Time's Daughter

by Anya Breton

  “Is it too soon to kiss you?”

  I blushed and before I could answer Alex leaned in to kiss me lightly on the lips. I smiled as he pulled away. He watched me through unreadable steel blue eyes and a serious set to his mouth. My smile faded a little. A second later he slid his hand behind my neck, stepped closer and took my breath away with another, firmer kiss.

  “Good night, mute girl.”

  I stood staring dumbly after him with rubbery knees.

  I was still staring a minute later when I realized several things: I had a boyfriend. His name was Alex. He was the new kid in town. And he was a shapeshifter.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  He stepped within the entrance, scanned the room and then started toward me with the determined gait of a predator. I considered shrinking back between the doors. What would he do once he’d reached me? Would Alex Chattan kiss me again? In front of all of these people?

  “Hi,” he greeted me awkwardly from the end of the lunch line.

  “Hi,” I said while stepping out of line so the others could go ahead of me. Guy scrambled to get out of the way as well.

  Alex’s unremarkable lips lifted into a very remarkable smile. “You promised it wouldn’t be for long. It’s been an eternity.”

  I laughed at his melodramatic tone. “I guess I owe you one.”

  His eyes sparkled. “Oooh, you’re in my debt now. I like that.”

  The line had already moved behind me and the person who waited on Alex was giving me a dirty look. I turned away from him so I could move between the doors and take a blue marbled plastic tray. Whatever we were supposed to be eating today did not smell all that appetizing so I looked over my options.

  “You look nice,” Alex spoke from close beside me.

  I glanced down at the short navy blue silk skirt and cream-colored shirt that would no doubt get stained within the hour. “This is my mom’s idea of casual. She got a little freaky when I told her what I was doing after school.”

  “That’s cute,” he laughed.

  “I had to fight her off with my toothbrush to keep her from putting make-up on me.”

  Alex’s barking laughter drew the attention of everyone within earshot. I blushed at the looks and dropped my gaze.

  His laugh quieted when he spoke next. “So to the table with your friends or lunch al fresco?”

  “Probably the table. I don’t think I’d be very comfortable sitting on the ground in this skirt.”

  “Tater tots it is,” he said as he handed the plastic tray to the first lunch lady.

  Alex tried to step in front of me to pay. I put my arm out to push him back while handing the person at the register my two dollars.

  “Suit yourself,” he muttered.

  “This isn’t a date,” I countered.

  “Does that mean I can’t kiss you when we leave?”

  My cheeks flamed as I hurried away. Beside Melissa I sat down, greeted her and asked her about her weekend so that I could try to gather my wits.

  “We went apple picking,” she told me with a smile while Alex settled down in the seat in front of me. “Musta gotten four huge bags. There are all different kinds. Mom made a pie. She’s going to make apple bread for Tiffany.”

  I chuckled because I could already imagine my mom’s response. “She’ll flip.”

  “But I’m supposed to tell you that she can’t have it until you guys come over.”

  “Oh, we’ll be over,” I assured her with an amused half smile. My mother loved Mrs. Butler’s cooking almost as much as she liked Mrs. Butler.

  Melissa set her milk down in front of her, lifting her eyebrows at me in question. “So how was your weekend?”

  I glanced at Alex and blushed. “It was good.”

  Ashley butted in as she yanked a tater tot into two pieces with a vicious gesture. “Sarah Wright said she saw you two together on Saturday night at the Red Fiddle.”

  Everyone at the table glanced at me then him. I felt my skin flush from head to toe. He remained quiet.

  “Alex took me there for dinner,” I admitted barely above a whisper.

  Melissa sounded surprised. “Dinner? Like a date?”

  “Yes.”

  Ashley snorted and talked as if he weren’t sitting two seats away from her. “I thought he was gay.”

  My eyes narrowed at her. “If he’s gay then I must be his boyfriend.”

  I glanced around, saw the surprise on the faces of my friends and the smile on his, and then looked back at my food. I hadn’t meant to tell them so soon but Ashley always managed to irk me enough that I said rash things. No doubt the entire school would know before the day was out thanks to her big mouth.

  The revelation put a damper on the chatter at the table. I wasn’t sure why. But I didn’t want to stick around to find out. Alex and I left for the photography studio as soon as we were finished eating to flee the silent weirdness of my friends. As we walked I realized Alex’s camera guy was missing.

  I leaned back to Guy until he stepped forward. “Where did Peter go?”

  My videographer answered in his average voice. “Mark got complaints about multiple cameramen in classes. So when there is more than one of you in the same class, we’re going to take turns.”

  “That explains the stupid push to talk phone you have now,” I noted in a sour voice.

  Guy paled a little. “Sorry, I forgot to turn the volume down before we got into class.”

  The phone picked that exact moment to chirp loudly. “We just got word mute girl is going to le chat’s house later. Peter is on cam duty starting at eighth period.”

  I knew enough French to be surprised and apparently Alex did as well. We exchanged wide-eyed glances. I decided to broach the subject about the cameramen calling him “the cat”.

  My lips twisted into a half frown. “You guys are calling me ‘mute girl’?”

  The cheek I could see beside the camera flushed. “Uh, yeah.”

  Trying to sound nonchalant I said, “I guess I can understand that but why ‘le chat’?”

  Guy’s eye appeared beside the camera. “His last name? Someone on the team is from Scotland and said it’s the name of an association of clans, the ‘Clan of the Cats’.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not. It seemed odd that his family would have a last name that so clearly declared what they were. Then again, I hadn’t known what it meant until now.

  As we entered the nearly empty studio, Alex and I split off to do separate things. I took my negatives to the light table to look for other shots I could print that might be better than what I already had. He took the roll of film he’d developed Friday into the darkroom to make prints.

  I queried Guy to break the silence. “How was your Sunday off?”

  He moved around me so he could get a shot of the tabletop and speak at the same time. “It was good.”

  “Did you go to Canada after all?”

  Guy sounded eager to chat. “Yup. We drove over to Montreal and spent a day drinking overpriced coffee and speaking horrible French.”

  I laughed because that sounded like something they would make into a movie. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

  “Je nes sais pas,” Guy declared.

  “You don’t know?”

  With a soft chuckle the cameraman replied, “Yeah, that’s all the French I remember. You should go sometime. There’s this town right over the border that’s like…a ghost town. It would fit right in with your project here.”

  “A ghost town? Really? I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

  The idea of a ghost town captured my interest enough that I glanced at him. Unfortunately I’d forgotten that all I’d see was the camera lens. My eyes dropped back to the table.

  Guy continued, apparently because he was in a chatty mood. “No? We stopped for gas before we crossed the border back. The station looked open because the lights were on but there was no one to take our money. We tried a convenience store up the street but it was the same. Same go
es for the restaurants, lights were on but nobody was home.”

  Without looking up I said, “Hmm. Maybe they close up on Sundays. Do you remember the name of the town?”

  “Nah. Peter might know. Or James, he was driving. We got the hell out of there because we saw some huge dark thing in the shadows. Thought maybe it was a bear.”

  He said the name of another cameraman as if I’d know who it was. I didn’t question him on it because I’d spotted another angle for a photo that might trump all of my others. With photo paper in hand I waved to Guy, stepped into the round door and disappeared into the darkness of the darkroom.

  It was crowded with four of us working in the dim red light. I took my time setting up the print in the enlarger on the far wall because the trays already had photos in each. One by one the photos were moved down the row until they were in the rinse.

  “I don’t think I have time to do another print,” a classmate told her friend.

  “Me either. This sucks. We only have a few days to finish…” was the response as they went to the door.

  I heard his footsteps as soon as the door went quiet. My head turned toward him slowly. Alex stood at my arm with his face in shadow. He bent forward cautiously until his lips were against mine. I didn’t dare breath.

  “I’ve been waiting thirty five hours to do that again,” he told me moments later.

  The smile spread across my lips without warning. “And I’ve been thinking about the last time for that long.”

  His arms slid around me to pull me close. I hadn’t realized I was cold until he was warming me up. I turned my head to rest it against his chest and put my arms around him too. He smelled like a wood-burning stove and like the wild at the same time. I memorized the scent and the feel of his back beneath my fingertips.

  It was surreal. A stranger stood before me and yet I’d never felt so at ease. He jumped when the door squeaked alerting us seconds before someone would interrupt. I almost pulled him back to me. He must have had the same idea because he stole a kiss before heading back to the trays where his prints awaited.

  Quickly I exposed my photo paper for seven seconds then dropped my print in the developer solution before I’d have to fight for the trays. Alex moved to the enlargers to start on a second photo. We worked in silence while our classmate chattered on a cellphone.

  With our photos rinsing we returned to the light seconds before the bell rang. Alex hovered near me even though we were going to different classes. He snatched my hand up as we walked next door then begrudgingly gave it up so I could go into my drawing class. Yet another kiss was deposited before he left.

  Every time he did that it felt nicer. What would it feel like in a week?

  I couldn’t wait to find out!

  * * * *

  Stan stood waving a new CD near my drawing table when I stepped through the door. My face brightened even more than it had been. I dropped my things down and grabbed it to read the label.

  “Oh, awesome! More Elbow,” I exclaimed a little too vibrantly. “I could kiss you for this.”

  “My girlfriend might have a problem with that,” Stan drawled.

  “So would my boyfriend.”

  His head drew back as if he needed the extra space to fully see my face. “The Still has a boyfriend?”

  I blushed upon thinking of Alex. “Yeah.” It was still too unreal to believe he’d asked me to be his girlfriend.

  “Good for him.”

  The answer made me laugh because he hadn’t said good for you.

  “Thanks again, Stan.” I shook the CD at him. “I can’t wait to listen.”

  We’d started our figure study section in drawing class now that we’d finished with still life. Stan had been picked to be our model today. I did a few preliminary sketches in my sketchbook to get the composition right then began on the larger paper. Stan had such a unique look that it was a treat to draw him. I took care with his features to make sure that his personality came through on the paper.

  “It’s like a mirror, Still,” Stan chuckled upon peeking at my drawing as I stowed it in the racks. “You even got that humorous gleam in my eye.”

  I followed him to the door. “The arrogant gleam you mean?”

  “You say arrogance, I say humor. Later, Still,” he waved genially but my eyes weren’t on him. They were on the dark-eyed person standing across the hall.

  Alex looked furious. I swallowed a lump in my throat and wondered if I’d unknowingly used a new power that had angered his family. Stiffly he stepped into place beside me as we walked to the gym.

  His attention was on Stan’s disappearing figure. “Who was that?”

  My trepidation wasn’t eased any by his cool tone. “Stan.”

  “And why ‘could you kiss’ Stan?”

  I burst into nervous laughter because I realized he’d heard me at the beginning of my art class. Alex’s dark expression didn’t lighten. I quickly explained, “He’s my music buddy. He’d just given me a new CD.”

  Alex pointed to the open page of my sketchbook where the two hasty drawings of Stan were visible. “Do you sketch pictures of all your music buddies and tell them you could kiss them?”

  A cool chill wound its way up my spine because he was really upset and I’d already seen what he was capable of doing. “He was our model for figure study class today,” I said defensively. “I was kidding about kissing him. Apparently you didn’t hear where I told him about my boyfriend.”

  “I forced myself to leave after I heard that,” he nearly growled.

  “Ordinarily I never would have said something like that but I guess I was stupid giddy because of my really good mood.” I glanced at him surreptitiously. He was still scowling. “Aww, is le chat jealous of my music buddy?”

  “Apparently so,” he admitted with a pettish grumble. He’d nearly thawed back to the Alex I knew.

  I leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek to send the remaining ice away. “You’re the only one I want to kiss,” I assured him.

  He blinked lazily and then allowed his lips to spread into his smile.

  “That’s better,” I smiled back.

  Alex took my hand and squeezed it then refused to let it go until we’d reached the locker room doors. I waved goodbye to Guy and went inside to ready. Alex waited for me at the door before class, took my hand again and kept it until the game of basketball started.

  Basketball wasn’t Alex’s best sport but he wasn’t awful at it like me. Catching the ball was easy for him but his aim left much to be desired.

  It was nice to finally find something he didn’t excel at. Maybe he wasn’t quite so perfect after all.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Alex stood waiting for me at the locker room door once again after gym class. I’d taken longer than usual to get changed because I was concerned about my appearance. Family was important to Alex Chattan. I wanted to be as impressive as a former enemy could be.

  He cornered me at his car door in the student parking lot to give me another quick kiss before Peter caught up with us. I blushed and hoped I never got used to his kisses.

  Alex held out his palm. “So let’s hear what this music buddy of yours gave you.”

  I handed the CD over, praying Stan hadn’t unknowingly loaded it up with love songs. It started out with another lively song that wasn’t about love at all. I settled back in my seat in relief then remembered where we were going. The relief was short lived.

  After three songs, Alex spoke. “He’s not got bad taste. But you just got a rival for your music buddy. I’ll be making you a CD later.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Awesome. The more music the better.”

  “You’re going to be sorry you said that, mute girl,” he chided playfully.

  “I highly doubt it, le chat.”

  We both heard Peter’s chuckle in the back seat.

  I kept the conversation going. “I noticed we left the town behind about two minutes ago. Where are we going?” I sort of knew wher
e we were going but it had been dark and I had been in fear the first time I’d “visited” his family.

  “North Junction Lake.”

  “Wow, the lake.” My tone was a little disgusted. “Let me guess, your family has one of those pricey massive mansions on the waterfront?”

  “Mansion? No.” Alex let out a light chuckle. “But there are nine of us so it can’t be a cottage.”

  “What do your parents do for a living anyway?”

  Alex glanced at me as if to gauge my mood. “My father used to own a construction company. But he’s gotten more specific. Now he installs full electrical systems in homes.”

  My eyes crinkled in confusion. “Don’t most houses already have electric?”

  His head bobbed. “Yes, this is different. He installs automation systems. The kind where the lights, heating, cooling, stereo and appliances are all connected to a computer system.”

  “Why would anyone want that?”

  “I guess it saves money.” He shrugged without looking away from the road.

  “So they pay a bunch of money to save money?”

  He chuckled at my disgusted question. “Yeah. Sounds weird, doesn’t it?”

  With a roll of my eyes he wouldn’t see I replied, “I’ll never understand people who have too much money.”

  “Maybe one day you’ll have too much money.”

  My first answer was a snort. “Highly unlikely.”

  Alex took a turn onto a rockier road then brought the subject back to my original question. “My mom is an interior designer.”

  “Like on Trading Spaces?” It was the only thing I knew about interior design so I latched onto it.

  Alex gave another bob of his head. “Yeah, like that.”

  “Cool. The things those people do always look so nice after.”

  He continued with his explanation. “My brother and uncles work for my father. My aunt works with my mom. Often my father’s clients will hire Mom to decorate as well and vice versa. So the whole family works together most of the time.”

  “And they all get along?”

  “Most of the time.”

  I shook my head in awe. “That’s wild.”