Out of the Dark

Chapter Five

Throughout the entirety of my first st back in class, all I could think of was my conversation with Rose the day before. She was right. I had to tell Cat before I exploded. It was impossible not to notice how much time Justin nd I were spending together.
I was a little surprised that nobody had called us out on it, until Rose explained what she'd been doing for me.
I was relieved to find that my friends all shared the same lunch period as me. When we all took our seats, I was sure not to sit beside Justin. Even if I was going to tell Cat, I couldn't tell her with everyone else present.
Rose shot me a questioning look, but didn't say anything to me about it.
Our friends seemed much more occupied with out new classes and teachers anyway.
"Anybody else get homework on the first day?" Zack groaned.
The table groaned collectively in response- the clearest version of 'yes' that we could all muster. Brandon was already flipping through a guided notes packet.
"Hydrokenesis Two is impossible!" He complained. "How am I supposed to know which primary emotion best channels water?"
"Brandon, we went over that last year. It was the first thing we learned in Hydrokenesis One." I pointed out.
Cat tried to stifle her laughter.
"And you thought he was paying attention?" I could tell that she hadn't meant to sound so condescending. I nudged her shoulder sternly.
"Oh shut up, he was the only one of us who was even passing last year." I reminded her. Rose was quick to interject.
"Not true- Danny is doing exceptionally well in all of his classes."
Daniel offered her a sweet smile that made me miss being in a relationship. I glanced over at Brandon and tried to remember everything I had liked about him before Miss Summers had gotten to him.
He was an attractive guy, there was no denying that; and he was funny and polite. No matter how many positive traits I counted, I just couldn't bring myself to forgive him for trying to kill Justin and I. Worse than that; he wanted to use me to hurt thousands of other people.
His bright blue eyes met mine and my heart pounded wildly in my chest. I dropped my eyes to my hands in my lap.
"Sorry guys... I just..." he began.
"Can't remember." The table finished his sentence. I glanced back at Brandon, who's face was glowing red with embarrassment. I took the mechanical pencil from his hand and filled in the blank on his notes packet.
"The answer is happiness. The happier the thoughts, the stronger the magic." I explained to him.
I offered him a kind smile when I gave his pencil back. He smiled weakly in response.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
The table fell silent, and a few of my friends shot me questioning glances. It was a long time before anybody spoke again. It was Zack who finally broke the silence.
"Yeah well who's going to help me pass my stupid elemental classes?" He groaned.
"Your brain." Daniel said flatly.
Rose and Cat chuckled together for a brief moment, and laughed even harder when Zack glared at them.
"Be nice! Zack is really smart, he's just a slacker." Danny came to the rescue once again.
"Well I guess we'll never know unless he decides to flex that big ole' brain for us and starts getting better grades." Cat laughed.
Zack's eyes shot up to Cat's, but he didn't seem upset with her. Instead, he smirked and rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh I'll flex it for you." He chuckled with a wink.
Brandon scooted closer to me, but not enough for everyone to notice. My face felt hot and my palms began to sweat. I pushed my lunch away from myself and cleared my throat.
"I need to get ready for Gym next period." I lied.
I had to get away from Brandon. Something about the way he looked at me made me nervous. He wanted to be much closer to me than I ever wanted to get again.
"Okay weirdo," Cat snorted. "Have fun being half an hour early for phys. ed."
Justin was wearing a concerned expression but didn't say anything.
"I will." I blurted out. "See you guys."
I grabbed my back pack and slung it over my shoulder before disappearing into the hallway. I took a deep breath and tried to collect my thoughts.
I was probably just looking too deeply into Brandon's actions. Not everything was a signal for romance, and I needed to get a grip.
"You lost?" A familiar voice asked, some distance from me. I looked up, and saw Eddison approaching me from down the hall. My stomach began furiously tying itself into knots.
"No." I said a little too firmly.
Eddison put up his hands in surrender.
"Fine. Not lost." He confirmed, stopping in front of me. "So then why are you wandering the halls instead of hanging out with your friends?"
None of your business...
"I'm just busy." I lied.
Eddison raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"I'm no mind reader, but that doesn't feel like the truth." He chuckled.
"Well it's all you're getting." I responded quickly before rushing away. I walked so quickly that I didn't hear what Eddison shouted after me. I turned the corner and stopped abruptly.
"It's too early in the school year to be having so much boy trouble." I grumbled to myself, with a shake of my head.
I continued down the hallway slowly, milking every second that I had before I reached the girl's locker room.
Once I got inside, I took a seat on one of the benches. I took out my cell phone and scrolled through my social media for a long time. After some time, my father's face popped up on my screen. I couldn't tell him where I was without an AOLS rep with me to set up a visit with him, and after last year's incident, I doubted that they were willing to bend any rules for me.
The photo that my dad had posted was of Jesibelle's left hand, wearing a large diamond ring on her ring finger. My jaw dropped. After everything that had happened, he was marrying her?
I turned off my phone and shoved it into my back pack. I pulled out my neatly folded gym uniform; a yellow tank top with the school's crest across the chest, and black shorts that had yellow stripes down the sides. I took my time alone to pick out my locker, and place my back pack inside. I changed into my uniform and locked up my gym locker with my own personal pad lock.
I looked up at the clock and sighed before sitting back down.
Twelve more minutes.
I rolled my eyes and stared at the wall until the bell rang.