Against the Current Read online

  I laughed. “Sounds like things never changed.”

  She chuckled. “You, you were like having an old person in a baby’s body.”

  My face scrunched and I shook my head.

  “What?”

  “You would always be looking around and I’d swear you’d be watching us have conversations with other adults instead of trying to play. I still remember taking you to some pool when you were very young. We had a friend who had a kid around your age. Their daughter was splashing about. Then there was you, you were sitting in the water and,” she paused and turned her attention from Winnie to me, “you were dragging your hands along the surface of the water, mumbling to yourself. It was the oddest and calmest thing I’d ever seen a baby do.”

  “Thanks.”

  “As I said, you were always a serious child. You still are.”

  “Sorry? I’ll try to go out and get something randomly pieced then sneak out to go to a party?” I muttered.

  My mom groaned and rolled her eyes before adjusting Winnie in her arms.

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  “I know.”

  “Can you go poke your head outside and make sure Persephone goes to the right house when she gets off the bus?”

  I nodded my head and walked out of the front door. The door swung closed behind me. I sat in the front yard with legs folded. My hands fell behind me. I leaned my head back. It was technically spring, but there was still a cool breeze whispering to us. The sun was out, and I took in a deep breath. I swear I was meant to live out in nature. A couple of women strolled by talking to each other. They stopped a few houses down at the corner. Their backs were to me, but my eyes kept on that end of the road. Finally, the big, yellow bus came into view. The lights flashed on top before it came to a screeching halt. Yells and laughter traveled through the yards.

  Soon a big pink bow was in view from across the street. I smirked. Persephone skipped across the street. Once she was on my side of the street, she picked up her pace. Her hands were wrapped around her bookbag straps. Persephone was smiling ear to ear as she came up. She jumped landing on both feet in front of me.

  “Good day at school?”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, let us go inside.”

  I pushed myself up and followed her inside.

  The squawks of birds soared above my head. Opening my eyes slowly all I could do was smile. The grass was tall in the field. The skirt of my dress was belled out around me as I sat. The blades of the grass and the wildflowers swayed in a slow dance. My light hair waved about slightly. A whisper behind me caused me to turn around to face the horizon. Narrowing my eyes, I stayed still, and my hand pressed deeper into the grass.

  “Caroline,” a deep voice beckoned.

  My eyebrows narrowed towards the cliff. Pushing myself off the ground I brushed the dirt and grass from the back of my dress. My back straightened and my steps were measured.

  “Car-o-line.” My name was still low, but this time dragged out.

  The crashes of the waves clapped below the cliff, getting louder with each step. Grass swished under my dress as the fabric was dragged across it. Reaching the bluff my hair and skirt whipped about, strands flew into my face.

  “Caroline!” The voice was sharper this time.

  I stared down at the base of the cliff. Sharp, jagged rocks jetted out of the water; the tips were seen poking through the foamy waves. Water splashed high on the cliff. My heart raced. A yell broke through the water as large, dark, sharp hands reached out towards me. I screamed as I was pulled towards the water.

  I woke up gasping for air. My eyes were blinking frequently around the room. There was an outline around the shapes of my room from the moonlight but that did not make things more comforting. I could almost still feel the splashes of water as I was pulled down to the water. My name wasn’t Caroline and I had never been to that place before. I wouldn’t have been caught dead in that old fashion dress. Then again, my hair wasn’t that light of a shade of blonde either. I looked like Celtic Barbie. Rolling my eyes, I collapsed backward on my bed with a slight bounce. I was a junior in high school, and I was acting like a six-year-old who had a nightmare.

  Fixing the sheets around me I stared at the ceiling. If I focused, I could almost hear my mother’s grandfather clock clicking from down the stairs. Yup, I wasn’t going to be getting more sleep tonight.

  4

  Blair

  The whole ride to school my legs felt like they were made of lead. Once I got into homeroom my body collapsed into the chair with a sigh escaping my lips. There were already a few students that were at their assigned desks. A couple of kids were in the back hunched over some papers. Rolling my head around I felt creaks before facing forward once again. Picking up my book I parted the spine where the bookmark was.

  “Do you like that book?” a voice piped up.

  Glancing up from my book was a girl with wavy, dark brown hair standing in front of my desk. She was wearing ripped jeans and a white peasant-style shirt with pink roses on the fabric. She was carrying a couple of notebooks to her chest.

  I shrugged. “It’s okay, I had higher hopes with the cover.”

  She smiled. “I did too, I honestly thought it would have been different based on the description. I don’t think the person who wrote the blurb actually read the book.”

  I laughed and closed the book with my bookmark peeking out of the top.

  “I’m noticing that myself.”

  “I am a little embarrassed, but I barely made it through the book. That seldom happens.”

  “Don’t tell me that, I was hoping that the author would turn it around.” I chuckled.

  She grimaced. “Sorry, by the way, I’m Anjuli.”

  “I’m Blair.”

  “I think we have a couple of classes together.”

  I raised an eyebrow and tried to think back to all the new faces I’d seen since I’d moved.

  “Math?”

  Anjuli nodded her head. “That’s it, gym too if I remember correctly.”

  “Well, I guess it’ll be good to have a familiar face.”

  Anjuli shifted her weight from one foot to the other and balanced her books on her hip. She raised an eyebrow.

  “Have you and your partner started the science project yet?” Anjuli questioned.

  I shook my head. “No, we haven’t. I haven’t really spoken to him though.”

  “Who’s your partner anyway?”

  “Gabriel,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.

  Her thin, dark eyebrows scrunched together. Anjuli put her books down on the desk not far from mine before leaning against another one and her hands gripped the edges.

  “What’s wrong? He’s pretty great.”

  This time I raised one of my eyebrows.

  “Really? Are we talking about the same guy?”

  Anjuli nodded her head. “There is only one in our grade. He’s super friendly with everyone. Not only that, but he’s also really smart despite how he acts. Me, I got stuck with the idiot who tried egging the principal’s car last year in broad daylight.”

  Anjuli shook her head with an exaggerated eye roll.

  “Isn’t Gabriel kind of weird? The other day he was hanging out by my bike at the bike rack.”

  “Like I said, he’s friendly with everyone. He’s like a human Golden Retriever. I’m sure he was trying to make you feel welcomed.”

  “Huh.”

  “You can lower that eyebrow; I promise I’m not building up a closet killer.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to relax my face. I hadn’t even realized that I was scowling. The bell rang and Anjuli went over to her seat on the other side of the room. I picked my book back up and leaned back in my chair, bracing myself for the day that I wasn’t prepared for. Gabriel slid into the room with that stupid grin on his face before making his way to his seat near me.

  Anjuli’s words about Gabriel bounced around my head. Not that I was complete
ly focused, to begin with. My pencil was lightly going across the page and before I knew it at the end of math my paper was a whole scene. There was a cliff with waves crashing against the spiky rocks. A large hawk was flying among the clouds. By the time I had gotten to science my scene had more details and depth. The claws of the bird were more pronounced. There was a woman in a long-skirted dress with an arm outstretched towards the feathered animal.

  As I sat in my seat Gabriel came into the room with a smile on his face. His eyes met mine briefly before he sat in his seat with a thud. My eyes shot up to the back of his head, but he never turned around. My focus went back to the picture and my pencil stood still. Where in the world had this scene come from? The dress seemed a little similar to the dress in my nightmare the night before. There wasn’t anything I wanted to add though, maybe some color, but my colored pencils were at home. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I’d have to focus now. Our teacher was bouncing a little as she was writing something on the front board. I opened my notebook to the last page in our notes.

  Gabriel was hunched over his notebook causing his hair to fall forward. His shoulders weren’t squared off, but rather down. Gabriel’s hand stopped moving and he held his head against his hand as it was propped up. The bell rang and I shook my head. Picking my stuff up I was ready to get out of the room because I was obviously not present mentally today.

  My homework was done and back in my bookbag by the door. I was sitting with Persephone as she was doing hers. I grabbed my color pencils and was going through my picture adding hints of colors. My mom and Winnie were cleaning up the mess that she had made with her plastic food.

  “Mom, what’s for dinner?” Persephone bellowed from the table as she arched her neck in my mom’s direction.

  “I have beef stroganoff in the slow cooker.”

  I raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the machine on the counter.

  “Are you sure?”

  My mom walked into the room with a plastic banana in her hand, directing towards me.

  “Yes, I’m sure, why?”

  “The light isn’t on.”

  Her forehead creased as her head whipped in that direction. She went over and lifted the top. A curse word was heard. My sisters ‘oh-ed’.

  “The machine must have died because it’s plugged in. That means the raw meat has been sitting out all day.”

  I scrunched my face. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to play around and find out if it leads to food poison. I’ll order food.”

  My mom pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket.

  “Dad would appreciate it. I think he’s still having bad flashbacks from when Grandma gave us all food poisoning that one Easter.”

  “Hi, I’d like to order two large pizzas. I’d like one pepperoni and one plain.” My mom started then gave the guy our address. “See perfect timing, it’ll be here right before your dad is supposed to be home.”

  I smirked. “He’ll still ask what happened.”

  The banana was directed at me once again.

  “I cannot be blamed for electronics breaking down on me.”

  “This time.”

  She rolled her eyes and Winnie came into the room and screamed.

  “No young lady, you will not be doing that.”

  My sister darted out of the room as fast as her stubby legs could waddle.

  “Can I have a snack?” Persephone whined.

  “No.” my mom answered as she snuck out of the room.

  Persephone huffed and continued to work on her homework. Her pencil marks became darker. I grabbed another color and bent one of my knees up so that my foot was on the seat of my chair.

  “That’s beautiful Blair.” My mom was standing over my shoulder.

  I lifted my head, and she was right over me. I went back to my picture and picked up a green to fill in some of the ocean.

  “Thanks.”

  “Where did you get the idea?”

  “I,” I paused, “I well, couldn’t focus today during class.”

  “When the muses call, you have to answer it.” My mom responded and sat next to me, propping her head upon the table. “Now, don’t repeat that to your father.”

  I chuckled. “I can’t make any promises. Aren’t you supposed to be working on a book?”

  “I finished it yesterday, took today off so that I could start editing tomorrow with a fresh mind.”

  With the green, I pressed harder in some areas than others. Persephone finished her sheet and ran out of the room.

  “I could totally turn this into a story and use the picture as a cover.”

  I laughed harder. “Do I get some of the royalties on it then?”

  She nudged me with her shoulder. “I see how it is, and always.”

  The doorbell rang and my mom got up with her wallet that was apparently on the tabletop. She did sneak up on me. I must have been more tired than I thought.

  “Pepperoni Man Pizza at your service.” A voice at the door greeted.

  My mom laughed and my eyes narrowed. I knew that voice. I got up and peered around my mom to see Gabriel at the door wearing a hat with little pepperonis on it. His shirt had a piece of pepperoni with a face and arms on it. That lopsided grin was still plastered on his face.

  “Gabriel?” I asked.

  “Hey.” He waved as my mom took the boxes from him.

  “A friend from school?” my mom questioned.

  “Kind of,” I answered.

  “Would you like to come in for some pizza?” my mom offered.

  Gabriel shook his head. “No thanks ma’am, I have to finish my shift. Maybe another time.”

  He waved and went down the front steps. My dad pulled up in the driveway, so Gabriel got onto the grass. My dad got out of the car and was only a little taller than Gabriel. Gabriel greeted my dad quickly before getting into a small SUV.

  “Who is he?” My mom asked and placed the pizza on the counter.

  “My science partner at school.” I answered, bracing myself for the million questions that I was sure she’d come up with.

  “Hello.” My dad’s voice boomed as he closed the door behind him. “I only see one child; did you kill the others?”

  My mom smiled. “They’re upstairs, but the night is still young.”

  “I thought we were having something else for dinner?”

  “The slow cooker broke.” I jumped in.

  My dad nodded his head. “Sounds like a good Christmas gift if you ask me.”

  Only one of my mother’s brows raised. “There better be a sentimental gift or something in the new slow cooker if you do that.”

  He laughed and sat in the chair next to me. He started to unlace his boots. His cameo-covered back faced me. As I looked over at him, I could see specks of white mixed into his short hair. Once his boots were tossed with a solid ‘thump’ to near the door he turned around so that he was facing the table. My dad folded his arms and glanced over at my picture.

  “Well, that’s great. I don’t know where you got that talent from because your mom and I are both stick figure kind of people.”

  I smiled.

  “I was thinking the same thing. Give me a chance to write, no problems, draw I’ll give you some great stick figures.” My mom commented as she was pulling blue plates out of the cabinet. “How about you move that picture, so it doesn’t get pizza grease on it?”

  I nodded and placed it on the counter with my colored pencils. My mom took the picture and hung it on the fridge so that it was mixed in with my sisters’ scribbles. There was a pile of plates and napkins next to the boxes.

  “Persephone, dinner is ready could you please help Winnie down the stairs.” My mom called from the bottom of the steps.

  Persephone’s loud steps echoed in the mini stairwell and into the kitchen. She was carrying Winnie in front like a ragdoll as her legs dangled. She let go and Winnie barely landed on her feet. Winnie squealed and stumbled forw
ard as she headed to the table. My mom picked Winnie up and put her in her highchair. Petite squares were resting on her plate. Winnie mumbled about ‘izza’ before shoveling some into her mouth.

  “So, he’s a friend from school?” my mom questioned as she shot a short glance in my direction as she sat down.

  I bit back a sigh.

  “I don’t know him, Mom. I know he has one sister; I don’t know her name and I couldn’t tell you anything about his parents other than they are from here. I don’t know his last name and I don’t know if I’ll accidentally kill him by eating a peanut butter sandwich by him.”

  My dad started to cough and put his drink down. His face was red, and I smirked.

  “Are you laughing at our daughter making an allergy joke?”

  My dad only nodded his head as he coughed again.

  “That’s not funny!” my mom shrieked.

  “Hey,” his voice started off hoarse and he cleared his throat, “most men worry about their daughters being able to take care of themselves. Me? I have three daughters that will raise hell, and I have to worry about everyone else that they’re around. I’m proud of that.”

  I smirked. “See, Dad loves my spunk.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I love your spirit; I just wish it wasn’t so dark at times.”

  I shrugged. “Just think, the more I joke about it the less likely you’ll see me on the news with a body chopped up in a suitcase.”

  I bit into my pizza, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Just remember all the times I snuck you some dessert when you go on your rampage.” My dad commented.

  “We might not know where her artistic talent came from, but her humor is all you.” My mom muttered.

  5

  Blair

  Taking a deep breath, I knew it was time to pretend to be somewhat social. With my lunch in one hand and a book in the other, I scanned the cafeteria to see if I could find him. He was on the other side of the cafeteria today sitting by himself for some reason. Gabriel had wires sticking out and dangling from his ears as his gaze was cast down. I doubted that he was staring at the sandwich in front of him. I held my head up high and strolled across the room. Slamming my book and backpack down I sat down across from him. He raised an eyebrow at me and stared at me. Gabriel pulled one earbud out.