“I know, right? His lips are even better.”
“Girl, you’ve been holding out on me! You have to call me tonight and tell me everything.”
Inside the doors, Shawn and I headed our separate ways with promises to see each other at lunch.
I floated through the hall with a smile on my face. It was crazy how good I felt for someone who had tossed and turned the whole night before. The memory of that fiery kiss and the emotions that came with it played on a continuous loop through my mind all night long. It was the best I’d felt in weeks, and I didn’t want to let it go.
I was so caught up in my thoughts, it wasn’t until Mr. Steele was well into his lecture that I began to notice emotions in the classroom besides mine. They seemed to swirl around me in a steady hum. If my range really was about ten feet, I figured over half of the students and Mr. Steele would fall within it. I struggled to keep my body relaxed and mind open. The only way to get a handle over this empathy thing was to understand it.
My eyes drifted closed so I could concentrate on identifying the different emotions around me. A sluggish feeling seemed to dominate. Tiredness? That would make sense given that it was first hour. It could also be boredom. There was a wave of excitement coming from somewhere…behind me? Yes, I could sense the direction. I snuck a glance over my shoulder and saw Sarah Dobbs staring at the clock, her fingers drumming the cover of her textbook. Yes, the excitement was definitely coming from her.
My thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Steele passing something out, and I realized with horror that we were having a quiz. Crap! I might be back to school physically and making an effort to keep up on my homework, but I hadn’t been paying much attention in class.
My panic must have shown on my face, because when Mr. Steele set the paper down on my desk he said, “Just try your best.”
A ball of worry sat in my stomach, this time I was fairly sure it was my own and not my classmates doing it to me.
When I flipped the quiz over, I scanned the questions. The whole thing was short answer. Oh, come on! No multiple choice? At least then I would’ve been able to guess at the answers. I groaned loud enough that the boy in front of me, Ben…something, turned and looked at me. I glared at him and read the first question to myself.
What are the three branches of the U.S. government? Well, that one was easy. I wrote, “Judicial, Executive Legislative.” Maybe this test wouldn’t be so hard after all.
How many years make up a term for Senators? I didn’t know. I jotted down four years, since I know that’s how long Presidents are elected for.
How many members make up the House of Representatives? I don’t flippin’ know! I left it blank.
By the time the bell rang and students began piling their completed quizzes on the corner of Mr. Steele’s desk on their way out, over half of my page was still blank. Oh, well. I slapped the paper on the desk and hurried out of the classroom. I was so lost in my own thoughts I almost ran into Bryan, who was waiting for me outside the door.
“Whoa, there!” he said laughing. “You looked like you’ve been chewing on glass. What’s up?”
“We had a quiz, and I’m fairly sure I bombed.” We strolled down the hall toward my locker. “I just don’t get what’s happening with me and school. I mean I used to study really hard and get good grades, but now,” I sighed, “I just don’t care anymore.”
Bryan nodded and put his arm out to keep me from getting jostled by two boys who were play-fighting in front of us. “You’re probably still feeling lost from missing so much school. Have your parents talked to your teachers about how you’re going to deal with the work you’ve missed?”
“I don’t think our parents have even noticed that Aaron and I have gone back to school yet. Besides, I caught up on my missed work. It’s the problems of concentrating in class that is getting to me.”#p#分页标题#e#
When we got to my locker, I spun the combination and switched out my books. There were still bits of tape stuck to Lony’s from where I’d ripped the pictures down. I closed the metal door and glanced up at Bryan, leaning next to me with a lazy grin on his face. All of my tension melted away.
Bryan reached out and picked up a lock of my hair, twisting it between his fingers. “You have the softest hair I’ve ever felt.”
“Um...” I wanted to compliment him back, but wasn’t sure what to say. Gee, I really think you’re hot, just didn’t seem right. “…thanks.”
There was a strange expression on his face…like he wanted to tell me something, but couldn’t get the words out. I concentrated on the emotion vibes he was sending out. It was tough to isolate him in the sea of students around us, but when I took his hand in mine, it was like all of the conflicting waves cut off and I was perfectly in tune with him. Touching him seemed to block out the feelings of the students around us, so that his emotions commanded my full attention. What didn’t make sense was the strange tension I was picking up from him.