The Weird Travels of Aimee Schmidt: The Curse of the Gifted (9 page)

“Yeah, and the keys were in an envelope taped to the backdoor. Here.” He handed Aimee a small stationary envelope with keys sealed inside. On the front scribbled in purple ink, Chelsea had written…Call me when you wake up. Love ya, Chels.

“Oh, crap,” she moaned, and then scooted around her dad to get to her desk. “I didn’t call Michelle to let her know I wouldn’t be in to work today.”

Dad waited by the door while Aimee grabbed her phone and hit the number for work. He listened while she profusely apologized to Michelle for missing work and not calling in. She had a spotless record, that is up until today, no absences, not even a tardy. Fortunately, Rhonda, their boss, was off today. Michelle had covered for Aimee. Michelle assured her not to worry about it, and she would see Aimee on Saturday. She hung up and sighed with relief.

Dad said, “Well, you lucked out this time.” He smiled wryly, then turned to head for the den. He shouted back to Aimee over his shoulder, “Don’t worry about dinner. I ordered pizza. Got our usual. They should be delivering it any min…” Just then the doorbell buzzed. Zonker’s barking drowned out Dad’s yelling.

Before eating dinner Aimee figured she better call Chels and get the interrogation over. She flipped open her phone and hit Chelsea's number while she tried to comb through her tangled hair with her free hand. The phone rang a couple times then rolled to Chelsea’s voice mail. She left a short message to reassure Chels she was okay, her headache was finally gone, and she would see her in the morning at school. Before hanging up Aimee added a gracious thank you for bailing her out today, and Chelsea's needless concern about Aimee's health. She added she was going to bed early since she still felt exhausted. Aimee hoped Chels would get her subtle hint and wait until she saw Aimee tomorrow be
fore she had to disclose anything else about her totally bizarre day. Aimee
was
curious if Chels had
heard any gossip about her aimless wandering in the hallway this morning, but she was certain no one saw her travel, or her return. Aimee thought she had covered her tracks well enough to nip any suspicions Mrs. North or Mrs. Krause had about her brief disappearance.

Aimee decided she was too tired to eat, or even take a shower, although she knew she should do both. After a quick goodnight kiss, she left her dad sitting in front of the TV eating pizza and drinking a beer. As soon as she hit her bedroom she tore off her jeans and hoodie, and climbed into bed. She laid perfectly still trying to empty her mind of everything that had happened since her surreal dream early that morning. Aimee figured she should be afraid to sleep. Afraid to dream. Afraid of the next journey. Afraid of the unknown. But something calming swept over her, and instead of being fearful of what she knew would eventually happen again, she felt at peace, even exhilarated. Some people spend their entire lives trying to understand why they exist. Aimee knew, without a doubt, what she was destined to do with her life. She was born to travel.

But, unfortunately, Aimee now knew there was a good chance she could die doing it.

Chapter 6 The Date

The alarm buzzed unmercifully until Aimee reached over and swatted the snooze button. She seldom slept until the alarm went off, but she had slept harder last night than she could ever remember. No dreams. No nightmares. Just deep, empty sleep. She laid there with her eyes still closed. It felt good to be rested. Her brain no longer felt pained by the headache. The alarm popped off again, and instead of hitting snooze for a second time she turned it off and sat up on the side of the bed.

Dawn was just emerging. Aimee could tell it would be another dismal day. The light sneaking through her blinds was too gray for this time of the morning. Zonker didn’t stir, only raising one eye to peek at her when she stood up to stretch. She slid her finger under one slat of the blinds and peered out.

“Geez, rain would have been better than this,” she grumbled when she stared out into the front yard frosted with a pale gray sheathing of snow. Big, fat, white flakes were still falling lazily from the cloud laden sky.

Instead of donning running gear, Aimee decided to forego the exercise for one morning and
spend the extra time catching up on frivolous things. She hadn’t checked email in weeks or the online gossip,
and of course, she could start preparing for her big date tonight with Dylan. Whatever she could do now would save Chelsea some frustration later.

Aimee strolled out of her room to the bathroom. Her mood was giddy, almost euphoric, and her soft humming piqued her dad’s interest when she passed his bedroom. He stepped out into the hall and cleared his throat. “Feeling better?” he asked.

“I think so.”

“Any particular reason you’re in such a good mood?” He wasn’t fooling Aimee. She knew he remembered her date with Dylan. Anything that made Aimee happy made her dad ecstatic. She didn’t want to burst his bubble, or hers for that matter, so she decided to play down their date just in case this was their first and last time to go out. Besides, this was only supposed to be a “thank you” from Dylan. No deeper intent, that she could tell, had been insinuated.

“Dad, it’s Friday. That’s why I’m excited.”

He chuckled as he headed towards the kitchen. “Do you want breakfast?” he hollered over his shoulder.

She cracked open the bathroom door and shouted, “Thanks, but I’ll get something later before I go to school.”

The sound of Dad banging pans in the kitchen and the steep aroma of coffee percolating filled the house. Aimee dropped the lid of the toilet and covered it with a towel. From under the sink she dug out a small assortment of makeup and nail polishes, then laid them on the counter. “Humph,” she grumbled as she surveyed the scant contents; Cotton Candy Pink or Barely There Beige, the sole choices. “Barely There,” she muttered. Her limited sense of fashion told Aimee she should stick to something basic since she wasn’t sure what she would be wearing. Chelsea had her outfit already picked out, she was positive. Besides, she seriously doubted Dylan would see her toenails, but it made her feel good to be pampering herself for once.

Aimee finished her pedicure, then completed the rest of her bathroom routine. She stepped out into the hallway hoping Dad wouldn’t be there to comment on her sleek colored nails. He was too observant sometimes. Luckily, he was nowhere in sight so she hurried into her room. After mindlessly selecting her attire for the day, Aimee stepped back and surveyed her collection of misfit garments hanging in the closet. Hopeless was the word that came to mind. Chelsea would need to work a miracle. She glanced at the clock. Seven fifty-five. She had spent way too much time in the bathroom leaving no time for breakfast so she yanked on her boots and grabbed her backpack. A few extra minutes for the commute would be helpful this morning.

Before leaving Aimee flew into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and an apple for her ride to school. She spotted the paper Dad left on the counter. The bolded headline immediately caught her
attention…
Campus Bookstore Robbery Thwarted in Eugene
. She quickly scanned the article
searching for information about the young woman’s status. The paper reported the woman was at the
Mercy Medical Center and her condition was stable. She sustained a concussion from the blow to the
head. An investigation was underway to find the armed robber. He had evaded the police on foot and was last seen south of campus. The woman had been able to offer little help at this point since she
suffered trauma to the head. Anyone with any information should contact the Eugene Police…

A chill raced across her spine, then goosebumps popped up on her arms. It felt almost impossible she had been there less than twenty-four hours earlier. Even though it seemed too strange to be real, she could replay everything in her mind with exact clarity. It frightened Aimee to think what
could
have happened when she startled the gunman. It scared her even more to think what could have happened if she
hadn’t
been there to startle the gunman. Just then her dad opened the backdoor and she
dropped the paper. She had more than enough to occupy her thoughts today. Hopefully, they would catch this creep before he hurt someone else.

“Dad, I’m leaving,” Aimee yelled back while her dad stood on the small mat scraping the snow off his boots.

“Hey, Aimee, uh, will you get the things from the store on your way home?”

“Sure, Dad. Sorry about yesterday.”

“No problem. I’m just glad you’re feeling better. Have a good day, sweetheart.”

Aimee smiled, then dashed to the front door. The icy wind swirled into the hallway when she swung the door open. “Yuk, mushy yuk,” she moaned.

Even though she painstakingly inched the Bug along her usual route, Aimee still managed to arrive early to school. She decided to wait in the gym and study her world history notes for Monday’s test. She hadn’t missed anything yesterday after being sent home, and she felt positive today would drag. No tests. No projects. Nothing to pass the time quickly. It would be long and monotonous. Her mind would be preoccupied with another more pressing event; her date tonight with Dylan. Aimee's
heart raced every time she thought about this evening. Dylan was perfect…
too
perfect for her!

Chelsea was talking with Courtney Evans outside the door when Aimee arrived to first period. Both girls stopped to greet her. Courtney had to hurry to gym so Chelsea changed the conversation to make Aimee the focus. Aimee expected as much. “Feeling better?” Chels asked while they walked down the aisles to their desks.

“Yep, much better. Thanks again, Chels, for getting me home.”

“Sure, don’t mention it.” Chels looked back at Dylan sitting in his desk with his buddies huddled around dissecting something in a magazine on his desktop. She turned back to Aimee with a devilish smile. “Excited about tonight?”

Aimee had to admit she was more than excited, but she didn’t want anyone else to overhear her confession. “Yes, Chelsea, I’m so nervous though. I really need your expertise so I’ll see you at six. Okay?”

Chelsea bit her bottom lip, then smiled. “I’ll be there rain, sleet or blinding snow.” She giggled to herself as they both slid into their seats.

Dr. Morris lectured the entire fifty minutes. Most of the class slept or texted on their phones while she paced back and forth in the front, occasionally jotting notes on the board, but never stopping to look at them for more than a few seconds at a time.

Aimee felt her phone vibrate lightly in her pocket. She looked up to see where Dr. Morris was before she pulled it out careful not to draw any unnecessary attention. The screen indicated she had a text message. She checked Dr. Morris’s position, then flipped open the phone. It was a message from Dylan. She discreetly turned and peeked over her shoulder. Dylan was watching her. He smiled. Aimee turned back and slid her phone under the desktop. Facing the front, she dropped her eyes to read the message on the screen.

Hey…wup…morris is killing me…r u alive?…really stoked about tonight…where do u want to eat?

Aimee's fingers ghostly typed across the keyboard.

Not dead just comatose…lol…stoked too…burger shack is cool ☺

A faint chuckle leaked from the back. Dr. Morris abruptly stopped her pacing and for the first time since class began forty-five minutes earlier, she looked over her glasses, surveying each student. Aimee froze. She couldn’t breathe. And twenty-three others sitting around her did the same thing. Finally, after a very long minute Dr. Morris turned back to her pacing, and Aimee inconspicuously slid the phone from her lap back into her pocket. She took a deep breath and looked up at Chelsea. Chels grinned and shook her head.

The rest of Aimee's day lingered like a prison sentence. She vaguely remembered attending every class, and walking down bright hallways crammed with noisy students, but she didn’t recall anything else until the final bell rang at three thirty. She escaped to the parking lot. The snow had stopped, and only small patches of gray crystallized mush dotted the ground. This was good news. She hated driving in the snow. She jumped in her car and noticed Dad’s grocery list posted to the rearview mirror. There was plenty of time to stop at the store before heading home to start dinner for her dad. Unlike Chels, she loathed shopping for clothes, but shopping for food was fun. It would give her a diversion before Chelsea came over. Four hours of thinking about nothing but Dylan would be too mind-boggling.

It took her less than ten minutes to reach her destination. She pulled into the parking lot and grabbed the list before bouncing into the store. It was too early for the after-work crowd so she decided to take a little time and meander through the clothes department before moving on to food. As much as Aimee hated clothes shopping, it would kill some time.

She strolled over to the casual wear, and at the end of the sectioned area Aimee noticed a silver toned mannequin. The lifeless body was decked out in a flirty turquoise cashmere sweater.

“Wow
,
” she whispered. She stroked her fingers lightly across a sleeve. It felt incredibly soft,
luxuriant, and the low V neck gave it a sexy look. The color was perfect with her eyes. She found one in her size hanging on a rack close by and held it up to her body, then modeled it in front of a display mirror.

The sales assistant strolled by and asked, “Can I help you find something?”

“Thanks, but I’m fine.”Aimee stepped back and studied the sweater against her frame.

“It would look gorgeous on you.”

“Yeah, I really like it…” Aimee pulled up the sleeve. Her fingers probed for the price tag. “…but I don’t really want to spend too much.” She quickly eyed the tag. Sixty-nine, ninety-nine. Her mouth slid into a frown.

“Here, use this coupon.” The sales assistant handed Aimee a twenty-five percent off coupon on all winter apparel.