by Bryan Cohen
"You don't look busy."
"And when people who don't answer your texts aren't busy, what do you think that means?"
Dhiraj pulled at an imaginary chin beard. "It means they want to talk to someone, but they have some kind of psychological block that prevents it?"
Natalie grumbled and headed toward the kitchen.
"What do I get for being right?" he asked.
Natalie poured the two of them some juice and sat at the kitchen table.
"A glass of juice and a one-way ticket home." Natalie sipped the beverage.
Dhiraj nearly spilled his glass as he joined her. "So, my cameras worked today and helped Ted to disarm–"
"I saw the news."
Natalie knew she was being snippy, but Dhiraj was preventing her from ignoring the world around her – from ignoring Ted.
"You should've been there, Nat." Dhiraj inched his chair closer to hers. "You're part of this."
Natalie looked upward and back at Dhiraj.
"I didn't sign up to be a part of a crime-fighting team, Dhiraj." She chugged the rest of the juice. "I'm getting recruited by schools. I could get a full ride somewhere. That's a little less likely if I'm recovering from stab wounds all the time."
Dhiraj took a small sip. "When you broke things off with Ted, you said you'd try to stay friends with him. Instead, you're pushing both of us away."
Natalie walked away from the table and rinsed her glass. "Don't you mean all three of you?"
Dhiraj shook his head.
"You could be friends with all of us, but you're choosing to have nobody. Were you happier before you met any of us? When you just kept to yourself and had no support whatsoever?"
Natalie glowered at Dhiraj. "Why do my choices have to be fight evil or have no friends?"
Dhiraj took another sip of his drink and moved closer to Natalie. She couldn't help but feel like she wanted him to hug her. She also sort of wanted to throw him through the glass sliding door behind them.
"We want to see you, Nat." He put his hand on her shoulder. "If don't want to help us, that's fine. But life is better with good friends in it. Please keep that in mind."
Natalie was silent, which Dhiraj took as a cue to leave. She wanted to stop him. Instead, she simply watched him go.
To clear her head, Natalie did a pyramid set of pushups, starting with five and working her way up to 10 with short breaks in between. Each time she lowered her body to the floor, she tried to eradicate her anger. It didn't work.
"I just want all of them to leave me alone. Don't they understand that?"
As she moved her body up and down, an idea came to mind. She never would have even considered it if it hadn't been for the endorphins.
It's what I have to do.
When she finished her set, Natalie reached for her phone and searched for one number in particular. She was hyperaware of her heavy breathing as she dialed.
"Hey, this is Natalie Dormer. I know you might not be expecting this, but I want to know how I can help."
Chapter 9
Dhiraj pulled his car up to Jennifer's house at daybreak. He'd spent far too many mornings in a row working, and a blog post on managing life with your top priorities in mind brought him out of his office and to that very spot. The Norris residence had an upkeep-free garden, which allowed the sheriff and his second wife to focus on work. The house and its landscaping stuck out among the lush and manicured suburban lawns around it. Dhiraj placed a mouthwash strip on his tongue as he saw Sheriff Norris exit the front door. The lawman's face looked tired and strained.
"Top of the morning to you, sheriff." Dhiraj grinned and walked up the driveway.
"Hey, Dhiraj." Sheriff Norris' voice was a hair lower than usual. "You looking for Jennifer?"
Dhiraj doubled his grin, attempting to snap the sheriff out of whatever funk had settled over him. "I am. She's still here, right?"
The sheriff stepped into his car, propping the door open with his foot. "If she had her way, she'd be here till noon. Maybe you'll have better luck."
Dhiraj wondered what it would take for the sheriff and his daughter not to see eye-to-eye. From what he'd observed, the two of them had a great parent-child relationship.
"I'll do my best, sir."
The sheriff tipped his cap and backed his truck into the street. Dhiraj waved in his direction, but the sheriff looked straight ahead with vacant, emotionless eyes.
Dhiraj had been over at the Norris house for dinner twice, so his first glance past the front door was familiar. The dinner invitations had both come from the sheriff himself, but Jennifer always seemed happy to see him. He wondered if she'd be as enthusiastic at this early hour. Dhiraj glanced at the family pictures on the way up the stairs. Jennifer had gone from cute to full-on beautiful as a teen, and Dhiraj remained as spellbound by her as he was the day they met.
Dhiraj took a guess with the only closed door upstairs and knocked. He heard a groan on the other end and the sound of Jennifer shifting in the bed.
"Hey Jen, it's Dhiraj. You know, that cute Indian you're always thinking about."
There was a moment of silence from the sleeping beauty. Dhiraj felt his fight-or-flight instinct kick in and he considered dashing down the stairs.
"Hey, Dhiraj." Jennifer's unsuppressed yawn could be heard through the entire house. "You can come in."
Dhiraj wondered how Jennifer's bedroom would look. It wasn't because he wanted to get between the sheets – it was mostly so he could experience seeing the world as she saw it.
Dhiraj opened the door. A quick scan of the room revealed the pink paint, white, frilly curtains and dozens of photographs framed and unframed that were placed like punctuation on the walls. It was a tribute to childhood and innocence.
Jen emerged from the comforter, her hair tousled and uneven, a few uncovered blemishes on the side of her cheek. Dhiraj couldn't help but see the flaw-free woman of his dreams before him.
"Isn't it time for school?" Dhiraj internally kicked himself for sounding like a mom.
"As I was telling my dad–" Jennifer threw the sheets off, revealing a tiny shirt and even shorter boxers underneath. "–today didn't feel like a school kind of day. You know what I mean?"
Dhiraj was no peeping Tom, but he felt like one seeing Jennifer in such skimpy clothes. He did his best to avert his eyes while still paying attention to her.
"You might as well go." Dhiraj watched Jennifer's face contort into a dreamy smile. "There's nothing good on TV during the day anyway."
Jennifer's smile grew and she stood up.
"I could never say no to you, Dhiraj." She brushed his shoulder with her hand as she passed by him. "I'll get ready."
Jennifer took the first items she could reach from her hangers and walked into the bathroom. She left the door open and began to change. For a split second, Dhiraj saw her bare back and turned red. He turned away from her and felt his face grow hot.
What in the hell?
The Jennifer he'd grown to love was sweet above anything else. She was the kind of person who would not only remember your birthday but make you a birthday card by hand. She took photographs and knitted socks. The girl he knew was sentimental and caring, and someone who looked just like her was naked 10 feet to his right.
He nearly jumped when she tapped him on the shoulder. She was now fully clothed.
"Are you sure you don't want to skip with me?" she asked. "The two of us could spend the entire day together doing whatever you want."
He'd chatted with Jennifer in the hallways of school and after field hockey games on many occasions, but Dhiraj had never been this close to Jennifer's face and body before. His attention went to her lips.
"It sounds like a dream, Jen, but I think I should just drive us to school." Dhiraj did everything he could to suppress the bodily excitement he felt. It was not working.
Jennifer laughed. She placed both her hands on his shirt. "Alright, but you're driving." She released her grip and left the room.
It only took a few minutes for them to get to school. When they arrived in Dhiraj's parking space, he clicked the unlock button. Jennifer immediately countered by locking the doors with the button on her side. She leaned over, and Dhiraj could feel her breath blowing into his ear.
Dhiraj felt ecstasy and anxiety in equal measure. When he tried to speak, the words lodged themselves in his throat.
"Thanks for the ride." Jennifer kissed him on the cheek. For some reason, his mind went back to several months earlier when Erica had done exactly the same thing.
He remained frozen.
Say something!
"You're welcome." Dhiraj tried to keep still and calm.
"Why do you still like me, Dhiraj?"
Dhiraj wasn't sure he got the gist of the question right away. He'd been trying to face forward, but one look to the side put him two inches from Jennifer's eyes.
"I've... I've always liked the kind of person you are. Beautiful inside and out."
Jennifer remained there for a moment, fixed on Dhiraj's eyes. Then she sat back in her seat.
"I'm not sure who I am inside anymore."
As Jennifer relaxed into the passenger side, Dhiraj recognized the familiar posture and tone of voice he'd admired for nearly half a decade. He let out a long breath and rotated to face her.
"Even if you don't know, I know who you are. And that person is amazing."
She turned toward him and forced a smile before unlocking the car doors. She grabbed her backpack, pulled the handle and began walking to the school.
Dhiraj let a minute of silence pass.
Would she have let me kiss her?
By the time Dhiraj had pulled himself together, he was already a few minutes late for homeroom. The hallways were empty, aside from a few stragglers, and his sneakers echoed against the hard floors. When he stepped into the bathroom to prepare his reasoning for the principal's office, he didn't notice three guys slip in behind him all at once. Dhiraj reached down into the sink to splash some water on his face. When he looked back up into the mirror, the three upperclassmen had surrounded him. Dhiraj stood still.
"Need to borrow a comb, gentlemen?"
Dhiraj recognized one of the teens as Travis, the pal of the deceased Torellos and one of the main GHAers at school. He was the one who reached out and pushed Dhiraj into the gray marble wall.
"Where's your alien friend when you need him?" Travis cracked his knuckles as close to Dhiraj's face as he could.
The other two moved into position on either side of Dhiraj.
"If you mean Ted, he's getting ready for a day of first-class education. Something you three seem to have ignored for the last 12 years or so."
Travis grinned. The bully's teeth were whiter than Dhiraj expected.
"I probably have a higher GPA than you, moneybags. Plus, I know how to break a bone." Travis put his hand on Dhiraj's chest and pressed him against the unforgiving wall. "Wanna see?"
Dhiraj reached into his wallet pocket and opened up the change container. His fingers sought out the only way he could think to escape.
"How can you call Ted an alien?" Dhiraj did his best to stall and feel for his escape tactic at the same time. "Ted was in the same class as you when you wet your pants in second grade, Travis."
One of the other GHAers laughed until Travis gave him a violent glance.
"I had a bladder infection." Travis' voice echoed in the confined space. "Besides, who's to say Ted hasn't been replaced by an alien?"
Dhiraj leaned in toward the bullies. "Me. You. Everyone. If we stop all this nonsense–"
As Travis pushed Dhiraj backward once again, Dhiraj found what he was looking for in his pocket.
"You know, I think you'd look better without a few teeth." Travis popped his knuckles again.
"I hear differently." Dhiraj clapped his ears over his hands as he triggered the loudest portable alarm on the market.
The noise rocked the bathroom and the eardrums of Dhiraj's attackers. The decibel level was higher than most airplanes taking off and had two of the teens on their knees in seconds. Travis grimaced but swung for Dhiraj anyway. His eyes gave away the punch and Dhiraj shifted to the side. Travis' fist missed Dhiraj and made a cracking noise against the marble. At least, Dhiraj assumed that's the noise it made, given the overwhelming alarm noise that was beginning to get to Dhiraj as well. As Travis held his now-broken right hand with his left, two janitors unlocked the door and entered the bathroom. Dhiraj switched off the alarm.
"What's going on in here?"
Dhiraj walked toward the door. "Just giving these gentlemen some sound advice." He smiled at Travis. "Team Ted doesn't go down easy."
As Dhiraj exited the bathroom, the adrenaline that had been keeping him up crashed at once. He walked to his first period desk as quickly as he could and collapsed into it as the bell rang.
Chapter 10
Albert Redican could hear himself speaking the words to his class, but he wondered if anyone was listening at all. There were five or six faces making eye contact with him, though he knew that two of them had the worst grades in class. The majority of the students were either looking down at the book or pretending to take notes. Albert could easily tell the difference between drawing a doodle and writing down a cohesive thought – he didn't need to spend several months getting a substitute certificate to figure that one out. Another three of the students were using their classroom time to stare at the opposite sex. He wasn't surprised to see that Ted Finley was one of the three.
In his decades on this world, Mr. Redican had rarely seen a living soul he felt was worthy of the challenge.
"What does it mean when Hal tells Falstaff, 'I know you not, old man'?"
He could see the eyes of his students grow dim. It was as if they were all expecting someone else to fall on the grenade. The students reminded Redican of his own people: they were always willing to live with the status quo. Not him. Not anymore.
Redican stepped onto a chair and stood up on his worn, wooden desk. When it lurched a little to the side, he thought it might not hold his weight. The desk settled into place and all the students turned their gazes toward him.
"I've been holding back too long," he said. "I act like I'm your friend. Like we're equals." Redican beat his hand against his chest. "I'm smarter and better than all of you. Most of you don't even deserve the education I have to give." Redican lowered his voice. "I'm likely to forget every last one of you the second you leave this school."
Several students shifted in their seats, sending the sound of metal scratching against linoleum echoing through the silent room. Redican let his proclamation rest for at least 10 seconds, though he imagined it felt longer for the students. He thought he saw tears in Beth's eyes. Then he broke the tension with a smile.
"How some of you are feeling is how Falstaff might have felt."
Several students sighed and matched Redican's smile. Ted and Erica looked over at each other and shared a laugh. Beth dabbed her cheek as the teacher continued.
"So, how did you feel?" Redican hopped back down to the chair and planted himself on the edge of the desk.
"Abandoned." Beth sniffled.
"Good," Redican said. "Not good that you felt abandoned, but a good answer."
Beth chuckled, and a few others in the class joined in.
"I felt cheated." Travis adjusted the bandage on his hand as he spoke. "Like you weren't who you said you were. Like you were pretending to care about us."
Redican nodded. He thought it might be the first non-joke he'd heard out of Travis since he'd arrived there.
"Great answer." Redican hopped off the desk and moved as close as he could to the front row. "Now I bring back my original question. What does it mean when Hal tells Falstaff, who has to this point been his drinking buddy and best friend, 'I know you not, old man'?"
"It means it's time to get to work." The room looked toward Erica. Redican spied a confused look on Te
d's face.
"I think I know where you're headed with this, Ms. LaPlante." Redican gestured toward Erica. "Can you elaborate?"
"It means the end of adolescence." Erica put on a sly smile. "No more parties." A couple of students gave out a fake boo, eliciting a few laughs. "No more convenient friendships. Hal has gotten all he can out of the bar. Now it's time to rule the kingdom."
"Exactly." Redican slapped his hands together. "Not bad, Ms. LaPlante."
Erica nodded as the bell rang. Much to their credit, the students didn't rush out the door as quickly as usual. Redican smiled to himself.
"Don't forget to do the handout tonight." Redican watched as the students whispered to each other while packing. "And remember that your outline for the 10-page essay is due on Tuesday."
Redican estimated the reminder only elicited half as many groans as usual. He caught Erica and Ted holding hands on the way out the door when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Mr. Redican, do you have a minute to talk?" Beth's eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes wide.
Redican stifled a laugh. "I have a free period now. Why don't you shut the door and hang for a minute?"
Beth shimmied across the room and closed the door before sitting down in the center seat of the front row. Redican noticed her legs shake as she crossed them.
"How can I help you, Ms. Lynch?" Redican leaned back against the desk.
"I'm having some trouble with my outline. I was wondering if we could schedule a couple of one-on-one sessions."
Redican let out a shallow breath before walking around behind his desk. "Beth, you're friends with Erica LaPlante, am I right?"
Beth nodded.
"Good." Redican pulled out a weathered book from deep within his desk. "I think I have something here that can help the both of us."
Redican opened to a page with a bookmark from the Treasure Public Library and touched the ink. Several extra handouts flew off the desk as if a gust of wind had blown in.
"Mr. Redican, I–"
Redican pointed his hand toward Beth, and the words went out of her. The girl's eyes narrowed and moved off of her instructor. She stared straight ahead at the blackboard.
