Against the Current Read online

  “Well good morning class. We have a new student today and her name is Blair. Make sure that you all make her feel welcome.”

  I wore a tight smile and slid a little further down my chair. Quickly Mr. Shields went to the board and started yammering on about some formulas. I had a notebook open with a pencil out, but I wasn’t writing anything yet. Some people were copying what he was writing. If they weren’t then they were faking it pretty well as their eyes were going back and forth between him and the paper. My eyes though went to the notebook beside me. The guy with the curly hair just below his ears was doodling on his paper. My eyes watched though trying to figure out where he was taking the picture. By the time the bell rang there was a full ocean scene with a pirate ship sailing against the waves. He quickly slammed it shut and was gone. With my map and schedule on hand, I headed towards chemistry. Hopefully, the chemistry class would be a tad more interesting.

  Kids were bumping into each other as we traveled like cattle. My helmet was now clipped to the side of my bag, and I heard people muttering as they got ‘whacked’ by it. I trudged along until I finally found the room. A woman with short hair that was nearly black came down to her chin. She was paler than me somehow and wore big black glasses. She had a smile and under her skirt, there was a pair of sneakers peeking through.

  “Good morning! I’m Ms. Paff, and you must be Blair.”

  I nodded my head and wore a tighter smile. “Hi.”

  “You can take the desk over there.”

  I sat again near the edge of the rows. Somehow, I was behind the shaggy-haired boy that was in my math class.

  “Well, this is perfect timing. We are about to work on a project and Blair you make my class an even number. Nothing says starting the last nine weeks like a project.” Her voice was bouncy, and she spoke with a grin glued to her face.

  She was reading names off, not that it mattered I didn’t know anyone. My leg bounced slightly under the desk.

  “Gabriel, I think you’ll work well with Blair.”

  “Sounds good Ms. Paff.” The shaggy hair boy in front of me replied.

  “Perfect!”

  She went on hopping around the front of the room. A sudden sense of doom overcame me.

  The slam of plastic against the table jarred my attention from my book. Narrowing my eyes Gabriel was settling in across from me at a table in the cafeteria. I had packed my lunch and was nibbling on my sandwich as I read. His grey eyes met mine.

  “Since we’re working together let me formally introduce myself. I’m Gabriel, some people call me Gabe, some call me Gabriel, but when I’m really annoying or chatty my dad calls me Gabriella.”

  I snickered. “I’m Blair.”

  Gabriel stuck his hand out and I shook it. Who shook hands?

  “Don’t you normally have friends you sit with?” I raised an eyebrow.

  He shrugged and bit into something that might have been lasagna. It was covered in red sauce and cheese whatever it was.

  “I kind of float between tables.”

  I nodded. “Nice.”

  “Keeps things interesting.”

  “You sit by yourself, don’t you?”

  Gabriel smirked. “It’s a good way to get some drawling done.”

  “So, I noticed in math,” I responded dryly.

  “So, you noticed me?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  “Nope, too late. My head has already swelled four times its size.”

  “You’re worse than my six-year-old sister.”

  “Is she your only sibling?” Gabriel took a bigger bite this time and a piece of string stretched from the tray to the fork.

  “No, I have a baby sister as well.”

  He nodded. “Sounds like fun. I have a sister in the eighth grade; she likes to pretend I’m not related to her. I can’t imagine why.”

  I leaned closer to him.

  “Are you on something?” I whispered.

  Gabriel smirked and folded his arms in front of him on the table before he leaned closer.

  “I’m not, do you think I should be?”

  I sat back to an upright position and shook my head. Great, the school’s weirdo wants to be my friend. I hit a whole new low. When a person reads a book in public that means that they wanted to be left alone. How could he not know that? Wasn’t that a universal thing?

  “I’m truly bothering you, aren’t I?” a lopsided grin grew on his face.

  “Honestly? Yeah.”

  Gabriel smiled. “Fair enough. See you later partner.”

  Gabriel picked up his tray and went over to another table that was mixed with boys and girls. I shook my head and went back to my book.

  I had texted my mom before I left school to let her know that I was taking a detour to the beach before I headed home. She was fine with that; she was working on a chapter before having to pick up Persephone. My mom said her current characters were speaking to her. All I knew was that I could have sworn I heard her up at four in the morning. That woman had to have more coffee than blood in her body. I quickly looked up the directions from the school to the beach. It didn’t look terrible, maybe a little over twenty-minute bike ride, if I had a car, it would be shorter. I weaved in and out of traffic until I reached neighborhoods that were in a grid system. The seagulls were flying over my head in their out-of-pitch calls. Taking my bike lock out of my backpack I locked it up before making my way onto the beach.

  Fine grains of sand poured into the sides of my sandals and, the salty air entered my lungs. My hair whipped around, and I closed my eyes for a brief moment. I hadn’t lived near the water since I was a toddler, but to me, this felt more at home than anywhere else I had ever been. The water felt like a warm embrace from a loved one. I took my sandals off and made my way closer to the water. The sand moved under each step making it uneven. Once I reached the water, I braced myself for freezing temperatures. A big wave pulled in water before crashing onto the sandy shore once again. The water tickled my toes before trickling out back towards the horizon. The water felt like ice cubes had licked my skin.

  Taking a step back I sat down with the sand conforming to my bottom. With each passing wave, I could feel my entire day being pulled away and out to the bottom of the ocean. When we were figuring out a place to move to a few years back I had told my mom I wanted to be close to the water again. She only smiled and asked why. I had trouble explaining to her because I was younger, but there was something about being near the water that made me feel at peace. It seemed to level me out and yet the water seemed to speak to me. She only nodded towards me and my opinion, as usual, didn’t matter in the pick of the move. Actually, we moved more inland near some mountains.

  As I took in a deep breath, I could feel the negativity slowly release with my breath. Opening my eyes, I drew my knees into my chest. The waves grew then crashed onto the sandy shores, thinning the water out. The white bubbles danced against the grains. If I could just pitch a tent and live on the beach I would. My phone started to ring from my pocket. I took it out as my eyes stayed on the water.

  “Hi mom.”

  “Hi Blair, I know you’re at the beach, but can you start heading home. We’re still new around here and it would save my nerves if you were home before it got dark.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get on my bike now.”

  “Thank you, I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  3

  Blair

  The hardcover book that I was reading was open as I ate my lunch. My eyes scanned the paper like an old typewriter, left to right. With my right hand, I picked up my sandwich and took a bite. I was sitting on the edge of a table by myself, it didn’t help that I had my headphones on listening to music. Placing the sandwich down as I chewed, I started to turn the page. The characters were walking into a trap I knew it and if it was a horror movie the music would be growing louder. I picked the book up with both hands and pushed a couple of stray hairs out of my face. The ch
aracters were wandering deeper into the abandoned warehouse and one of their flashlights was starting to flicker.

  “Wow, that book must be interesting.”

  I dropped my book causing it to land on the floor. My current page was gone. I took my earbuds out of my ears and glared at Gabriel. He was wearing that stupid lopsided grin on his face as the ends of his hair were curling off to the sides.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I’m sure,” I muttered as I leaned down and picked my book off the ground.

  “You were gone to the world I’ve been sitting here for at least five minutes or so.”

  I glanced up at him before skimming the book for my spot.

  “I have two younger sisters under the age of seven, so I’ve learned to tune things out.”

  “Honestly, I came over here because I wasn’t sure if we got off on the wrong foot or not, but I am sure I am just continuing down the wrong path after this.”

  I sighed and my shoulders slumped. I placed my piece of paper into the book after I found where I was.

  “You’re fine. The whole new kid act kind of gets old after a while.” My voice came out softer.

  He nodded. “I can only imagine. I’ve lived in the same house my whole life and it is only a few minutes away from where both my parents grew up.”

  I snorted. “Mine grew up in another state. They were a couple of high school sweethearts in a boring town according to my mom.”

  He opened a small bag of chips and tilted the opening towards me.

  “Do you want any?”

  I smiled and took a couple.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Gabriel crunched down.

  “So, I know why I sit by myself. What’s the real reason that you’re sitting by the loner freak?” I inquired.

  I raised an eyebrow before crunching into a chip. Gabriel’s smile dimmed as his eyebrows scrunched together.

  “I don’t see a loner freak.”

  Rolling my eyes, I took a sip of my water.

  “Okay.”

  “Really. I don’t see why you’d say that about yourself.” Gabriel’s voice came out gentle.

  The bell rang.

  “There’s still time for you to see,” I mumbled before grabbing my stuff to leave.

  As I got up, I took a quick glimpse at Gabriel. He was sitting with his back straight, still in that seat. Gabriel didn’t get it, but he would soon see, and we’d be off to the next location. Then I would just be a distant memory. The book swung at my side. Off to the next class.

  When the last bell rang, and we were finally free to go I had my bag on my back. I was pulling out my helmet and my stomach dropped. There next to my bike was Gabriel leaning against the bike rack.

  “I’m pretty sure no matter the state there is some law against stalking.”

  Gabriel looked up from the ground and towards my direction. A small smile spread across his face.

  “Is it stalking if we go to the same school?”

  I raised an eyebrow and stood in front of him. As Gabriel leaned his lower back against the rack, he and I were at eye level. His stormy eyes stayed on mine causing my stomach to twist.

  “Do you have a bike on here?” I questioned shifting my weight from one foot to the other.

  “Nah, I drive to school.”

  “So then, you are stalking me. You’re going out of your way to be part of my routine.”

  He laughed. “Gees, pulling out the definition on me and everything.”

  “My mom is a writer; research is part of her job description. I usually end up helping her.”

  “What kind of writer?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Trust me you don’t want to go through her search history.”

  As a romance writer, the stuff she came up with never ceased to shock me. It made having the talk extremely awkward. I’m pretty sure Dad would die if he knew half of what she told me. Plus, her random poisoning or heal search I was sure she was flagged on some FBI list.

  “I’ll trust you.”

  “What is your deal with me?” The words came spilling out.

  He shrugged. “You’re my partner for the project and you look like you need a friend.”

  “I’m good,” I responded quickly.

  Gabriel straightened up so that I could grab my bike from behind him. People were still walking around us to the parking lot. The buses were already pulled out and headed to their stops. I balanced the bike against my hip and started to put my helmet on.

  “Everyone needs someone to talk to.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “And you’re the person I need to talk to?”

  “I figured I’d reach out.”

  Lifting my leg, I straddled the bike.

  “As I said, I’m good.”

  Using my foot, I propelled myself off I started to peddle my way home. If Gabriel hadn’t been there, I would’ve put my earbuds in to listen to light music on my journey home. Spinning my legs faster I turned sharply down a neighborhood. Some cars drove by me, and I just kept working my legs until our neighborhood was in sight. Turning in it didn’t take long to reach our house, my mom’s car sat in the driveway. Dad’s car wasn’t in sight which wasn’t a surprise. Drifting up the short driveway I let the soles of my shoes drag against the asphalt of the driveway until my front tire tapped the garage door. Flipping the cover of the garage opener I keyed in the password which was still the one from the previous owner.

  The door groaned and chugged all the way, slowly cranking the sections of the door until it was up. I shook my head. There in the garage were still the boxes on top of each other scattered about. In the one corner was some exercise equipment that probably still had an inch of dust covering them. Climbing off the bike I wheeled it off to the side of the garage. Once it was leaned against the wall, I draped my helmet on the handlebars. I trudged up the stairs and slapped the garage door button. Just as I was closing the door, I could hear the thing start cranking to close the entryway again.

  “I’m home,” I yelled out.

  Craning my neck, I didn’t see my mom in her small office that was off to the side. My eyebrows fused then turned the other way, towards the kitchen. There she was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop. She had a bun fanned out on the top of her head as her glasses were perched on the edge of her nose. She even had a few color pencils sticking in her hair. There were pieces of paper spread across what used to be our kitchen table.

  “How was your day Bumble Bee?”

  My mom’s fingers quickly danced across the keyboard before she leaned back, and her eyes found me. She pushed her glasses off her face and on top of her head.

  I shrugged. “It was okay.”

  “Did you meet anyone yet?”

  I rolled my eyes and went over to the cabinet. Opening one of the cabinets I pulled out a granola bar. Unwrapping it I could still feel her eyes on me.

  “Nope.”

  “Bumble Bee, that’s not good.”

  “How can someone find friends when their nickname is an animal that stings people?”

  I took a bite. My mom titled her head causing her hair to fall to one side.

  “You’re supposed to poke people with your wit, not that shining attitude.”

  “Thanks.”

  “If your parents can’t be honest with you, then who can?”

  “Those Santa years are coming to mind.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t get me started. Blair, I swear to you, this is our last move, please don’t block everyone away from you. You have a lot to offer.”

  “Sorry. How was your day?”

  She beamed. “Great, I got a couple of chapters done. I even got to sketch out some pictures of the characters.”

  I smiled. Her drawings were usually rough. If I was bored, I went back and cleaned them up before adding details. She just needed a mental image at times especially if there were injuries on the person, she likes the remind
er. She had one character who fought in a duel and for the life of her, she couldn’t remember which side of his face his scar was on. She drew the picture and left it out on the table. I was bored and erased most of her lines to make it more lifelike and she pinned it to her wall.

  “That’s good.”

  She nodded. “While you’re up, can you get Winnie out of her crib? She took a nap a while ago, but she’s been keeping herself entertained in her crib, so I’ve left her alone.”

  “Sure can.”

  “Thanks.”

  I climbed up the steps. Before going to their room, I threw my bookbag into my room. Turning on my heel, I went towards my sisters’ room. Opening the door, I smiled. Winnie was grinning as her hair was going every which way. Winnie stood up and gripped the crib railing.

  “Are you ready to be let out of your prison?”

  She squealed. “Bee!”

  I closed the space between us. I lifted her and held her close to me. She wrapped her chubby little arms around me as she kissed me. Little by little I descended the stairs. Winnie babbled the whole ride down. She let out a loud screech when she saw my mom. My mom got up and held her arms out.

  “Did someone have a good nap?”

  My mom kissed Winnie’s cheek.

  “She looks like a wild thing with that hair.”

  “But she’s all ours.”

  I shook my head. My hair might be the straightest out of the three of us but seeing that round face I could see parts of Persephone and me in it. My nose with the slight bump on the bridge and Persephone’s more rounded eyes. Winnie pushed my mom’s cheeks together and giggled.

  “She’s the happiest of the three of you, I can say that for sure.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “Persephone was the most curious. She was always getting into something and if we didn’t let her, she would scream like a banshee.”