Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (39 page)

Wait a minute. I’d just had a very weird morning. Maybe I was making too much of this Julie-Joel exchange. It was only an arm squeeze, after all. Could mean anything. If only I could tell what Julie was thinking.

Huh. There’s a thought. If I’d seriously peeked into Mark Hernandez’s brain—and that’s a big “if”—then I should be able to see into Julie’s as well. Wait, am I seriously thinking my body’s switched on some kind of weird power?

Julie smiled up at Joel and my body went rigid. She was totally flirting and I had to find out why. Options. What were my options? Try the brain peeking thing or . . . or, what? Sit here drumming my fingers on the steering wheel and obsess?

I stared at my blonde friend, concentrated hard, and tried to read her mind.

Nothing.

I held my hands up and worked to control the energy from me to her. “Come on. Open her mind. Is she scamming on Joel or what?”

Nope. Still couldn’t see a thing.

This was hopeless. Like I could really read someone’s mind. What a joke. Unless, well, maybe I needed to be closer to her like I’d been with Sales Dude?

With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I got out of my car and headed over to Julie and Joel, hoping to get a rational explanation. That is, if I could get my peek-a-boo brain working again.

Julie didn’t notice me approach, probably because she was too busy gazing into my crush’s eyes. But, Joel saw me right away and waved casually.

“Hey, Kylie.” His mouth formed a lazy half-smile. “How’s it going?”

“I’ve been better.” The response didn’t fit my flirtation goals, but it was certainly true.

Julie looked startled, but then she smiled and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Hi, girl. What’s up?”

“You tell me.” I stopped a foot away, gazed into her eyes, and mentally begged her thoughts to appear in my head.

She raised her eyebrows, which she had a habit of doing whenever anything piqued her interest, irritated her, bothered her . . . basically, she raised those penciled brows a lot. “Did one of your contacts fall out or something?”

“Huh?”

She leaned toward me and I could smell her bubble-gum breath. “Your eyes look all buggy.”

I stopped flaring my eyes and blinked. How had I seen Mark Hernandez’s meeting with that brunette? Because, it had to have been real. There’s just no way I thought up those images on my own. Thoughts of Edmond? Yes. Some lady crying? Not so much. But, if I’d seen Mark Hernandez’s thoughts, why couldn’t I see Julie’s now? It didn’t make sense.

Forget the strange phenomenon garbage I’d spouted earlier. Rationally, if I read someone’s mind once, I should be able to do it again. And I needed to do it
now
.

I batted my fist against my thigh over and over. This was so frustrating. What had I done with Mark Hernandez that I wasn’t doing with Julie? He’d shaken my hand and then—whammo!—thoughts in my head like daytime drama. Hmmm . . . he’d shaken my hand and then those weird vibrations had gone up my arm. Physical contact! That must be the clincher.

Julie snapped a hot pink bubble. “You all right, girl?”

I smiled, happy to have discovered the missing link. “I’ll be better in about two seconds.”

Julie shot Joel a look, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was still looking at me with a smile worthy of a hot movie star.

I squinted, trying to figure out how to touch Julie without them thinking I was strange. “What the . . . ?” I put a hand on her rayon-covered shoulder and stared into her eyes. “Are you using new mascara?”

I waited for my hand to vibrate, for her thoughts to fill my brain, but all I felt was Julie shrugging. “It’s pretty new. I got it at the mall like a week ago. Why?” She pulled at her eyelashes. “It’s not clumpy, is it?”

“No,” I said, wondering if the fabric between our skin could be breaking the mind connection. I put a hand on her bare elbow. “Your eyelashes look fantastic.” I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the electrical jolt.

Nothing happened.

“How can you see my lashes with your eyes closed?” Julie sounded confused. “And since when do you care about make-up?”

“I don’t.” What I cared about was finding out why she’d been flirting with Joel, but this wasn’t working. I glanced at him and he was eyeing me strangely, probably thinking about how superficial I must be. I mean, what kind of girl can tell when her friend changes mascara brands?

Julie eyed my grip on her elbow. “Kylie—”

“Forget it,” I interrupted, wanting away from this failed mind peeking experiment, away from Julie’s 4.0 flirting, and away from the indecipherable look on Joel’s face. “Let’s just get going so we’re not late for class.” Tightening my hold on Julie’s elbow, I led her away from the parking lot and away from Joel Templeton.

Let’s face it. Julie was the great flirt. I sucked at the whole boy-girl thing.

****

Minutes later, I entered the hall at school, stopped in front of my bright red locker, and started dialing the lock combo by turning it to the right. It frustrated me to have read Mark Hernandez’s mind and not Julie’s. I flipped the locker dial to the left. Especially when Julie’s was the mind I’d
wanted
to peek into. She’d been flirting with Joel and I needed to know why.

My hand froze on the dial. Joel. I’d dragged Julie out of the parking lot without so much as a goodbye to him. Bad enough that my brain couldn’t read Julie’s, but now my work-on-my-flirting goal had been a flop.

I looked across the hall at Julie who was punching buttons on her cell phone. My paranoia kicked in. Was she texting Joel? I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and had to know what was up with her. Since I couldn’t read her mind, there was only one other way to find out.

“Who are you texting?” My voice rose a notch on “texting” making me sound like I was trying to be cool but really thought my best friend was going after my crush.

“Huh? Oh, I’m finishing my convo with Joel.”

My stomach dropped. “Um, what?”

She flipped her phone shut and laced her arm through mine. “He told me Brandon and Lisa are having problems. I’m hoping she’ll dump him, so I can pick up the pieces.”

Relief washed over me. Of course! Brandon. As in, Joel’s best friend. That’s why she was talking so enthusiastically to my crush. It all made sense now. She’d been in love with Brandon since sophomore year. Unfortunately, he’d hooked up with Lisa before Julie’d made her move.

With paranoia out of the way, I dropped my Chemistry book into my backpack and shut my locker. “Good luck with the Brandon thing. Keep me posted.”

“Sure. See you,” she said, slipped her arm out of mine, and took off for her first period class.

I breezed into the Chemistry lab on Cloud Nine. My best friend wasn’t after my guy—er, my potential guy—and I had all day to undo the damage I’d done in the flirting department. Life was good again.

“Kylie.” Mrs. Thomas—or Mrs. T, as I called her—placed a hand on the small of my back and maneuvered me away from the throng of students pouring into the classroom. “I’d like to introduce you to Mr. McDonald. He’ll be subbing for me while I go on maternity leave. He has an outstanding background in science.”

I checked out Mrs. T’s swollen belly, which seemed to be ballooning daily. I knew it was nature and all, but it couldn’t be comfortable walking around like that. It looked like she might pitch forward at any moment and land on her face.

“Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.” Mr. McDonald pushed his black-rimmed glasses up with his middle finger. “It’ll be my pleasure to educate your class while you’re gone.”

Mrs. T squeezed her lips into a proud smile. “I’m sure you’ll find Kylie to be very helpful. She’s such a delight. My best student.”

I loved when teachers said that.

“Nice to meet you . . . Kylie, was it?” He reached out to shake my hand.

“Yes,” I said, smiling as I accepted his firm grip. “Kylie Bates.”

Suddenly, it felt like I was holding a vibrator—I’m projecting here, not like I’ve actually held one. Electric darts shot up my arm, over my shoulder, and straight to my head. Blurry pictures blasted into my mind. Mr. McDonald, standing in front of the class. Pouring liquid from a vial into a heated beaker. Ms. Solomon, the principal, entering the room. Clapping her hands at Mr. McDonald. Waving good-bye to Mrs. T, who had a baby in her arms. Mr. McDonald smirking as Mrs. T walked out of the classroom. Then, my mind went blank.

Mr. McDonald had released my hand and beamed at me. “It’s great to know young students are applying themselves these days.” He sounded quite chipper. Apparently, planning to commandeer Mrs. T’s job was a hoot. “Is Chemistry your favorite subject, Kylie?”

“Um.” My favorite would soon be psychology. Or theology. Or whatever could tell me WHY I’D JUST READ THE SUB’S MIND!

Mrs. T tilted her head. “Kylie? Something wrong, hon?”

Yeah, something was wrong. “Don’t go on maternity leave, Mrs. T,” I blurted and grabbed her forearm. “Your sub wants to take over your job. Permanently.”

Her face went pale. Then, she placed a hand on her belly and eyed Mr. McDonald suspiciously.

He coughed into his hand. “Nonsense. I’m here on a temporary assignment. Your best student, Mrs. Thomas? I can’t say much for her manners.”

“You don’t fool me,” I said, and left a bewildered Mrs. T as I wandered to my seat. Just then, fuzzy images of Mr. McDonald replayed in my mind one after another. I gripped either side of my head. “Stop!”

The guy to my left shot me a weird look. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything.”

Did. I. Just. Yell. Aloud? I ducked my head and sat down, mortified. Usually, I kept a low profile in class. In school, in life even. I didn’t accuse substitute teachers of job-stealing and I certainly didn’t shout like a girl gone mad. What was wrong with me?

Dumb question. My peek-a-boo brain was back.

The final bell rang and everybody rushed to their seat.

Suddenly, Mrs. T appeared in front of me. “Is everything okay, Kylie?” she asked, and then lowered her voice. “Maybe you’d like to see the school nurse?”

What I needed was a shrink. Or even better, my dad. But, I didn’t want to cause more of a scene. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“All right.” She nodded, but her lips scrunched up like she wasn’t sure. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

My mind. That was the problem. I’d read two minds in the past two hours. That couldn’t be good. Wait a second. Why had I seen Mr. Job-Stealer’s thoughts and not Julie’s? I hadn’t even tried to read his mind. It just happened when he shook my hand.

Ah-ha! That’s what I’d done wrong with Julie. I’d touched her elbow, not her hand. Not that I had a clue why that should matter. A touch was a touch, right? My head started to spin.

Calm down. Think. How to proceed? I guess I should test the “hand shaking” theory. Two for two, after all. But, seeing people’s thoughts without them knowing? That’d be kinda sneaky, kinda intrusive, and actually . . . kinda
cool
.

If I could jump inside a fiction novel, I’d totally shake hands with Edmond Dant
és
. Wouldn’t I love to know what went through his mind? But, since that’s not possible (as far as I know, anyway), I’d have to make do with someone local. Now, who has thoughts I’d like to get into?

Julie? Nah. She wasn’t going after Joel so no need to go there. If I wanted to be generous, I could shake Brandon’s hand and see if Julie had a shot or not.

Even better, I could read Joel! I’d finally know if he actually likes me. On the other hand, I could find out he thinks I’m a nut case for obsessing over my friend’s mascara. For not saying bye to him. For shaking his hand out of the blue when he and I have known each other since freshman year. Hmmm. Reading his mind would be tricky.

I stared out the window as Mrs. T finished introducing her rival, I mean sub, to the rest of the class. Mr. McDonald avoided eye contact with me the entire time. Great. One little accusation and I’m stonewalled. It’d better not affect my GPA.

Next, Mrs. T droned on with lab instructions while Mr. McDonald took notes. And for the first time in my life, I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork. I mean, who cared about turning clear liquid purple? My brain was performing the greatest experiment of all time!

But, it wasn’t without risk. I mean, I’d find out my crush’s inner most thoughts and what if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks I’m a weirdo? Did I want to know that? Not really.

Then, I thought of the world’s greatest risk takers: Einstein, Galileo, Edison. If Christopher Columbus hadn’t been willing to take risks, we’d still think the world was flat. So, I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. I’d just have to be creative.

My stomach swirled at my decision to test my hand-shaking hypothesis. Once class was over, I’d get myself a sneak-peek into Joel Templeton’s brain.

Chapter Two

When the bell rang, signaling the end of Chem Lab, I bolted from the classroom. I was a girl on a mission. A mission to read her potential-boyfriend’s mind. Pushing my way through the crowds, I stood across from Joel’s locker, and waited.

He never showed.

I repeated my stalking stance during the break after English, but still no Joel. I couldn’t believe it. He always went to his locker between classes. Why did he have to change routine today of all days?

It’s not like Joel knew I was gonna peek at his thoughts and was purposely staying away. No, there was no way he could know that unless . . . well, unless someone had read
my
brain and then told Joel my plans. My eyes widened and I studied the faces around me. Just then, someone bumped my arm. A mind reader!

“You make a better door than window,” the guy growled.

“Sorry,” I said, way doubtful that tool’s goal was brain peeking. I made my way over to the wall. Oh, man. I was majorly tripping. It’s not like the entire world had a peek-a-boo brain or surely it would be a reality TV show.

My head began to spin again, so I gave up on Joel for now and headed to Trig. Math would be a cinch compared to mind reading. But, just like in my morning classes, I couldn’t concentrate. I spent fifty-five minutes playing “He likes me/He likes me not” using the lines on my binder paper.