At First Touch (10 page)

As the coach blew the whistle there was a smattering of applause. I looked around in surprise to see that half the class had finished their games early and had been watching ours. Carey was among the group and he was beaming and giving me a thumbs up. I glanced back at Preston, who was stiff with anger and pointedly ignoring me. I had a feeling we weren’t going to be friends anymore.

“Nice job everyone. On Monday you don’t need to change. We’ll be going over the basics of volleyball.” There was a universal groan from the class and Coach Dawson smiled. “It won’t be that bad, I promise. Class dismissed.”  He walked off toward his office, slapping his clipboard against his thigh.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever scored!” Quade squeaked excitedly, his face shining with sweat and vindication. He looked at me as though it was somehow my doing, and I could see I had made a conquest. Sighing, I gave him a tired smile and told him congratulations as I headed to the locker room to change. Chasisity and her clone gave me a wide berth, simply throwing dark looks my way. I got dressed quickly and darted back out to the gym to find Carey leaning against the wall waiting for me. I ignored the fluttering sensation in my chest and walked sedately toward him.

“That was a heck of a game! You’re really good at sports, huh?” he asked admiringly.

I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to draw more attention to myself. I realized belatedly I had just done the opposite of what I usually did in gym; I always shot for being average, but my irritation with Preston and Chasisity had overcome my better sense. Ashamed of myself, I resolved to be more cautious in the future.

Carey walked me to class and asked if I wanted to sit with him at lunch. I told him I had already promised V.J., though I seriously doubted anyone else at her table would welcome me, so he asked if he could join me instead. I agreed a little too heartily and subsided into class with my cheeks bright red.

Class dragged, as I’ve found math classes often do, and I was starving by the time lunch rolled around. V.J. and I walked to the cafeteria together, and I cringed when I saw the options for lunch; tuna casserole, pizza, or salad. I really needed to remember to pack a lunch next week.

I waited for pizza again while V.J. stood in the salad line. The tuna casserole station was empty, and I wondered what on earth had possessed the cooks to offer such an unappetizing option to teenagers. Lost in my musings, I was surprised to find Chasisity, Jennifer, and their shadow, Missy, in line behind me. Chasisity made a strange gargling noise in her throat that I took to be a call for my attention and I turned around with a depressing sense of familiarity.

“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”

Chasisity’s voice was enough to peel linoleum. I marveled that she was as high up on the food chain as she appeared to be. She had chin-length brown hair with homemade blond highlights that hung in a frizzy haze around her face. Her figure was soft looking. I imagined she relied heavily on metabolism to manage her weight, which would dry up when she hit her thirties or had a kid, and she would swell up like a balloon. Her face was a common sort of pretty, with features only made remarkable by the unpleasant expression she wore like a badge. Her friends were carbon copies of her; Jennifer looked, if possible, seedier, and Missy just looked lost. I found them singularly unimpressive. I’d been dissed by far more intimidating girls.

I gave her a withering look and turned back around. I’ve found that the best way to deal with girls like Chasisity is to ignore them. They run out of ammo and interest eventually.

“Bitch, I’m talking to you. I hope you don’t think you’re sitting at my table today. Yesterday was a free pass, but I don’t let freaks eat lunch with me.”

I just kept my back to her and swallowed the retort that sprang to my lips.
It’s better this way, it’s better this way
, I kept repeating like a mantra. They continued exchanging snide remarks at my expense and I stiffened my shoulders to keep from responding. I did my best to appear nonchalant, and I’m pretty sure I succeeded, but I had to admit to myself that the words stung. I
was
a freak, I wasn’t
normal
, and I would never have many friends. Though I knew the insults were born of jealousy and fear of the unknown, I still shrank a little inside.

Finally I made it out of the line, clutching my tray with white knuckles. V.J. was waiting for me with a welcoming smile and I felt immeasurably grateful to this girl who didn’t seem to mind my peculiarities, and was willing to befriend me.

“Um, I don’t know that I’m going to be welcome at your table. Chasisity made it pretty clear she didn’t want me around,” I stated frankly. I was not about to put myself in that harridan’s path again. I have a thick skin, but everyone has a limit.

V.J.’s amiable features tightened in anger as she searched the cafeteria for the girls in question. Evidently what she saw didn’t please her.

“What did she say to you?” she asked, her voice terse. I gave her a summary and saw her lips compress into a thin line. “Well, the hell with them. They only keep me around because of my Dad’s money anyway, and Chas is a bitch.” I raised my eyebrows at her statement and she caught my eye and laughed. “Don’t worry about it; maybe you and I can just sit together at a different table.”

“Well, Carey asked earlier if we could sit together; maybe we could join him,” I suggested.

“Carey?  Carey Drake asked you to sit with him?” Her voice was incredulous.  I nodded. “Wow. No wonder Chas is so pissed. Every girl in school has been after him since the sixth grade and no one has ever had any luck. He’s really nice, but he keeps to himself.” She was looking at me with astonished respect. I squirmed under her regard and cast my eyes around for him.

“Looking for me, I hope?” Carey’s voice behind me made me jump. I turned around and smiled at him.

“Yeah, actually. It seems I’m not welcome at V.J.’s usual table, so we were looking for somewhere else to sit.” Carey’s grin widened and he gave V.J. a friendly nod. She glowed under his gaze.

“Well, you guys can sit with me.” We followed him over to a table by the window at the opposite corner from Chasisity’s, and I was delighted to see her mouth drop open in a silent ‘O’ as she saw where we were headed.  I managed not to give her a vindictive hand gesture and took a seat between V.J. and Carey. There were two other guys at the table, both of whom were pleasantly attractive and very friendly. A slim boy with blond hair gave V.J. a shy smile and she returned it with gusto.

“Liz, this is Jared,” he said as he introduced me to a well-built boy with light brown hair who looked a lot like Justin Timberlake, “and this is Mark.” He gestured toward the blond boy with the sweet expression who was looking at V.J. with distinct interest.

“Nice to meet you,” I mumbled as V.J. and Mark fell into conversation. Judging by her contented expression, the new seating arrangement was to her liking. Jared politely asked me where I was from and the three of us enjoyed a relaxed conversation, eventually joined by Mark and V.J. All in all, it was probably the most affable lunch I’d experienced at a school since the accident and I wished fervently that I could somehow make my stay here permanent.

As we finished lunch, V.J. reminded me she was due to show me around town that evening. We made arrangements to meet at the school entrance at the end of the day and then she and Mark took off for class together. Carey, Jared and I dumped our trays and headed for the lockers; as we walked, Jared asked what I was doing this weekend.

“Nothing really, just unpacking,” I replied, though there was of course the distinct possibility that I would be hiding from the Feds and/or evading agents of the Coalition.

“I’m having a party tomorrow night. It’d be cool if you could come.” He seemed sincere and Carey gave him an approving nod, making me think the invitation may have been premeditated.

“Um, that sounds good. I’ll have to check with my dad. Thanks for the invite!”

“Sure. Hope to see you then!” Jared waved and went left as Carey and I continued down the hall together.

“If you want to go to the party, I can pick you up. I mean, I know you might need to keep a low profile, but you’ll be perfectly safe at Jared’s. His parties never get out of hand.”

 I was sorely tempted. The thought of attending a party like a normal high school girl nearly made my mouth water.

“I’ll think about it. Let me see how things are by tomorrow.” Carey nodded understanding and came to a stop at my locker. I didn’t ask him how he knew which one was mine.

“Do you need a ride home today?” he asked, barely concealing the hope in his voice.

“No, I’m going with V.J.” I reminded him gently. He shook his head and smiled.

“I knew that. Well, can I call you later and see how everything is? You know,” he said quietly, “with your memory-challenged friend and everything.”

“Yeah, sure. If you hear anything…” I trailed off and he nodded.

“I’ll ask around and let you know.” He brightened, clearly happy to have something to do. “Ok, well, I’ll talk to you later.”

He reached out and gave my shoulder a light squeeze, flashing that devastating smile. My knees swayed a little as I bade him goodbye. He walked off, glancing back to smile at me once, and I opened my locker, wondering briefly who I shared it with. The bottom half was sparse and neat, only the essentials stacked on the shelves, no identifying marks anywhere. I deposited my books, got what I needed for the afternoon and closed the door, shrugging. I’d run into them eventually.

The rest of the afternoon passed without event; classes were tedious and seemed to drag on for eternity. Probably the thought of getting out and acting like a normal sixteen year old girl had something to do with that.  I was staring without seeing at the whiteboard in my last period, English, when the bell rang for dismissal. I jumped up from my desk and made a beeline for the door, so eager was I to make my first attempt at a social life. Preston stood blocking my way.

When I had first gotten to class I had noticed him staring at me, but like I do with most unpleasant things, I blocked him out and focused on something else. Now there was no way I could ignore him, and based on his determined expression, he wasn’t about to give me the option.

“Liz, can I talk to you for a sec?” His voice was forceful and his stance aggressive. I was so not in the mood.

“Not right now. I’ve got to go meet someone,” I replied, trying to move past him. He grabbed my arm hard and pulled me forcibly out into the hall, pushing me up against the wall. My heart beat faster and I cast my eyes around for aid. Students raced on by without giving us more than a passing glance. Never get in a teenager’s way when the bell rings on a Friday afternoon.

“Who are you meeting? Carey?” he sneered. His face was dangerously close to mine and I hoped I wouldn’t be forced to break his arm. That would really ruin my plans for remaining inconspicuous.

“None of your damn business. Get the hell out of my way.” I kept my voice level and firm, maintaining eye contact to show him I wasn’t afraid of him. I didn’t know what his malfunction was, but he was clearly unbalanced.

“Just hang on. I want to talk to you,” he said in an affronted tone, his eyebrows raised innocently, as though he weren’t grasping my arm in an iron grip and pressing me against the wall in a manner far too intimate.

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you,” I growled.  He flinched. “Look, Preston, I don’t know what your deal is, but I don’t respond to intimidation, so you can drop this act right now. If you want to talk to me like a normal, not completely wacko person, make a damn appointment.”

With that, I grabbed the offending wrist and applied pressure to a particular button below the thumb and twisted his arm around completely, forcing him to release me and gasp in pain.

“Have I made myself clear?” I asked amiably.

 “Yeah, yeah, dammit, just let my frigging arm go!” I dropped it before he could call attention to us. He cradled his wrist against his chest and gave me a look of pure loathing.

“You’ll pay for this, bitch,” he spat venomously.

“Oh yeah, like I haven’t heard that before,” I said carelessly and turned my back on him, heading for the entrance where V.J. would be waiting for me.  I dismissed Preston out of hand. With foes like the Coalition and the Feds on my tail, an egotistical teenage boy just didn’t seem to be that big of a threat.

Shows what can happen when you become short-sighted.

“Hey! Are you ready?” V.J.’s brightly cheerful voice pulled me out of my dark mood. She was waiting by the entrance, an expectant and excited expression lighting her features.

“Yeah.  Are you sure you don’t mind swinging by home? I want to let my dad know what’s up.”

“Sure! I’d like to meet him.” We grinned at each other and I hoped Dad wouldn’t chew me out too badly. I’d never actually brought a friend home before.

We walked through the parking lot, talking easily, as though we were old friends. She stopped in front of a car and I raised my eyebrows. It was a brand new Audi, a little out of place in a student lot full of hand-me down trucks and clunkers.

“Nice,” I said. She shrugged, a little embarrassed.

“My father is the wealthiest man in three counties. He has a controlling share in the state’s biggest coal company.” She shrugged again, as though being the richest girl for a hundred miles was no big deal.