Epitome

Chapter Eight

Gemma drags me into the library when we finish talking to the freshman boy. Something is clearly bothering her, and I'm almost afraid.

  "You see, I have an opinion and that's all it is and hey even opinions can be right sometimes." She blurts out, and I can tell that she is desperate. She must be worried that I know of her undercover government work... "I believe that I was reincarnated. That my soul is here on earth in search of someone. Or something and when we first met I had these Wierd and strange feelings, and I don't know how to explain them and you can think I'm crazy, but it's how I feel." She frowns and studies my face. What is she talking about? Was she reincarnated, also? She's right, though. When we first met I had the same feelings as her. She is so familiar...

"I was just wondering if you felt anything?" She asks. "Does the name Gabe ring a bell? At all?"

 Gabe. Gabrielle. Suddenly, I remember Gina's entire childhood. Up until her eighteenth birthday, Gabe had been a huge part of her life. She was practically Gina's soulmate best friend.

 But I can't talk to her, not right now. I can't form my thoughts into sentences. I tell her I have to eat lunch with someone and walk out of the library.

  How is it possible that Gemma is Gabe? How did we find each other again? Are we the only people who remember our past lives? None of it is making sense. When I reach my locker I find Aden leaning against it, just like those cool kids in the movies. He smiles at me. "Ready?" He asks.

  He escorts me out to his car, and he even opens the door for me. I'm not used to this kind of treatment...he doesn't tell me where we're going, but instead says "it's a surprise." He takes me to a place called "Muggsy's". It's a shabby little diner that's practically invisible compared to the other, fancier restaurants a in town. When he parks his car, he turns to me and smiles. He seems to always be smiling. "Are you ready to eat the best lunch ever?" He asks, and I smile. Thank god for real food. Freaking vegans...

  When we enter I am hit by the strong smell of in-scents. There is a small coffee bar in the corner, and after Aden sits me down at a table by the window he runs over to it. Apparently I don't get to choose my food.

   I'm staring out the window when he returns. He startles me by saying "I hope you don't mind, but I ordered you a little piece of heaven." I start a little, but I try my best to play it off. I smile at him and take my plate. It's giant burger surround by fries, and I almost drool. Is it possible to be attracted to food? Like, in a I Want To Be This Foods Best Friend sort of way? Because that's how I feel right now.

  We chat a little bit while we eat, and it's really nice. He doesn't push me to say more than I want, and his manners are pristine. He always smiles at everybody who passes our table, and of course, they can't help but smile back. By the time we exit the restaurant I am full and happy as hell. I could get used to this.

  On our way back to school we continue chatting, but when we are almost to the school Aden gets very silent. He's sitting there scowling, and I can't help but think it's because of me. It must be something is done. "Are you okay?" I ask him when we park.

  He shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts. "Oh. Yeah. Hah. Look, I've got to go." He looks into my eyes, and I blush. He smiles. "I had a really good time, Laney. We should do this again." I agree and hop out of his car, and I barely have time to close my door before he is peeling his way out of the parking lot.

  I make it through my last classes with out too many battle wounds (meaning social blunders). Edward picks me up because I still refuse to drive the vehicle mom gave me. For some reason I feel like driving it would be equivalent to murder. I imagine it as being shiny and beautiful and... Not me. I feel like it's not fair that my parent gives me a million dollar car, while some kids can't even afford a hand-me-down. But I know I have to drive it today. I have to go see my dad, and if Edward tells my mom where I'm going she'll have a heart attack.

  I take ten bucks from the twenty mom left for me and Civil. I'll use it for gas later. I grab the keys and when I enter the garage my suspicions are confirmed. My car is a black Pontiac.

  I drive to my dad's trailer and park behind his old red ford truck. When I enter I see my dad in his usual spot by the tv. He doesn't look suicidal to me. "Hey," I say. "I'm just here for a quick visit. How are you holding up?"

  He smiled at me. "Hey!" He says. Is he sober? He looks sober. No, that's not possible. He hasn't been sober since mom left...not fully. Yeah, but maybe me leaving is just what he needed to get his crap together. Maybe. "I'm doing good, Delaney!"

  I sit down next to him and we chat for a while. He asks me about my new school, and he talks about how he was going to go back to school himself. "Yeah, I really want to go and get an education...maybe I can be an electrician!" He tells me, and I'm really proud. But then his lips turn down into a frown. "But I have a bit of a problem."

  "What is it?" I ask him, even though I already know what he is going to say. He's going to talk about money.

  "I just...I was thinking since you live with mom now... And she's got all that money... Maybe you could lend me some? Just until I get on my feet." He stared at me, and I knew there was no way I could say no. He was my dad, and he needed me. But the Gina side of me was full of resentment, and I couldn't quite shake it. He's using me. I can't trust him. But I can't say no... I won't.

  I hand him the ten bucks from my pocket. I'll find another way home. I guess I'll have to get a job, now. At Starbucks...maybe. "Oh. Dad? Can we make a deal? A trade"

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   When I get home I park my new ford truck in the garage. I call a couple places that I find in the paper to see if there still hiring. El Taco, Mcdonald's, and Muggsy's are all hiring. Well, of course I'm going to Muggsy's . There isn't a doubt in my mind. I fill out an application online. For work experience, I say I watched my neighbor's dog. Does that count? He paid me...I don't know.

  When I enter school I can feel my backpack riding my cardigan up my back, but I'm too distracted to care. I need to find Gemma.

   I see her hiding behind a group of students in the middle of the hallway. Real subtle, Gemma. I walk up to her. "Hey. I don't think you're crazy." I say. And then I walk away. I just needed to tell her that, because I can tell that she is nervous. I just want to calm her nerves. But I'm still not comfortable talking to her until I get my thoughts together. And they are definitely not in order.

   Last night I looked up reincarnation, and it found this strange sight on sacrifice. Apparently, if you're reincarnated it's because the god(s) still need you. They think you're an important role in evolution or whatever, so they bring you back to life. When people who have been reincarnated are found, some people actually sacrifice them, thinking that's what the gods want. They actually hunt down reincarnations and SLAUGHTER them. Ew.

   I'm extra paranoid today because of that. Stupid internet...

   Okay. Time to get my thoughts together. I have been reincarnated. For what purpose, I'm not sure. But I knew Gemma in my past life as a girl named Gabe. We must have died in some weird, unsubtle way...like being thrown into a wood chipper. So does that mean that god(s) exist? I'm not sure. And how do I even know I can trust Gemma? I don't. For all I know she could have been the one to kill Gina. But I have a feeling she didn't...what am I doing. I should go talk to her.

   She is missing from first and second block. But I find her during lunch, in the cafeteria.

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