Fate Reloaded

Fate Reloaded--Part I, Chapter Five

Chapter Five

            Jordana weaved in and out of students as she walked quickly through the hallways and out one of the side doors. Keeping her head down, she headed across the walkway and onto the grass of the school green. Locating a tree off to her right, she hurried over to it and plopped down under its shade.

            Jordana searched through her bag and found the apple she’d placed in there that morning. She leaned her head back against the tree and took a bite of the apple. Closing her eyes, she tried to let her mind go blank and focus on the steady chewing of the fruit.

            Within seconds, her mind was racing again. Much to her horror, most of Jordana’s morning had been spent inventing different scenarios involving Billy and Sara. Each daydream ended the same way: the two of them all over each other, their tongues down each other’s throats.

            Stupid mind, don’t you ever just turn off? Jordana thought as she took another bite of her apple.

            She began to bang her head against the tree, hoping that maybe it would knock the thoughts out of her mind—or maybe even knock her out for a bit. She was in serious need of some quiet time.

            “Hey, what’d that tree ever do to you?” a guys’ voice said to her.

            Jordana opened her eyes and was surprised to see the guy she’d recognized after the robbery. She stared at him, not sure how to respond.

            “Uh, that was supposed to be a joke,” he said, cracking a smile as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair.

            “No, I got it,” Jordana said finally, smiling briefly and then taking another bite of her apple.

            “I’m Kip,” the guy said, bending over to shake her hand.

            Jordana held up her hands and said, “Sorry. Got apple juice all over me. But hi, I’m…”

            “Jordana. Yeah, I know,” he answered before she could finish.

            “Oh. OK,” Jordana said. She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she just sat there chewing silently.

            “So, I’m gonna sit down, if that’s OK with you,” Kip said, letting his bag drop to the ground near his feet. “This is really the only shaded spot left around here.”

            Jordana looked around them and found this to be true. Students were lounging all around, gossiping loudly about various topics.

            “Pop a squat,” Jordana said finally, not wanting to seem rude.

            Kip reached into his own bag and pulled out a sandwich. He unwrapped it and then took a big bite as he looked around him.

            Jordana took a moment to steal a look at her new lunch buddy. He was dressed in jeans and a goofy, Sesame Street T-shirt, featuring a very happy Elmo riding on a skateboard. On his feet were an old-school pair of Converse hi-tops that were striped red and white. His hair was a medium brown color and curled up at the ends, like a surfer’s—although she doubted that he surfed at all. He was a little on the skinny side and probably would have been classified as a “dork” by Sara.

            Kip turned back to face her again and caught her studying him. Jordana quickly looked back down at her apple, embarrassed that he’d seen her staring.