The 'Naturals: Awakening (Episodes 1-4 -- Season 1) (The 'Naturals: Awakening Season One Boxset)

by Melody Carlson

  Coach Stanly’s whistle cut through the heavy late-summer air and Kristin jogged forward into position just as Coach threw the ball in at midfield.

  As her teammates fought for control of the ball, Hailey caught a flash of gold and a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye.

  “Go, Heralds!” A shrill voice broke through the sounds of play on the field and conversation on the sidelines.

  Oh, no. Not today.

  “Kick the ball, girls!” Donna Stark called, nearly stumbling as she tried to pick her way across the gravel lot to the soccer field in her platform heels, her arms flung wide for balance. Her purse, as big as a small suitcase and decorated with dime-sized gold circles, slipped from her shoulder to the crook of her elbow.

  That unsteady walk was all too familiar. Hailey tried to gauge how far into “happy hour” Mom might be. Why did Donna have to pick today of all days?

  This wasn’t just any practice scrimmage. It was for the benefit of the talent scout standing a little apart from everyone else on the sideline. The man who was right in Donna Stark’s path.

  Hailey forced her gaze back to the play on the field, where Erin Hollister was dribbling toward her. Erin feinted right and then scooted the ball left around a defender. Only Kristin was left between Erin and a wide open shot at the goal. Hailey leaned forward, shifting her weight to her toes, trying to watch Erin and Mom at the same time.

  “Hello, tall stranger!” Mom’s much-too-loud voice rang out across the field. Hailey ground her teeth.

  Kristin charged Erin, giving Hailey a split second to sneak a glance over at the sideline. Mom stood next to the man, looking up at him with a wide smile. She swayed a little, and then grabbed the man’s arm to steady herself. He looked down, confusion clear on his face. Could he smell the booze on her mother’s breath? Hailey’s heart took a sickening dip. Every muscle in her body yearned to sprint over there and drag Mom away.

  Hailey tried to draw a deep breath, but her ribcage suddenly seemed too small for her lungs. She wanted to die. Right here on the soccer field. Right now.

  She swallowed hard and turned back to the field just as Kristin tripped over Erin’s foot, letting Erin and the ball by. Hailey read Erin’s shot before she even drew her leg back to kick it, and leaned left. Erin sent the ball sailing for the high corner of the goal, but Hailey was already diving there to meet it. The ball thwanked off her fingertips, deflected just enough to clear the net.

  Hailey’s hip and elbow met the ground with a hard thud, and pain laced through her shoulder. Praying nothing was sprained or pulled, she pushed herself up to sitting.

  And then the ground started to vibrate. The dandelion near her foot jiggled on its stalk, as if trying to break free of its roots. Someone shouted downfield. The vibration swelled to a full-on shake. Hailey’s heels drummed against the grass as the shaking grew so violent she nearly bounced into the air. She dug her fingers into the soft turf, the only thing she could hold on to.

  Teammates and bystanders screamed and wind-milled their arms, trying to stay upright. Kristin and Erin both stumbled to their knees. Penelope fell hard on her backside. The air seemed to thicken and shimmer like water. It was like watching a poorly-focused scene on a movie screen.

  Vibrations shimmied up her arms in waves, raising the fine hairs on her skin and electrifying every cell of her body. She pushed her fingertips into the earth, reaching for more of the strange energy. A surge of adrenaline sent her heart pounding. Was a powerline down? Maybe this was what heart failure by electric shock felt like.

  Then, as suddenly as it started, the shaking stopped. Players, parents, and coaches looked around, dazed, and helped each other up. Confused chatter filled the field. Hailey flexed her fingers, searching for some evidence of the energy that had surged into her. Dirt caked under her nails and her palms were stained pale yellow-green from the grass. She brushed her fingertips over the blades of grass, half hoping to feel a zing up her arm.

  “Owww,” Mom moaned from the sideline.

  Hailey snapped back to the chaos around her. She jumped to her feet and dashed over to where Mom lay on her side, her limbs splayed out on the grass.

  “Are you hurt?” Hailey squatted and tried to help her up and gather the spilled contents of the gold bag at the same time. Mom moaned again, drawing the attention of nearby parents and one of the assistant coaches. Hailey shifted to try to shield her mother from their view.

  “My ankle. Hailey-Bear, I think I’ve twisted it good.”

  Ugh, why did she have to use that nickname? No one had called her Hailey-Bear for like a decade.

  “Try to stand. Maybe it’s not so bad.” Hailey grasped her mother’s hands and pulled her up. She glanced around, looking for the tall man her mother had practically accosted. He stood near midfield, talking to Coach Stanley. Whew.

  Kristin jogged over to Hailey, her eyes bright. “What the heck was that? We don’t get earthquakes here.”

  “Yeah, pretty weird.” Hailey’s arms vibrated with an aftershock of the tremors that had rippled through her from the ground. She rubbed her hands together, wishing the quake would start again so she could feel the intoxicating rush of energy again. Had anyone else felt it the way she had?

  “Pretty weird? That’s all you have to say?” Kristin finally noticed Donna’s tentative, wobbly steps. “Oh, is she okay?”

  “I think I’m still in one piece.” Mom smiled with glassy eyes and tried to push her lopsided bun back to the crown of her head.

  “Is she …? Do you need help?” Kristin’s face was all wide-eyed concern.

  Hailey dipped her shoulder toward Kristin. “I just gotta get her out of here, Kris,” she whispered.

  Kristin touched Hailey’s shoulder. “If you’re sure you don’t need help …”

  “No, that’s okay. I’ll text you later.”

  Kristin nodded and headed across the field to join some of their teammates who stood in a knot, chattering and gesturing. Alarm and excitement still permeated the field. Maybe with the distraction everyone would forget about Donna Stark’s stumbling entrance. And maybe Hailey could make a quiet escape. She picked up the gold bag and shaded her eyes, scanning the parking lot.

  “You walked all the way here in those heels?”

  “I had a little cocktail, so, you know. Shouldn’t get behind the wheel …” Mom trailed off, and the corners of her mouth turned downward.

  “Well, that, at least, was a good decision.” Hailey sighed and rubbed her temple. She hated this, feeling like she was the grown-up and her mother was the child.

  Donna gave her a look that was somehow ashamed and pleased at the same time, and Hailey’s heart threatened to split in half. How could she stay mad at her mom? It was just the two of them now. And her mother had become so . . . fragile.

  “My car’s over there.” Hailey pointed. She knew she sounded annoyed, but she couldn’t help it. Mom probably wouldn’t notice or remember, anyway. “Do you think you can walk that far?”

  “Just let me hold on and I’ll be okay.” Donna’s nails dug into Hailey’s sore left shoulder, and she took a few limping baby steps toward the parking lot.

  Two hours ago when practice started, all Hailey wanted was the tall man’s eyes glued to her while she showed him why she was a top-ranked goalie. But now she prayed that Coach would distract the college scout long enough that she could slink away unnoticed.

  Hailey settled her mother on the cream leather sectional with an ice pack for her ankle and a kitchen towel to keep the condensation from ruining the sofa. She waited, trying to estimate how much happy hour had worn off.

  Mom shook her head. “I just don’t understand. We don’t get earthquakes here.”

  “Yeah.” Hailey folded her arms. “What were you doing at practice today, Mom?”

  “Oh, don’t be silly.” Donna’s eyelids drooped. She tried to hide a huge yawn against the back of her hand. “I go to all your games.”

  “No, you don’t. Not anymor
e. And that wasn’t a game, it was a scrimmage.”

  “Well, I just thought it would be nice . . .”

  Hailey turned before Donna could finish. It seemed she’d been wrong, she could be mad at her mom.

  “Where are you going?” Donna called, her voice echoing through the yawning living room and huge adjoining granite and stainless steel swathed kitchen.

  “For a jog.” Hailey jerked open the door next to the breakfast nook and then slammed it behind her.

  She crossed the quarter acre of lush lawn, inhaling the smell of fertilizer and fresh-cut grass, and let herself out the gate that opened to undeveloped, scrubby hills. Walking through the gate was like passing into another dimension, just a thin border of fence between flat, manicured, shocking-green yard and the muted tans and sages of the wild, rolling land beyond.

  Hailey ran hard, flying over ruts and around rocks, following a rough but well-worn path, turning and weaving through the brush as it wound up into the hills. She stumbled over a root, nearly losing her footing. This was why she didn’t love trail running—it took too much focus to keep from tripping or turning an ankle. She resented having to watch the ground as she ran. Might as well be on a treadmill.

  But she could never stay away for long. When was the last time she’d hiked out here with her dad? She couldn’t remember, and a stab of regret pierced her heart.

  Her throat swelled with the familiar tightness, and she pushed harder, pumping her arms and hurling up the path. But the heaviness caught up to her and seemed to crush the air from her lungs. When her steady breathing broke down into choking gasps, she slowed and then stopped. Hands on her hips, she tilted her head back and filled her eyes with sky. She squeezed her eyes shut.

  Would it be the worst thing in the world to let the sadness loose to bleed through her and wring her heart like a cold, wet towel? No one was here to see. No one would know if she lost control for a moment.

  A crack of thunder broke the silence with a deafening smack through the dry air. Hailey brushed the back of her hand across her eyes and scanned the horizon as the echo rebounded off the hills. The sky—serene summer blue a moment ago, now roiled with gray. Dark rainclouds gathered above her.

  A large drop splatted against her shoulder. Another hit her cheek. And then the clouds released a torrent of rain.

  She turned, squinting through the downpour, and retraced her steps down the path. The sandy soil beneath her shoes darkened and little rivulets of water began to form. She slowed to a walk just before a fork in the path. It was pointless to hurry, really. Her hair was dripping, and her shorts and practice jersey were already soaked through.

  A two-wheeled blur flew past, missing her by inches. Hailey jumped back and let out a strangled screech.

  “Look out!” the blur hollered.

  A guy on a mountain bike skidded into a rut and the front wheel jerked awkwardly, catapulting the rider over the handlebars. The rider-less bicycle wobbled and tipped over onto some scrub brush. The guy lay on his back across the path, legs bent with the soles of his shoes on the ground. His arms flopped out, palms up, and he groaned.

  Hailey dashed to his side and crouched over him, her heart pounding in her ears. “I’m so sorry! You came out of nowhere.” His eyes were pinched shut, and tufts of dark hair poked out from the edges of his scuffed black helmet.

  He moaned.

  “Is anything broken? Should I go get help?” Hailey held her breath, waiting for him to respond. Rain pelted his face and ran down his cheeks, making streaks through the dirt on his skin. She started to reach out to touch his arm, but held back.

  He opened one eyelid, and then the other, and stared at her for a moment with crystal-green eyes framed by long, dark lashes. Then a grin spread across his face and he laughed. “Nah, I’ll live. Just got the breath knocked out of me.”

  Hailey smiled back. And without warning, the rain stopped and sunlight washed over them. No tapering patter of a few last drops. Just rain coming down in buckets one second, and pure blue sky the next. She blinked against the sudden sunlight.

  He sat up and scrambled away from her, staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes. “What did you do?”

  “What do you mean? I didn’t do anything.” Hailey kept smiling, but eyed the dark-haired guy as he unbuckled the chin strap of his helmet. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to sit out here in the hills, talking to a stranger. Even if he did have gorgeous green eyes.

  The guy was still staring at her. “You smile . . . and the rain stops.” He gasped, his eyes and mouth comically wide. “You must be some kind of mystical creature. Don’t tell me, I want to guess.” He held up a hand and closed his eyes. “You’re a fairy. Wait, no . . . A displaced mermaid. No, no, I was right the first time. Fairy.”

  Hailey’s shoes scraped the muddy gravel as she stood. She planted her hands on her hips and the guy looked up at her, grinning. She sighed and shook her head. “Now that you know my secret, I’ll have to kill you. Stuff your lungs with fairy dust and leave you out here for the vultures.”

  “Please, not suffocation by fairy dust.” He hunched his shoulders and winced. “It’s such an undignified way to go. And think of the vultures, they’ll be farting glitter for days.”

  Hailey laughed and rolled her eyes. Who was this guy? He had to be new to Silverwood. She surely would have remembered him if she’d seen him before.

  He stood and swiped dirt off the seat of his shorts. “You’d better tell me your name or I’ll have to call you ‘Pixie.’”

  Hailey grimaced. “Ew, no nicknames. Hailey Stark.”

  He folded his arms and looked her up and down, then shrugged. “Hailey. Fine. But I really think you could pull off Pixie. I’m Adrian Panagakos.”

  “Kind of a mouthful.” She stepped out of the way so he could untangle his bike from the brush.

  “My dad’s family is Greek.” He righted the handlebars and peered down at the front tire. “Shoot, it’s flat.”

  “You just move here?” Hailey fell in step beside him as he started walking his bike down the path. She peeked up into his face.

  “Yep. From Palo Alto.”

  Hailey looked at him with new interest. “Really? Stanford is my top pick.”

  “So you’re one of those goal-driven overachiever types?” Adrian arched an eyebrow at her.

  Her enthusiasm clouded a little. “I’m hoping I can go pre-med on a soccer scholarship.”

  He snorted. “So you’re like the president of the Silverwood High overachievers club.”

  She stopped walking and glared at his back. Where did he get off making these assumptions? Not that he was far off, but still.

  He looked over his shoulder at her and the amusement on his face faded.

  “Stop mocking me. You make it sound like having goals is a bad thing.” She folded her arms. “What do you want to do with your life, Adrian?”

  “My life? I have no business trying to make that kind of decision. I’m seventeen and pretty much an idiot.” He laughed, but it wasn’t an easy rumble like before. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

  Hailey drew a breath and let her arms and shoulders drop. Why was she getting so worked up? He wasn’t trying to be mean. She smirked. “Obviously you’re an idiot.”

  His expression relaxed and he laughed for real. “See? We agree on that at least.” He looked up at the gray clouds that had begun to gather overhead. “We should keep going. Might be another storm coming.”

  Hailey shivered even though it was hot out. Something about the clouds made her uneasy. She rejoined him and stared at the ground as they walked, wishing she could retract her little outburst. It was so unlike her. Why had she let him push her buttons?

  “So did you feel that, um, earthquake earlier?” she said.

  “An earthquake?” His eyebrows shot up.

  “Yeah, earlier today.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything about the quake. It was already kind of hazy in her mind, like a bizarre dream.

  He
shook his head. “Nope. I’ve been out on the trails all day, though. I get pretty focused. Maybe I just didn’t notice.”

  “Must be what happened.” Hailey pointed at the gate up ahead, eager to change the subject. “That’s me.”

  Adrian lifted his chin, craning to see over the fence. “Nice place. You have a big family?”

  “Nope.” She pulled her ponytail over her shoulder and fiddled with the end of it. “Just me and my mom. My sister’s in New York.”

  He watched her for a moment. Was he debating about whether to ask where her dad was? Hailey dredged up her standard answer, readied it in her mind, and prepared for the usual awkward condolences. Adrian bit his lip and looked down at the drooping front tire of his bike. Yep, here it was. She chewed the inside of her cheek and looked down at her squishy-wet shoes. “Could I go running with you sometime?”

  She looked up with a tentative smile, caught off guard by his question. “Sure. Tomorrow, maybe?” The words slipped out seemingly on their own, and her eyes widened just a little.

  Adrian grinned, then narrowed his eyes. “I don’t have to worry about your boyfriend kicking my ass or anything?”

  Hailey grimaced. “Nope. Not anymore, anyway.” She pictured the black and white photo booth strip that was stuck to the mirror over her bathroom sink. She’d been sitting on Jay’s lap, her arms looped around his neck. Hailey and her now-ex-boyfriend were cheek-to-cheek in the top photo, eyes closed and kissing in the middle one, and crossed eyed with their tongues out in the bottom frame. She missed Jay, more than she really wanted to think about, but she kept the photo less out of sentimentality and more as a reminder of how she’d screwed up. How she needed to be better. Make sure she didn’t do anything else to mess up her plans.

  “Glad to hear that.” The grin returned, and Adrian unzipped a pocket on the side of his shorts and pulled out his phone. He held it out. “Give me your number. I’ll text you.”

  She added her name and number to his contacts and passed the phone back, trying to ignore the faint throb of her pulse in her cheeks.

  Adrian raised his eyebrows at her, just once up and down, as if they shared a secret. Then he slipped his phone back into his pocket, aimed his bike down another branch of the trail, and started jogging, pushing it alongside.