Glowing Sky: Book One

Chapter Five - Lucas

I threw my locker closed and glanced down at my watch. I had time to stop by the book store on my way home if I cut across the school pool. Ever since my conversation with Adelaide earlier that week, I felt inspired to pick up a copy of Of Mice and Men. I had never owned my own copy and suddenly wanted to reread it.

I had just hopped the fence into the pool area when I suddenly heard a large power surge shake the earth. I was thrown off my feet and landed in the pool with a splash. I was yanked under the cold water and was lost in a swirl of bleach blue. I couldn't tell which way was up. 

After a moment of confused flailing, I found which way was up and shot my head out of the water. I took in a lungful of air and splashed around, disoriented. I saw another body in the pool, unmoving. Swiming over, I pulled the figure to the edge of the pull and over the side. Turning it over, and saw the figures face.

My heart raced. "Adelaide?" She didn't look like she was breathing. I looked around, alarmed. Had anyone else felt that? The pool area was deserted and Adelaide wasn't breathing. I leaned down and leaned her head back to open her airway. I was suddenly very thankful for the last few summers I spent being a lifeguard. I leaned down to give her mouth to mouth. 

I breathed into her lungs and felt a shock of electricity shoot down my throat and through my body. I pulled back, surprised as the hair on my head stood up, my fingers glowing for a moment. I gasped, majorly freaked out. My heart raced in panic as I stared down at my hands. After a moment, my hair matted back down and the glowing stopped. 

Adelaide shot to a sitting position and choked up water, a wild look of panic on her face.

What happened to me?  I looked at Adelaide as she took in a lungful of air. I don't want to scare her with this sudden new ability that has struck. I will have to figure it out later. 

Rubbing her eyes she looked around the pool, confused. "Are you alright?" I asked running my fingers through my wet hair. "There was a weird explosion or something and I think we both got knocked into the pool."

"You pulled me out?" I nodded. "Did you see what caused it?" she asked, catching her breath. I shook my head. "Thanks for pulling me out." She rubbed her hands together, shivering. I stood up and jogged to the boy's locker room and brought back two clean towels. I wrapped one around Adelaide.

"You okay?" I asked again, sitting down next to her while wrapping a towel around my shoulders.

She nodded. "What were you doing in the pool area?"

"I was cutting through to get off the school grounds faster, you?"

She sighed, "I was looking for a place to get some alone time. I heard the swim team was off at a championship game somewhere."

"Overwhelming first week?"

She gave an empty laugh. "Oh yeah."

"You've had quite the welcome to our school." I rubbed the towel over my face.

"Let's hope next week is less exciting."

We both started laughing. She seemed more relaxed now. Far less jumpy than earlier that week. Like a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. I shook my head in disbelief. She must think Seattle is nuts. "That was so crazy! Weirdest earthquake ever!"

I took her hand and helped her to her feet. 

She shrugged. "California has them all the time."

I looked down at her hands. She was no longer wearing gloves and had beautiful slender fingers, her hands small in mine. 

She took her hands out of mine and put them behind her back selfconsciously.

"Hey, no gloves?" I pointed out with a grin.

"Not at the moment. I think they fell off in the pool." She had a sudden spike in nervous energy as she looked around. 

I noticed them floating nearby. Reaching down, I plucked them out of the pool and handed them to Adelaide. She quickly put them on with unsteady hands.

"Thanks," she said, her voice full of relief, her energy calming.

"Why the gloves?" I asked, my curiosity pulling for answers.

"Why the purple hair?" She countered crossing her arms, her rich brown eyes guarded. She closed off, a wall protecting something inside she didn't want me to see.

"I felt like dying my hair purple," I responded gently.

She took a step back. "Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do a thing his cleverness forbids," she replied reciting another line from East of Eden.

I laughed. "Wow. You really don't like my hair, do you?" I tilted my head to the side, more amused by her irritation than anything. "And you are one to talk. You wear leather gloves when it isn't cold outside." I countered.

She shrugged. "I'm always cold. Besides, I like them."

"They say only villains wear gloves," I replied mischievously.

That threw her off guard and she laughed, tilting her head back, causing a glint of gold in her strawberry blond hair. "That's not true. If that were true Mikey Mouse is the worst villain ever." She smiled.

"Fair point." We looked at each other for a long moment. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something had changed. She was different from the girl she had been earlier. More relaxed. Free. It was strange that a near-death experience had calmed her. I didn't understand it, but I wanted to find out what had caused it. 

"Hey you hungry? I was going to go to a book store and it has a coffee shop attached. We could get something warm to drink. Want to come?"

She smiled at me, all fear and flight instinct gone. "Sure."