18 Thoughts (My So-Called Afterlife Book 3) (12 page)

“Well, of course you did. You read my mind.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t like that.
I
saw it for myself.”

“But you didn’t manipulate that creepy vision, make me see what you wanted?”

He looked at me, his face free from expression, his eyes full of hurt. “How?”

Zipping up my sweater, I said, “I don’t know, with that freaky mind connection.”

“No, that was my first time ever having a vision. Usually meditating clears my mind. It does not conjure up weird little daydreams on its own accord.”

I kept my gaze on his, watched for any trace of a lie, and found nothing. “But that didn’t feel like a vision necessarily. It felt like a…”

“Memory.”

“Yeah, did you think that, too, or did you just read my thoughts?”

The bell rang, and he jumped to his feet. “No, I thought the same thing. It felt like a distant, hazy memory from another lifetime or something.”

“What do you think it means?” I gathered my things and stuffed them into my bag.

“I don’t know. Some people believe meditation can help you retain memories, even recall lost ones. Maybe we’re just both insane?”

I laughed aloud, even though it wasn’t funny, because that’s what crazy people do.

“Two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.”
—Nate’s Thoughts

he final bell rang at 2:37 p.m. Not that I’d heard a word any of my teachers said after the vision with Nate.

“So, Olga, I hear you’re going out with the new hottie in school. How’d you make that happen?” Brittany asked, the same Brittany who drooled over Nate in our shared vision.

I slammed my locker. “Who says we’re going out?”

“Tammy.”

“Yeah, well, Tammy wouldn’t recognize the truth if it bit her in her perfect little a—” The loud speaker came on, announcing the cancellation of some club meeting after school and effectively saving my tooshie. Swearing was out of character for me, but the frustration of the last few months slowly corrupted me. “Gotta go. See ya.”

“If you’re not going out with Nate, do you think can you put in a good word for me?” she called down the hall.

Yes, I
think
I can.

Walking quickly toward the parking lot to catch a ride with Nic, I stopped Tammy on the way.

“Hey, what’s with the rumor you’re starting about me going out with Nate?”

Her gaze bounced around to every passing classmate. “You already heard that one?”

“Explain.”

Tammy ran a hand through her short, blonde hair. “You know how I have last period with Conner. Well, he was talking smack about sleeping with four girls this summer, and how it could’ve been five, but he didn’t go through with one because he’d known her since she was five, and he felt bad the girl was actually in love with him.”

My stomach twisted into knots. “What?”

Tammy’s face fell, and to her credit she looked like she was going to be sick over his behavior, too. “So, I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see if there was one last shred of humanity left in him. I turned around and told him he was a liar, that the girl he referred to had way more class than to ever think about sleeping with him and had already moved onto bigger and better things with the new hottie in town.”

Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. “What’d he say to that?”

Tammy shook her head slowly. “He said I was right, that Olga Gay Worontzoff was too classy to sleep with him, but I wasn’t.”

Squeezing Tammy’s shoulder, I said, “You’re too classy for all the guys at this school, even most of the girls. I hope you didn’t put up with his bullcrap.”

A flush crept across her cheeks. “I slapped him in the face.”

I laughed. “He’s getting a lot of that action these days, but he deserves it. What’d the teacher do?”

She shrugged. “She told Conner he had it coming, then moved his seat to the other side of the room away from everyone and told all of us to sit down, shut our mouths, and get our work done.”

“Well, I agree with her. He did have it coming.”

My phone dinged, a text from Nic popping up:
U comin?

“I gotta go. Nic is waiting for me.”

Tammy nodded. “Why don’t I drive you home? We’ve barely had time to hang out this week.”

“We’ve seen each other every day at cheerleading practice.”

“Yeah, but that’s all work and no play. I need a good girl talk.”

“You and me both.” I sent Nic a text and walked with Tammy toward the parking lot.

“Are you excited to cheer in your first football game of the season tonight?”

“I guess, but it kind of sucks because I really need to get a head start on studying and write the weekly blog on the school’s website for the
Bucs’ Blade
.”

“Jesus, Olga, you sure are boring.”

“Hey!”

She unlocked her Lexus with the remote on her keychain. “Sorry, but sometimes the truth hurts. You need to come to Kyle’s party tomorrow, though.”

I froze, my fingers on the door handle, my mind flashing to the vision I shared with Nate. “I wasn’t invited.” I’d never been the sensitive type, but I felt a little hurt. My good buddy didn’t invite me to his party.

“Yes, you are. Get in. I’ll tell you all about it.”

I obeyed, then waited a few minutes as Tammy got situated.

Finally, when she turned onto the road, she explained, “Kyle just found out this morning his parents are going out of town for the weekend. When we chatted at lunch, I told him it was the perfect opportunity to throw the first big house party of the school year, and he agreed. Something you would’ve already known if you actually ever joined us in the cafeteria.”

Squinting at the sun pouring in through the windshield, I nodded. “Sorry. Nate and I have been doing some research up in the journalism room, though.”

“Right. Does this research include investigating his mouth?”

Gah!
“No! We did meditate together, though.”

She laughed. “Hot. When?”

“Today, but it was weird.”

“Good weird or bad weird?”

“Both.” I told her how the meditation started out relaxing, but then turned weird, including every detail I remembered about the vision of me at Kyle’s house party. Even though I spent most of my summer hanging out with her and Nic, I’d only told Nic about Nate reading my thoughts. So, I took the opportunity I had now to clue Tammy in on that little tidbit as well.

She nearly bounced off her driver’s seat in irritation. “I can’t believe you kept this from me!”

Raising my eyebrows, I said, “Do you really blame me? This whole situation is crazy!”

“Okay, but you have to tell me everything. Now.”

“I already did.”

Her shoulders slumped. “So you guys haven’t figured anything out yet?”

Flashing a bitter smile, I said, “Concerning Nate and his reading my mind or our research about Conner during lunch?”

“Either.”

“Your guess is as good as mine on both accounts.”

“Maybe that vision you guys shared today means you can see the future when your souls connect in a deep way or something. I think you should both come to Kyle’s party tomorrow night and try to recreate the scene as much as possible. See what happens. I’ll even make cookies.”

I fidgeted nervously with the zipper on my sweater. “You know, that’s actually a good idea.” But I didn’t see how Nate would be playing with the Cantankerous Monkey Squad.

Tammy smiled wide. “Don’t sound so surprised. I do get those from time to time.”

There were people everywhere, shooting hoops in Kyle’s driveway, playing Quarters by the beer keg set up on his back porch, gathered around the island in his kitchen and munching on snacks. Plastic red Solo cups littered every countertop. The Cantankerous Monkey Squad’s self-titled song blared from the living room, and a group of stoner nonconformists were moshing on the green carpet in front of the band while Nate sang all the right notes, Sean nailed the rhythms on his bass, and Kyle whaled on the drums.
Wait, Nate?

“What’s Nate doing singing with the band? Where’s Conner?” I shouted to Nic over the loud music.

“Oh, yeah. I was so busy at the store today I never got a chance to tell you. The Cantankerous Monkey Squad came to blows last night after playing at Music Walk downtown.”

“What happened?”

“Well, Sean and Kyle are tired of Conner hooking up with all the girls, ranging anywhere from thirteen to twenty. And you know he’s messing around with drugs and alcohol, too, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “I’d heard he was the Beer Pong champ this summer, but I hadn’t heard anything about drugs.”

“Yeah, he likes to smoke a joint before they play a show now. Says it relaxes him.”

Shuddering, I thought of how my meditation with Nate was supposed to relax me but only ended up making me freak out even more. “Hmm, so they just finally had enough and kicked him out of the band last night?”

“Pretty much. We all went to Jumpin’ Java for a cup of coffee afterward, and Nate was sitting at a table by himself, so we invited him to hang with us. Then the boys got to talking about music, and Kyle asked if he’d fill in for Conner tonight at the party. They practiced all day together.”

I raised one eyebrow, thinking again of the vision as I followed Nic into the kitchen. It was weird, all the details coming together like magic. I felt entranced, destined to follow a certain path.

Already coolness filled the air with all the windows and doors open in the house, even though it was only the first week of September, summer barely over. Most of the girls were wearing sweaters or coats, but I’d forgotten mine. The weather wasn’t the only thing giving me the chills, though. All the details of Kyle’s house party were the same ones I had seen earlier in my vision with Nate. Tammy leaned against the hardwood island in the kitchen, offering up the brownies and cookies she made for the party. Her outfit wasn’t weather appropriate either: a Victoria’s Secret Pink tank top with Billabong black cutoffs. A perfect high ponytail shimmered with gold gel among her blonde highlights.

She seemed to have noticed my nervousness because she grabbed on to my hand tightly and led me to the back porch, where she approached the keg and poured two cups full, then handed me one.