by Sarah Carter
She can’t help but smile as she walks into class. Derrick is already sitting down. He puts his hand up. “Hey!”
“Hey,” Lexi replies; she goes and sits down in her seat.
“How are you doing?” Derrick asks. “Are you excited that it's Friday?”
“Hell yeah.”
A sly grin crosses his face. “Are you and Connor going to come up for air this weekend?”
Feeling her cheeks heat up a little, Lexi says, “We are going to be with my friends.”
“Oh, meeting the family and friends already. Wow, that’s pretty serious,” Derrick teases.
Lexi rolls her eyes. “It’s not even like that. It’s not like I met his stepdad.”
The grin disappears from Derrick’s face. “Yeah, that’s probably a good thing.”
“Why? What’s wrong with his stepdad?”
“Nothing,” he stammers. “Nothing at all. He can just be a jerk sometimes.”
Not convinced, Lexi replies, “Uh huh.
Derrick looks up and goes, “Oh great.”
She follows his line of sight and sees Jackie walk up to them. Jackie turns her nose up and slides into the seat between them. Lexi sighs. She liked talking to Derrick.
Obviously not bothered by it Derrick keeps talking. “So, what are your plans for this weekend?”
Slightly uncomfortable, Lexi replies, “My friends are coming over. I think we are going swimming.”
“That’s great,” Derrick says. “So, you have a pool?”
“Uh huh,” Lexi mumbles, not wanting to talk to in front of Jackie. “What about you? What are you going to do this weekend?”
“Not sure yet,” he answers, while shrugging his shoulders. He leans over and puts his head on his hand to look around Jackie.
Feeling slightly daring, Lexi suggests, “You should see what Maddie is doing.”
He smiles. “I was thinking about that. She has had a great week, and I bet she would like to get out of the house.”
“Oh yeah,” Lexi replies. “She really wanted to go see that new action movie.”
“Totally,” Derrick agrees. “That movie got awesome reviews. I will have to ask her. Are you guys going to be busy?”
“Probably. You guys should still go.” Lexi feels hopeful about this. She hopes he goes for it.
With a nod, Derrick says, “Yeah, I will have to ask her. Hopefully, she’s not busy.”
Not able to stop herself, Lexi grins broadly. “I bet she would love to go.”
“I will ask her then.” He nods, and the bell rings.
Class is boring and long. Thankfully, they don’t have to do an experiment. Lexi doesn’t want to interact with Jackie at all, if possible. Derrick waves, and Lexi walks to her next class. She thinks about Connor a lot. She has no idea what she is doing. Knowing she told him, just like that. No pause, nothing, just blah, here’s all her secrets. Lexi knows she’s in trouble if he tells anyone, but also like he said, would anyone really believe him? Would anyone really believe that someone has magical powers? She doubts it. Lexi knows she just has to be careful and not let her powers slip and show. She has to be very, very careful.
Lunch time comes rolling around, and she happily makes her way to Connor’s locker. He’s there, putting his books away. Turning to her, he exclaims, “Hey, beautiful.”
Bashfully, Lexi looks down. She’s not used to getting compliments from anyone but her parents. “Hi.”
“Are you hungry? Ready for lunch?” Connor cheers happily.
“I’m always hungry,” Lexi laughs. “You will learn this. Always hungry.”
“That’s good,” he replies. “So am I half the time.” He reaches over and grabs Lexi’s hand, squeezing their fingers together.
They make their way to the cafeteria. They find Derrick and Maddie waiting by the doors. “Hey guys!” Maddie yells, waving.
“Hey,” Lexi counters. “How’s your day going?”
“Great,” Maddie replies, with a big smile on her face.
Derrick points to Maddie. “We just made plans to go see that movie this weekend, since you two will be busy.”
“That’s good,” Connor says, seeming totally uninterested.
Lexi looks at Maddie and winks. Maddie shoots her a death glare. “The movie should be good,” Lexi declares. “Like Derrick said, it’s gotten some good reviews.”
“I’m excited,” Maddie gleefully declares.
Connor gives her a weird look. Lexi realizes Maddie seems super excited about it, and Connor must have no clue about her and Derrick. “All right, let’s go eat.”
The food line is long, so they patiently wait, talking about the weekend. Lexi suddenly perks up and realizes Hunter just entered the cafeteria. She narrows her eyes and glares at him. This is the guy that Connor was telling her about. Lexi stays quiet and just watches him. They get their food and sit down. No one else seems to notice Hunter or how Lexi is watching him. It’s when he goes to the food line that Lexi knows his time is up.
Hunter walks to the line and gets behind Jeffrey, the kid he will pick on. Lexi watches him closely. Jeffrey doesn’t seem to notice Hunter behind him. Hunter definitely notices him. Pointing to Jeffrey, Hunter nods to his friends. His friends all laugh. Lexi narrows her eyes at them. They could be next if they didn’t watch it.
Jeffrey walks farther down the line and grabs a tray. He puts a bowl of pudding on it. Hunter points to him again and makes a face. Jeffrey turns around and looks at him. Hunter sneers, and Jeffrey looks away. Reaching over, Hunter grabs him by the back of the neck and pulls Jeffrey towards him.
“Hey,” Connor says, finally noticing.
Lexi looks at him and then back at Jeffrey. Hunter is whispering something in his ear. Whatever it is, it must not be good because Jeffrey looks terrified. Now, Lexi knows she needs to wait for the right moment. This is going to be difficult, but she’s done it before. Hunter starts to push Jeffrey around. It’s show time. Controlling Jeffrey, Lexi has Jeffrey swing around and put Hunter into an arm lock. Jeffrey looks as surprised as Hunter. Hunter growls and reaches for Jeffrey. Lexi makes Jeffrey reach back. Hunter jumps and as he comes forward, Jeffrey swings and knocks him in the face. Using her powers, Lexi makes Hunter fly back ten feet and land on the table. The collision makes the table break under Hunter’s weight. The whole room gets quiet. Jeffrey just stands there in shock.
Hunter rolls over on the broken table. His friends rush over to him and help him up. Jeffrey looks panicked. Hunter finally stands up and looks at him. They stand that way for a minute before Hunter points at Jeffrey. Jeffrey puts his hands up and waves them in front of him. Hunter pushes up his sleeves and starts to stomp his way over to him. Jeffrey starts to back up. As soon as Hunter gets close enough, Lexi has Jeffrey spin kick him and hit him in the stomach. Hunter topples over. The whole room is dead silent. No one moves. Hunter rolls over onto his knees. Jeffrey stands still. There isn’t any movement, but suddenly Hunter leaps forward and runs at Jeffrey. Lexi makes Jeffrey spin out of the way, and Hunter goes flying into the food line, landing in the mashed potatoes. The whole room erupts with laughter.
A teacher finally shows up and grabs Hunter by the shirt. Hunter obviously starts stammering and points to little Jeffrey. The teacher looks from Jeffrey, who puts his hands out, to Hunter, who’s covered in potatoes. She rolls her eyes and pushes Hunter to the door. Some people come over and pat Jeffrey on the back. He looks completely dazed but happy.
Lexi turns around, very proud of herself. Everyone is just staring at Jeffrey. Derrick points at him. “Did you guys just see that?”
“Pretty crazy, huh?” Lexi replies, wiggling her eyebrows.
Connor is laughing, obviously trying to cover it up, but still laughing. “That was great.”
“Who knew Jeffrey had it in him?” Maddie sighs. “Good for him.”
“You’d be surprised what people can do sometimes,” Lexi chimes, taking a drink of her soda.
“I guess,” Derrick snor
ts. “Hunter deserves whatever he gets. That guy is such an asshole.”
Shaking his head, Connor says, “Sometimes people reap what they sow.”
“Karma’s a bitch,” Lexi states, with a nod.
“That it is,” Connor agrees, smiling at her. She smiles back.
After lunch, they start to make their way to their classes. “Well, we have to go this way,” Connor says, pointing the opposite way. “You ladies have fun in economics.”
“Again, it’s economics. Not sure fun should be used in the same sentence,” Maddie counters. “But, we will have fun gossiping.”
“Ooo, what do you gossip about?” Connor asks. “Me?”
“Nope, not at all,” Lexi replies. “We manage to talk about other things.”
He makes a face. “You should be talking about me and all my greatness.”
“I think I should gag at the comment,” Maddie says. “Barf.”
“What do you talk about then?” Connor asks.
Lexi grabs Maddie’s hand and starts to walk away. “I guess you will never know.”
“Hey now...” Connor starts, looking shocked.
“Bye!” Lexi calls out as they walk away. Connor shoos them with his hand, and then he and Derrick walk away.
They watch them go. When they are out of sight, Lexi looks at Maddie. “Tell me...”
“Oh my god,” Maddie gasps. “He asked me out!”
“Like out out? Or as in let’s hang out?” Lexi inquires.
“I don’t know!” Maddie exclaims. “That’s the worst part. He asked if I was busy this weekend, and I said no, I had no plans. Then he asked if I wanted to do something and suggested going to see that movie.”
Rubbing her chin, Lexi goes, “Hmmm. That’s interesting.”
“Yeah, but what does it mean?”
“I don’t know. What else did he say?” Lexi asks, pulling her down the hallway.
Maddie’s hands and shoulders fall. “I’m not sure. We just talked about the movie.”
“Did you text last night?” Lexi gleefully asks.
She shoots her a look. “Yes.”
“YEAH!” Lexi exclaims. “What did you talk about?”
“Mindless crap,” Maddie groans. “Nothing important.”
“But,” Lexi interrupts. “Have you ever talked this much before?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s a great thing then!” Lexi cheers. “That is a great sign.”
“Yeah,” Maddie replies, with wide eyes. “We have never talked this much before. It’s crazy.”
Lexi bites her lip. “Well...that’s a really good sign. He hasn’t said anything else?”
“No, not really,” she sighs.
“Not really? What’s the not really?” Lexi probes.
“Well,” Maddie starts. “He’s really sweet and nice. Like, gives me little compliments on stuff.”
“Really?” Lexi squeals. “Like what?”
Maddie rolls her eyes. “Like, he says I have a pretty voice.”
“You sing?” Lexi gasps.
With a nod, Maddie replies, “Yeah and he totally went off about it. Encouraged me to pursue it.”
“If he says you should, you should!”
She rolls her eyes. “No.”
“Why not?” Lexi asks.
“Because, that’s not even up for discussion. We are talking about Derrick,” Maddie answers.
“Okay, so he complimented you, and told you you should pursue your talent. Guys don’t just say that. He was complimenting you. That’s huge.”
A small smirk creeps across Maddie’s face. “Yeah, it made me smile.”
“It’s making me smile,” Lexi yells. “And it’s not even about me.”
“He also said I had pretty eyes,” Maddie whispers bashfully.
“He did not!” Lexi gasps. “What?”
Maddie nods. “Yeah, he did. He was talking about this actress, and I said she had the prettiest blue eyes. And he said, ‘I like yours more. Yours are like crystal blue. Much prettier if you ask me.’”
Lexi nudges her with her elbow. “That’s a compliment if I ever heard one. He likes you Maddie. He really does.”
“Do you really think so?” Maddie groans.
“Yes!” Lexi exclaims. “Guys don’t say stuff like that usually. They are kind of daft sometimes.”
“Did you just say daft?” Maddie laughs.
She grimaces, “Yeah, I get that from my great grandpa. He always calls people daft. I thought it was funny.”
“It is. I’m going to have to use that more often. Daft. Yes, guys are daft sometimes.”
“Or a lot of the time, as my mom says about my dad every single day,” Lexi snorts. “I’m going to encounter that with Connor. I know it’s coming.”
“Oh, you will,” Maddie agrees. “He’s a good guy, though.”
Lexi crosses her arms. “I sure hope so. He knows stuff about me that no one else does.”
“Really? Well, don’t even sweat it,” Maddie says. “Connor is the best secret keeper ever.”
“Why do you say that?” Lexi asks quickly.
“Oh, he never repeats what people tell him,” Maddie declares. “He’s true to his word.”
Lexi knows it’s just words but they do send a wave of relief over her. “That’s good to know.”
“Yeah, no secret spillage from Connor. Anyway, back to Derrick. What do you think I should do?”
“When are you going to the movie?” Lexi asks.
“Tomorrow night,” Maddie replies. “What do I do? What do I wear?”
Tapping her chin, Lexi says, “I would dress cute but not over the top. He may wonder why you are so dressed up.”
“I don’t do cute,” Maddie groans. “I don’t know what to wear.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing,” Maddie answers. “Why?”
She puts her arm around Maddie’s shoulders. “We are going to buy you an outfit tonight.”
“I have no money for that,” Maddie groans.
“I've got this. Don’t worry about it,” Lexi declares solidly. “We just need you to be at the top of your game.”
Maddie reaches over and hugs her. “Thank you.”
“That’s what friends are for. We will go straight after school.”
The rest of the day goes by uneventfully. Connor is his usual charming self during biology, and the rest of the day is pretty boring for Lexi. Finally, she heads to Connor’s locker after going to her locker at the end of the day. He’s standing there, waiting for her. “Are you ready?”
“I’m going to give you a lift home, but then Maddie and I are doing something,” Lexi says.
“What are you doing that I can’t come?” Connor scoffs.
“We are having a girls night, and last time I checked, I don’t think you are a girl,” Lexi retorts, looking him up and down.
Connor shrugs. “Fine, miss out on my awesomeness. That’s all on you guys.”
Maddie comes running up next to them. “Hi!”
“Are you ready?” Lexi gleefully asks.
“YES!” Maddie exclaims.
He looks at them both and raises an eyebrow. “What possibly could be that exciting about girls night?”
“You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand,” Maddie answers. “Go find Derrick. Do a guy night.”
“Play video games and eat pizza,” Connor laughs.
“Sounds typical for you guys,” Maddie says, rolling her eyes.
Rolling his eyes back, Connor counters, “It has to be better than what you guys are doing.”
“We are going shopping, getting our nails done and going out to eat Chinese,” Lexi states. “Girls night.”
“Oh god, shopping...BORING. You can exclude me from your girls night.”
“We didn’t even invite you,” Lexi says. “Because you’re not a girl, again.”
Connor shakes his head. “Whatever. You guys are lame.”
“We are
hanging out tomorrow,” Lexi says. “Relax.”
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“No, but how about I pick you up around 1?” Lexi suggests.
He smiles in return. “That sounds great.”
Lexi smiles but gets an uneasy feeling. She spins around. There’s no one or anything unusual. She eyes up the emptying hallway. She can’t shake the uneasy feeling.
“You okay?” Connor asks.
“Yeah,” Lexi whispers. “I just feel like I’m being watched. Like...never mind.”
“I don’t see anyone,” Maddie says.
Shaking her head, Lexi replies, “It’s probably nothing.”
“On to our girls night!” Maddie cheers.
“Yes,” she agrees. “On to our girls night.”
They drop Connor off at his house and then head to the mall. The first stop they make is to get their nails done. Lexi loves this. She does it with her mom all the time. Lexi and Maddie talk about all the cute actors they like. The nail girls join in, and soon they are all laughing. After they get their nails done, they head to the stores.
Maddie holds her hands up. “They look so nice. Thank you.”
“No problem. In a lot of ways I’m not a girly girl; in other ways I am,” Lexi states. “My mom and I usually do that.”
The look on Maddie’s face falls. “My mom is too sick for any of that,” she whispers softly. “I would love to do it, though, but it’s too hard for her.”
“I’m sorry,” Lexi replies, putting her hand on her shoulder. “It must be hard.”
“It is,” Maddie sighs. “I know she is going to die. I just hope it takes a while.”
Lexi bites her lip. “Maybe she will get better.”
“It’s MS; there is no getting better,” Maddie says.
“Yeah,” Lexi exhales. She knows she can heal her mom, but should she? That’s an awfully drastic thing and messing with the laws of nature. For whatever reason, she can’t see that future. So it must include her, so does that mean she is supposed to do it? She’s not sure.
“Let’s not get down about it,” Maddie declares, smiling. “I’m supposed to be getting a cute outfit.”
Reaching over, Lexi hugs her. “Yeah, the question is, what do you want to wear?”
With a shake of her head, Maddie replies, “No skirt or dress or anything of the sort.”
