Strange Magic (5 page)

          Watching the movie was proving to be difficult.  The problem wasn’t with the movie since I actually liked action movies.  Brad kept breaking my concentration.  I had to keep removing his hand from my knee or averting my face from his attempts to kiss me.  Shortly into the movie, he had casually draped his arm around my shoulders and tried to feel me up.  I had never met anyone so persistent.

          I was relieved when the credits rolled.  Brad saw some of his friends in the lobby, and they quickly decided that we were all going out for burgers.  I thought about asking Brad to drop me off at home.  My rejection of his advances hadn’t dampened his spirits at all, and he chattered about his friends during the drive to the restaurant.  Thankfully, he kept his hands on the wheel.

          We all piled into a large booth.  This seemed to be their regular hangout, since the waitress knew them.  Brad ordered a burger and fries while I just got a shake.  I felt out of place in this group, most of whom were jocks and cheerleaders.  Brad introduced them to me, and they seemed friendly enough.  I mostly just listened to them talk comfortably to each other.  The guys kidded each other and laughed at what they thought were hilarious jokes.

          It gave me a chance to watch Brad, and I was struck again by his blond good looks.  No wonder I’d had a crush on him for so long.  Before we left, one of the girls invited us to a party at her house later in the month.  I realized that this group accepted me because I was with Brad.  I had never been invited to hang out with the popular crowd before.

          Brad surprised me by apologizing to me.  “Sorry if I came on too strong at the movie.  It’s just that you’re so pretty, and I’ve been lonely.”

          I felt like telling him that he hadn’t been alone for very long, but I held my tongue.  I found myself saying that it was okay.  For some reason, after we arrived in my driveway, I completely let him off the hook by telling him that I’d had a nice time.

          “Me too,” he said as he leaned in to give me a kiss.

          This time I didn’t stop him.  I could sense that he was treading carefully, testing my reaction.  I pulled back before he could deepen the kiss.

          Brad’s smile accentuated his dimples.  “You’re kind of shy, aren’t you?  That’s okay.  It’s only the first date.  Goodnight, Suzy.”

          “Goodnight, Brad.”  I got out of the car and began walking up the driveway.  I heard his car pull away before I had even reached the front door.

          My mind flashed back to Duncan walking me to my door, even though he had been inexplicably angry with me.  Stop being ridiculous, I told myself.  It’s the modern world, and there is no reason that a boy needs to walk you to your door.  There was also no reason to compare Brad’s kiss to my kisses with Duncan—which weren’t even real kisses.

          I resolutely put Duncan out of my mind as I said goodnight to my parents.  As I got ready for bed, I couldn’t help thinking that I wasn’t as thrilled as I should have been after finally going out with Brad.

          Caitlin called me on it the next day.  “Now take it from the top with even less enthusiasm.”

          I had just finished telling her about my date with Brad while we were sprawled out in her room.  I had walked to her house since her car was in the shop, because it needed new brakes.

          “Okay,” I said.  “Granted, it could have gone better.”

          “I’m surprised that Mandy didn’t dump him a long time ago,” Caitlin said.  “Prince Charming he is not.  Maybe you should find a different way to make Duncan jealous.”

          I rolled over and sat up in agitation.  “How many times do I have to tell you that this isn’t about Duncan?  Brad apologized.  Everyone deserves a second chance.”

          “That’s not always true.  Suzy, sometimes you’re too nice.  But if you’re going to continue this, then you might as well use it to your advantage.  I’ve got a great idea.  Think about your kiss with Brad in English class where Duncan can hear your thoughts.  Only you have to add more excitement to it.”

          “It’s like talking to a wall,” I complained.  “You act like you haven’t heard a word I’ve said.

          “Okay, okay,” Caitlin relented.  “I’ll change the subject.  Tyler said to tell you hi.  He asked if you’re still saving yourself for him.  He’s so gross!  I told him that he’s old news.”

          Tyler, Caitlin’s older brother, was away for his first year of college.  He had been my first crush, and Caitlin had declared this to be temporary insanity.  Tyler now teased me about it every chance he got.

          “The nut told me to break a leg.  I told him that’s good luck for the show, not the audition.”

         “I can’t believe they still make you audition,” I said.  “You always get the part.”

          “They have to give everyone the same chance.  Besides, it’s good practice for Hollywood.  If you want to wait, Mom said she’ll give you a ride home after school tomorrow.”

          “Thanks,” I said.  “I’ll just take the bus.  I’d like to get in a walk before dinner.”

          “I think they said it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.  Anyway, we’ll figure it out at school.”

          I stayed for dinner at Caitlin’s house and then walked home.  She had insisted on showing me which house Duncan lived in.  I could tell she was disappointed that he wasn’t out to see me.

          The next day I woke with a bad feeling.  I dragged my feet getting ready until Mom yelled that I was going to be late for the bus.  I made it to the stop just as the bus was pulling up.  The sky was cloudy, and I regretted not taking a jacket with me.  It definitely looked like it would rain today.

          Maybe that was why I was in this somber mood.  I thought it would go away once I got to school, but I couldn’t seem to shake it.  In fact, it seemed to be getting worse as the day progressed.  Even being treated like one of the in crowd by Brad and his friends didn’t lift my spirits.

          “What’s wrong with you?” Duncan asked me as soon as I took my seat in English.

          “Hello to you, too,” I said.  “Listen, I’m really not in the mood to deal with you today.”

          Duncan lowered his voice.  “Did Brad do something?”

          “Of course not,” I denied, but I felt a telltale blush creep over my cheeks.

          Duncan switched to speaking with his thoughts.  “Don’t lie to me, Susannah!  I’ve had this feeling all day.  If that creep…”

          Suddenly, his voice disappeared as vivid images flooded my mind.  Duncan was kissing Mandy while they were in his car at night.  Her hand found its way under his shirt, and she ran it over his chest.  Then it began to descend lower.

          With great effort, I managed to put my barrier up against the assault of Mandy’s thoughts.  Duncan had said that powerful emotions would sometimes allow us to read other people’s thoughts.  Mandy’s desire for Duncan was off the charts.  I was now holding off her thoughts, but my imagination took the situation to its natural conclusion.

          “No, Susannah!  That’s not what happened.”

          “I told you to stay out of my head.  How’d you get past my barrier anyway?”

          “Powerful emotions,” Duncan said.  “You’re very upset.”

          “I’m not upset.  I don’t care what you do.  I just don’t want a front row seat.”

          He went on as if I hadn’t spoken.  “That still doesn’t explain why I’m able to project my thoughts past your barrier.  Something is definitely off with you today.”

          And it remained that way.  Caitlin repeated her mother’s offer to drive me home after Caitlin’s audition for the play, but I just wanted to get home as soon as possible.  By the end of the day, my feeling of unease was verging on dread.

          Duncan approached me as I was getting the books I needed for homework out of my locker.  Mandy trailed behind him.  Amazingly, he was there to offer me a ride.  I looked at him as if he had grown another head.  There was no way that I wanted to get in the car with him and Mandy, especially after what had happened in English.

          “Thanks,” I said.  “It’s nice of you to offer, but I’m taking the bus.”

          “We’ll walk with you,” he said, ignoring Mandy’s puzzled look.

          I didn’t know what to say to that, so we walked in awkward silence.  As we approached the row of buses, I turned to say goodbye to them.  Mandy stopped walking and said bye back to me, but Duncan followed me to my bus.

          “See you tomorrow,” I said.  The words snagged in my mind, and I couldn’t figure out why they had seemed to come out wrong.

          “See you tomorrow,” Duncan repeated.  Then he frowned.

          I made my way onto the bus and took a seat by the window.  Duncan was still standing outside, and the look on his face mirrored the immense relief I had felt as soon as I stepped on the bus.  He smiled and waved bye.  I returned the smile and waved back.

          I watched him walk back to Mandy.  He said something to her, and they walked away hand in hand.  The bus began to move as I shot out of my seat.  The driver noticed me when I reached the front, and she told me to sit down.

          “Please,” I said.  “Can you let me out?  I forgot that my mom is picking me up.”

          The driver grumbled, but she stopped the bus and opened the door.  The opening seemed to yawn before me ominously.  Against my better judgment, I stepped out into the increasingly gray day.

          My thoughts were roiling through my head like a witch’s brew in a cauldron.  Duncan was off doing adult things, yet he was treating me like a child.  Walking me to the bus like I was in kindergarten.  The nerve of him!  Yet now I was faced with the choice of waiting for Caitlin or walking home.

          I scanned the sky anxiously, trying to figure out if I could beat the storm home.  A little rain never hurt anyone, I told myself.  I decided that I was too restless to wait around, and a nice long walk was just the thing I needed.  Still, my legs felt like lead as I began walking away from the school.  Everything in me screamed to turn back, but I stubbornly trudged on anyway.

          I was about half way home when I began to hear thunder which was getting steadily closer.  By this time, I was regretting my impulsive decision to get off the bus.  There was no way that I was going to make it home before the storm broke.  I would probably get completely drenched.  It would be a miserable end to a miserable day.  I was in a residential area, so there weren’t even any stores where I could take shelter until the worst of the rain passed.

          Lightning began to flash over the sky, and I gazed at it in awe.  Despite the situation I was in, I still found storms fascinating.  As I walked on, however, something seemed to change in the atmosphere.  My blood hummed with an awareness of the power of the storm.  It now became frightening.  Every time I heard the next loud clap of thunder, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

          I tripped and almost fell.  I looked down to see that my shoelace was untied.  All I needed was to get hurt and have to limp home in a downpour.  I quickly crouched down to tie my shoe.

          After that, there are jumbled images in my mind.  I’m not sure how to put them in order.  There’s the sound of screeching brakes.  Me coming out of my crouch and not making it all the way to standing at my full height before a body slammed into me and knocked me breathless onto someone’s lawn.  A blinding flash of light.  A shockingly loud crack of thunder.  Anxious pale blue eyes peering at me through my daze.

          Then as my mind came back into focus, the shock of realizing that I had nearly been killed.  I knew with sudden certainty that lightning had struck the spot where I had been standing.  As I stared at Duncan with growing horror, heavy sheets of rain began to pelt us.