t he?” Annie asked.

  “He’s never gone to a homecoming dance before,” Ginger noted.

  “Yeah, but he’s got a girlfriend,” Annie said. “I was thinking maybe he’d go this time.”

  “He hasn’t said anything about a dance, but then, this is all really, really new,” Opal said.

  “If he asks you then all four of us could go dress shopping together,” Annie said.

  “Oh, and we can get our hair and nails done the day of,” Hannah chimed in.

  Opal nodded, starting to feel excited about the prospect. “Last year my girlfriends and I did that and then our dates and us all rented a limo and went together. It was so fun.”

  Ginger grinned “That would be-” Suddenly she stopped mid-sentence and glanced at the other two girls. “Actually, that wouldn’t be a good idea,” she said, wincing slightly.

  “Why?”

  “Well, it’s cool if us girls do stuff together, but our dates wouldn’t really be into it,” Hannah said.

  Because of Mal, Opal realized.

  “Okay,” she said.

  “But we’ll have total fun before the dance,” Annie said, trying to bring everyone back up.

  Opal just nodded.

  “So, Opal,” Hannah said, clearly wanting to change the subject. “Tell us everything about L.A.. Did you go to school with movie stars?”

  Opal smiled. “Just one, but he only showed up for events. The rest of the time he had tutors on set.”

  “Oh, who?” Ginger asked, squealing a bit in excitement.

  They talked for over an hour until the others had exhausted their questions for her about Los Angeles. Finally Annie looked at her phone. “Sorry guys, I’ve got a dinner thing with the fam tonight. I’ve got to get going. I can drop you all off, though.”

  “You don’t have to pay for all of us,” Ginger said as Opal pulled out her wallet.

  “No, I offered. Thanks for hanging out.”

  “We had a lot of fun,” Hannah said, smiling warmly at her.

  It was weird. They were dying to get info out of her about dating Mal but didn’t want to be anywhere near Mal. She figured that was the only reason they’d agreed to coffee in the first place. But the last hour they hadn’t even mentioned him and they’d all still had a good time laughing and talking. There were stranger starts to friendships.

  “I’ll walk,” Ginger said as they walked outside. “I’m just a couple of blocks away.”

  They said their goodbyes then the rest of them headed back to the car. Once there she told Annie what street she lived on.

  “I’m on the way there,” Hannah said.

  “Okay, I’ll drop you first,” Annie said.

  It was only a couple of minutes to Hannah’s house. From there they headed to Opal’s new home.

  “It was nice getting to know you,” Annie said. “You’re fun and it’s cool to know someone who comes from somewhere else.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for driving and everything.”

  “I’m the only one with my own car so I’m pretty much used to it,” she said with a smile.

  “Must be nice. I don’t even have my driver’s license.”

  Annie shot her a surprised look. “Really?”

  “Yeah, it’s not that big a thing in southern California as some other places.”
<
br />   “Well, you should learn. My dad says every girl needs to know how to drive and how to change her own tires in case of emergency.”

  “That’s cool. My dad didn’t want me to learn. He was a bit overprotective.”

  “What happened to him?” Annie asked quietly.

  Opal shot her a look.

  Annie shrugged. “The couple times you’ve mentioned him it’s been in the past tense. Plus, there’s got to be a reason you’re out here now and not in L.A..”

  “He died.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. Anyway, my aunt lives out here. She and my mom actually went to our high school.”

  “So, you’re carrying on the family tradition. That’s cool.”

  “Yeah, I guess. There’s just been a lot of...change.”

  “I haven’t lost a parent or anything, but I do understand change. It can be hard, but it can also be really great if you let it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “That’s why it’s great that you found a guy. Even if-”

  Annie stopped talking abruptly.

  “Would you please tell me what it is about Mal that has people acting so weird?

  Annie pulled onto Opal’s street.

  “I’m sorry. It’s really not my place to talk about it. I wasn’t even there when...It’s nothing.”

  “Please.”

  “Which one’s your house?” Annie asked.

  Opal pointed and Annie pulled over to the curb.

  “I had a good time, thank you,” Annie said.

  “Me, too. Please, though, won’t you tell me what it is?”

  Annie shook her head. “It’s not my place. You could try asking Ginger, though.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Opal got out of the car and walked up the steps to the door. She turned and waved as Annie drove off. She stood for a moment staring down the street at Mal’s house. She wondered if he was even home yet from the talent show auditions. She realized she didn’t even have his number so she couldn’t text him to find out.

  She had a boyfriend and no way to call him. Her life just kept getting stranger. She unlocked the door and walked inside.

  “I’m home,” she called as she shut the door.

  “How’d it go?” she heard her aunt call from the kitchen.

  “Good,” Opal said, dropping her backpack by the front door and heading into the kitchen. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be home.”

  “I didn’t have a lot of work to do at the museum today, so I decided to take advantage of that and come home early. I kind of wanted to be here before you got home. I hope that’s okay.”

  “No, that’s great. Sorry if I ruined anything by going out with the girls from school.”

  “Not at all,” Tanya said with a smile. “I’d love to hear all about it.”

  “They took me to this place called Coffins.”

  Tanya nodded. “I go there on my breaks sometimes. It’s only about three minutes from the museum.”

  “Oh, cool. The chocolate raspberry muffin was amazing.”

  “I know, right?” Tanya said.

  “So, it was Annie, Hannah, Ginger and me,” she said.

  “Unless you’ve got last names to go with those first names I have no clue who they are,” she said.

  “Sorry.”

  “No, that’s fine.”

  Opal grabbed some orange juice and then sat down at the kitchen table with her aunt. She played with the label on the bottle as she debated exactly what she wanted to bring up.

  “Did something happen?” Tanya asked, clearly noticing her agitation.

  “I saw a picture of mom at the school.”

  “You did?” Tanya asked, frowning.

  “Yeah, it was in one of the trophy cases. It was a picture of her and a magician who was levitating her. Apparently they won the talent show, the first annual one.”

  “Oh, that,” Tanya said, nodding. Her eyes were unfocused as though she was seeing the past. “They made a pretty good team.”

  “Whatever happened to the guy?”

  “Hmm? Oh, I don’t know. That was so long ago. I don’t even remember his name, to be honest.”

  “Dad never told me mom was into magic.”

  “She wasn’t, not really. She just did that to help the guy out if I remember. He was a friend, I think.”

  “Anyway, it got me thinking. You and mom went to this high school. What was it like? Were you a cheerleader or into drama?”

  Tanya laughed. “I was the boring one. I was always too interested in reading, studying to do much else. I guess as far as that’s concerned I was a lot like I am now. You know, my head buried in musty old books, obsessed with the past and not really paying much attention to the present.”

  “And mom?”

  “She was much more outgoing. She did drama. She was the lead in all the plays. She was so beautiful and she could really act. She could hold audiences spellbound. After high school she moved to California and went to UCLA where she met your father. I always thought she moved out there to try and get into movies. She gave up acting, though. I never was really sure why.”

  Tanya’s voice had grown wistful at the end and it made Opal a bit sad, too.

  “Do you have any old yearbooks?” she asked.

  Tanya frowned. “I think so. Why?”

  “I’d just like to look through them, see the two of you. See if some of the teachers there now are as ancient as I think they are.”

  Tanya laughed. “Well, if Mr. Peters is still teaching history I can officially confirm that he is older than dirt. And that is my professional opinion.”

  “Maybe you could carbon date him and we could find out for sure,” Opal said, attempting an archaeology joke.

  Tanya burst out laughing. Apparently it was funnier than Opal had thought it would be. It was good to hear her aunt laugh and she realized it was really the first time she’d heard it, at least with such enthusiasm.

  She thought about telling her about Mal, but she wasn’t sure how her aunt would react to her kissing a guy she barely knew. Plus she didn’t want to do anything that would taint the memory of it, not yet. She needed to keep it as a perfect little moment for a while longer. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face.

  “It’s good to see you smiling,” Tanya said, reaching out to touch her arm.

  “Oh, thanks.”

  “I can’t help but wonder if that smile has something to do with a boy,” her aunt said slyly.

  “It might.”

  “Uh huh. Well, I look forward to hearing all about it when you’re ready to tell me,” Tanya said.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. But, speaking of problems, we do have a big one.”

  “What?” Opal asked.

  “What on earth are we going to do about dinner?”

  The next morning when Opal opened the door she felt a surge of relief to see that Mal was sitting on the sidewalk outside. She closed the door and practically ran down the stairs.

  “Hey, Beautiful,” he said with a grin as he stood up. He was wearing jeans and a blue long-sleeved button down shirt that made his eyes look even more blue.

  She leaned forward slightly. “I’m glad to see you here,” she admitted.

  “Really? Why is that?” he teased.

  They were standing only a couple of inches apart and her heart was racing, her blood singing. She could reach out and touch him. She didn’t, though. Instead she savored the feelings she was experiencing.

  “How did the audition go?”

  “Pretty well. I can’t say for sure, but I think I made the cut,” he said.

  “Congratulations.”

  He started to lean toward her and then he hesitated, eyes searching her face as if wanting to know if it was okay. He reached down and took her hands, lacing his fingers through hers.

  She held her breath and after what seemed like an eternity he kissed her. Far too quickly he ended it.

  “You’ll b
e late for school if we don’t get going,” he said.

  They started walking side by side. Her hand bumped against his wrist and he flinched. She remembered the burn on his wrist that she’d seen in the library.

  “Is your wrist okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, it’ll heal.”

  “Did you see a doctor?”

  “No need. It’s not that bad. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

  When they got to school he walked inside with her this time. He reached out, hooking her pinky finger with his as they walked down the hallway toward her locker.

  “I’ll see you later,” he said, giving her a wink.

  He turned and she watched him go. Then she grabbed the books she needed and headed for homeroom.

  After Mrs. Jennings took roll and read the announcements everyone broke up into groups, talking to their friends.

  “I had fun yesterday,” Ginger said to her with a smile.

  “Me, too,” Opal said. “We have to do it again soon.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Nearby a couple of others were talking excitedly and Opal caught the last part of what the one guy said.

  “I was in the office this morning when Mr. Grossman’s substitute came in. They were telling him that he could be teaching for a few weeks.”

  “What happened to Mr. Grossman?”

  “Nobody knows, but you heard what happened yesterday, right?”

  Before she could hear anything else Opal saw Mrs. Jennings walking toward her and Ginger.

  Ginger scowled. “Looks like she wants to talk to you.”

  “Opal, can you come with me for a second?” Mrs. Jennings said in clipped tones.

  Opal glanced at Ginger and then got up and followed Mrs. Jennings to the back of the room where there were two chairs set up at a table.

  “Have a seat, dear.”

  Opal sat.

  Mrs. Jennings sat down and leaned forward. She dropped her voice low. “Dear, I know that you’re new here and that your life has been in a lot of turmoil. I feel it is my duty to tell you that you would do well to find friends other than Mal.”

  Anger flashed through Opal, shocking her with its speed and ferocity. She forced herself to take a deep breath. “I’ve made several friends, like Ginger who I was just talking to,” she said.