France?” Adelaide asked propping her chin on her hand.
“No… ummm…
they met in the U.S. Most of my family was here by then.” Ellie shifted
uncomfortably in her seat. She hated getting creative with the truth. She was
brilliant at it, but hated it, regardless.
“Hi, guys,” a
deep voice conveniently interrupted the conversation. His voice. Her
heart raced and her breath tightened in her chest.
Alex was
standing directly behind her. Ellie took a quick second to compose herself
before she turned around to stare directly into his silver-blue eyes.
“Hey,” he said
softly, talking to her alone, giving her long hair a gentle tug.
“Hi, Alex.”
Ellie was proud of how she managed to pull off a casually confident sounding reply.
“What’re you doing here?”
“Working on
some research for Dad.” He grabbed a chair from the table and straddled it
beside her.
“Don’t look
now,” Lila leaned over to Ellie to whisper. “But Brian Reynolds is staring at
you.”
Ellie kept her
expression carefully neutral. She’d heard a lot about Brian today listening in
on thoughts of various girls at school. But she hadn’t bothered to listen to
Brian’s thoughts, and so hadn’t been aware that he was even at the library.
“I’m sure he’s
not looking at me,” she whispered back. She glanced over at Alex, surprised to
see a rather peculiar frown on his face.
“He’s really
staring at you, Ellie,” Adelaide chimed in with a conspiratorial grin.
Ellie turned
around, and immediately saw Brian across the library. He gave her that head dip
guys tend to use when she caught his eye and waved her over.
“Umm… maybe he
wants help with his homework,” she muttered. “I’d better go see.”
“Hey, Ellie.”
Brian gave her a confident grin as she approached him.
“Hi.”
“I didn’t get
a chance to talk to you today,” he said. “You seemed kinda distracted during economics.”
“Ummm… I was
just bored. Letting my mind wander.” Ellie gave a nonchalant shrug.
“Oh. Anyway…
how’d you like to go to a movie Friday night?”
“Oh!” She’d
joined in on several activities organized by the crew Brian hung out with in
the past few months. She always had fun, which had been a pleasant surprise
after so many years of keeping to herself. “Sure! Are Lila, Adelaide, and Nate
going?”
Brian looked
puzzled, and Ellie was confused…She’d obviously missed something. With an
inward sigh of resignation, she tapped into Griffin’s power again.
“… Guess
she didn’t figure out that I was asking her on a date ,” Brian was thinking.
Ellie bit back
her amusement. I should’ve known, she thought. But high school boys
often didn’t like to be direct when they were interested. They sort of fished
around, or hinted, or assumed that you knew they were asking you on a date. Her
first few times in high school she’d even confused an offer as a date when it
wasn’t. It was never very clear either way. She didn’t know how normal girls
managed it without mind reading abilities to help them out. Boys got better at
asking girls on a date properly in college she’d found.
Pretending she
hadn’t heard Brian’s thoughts, she continued, “Do you mind if I ask them along
too?” She gave him an innocent, oblivious look.
Truthfully,
she was flattered. Brian was a great guy. But there was a very good reason that
she couldn’t date him. Although she was a student at the moment, she had been in
high school several times. But being over two-hundred years old made dating a
real teenager… creepy. There was something just not right about it. Knowing the
track Brian was on, Ellie already had a plausible excuse prepared for when he
did get around to asking her out properly.
Chapter 13
Alex tried to
appear like he wasn’t watching Ellie. He tried not to notice that the boy she
was talking to looked like the athletic, popular type that all the girls go for.
He tried really hard not to think
“No… ummm…
they met in the U.S. Most of my family was here by then.” Ellie shifted
uncomfortably in her seat. She hated getting creative with the truth. She was
brilliant at it, but hated it, regardless.
“Hi, guys,” a
deep voice conveniently interrupted the conversation. His voice. Her
heart raced and her breath tightened in her chest.
Alex was
standing directly behind her. Ellie took a quick second to compose herself
before she turned around to stare directly into his silver-blue eyes.
“Hey,” he said
softly, talking to her alone, giving her long hair a gentle tug.
“Hi, Alex.”
Ellie was proud of how she managed to pull off a casually confident sounding reply.
“What’re you doing here?”
“Working on
some research for Dad.” He grabbed a chair from the table and straddled it
beside her.
“Don’t look
now,” Lila leaned over to Ellie to whisper. “But Brian Reynolds is staring at
you.”
Ellie kept her
expression carefully neutral. She’d heard a lot about Brian today listening in
on thoughts of various girls at school. But she hadn’t bothered to listen to
Brian’s thoughts, and so hadn’t been aware that he was even at the library.
“I’m sure he’s
not looking at me,” she whispered back. She glanced over at Alex, surprised to
see a rather peculiar frown on his face.
“He’s really
staring at you, Ellie,” Adelaide chimed in with a conspiratorial grin.
Ellie turned
around, and immediately saw Brian across the library. He gave her that head dip
guys tend to use when she caught his eye and waved her over.
“Umm… maybe he
wants help with his homework,” she muttered. “I’d better go see.”
“Hey, Ellie.”
Brian gave her a confident grin as she approached him.
“Hi.”
“I didn’t get
a chance to talk to you today,” he said. “You seemed kinda distracted during economics.”
“Ummm… I was
just bored. Letting my mind wander.” Ellie gave a nonchalant shrug.
“Oh. Anyway…
how’d you like to go to a movie Friday night?”
“Oh!” She’d
joined in on several activities organized by the crew Brian hung out with in
the past few months. She always had fun, which had been a pleasant surprise
after so many years of keeping to herself. “Sure! Are Lila, Adelaide, and Nate
going?”
Brian looked
puzzled, and Ellie was confused…She’d obviously missed something. With an
inward sigh of resignation, she tapped into Griffin’s power again.
“… Guess
she didn’t figure out that I was asking her on a date ,” Brian was thinking.
Ellie bit back
her amusement. I should’ve known, she thought. But high school boys
often didn’t like to be direct when they were interested. They sort of fished
around, or hinted, or assumed that you knew they were asking you on a date. Her
first few times in high school she’d even confused an offer as a date when it
wasn’t. It was never very clear either way. She didn’t know how normal girls
managed it without mind reading abilities to help them out. Boys got better at
asking girls on a date properly in college she’d found.
Pretending she
hadn’t heard Brian’s thoughts, she continued, “Do you mind if I ask them along
too?” She gave him an innocent, oblivious look.
Truthfully,
she was flattered. Brian was a great guy. But there was a very good reason that
she couldn’t date him. Although she was a student at the moment, she had been in
high school several times. But being over two-hundred years old made dating a
real teenager… creepy. There was something just not right about it. Knowing the
track Brian was on, Ellie already had a plausible excuse prepared for when he
did get around to asking her out properly.
Chapter 13
Alex tried to
appear like he wasn’t watching Ellie. He tried not to notice that the boy she
was talking to looked like the athletic, popular type that all the girls go for.
He tried really hard not to think
Similar Books
