The Watchers (5 page)

Daniel nodded once in acknowledgement of my
ready state and hit the ball in my direction. His serve was fast,
surprising me, but I managed to hit it back to him with a swift
backhand. His eyes widened in shock as he hit the ball back to me
in reflex. The shock quickly melted into confusion as I slammed the
ball back with a clean, well-aimed, hit.

I smirked at him, satisfied I had managed to
knock him off his carefully balanced platform. My competitive
nature helping me feel as if I had just won something, our eyes met
across the court in a challenge. The expression on my face gave
away my emotions. His eyes narrowed dangerously at my smirk and his
own competitive glint sprung up in the coolness of his green eyes.
He delivered another blistering hit, which actually hurt my wrist
to return, but it wasn’t enough to stop me.

Hit. Return. Hit. Return.

The rest of the room dropped away as I
focused on our game, needing every ounce of concentration I
possessed. I’d never played against someone this good, not even the
girls at state. He had skill. His eyes stayed narrowed in
concentration, his swings getting progressively harder and faster,
as he tested my limits and searched for a weakness. I was in a
similar state of concentration, though I was certain I was more
determined to win.

Hit. Return. Hit. Return.

Despite my wrist hurting from his serves, and
knowing that I might just be outclassed, I wasn’t about to lose to
him. I would break my wrist before I lost. I felt that if I won, I
would prove something to him, to me, to this whole stinking town.
It would be proof I could control something in my life, that this
place would be a new beginning.

Hit. Return. Hit. Return.

Twenty minutes later, drenched in sweat from
our intense game, I managed to surprise him. He sent the ball my
way again, the glint in his cool eyes different now, almost like
his shock had been replaced by enjoyment. I hit the ball back with
all the force I could muster, a small, embarrassing yell escaping
me. The ball slammed into the floor just out of his long reach then
rolled beyond him, only stopping when it hit the white gym wall. It
was the only point of the game.

There was a second of silence while I stood
with my hands on my hips, panting like a dog, then whistles and
cries of shock from the others echoed around the large space.
Everyone had stopped their own games to watch us play; even Mr.
Henley’s pig eyes were fixed on us in astonishment. I turned to
Daniel to see what his reaction would be to our audience witnessing
his defeat.

What had been the big deal? Why would no one
play against him? He was fast with his returns, but not untowardly.
I caught everything he’d sent me at least. The bell rang signaling
the end of the period as I stared at him. Everyone moved in the
direction of the locker rooms, talking excitedly about our game,
but I didn’t move.

Daniel’s eyes were locked on mine with that
same burning intensity, only now his eyes were filled with
curiosity and amazement rather than a cool distance. The fire was
no longer checked. Those eyes trapped me, locking my muscles and
making my curiosity rage out of control again. As I watched, his
bright eyes – suddenly the only thing that existed for me in the
entire world – flashed an eerie black color. In the next instant
they flashed back to green.

My first, rational instinct was to think I’d
imagined it, but all the hair on my neck was inexplicably standing
on end. My eyes searched his in wonder, fascination, and fear. How
had he done that? I opened my mouth to ask the questions burning on
my tongue, my curiosity showing on my face. His face hardened as I
did, and he turned away. Ignoring me completely, he started talking
to Michelle and Jennifer as they passed him on their way to the
locker rooms. I watched him go, noticing that his long legs covered
the distance quickly. Next to the two girls he looked even more
graceful than before.

What had just happened?

Chapter 3

Mark materialized at my side, so close our
shoulders were touching. He noticed where I was looking in a
glance. He excused the oddity of Daniel with a negligent hand wave.
“Don’t mind him. He’s not used to losing, ‘specially to a girl. I’m
just glad he’s on our team…He’s the best quarterback we’ve had in
years.”

I jerked out of my fascinated state and
focused on him, embarrassed he had caught me gaping after Daniel as
if
I
had never seen a person
before. We started walking toward the locker rooms.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yep.” He popped his “p” in a way I
knew he thought cool. He grinned and I heard:
She definitely doesn’t mind football players then, I just
wonder if she’s into pretty boys. Of course, Daniel does get all
the attention…
“Where’d you learn to play?” he asked
as we reached the door to the locker rooms.

I pursed my lips at his thoughts, but
answered as politely as I could. “I played for my school in
Savannah.”

“Cool. What class do you have next?”

I had to think about it, distracted by the
visions coming out of the boys’ locker room. Mostly naked boys ran
in front of my field of vision as they horsed off and changed with
lots of macho banter. Before I could shut out the visions, I saw
Daniel taking his things slowly out of his locker, not joining in
with the conversation around him. “Uh…Algebra with McDonald.”

“Me too. I’ll walk you there.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, aware he was being
nice because he thought I was promiscuous. I needed the directions,
though.

In the dressing room I changed slowly, trying
to piece together an explanation for what I had seen, glad no one
bothered me, though the whispers lingered. I knew a lot about
strange things. I was a walking, talking, strange thing, but I had
never heard of someone’s eyes turning completely black before.
Beyond the shock at me beating him, that black stare was the second
real emotion I’d seen on his face. It scared me. Despite how the
others viewed him I knew, without knowing how I knew, that he was
dangerous. But what kind of dangerous? My kind of dangerous?

When I walked out to the gym I found Mark –
who was now wearing the letterman jacket I had imagined him in –
waiting for me on the bleachers. Smiling, he took my bag without
asking, which was annoying, and we walked out the metal doors. We
passed by Mr. Popularity and his harem of girls just outside the
door. They were hard to miss. They took up most of the walkway.
Daniel smiled at Mark, giving him a brief high-five, but he didn’t
look at me at all. I rolled my eyes at him, but kept walking,
leaving him to the bevy of his adoring flock.

Mark chattered at me the whole way to our
next class, not noticing my distraction, not caring regardless; he
was too busy trying to invent ways to get me interested in him. I
let his voice wash over me without really listening to his words.
Some things did leak through, despite my distraction, like that he
was a native of King’s Cross, he played football – shocker – and
his dad owned two of the three car lots in town. When we finally
made it to class, he left my side, unaware of his less-than-there
audience, and took his seat in the middle of the small room. Aware
again of all the stares being thrown my way, I went to the teacher
to get my slip signed.

Mr. McDonald was nice. Preoccupied with the
day’s lesson, he was still cordial as he signed my slip and handed
me a text book. He directed me to a seat which, luckily, was in the
back away from Mark and all the staring faces. Mr. McDonald’s
thoughts were the only ones not focused on my appearance; he didn’t
even notice. He started talking to the class as I sat, his voice
cutting off the various conversations around the room. He was good,
throwing a lot of jokes into his lecture to keep his audience’s
attention, knowing he would have even less focus than normal today.
All the curious faces gradually melted away from me, and their
thoughts turned to the lesson he was presenting. Laughter and his
country-twanged voice echoed around the room, creating a constant
state of noise and learning.

Relaxing a bit as the thoughts shifted away
from me, I settled into my seat and let his voice fade into the
background. Daniel’s black eyes and puzzling ways floated through
my head again. Why was he suddenly a mystery I wanted to solve? The
classroom faded entirely as my eyes switched to the windows facing
the forest bordering the entire back of the school, the questions
circling around my head in endless uncertainty.

When the bell rang to signal the end of
class, I jumped, having forgotten where I was. A girl with glasses
and sharp eyes leaned over from her seat. She smiled shyly as, in a
daze, I gathered my things. “I’m Jane,” she introduced
herself.
I don’t get why everyone is making
such a fuss. I bet she hates all this attention. I know I
would.

“Hi, Jane.”

“What do you have next?”

I shook my head to get my brain working along
school related lines. “Study Hall.”

“Would you like me to walk you there?” she
asked picking up her books.

“That would be great.”

I picked up my bag, and we walked out of the
classroom together. As soon as we made it to the hallway, she
asked, “Where are you from originally?”

I answered her as best I could, thinking that
despite the questions, these kids were some of the nicest I had
encountered in all the schools I had been forced into. While a lot
of the thoughts were judgmental and rude, many of them weren’t. It
was as welcome as it was unexpected. Maybe, being here wouldn’t be
as bad as my first morbid thought had proclaimed…Maybe.

The rest of the morning quickly fell into a
pattern of questions from people who couldn’t stop staring, wildly
differing thoughts as to whether I was scary or cool, and someone
inevitably offering to walk me to my next class. I was grateful for
the walks between classes – they kept my nightmare from becoming a
reality – but the stares and the thoughts were definitely not on my
‘awesome list’.

Another boy, Davis, shared Spanish and Study
Hall with me and walked with me between the two. He was quiet and
nice; his thoughts less judgmental than most, yet somehow still
impossibly full of stereotypes. At lunch, he offered to walk me to
the cafeteria, an offer I accepted gratefully.

When we entered, my eyes were immediately
drawn to a large group of people sitting at a table in the very
center of the room; something that was a result of planning. It was
obvious the group was used to being noticed. I recognized Jennifer
and Mark, and a few others from gym, as well as Alex, who seemed to
be telling a joke to the group. I looked at them, uncertain if my
new acquaintances would be so accommodating with sharing their
lunch table as they were with their questions and their thoughts,
also uncertain if I wanted the attention. In all my other schools,
I had ended up hiding in stairwells and out of the way nooks
reading books to avoid the swell of thoughts such people filled
places caused. I felt my bag, making sure I had my book just in
case. Davis led me to the lunch line without speaking, and I
surveyed the rest of the cafeteria, noting again the differences
between all my other schools.

It was small, yet brightly lit, with the food
and cash registers in the very far corner from the door I had
entered. The tables were round, with mismatched chairs squished in
wherever there was room. It had a more cozy feeling than my last
cafeteria. There, they’d had uncomfortable metallic swivel stools
bolted onto long tables, I guess so no one could steal the stools.
Here, stool stealing didn’t seem to be an issue.

Alex caught my eye and waved as Davis and I
threaded our way through the tables. Everyone else just stared. I
waved back wondering if she was trying to appear cool by waving at
the dangerous new girl, or if she was just that nice. She got up
from her crowded table and joined me as I got my food, her smile
dimpling her cheeks. She greeted Davis warmly, and he smiled back
shyly, instantly blushing. I piled food on a tray and paid.

“How’s your day been so far?” she asked
kindly.

“First day-ish,” I said, not wanting to lie,
but not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings, aware that many people
were listening in.

“I know what you mean,” she said
understandingly. “Do you want to join us?”

Alex gestured at the large group she had been
leading me towards. I looked at the tables, which had been shoved
together to accommodate so many, and the thoughts assaulted me
double time. I shifted uncomfortably, briefly enjoying the idea
that I was invited, but not wanting the storm. I needed some peace;
some time that was my own.

“Um.”

She glanced at me, and her eyebrows
furrowed in concentration.
She needs to be
alone. Too much attention. But she doesn’t want to look
rude.
She turned to Davis. “I’m going to show Clare
something. You can have my seat, okay?”

“Cool,” Davis said, bobbing his head once,
trying to hide his blush. He was centered in major crush town where
she was concerned. It didn’t take my talent to see that. If Alex
saw it, she hid it well.

Alex led the way back to the hallway, past
all the staring people, and to a squishy, padded bench down the
hall. I sat down and propped my tray of food on my knees.
“Thanks.”

“I remember my first day here. It was sort of
miserable.” I smiled in agreement and started in on my salad.
“You’re a vegetarian, aren’t you?” Alex asked. “I noticed you
totally bypassed the meat surprise.”

I looked up at her to make sure I had heard
her speak out loud. It was a problem I’d been encountering lately.
I had to be sure not to answer people’s thoughts by accident. She
was looking at me expectantly.