6
Eric
One week passed without much change. In homeroom, I tapped my pencil against the black lab desk and waited for lunchtime. After that, I’d go home and train, but today I only wanted to sit outside in the warming weather. Last week it had snowed, yet it felt like spring outside today. Midwest weather was completely unpredictable and probably the most change I got on a day-to-day basis.
Staring at the clock, I felt like fifth hour would never end. It was the beginning of second semester, and the teacher was already changing all her rules and lab partners. Personally, I enjoyed the lab system that she had: work alone and work quiet. Then, she started watching Dr. Phil, believed children’s communication skills were dying, and felt the need to force us all to become the best of friends.
How adorable.
To get us to bond, she assigned a partner project—with a science theme, of course—and it had to be completed in a month. No exceptions. Ms. Hinkel passed out an array of notebooks, full of rules, and then she called out the groups’ names.
“Christina Hutchins and Robb McLain, Lab 5,” Ms. Hinkel said, and a thin girl with thick, white hair stood up in protest.
“My name is Crystal,” she said between smacks of her gum.
She changed her name before she even got into first grade. I remembered, because she hated the fact that her mother named her without permission, even though Crystal couldn’t talk. I could talk when the Dark named me Shoman, and I still had no say. I envied Crystal’s abilities to fight, but her stubbornness caused a lot of disciplinary trouble.
She and Robb stared at the station only a few feet away from me, and Ms. Hinkel moved on to the other students. No one was allowed to move from their seats until the teacher finished.
“Annie Lockman and Justin Paul, Lab 8,” she said, causing a boy behind me to jump out of his much-needed sleep. He had started to snore, and his breath on my back was definitely not appreciated.
“Jessica Taylor and Eric Welborn,” she droned on, and I didn’t bother looking for my lab partner.
She was the new girl, and I already knew what she looked like. She had thick, curly brown hair, light blue eyes, and she was always trailing after Robb or Crystal. Instead of staring, I concentrated on my hearing and opened it up to the room. I could hear everything—texting, breathing, gum chewing. The little noises were the ones that bothered me, which was why I used music to drown it all out.
Crystal was easy to signal out. She was always chewing on her gum, and she smacked it as she tapped my partner’s shoulder. “That sucks, Jess,” she whispered, and Jessica’s hairspray crinkled as she turned her head.
“Why?” Jessica Taylor—or Jess—had a higher voice than I expected. “He looks nice.”
Robb laughed. “He’s not.”
Crystal hummed in agreement. “He’s a freak.”
Jessica gulped. “He doesn’t seem like one—”
“That’s because you don’t know him,” Crystal said, explaining the truth. She and Robb had been my best friends since birth, except I hadn’t talked to them since freshman year—not since the accident.
“Now he only talks to Teresa Young,” Robb finished, and Jessica turned her face, looking around the room.
“Who’s Teresa?” she asked, and I felt her eyes on my back. I looked the other way. I didn’t want them thinking I was eavesdropping, but, then again, I was halfway across the room.
“Some family friend,” Robb said. “She’s always around him; it’s weird.”
“Maybe they’re dating,” Jess said, and I cringed, fighting the urge to shake my head. Gross.
Crystal laughed hysterically, covering her mouth to smother the sound. “They’re definitely not dating. I already looked into it for a possible rumor piece, and there’s no way.”
“Then why would he only talk to her?” Jess asked, and Crystal inhaled, her breath whizzing past her lip piercing.
“She’s been stuck on him since his mother died,” she said.
Robb huffed. “Both of them lived with me for a while after, but we were just kids.”
“What happened?” Jess asked, dropping her voice.
Crystal’s nails ran along the lab desk. “Have you heard of Hayworth Park?” Jessica didn’t respond, and Crystal sighed. “Of course not.”
I heard her shift in her chair, and I knew the group was staring at me again. “His mother committed suicide there, and his father bought the land afterward,” Crystal explained. “He shut the whole thing down; he won’t let anybody in.”
Jessica gasped, and I couldn’t help but turn around. Her blue eyes met mine, and she turned away, completely scarlet. “Why?” she asked, not specifying whether she was asking about my mother’s suicide or my father’s actions.
“Because he wants us to be miserable like him?” Crystal guessed, choosing which way the conversation would go. “Who knows? He’s crazy.”
“But what does his father have to do with him?” Jess asked, and I gripped my legs beneath the table. No one had asked that before. Instead, they looped us together, and I didn’t stand a chance.
“I guess he doesn’t,” Crystal said, allowing her words to linger. “But Eric doesn’t have the best track record with sanity either.”
Robb’s chair scraped against the tile floor as he pushed it against Jess’ desk. “When we were freshman, Eric was dating this girl—Hannah Blake—right?” he began, and my entire body froze. No one talked about it. Not even me.
“Well,” Robb continued. “She was in a car wreck with him and died. He walked away scot free.”
“And,” Crystal added. “The accident happened under suspicious circumstances.”
Jess held her breath and whispered, “What kind of suspicious circumstances?”
“Hell if I know,” Crystal said, hitting the desk. “Suspicious is enough for me.”
“It should be for you too, Jess,” Robb said, and Ms. Hinkel cleared her throat, glaring in their direction.
“Are you all done or should I wait?”
They apologized, and I zoned out as all the students rushed to their new lab assignments. I didn’t need to move. I was already in my spot.
The chair next to me scraped back, and Jess sat down, tossing her bag onto the table. Her cheeks were red, and I could practically hear her nervous heart beating. “Hi,” she said, turning briefly toward me to smile. “I’m Jess.”
She offered her hand for a handshake, and I pushed my chair against the wall. “I heard your name when Ms. Hinkel assigned you,” I said, opening the chemistry book left on my desk from the previous period. I was not interested in small talk.
“Right,” Jess said, letting her hand fall into her lap. She had small hands. “So, Eric—”
“Call me Welborn.” Even though you stood up for me, I am not your friend.
She nodded, raising her brow. “If that’ll make things easier for you, Welborn, then fine.”
I fought a grin. At least she had attitude.
She adjusted her chair, and my eyes shot to the class clock. “So, Welborn—”
Ring. Ring.
Lunchtime. Right on time.
I rushed out of the classroom to the outside lunchroom as quickly as I could. I did not need to talk to Jessica Taylor. She’d give up trying soon enough. Everyone did.
I climbed up the hill and leaned against the willow tree, placing my hands behind my head as I listened to the leaves brush against one another. The warming weather glided across my skin, and birds were actually outside today. It’d only be a few more months until school ended and summer came. Normally, I’d look forward to the prolonged freedom that came with summer, but this time I’d be too busy training to have any free time.
I peered down at the outside cafeteria. Students were everywhere, yet I didn’t see my new lab partner. Maybe I was a little harsh. I fiddled with my headphones and put them on, but kept the music off. She hadn’t associated my dad’s madness with me—but, then again, she had pried i
nto my life, and I didn’t like that. And she wasn’t the nameless shade.
I thought about the night before. The girl was so innocent, so oblivious to everything, and she was afraid. I would have to be careful around her. I needed her to trust me, not to turn against me, and if she really was abandoned, she needed my help.
The idea of being raised outside the Dark community intrigued me. If I had been separated from the Dark, the prophecy would be different. I wouldn’t be Shoman. I would be Eric. Just Eric. And no one could tell me what I was expected to do.
“Shoman.” Camille’s voice dimmed my thoughts, and my eyes popped open. “Turn around.”
I took off my headphones and spun my torso toward the valley. A girl with short black hair waved as she trudged up the hill toward me. “Teresa?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s a nice way of saying hi,” she said, leaning against the willow with her arms crossed. She laughed lightly, and her eyes darted across the valley, staring over the entire town. Willow Tree Mountain, even though it was a hill, was the tallest point in Hayworth.
“Nice view,” I said. “Do you remember watching the fireworks up here?”
“The willow tree was smaller then,” she said, running her hand across the bark. “It was healthier, too.”
“It’s almost been twelve years,” I said.
“I know.” She pushed off the tree and pointed at the nearest street. “We have to go.”
“But—” Was I seriously arguing? “I still have school left.”
She waved a piece of pink and yellow paper. “I already got you a pass.”
“I can’t argue that,” I said, grabbing my bag and taking the pass. “Let’s get out of here.”
Minutes Before Sunset Page 9
