The Otherkind Book One:Heart

~*~ 7 ~*~

~*~ 7 ~*~

Thankfully study hall passed uneventfully, my assignment kept me busy. But by the end of the day something had changed. My car getting wrecked was, as I had hoped, becoming old news in light of more interesting things. Bryce. I heard his name being talked about during study hall in hushed whispers and tried desperately to ignore it. I couldn't wait for his name to become old news either.

I hadn't seen Bryce since the lunchroom incident, until after school walking with Sarah to our cars. He was standing near the back of his car-mangling, black pickup. I had to concentrate hard on not tripping and looking like an even bigger idiot. He was just standing there looking up towards the sun. He never looked at me or at least, he never acknowledged my presence.

Other kids were walking by. I looked down at the ground willing him not to see me. I focused on watching shadows. Mine, others, Bryce's. I snapped my head up and looked from his feet to his face. He saw me and once again our eyes connected in that strange turbulent way. He suddenly turned away, stalking off the last few steps to his cab door, hopping up into his brute of a truck. I stood in the middle of the lane staring at his truck as it rumbled to life.

"What's the matter?" Sarah murmured digging around in her backpack for her car keys. Noticing I'd stopped, she turned to look back at me. "Rowan?" Then she saw what had captured my attention, keeping me riveted to where I stood. "Oh no you don't! You are not— no, not with him again!"

Hooking her arm through mine she tugged me forward but kept looking back over her shoulder, glaring at the black pickup truck. We both watched him leave the parking lot, she patted my arm. "Why did you just stand there like a silly ninny goose?"

"He had no shadow Sarah. None. And he, never mind. I know this sounds so weird."

"Try me anyway."

"He was glowing Sarah, around the edges of him, he glowed." I sighed knowing how ridicules it sounded. But it was true.

"What?" She looked at me as if I had said the most bizarre thing she had ever heard.

"Look at everyone else"

She did and then looked up at the sky. "You sure? Maybe he was too close to his truck or a baby cloud or—-"

"Where?" I pointed up, "There isn't a cloud in the sky.

"I don't know but stands to reason that if there is something between the light source and the ground that there would be a shadow. He was by his truck right?"

I nodded.

"So? He was standing too close to his truck that's all. His truck blocked his shadow, the glow you saw was simply the glare off his truck. Just a trick of your eyes. Science honey, simple science."

"He was near it yes, but not that close Sarah. I saw. He had no shadow."

This time Sarah stopped. "Rowan, there has to be a reason. People standing in the sun have shadows unless the sun is straight above them or they are standing in the shadow of something else. What? You saying he's not human?" She grinned. "Welcome aboard! So, what kind of alien do you think he is? Reptilian, which I don't believe are really aliens at all but are really programmable life forms. Or maybe he was—-"

Groaning I let go her arm and began walking fast toward my own.

She double-stepped to catch up with me taking my arm again. "Okay, you didn't like that. I got it." she sighed. "Well then that means he's human and has a shadow. Something was blocking it, and the glare was off his truck. It can't be both Rowan."