Feathermore (4 page)

4 SOLID VEIL

I barely slept that night. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement, yet sleep eluded me anyway. I kept thinking about that thing by the diner, and as much as I tried to pretend I might have been seeing more than was there, I couldn’t let it go. I kept waking from nightmares of being chased by that thing, and in the dream it was actually speaking—or, rather, barking. Every time the creature had come too close I got rescued by the same really hot stranger. I couldn’t get his deep-green eyes off my mind. Why was he always in my dreams? What did it mean? I woke up so many times; I finally decided just to get up. It was 5:50.

Now that I was out of bed and had turned on the light that sat on top of my nightstand, the nightmares and memories were beginning to seem a little ridiculous. I decided not to think about them. The thought of going to school bolstered me with renewed excitement. I would be seeing Avan again. During the night, I had also tried not to think of him. And here is where the green-eyed stranger came in.

Stop it! He isn’t real!

I was being careless with these feelings about Avan. I had just met the guy and I was already obsessing over him, which was so not me. What if his pleasantries toward me were just the same old new-kid’s-first-day-making-friends syndrome? It was definitely a possibility.

I went through my entire closet looking for the perfect outfit before finally resigning myself to the reality that there was no such thing. So I opted to wear my favorite dark blue jeans and my loose-fitting black Metallica tee, the one with the angel wings on a skull.

In freshman year, it had been decided by popular consensus that I was the emo girl. I think part of that was Amy’s doing, expecting people to alienate me just for being in that category. Some people could be very closed-minded—they figured that because I had jet black hair, was pale to a fault, and loved to dress in black, I was a goth. I didn’t mind playing along, though. I always had a little bit of darkness skulking in me. Not that I went out of my way to look this way—I just had those features. Almost every other girl in school went out of her way to get one of those layered haircuts and two-tone dye jobs—definitely not something I would do.

I took my time with my morning routine and made my way downstairs before Mom was awake. I started her coffee and got something to eat before Claire came to pick me up. Dad was an early riser and usually out of the house by five thirty, ready to start his workday. The only quality time I shared with him was in the evenings, especially when we sneaked in a late-night horror movie. I never got to spend enough time with him because of his long hours at the shop, but I was definitely a daddy’s girl.

I was busy making eggs when I heard Mom walk down the stairs and stall at the entrance to the kitchen.

“
Am I dying and no one’s had the guts to tell me?” She was that shocked seeing me awake and industrious this early.

“
What? Oh, no.” I started laughing. “I was up early, so I figured I’d do something productive. Of course, if you don’t want it, I can . . .” I held the plate precariously over the garbage can.

“
No! This is great,” she said as she sat down. “I could certainly get used to a little bit of being served.” I poured a cup of coffee and brought it over to her, set it next to her plate, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Mom smiled but said in mock concern, “You are seriously worrying me, Jade. Have the body snatchers come?”

“
Right, Mom.” I rolled my eyes as I walked away. “You’re making it seem like I’m a horrible child, or something. I’m just . . .” I waited for the words to manifest in my head, but only one came. “Happy.”

Claire did her usual three beeps out front. Any other day, that would have been my wake-up call. In five minutes, she would be knocking on the door and heading upstairs to make me move faster. After I gave Mom another kiss I headed out the door, sneaking my way unseen to the car.

“
So this is what you do while you wait for me to get ready, huh?” I said as I popped up next to the half-open passenger window.

Claire nearly put out her eye with the eye-liner.

“
Jeez, Jade, you almost made me wet my pants!” she gasped. She looked me up and down when I got in.

“
Yes, I know, I’m up and out. Can’t a girl be excited to go to school?” I had caught the question mark in her face.

“
Um, as far as I’m concerned, no, you can’t,” she said, smiling while backing out of the driveway. We rounded the end of my cul-de-sac street, and I rolled my window down. I could feel the wind on my face again, hopefully taming down the blush I could feel spreading over my face as I thought about
him
.

We made it to school early for the first time ever. That meant we were in uncharted territory, so we sat in the cafeteria, making idle talk, all the while eyeing the clock on the wall, waiting for the bell to ring. I could barely contain the smile threatening to take over my face as we approached our classroom.

I tried to keep my cool, walking in and casually scanning the room, leaving the best for last. There he was, making all my memories of him seem a little obsolete. He was talking to Nick, who babbled on and on with all the pent-up conversation that no one had cared enough to hear out of him since he got here. Poor guy must not be used to any attention. While Avan had his back turned to me I decided to take him in slowly: the tousled black hair, the tanned skin, his easy way of moving. I didn’t need to see those deep-blue eyes—I could
feel
them. I had never seen such electricity in anyone’s eyes before. They could even put Claire’s to shame.

Just as I approached, Avan turned, and the lights emphasized his full lips. I caught myself daydreaming about what kissing them would feel like, and felt my whole face blush. I quickly decided to distract those thoughts by looking out the window. I hadn’t noticed someone else’s book bag on the floor, and I tripped over it, losing my balance. Claire, who was loyally behind me, steadied me before I could make an even bigger fool of myself. Snickers erupted here and there. I looked down at the floor and sat down, embarrassed.

“
Hey, there.” His crooked smile revealed a perfect set of pearly whites.
Perfection!
“That was quite an entrance.”

Great—I will never see the end of this.
I smiled awkwardly, hoping my little performance would be soon forgotten.

This morning, with his greeting still echoing in my mind, I realized I wanted to know everything that made him, him. He complimented me on the red strands I had just put in my hair, and, in a more relaxed and natural manner than yesterday, we got to talking. The topics ranged from music (thanks to my choice of T-shirts) to movies and books. It felt really good to find someone, besides my best friends, with whom I had so much in common. I kept a safe distance from him, afraid the touch of our skin would rocket me into space again.

Mr. Morris walked in late again and got on with his lecture on the origin of the ancient Etruscans. As much as I tried to concentrate, I found myself glancing sideways at Avan. Every time I stole a look, he was studying me in return. Butterflies did aerobatics in my stomach. Could he really be interested in me? I didn’t see how. Maybe Amy had told him about our little encounter last night, and now he thought I was a freak, too. Despite all these warring thoughts, I did manage to get some of Mr. Morris’s lecture.

I have to confess that I was ecstatic having him sit so close. For one thing, it would make getting to know him easier. It may seem silly, but hey, I had seen adults get excited over a lot less. I was on a cloud.

The lesson droned on, and I was losing focus. I thought it was from all the sleep I wasn’t getting, but I also began feeling that horrible sensation that heralded the unwelcome voice. I was really hoping not to have an episode in class. Something was trying to erupt in my mind. I resisted, but I sensed an unspoken warning trying to rise up again. Soon after, my back began tingling in response and my heart rate quickened.

Maybe I was just coming down with something.
I rubbed my neck and rested my head on my other hand.

I got the sense that Nate and Claire were focusing on me again. But they weren’t—in fact, it struck me how quiet Claire was being. Given the way she acted yesterday when I was about to talk to Avan, I was surprised she hadn’t nudged a hole in my side by now. I tapped on her shoulder and silently ribbed her about being so quiet. History and theology were two of her fortes, and she listened to those lessons with near devotion. But she didn’t look much in the mood for jokes. She had both arms rested on the desk, one hand cupping the other. Her gray eyes were distant, staring into space.

“
Are you all right?” I whispered. It wasn’t every day that her bubbly, loud personality got this subdued. She shook out of her gaze and looked at me. The corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly. “You know, that’s a lame excuse for a smile,” I added, looking over at Nate. Were they fighting? No, not likely. I had known them for over three years and had yet to see them fight. Sure, they had disagreements, but sometimes it seemed to be more of a show. His eyes were glued to the chalkboard, and he systematically looked down as he wrote notes. The way he held on to that pen seemed painful.

I had begun doodling on my notebook when warm fingers tapped my arm. The spot where his fingers touched tingled with his energy, but at least I saw no blinding flash of light this time. Before I looked up at him, I noticed a folded paper beside my arm. As I unfolded the note, I saw a simple sentence that made my insides jump with excitement: “
Would you have lunch with me?
”

Claire’s chair smashed into my desk with full force, and she walked toward the front of the class.

“
Excuse me, Miss Wagner, where are you going?” Mr. Morris said, moving to stand in her way.

She didn’t say anything, just stared at him. I saw his eyes widen just for an instant, and he moved aside, letting Claire walk past.

Weird.

“
Nate?” I hissed, my eyes glued to the glass door Claire had just walked out. “What the hell was that? Is everything okay?” I turned back to him just in time to see him nod. His eyes were glued to the door. Just then the bell rang. I stayed in my seat a moment longer. . I looked at the paper in my hand and wrote on it, then passed it back to Avan.

Yes.

Rain Check?

I got up and began gathering my things; just then Claire came strolling back in. Her features were hard and her body tense as she sat back down in front of me.

“
What was that all about?” I asked, raising my voice so she could hear me amid the general chatter all around us. I waited for an answer, but none came. Instead, as I stared intently at her I heard her voice in my head. I was sure because her lips never moved.

“
They’re here. The place is infested.”

“
Wh-what did you just say?” I asked her.

She turned to face me, a weak smile on her face. “I didn’t say a word, hon. Hearing things now?”

Oh, if you only knew.
“I heard you say something about the place being infested. What does that
mean
?” I looked at both her and Nate. “What is going on?”

They reacted in unison. Their eyes widened, and although they tried to hide it, the shock on their faces was unmistakable.

After fourth period, Claire, Nate, and I walked to the cafeteria, barely talking while they dragged me with them at a steady pace. Claire held on to my arm as if she was afraid it might fall off. What was with all this creepiness? Something up ahead made me look twice. I strained my eyes, trying to determine what I was looking at. Feeling the same sudden wash of horror and dread I had felt on the street last night, I saw a sort of dark shadow at the end of the hall.

It was hard to tell whether there really was anything there, because it sort of glided in and out of view. There were a lot of people around, and it seemed to mix in with the crowd. If it actually was something, it seemed to be hiding behind other students. No one seemed to notice it, though. I raised my hand to point at the thing. I was about to ask Nate if he saw it, too, when he pulled me into a classroom.

There was no time to react. The next thing I knew, I was in a fourth-grade classroom.

“
What was that?” I said as I tried to move past Nate and take another peek out into the hall.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
Don’t play dumb with me, Nate. Why the hell did you pull me in here? And what was that outside?

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jade.” He looked behind him and then moved toward the door. Claire opened it and walked in, all chirpy.

“
Come on,” she said. “Let’s go eat!”

Nate shoved his hands into his hip pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. “Umm, I’ll see you girls later,” he said as he slid her hand into his and gave her one of their silent looks. “I have to go do some stuff off school grounds, but I’ll be here when you get out, okay?” He kissed the back of her hand and disappeared amid the throng of students in the hall.