Reveal (Cryptid Tales) (2 page)

Jeremy moved forward to apologize but I turned away, yet another stupid move on my part. “I don’t want you here anymore, so LEAVE!”

With that, he’d gone. He just vanished into thin air. I stood there thinking how I wanted him to come back, but it was too late, he was gone.

For months I didn’t even say his name, too angry that he left, too ashamed that I’d turned him away, too hurt to admit to myself that he was my best friend and I missed him.

If I had only known then, what I know now, I never would have let him go.

I arrive to school just in time, slamming the door on my red Honda Civic as I race to calculus. My boot heels making a clicking noise that echoes off the white walls as I run to class. I slide into my cold hard seat just as the bell rings.

We don’t have homeroom at Marksville High. Our first class is our homeroom, part of that teaching bell to bell thing I’ve heard about on the news.

I only take four classes now, so I don’t really mind not having the social time. Besides, I only have a few friends here, mainly my best friend Olivia McEwyen.

Liv is one of those pretty girls who don’t know they’re pretty. She has the most beautiful green eyes and curly red hair. Her dad is Irish so that’s where she gets her looks. Her parents own a cute little antique shop in town. It’s where I spend most of my time, partly because of Olivia, partly because I work there.

As I sit in calculus I think about some of the neatest things I’ve found in that shop and things that have happened to me there. Once somebody brought in a coffin to sell, which was surrounded by countless ghosts. I convinced the McEwyens not to buy it, gave them some crap about bad mojo, but the truth was that all the ghost talk surrounding it was giving me a headache. Can’t say I wasn’t happy to see that thing go back into the truck it came out of and drive away with
all
of its previous owners.

However, other things in the shop are breathtaking and beautiful. The locket I wear daily was a Christmas gift from my employers. I’d been eyeing it for weeks and they knew on the money I made there that I couldn’t afford it. Besides, I was saving up for new running sneakers for track. So on Christmas Eve, when I closed the store, they had left the locket in with my paycheck and said it was a “Christmas Bonus.”

I was so glad to get it I didn’t even argue. Usually I wouldn’t take such a lavish gift, but this was special. Ever since Jeremy left I wanted something to remember him by and this locket was found in the old burned down orphanage. I felt like I finally had a piece of him.

A group of arson specialists had done research in the orphanage studying how the fire had been started. They wanted to use the place for a museum and the people of Marksville wanted to know if it would ever be a safe structure to use. They were the ones who found it. I’m surprised they found anything -- vandals and other idiots would have picked over anything even slightly valuable years ago. Somehow they had missed the locket, this beautifully delicate silver locket with two angel wings engraved into it. The locket that was twisting between my fingers as Mrs. Snickle called on me.

“
Shay, do you know the answer to number three? Shay?”

“
Ummm… yeah it’s, hold on I have it here… somewhere.” I rifle through my papers at lightning speed but that isn’t enough for Mrs. Snickle. Not today, at least.

“
Miss Tafford I hate to remind you that being prepared for class,
or not,
is considered in your grade. Please consider yourself warned.”

She turned back to the board and began writing the answer to number three in her favorite shade of whiteboard marker, purple.

Bitch
, I thought. I’m always prepared for class, usually giving most of the answers. I’m allowed to have an off day now and again. To be honest since I found out I’d be going to James Madison in the fall, I’ve had more off days than on. But I’m a senior, I take all honors classes, and it
is
spring. What do you want me to do? Senioritis had kicked in the second I got that acceptance letter. Snickle should be glad I even show up and
with
my homework,
thank you very much
.

When the bell rings I grab my things and pull out my phone. I have to conceal it from Snickle, she likes to take phones and keep them in her desk. Sometimes you can even hear them ringing.

There’s a message from Olivia -
crash campus after fourth?
I quickly type back-
def
.

My mom teaches at the local college. So Liv and I make her workplace our regular stop after school, before we go to track practice. We make a run to the coffee shop and either sit there or if it’s nice enough we claim a bench near our favorite tree in the Quad.

Mostly we pretend to be students and scope out boys because, let’s be honest, they’re way hotter than high school guys. A lot of the guys we see are reading or listening to music or trying to look mature and studious.

Over the past few weeks every time we’ve gone to the coffee shop there’s a boy I’ve been watching. He’s tall and tan, really dark especially for this time of year. He has black hair like mine, but short and messy, whereas mine is stick straight and hangs long. He has beautiful brown eyes, though I swear the last time I saw him they were green, but since it was from a distance, I could have been wrong. I’m sure it was just my eyes playing tricks on me; I mean staring at him for any length of time will do something to your head. He’s got this rugged look about him, but in a subtly beautiful way.

Yes I just said a guy was beautiful, one whom I’ve never even talked to.

We walk through the glass doors of the coffee shop and I see him almost immediately, sitting in the corner reading the
New York Post
. Oh my God -- he reads the
New York Post!
Could he be any more awesome?

Olivia snaps her fingers in front of my eyes “Helloooo. What do you want to drink?” She thumb hooks to motion over her shoulder at the girl behind the counter. The girl looks impatient and begins to drum her fingers on the counter.

“
Oops,” I say. “Sorry. Coffee, black.”

“
Yuck, really?” says Olivia. “Since when do you drink black coffee?” She notices where my eyes are focused. “Oh, since you want to be dark like hot guy’s soul?” She laughs.

“
Whatever.” I shrug her off, knowing her well enough that she won’t stop if I don’t end it.

“
Let’s just pay and go sit in the Quad,” I tell her, hoping she’ll back off.

“
You don’t want to stay and ogle Tall, Dark and Handsome?” she whispers.

“
Who?” I ask lazily.

She vaguely points in his direction and, honestly, of course I do! But instead I say “Oh no, let’s just get out of here.”

We walk out onto the Quad, even though it’s cold. I can feel the sun warming me up even though I still have my pea coat on.

Olivia sits down on our bench near the old oak and we slowly sip our drinks. Neither of us says anything for a while. A few very bundled-up students walk quickly past us and Olivia and I watch with unfocused eyes.

“
Shay,” she starts, without looking up from her steaming drink, “listen I’m sorry about the kid in there. I didn’t realize you were really crushing on him. I thought he was just eye candy like all the others.”

She looks up when I turn to her. “Liv, it’s no big deal, really. I don’t even know him. I mean, I would like to, it’s just that I don’t. So don’t even worry about it.”

She smiles at me and looks past my face and over my shoulder. “Well, not to further your unrequited love, but here he comes.”

I turn my head and sure enough here he comes, looking slightly frantic.

I look back to Liv who looks smug, but I hope she won’t try anything. Instead of getting up to greet him as he approaches our bench and risk looking ridiculous, she magically whips out a book from some invisible location and starts reading.

“
What are you doing? He’s walking over this way! Please pretend like you’re talking to me. Please!” She doesn’t respond, just continues to pretend to read.

Tall, Dark and Handsome walks right up to me and says (take a deep breath, Shay) “Did you see an iPhone lying around here?”

“
A what?” I ask. Stupid, I know, but I’m failing for words here.

“
An iPhone, ya know? I think I left mine here when I was studying before. I had it before I went to get a drink.” He lifts his reusable mug as if to prove he actually bought something there.

He begins muttering to himself and looking around the bench. I get up to help. “I really don’t see it. Liv, did you see a cell when we sat down?” I ask, imploring her to help.

“
Nope, sorry. That really sucks,” she says without looking up from her novel.

“
It’s whatever, I guess,” responds Tall, Dark and Handsome. “Well I gotta get to class. I’ll see ya around I guess.”

“
Yeah, us too,” I say as I pull Olivia to her feet, she still has one hand wrapped around her book. “Bye.”

He turns and leaves, heading towards the math building and though I hate to see him leave, I do love to watch him walk away.

“
Well I would deem that a successful first meeting,” Liv says as she puts her book back in her purse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with a book before, I still can’t believe she just did that to me!

“
Yeah, thanks so much for all your help back there.” I snarl back.

“
Oh, whatever. You didn’t need a wingman or wingwoman, or whatever. You did just fine for yourself,” she says like a proud mama.
Puh-leez!

“
We’d better get a move on. Coach will kill us if we’re late. And it’s way too cold to do suicides today.” I say and hurry Her Highness along.

Practice today is bundle up and run through the woods. I’ve got gloves on and long pants,
so much for early spring
. As we start out I’m keeping a pretty good pace with some of our better long distance runners.

I love track and I run the relay, but Coach is constantly trying to get me to go out for cross country. She says it would be good for me since I always seem to do better on these outdoor wood runs than I do on the track. Since it’s my senior year she’s now on me to try out for the college team, meaning I would need to run all summer. I don’t think I’m the type to get up at seven a.m. and sweat my ass off during my free time this summer. Sleep seems like a better option.

As we continue through the woods I catch something out of the corner of my eye, something floating in the wind and I know immediately what’s there. So as not to alarm anyone else, I pull a fake cramp.

Olivia stops to check on me. “You OK?” she asks through labored breaths. Long distance has never been her thing.

“
Yeah fine,” I respond. “Just my hammy, I’ll catch up. You go on ahead.” She nods and keeps going.

I pretend to sit down and stretch. It only takes a few minutes for all the runners to pass us. And by us, I mean me and whoever the ghost is that’s been running beside the team.

After I’m sure the runners are out of earshot I ask, “Can I help you?” A little girl of about ten walks through the leaves toward me, though there isn’t any crunching sound to accompany her arrival. She’s small and wears what looks to be a white dress, it could possibly be a very old bathing suit. Her hair is long and dark.

From the looks of her clothes I’m guessing she’s been around a while. I stay sitting on the ground, hoping to not scare her off. She’s approaching me and since she’s a child ghost, something is definitely off here.

She looks at me with her big blue eyes, a little scared and a little curious. “You can see me?” she finally whispers.

“
Yes, don’t be afraid. Are you OK? Are you lost?” I ask her. She certainly looks lost and a little like she needs a bath. I never knew Jeremy to look this disheveled.

“
I can’t find my way home. Can you take me?” Her voice is so soft it’s hard to understand her, but she extends a hand to me, so I stand up and take it.