“Hi,” I replied, bringing my eyes up briefly, then dropping them back down to my desk.
“Sorry about what happened at the airport last week. I really didn’t see you.”
I hesitated for a moment. Skepticism crept back to me, “Don’t worry about it.” I said slowly. “It was raining and it could’ve happened to anyone.”
“Right. So how are your classes going so far?” she asked.
“Good, I guess.”
“What classes do you have?”
“Um…Algebra with Wright, P.E. with Mrs. Johnson, French with Neville, Home-Ec is Mrs. Jones, this class and then History is with Mrs. Brown,” I answered.
I glanced up as the last bell rang and saw Austin come through the door just in time.
With the flashback of last Friday’s events replaying in my head, Mr. Anderson looked up at Austin with a huge smile across his face as if he was welcoming a long lost relative.
“Austin!” Mr. Anderson greeted him with too much enthusiasm. Noticing his over-reaction, he toned it down a notch. “Nice to see you again, this year.”
“Mr. Anderson, it’s truly great to see you, too.”
Taking his seat diagonally to where I was seated, Austin spotted me, hesitating before sitting down. Glancing back at me again with a blank look on his face, I gently shook my head at him, silently discouraging him from looking at me in fear that Mr. Anderson would spot me.
Mr. Anderson cleared his throat and looked down at the book in his hands, as if composing himself and getting back on track. Beginning the class, he welcomed everyone to a new year. As he smiled and scanned the class, he stopped when he saw me and held my gaze for just a moment. A funny look came over him that I couldn’t quite decipher. Though his face was blank, I could tell that a thousand thoughts were running through his mind. I don’t know whether anyone else noticed it, but I did. It was like he was staring blankly into an empty file drawer. Then in a flash, it was gone, and he continued talking, almost forcing himself to look away from me.
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach and my palms began to sweat. Becka and I exchanged a glance and all I wanted was to get out of that class and run as fast and as far away from here as I could.
When Mr. Anderson finished with the introduction he looked back to me and with another overly extended pause, the silence was broken by a student sitting somewhere behind me. “Excuse me, Mr. Anderson.”
Almost as if someone slapped him in the face, Mr. Anderson responded, “Yes, um Mr…?”
“It’s Casey.”
“Casey, what can I do for you?” he stumbled over the words.
“A lot of us want to know the story. You know, of you and the plane,” the student spoke inquisitively.
That got the class buzzing. They quietly whispered amongst themselves.
Eyes stopping on Austin, and then me, he walked slowly over to his desk and sat down on the end of it. Clearing his throat, he replied, “Well class, I’m sure most of you have heard by now that my wife and I almost got on the plane that crashed just outside of Medford last week.”
A few students that must not have heard gasped. He went on, “Well, let’s just say I’m a truly lucky man to be sitting in front of you today.”
A girl from the middle of the class broke in, “Yeah, we all heard. Is it true that someone saved you from getting on the plane? Who was it?”
Slumping down in my seat even lower, I was struck by the fact that I wasn’t able to disappear like a magician could. My body stiffened as I sat there timidly waiting for him to “out” me. Locking my eyes with Mr. Anderson’s, I bit my lip.
He answered the student’s question. “Well, I can honestly tell you that I don’t know who this person was. That part is a mystery to me.”
Glancing at me for a fraction of a second, with a half-smile that only I would know was meant for me, he looked away so as not to be obvious. “Now let’s get back to why we’re here, to learn.”
With one big exhale, I looked back at Becka with utter relief. I was safe. Safe from the truth. Safe from everyone knowing; well, at least for now. The entire week of wondering how this was going to unfold was now put to rest. The details would stay hidden, undisclosed and never to be revealed, at least I hoped.
As the end of class neared, I was still nervous, wondering if he’d single me out or try to talk to me. Maybe I could sneak out. I would try at least.
At the end of the class, I heard him give the homework assignment. I must have written it down on autopilot, jotting down the assignment in scribble, barely legible.
Dismissing the class, he said his “welcomes” again to all his new students. I was jolted awake by the desk behind me being shoved forward as my fellow classmate, Whitney, bent forward to pick up her books. I gathered my own books and headed for the door.
I kept my eyes fixed on the ground to avoid eye contact, but to no avail he called me out, “Breanna, could you stay here for just a minute? I have some paperwork to discuss with you.”
I froze. My thoughts raced. My heart started pumping so loudly that I could hear it as if it were a drum. What was he going to say?
I nodded and walked over to Austin as the class thinned out.
“Austin, can you wait with me please,” I whispered nervously.
“Sure,” he whispered back, concerned.
I turned to Rebecca who walked up behind me. “Beck, I’ll see you after school.”
“I’ll see you out by your car,” she added, then was the last person out the door.
I approached his desk hesitantly, while Austin followed. As I peeled away the onion skin layers of my emotions, Mr. Anderson opened his mouth to say something then held up a finger, motioning me to wait a second, and shut the door. “We only have a couple of minutes before I have to let the next class in,” he said seeming nervous.
Standing there facing him, I couldn’t fight back the tears that I didn’t know were there. I looked up and saw a tear slide down Mr. Anderson’s face.
He cleared his throat and sounded broken. “Thank you, Breanna. Thank you for…” He took a deep breath. “Thank you for saving my life, my wife’s life. My beautiful wife, who...who is…” He had to stop himself for a moment to control his emotions. He looked up and a tear dripped down his face and smiled. “We just found out this week that my wife is pregnant.” His eyes were wide with gratitude. “Words can’t express how grateful we are to you, for what you did.” He was gripping the side of his desk, weeping, looking away in embarrassment. “Because of you, I’m going to be a father and my wife is going to be a mother. Something she’s always dreamed of…” With a big sigh of relief, he breathed out, “Thank you.”
“Please, you don’t have to thank me,” I said to him, calmness flowing through my veins.
He tried to compose himself. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How did you know?”
“I saw the plane go down…before it happened. A few weeks before it happened.”
Paul’s head rolled back as he looked to the ceiling, tears trickling down his face. He was re-living that night, remembering what had happened.
I glanced over at Austin, but he quickly deflected his eyes.
“Mr. Anderson,” Austin began but was interrupted.
“Austin, thank you,” Paul said once more, and gave him a big hug. I could feel that he wanted to give me a hug as well, but didn’t, probably thinking it was inappropriate to hug a female student in a classroom setting.
With a couple of light knocks on the door, Paul was jarred back to reality. He wiped his eyes dry and quickly changed the subject. “Well, I’m sure we can all talk some other time. I know the two of you have another class to get to, so I will see you both tomorrow,” he lightly spoke.
We walked out the door and down the hall.
“Are you going to be alright?” Austin asked in a concerned tone.
“Yes, I think so,” I answered with a little unsteadiness in my voice.
“What class do you have next?”
“History with Brown.”
“Me too!” he smiled.
We hurried down the hall, reaching our class as the bell finished ringing. Mrs. Brown was a short, middle-aged woman with hair tightly pulled into a bun on the top of her head. She looked like she’d stepped right out of the fifties.
“Well, well, what do we have here? A couple of students late on the first day of school!” placing her hands on her hips.
“I’m sorry. We were talking with another teacher,” Austin muttered.
Mrs. Brown raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “I’ll let this one slide since it’s the first day of school, but don’t let it happen again.”
“We won’t, Mrs. Brown, we won’t,” Austin promised.
We took our seats quickly. I found one at the front of the room, closest to the door. Austin took the only other empty seat, toward the back of the class, right in the middle of Josh and Katie.
My stomach dropped as Katie smiled mischievously. What was she scheming now?
Mrs. Brown began class by handing out sheets of paper outlining the subjects we would cover over the course of the semester, along with our extremely large textbooks. The buzz in the room slowly died off as the procession of textbooks made its way to the back of the class. When the last student received the materials, Mrs. Brown proceeded to go over every topic thoroughly, informing the class what was to be expected of them over the next sixteen weeks. I was dreading this class, and not because of how fastidious my new teacher was, I could handle that. I dreaded being stuck in this room for an entire semester specifically with some of these people.
The air thickened the longer I sat in the uncomfortable hard desk. I couldn’t help but sneak looks over to Josh, Katie and Austin, occasionally catching Josh’s watchful eye on me. His disapproval wore heavily in his eyes, and my body was beginning to cower in response. Overhead the clock ticked, every second bringing the situation to the forefront of my thoughts, looming over me like a rain cloud ready to burst into downpour. It was unsettling, complicated and I had no idea what to do.
The class period seemed to go by quicker than my last few, even with the foreboding thoughts that penetrated my brain. When I realized I didn’t have a clue as to what Mrs. Brown had covered over the last forty minutes, I decided to gather up my belongings early. Unzipping my bag, I shoved in my textbook, notepad and a few papers and set it on my desk. I looked over to Josh, who seemed to be paying attention to the teacher, but there was no way of knowing what was really going on in his head. No telling what was going to happen when the bell rang. I needed to be ready.
I only had a few minutes to plan out my strategy, so I blocked Mrs. Brown out of my mind and started forming conversation starters. I was conflicted with how I needed to address all parties involved. I knew that I needed to talk to each person individually, but with Josh and Katie sitting so close, I wasn’t sure how to get them away from each other long enough to explain. I needed to talk with Josh alone about the pregnancy and somehow I needed to convince Katie it wasn’t true.
The bell rang. In unison the class rose, gathered up their belongings and filed through the door. Mrs. Brown picked up a large stack of papers and walked out, leaving Austin, Josh, Katie and myself alone in an empty room.
I looked over to Austin, just in time to see his face drop when Josh mouthed something to him. Both boys sat motionless, their posture slightly slanted toward each other aggressively. The intensity of their menacing eyes passed unspoken words to one another. I could feel the electric current flowing between the two of them. Josh slowly sat back, basking in the pleasure of Austin’s anguish. Austin stood his ground like the king in the game of chess.
I got up quickly, trying to get over to them before another word was spoken, but failed. Katie flung another verbal dagger at Austin. He didn’t take his eyes away from Josh, but whatever she said made Austin stiffen in his seat.
When I reached them, Josh continued where he left off at lunch. “Now isn’t this cozy. The three of us in the same class.” His eyes gleamed with venom.
“Josh, stop it. Please. Austin and I are just friends. We were only having a conversation, that’s all.”
He stood up slowly, clearing his throat. Austin placed his hands firmly on his desk, waiting for Josh’s next move. Katie waited for the next domino to be placed, anticipating when it would topple over.
Josh put an arm around my shoulder and glared at Austin. “Just friends, huh?” He snickered, “That’s not going to happen.” He shook his head at me. “How I see it…you’re not allowed to be Austin’s friend, Bre.”
“I’m not allowed!” My eyelids creasing together, my body tensing.
It was like we were in a game of chess, pawn to queen. The stakes were high and it was my move. I had to formulate a response, but Josh was quicker.
“That’s right. You see, you’re mine,” he flashed Austin a hard look, dropping his voice deeper. “And I don’t share things that belong to me.”
The room was silent, you could hear a pin drop. It was like time had stopped. I couldn’t form words. It was as if he’d slapped me dead in the face. Even Katie seemed troubled by his comment. Austin’s blue eyes darkened the more he sat thinking about what Josh said. He wasn’t the fighting type, but watching his reaction, fists clenching, the vein in his neck pulsing, I wouldn’t put it past him.
Austin slowly stood up, taking his time, breathing heavily and deep. I shifted my weight to my right leg, preparing to move out of the way if someone were to take the first swing.
Austin’s voice was thick, but he held his composure. “Bre…I’ll see you later.” He glared at Josh, but when he looked at me his face relaxed.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from her,” Josh commanded.
“Josh!” I yelled.
Austin put up his hand. “No, it’s fine, Bre. I’ll be the bigger person and leave.” He eyed Josh before grabbing his backpack and walked out the door.
“Josh, you’re such a jerk!” I shoved his arm off my shoulder and pushed him out of the way. “I’m not your possession. I don’t belong to you. You have no right to tell me who I can associate with. This is why I haven’t returned your calls. I’m not someone you can walk all over.”
Josh’s face hardened. Katie’s mouth hung wide open.
That felt great!
I turned and started for the door. Rounding the corner, I heard Josh yell after me. “Bre!” But I was already running down the hall, trying to catch up to Austin.
As I passed the office door, Eve stepped out holding onto a half sheet of paper. “Bre!” She called, but I didn’t stop to see what she wanted.
I got to the parking lot and scanned it for Austin.
“Bre, there you are!” Becka walked quickly up to me, sounding relieved.
“Beck, did you see Austin come out here?” My eyes stopped at his empty blue truck.
“I think I saw him a minute ago, but don’t worry about him right now.” Her voice was hurried, but whatever tragedy she was in today would just have to wait.
“No, I have to find him.”
“Bre. It’s important,” she protested.
“I’m sure it can wait.” I went back inside, leaving her behind.
The hallways were nearly cleared out, giving me a better opportunity to find him. I was certain he came down the corridor I was in. I walked swiftly, glancing at every person I passed. Coming around the last corner, I spotted him at his locker.
“Austin!” I exclaimed, thankful he was still here.
He looked up at me and then back down to his bag, dropping his shoulders and shaking his head.
“What are you doing here?” He shoved a book in his backpack and shut his locker. I ran up to him as he slung his backpack on his shoulders and turned to face me. “You should go. It won’t hurt my feelings.”
But that’s it. He was hurt. I could see it.
“No. I’m not leaving. A
nd I’m not going to stop talking to you just because Josh wants me to. Austin, I’ve had a lot to deal with lately. And the last thing I need right now is to lose you again. I miss you…I miss us.”
He clenched onto the straps over his chest and looked down at the ground. For a moment, I thought he might reject me. I mean, who would want this kind of drama? I patiently waited for him to respond. The silence was torture. Finally, he sighed smiling. “I’ve missed you too.”
I smiled back at him and felt my tension release.
“Can I walk you to your car?” he asked, grabbing my bag off of my shoulder.
“Sure.”
Stepping out into the crisp air, we walked down to where my car was parked. We didn’t saying anything else. The quiet gave me a second to remember what a gentlemen he was. I wondered why we drifted apart. We’d been such good friends. If I were being honest with myself, we were more than just friends, we were best friends back in elementary and junior high. I thought back on memories of us climbing the large tree in the front of my house, playing board games and swimming in the lake. It was hard to believe that we would let our friendship dwindle away. But here we were again, with another chance, and I wasn’t going to let anyone, especially Josh, interfere with this friendship.
Unlocking my car door, I slid into the front seat. “I’m going to talk to Josh about this whole thing.”
I turned the key over in the ignition, and the car sputtered a couple times before dying. Trying it again, the same thing happened.
“Why? Why does this always happen to me?” I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel.
“Breanna, if you’re having car trouble, I can take you home.”
“Really? You don’t mind?” I looked up to him.
“Of course not. Hey, what are friends for right?” he responded with a bright smile.
“Okay, if you don’t mind then, thank you.”
“No problem.” He slung his backpack again around his shoulder and helped me out of my car.
Locking my car and heading over to Austin’s truck, I heard a group of students laughing over by the front of the school. I wasn’t surprised to see Josh staring me down. His infuriated disapproval seeped up into his face. The others around were oblivious to Josh’s lack of focus on their conversation. Trevor was talking directly to him, hitting his arm a few times before another roaring laugh came from him. Josh never looked his way. For a moment, I felt myself cowering, but then I remembered my promise to Austin. I wasn’t going to allow myself to fall back into the submissive way of thinking. Josh didn’t rule me. I was instantly empowered, sending Josh a silent message: this time, you’ve gone too far. His reaction was perfect! His face grew fire red. He threw his backpack down on the ground, placing his hands on top of his head, walking around in a circle muttering to himself like a lost little troll. When Trevor noticed, he looked over to where Austin and I were and his laughter stopped immediately. As Josh started to come toward us, Trevor grabbed his arm. It took every bit of Trevor’s strength to hold him back. Luckily Austin was unaware and, before we knew it, we were in his truck and heading home.
Awaken (Awaken Series Book 1) Page 11