help
myself. Turning away as much as possible as he lectured,
I doodled in my notebook to keep my mind busy.
So caught up in the glow, or lack thereof, around
Mr. Kinsley and trying to escape it as soon as the bell
rang, I rushed from the room into the hallway, never
noticing the person walking in front of me until colliding
with him. We fell into a pile of tangled legs and arms.
Strong hands took hold of my upper arms and
helped me to my feet. I looked up into the eyes of Allister
Parks. He bent to retrieve my books strewn across the
floor before the other students could trample them and
handed them to me grinning, his blue eyes sparkling. I
gazed, dumbfounded at him, and he visibly fought back a
laugh.
“Hello,” he said first.
“Hi,” I said, a frog in my throat, then turned away,
blushed, and cleared my throat.
“Haven’t been visiting the hospital anymore I
hope?”
“No!” I shouted and then looked around as
everyone stared at my outburst.
He handed back my books. “Good. I think things
will settle down if we don’t do anything else to draw
attention.”
“Whose attention are you afraid of drawing?” I
took them quickly, waiting to be enlightened.
“We need to talk, but not here, not now,” Allister
said abruptly.
“That’s such a convenient answer when you don’t
want to tell me something.” I glared at him as we walked.
He looked up at the room number over the next
classroom and stopped. I walked another step and paused,
looking back at him.
“This is me.” He motioned with his head to the
classroom. “Talk to you later?”
“Yeah, later.” I sighed and rolled my eyes before
continuing down the hall to my next class.
The remainder of the morning flew by. Thankfully
I didn’t see any more people like Mr. Kingsley before
lunch, but Allister worried me more than any glow could.
I sat down next to Cassie after she waved me over
in the crowded lunchroom. Elisa and Trish weren’t there
yet so we waited, watching for their arrival.
“How’d it go?” Cassie asked, searching the crowd
for the girls.
“So far, so good,” I shrugged.
Twelve hundred students and four lunch periods
made it easy miss someone if you weren’t looking for
them. As we searched, Cassie gasped and I turned to
follow her gaze to the far side of the lunch room. When
my eyes saw her I froze, unable to blink or move. Seeing
her more clearly than this morning, my reaction was ten
times stronger.
She looked so perfect, I felt ugly. Her eyes were
ravishing, piercing blue. Her long golden hair flowed
around her shoulders down her back. She turned to me as
she walked past and I realized I’d stopped breathing. I
gasped, lungs spasming uncontrollably causing the air to
rush into my lungs noisily as she sat down at a nearby
table by herself.
A figure passed between us, breaking my focus,
and then sat down right next to her. My lips thinned and
sweat beaded on my forehead when our eyes met again. I
couldn’t put my finger on it; he gave me this foreign,
indescribable tingly feeling when I saw him.
He held my eyes with his and smiled, turning
back to the girl next to him. I glanced at her again. She
stared at me and then leaned close to him, saying
something. They both looked back to me, her look
disapproving, and his curious.
The lunchroom began to fill up and soon several
students sat down with Allister and his sister, started a
conversation with them. I wanted to go over and talk to
him again, except his sister looked at me with such anger.
I couldn’t build up the courage so I sat eating my chicken
sandwich in defeat.
I noticed something about the glow around them I
never noticed about Allister in our other encounters. They
didn’t have one. Not a shimmer, a glimmer, nothing. I
frowned, confused.
“OMG,” Elisa said sitting down next to me,
following my stare to the table across the room.
“The Parks,” Cassie confirmed. “Angelina and
Allister.”
“So, do you know them?” Trish asked
myself. Turning away as much as possible as he lectured,
I doodled in my notebook to keep my mind busy.
So caught up in the glow, or lack thereof, around
Mr. Kinsley and trying to escape it as soon as the bell
rang, I rushed from the room into the hallway, never
noticing the person walking in front of me until colliding
with him. We fell into a pile of tangled legs and arms.
Strong hands took hold of my upper arms and
helped me to my feet. I looked up into the eyes of Allister
Parks. He bent to retrieve my books strewn across the
floor before the other students could trample them and
handed them to me grinning, his blue eyes sparkling. I
gazed, dumbfounded at him, and he visibly fought back a
laugh.
“Hello,” he said first.
“Hi,” I said, a frog in my throat, then turned away,
blushed, and cleared my throat.
“Haven’t been visiting the hospital anymore I
hope?”
“No!” I shouted and then looked around as
everyone stared at my outburst.
He handed back my books. “Good. I think things
will settle down if we don’t do anything else to draw
attention.”
“Whose attention are you afraid of drawing?” I
took them quickly, waiting to be enlightened.
“We need to talk, but not here, not now,” Allister
said abruptly.
“That’s such a convenient answer when you don’t
want to tell me something.” I glared at him as we walked.
He looked up at the room number over the next
classroom and stopped. I walked another step and paused,
looking back at him.
“This is me.” He motioned with his head to the
classroom. “Talk to you later?”
“Yeah, later.” I sighed and rolled my eyes before
continuing down the hall to my next class.
The remainder of the morning flew by. Thankfully
I didn’t see any more people like Mr. Kingsley before
lunch, but Allister worried me more than any glow could.
I sat down next to Cassie after she waved me over
in the crowded lunchroom. Elisa and Trish weren’t there
yet so we waited, watching for their arrival.
“How’d it go?” Cassie asked, searching the crowd
for the girls.
“So far, so good,” I shrugged.
Twelve hundred students and four lunch periods
made it easy miss someone if you weren’t looking for
them. As we searched, Cassie gasped and I turned to
follow her gaze to the far side of the lunch room. When
my eyes saw her I froze, unable to blink or move. Seeing
her more clearly than this morning, my reaction was ten
times stronger.
She looked so perfect, I felt ugly. Her eyes were
ravishing, piercing blue. Her long golden hair flowed
around her shoulders down her back. She turned to me as
she walked past and I realized I’d stopped breathing. I
gasped, lungs spasming uncontrollably causing the air to
rush into my lungs noisily as she sat down at a nearby
table by herself.
A figure passed between us, breaking my focus,
and then sat down right next to her. My lips thinned and
sweat beaded on my forehead when our eyes met again. I
couldn’t put my finger on it; he gave me this foreign,
indescribable tingly feeling when I saw him.
He held my eyes with his and smiled, turning
back to the girl next to him. I glanced at her again. She
stared at me and then leaned close to him, saying
something. They both looked back to me, her look
disapproving, and his curious.
The lunchroom began to fill up and soon several
students sat down with Allister and his sister, started a
conversation with them. I wanted to go over and talk to
him again, except his sister looked at me with such anger.
I couldn’t build up the courage so I sat eating my chicken
sandwich in defeat.
I noticed something about the glow around them I
never noticed about Allister in our other encounters. They
didn’t have one. Not a shimmer, a glimmer, nothing. I
frowned, confused.
“OMG,” Elisa said sitting down next to me,
following my stare to the table across the room.
“The Parks,” Cassie confirmed. “Angelina and
Allister.”
“So, do you know them?” Trish asked
Similar Books
