Chapter Three
“I don’t know; maybe I should just wait to give this to you until after school, make you sweat it.” He says as he lifts the envelope out of my reach.
“Hey!” I reply with a pout. “It’s my birthday. Shouldn’t I get to open presents?”
His eyes sparkle with mischief as his full pink lips curl up into a mischievous smirk; if I didn’t see him as a brother, I’d totally swoon over his boyish charm. “I guess; but mind you, this is the only thing I was able to get.”
“I’m sure it’s great; you always come up with the best kind of gifts,” I say, smiling.
He hands me the envelope, which I take as I playfully glare up at him. “Thank You!” I exclaim as I tear open the envelope to find a pair of concert tickets to my favorite band of all time. “You got backstage passes to Shinedown?!” I squeal, making Freyja and Cherie look over at me in complete confusion, stopping them mid-conversation. I jump into Nik's arms and hug him.
“If I had known this was the way to your heart, I would have done it sooner. But uh, do you think you could lighten up your hulk-like grip just a smidge?” he asks breathlessly, chuckling as he lowers me back to the ground with his arms still around my waist.
I smile, pulling away from him “sorry, I guess I don’t know my strength sometimes.”
Freyja and Cherie walk over to us. “What on earth did you do to be able to make her squeal like that? I think we should know so that we can hopefully make it happen more often.” Cherie says smiling.
I bounce on the balls of my feet excitedly. “Oh, nothing, except for getting me backstage passes to my all-time favorite band.”
Freyja giggles. “So, you were able to get the tickets after all?”
“Wait, you knew about his plans?” I ask, eyeing her suspiciously, knowing how she thought I should give Nik a chance.
She smiles and does her ‘maybe’ dance, which consists of shuffling from one foot to the other. I can’t help but roll my eyes at her as I shake my head smiling.
“I thought you didn’t have class until second-period; what are you doing here so early?” Nik asks as we walk towards the school. The warning bell rings as we reach the doors, letting us know that class is about to start.
“I don’t, but my car isn’t in working order currently, plus I need to head to the library to finish up a project for our second period class,” I say as we walk through the front doors of the school. We all head our separate ways, them to their first-period classes and me to the library.
As I’m walking towards the library, the feeling of being followed creeps up my spine, making the baby hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Thinking it’s Freyja, Cherie, or Nik about to play a prank on me, I turn around, only to find that there is no one there. I shake my head, trying to understand what is going on with me. I walk down the quiet and deserted library, heading straight towards the computer lab at the back wall.
As I get to the computer lab, I notice that there is a new guy is sitting at one of the computers just hanging out. He is handsome, and he doesn’t give off any of the creepy vibes that came from the guy standing near the bleachers. He has a scar above his left eyebrow as if he had once had a piercing there, his sparkling green eyes have a mischievous playfulness to them, and his muscular build shows through his black Metallica band tee. If having a boyfriend was on the top of my to-do list, this guy would seriously be at the top.
I sit at a computer two seats down and start to log on.
“Damn, she’s gorgeous!” I hear someone say with a sexy gruffness, I look around discreetly, trying to see if I can figure out who was talking, but there’s no one other than the new guy and me. I don’t know what is going on exactly, but a strange sense of familiarity washes over me as a memory starts to play in my head.
I am sitting in Berik’s ‘97 Dodge Dakota heading to the zoo for my tenth birthday party; my parents had asked her to take me for the day, we got to do whatever I had wanted to do, the only stipulation was that she had to keep me away from the house at all costs for the entire day. Knowing that I wasn’t supposed to be eavesdropping, I didn’t say anything to Berik. I honestly thought they were planning a huge birthday party for me and didn’t want me to be underfoot, But the reality was so much worse than I could’ve ever imagined. I excitedly went with Berik and her daughter Freyja.
After the zoo, we went to a theme park; it was more fun than I had initially thought it would be, especially since my parents didn’t come along. We then went to a Broadway showing of Beauty and The Beast, which happened to be one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, and had a fantastic dinner that went with it. I felt a little tired when Berik told me that it was time to head home. I was content; I had gotten everything that I had ever wanted, the only exception being that my parents weren’t there.
On our way home, a woman who seemed upset started talking, ‘when we get back, nothing will be wrong, everything will go the way they promised.’ The voice sounded as if they were terrified of something; I looked at the radio, thinking it was a talk show or something, but the radio was turned off, Freyja was soundly asleep on the back seat, and Berik had her eyes focused on the road ahead of us.
END OF FLASHBACK
I find myself staring at the computer screen before me as the new guy tries to talk to me.
“Hey, you alright?” He asks with concern.
I shake the past away from my thoughts “yeah, sorry; it’s been kind of a weird morning.” I reply with a chuckle.
“Oh?” He replies curiously.
I just nod and finish logging into the computer “you’re new?” I state questioningly, still focusing on the computer screen in front of me looking for the folder I need.
“Yeah, my dad and I just moved into town over the weekend.” He replies.
“How are you liking the town so far?” I ask, clicking on my project folder to open it.
“It’s not so bad, I’m more used to the big city life, but it seems that this little town may have some surprises, just like the big cities.” He says as his eyes are burning a hole into the side of my head.
“I’m sure there are,” I reply as I pull up my English project that is due in my next class, knowing that he’s flirting with me, I smile to myself but keep my composure while I am still around him, but inside I’m mentally doing a happy dance. I focus on my assignment as we make a little more chit-chat.
The librarian, Thelma, comes in just as I print off my paper. “Oh, Falencia!” she exclaims in her thick Cajun accent.
“Hey, Thelma!” I reply with a happy smile, “How are you today?” I ask as I get out of my chair to grab my paper from the printer.
“The same ‘ole same, just can’t wait for summer break to grace us finally,” she replies with a big smile on her face.
I smile back at her “going home for the summer?” I ask, hoping to be asked to go along at least once more.
“I sure am! Are you finally ready to stop playing it safe and go on the ride of your life?” She asks as if reading my mind.
“Since I always turn you down, I figured I’d oblige just this once,” I reply with a smile.
“Oh, that is music to my ears, Mon Cheri!” She exclaims, “let me deal with this new student, and we will talk about our upcoming trip after school.”
As Thelma and the new guy go over his class schedule; she goes to grab his books for him, she looks at me. “Would you mind showing this young man around to his classes today? He seems to have almost every single class in common with you,” she asks, giving me an odd look that I can’t decipher.
I give her a curious look, cocking my head to the side “no problem.” I reply, taking his class schedule from her noticing that every class lines up perfectly with mine; I shrug off the creepy feeling starting to creep up my spine again.
First Hour - Free
Second Hour - English
Third Hour - History
Lunch
Fourth Hour - Speech
Fifth Hour - Free
I nod at her, smiling, and give my attention to the guy. “So, you know where the library is. Have you already been to your locker, or do you even need one?” I ask.
“I don’t have a locker. Do you think I’ll need one?” He asks.
I shake my head. “Lockers aren’t necessary for seniors, and I, for one, don't see the necessity of having one. We can go ahead and head to our English class.” I say as we head out of the library.
He nods, looking around as the bell rings, signaling the end of the first hour. “Sounds like a plan.” He says as he falls into step with me.
“You aren’t much of a talker, are you?” I ask.
“I can be, when there is a good discussion.” he says, then adds, “I noticed that you seem tight with the librarian; mind if I ask what the story behind that is?”
“She’s best friends with my mom,” I reply. “Don’t let Thelma fool you with her sweet southern hospitality; she is quite the spitfire, especially when her family is involved, which consists of my sister and me.” I smile to myself as we stop just outside of our English class; as I am about to head in, I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist in a hug; I could swear I hear a low growl before Nik speaks.
“Hey, Falencia!” Nik exclaims as he eyes the new guy.
“Hey, Nik,” I reply, leaning into him, embracing his hug. “This is…” I trail off, realizing that I don’t know the dude’s name, as I step out of the hug.
The guy smiles and extends his hand towards Nik. “Addam Danvers, I just started today.”
Nik gives him a look that I can’t read, which disappears as soon as it appears. “Welcome to Summit High.” He says, taking Addam’s outstretched hand and shaking it with what seems like more force than necessary.
The boys stand there in the hallway staring each other down; I get tired of the alpha male showdown and walk into the classroom heading towards the back where Nik and I usually sit and start getting ready for the presentation of our projects, silently praying that Nik didn’t forget to do his portion of the homework.