The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: The Curse of the Gifted (25 page)

“You were screaming the word 'No'
over and over at the top of your lungs. It woke me up it was
so loud. You scared me half to death.”

Heavily, Aimee sighed and wiped the wet from under her eyes so Dad wouldn’t notice. “I guess I was dreaming. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Dad patted her shoulder and handed her a tissue from the nightstand. “Aimee, if something’s bothering you, I’m all ears. I know it’s hard to talk to your father about some things, but I’m here if you need to talk. Everything okay with you and Dylan?”

“Everything is
perfect
with us. It’s nothing, really. Just one of my
crazy
dreams. I appreciate
you caring, Dad.”

“I love you, sweetheart.” He let out a big yawn, then continued, “I guess I’ll go back to bed. It’s a little early to get up.”

She examined the clock. Two eleven a.m. “Yep, it’s a bit early. Sorry I woke you up. Go back to bed, and I’ll see you in a few.” Zonker squeezed through the opening before Aimee shut the door, and lobbed back onto the bed. She checked her cell phone before getting back under the covers. Two
texts from James from the day before were unanswered. She hit
View
, then read the latest one.

Hey where r u???...call when u get this…your fave bro

Aimee scrolled to the first text and opened it.

Havent heard from u lately…call when u get time for your fave bro…want to congrats u on your acceptance at UC…pops called with the news…Sach says hi and congrats

She deleted both messages and set the phone back on the nightstand. Two fourteen was way
too early to call James. She would wait until after her run in the morning. Aimee flipped off the light, laid back, and pulled the soft quilt up over her face to block out the cool air. Zonker nestled against her legs, then sighed softly. Dylan’s scent hung sweetly on the sheets and filtered into her nostrils. It immediately brought back the dream. She wished she could fall back to sleep and finish it. This blue-eyed Brit was starting to get on her nerves. He had a habit of screwing up her perfect dreams with Dylan. It aggravated her, and yet, for some inexplicable reason, Aimee felt like she knew him from somewhere, like he was supposed to be there. After taking in another deep whiff of Dylan, she turned over and forced the dream from her thoughts, then eased back into sleep.

The alarm buzzed at five fifty-five. The aroma of coffee had already crept under her door and filled the room so she knew Dad was up and moving. After quickly changing into her running clothes, Aimee darted to the kitchen to get some water and head out. Dad was in his usual spot at the kitchen table, leisurely flipping through the morning headlines.

“Good morning. Coffee’s ready,” he muttered with his head buried in his paper.

“Thanks, but I’m gonna get in my run. Dylan’s coming by early to pick me up.”

“Okay, just be careful, honey. It’s still kinda dark outside.”

Aimee took out the pepper spray canister from the running pouch and waved it in front of the paper. “Don’t worry. I’ll blast anyone who tries to mess with me.”

Dad chuckled and put down his paper. “I guess you
are
prepared. Just make sure you hold
your breath if you have to use that thing. Hey, I may not be here when you get back. I’m having breakfast with Mel this morning, and I’m going over to Hannah’s tonight for dinner.”

“Gosh, Dad, I can’t keep up with your social calendar these days.”

Dad smirked, then said, “Yeah, well, I’m just trying to keep up with you.”

After finishing a longer run than the previous morning, Aimee showered and got ready for school. Her cell phone rang as she stuffed the last book into her pack. She grabbed it from the bed
and checked. It read
James.

She answered cheerfully, “Hey…”

“Hey back. You sound like you’re in a good mood. You should be. Dad tells me you got your acceptance letter finally.”

“Yep, and I can’t wait. I hope you and Sacha still want me to room with you.”

“Of course. We’re counting on it. So how’s the old man taking, you know, the whole
his little girl growing up and moving away
thing?”

“Oh, he’s cool with it. Now that he has Dr. Morr..uh, I mean
Hannah,
he’s rarely here, so I
don’t think he’ll miss me a bit.” Aimee sounded a bit hurt.

“I take it by your voice you aren’t too excited about him dating Hannah.”

“I’m okay with it. I’m really glad Dad has found someone who makes him happy. It’s just a little weird that he’s dating my economics teacher, you know? I sit in class and instead of listening to her lecture, I wonder what the two of them see in each other. Kinda strange to think of Dad dating. He even invited Dylan and me on a double date to Reedsport. Totally freaky, isn’t it?”

James laughed. “Yeah, I see what you mean. But Dad might be just as anxious for you to move out as you are. You know, he’s not dead, or old for that matter. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them don’t shack up as soon as you’re gone.”

“James, you’re so disgusting. I’d rather not think about Dad and Dr. Morris that way.”

“Me neither, but at least Dad’s happy. I could tell that when I talked to him the other night. Hey, so speaking of happy relationships, how are you and Dylan?”

“Great. He asked me to the prom yesterday.”

“That’s cool. So, you don’t sound too excited.”

“I’m excited because Dylan wants to go, but you know me. I’m just not into that whole pomp
and circumstance thing. You know, I’m more of a stay at home and watch a movie, eat popcorn, hang in my old jeans and t-shirt
kind of
girl.”

“Yeah, you’re a real exciting date, Aimee.”

“I’m not like you, James. Mr. Popular. Mr. East Medford. Yadda. Yadda. Yadda.”

“No, but you’re a heck of a lot better than you were a few years ago. Couldn’t get you out of your room.”

There was silence for a few seconds before she continued, “I
am
better, and I have you, Dad, Chels, and of course, Dylan, to thank for that.”

“Aimee, go to the prom and have fun. You only have to do it once in a lifetime. Besides, there will be some awesome parties afterwards. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

She sniggered. “You know me, James, Miss Responsibility.”

“I better let you go. Sacha and I won’t be home until your graduation. School and workload are kicking my butt. So call me, or Sacha, and keep us updated on the home front. Okay?”

“Will do. Take care.” She turned the phone on vibrate and slid it into her jeans' pocket.

Within seconds the phone vibrated. This time
BFF
popped up on the display when she eased the phone from her pocket
.
Aimee answered,
“What’s up?”

“Well, it’s about time you answered. Hey, I heard some juicy gossip. Word was you and Dylan were like practically screwing at the ball field yesterday.”

Aimee's face suddenly burned.
“Whaaat?! Who told you that?”

“You know I have my sources,” Chels replied. “They saw you and Dylan making out before the game. Said it was pretty steamy, X-rated, and right out there in public for everyone to see.”

“Chels, you can tell your
sources
to mind their own business and get a life.”

Chelsea continued laughing. “Chill out, I’m just giving you a hard time. Really, though, seems like things are getting serious. So how is Dylan these days?”

“He’s great, except he feels obligated to take me to the prom…”

“Aimee, freakin’ fantastic!” interrupted Chels. “Like that’s
sooo
awesome! You know I’m gonna
help you. We’ve got plenty of time to plan. We’ll go to Portland to shop for dresses and shoes…and hair…we’ve got to do some kind of updo, you know, like curls or something chic and slicked back on your head.”

As usual, Aimee resigned herself to Chelsea’s control. “Chels, I get the point. You wanna play dress up with me. You know I’m an idiot with this type of thing so I’ll take whatever help you dish out. You’re going, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Do you remember Matthew Johnson?”

“No, not really.”

“You know Brian’s friend, Matt the Brat? He used to live here in Medford until middle school, then his family moved to Coos Bay. He and Brian always hung out together in grade school.”

“Oh yeah, I remember him.”

“Well, Matt was a real pain in the ass back then. Remember he used to be a scrawny, freckled
faced kid, butt ugly and mean. But, O…MI…GOD, now he is
gorrrgeous
! He’s a freshman at Jackson Community College. He was visiting Brian a couple weeks ago, and I used my charm on him. Really
nice dude, and smart, too. He couldn’t resist the invitation to take me to the prom.” Chelsea giggled mischievously.

“Chelsea, you have no scruples.”

“Nope, no reason to start now.”

“Hey, I hear Dylan pulling up in the driveway. I’ll see you at school.”

“See ya in a few.”

Classes whizzed by faster now since teachers crammed in the extra work they got behind on during the school year. Dad and Dr. Morris were going away for the weekend, and Chelsea decided they needed to drive up to Portland for their girls’ day out - shop to you drop and eat until you puke. Aimee didn’t have to work on Saturday, a rarity, so getting away for the day, even if it was for shopping, appealed to her. Dylan and a couple of his friends had plans to hang out since Aimee was going, so she didn’t feel like she was abandoning him. His only conditions were she had to stay safe in the big city of Portland and buy an incredibly sexy dress for the prom.

When the final school bell rang, Aimee bolted from Mr. Bailey’s class and headed to meet Dylan. The halls were excessively packed with juniors campaigning for the upcoming senior class election. Students filed slowly past, some of them stopping while the juniors solicited their support. Aimee futilely tried pushing past a lingering group of sophomores, but she might as well have been invisible. Impatiently, she veered off the side hall to exit another way, and just as she escaped the crowds, Aimee stopped in her tracks.

Brandi, Nicole, and their new groupie, Randi, were huddled together at Randi’s locker. All three looked up at Aimee at the same time and instantly stopped chatting. Randi methodically smacked
her gum, stopping every few seconds to blow a pink bubble, while she gave Aimee a
if looks could kill
stare. Aimee didn’t know her, and she certainly didn’t know Aimee, but she felt she was already on Randi's hate list, too. Pretending to ignore them, Aimee continued walking. Once she got a few feet
past the trio, Aimee heard Randi say, “…maybe something
unexpected
will happen to her, Brandi.”
Aimee didn’t dare look back, but somehow she knew she was the topic of their conversation. She broke into a quick walk and busted through the exit. Her pace turned into a sprint as she doubled back around the building to student parking. Dylan was patiently waiting, leaning against his FJ with his arms and legs crossed loosely. Robert Moore and Logan Whitney huddled around him. They were kidding around with each other. As soon as Aimee sauntered up, Robert and Logan glanced at her and hastily left.

“I guess they’ll never accept me,” she muttered flatly.

Dylan took Aimee's hands into his and pulled her against him, then quickly kissed her. “Like it really matters to me? All that matters to me is you, babe.”

She smiled. “I know, but it would be nice for you if your friends at least could stand being around both of us since we are sorta joined at the hips these days.”

“Aimee, I don’t care what my friends think. In a couple months we’ll be off to Eugene, together, and most of these people who have treated you like shit, well, we’ll probably never see again. So see, it doesn’t matter to me whether they like you or not because it doesn’t change how I feel.”

“I love you, too.”

Dylan whispered, “I love you more.”

Saturday morning, half past eight, Aimee knocked on Chelsea’s door, early on the weekend for Chelsea. But no time was too early to get up when shopping was on Chelsea's agenda. Earlier in the week Dad surprised Aimee with the graduation present he promised - a used Toyota Prius. Nothing terribly exciting or hip like her old VW Bug, but it met all the priorities; safe, roomy, and no car payments. So practical would have to do. Aimee wanted to take it on the road trip to Portland. Depending on the traffic, and how fast she drove, they would get there around noon time. The rest of the afternoon would be crammed with trying on a jillion dresses, parading in front of dressing room mirrors, searching for the perfect shoes, and of course, pigging out at some fabulous restaurant. Chelsea was her usual loquacious self the entire drive up. She had always been Aimee's sunshine, especially when her days were gray. Today was no different. She kept Aimee hopping from shop to shop unmercifully, even when Aimee begged her to stop because her feet killed her. Almost immediately Chels found her dress - a slinky, mauve colored floor length evening gown with shiny sequins covering the entire dress; expensive and exquisite. She looked so sophisticated. Aimee would pale in comparison no matter what
dress she bought. At the end of the day, right before closing, Aimee found
the
dress for her at a little
boutique. It was a tea length, midnight blue chiffon number. It had a plunging halter top, which Chels said could be filled out with some magical silicone cups. Aimee had to admit it looked great on her, and it met Dylan’s criteria - gorgeous and sexy. Chelsea had some high heels from her prom last year that she said would go just perfect with the dress. Aimee sighed relieved as they finally left the store and headed to get some yummy Mexican food.