At First Touch (19 page)

“Preston, back off. She hasn’t done anything to you.” I heard Carey’s voice and felt tears burn my eyes again. Appalled at the idea of crying in front of this bloodthirsty crowd I simply used the moment to slip away, ducking into the locker room with significant relief.

There was a moment of silence and then the room was crowded with girls, all casting curious looks my way; I changed swiftly and hurried out into the hallway before Chasisity or anyone else could give me grief. Carey wasn’t anywhere to be seen so I headed off to my next class, fuming inside at whoever spread the story about Preston, knowing the situation would only worsen and make school unbearable again, just when I was beginning to feel comfortable.

V.J. was sitting in her usual chair when I entered and she shot me a sympathetic look. I sat down next to her, blowing all my breath out in a huff.

“Before you ask, no it wasn’t me that told about Preston. Like I care.”

V.J.’s face stretched in surprise and she shook her head. “I never thought it was you! You’re not the type to be so mean,” she said simply. I felt a lessening of the pressure that had built tight inside my gut. At least V.J. didn’t think I was so nasty.

“Thanks. Does everyone think I started it?” I asked, curious. I hadn’t thought that my feud with Preston was so widely known.

V.J. grimaced. “Well, yeah. It’s mainly Preston’s fault. Apparently someone posted the, ah, information on his Face Book page and forwarded the link before he was able to take it down. Then he stormed in here today accusing you of making it up to get back at him for…uh, well,” she blushed, looking uncomfortable. I gestured for her to continue before class started. “Well, he said that you wanted to have sex with him and he turned you down.”

I had thought something of the sort; after all, Preston’s ego was a fragile thing. I wasn’t really even that mad at him, not having expected much more from someone with his imagination. I rolled my eyes, earning a smile from V.J.

“Anyway, so he’s been telling everyone that, but no one believes it,” she hastened to reassure me. “Everyone knows you‘ve been seeing Carey and there’s no way you’d want Preston when you had him.” She grinned at me and I managed a weak smile; I didn’t know whether I could count on Carey as an excuse much longer.

“But they do think that I’m the one who started it,” I reiterated. She shrugged and gave me a helpless look.

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does. Apparently Jessie confirmed it this morning though, so he’s really pissed off.”

“Yeah. I noticed,” I whispered, leaning back in my seat as the bell rang and class began. I spent most of the period trying to explore the ramifications of the whole mess and eventually decided it wasn’t important. Preston would go around for a few days spewing insults about me while everyone else laughed at him, but eventually people would forget. I agreed with V.J.  I doubted anyone believed Preston’s version, especially if Jessie had weighed in against him. The only lasting damage I could perceive was to my relationship with Carey. I simply couldn’t believe that he had jumped to the worst conclusion about me so quickly. I found it hard to forgive.

V.J. and I left for lunch together, as usual. As we drew closer to the cafeteria I could see Carey waiting anxiously, remorse written all over his face. I balked and turned to V.J., my lips pulled tight in anger.

“I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll go see the nurse,” I said, moving away before Carey could see me. V.J. eyed me with understanding.

“Go ahead. I’ll call you later.” I nodded and turned away, not wanting to have it out with Carey in front of the rest of the school; Enough attention had been focused on me for one day. I made my way through the halls looking for the darkroom where I had slept off my headache the first day of school. I was nearly to the end of the hall that led to it when a stentorian voice called for me to wait. I paused and turned around, surprised to see Nurse Nora hot on my heels. I suppressed a groan and waited obediently, hoping that whatever she wanted wouldn’t take long.

“Well, well, the elusive Miss Hannigan. C’mon.” She kept on walking past me, her flowing skirt trailing behind her, long hair caught up in a tightly woven bun at the nape of her neck. I hesitated for a minute, wondering if I could just duck down the other hall and miss her when she called out again for me to follow. I sighed heavily and obeyed.

She stopped at the door of her office and waved me in. Puzzled, I went in, hovering awkwardly in the center of the cheery blue room. She closed the door behind her and took a seat at her desk in a white wingback chair that seemed ridiculously out of place in a school nurse’s office.

“Sit down, honey. There’s a chair,” she said, picking up a coffee mug still steaming comfortingly. I looked around and saw a rolling armchair off to the side; I dragged it over and perched on it, hoping I would soon be permitted to get up. Nurse Nora ignored me for a moment, apparently savoring her coffee, and then put the mug down, fixing me with an intelligent gaze.

“How’s your head?” she asked. I cocked an eyebrow questioningly and then shook my head.

“Oh, I nearly forgot. It’s fine, it’s been fine. The bruise only lasted a few days,” I replied, my voice slightly tense. She gave me a toothy grin and gestured for me to relax. I kept my straight-backed vigil.

“Well, that’s good, that’s good. How are you getting along here? I meant to catch up with you sooner, but I’ve been distracted.” I shifted my eyes back and forth, completely befuddled. What did the woman want?

“Nurse Nora, did you want to see me for something in particular?” I asked politely but with an edge. Her clear gaze and strange appearance made me feel uneasy.

She raised an eyebrow and gave me a knowing smile. “My goodness, you’re good at putting a wall up. No, nothing in particular.  I just thought you might need someone to talk to. I’m an excellent listener, and I give the best advice,” she said, laughter evident in her voice.

I watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was after. Finally I admitted defeat and replied, getting to my feet. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. Was there anything else?” I shifted on the balls of my feet, eager to get away from her insistent stare. She frowned slightly and leaned back in her chair.

“You don’t let anyone near, do you? Someone has hurt you terribly. I’m sorry for that,” she said quietly, her voice eerily soothing. I straightened and trained a cold look on her.

“Thank you for your concern, but I don’t need anything from you. Are we done here?”

“Yes, we’re done. But you can come to me when you need to. And you will, my dear. You will.” She shifted in her chair and picked up her coffee in a desultory manner. “And don’t worry. I know how to look after Carey,” she said enigmatically. I stood there another moment, totally thrown off by the weird conversation with this pushy and yet intuitive woman.

“Thank you,” I said curtly and sped to the door, slipping out into the hallway, more than a little unnerved. I checked my watch and saw that I still had twenty minutes to the end of lunch; without any further vacillation, I sped off to the darkroom and found it locked. I reached into my backpack for a special pin I keep with me at all times and, looking around to make sure I was alone, jimmied the lock, slid inside to the welcoming darkness, and re-locked the door behind me. I smiled to myself, thinking that every now and then, being me had its rewards. I had learned the lock-picking trick from a street tough in New York; it had come in handy many times.

Feeling my way in the pitch darkness, I eventually found the switch for the red light and flipped it on. Sighing, I pulled out a chair and sank into it gratefully, overjoyed to have solitude for the first time that day. My mind was still puzzling over Nurse Nora and her last, tantalizing comment about Carey. With a shrug, I closed my eyes and looked for any memories of the eccentric nurse buried in Carey’s corner of my mind.

What I found surprised me. Carey had first met Nurse Nora three months into his freshman year. He had little need for medical care up until that point; thanks to his abilities, he was difficult to injure and was almost wholly resistant to common diseases. This was a good thing, because the older he got, the more difficult it would have been to treat him. It seemed that while Carey could be injured like anyone else, cut or bones broken, it required incredible force to cause the injury.

Over time, Carey’s skin had become a little like Kevlar, nearly impossible to penetrate except at close range and with significant strength. This was one of the reasons his parents had uprooted their family from their native Massachusetts and relocated to a small, insignificant town in rural West Virginia.

Before the start of sixth grade at his private boarding school, Carey had been sent to the doctor for a physical and a round of immunizations. The doctors found that while he was extremely healthy and slightly further along in development than other boys his age, their needles were nearly unable to penetrate that seemingly fragile envelope that encased his veins. After a battery of tests, most of which were inconclusive, the doctors determined that Carey had too much calcium in his system and explained away the oddities of their findings. It was after this little brush with science that Carey’s family made the decision to get him away from prying eyes and installed him at Pound Middle School. Since that time, he had only had one injury; when he met Nurse Nora.

It had been the Monday after the party at the barn where he discovered Preston taking advantage of a classmate. He and Preston had it out again while in shop class and Carey took his frustrations out on the carved wooden table he was building. While to everyone else in the class it had appeared that the poorly constructed table had simply cracked down the middle and collapsed, in reality Carey had punched his hand through it and lodged a large splinter in the fleshy part between his thumb and index finger. Unfortunately, due to the makeup of his skin, the splinter was trapped, rather grotesquely sticking out, but resistant to removal.

Afraid to let anyone see, Carey had excused himself and wandered the halls, desperately pulling at the splinter without result. Finally, Nurse Nora had spotted him cradling his hand and yanked him into her office before he could protest. The ensuing conversation had revealed that the nurse was aware that there was something different about Carey; she quite methodically went about removing the splinter using pliers and then treated the gaping wound with antiseptic. It was healed within the day.

They had had a long conversation, during which Nurse Nora revealed she had her own peculiar talent; she was able to “read” people, notice if they were different and where those differences lay. From that point on, she and Carey had a relaxed relationship. While he never again needed treatment from her, he would go and sit with her sometimes when things became too much for him, knowing that she would understand.

Thoughtfully, I closed off Carey’s memories and opened my eyes. So my initial impression of Nurse Nora hadn’t been far off; she did see more than she should. I worried over that for a moment and then decided to let it go for the time being. She had known about Carey for more than two years now and not said anything to put him in danger; besides, she probably only had a vague impression of what I was capable of, and absolutely no evidence. I imagined that Nurse Nora probably derived a lot of satisfaction from appearing to be the wise old woman and saw no pressing reason to ruin her fun.

I stretched and got to my feet, glancing at my watch. My little foray into Carey’s memories had taken about fifteen minutes, so I grabbed up my bag and hit the light, peering out the door to make sure the hall was clear. Satisfied, I slipped out and locked the door behind me, making for my locker and the rest of my day.

By the time the last bell rang I was exhausted from avoiding Preston, curious gossip-seekers, and Carey. I caught up with V.J. at the door and asked if she could give me a ride home; I had made a habit of letting Carey give me a ride to and from school the past couple weeks and now I was more than a little uncomfortable at the thought of a ten minute ride alone with him.

V.J. obliged of course, and I had a fleeting sense of satisfaction when I saw Carey waiting by his car looking forlorn. A few moments later my cell phone chirped but I left it unanswered, recognizing his number. I didn’t think I could talk to him yet without crying or giving away how much he had hurt me, so I simply avoided the confrontation, something I’m really good at.

“You’re going to have to talk to him sometime, you know,” V.J. said, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

“I know. I just can’t believe he thought I’d do that. You didn’t, and he knows me about as well as you do,” I mumbled, feeling self-conscious. V.J. nodded and then tilted her head to one side thoughtfully.

“Yeah, but you know, I don’t think Carey’s real good with people. I mean he’s nice,” she qualified, “but he’s never been that close with anyone. Jared and Mark are his best friends, and Mark says they don’t really spend that much time together outside of school. As far as I know, he’s never dated anyone, so he may not have a frame of reference.”

I considered that for a moment and took it into account, but still didn’t think it excused him for jumping to conclusions.

V.J. dropped me off and I waved goodbye as I trudged wearily to my house. Dad was still at work so I settled myself onto the couch to watch TV. I didn’t have any homework; most of the time I was able to do it in class, since I never really had to listen to lectures with great attention.