The Watchers (7 page)

“Whether you expect it or not, they obviously
do,” I replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I pointed to the girls looking at him with
dreamboat eyes, my face sarcastic. He turned back to me, his face
wry. “Point taken.” He appraised me for a moment. “You’re kind of
contentious, aren’t you?”

“No.” I sighed uncertainly, swiveling my head
in my hand. “Maybe. Being contentious is better than being everyone
else.”

“True…I think.”

I looked away from his strange eyes, wanting
some relative clarity in order to think over our conversation. He
had an easy-going familiarity I felt was partly an act but partly
not. I could tell he knew how to talk to people, to make them see
what he wanted them to see, but I could also tell he thought about
things seriously. It drew me out and reeled me in, fascinating me
more than I was willing to admit. I had never met a stranger so
capable of doing that to me. But what was real? The sarcasm or the
side which thought seriously about things?

Mrs. Heart started her lesson on Shakespeare
then, on a play I had already studied, ending our conversation. My
mind wandered as she lectured, and I glanced over at Daniel,
wanting to look at his face, to puzzle out his mystery, his
questions, and was surprised to see that he was looking back at me.
His head was in his hand, mirroring me, except that he was tapping
impatiently on the desk again. As our eyes connected, he shifted
his attention back to the front but not before he gave me a look
that was both mocking and smug. I frowned at the side of his face I
could see, not able to follow his shifting and contradicting
actions. One second he was angry, because I had beat him in some
stupid tennis game, the next he was asking philosophical questions
and staring at me like he’d never seen a girl with punk hair
before. I focused again, trying to hear anything from him, even a
thought of what he was going to have for dinner. I shifted through
all the thoughts slowly, taking my time, so I wouldn’t miss
anything, but still…nothing. Where was he?

I scowled at Mrs. Heart as she started
questioning the class, my confusion making me irritable. She called
on me after a moment of questions, to get a feel for what I had
learned in previous schools. Her face was expressionless, but I
knew she wasn’t expecting much. I decided to go for dazzle, my
irritation overriding my desire to not be noticed. It was dangerous
like that.

“Where did you learn that?” she asked in her
squeaky voice, ignoring the whispers floating around the room.

“I was in A.P. English at my old school, but
this school didn’t have it…” I trailed off feeling like my whole
day had been a study in not offending anyone.

“Oh!” she said impressed.
Another brain child. I don’t remember Ellen being
that intellectual. Fun at parties, maybe, but not super
smart.
I heard a mental sigh
.
I don’t know if I can handle having another genius in here. Of
course, Daniel has an explanation…his parents are scientists. Maybe
her father is smart? I know I’ll have to pair them together, if I
want the others to learn anything, but that might cause
problems…

I looked over at Daniel, wondering if he had
been as impressed by my answer as the others, but he wasn’t looking
at me. His attention was focused on the desk he was tapping on.
Irritated all over again that I was acting like a five-year-old
over some boy I’d just met, I went back to looking out of the
windows, gratified I’d taught the teacher not to pick on me
anymore.

I stared at the trees, which were swaying
slightly with the wind, and kept up a constant fidget. I searched
my emotions, wondering about the interest I had. Maybe, the
fascination was because I hadn’t counted on my first day being like
this. I had thought it would be awkward, perhaps a little
depressing, but it was suddenly interesting – not just because
something about him rubbed me the wrong way, but because I wanted
to unearth a little of his mystery. I wanted to know why he put on
the show, why his eyes changed color, why he hid behind his
popularity and his charm – I just wanted to know ‘why’. My
questions had me focused on every move he made, every impatient
adjustment in his chair. It was driving me crazy.

The bell, when it rang, was a relief. Daniel
seemed to agree with me. He stood fluidly and started talking to
the boy in front of him as they walked out the door together. A
strange part of me wanted to tell him about the jealous thoughts
the boy was having, but I knew I was being silly. He wouldn’t care,
and he’d probably freak out if I told him how I knew. That was a
major thing I had promised Ellen. No one could know about my past,
my mind reading, or any of the strange things. It was what kept us
safe. It was what kept us hidden.

Alex came over to where I sat unmoving. “What
do you have next?”

“Chorus,” I told her, shifting my eyes away
from Daniel’s retreating back.

“Me too. Come on, I’ll make sure you don’t
get lost in the sheep.”

“Baahhh!”

She giggled and hooked her hand through my
arm companionably as I slung my bag over my shoulder. “I noticed a
certain someone staring at you in class.”

“Was it the boy in the front row who looked
like he’d been flunked a couple of times?”

“Jerry? No, well, yes, but I meant
Daniel.”

I tried to keep my face expressionless, but
she had already seen my interest. She smiled knowingly. “Yeah, he
barely took his eyes off you.”

“Wait, why were you staring?”

“Because you think he’s cute, and I wanted to
know if he thought the same.” Her thoughts were in total agreement
with her words. Was I that obvious? Or was she just that
observant?

“Well, does he?” I asked, acknowledging how
peculiar it was for me to have to rely on someone else to know what
a person was thinking.

“I can’t be certain yet. He just looked
confused.”

“He was probably trying to understand how I
beat him at tennis.”

“No, it was more than that.”

“He probably wants to know where I get my
eyeliner,” I joked.

“Not Daniel,” she replied. “He’s not the
eyeliner type.”

My stomach dropped at the thought of her
spreading our conversation to the school. I ardently did not want
my very slim, miniscule, non-interest getting back to him. That
would just give him leverage; I didn’t need someone having that
kind of power on my first day. And I certainly could live without
the teasing. But for some strange reason, I was convinced our
conversation would remain private.

At the chorus room, Alex left my side so I
could talk to the teacher. She settled herself in with the other
sopranos, her thoughts circling around ways to get Daniel and me
together. I sighed as I handed the teacher the slip, hoping her
ideas would remain in her head. I didn’t need any crazy shenanigans
in my first week; particularly potentially embarrassing
shenanigans.

The last hour of class was torturous. The
bell ringing was the second most beautiful sound I had heard all
day. I gave Alex a brief excuse about having to turn in my
paperwork then fled the classroom as quickly as I could. Alex let
me leave with a smile, her mind on the plans she had with Michelle,
not minding my rushed escape.

A cold wind played across my face as I walked
out the large double doors, but it was refreshing after a long day
indoors. It was better than the stagnate feeling of unanswered
questions and an unwelcome spotlight. Feeling overwhelmed, and
conflicted, I made my way through the sunny, cold afternoon with my
jacket pulled tight against the wind.

Chapter 4

I unlocked the front door of my large house
eagerly, glad Ellen wasn’t home yet. I needed the time to compose
myself, to get my thoughts in order before anyone else’s intruded.
Unlike the apartment complexes I was used to, the house provided me
with enough room to do just that. It was another thing I was
starting to like about the house.

Figuring that having something to do would be
better than dwelling on my strange day, I spent a good forty
minutes on the homework I’d been given. It was insanely easy, but
it kept me occupied. When I finished my last algebra problem, I
left the sanctity of my bedroom and went to cook dinner. As I put
the lasagna in the oven to bake, I heard the door open and Ellen
called my name.

“In here!” I called back.

She looked tired, but happy, as she walked
into the bright kitchen. “Hey! How was your first day?”

“Typical-ish.”

She laughed at me. “Lots of questions, right?
I told you there would be lots of questions.”

I made a face at her and went to the
refrigerator to get out the salad. “How was your day?” I asked
focused on washing the lettuce.

“It was good, busy, but good.”

“I met Alex Lawson today,” I said.

And a stupid boy I beat at tennis. And a
bunch of kids that apparently decided to make me popular. And
teachers that not only knew you when you were young but were
jealous of you.

Her face brightened noticeably. “Sam’s
daughter?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”

“Cool,” she replied.

I frowned, trying to remember the
receptionist’s name. It came to me. “Oh, and Heather Smith or
Thomas said to tell you ‘hi.’ I think she wanted you to know that
she is married…to an old boyfriend of yours.”

Ellen raised a trembling hand to her mouth. I
thought she was going to start crying again, her eyes filling with
water. Instead, she started laughing hysterically. “Oh….that
hypocrite! She hated me when we were in school together! She didn’t
like the fact that I was dating James King. She had a major crush
on him.” She snorted with laughter. “Figures, she would marry
James’s best friend. He must have been sorry that day.” Trailing
laughter down the hall, she went to go change out of her work
clothes.

I shrugged to the empty kitchen, thinking
that people really were strange and that despite being able to hear
their thoughts, they didn’t make any sense.

When the food was ready, we ate companionably
as was our custom. She told me all about her day, no detail being
too small, while I tried to figure out the right way to bring up
something which had been bothering me since gym.

My face must have alerted her to my
preoccupation, because as we washed the dishes she asked, “Are you
sure everything was okay today? You seem a bit…distracted.”

“Well, no, not really.”

Her drying hand slowed, and she gave me a
penetrating look.

“What?”

Her voice was serious, and I knew where her
thoughts had gone. I was in the same place. It was a place I wasn’t
happy about. It was our default mode: running. Despite not wanting
to live in such a tiny town, I hated moving and hated the thought
of facing another first day so soon after this one.

“You know about my…”

“Gift? Of course I do,” she said quickly.

She was uncomfortable, and I knew why. She
felt guilty about everything that was happening to me; guilty for
the curse I faced. But, I didn’t blame her, especially since she’d
been honest with me about my curse. “Well, this morning in gym
class I heard a girl say in her thoughts, ‘I guess it is true that
the child pays for the sins of the parent,’ and I was wondering if
she somehow knew?”

Ellen put down the plate and braced herself
against the countertop. Her face was sad. “I don’t think she knows
what you are. I think she’s just been talking to her parents.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I told you how conservative people are
here?”

“Yes.”

“Some people here feel that a mother who has
a child outside of marriage is a sinful creature, and the child
will be punished because of the mother’s lack of morals.”

“Those people are backwards,” I said, my
temper flaring.

“It’s what they believe.”

“Well, they should believe in something
different!”

“Saying that doesn’t change anything,
Clare…You of all people shouldn’t judge them.”

I scrubbed hard at the plate in my hands,
focusing my anger there. “I shouldn’t judge people, even though
their opinions suck?!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. You simply know
how hurtful judgmental thoughts can be,” she replied. “You hear
them all the time.”

“I just don’t like people thinking bad
thoughts about you.” I avoided her eyes as I asked the next
question. “You think we should leave?”

“No,” she said firmly, putting an end
to the discussion. Her face transformed into a penetrating look I
recognized all too well. “Are you sure that’s the only reason for
your preoccupation? It feels like there’s more.”
Did you meet a cute boy?

I fought my blush, hating that my pale skin
flushed with color so easily. How could she possibly know that I
kept thinking about stupid Mr. Popularity and everything he had
said to me? Our moments together kept replaying in my head like a
broken record, as I tried to understand if he was something else I
should be worried about, or if it was okay to feel attracted to
him. Not that I was attracted. Not at all.

“There were a couple of cute boys, but don’t
worry, they’re part of the Elite. They won’t be interested in me
beyond the fact I’m new and different. Once my shininess wears off,
they’ll go back to ignoring me.”

“Well, you do look a bit dark, sweetie, not
that you are dark. Judgmental thoughts remember?”

I laughed once without humor. “Yeah.”

Irritated, I dumped the water from the tub I
had been washing in. There was no way he would be interested. Ellen
was right. I was too dark. “I’m going to go on a walk,” I said.

“All right.”

I started to leave the kitchen, but she
stopped me with a hand on the shoulder. Her thoughts circled around
the idea that people thought I was a degenerate because of her
youthful actions. “Clare…I wanted to tell you…”