Rewrite Redemption (13 page)

“He is such a tool,” she said. “Somebody needs to—”

“Somebody did. Rove swaggered over and got in position. New Guy picked the lane beside him on his right. You could see Rove was annoyed, probably because the new guy’s so tall, and Rove doesn’t like anyone faster running beside him. But it was too late to change lanes.

“At first, New Guy kept pace with Rove, who was giving it everything he had. The new guy looked like he wasn’t even breaking a sweat. You know how you run with your arms bent like this?”

“Yeah, so?”

“New Guy was three feet away and a little ahead of Rove. They got going really fast. And as they rounded a turn, New Guy whips his left arm down with the palm facing Rove, not touching him or anything. And at that exact moment, Rove’s legs went flying out from under him. I couldn’t believe it.”

“No shit!” Lex said, “What gives?”

“No clue, but the
second
New Guy’s arm went down, Rove was airborne. New Guy bent his arm back up and just kept on running as if nothing happened. He never even looked back. Rove didn’t know what hit him.”

I couldn’t help grinning. Reflective gravity could be really useful sometimes.

“Cool,” Lex said. “How do you think he did it?”

“No clue, but the movement was so synchronized and isolated it couldn’t have been coincidence. And the way Rove fell wasn’t like what happens when you trip. New Guy might be living his life as a high school kid, but there’s something unusual about him. A.J. was right.”

“Well, at least he used his power for good,” she said. “Shoving it to Rush Rove…gotta like him for that. Anyone suspect anything?”

“There’s no way I could know that, but I don’t think so. Logically, what could he have done? I’m only thinking outside the box here because of A.J. Otherwise I’d never have connected the two things, no matter how isolated his arm movement was. Rove fell flat on his face. He got a bloody nose and looked like he was going to cry. It was really satisfying to see him brought down a notch…a gift for the geek world. Rove reminds me of the Hammer.”

“No doubt. I don’t suppose you got it on your phone.”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“YouTube’s loss,” she said.

“I know! While Rove was whining to the coach, the new guy went over to the geek, high-fived him, and they walked to the gym laughing their asses off. It didn’t take rocket science to put two and two together. Made my day. Whatever weird is going on with him, I think he’s a stand-up guy. Why else would he go out of his way to protect a geek?”

“Well, I think he’s like A.J. She can’t be the only one. The eye thing, the tree thing, that’s gotta be it.”

“You might be right,” he said.

“Damn straight,” she said. “Still, this is strange stuff, and I just want to make sure he doesn’t screw with her. If he can knock Rove to the ground with a wave of his hand, who knows what else he can do.”

I heard paper crumbling and realized they were probably done eating. Taking a chance, I peered around the sign. Luckily, they were facing away from me. I decided to vacate before I got caught. A group of kids was passing by. I wove into the crowd and kept with them till we hit the next block. Then I headed for the caf so I could grab a slice before class.

They were checking me out. I’d made progress. That chick was sharp, making the connection with the eyes. The eye anomaly was the only outward sign of an Editor. And that dimwit in P.E. had it coming, harassing that kid for no reason. I was psyched A.J.’s friend had been watching.

I might not have my foot in the door, but at least the door was open a crack.

I spent the afternoon whipping my history paper into shape. By 3:30, my paper was done and I’d cleaned up the tree house. I was sitting on the porch, eating a Popsicle when they walked into the yard. I hopped up and got them each a cherry pop from the freezer.

“Yum,” said Lex, smiling at me. She dropped her bag and tore off the wrapper with her teeth.

“Set mine on the railing,” Ipod said as he headed to the john. “Don’t get to the good stuff till I get back.”

“Good stuff?” I asked, anxious to hear what they’d found out. “Ignore him. Spill.”

She sucked the Popsicle and closed her eyes for a minute, thinking. “My theory is that he’s like you.”

“Like me? Why?”

“You know how you’ve always thought your eyes have something to do with your strangeness?”

I did. That’s why I wore the tinted glasses to school. At the very least, I’d be suspected of being on drugs. “Yeah…” I said, tentatively.

“You just might be right. His eyes, they’re like yours. Well, not exactly like yours, but his pupils are huge.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” She grinned. “It’s kinda cool, really. I read this article online how women in Renaissance Italy put belladonna drops in their eyes to give them a sexy, dreamy look…bedroom eyes. Of course, belladonna is poison, so they paid a heavy price. But boy, does New Guy have dreamy eyes. I think he’s like you, A.J., only a guy. How’s that for good stuff?”

I didn’t answer. I was too busy absorbing the magnitude of someone else like me. Not that I’d never wondered. I had. I had daydreams about it all the time. If it happened, I thought it would be some wise, wrinkled old lady, with snowy white hair. Someone like Professor McGonagall from
Harry Potter
.

I’d see her in a crowded city across a bus terminal or somewhere movie-like. She’d look at me intently with twinkly, all-knowing eyes, and then disappear into the crowd waiting for me to follow so she could enlighten me with her wisdom. I certainly never expected it might be a guy and that I’d meet him in Spanish.

Ipod jogged across the bridge, grabbed his Popsicle, and flopped down beside me.

“Tell her what happened with Rove, Ipod,” Lex ordered. “I’m going to change.”

Lex went inside, and Ipod told me the story in his matter of fact way, while I just sat there with my mouth open.

“That’s amazing,” I said.

“I know,” he said, grinning. “Of course, I can’t be
absolutely
certain and there’s no way I can prove it. But the way Rove’s legs just swept backward, out from under him like that—that just doesn’t happen in a fall. It was an effect that needed a cause. I think New Guy provided the cause.”

“Massive points for sticking it to Rove,” I said. “But as far as being like me, I suck at P.E. I certainly can’t wave my arm and knock somebody down.”

“It’s just a theory,” said Lex, returning to the porch in jeans and flopping down into a deck chair. “But whatever the deal is with him, I don’t think it’s anything bad.”

“Well, I’m not sold on the eye thing,” Ipod said. “But even I’m convinced that there’s something unusual about him, and you know what a skeptic I am.”

Lex snorted as she propped her foot on the railing and began polishing her toenails.

“I have to admit that the chances of him being like you are greater than him being a whole different brand of weird,” Ipod said. “No offense, A.J. So maybe she’s right.”

“Oh,” Lex blurted. “I almost forgot. There was the tree thing.”

“What tree thing?” I asked, instantly alert.

Lex relayed the conversation in the hallway, “…and when he said the word ‘trees’ he emphasized it.’” 

“That is strange,” I said.

“I know, right? Who would say that, especially a guy?” She set her bottle of polish on the floor and flipped her Popsicle stick at Ipod. “He was trying to say something without really saying anything—totally a coded message.”

“All my passwords are tree names,” I said, getting a chill down my spine. “I mean, if there are more people like me, and trees are part of what I am, a tree word could be the connection.”

“Logically, yes,” said Ipod, pushing up his glasses.

“So, what do you think?” I asked them.

“We have to consider the facts,” said Ipod “First; I think he’s a stand-up guy.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Lex asked.

“Stand-up,” repeated Ipod. “Like in standing up for that geek when he was in trouble. Volunteer when help is needed. I think he’s that kind of guy. His records look legit. He has a family. I found another article about his brother’s accident, and the kid in the photo looked a lot like Constantine only stockier and younger. That alone makes me think he’s just a kid like us or maybe like you, A.J. So at the very least, I think we can safely rule out the long list of anyone/anything bad out to get you.”

“Plus, there’s the fact that he’s hot,” Lex said, arching her eyebrows. 

“Hot is irrelevant, and it doesn’t count as evidence,” said Ipod, walking back into the tree house.

“No duh, Ipod. I’m not a complete idiot,” Lex said. “But it doesn’t hurt either.” 

With Ipod gone for the moment, she turned to me and whispered, “You’d like him. I know you would. And if he’s like you, maybe…” she trailed off and looked me in the eyes. She’d been trying to get me interested in guys since, well, forever.

It wasn’t that I had no interest. It was just that I figured guys were off limits for me because of my secret. “He sounds amazing,” I whispered back, fiddling with my braid.

“I’m impressed,” she said in a normal voice. “And in spite of whatever paranormal thing that might be going on, he seems pretty human. I watched him all through Spanish. He has this habit of running his hand through his hair, pushing it back, like it discharges energy or something. He did it all through class and then again in the hallway.”

“How do you know?” asked Ipod, coming out with a banana. “I thought you were sitting in front of him.”

“I have my ways.”

“Well, I hope you weren’t being obvious. We agreed we’d—”

“Jeez, Ipod, give me a little credit. I was one seat ahead and over a row, which was the perfect spot. I could hold a mirror a little to the side and see him perfectly.”

“Sorry, Lex,” said Ipod. “I didn’t mean to insinuate—”

“Guys, enough! Just give me the facts,” I said.

Lex stretched back in her chair, closed her eyes, and continued. “There’s something different about him. I don’t mean the paranormal stuff. I mean
him
. He thinks before he speaks. I like that.”

“You got a lot from one conversation,” I said. I knew how good she was at reading people.

 “I pay attention,” she said. “He seemed concerned that he’d scared you. I told him it had nothing to do with him, that you had migraines.”

 “Why migraines?”

“I had like two seconds to pull an excuse out of thin air. You
did
take one look at him and run out of the room. I needed something.” 

“Better than I could have done,” Ipod said, swinging the hammock with his foot against my deck chair. “I have to admit, you’re quick with the comeback, Lex.”

“Damn straight,” Lex said, grinning her I’m-devious-and-I-like-it grin. “He might be a worthy adversary. He knew I was playing him, but he didn’t call me on it. It wasn’t as if he was backing down. It was more as if he was just not pushing me to say something I didn’t want to say. It was a simple thing but it kind of got my respect.”

Respect from Lex was rare. Now, I was impressed.

“But here’s what sealed the deal,” she said. She got out of her chair and leaned against the porch rail, obviously planning to act out the scene. “Between second and third, I’m standing outside the classroom, reading a text. I look up, and I see him from behind, walking up the stairs. All of a sudden, he stops, turns around, and practically flies down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He ducks into the first door he comes to. I look back up the stairs, thinking ‘what the heck?’ Seconds later, guess who comes clomping down?”

“Who?” I asked, flipping out my hands.

“Oh, please,” she said, grinning at me. “If you don’t get this, I’m going to have to punish you.”

“The Bratz Doll?”

“Ding! She wins the prize.” She mimed dinging the bell. “He’s the new guy and he’s hot. She and the Kicks came marching down the stairs, looking left and right. They were on the hunt and they weren’t happy.
Ha!
It was rich.”

“Did they see you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care. I ducked into the classroom till they went by. Then I came back out to send one more text, and I saw him back on the stairs, taking them two at a time, going up. That boy is smart. He has their number. He wanted
your
name. He ran after me to get it. My vote is to give him a chance but go slow. We don’t say anything about…you know. We can at least talk to him, feel him out.”