Gabriel and the Binders' Ring

Chapter 3

Jazmyne's Secret (Chapter 3)

Jackson's anger doesn't faze Gabriel at all. What stands out in his mind is the feeling he had minutes ago when the world disappeared and reappeared right in the middle of his fight. Gabriel keeps walking to his math class.

Finally, he arrives and not a second too soon. A short Indian teacher stands in front of the class, and Gabriel slowly walks up him to explains why he is late. "Sorry, you wouldn't believe I was in the wrong class the entire time."

The teacher nods, and Gabriel makes his way to the back of the class; he sits in a corner desk and pulls out his notebook. He pretends to take notes as he catches his breath and calms his nerves. Suddenly Gabriel's side feels warm and tingly, and the tingling sensation becomes a sweltering pain. Gabriel lets out a yelp and gropes for the mark on his side. He looks around the room and nearly passes out, but had to forcing himself to focus he notices the red haired girl from earlier that morning is looking straight at him and smiling.

Now that he is actually close to her, he sees that her face is flawless. Her tiny diamond earrings glitter from perfectly shaped ears that gently frame the rest of her face. Gabriel feels like he is in a daze; he can't take his eyes away from hers. Enjoying every moment of her beauty, Gabriel feels a nudge. A boy with really bad acne leans across the aisle.

"Dude, you elbowed Jackson in the face? You got guts man," the boy whispers. Gabriel's heart begins to race. How does this guy know? He gets his answer when he notices, the guy holding a phone showing Gabriel swiftly elbowing Jackson in the face.

Gabriel turns around slowly and keeps his eyes down. This is bad. Dad is not going to be too happy about this no matter what excuse I give him. Dad hates when I fight. He was furious when I came home beat up and my shirt was ripped from protecting Josh. Gabriel groans inwardly. Shifting his focus, he notices the design on his side is still hot. He begins to wonder why nothing seems to make sense.

Gabriel thinks through the morning events for the rest of class. The mark seems to get warm when he feels like he is in danger...like the fight with Jackson. So why is it hot now? There is no danger around him. He glances up from his notebook and occasionally sees the girl staring intently at him not blinking. Gabriel finds himself breaking eye contact out of nervousness, when he finds himself staring, he feels at the same time as if he is dreaming. The dazed feeling disappears the moment he turns his eyes from hers.

Finally, the bell rings and Gabriel pulls out his schedule to find his next class. To his relief, it is P.E. Getting up, he comes face to face with the girl with the red hair.

"Hi, I'm Jazmyne. Listen, I heard about what you did, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind waiting for me in the gym after your P.E. class." She is looking down at his schedule, "I really would like to show you something, Gabriel." She ends her statement with a perfect smile.

Feeling weird, like he was drifting through a really thick fog. Gabriel notices the floor is moving beneath him, and he struggles to respond. Finally, he stammers, "Yeah, I can."

Jazmyne claps with glee. "Good, I guess I'll see you later. Okay, Gabe?"

Gabriel's mouth feels as if it is stuffed with cotton. "Yeah," he mumbles as he watches her walk away. Slowly, the floor returns to him. That girl is just too beautiful. I feel like such an idiot around her. Gabriel collects his things and finds his way to gym class. The coach hands out hideous gym uniforms as Gabriel steps onto the ugly green tiled floor in the locker room. Gabriel followed the other boys and changes into the oversized yellow shirt and green shorts.