by Teya Tapler
Evan was happy when she was with Kevin and now she was sad being away from him. She liked driving his car and when he called her a princess, but she was annoyed by the awkward pauses he made when he was explaining something and by the constant silly grin on his face.
Then the thought of Zander came to her mind. She was torn about what to think of him, too. He seemed to be a good guy, someone she could talk to, yet he was so scruffy looking with his long hair and frequently unshaven face. Yet, here she was thinking about him when she hadn’t seen him since the accident. That felt awkward. Could she have one opinion about anything? Probably not.
Evan didn’t even have one opinion about the coffee she drank regularly every morning. She liked its effect but hated its taste, which she couldn’t mask with any amount of creamer or sweetener.
Torn between her opinions she felt like a bundle of contradictions, torn between the things and people she thought she wanted and the things and people she really needed in her life. Her thoughts carried her from stone to stone until the flashlight died. Darkness engulfed her. Her surroundings, previously graced by the light of her torch dissolved into the blackness. Taking deep breaths and trying not to think about what could be hiding out there, Evan stopped and felt the sides of the flashlight with her hands to find out how to crank it up. The knob and lever weren’t easy to find as she turned the flashlight few times. The vinyl gloves made her movements difficult and a few seconds later she dropped the torch. Her thoughts dispersed and fear entered her mind. Her heart started to beat faster.
It will be okay. I just need to find the flashlight. It will be okay. Evan took off the gloves and hid them in her back pocket then kneeled to look for her torch. The thought of breaking a nail quickly crossed her mind, followed by the thought of her being eaten alive or killed in the darkness. She swallowed heavily and tried to disperse the thickening fears by repeating the encouragement few more times.
It will be okay. I just need to find the flashlight. It will be okay.
She stretched her arms and touched a big stone. Her hands moved slowly to the floor and then to another stone, carefully feeling her way on the rough sides of the unpolished rocks and the dusty floor.
Suddenly she touched something that didn’t feel like the rest of the surfaces around her. It was smooth and polished and - warm. Startled by the unexpected finding, Evan recoiled until her back hit something solid. She stood up and leaned on it, eyes focused on the thing. It had started to glow and had lit the room with a soft light. Evan’s eyes quickly surveyed her surroundings for any attackers but the only thing she found was her flashlight lodged between two stones to the right. She snatched the torch and retreated to her safe place. Mesmerized by the glow and afraid to touch the item Evan breathed heavily forgetting to blink. The item had the size and the egg shape of the other four pearls but those had never glowed like that. The other four pearls had a gray translucent and sparkling finish. That one was slightly greenish in color and dispersed light like the fluorescent toys Evan had had in the past. Its mellow radiance calmed her down and she didn’t feel torn that much anymore. She felt that she now knew what—
“Evan, you’ve found it!” She heard her father’s voice. Oblivious to the pearl’s glow Professor Shtuttgart called the rest of his family. “Agatha, Allie, come here!” He took a picture of the finding, then knelt and picked up the pearl. When he touched it the glow stopped, and he put the big pearl in his bag.
Chapter 13
The rest of the summer was uneventful. Kevin traveled with his dad in the Pacific and that meant no communication whatsoever. Even though the modern yacht had contemporary satellite TV and an internet connection, Mr. Mort kept himself in a total information blackout every year for two weeks. He preferred being with his family, relaxing as much as possible without stressing about his corporation or the events in the world. The rumors were saying that had started after Mrs. Mort’s death many years ago when Kevin was still in kindergarten. During those days, Mr. Mort would leave the Mort Enterprises board of directors to function on auto-pilot, as he referred to it. He wanted to enjoy a simpler life with his son and dragged Kevin on those vacations, refusing to accept even company mailings at that time. It meant that Evan’s letters couldn’t reach Kevin, either.
Lucky for Evan, today was the first day of school. She was hoping to see Kevin, to hear about his vacation. Traveling on the school bus, she wished someone would drag her to travel in a yacht for at least a day. They would be visiting different ports, meeting different people, lying in the sun on board the yacht and wearing white shorts and red tops while at open sea. Thinking about the cut of her imaginary red top, she remembered that Kevin's old car was red with white leather seats and her thoughts moved in that direction.
Kevin had a new car. Was it red, too? Evan had never seen a Maserati before. According to the website that particular model was custom made, extremely limited edition and no pictures were posted. Evan had to wait to see it.
The bus stopped in front of the school and everyone got off. The students quickly grouped by grade, interests, and popularity. You could clearly recognize the freshmen. Not knowing the rules of the game in high school, they looked frightened trying to identify to whom to pledge their allegiance for the months to come.
Evan stood among a crowd of cheerleaders and football players. She was a member of the most elite school group: the trendsetters, those who determined whose life would be miserable and who deserved to be spoken to. Her friends seemed happy to be back together. Sitting on the benches at the school bus stop, the boys were pretending not to be interested in the girls while trying to take a glimpse of their new haircuts and evaluate their tight outfits. Evan searched the parking lot. Neither Kevin nor his car was there.
“OMG Evan!” Brittany and Megan came by. “We saw your father on TV. Like, he was talking about the pearls. Were you there when he found them?” Brittany asked obviously excited more by knowing someone related to the professor than the discovery itself.
“Oh, my BFF, we saw you on TV, too,” Megan said impatiently. “Your hair was gorgeous, as usual.” She put on a servile smile. “You’re our local celebrity now.”
“How did it feel, like, being on camera?” Brittany asked, and her green eyes lit up. “I can’t wait to become a journalist and see that firsthand. How was it? Tell me!” she insisted.
“Whatever!” Evan responded. She didn't care about their opinion at the moment and she wasn’t listening to them. In the distance, she saw a cherry-red sports car pull into the parking lot. That must be the Maserati. Evan was about to wave at the car when Kevin and Amanda, her father’s administrative assistant, got out. Kevin even held the door for her.
Oh, that goat! Evan’s nose wrinkled. There was something in the way Amanda carried herself, something in her inviting voice that provoked Evan's suspicion every time she saw her. She didn’t like Amanda from the very beginning when Mr. Mort recommended her to her father. Even when Amanda helped her exchange letters with Kevin during the summer, Evan didn't believe she would deliver them as promised until the first response from Kevin came back.
Brittany and Megan noticed that Evan wasn't listening to them anymore and followed her eyes.
“Here you are!” Kevin ran toward Evan. He was tall, strong and agile. He had tanned and looked even more handsome than the last time Evan saw him. His blond hair was in a perfect crew cut that emphasized his facial features.
Noticing Evan's stare, Brittany and Megan nudged each other.
“We’ll catch up later. Let’s leave the lovebirds alone,” Megan said and they left.
Kevin came to Evan and looked down at her tight, dark magenta T-shirt and skinny jeans.
“I wanted to tell you-” he started but stopped midway as Evan turned her back to him. Her ponytail bounced and hit him in the face. He grabbed her shoulder and continued, “that I really missed you.”
She turned back, hitting him with her ponytail again. “Really?”
“Ye
-yes,” Kevin said and blinked.
“Really, really?” Evan raised her voice and eyebrows a little, looking at her dad’s assistant, who was waltzing their way. Amanda was dressed in a sexy red suit that emphasized her beautiful curves.
“That’s Amanda,” Kevin gestured toward the red suit, trying to dismiss its owner.
“Evan, I’m so glad to see you again.” Amanda stopped and smiled, showing all her perfect teeth. “I was dropping off the last set of letters,” she winked, “when he offered to give me a ride. I’ve an appointment with the superintendent. He wanted to schedule a series of meetings with your parents to discuss their latest discovery with the students. Is it true that each of the pearls weighs 15 pounds? You must be so proud! It is such an amazing opportunity for everyone!”
Amanda smiled again and waved her hand like a child. “Ta-da!” she sang, then waltzed into the school.
“You didn’t think that …” Kevin looked at Evan and pointed toward Amanda without removing his eyes from Evan's face.
Evan felt stupid and blushed. She quickly kissed Kevin on the cheek and then ran into the school.
A few more days and then I’ll ask Zull for the honor to personally twist your tiny neck, Kevin thought, looking at Evan in the distance. I’m so tired of being your boyfriend....Just a few more days.
***
Evan barely made it to class before the teacher. First period she had “Computers and 21st Century Technology”. It was the school’s way of educating the students about the internet, email, chat-rooms, usage of important applications and to introduce them to programming. It was the class where the teacher taught the students things they already knew better than he did. It was one of the few elective classes everyone who was not in the school band or the chorus had to take. Following an unwritten rule, every student selected that class in their senior year, and in the room today there were fewer computers than students. They had to share and sit in pairs. Evan looked around. Everyone had a partner. Megan was with Steven and Brittany was with Josh.
Brittany and Josh? Evan thought. What happened here during the summer? She had to learn the details during lunch break.
Only one of the computers on the very first row was available. Evan didn’t like sitting there, right in front of the teacher. It was the worst place in the whole room, one that made her feel so exposed.
Oh, why there isn't a space on the back row. She looked around once more.
Not finding what she was looking for, Evan sat down at the front row desk. She adjusted her ponytail, put her notebook on the desk and got ready for her first class as a senior. That was the beginning of her high school senior year. It was going to be the best school year ever and being in the first row was not going to spoil that for her.
The teacher came in and started talking about the summer and the new school year. Evan had already heard that speech last year and the two years before that. None of the teachers had dared to change a word of the “Welcome Back to School” speech since her freshman year. Bored to death Evan looked at her nails, wondering what color nail polish would look best and would match her new watch she was going to wear tomorrow.
“This is our new student, Zander Sage. His family recently moved here from Africa. Zander, find a seat please before we start.” The teacher’s words caught Evan’s attention. She had heard more than one pair of footsteps coming into the room but expected the other one to be either the principal or another teacher.
She looked at Zander. His dark chestnut hair was cut short in a way that made him look - charming. He was all cleaned up in a dark gray T-shirt with modern prints and neat black jeans. She remembered how he looked the last time she saw him and laughter bubbled on her lips.
His two looks are beyond comparison. Where had he been? Where did he disappear to, that day, at the dig? She was still smiling when their eyes met for a split second. Her cheeks warmed up as she quickly turned her sight to the door, pretending that was what she wanted to look at in the first place.
“Here, you can sit next to Evangeline,” the teacher directed Zander to the empty chair next to Evan. “She will be your partner in my class.” The teacher continued with his speech about the importance of computers and the internet in the 21st century.
Evan wasn’t listening. Her thoughts were racing and she really wanted to know what had happened to Zander. She pulled her new notebook to the middle of the table, flipped the cover, drew a question mark in the top left corner of the first page and pushed the notebook toward Zander.
He was looking up, listening to the teacher. For a second, she admired his profile and remembered how he carried her those last few yards to the camp. The small scar on his chin was more visible now. Evan was right. It gave him a powerful and stalwart look.
“Start the computers, please!” The teacher was standing right in front of her as a reminder of why she hated the front-row seat. Evan bent under the desk and pressed the button on the front of the machine, which was at her side. She pushed the keyboard to Zander, trying to catch his attention, but his hands were on his lap.
She needed answers now.
Evan waited for the teacher to move to the back rows and then stepped on Zander’s left foot to get his attention. When he looked at her, she nodded toward the notebook. He read the question mark and replied with another question mark.
That was not acceptable. Expecting to see more than a special character as a response, Evan got agitated, took the notebook and wrote, “Where have you been?” then pushed it toward him.
“Away,” he wrote back.
“Why?” she added. ‘Away’ was not a good enough answer for her but they were in class. She could always obtain more details during the break.
Zander waited for the teacher to turn his back to the class before he wrote, “I was banned from the camp.”
She was sure it was her father’s idea after that stupid parrot sightseeing excuse. He had done what he thought was best. He had removed the bad influence from her life, as he called it. Like that time when he donated all her miniskirts to the Salvation Army or the time when he threw all her classy makeup away. Evan took the notebook and slammed it closed, angry with her father for doing that. She couldn’t sit still. She crossed her arms and looked toward the window.
Zander opened his notebook, wrote, “It wasn’t your father” and then pushed it between them.
Still upset, Evan was looking away and he had to give her a nudge. It took a while before she turned and looked at him. Her eyes were angry, as if saying, “Now what?”
He didn’t talk—just pushed his notebook closer to her.
“Open Internet Explorer and go to the tools menu,” the teacher said, passing by their desk. Evan took the mouse from Zander's side of the desk and put it on the left side of the keyboard. The cord stretched and Zander's notebook fell on the floor. As he was quietly picking it up, Evan followed the instructions, clicking the mouse with her right hand. Once the teacher turned his back to the class, Zander put his notebook on the keyboard in front of Evan. She read the message and looked back at him. If it wasn’t her father, then who did it? Her eyes begged for more details. Was it her mother? Both of them were behind all her punishments, regardless of who had to carry them out.
“Miss Shtuttgart will tell us what website we used last year as a reference on this topic.” She heard her name. “Miss Shtuttgart?” The teacher invited her once more.
Evan looked at him and smiled. “Well, last year, we used many reference websites.” She tried to wiggle her way out, hoping it wasn’t too obvious she hadn’t been paying attention. “We searched the internet on various topics.”
“Miss Shtuttgart, I asked for the reference site on the topic of human rights. You did a marvelous paper on that, didn’t you?” the teacher reminded her, pointing to his writing on the whiteboard. The words United Nations were written in the middle with a black dry erase marker.
Not sure why they were discussing human rights during a technology class, Evan smi
led back and headed to the white board.
“Let me write it down,” she said, and wrote the site name and address at the top left corner of the board. Then she went back to her seat. Zander’s notebook was in front of her. He had added only one word—Mort.
They didn’t talk until the end of the class. The teacher asked them to do many exercises that required going to various websites, opening and closing several applications. When the bell rang, she finally looked at Zander and asked, “Why?”
“Why, what?” he asked back.
“Why did Mr. Mort ask you to leave the dig?” she asked.
“Because I was endangering the well-being of the Shtuttgart family and he couldn’t afford it at that particular time or at any other time,” Zander recited the rehearsed response, stressing every word. “Blah, blah, blah,” he added with a smile,
“Whatever! I’m happy to see you.” Evan smiled back and headed to her next class with an enthusiastic fast pace. Light on her feet and looking happy, she flew down the corridor greeting friends she hadn’t seen all summer. There were few more doors to pass till her next class when she suddenly stopped.
What’s wrong with me?
Her recent behavior didn’t seem right. It wasn’t congruent with her regular self.
Why did I say that?
She was really curious where had Zander been and somewhat relieved to see him in one piece. He seemed different to her, maybe because of the clean pair of clothes he was wearing, but that was not an indicator that he had changed. He had behaved like the guy she knew from the archeological dig. She was the one who was behaving out of character, the one talking to someone she would never speak to just a few months ago.
Why did I act like that around him?
The feeling that it was her, not the world around her, which had changed during that summer started to bother her. Puzzled by her conduct she fell deeper in her thoughts. Her eyes stopped browsing around and focused on the books and folders in her hands. The world around her was no longer as important as finding what the change in her was. Her thoughts were knotted and hard to follow. She took a deep breath and advanced slowly, analyzing her every word and action since the first school bell that day.
