Endgame (Book 3)

Chapter 3

Cassie and I stared at the sign as we entered the front doors. Skyview was different here. I had to keep reminding myself that.

"It's so weird to be here again," Cassie breathed as the doors closed behind us. "I like I have to separate the two lives I've lived."

I knew this school like the back of my hand, but only because I attended it in my dream. Maybe my subconscious broke through in some places in spite of my amnesia; that would clarify on how some people I knew there actually recognized me, like Sierra, and I still knew where places were in the real world. Although, I had a feeling some of the things I knew, I found out while I was inside. Cassie and I were connected in the same dream, which would explain a lot.

"Sorry, I don't have that problem," I said enviously.

"Oh, I forgot for a second." She sounded apologetic, but it didn't make the statement make me feel any better.

I didn't reply.

"Anyway," I said, pulling out my schedule. Cassie pulled out hers, and we compared them to see which periods we had together. "Looks like we have first, fifth, and sixth."

"Only three?" she asked.

"This isn't the Skyview we know," I said with a smile. The principal tried to torture me by pairing me up with her in every class last time. If only he knew.

I noticed how empty the halls were, then. The school wasn't completely deserted; the teachers were all here as far as I could tell, and there were enough students to say that class was in session, but as we walked through the hallways, we knew a significant amount of the population hadn't even bothered to show.

Somewhere along the way, Cassie had strung her fingers through mine. My face turned beet red, and she laughed.

We entered first period and took adjacent seats in the front row of the class closest to the door. We had a lot of desks to choose from. Only seven other students bothered to show up to class.

I wonder who I'll have to save today, I thought.

Cassie gave me a sideways look, and I winced, remembering that she could always read my mind. It wasn't really an invasion of privacy, but I thought it was at first, and asked her to tune out my thoughts if she could. But when she told me her powers didn't work that way, I laid off, and told her it was alright as long as she didn't comment on anything I was thinking.

After that, a few stragglers entered the room followed by the teacher. She wore thin metal-frame glasses perched on her crooked nose, a dress covered in flowers, and gray hair that flowed down her back and reached her waist. She reminded me more of a hippie than a witch, but I guess teachers could look like a mix of the two.

Cassie turned her head away from the teacher to me, and mouthed the word "wow" with a slight roll of her eyes. I raised my eyebrows in response.

Two fingers tapped my desk, causing me to look up.

Sierra stood in front of my desk, smiling.

"Hey," I said.

"Nice to see you again. That car wasn't too much trouble, was it?" She brushed her hair aside with one hand and held her books with the other.

"I think I handled it," I said with a mischievous grin.

"Cool." She made her way to the back of the class where she slowly sat down in her seat, pulling out a stick of red lipstick and a mirror.

"Stop staring at her. What was she talking about?" Cassie hissed beside me. She sounded alarmed.

"What? Nothing..." I said.

"No talking," the teacher warned. "I would appreciate it if we got off on a good start on the first day of school, especially with all that's been going on."

Her eyes bored into mine, and I looked away.

Yes, the kid who could shoot lightning from his fingertips lost a staring contest with a high school teacher. Boo-hoo.

She rattled off the roll call with her old, gravelly voice, getting no response to at least half of the names on the list. She sighed after each one- a long, noisy, phlegm-filled sigh that sent shudders through my body.

Cassie visibly relaxed beside me. Whatever answer she wanted, she had found it in my head.

"I thought she was talkling about something else," she said, noticing my glance.

"No, I would never do that with her. Only you," I whispered.

The teacher shushed me.

"Aw," Cassie mouthed, making her puppy dog face.

I smiled.

"Well, isn't that nice," a familiar voice echoed in my head.