The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Twenty-Three - Spaghetti Bolognese

"So, Lucas," Dad swirled the pasta around his fork. "You're doing well in school if you're helping my daughter?"

"I owe all of my grades to time management," he said modestly.

"And what do you help her with, exactly?"

"He helps me with math. During my first day, I found out I had some catching up to do since the class was more advanced. He started tutoring me during lunch, but I needed more time, so he offered to give me lessons after class in exchange for help in biology."

I was, in fact, a step ahead of the students at Oakwood High in many topics, given that I previously steered my education at home my whole life, allowing me to learn faster. But he didn't need to know that.

Dad chewed on his bite, nodding. "Then tell me about yourself. I bet you like sports, just looking at you."

Luc reached for the salt. "Only to kill time with my friends."

Right, only to kill monsters. I examined the bottom of my water glass.

"Huh. You sure you don't play seriously?"

"I hike a lot. But in general, I do scary movie nights. That is, if I find one with a good plot line."

"Frustrating, isn't it? They just dumbly trip over their own feet and die."

His answer was met with a weak shrug. "Depends on the setting. It's very hard as a human being to run from a threat in a real forest. You often can't see where your foot lands or your step sinks if there's a rotten log. Then there are hills."

"It's just a movie," I added. I vividly remembered the struggle of running away from my first encounter with a Wanderer, how I sprained my ankle within the first ten minutes. "Some people managed to survive bear attacks. It can be done."

"Do you think you could manage that?" A note of dry humor slipped into Luc's voice.

The smugness was too subtle for Dad to pick up on. Instead of swallowing my water, it held in my cheeks, and I kicked a leg under the table. He leaned his head sideways with a smile that told me he'd love nothing more than to reciprocate.

My dad cleared his throat. "Do you intend to go to college after finishing high school?"

He recovered fast. I'll give him that. "Sure. I haven't decided where to yet but anything STEM's up my alley."

"You come around these woods a lot?" Dad dropped his chin in one palm, and the inquiry sounded polite, so polite that I almost missed the intent underneath. "I don't think people really go there. It became private land in the last decade. Riley actually trespassed one night, not knowing, but luckily there was no major trouble. At least not with the owner."

I spied across the table just in time to spot a shadow loom over Luc's expression. Dad smiled. His fingers drummed along his cheek. There was no telling if Luc would flip the table, given how this must come off.

I nudged his leg to divert his focus.

I shook my head, silently pleading. His eyes took on a sinister hue as he trained them back on him.

"That area is just conservation. I go around it and out of town." He schooled a shockingly innocent grin. "No trespassing."

"Conservation, huh...? What species they're protecting over there?"

Luc's forefinger tapped near his plate. He sat straight-spined, but I saw the restlessness begin to coil around him. He met Dad's probing gaze with a posture far beyond his years.

"Our beloved bald eagle. The eastern couguar off the top of my head. Some flying squirrel, too, as well as plants and insects. All I've personally seen are black bears, a bunch of foxes and snakes." The words just poured out. "Some friends of mine like to fish bass and catfish downriver. I'm sure there are tons of interesting species to monitor."