Angel Star

by Jennifer Murgia

  “Hmmm.” I nodded, attentive to every word he uttered while wondering how I had never noticed him before, not even when Carver’s football team played against St. Andrew’s in the playoffs.

  Everyone was at that game.

  We talked casually during the time it took to reach mythology, catching the curious stares of onlookers as we passed by. Amazingly, Garreth appeared oblivious to everything around us. I briefed him on the mundane benefits of going to Carver High and was absolutely clueless as to why he wanted to come here in the first place. It may have been my imagination but he seemed to hang on every word I said, and I had the oddest sensation of floating on air.

  “Well, here we are.” I spoke quietly, trying not to appear overly disappointed that the walk to class hadn’t taken longer. “Mr. Barry’s pretty cool, you’ll like him. As long as you’re good at distinguishing Greek from Roman, and don’t snore during Jason and the Argonauts, you’ll be fine.”

  “Thanks, Teagan.” He smiled as if he meant it, then turned to hand a note to Mr. Barry.

  I smiled back meekly and unwillingly turned to find my seat in the second row. I couldn’t help but notice the other girls gawk and whisper as Garreth took his seat at the back of the room. I felt the skin on my arms tingle protectively, as if the last few minutes had allowed me to lay some sort of claim on him. A few of the girls, the snobby elite that were part of Brynn’s group, shot cool glances in my direction, but for once I ignored them. My thoughts lingered on the conversation I had just shared, and when I turned to look at Garreth once more, I was filled with delight to find his eyes staring intently and deeply into my own.

  Chapter Two

  The rest of my day passed by in a blurry, dreamlike state. Wherever I was required to be on campus, sure enough, Garreth was somewhere nearby. I sought him out easily enough, as though a radar-detection system had been installed in me, and though his presence was most likely coincidental, more often than not I spent the remainder of the day feeling pleasantly flustered. I, like any other seventeen-year-old girl, had already mastered the art of wishful thinking, but I could have sworn he was staring at me, and whenever I was brave enough to meet that stare, he smiled a delicious smile and I felt giddy and stupid. Even Claire noticed at lunch.

  “Did the nurse give you some expired Ibuprofen or something illegal?” She inspected me suspiciously.

  “Yeah,” was all I could muster.

  Claire emptied the contents of her orange lunch bag. As usual, it was filled with junk. “There’s a buzz going around school.” She spoke in a hushed tone, as though it were a giant secret about to get away.

  “Hmm?” I was daydreaming, scanning the cafeteria in hopes of spying sandy curls at one of the tables, but Garreth was nowhere to be found. Which I found disappointing. Then I reminded myself, what if I did see him and he was sitting with a beautiful, bubbly cheerleader?

  “Well, aren’t you even interested?”

  I sighed and stopped looking.

  “Two words. Garreth Adams.”

  “We’ve already met.” I squeezed the words out from under my breath.

  Claire’s head shot up.

  “We have mythology together.”

  “Uh-huh?” Claire stared at me, prompting me to continue with a wave of her hands.

  “What?”

  I stared back. I knew what was coming. I was withholding valuable information and she knew it, but I liked playing her game. It was fun making her wait it out. She was practically bouncing out of her seat. It didn’t surprise me that the entire school was probably spreading the word about my side job as tour guide today. God only knows what Claire heard.

  “From what I hear, he couldn’t take his eyes off you. You are so lucky!” Claire was practically bubbling over. “See, I said you needed a boyfriend. Who knew I would become an intellectual and a clairvoyant all in the same day?”

  I shoved the last bite of my peanut butter sandwich into my mouth and stared across the table at the monster I had created.

  Claire was looking quite pleased with herself and it was almost cruel of me to open my mouth and spoil all her fun with this, but I just had to. I used the best diplomatic tone I could drum up.

  “Okay, he’s nice, but don’t read into this like you always do. And don’t get any ideas about crystal balls and wearing funky, beaded scarves on your head or anything. He was just appreciative that I helped him out. No big deal. Besides, he’s the spitting image of a god, or at least a model, and I’m just…well…I’m me.” I finished the last of my Cheetos and chugged the rest of my bottled water. There, enough said.

  “Mm-hmm.” Claire eyed me over the Devil Dog she was devouring. She reached across and grabbed my hand, opening my palm before her. “Like I thought. It says, ‘I have a crush on Garreth Adams.’ It says so in your sweaty little palm.”

  “Does not!” I stood up to drop my bag into the garbage can, turning my back on her.

  “Does too! Perspiration doesn’t lie!” she yelled after me.

  Thank God lunch period was over. Like a magnet in constant motion, I found myself shifting closer, inching my way toward Garreth, no matter where he was. He could be down the hall and my feet would automatically begin to pull me in that direction, whether I needed to be at that end of the school or not. Regardless, I needed to be near him. I had to be near him, which sounded romantic, I suppose. Or crazy. Because, in reality, it was just plain insane of me to feel this way. Before today I had never set eyes on Garreth Adams and I already knew…already believed...he was going to be an important part of my life.

  At least I hoped.

  Not only did Garreth happen to be in mythology, but three of my other classes as well.

  In chemistry I tried to pretend he wasn’t in the same room. Yeah, right. Like that was easy. It was clear to everyone that Garreth Adams’ brain retained information no one else seemed capable of understanding. The poor guy quickly became Mr. Quinn’s prize student, reluctantly answering for everyone the entire period. I copied my notes diligently into my notebook, forcing him out of my head with each scratch of my pencil, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Twisting ever so slightly in my seat, I pretended to look at the bulletin board at the back of the class, and sure enough, those blue eyes were waiting for me. I turned back around, ignoring his smile but feeling my bones go soft as his presence took effect and weakened my insides to a liquid state. At the same moment, Mr. Quinn breezed past my lab table, passing out lab glasses, and the pair he was handing me smacked me in the face.

  “Oops.”

  “A little extra credit going on back here? Keep your eyes to the front, Miss McNeel.”

  Brynn snickered at the table diagonal from mine and I knew I had given her solid ammunition against me. Right now, I could only reluctantly pray that Garreth would transfer to an AP chem class, because it was highly unlikely that I would be lucky enough to spontaneously combust, putting an end to my misery.

  The bell rang and we all shuffled for the door—and sure enough…

  “Setting your sights kind of high, aren’t you? New boy’s got the pick of the crop here, so don’t get all starry-eyed, Freak,” Brynn hissed as she jabbed me with the corner of her textbook.

  As usual, I didn’t give her an answer. She didn’t deserve one.

  Study hall, American history, and English literature came and went and at last the day was over. Claire had accepted a ride home with Ryan. She didn’t seem too concerned about leaving her car unattended in the school parking lot. More importantly, she didn’t seem too concerned about leaving me unattended in the parking lot either. So now my perfect day came to a screeching halt as I prepared to ride the big yellow bus of doom. I made my way across the macadam toward the noxious fumes of the yellow convoy, feeling deflated.

  I pulled up the sleeve of my purple T-shirt, and sure enough, a nice black-and-blue mark was developing, thanks to Brynn’s dire need to inflict pain whenever necessary. My lips set in a tight line as I yanked down my sleeve.

&nb
sp; My eyes followed the flow of students to their buses, to their cars. The afternoon had proven to be beautiful after all and the sun was shining down gloriously. That is, until I spotted Brynn and her friends a few yards away. As usual, Miss Wonderful was smiling. What didn’t she have to be happy about? She had the power to ruin everyone else’s life. But hers? Hers was just dandy. She appeared to be flirting and I rolled my eyes. Of course all the boys thought she was incredible. She was leaning over, practically falling into the open window of a gray Jeep where she was most likely spilling an obscene amount of cleavage. And then, as Sage Fisher and Emily Lawrence shifted places, I realized whose window she was spilling her cleavage into. It was Garreth’s.

  “Teagan.”

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the two of them. I couldn’t stop staring.

  “Teagan.”

  “God, what?!”

  A dark shadow flew at me the second I turned around, resembling exhaust but more substantial somehow, and in an instant I couldn’t breathe. An invisible hand clutched my throat and my eyes began to water. The world around me blurred. A thunderous flapping of wings rang in my ears, as if a large bird had taken flight directly overhead, but it was coming from all around, bouncing off the pavement, bouncing off my skin. And then I lost my footing, my ankle twisting off the curb as if an unseen hand literally reached down and yanked on it.

  Something warm and secure caught me by the arms, lifting me, steadying me. Seriously winded, I managed to focus on who seemed so concerned, on who had just saved me from toppling into the bus lane. Blue eyes looked back at me, inches from my own face.

  Garreth.

  He steadied me and I realized I was now standing on the sidewalk, a good six feet from the curb. The buses were slowly pulling up for the students, creating their usual formation,12A, 4B, and so on. The bustle around me appeared unchanged, as though no one had seen my little mishap. No one showed any concern except Garreth, whose hand still lingered on my elbow, reluctant to let go.

  “Um, thank you,” I managed with a quiver to my voice.

  Did that really just happen?

  I could still feel the grip of fingers wrapping around my ankle but, leaning over, of course nothing was there. I felt baffled, disoriented really, and I tried to turn my thoughts away from the very real fact that I could have just been killed.

  “Did you see...?” I started to ask, but the rest of my words stuck in my throat.

  He looked at me closely. From the concerned look plastered across his face I couldn’t be sure. “Did I see what?”

  Suddenly, I couldn’t remember and then I realized Garreth was asking me something.

  “Um, nothing,” I answered.

  “I was hoping to see you at lunch but I had to fill out a ton of forms in the office.”

  I stared back at him, not saying anything in response, realizing I probably looked dumbfounded. Again.

  “How’s tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “For lunch?”

  “Weren’t you just talking to Brynn?” I looked across the parking lot where the two of them had been just minutes ago but she was nowhere to be seen.

  Garreth paused. “For a moment.” The disappointment I projected must have been easy to read because he leaned closer. “I think she’s extremely ostentatious, how about you?”

  I was beginning to realize that when I looked into his eyes I had trouble concentrating.

  “Do you like ostentatious girls?” I asked hesitantly.

  He smiled. “Not one bit. May I give you a ride home?”

  My eyes detected Claire at Ryan’s car across the parking lot. “Um, thanks, but I sort of need to take the bus today.” After almost falling into their path, it would be a struggle to take one home. I found myself nearly taking him up on his offer, but I couldn’t, no matter how inviting it was. “My mom’s expecting me at the bus stop.”

  The truth was my mom would flip her lid if I accepted a ride with a boy I had just met. Sure, he was nice. And hot. But rules were rules, and honestly, I didn’t know him yet. Not to mention, I was still trying to figure out what had just happened.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I offered, heading toward my line.

  “Sure. See you tomorrow, Teagan.” He winked as he started to back away. “Stay clear of those curbs.”

  I was stunned for a moment. So he did pull me out of the way. I was beginning to think I had imagined it all. I watched him cross the lot until he reached his car and then I unwillingly made my way up the steps and toward the back of the bus, snagging an empty window seat where I had a decent view of him tinkering with his stereo. I realized that for the first time in my entire life I was on the brink of being absolutely and undeniably smitten.

  Sinking down into the seat, I plugged in my earbuds as I fumbled with my iPod. It was easy to remember why I hated the bus so much. Buses had a plastic, sour smell to them that turned my stomach and bounced my insides so violently that it was all I could do to keep everything down. Motion sickness was normal, wasn’t it? I was positive bus drivers drove erratically on purpose, just for laughs, knowing full well that the precious cargo they carried had weak stomachs.

  Brynn’s shiny black Beemer was positioning to cut in front of the bus and through my window I saw her sneer. For my sake, she pointed a manicured finger at the opening of her mouth and pretended to vomit, then erupted into waves of laughter with the other girls.

  My body slid lower into the seat as giggles sprang up around me. I closed my eyes, pretending I didn’t see, that I was somewhere else...someone else. My pulse pounded in my ears and soon I was reliving dual moments, right before Garreth had come to my rescue today, and last night, the sound of dark wings thrumming. The two twisted and blurred in my head, becoming one and the same as the violent whipping to and fro echoed in my skull. I was going to be sick. I needed air.

  I felt the bus moving, heard the honk that allowed Brynn to weasel her way in front. I knew I was seated back far enough that she wouldn’t see me through the window now. It seemed safe. I pulled myself up and pushed the levers sideways with my thumbs to unlatch the window, then pushed down, welcoming the rush of air that greeted my clammy forehead. I tried to focus my attention elsewhere, so I began to think of Garreth and felt the queasiness slip away.

  Why hadn’t anyone else noticed my fall? What was that horrible black smoke that, in the pit of my stomach, I knew didn’t come from the buses? And how was it that Garreth had gotten there just in the nick of time? Regardless, I owed Garreth a lot. Maybe even my life.

  I couldn’t help this connection, this attraction that was hitting me like a sledgehammer on the top of my skull. Maybe I had an overactive imagination and I was gullible enough to believe Claire and her recommendation that I needed a boyfriend. I shivered at the thought of my bizarre day. So far, the only worthwhile part was Garreth. Deep down, I knew this crazy dream wasn’t just a dream anymore. It was haunting me—and letting someone in on it would be absolutely boy repellant. Maybe a boyfriend wasn’t the answer. I needed protection.

  The truth was, I needed a life.

  I was inwardly laughing at myself when I realized the bus had been stopped for several seconds and a half-dozen sets of eyes were boring holes into my head. The bus had reached my corner and the driver was now directing an impatient stare at me from the gigantic rear view mirror.

  I grabbed my iPod and my backpack and hauled myself quickly down the aisle toward the front of the bus, carefully avoiding the stares of the other kids who were now beginning to whisper in low, hushed voices. I mumbled, “Sorry,” to the sadistic driver and made my way down the steps to the curb without killing myself in my haste. I would have to speak with Claire about arranging permanent transportation from now on because there was absolutely no way I would ever ride the bus again.

  Chapter Three

  I woke up bright and early the next morning. My dreams of Garreth had been blissfully uninterrupted—no dark wings—and I found myself
energetic and eager to make myself look decent for school.

  Garreth Adams.

  He was unlike any of the other boys I knew from school. For one thing, he carried himself with a level of maturity that ninety-nine percent of the boys in my school seemed to be lacking. He was polite, thoughtful, chose his words carefully, and no matter how sure of himself he appeared to be, he was cautious and I admired that. I thought of his deep-blue eyes and his strong jaw, the way his hands pushed his hair out of his eyes. Instantly, I felt my cheeks warm.

  With Garreth in mind, I sneaked into my mom’s bathroom, raiding the medicine cabinet for mousse, gel, and shine spray, not having a clue how to use any of them. I was intent on transforming myself into something slightly more than ordinary, a task I was taking on blindly. A rather ordinary face, however, reflected back to me in the bathroom mirror, along with strawberry-blonde hair, light highlights from a box, a somewhat-clear complexion, save for the freckles that multiplied yearly, and green eyes so light they were almost the color of water and framed by thin, very light-colored eyebrows and lashes. I was often told I was pretty, but somehow the mirror always seemed to lie to me.

  I sighed, not convinced the wild array of cosmetics would do any good but I was determined to try. My next victims, the drawers, silently waited and I pounced on them, excitedly uncapping lipstick tubes and popping open eye shadow cases. I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

  I bounced downstairs with unusual enthusiasm, catching my mother’s shocked look. This was quite a switch from my absentmindedness of last evening when I simply couldn’t help my thoughts being elsewhere.

  “You look beautiful, sweetie.” She eyed me suspiciously, though her compliment was honest. “Big day today?”

  “Hey, Mom. Just in a good mood. I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed some of your makeup. Did I tell you we have early dismissal today?”