Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (5 page)

               
Ms. Klein looks at Kayla. “And are you also not feeling well, Miss
Hendrickson?”

               
“No, she’s my ride, and since I don’t know my way around town yet, I would have
no idea how to get home.”

               
Kayla says, “Yeah,” nervously.

               
Ms. Klein gives them a look.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re sick,
Mr. Blakely.”

               
He abruptly grimaces again and grabs his stomach.  “I…need…to…leave,”
Jackson growls.

               
“Should I call someone?” Ms. Klein asks, standing up, with wide panicked eyes.

               
“No, just let Kayla take me home.”

               
Nodding, Ms. Klein says, “Yes, yes, do what you need to.  You can pick
partners tomorrow.”

               
“Oh, we’re each other’s partner,” Kayla interjects.  “We
’
ll work on it tonight.”

               
“Very well, get him home.”

               
Kayla pushes Jackson out the door.  When they get into the hallway, she
whispers, “Are you all right?”

               
“Yeah, come on.”  He grabs her hand and leads her out the front
doors.  They walk across the student parking lot to Jackson’s car. He
unlocks the doors with his key fob and opens Kayla’s door.  “Get in.”

               
“A Mercedes, really?  Trying to make up for something?”

               
“Get in the car, Kayla,” Jackson instructs, walking around to the other side.

               
They both climb in and shut their doors.  Kayla turns to Jackson. 
“What am I going to do about my homework?”

               
“What homework do you have tonight?” Jackson asks, reaching for something
behind Kayla’s seat.

               
“Calculus, but I have that book with me.  Then I have to finish up my
paper and start the story project with you.”

               
“You’ll be fine,” Jackson says as he retrieves a Tupperware container from the
backseat.  He takes off the lid, grabs one of the brownies from inside,
pops it into his mouth, and lets out a sigh of relief.

               
Kayla looks at him.  “Those aren’t
special
brownies are they?”

               
“Depends what you mean by special.”

               
“Do you do drugs?”

               
Jackson shakes his head.  “No, not like you think.  You could eat
these and be just fine.”  He thrusts the container at her.  “Have
one.”

               
“What’s in them that you need to eat so badly?” Kayla inquires, looking at the
dessert.

               
“Nothing really. My brownies and I are like a diabetic and sugar. 
Sometimes I need to eat something to keep my body in balance.”

               
Looking at Jackson, Kayla says, “You have diabetes?”

               
“No,” Jackson says with a laugh.  “Do you really want to know my medical
history?  I didn’t realize we were at that point in our relationship.”

               
With a glare, Kayla retorts, “We don’t have a relationship.”

               
“Trust me, I did
not
mean it that way.  You’re exactly my type, but
I doubt we will ever be more than friends.”

               
Kayla gasps, surprised.  “I’m your type? I don’t hear that very often.”

               
“That’s kind of sad.
”
 
Jackson is silent as he starts the car.
“
I
think you intimidate the guys around here.”

               
“Am I scary?”

               
Jackson laughs.  “No, your intelligence, it makes guys feel dumb.”

               
“But it doesn’t make you feel dumb?”

               
“Not much makes me feel stupid.  I’m rather intellectually gifted.”

               
“You can say that about your ego too,” Kayla mutters, turning to look out the
window.

               
Jackson chuckles as he pulls out of the parking lot. 

Jackson turns on his stereo
and music fills the car.  Kayla glances at him with a surprised
face. 

“What?” he asks.

               
“This is American music.  I figured since you didn’t grow up here you
listened to something else.”

               
“I may have lived all over, but my family is still from the United
States.  We were a very American household.”

               
“I see.”

When they get to Kayla’s
house, Jackson parks the car and looks at her.  “See, you made it home and
we didn’t kill each other.”

               
“That’s a relief,” Kayla says with a laugh.  She grabs her stuff but
doesn’t reach for the door handle right away.  Finally, she says, “Thank
you for this.”

               
“Really, it’s not a big deal.  I honestly have nothing better to do. 
I don’t know anyone here, and there isn’t much in the way of entertainment.”

               
Kayla wants to roll her eyes, but refrains. “Do you want to come in and hang
out?”

               
“I didn’t say that so you would invite me in.”

               
“A simple no would have sufficed,” Kayla mumbles, opening her door.

               
Jackson grabs her.  “If you want me to come in, I will.”

               
She looks at him for a minute.  “Don’t do anything you don’t want to.”

               
“We can work on this story for class, because I know you want to ace it.”

               
“Yes, I do.  Come on then.”  She gets out of the car and walks to her
front door.  Reaching into her backpack, Kayla looks for her key. 
When she doesn’t feel it she groans. “Great.”

               
Jackson comes up behind her.  “What’s wrong?”

               
“My key…I think I forgot it on my dresser.” Kayla sighs.  “I’m locked
out.”

               
Stepping back, Jackson looks up the front of her house.  “Are any of your
windows open?”

               
“Mine is always unlocked.  Why?”

               
“Because,” Jackson says, looking around. “I can get the key.”  With that,
he walks away from her and toward the tree next to the house. 

               
Kayla watches him with mild curiosity.  Jackson looks up at the tree and
then up at the house.  Rubbing his hands together, he jumps and grabs the
first tree branch.  Then, with what seems to be great ease, he climbs the
tree.  Kayla watches wide-eyed.  When he gets to the same height as
the second floor, he turns around.  Realizing what he is about to do,
Kayla steps forward.  “Jackson…don’t do it.”  Ignoring her, Jackson
jumps and grabs the terrace next to her window.  Kayla squeaks and
flinches, knowing he’s going to fall to his death.  He steadies himself
and then reaches for her window.  Sliding it open, Jackson easily pulls
himself inside, disappearing from view.  “Wow,” is the only response Kayla
can muster.  She pauses for a second and then whispers, “That was kind of
hot.”  Shaking her head, Kayla grimaces.  “Shut up, you idiot. 
Don’t waste your time thinking about his…muscles.”

               
A few seconds later, her front door opens.  Jackson smiles and says,
“Easy.”

               
With a smirk, Kayla walks inside.  “Good job, monkey boy.”

               
Jackson shuts the door.  “Being a monkey is fun. You should try it.”

               
“No thanks,” Kayla draws out, slightly confused.  She watches Jackson walk
into the kitchen.  Kayla rolls her eyes and thinks about how weird he is.
Following Jackson, she throws her backpack on the counter and asks, “Are you
hungry or thirsty?”

               
“Both, actually.”

               
Walking over to the fridge, Kayla opens it and looks inside.  “There’s
leftover lasagna or we have frozen pizza downstairs.”

               
“Pizza would be good.”

               
“All right, I have to go get it.” She runs down the basement steps and to the
freezer in the back.  Kayla grabs a pizza out of it.  When she turns
around to walk back up the steps, she passes the side room.  Movement
catches her eye. Kayla screams, “No!
”

               
Jackson spins toward her as he puts the leaf in his mouth.  “What?”

               
“Spit it out!  Spit it out right now!” Kayla shrieks.

               
With a raised eyebrow, Jackson continues to chew.  “Why?”

               
“It will make you sick, and it’s really dangerous!”

               
Jackson scoffs at her and swallows.  “Kayla, calm down.  I eat this
every day.”

               
Kayla squeaks in bewilderment. “You do?”

               
“Yeah, where do you think your parents got it
from?”      

               
“Oh, do you know what it is?” she asks, since her parents still haven’t told
her.

               
Jackson takes off another leaf and offers it to her.  Kayla studies him
and then opens her mouth.  With a smirk, Jackson gently places it on her
tongue.  “It’s called Kiej.”

               
“Is that Chinese?”

               
Jackson shakes his head. “No, it’s not from China.  Is that what your
parents told you?”

               
“Yeah. So where is it from then?”

               
“Are you sure your parents have never mentioned us before?”

               
Kayla looks off to the side.  “I think I would remember that my parents
had friends who had a son my age.”

               
“Mmm, well, Kiej’s origin is kind of a family secret.  Let’s just say it’s
from really far away from here.”

               
“My parents put it on everything.  I don’t mind; it tastes kind of good.”

               
Jackson puts his hand on her shoulder and guides her toward the basement
stairs. “It’s what was in those brownies.”

               
“But you said there wasn’t anything dangerous in them.”

               
“Not dangerous to you.  It wouldn’t hurt you.”

               
“How did you know that?” Kayla asks as they climb the stairs.

               
They return to the kitchen, and Jackson takes the pizza from her.  He
flips it over to read the directions.  “It was in the food last
night.  Couldn’t you tell?”

               
Shaking her head, Kayla whispers, “No, we eat it so often I barely notice it
anymore.  My parents are lucky you guys didn’t have a reaction.”

               
“We wouldn’t.  Anyway, I knew it was safe for you to eat, Kayla.  I
would never let anything happen to you.”

               
Slightly taken aback, Kayla says, “Really?”

               
Quickly spitting out a response, Jackson seems to cover up his words. 
“Well, if you kick the bucket, I would become valedictorian by default, and
that’s not as much fun.”

               
“You know what, you have a redeeming quality for like a nanosecond, and then
you open your mouth.”

               
“I don’t have any redeeming qualities.  I'm a punk, plain and simple.”

               
Kayla crosses her arms.  “Obviously.  You know, it seems like you try
really hard to be that way.”

               
“Only around you,” Jackson states, turning on the oven.

               
“Why?”

               
 “It’s just better that we maintain certain boundaries with each
other.  You can’t get close to me.”

               
“Then you shouldn’t be hanging out in my kitchen,” she growls.  Jackson
just looks at her.  Annoyed, Kayla exclaims, “Who said I wanted to get
close to you?  Really?  You may be hot, but your personality
overshadows that!”

               
“You think I’m hot?” Jackson inquires with a grin.

               
Embarrassed, Kayla looks away.  “Come on, you must know you're good-looking. 
Your ego is bigger than this town.  My saying it is only going to boost it
higher.”

               
Jackson playfully sighs.  “You're probably right. I guess if I ever need a
good time, you are an option.”

               
Kayla’s jaw drops.  “As if I would ever give it up to your skanky ass. You
have a lot of nerve to even assume I would want to have sex with you.”

               
“You melted when I kissed you.” Jackson eyes her, smiling.

               
“That’s your perception. I was putting on a show to piss off Jude. That’s it.”

               
Leaning against the counter, Jackson laughs.  “I felt your body
react.  It’s fine.  I enjoyed it too.”

               
“You did?” Kayla asks, surprised.

               
“Mmhmm, you're a good kisser.
”
Jackson points at her.  "But don’t let that go to your head.”

               
Kayla nervously puts her hair behind her ear.  “No one has ever told me
that.”

               
Narrowing his eyes, Jackson asks, “You have kissed a guy before, right?”

               
“Yes,” Kayla groans. “But it was a long time ago.”

               
“And it was bad?”

               
With a heavy sigh, Kayla mutters, “You're going to laugh at me.”

               
“Why?”

               
“It was in the eighth grade.”  Jackson's eyebrows shoot up in surprise as
Kayla covers her face.  “And it was with Jude.”

               
 “
What!
”

               
“It was four years ago.  He's been an ass to me ever since.”

               
“Why?”

               
Rubbing her forehead, Kayla whispers, “I wouldn’t do anything more with him,
and it pissed him off.”

               
“So…that means you're a virgin.”

               
“Like that is any of your business!”

               
Jackson laughs. “That’s cute.”

               
“Don’t patronize me.  It’s a personal choice.  I’m sorry I'm not a
slut like you.”       

               
With a snort, Jackson retorts, “It’s easy to meet a lot of girls when you
travel around the world.”

               
“Eventually, when I’m in college, I’ll meet a guy who I can have an
intellectual conversation with, and maybe then I’ll consider having sex,” Kayla
declares smugly.

               
“Is that what it takes?” Jackson says, staring intently into her eyes.
“Intellect?”

               
Kayla opens her mouth and then closes it.  “He has to be kind too, and
funny.”

               
“Your dream guy, huh?” Jackson says, turning to put the pizza in the oven.

               
Curious, Kayla asks, “What would your dream girl be?”

               
“That’s easy.  She has to be accepted by my family.”

               
“Your parents are that picky?  They don’t seem to be that way.  They
were so nice.”

               
Jackson smirks. “That’s because they approve of you.”

               
“Me?  Why me?  I just met them!”

               
Jackson chuckles.  “You have certain traits that they look for.”

               
“Oh,” Kayla whispers.  “That’s good…I guess.
”
She shakes her head, snapping her
thoughts away from the fact that Jackson's parents approve of her to be his
girlfriend. "This conversation just got a little awkward.”

               
Jackson laughs.  “Okay, so my parents approve of you; it doesn’t mean I
do.”

               
 “Well, you would be the last guy on this planet that I would ever be interested
in!” Kayla spits out.

               
With a devious grin, Jackson looks at her and then rushes forward.  He
grabs her into his arms and plants his lips on hers.  Kayla can’t help
herself, it’s like an insane inferno explodes inside of her.  She wraps
her arms around his neck and pulls him closer.  They stumble backwards
until they hit the wall.  Feverishly, they kiss each other.  Jackson
runs his hands around her waist and pulls her hard against him.  She
almost whimpers.  Abruptly, Jackson lets go of her.  “What in the
hell!”

               
Kayla gasps, “What…what was that all about?”

               
“I have no idea.  Trust me, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

               
“Wow, what a nice response.  I think I’d rather kiss Jude again!”

               
Shaking his head, Jackson says, “No, I didn’t mean to offend you.  That
wasn’t it.  I was going to kiss you to prove a point and then…I don’t know
what happened.”

               
“We kind of got caught up in it.”

               
“Yeah, you could say that,
”
he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. Without warning, he spins away
from her
“
I should go.”