Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set

by Amy Miles

Julie eyed my grip on her elbow. “Kylie—”

  “Forget it,” I interrupted, wanting away from this failed mind peeking experiment, away from Julie’s 4.0 flirting, and away from the indecipherable look on Joel’s face. “Let’s just get going so we’re not late for class.” Tightening my hold on Julie’s elbow, I led her away from the parking lot and away from Joel Templeton.

  Let’s face it. Julie was the great flirt. I sucked at the whole boy-girl thing.

  ****

  Minutes later, I entered the hall at school, stopped in front of my bright red locker, and started dialing the lock combo by turning it to the right. It frustrated me to have read Mark Hernandez’s mind and not Julie’s. I flipped the locker dial to the left. Especially when Julie’s was the mind I’d wanted to peek into. She’d been flirting with Joel and I needed to know why.

  My hand froze on the dial. Joel. I’d dragged Julie out of the parking lot without so much as a goodbye to him. Bad enough that my brain couldn’t read Julie’s, but now my work-on-my-flirting goal had been a flop.

  I looked across the hall at Julie who was punching buttons on her cell phone. My paranoia kicked in. Was she texting Joel? I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and had to know what was up with her. Since I couldn’t read her mind, there was only one other way to find out.

  “Who are you texting?” My voice rose a notch on “texting” making me sound like I was trying to be cool but really thought my best friend was going after my crush.

  “Huh? Oh, I’m finishing my convo with Joel.”

  My stomach dropped. “Um, what?”

  She flipped her phone shut and laced her arm through mine. “He told me Brandon and Lisa are having problems. I’m hoping she’ll dump him, so I can pick up the pieces.”

  Relief washed over me. Of course! Brandon. As in, Joel’s best friend. That’s why she was talking so enthusiastically to my crush. It all made sense now. She’d been in love with Brandon since sophomore year. Unfortunately, he’d hooked up with Lisa before Julie’d made her move.

  With paranoia out of the way, I dropped my Chemistry book into my backpack and shut my locker. “Good luck with the Brandon thing. Keep me posted.”

  “Sure. See you,” she said, slipped her arm out of mine, and took off for her first period class.

  I breezed into the Chemistry lab on Cloud Nine. My best friend wasn’t after my guy—er, my potential guy—and I had all day to undo the damage I’d done in the flirting department. Life was good again.

  “Kylie.” Mrs. Thomas—or Mrs. T, as I called her—placed a hand on the small of my back and maneuvered me away from the throng of students pouring into the classroom. “I’d like to introduce you to Mr. McDonald. He’ll be subbing for me while I go on maternity leave. He has an outstanding background in science.”

  I checked out Mrs. T’s swollen belly, which seemed to be ballooning daily. I knew it was nature and all, but it couldn’t be comfortable walking around like that. It looked like she might pitch forward at any moment and land on her face.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Thomas.” Mr. McDonald pushed his black-rimmed glasses up with his middle finger. “It’ll be my pleasure to educate your class while you’re gone.”

  Mrs. T squeezed her lips into a proud smile. “I’m sure you’ll find Kylie to be very helpful. She’s such a delight. My best student.”

  I loved when teachers said that.

  “Nice to meet you . . . Kylie, was it?” He reached out to shake my hand.

  “Yes,” I said, smiling as I accepted his firm grip. “Kylie Bates.”

  Suddenly, it felt like I was holding a vibrator—I’m projecting here, not like I’ve actually held one. Electric darts shot up my arm, over my shoulder, and straight to my head. Blurry pictures blasted into my mind. Mr. McDonald, standing in front of the class. Pouring liquid from a vial into a heated beaker. Ms. Solomon, the principal, entering the room. Clapping her hands at Mr. McDonald. Waving good-bye to Mrs. T, who had a baby in her arms. Mr. McDonald smirking as Mrs. T walked out of the classroom. Then, my mind went blank.

  Mr. McDonald had released my hand and beamed at me. “It’s great to know young students are applying themselves these days.” He sounded quite chipper. Apparently, planning to commandeer Mrs. T’s job was a hoot. “Is Chemistry your favorite subject, Kylie?”

  “Um.” My favorite would soon be psychology. Or theology. Or whatever could tell me WHY I’D JUST READ THE SUB’S MIND!

  Mrs. T tilted her head. “Kylie? Something wrong, hon?”

  Yeah, something was wrong. “Don’t go on maternity leave, Mrs. T,” I blurted and grabbed her forearm. “Your sub wants to take over your job. Permanently.”

  Her face went pale. Then, she placed a hand on her belly and eyed Mr. McDonald suspiciously.

  He coughed into his hand. “Nonsense. I’m here on a temporary assignment. Your best student, Mrs. Thomas? I can’t say much for her manners.”

  “You don’t fool me,” I said, and left a bewildered Mrs. T as I wandered to my seat. Just then, fuzzy images of Mr. McDonald replayed in my mind one after another. I gripped either side of my head. “Stop!”

  The guy to my left shot me a weird look. “Stop what? I’m not doing anything.”

  Did. I. Just. Yell. Aloud? I ducked my head and sat down, mortified. Usually, I kept a low profile in class. In school, in life even. I didn’t accuse substitute teachers of job-stealing and I certainly didn’t shout like a girl gone mad. What was wrong with me?

  Dumb question. My peek-a-boo brain was back.

  The final bell rang and everybody rushed to their seat.

  Suddenly, Mrs. T appeared in front of me. “Is everything okay, Kylie?” she asked, and then lowered her voice. “Maybe you’d like to see the school nurse?”

  What I needed was a shrink. Or even better, my dad. But, I didn’t want to cause more of a scene. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  “All right.” She nodded, but her lips scrunched up like she wasn’t sure. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

  My mind. That was the problem. I’d read two minds in the past two hours. That couldn’t be good. Wait a second. Why had I seen Mr. Job-Stealer’s thoughts and not Julie’s? I hadn’t even tried to read his mind. It just happened when he shook my hand.

  Ah-ha! That’s what I’d done wrong with Julie. I’d touched her elbow, not her hand. Not that I had a clue why that should matter. A touch was a touch, right? My head started to spin.

  Calm down. Think. How to proceed? I guess I should test the “hand shaking” theory. Two for two, after all. But, seeing people’s thoughts without them knowing? That’d be kinda sneaky, kinda intrusive, and actually . . . kinda cool.

  If I could jump inside a fiction novel, I’d totally shake hands with Edmond Dantés. Wouldn’t I love to know what went through his mind? But, since that’s not possible (as far as I know, anyway), I’d have to make do with someone local. Now, who has thoughts I’d like to get into?

  Julie? Nah. She wasn’t going after Joel so no need to go there. If I wanted to be generous, I could shake Brandon’s hand and see if Julie had a shot or not.

  Even better, I could read Joel! I’d finally know if he actually likes me. On the other hand, I could find out he thinks I’m a nut case for obsessing over my friend’s mascara. For not saying bye to him. For shaking his hand out of the blue when he and I have known each other since freshman year. Hmmm. Reading his mind would be tricky.

  I stared out the window as Mrs. T finished introducing her rival, I mean sub, to the rest of the class. Mr. McDonald avoided eye contact with me the entire time. Great. One little accusation and I’m stonewalled. It’d better not affect my GPA.

  Next, Mrs. T droned on with lab instructions while Mr. McDonald took notes. And for the first time in my life, I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork. I mean, who cared about turning clear liquid purple? My brain was performing the greatest experiment of all time!

  But, it wasn’t without risk. I mean, I’d find out my crush’s
inner most thoughts and what if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks I’m a weirdo? Did I want to know that? Not really.

  Then, I thought of the world’s greatest risk takers: Einstein, Galileo, Edison. If Christopher Columbus hadn’t been willing to take risks, we’d still think the world was flat. So, I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. I’d just have to be creative.

  My stomach swirled at my decision to test my hand-shaking hypothesis. Once class was over, I’d get myself a sneak-peek into Joel Templeton’s brain.

  Chapter Two

  When the bell rang, signaling the end of Chem Lab, I bolted from the classroom. I was a girl on a mission. A mission to read her potential-boyfriend’s mind. Pushing my way through the crowds, I stood across from Joel’s locker, and waited.

  He never showed.

  I repeated my stalking stance during the break after English, but still no Joel. I couldn’t believe it. He always went to his locker between classes. Why did he have to change routine today of all days?

  It’s not like Joel knew I was gonna peek at his thoughts and was purposely staying away. No, there was no way he could know that unless . . . well, unless someone had read my brain and then told Joel my plans. My eyes widened and I studied the faces around me. Just then, someone bumped my arm. A mind reader!

  “You make a better door than window,” the guy growled.

  “Sorry,” I said, way doubtful that tool’s goal was brain peeking. I made my way over to the wall. Oh, man. I was majorly tripping. It’s not like the entire world had a peek-a-boo brain or surely it would be a reality TV show.

  My head began to spin again, so I gave up on Joel for now and headed to Trig. Math would be a cinch compared to mind reading. But, just like in my morning classes, I couldn’t concentrate. I spent fifty-five minutes playing “He likes me/He likes me not” using the lines on my binder paper.

  After McKay let us out of Trig, still no sign of Joel. Which totally blew since I’d ended on “He likes me”.

  My shoulders slumped and my brain-snooping bravery was deflating. Major drag since I’d even thought up several excuses to explain why I was suddenly so touchy-feely with Joel. If he likes me: “Wasn’t it about time we held hands?” If he thinks of me as a friend: “Ooops, I thought you were someone else.” If he doesn’t like me: “Just wanted to see if weight-lifters lotionized. Guess they don’t.”

  Those responses were golden. I couldn’t let them go to waste, could I? But, Joel was MIA. Hmmm. Julie’d texted him earlier. Maybe she knew where he was. With renewed purpose, I grabbed lunch, headed to our usual table in the cafeteria, and slid into a metal folding chair. “Hey, Julie. I don’t suppose you’ve heard from—”

  “Kylie, thank goodness you’re here! I’m having serious drama. Last night, my mom gave me crap over buying my new jacket online with her credit card. She was like ‘Three hundred dollars a month is plenty for a clothes budget. There’s no reason to go over.’”

  “Real quick, Jules, I just have to know if—”

  “And I’m all, ‘Mother, that barely buys me a t-shirt and jeans. What do you expect me to do about outerwear? Freeze?’”

  I held up a finger. “Hang on. Can you tell me if—”

  “Then she goes, ‘You get more than I spend on my own clothes and I manage a full wardrobe.’”

  My mouth clamped closed. No point in asking Julie something when she was venting. Goes to show how desperate I was for even trying. I poked my macaroni and cheese with my fork as Julie went on. Maybe Joel had ditched school.

  Julie flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. “And I’m all, ‘Yeah, my point exactly, mother. Look at the clothes you wear. I’d be laughed out of school if I dressed like that’. Then she had the nerve to suspend my budget until next month. Can you believe that?”

  “Mmhmm.” If Joel cut class, he could be at the bowling alley right now, or the arcade, or whatever guys did with their free time.

  “You’re not listening to me, are you?”

  “Uh-huh.” Wait. Did I want to date a guy who skipped classes for the fun of it? I mean, if he’s that irresponsible now, how’s he gonna hold down a job later in life? I’d bet money Edmond Dantés never skipped school. Well, he was tutored inside of a prison so he was kind of stuck. But, still. If he’d had a choice, I’m sure he would’ve showed.

  “Hello?” Julie leaned across the table till our faces were inches apart. “Earth to Kylie.”

  “Huh? What?”

  She gestured in annoyance. “I said my mom took away my clothes budget till November.”

  That sounded familiar. “Why’d she do that?”

  Julie scoffed. “She said that if I thought her clothes were in that much trouble, she needed the money more than me. Isn’t that totally rude?”

  “I guess so.” Looking down at my second-hand jeans and ten-dollar (on sale) t-shirt reconfirmed that Julie and I had totally different priorities. My focus was studying hard to earn a scholarship for college and then get a decent paying job. Doing what? I didn’t know yet. Hopefully I’d figure that out before I got my degree.

  Julie, on the other hand, was more into how she looked, guys, and, well, there wasn’t usually much else on her agenda. We probably wouldn’t be best friends if it weren’t for what happened in the fourth grade.

  “Girl, you’re spacing.” Julie raised her brows.

  I pushed my uneaten lunch away. “I was just thinking about when we were nine. Remember Kenny Peterson kept following me around the playground? He copied everything I did and said, even after I told him to knock it off.”

  “Of course I remember. I socked him one.”

  I smiled, remembering how good it had felt when Julie had stuck up for me like that. Even though Kenny had been kinda cute. Pestering aside, mind you.

  “Then, I told him he’d better leave you alone or he’d be dealing with me.”

  “I was so shy back then.” I sighed. “It’d taken all my guts to ask him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  She laughed. “What do you mean shy back then? You’re still quiet as a mouse.”

  I sat upright, feeling offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t get mad. I’m not judging. You’re just not the outgoing type. That’s all. It’s no biggie.”

  “Whatever.” Deciding to peek at Joel’s mind wasn’t even close to shy. Although Julie didn’t know about that. Quiet as a mouse. Was that really what Julie thought of me?

  She pulled out a compact, checked her reflection, and then applied a fresh coat of hot pink lip-gloss. “You’ve been acting weird all day. What gives?”

  I shrugged. “It’s been an odd morning.”

  She pressed her lips together and then closed her compact. “Tell me about it. That lecture in McKay’s class was a snoozer.”

  “Hmmm.” She didn’t get it, but there was no way I was going to tell Julie what had happened with Mark Hernandez and Mr. McDonald. Instead of shy, she’d think I’d lost it. “I also kinda wanted to talk to Joel. But, he ditched class.”

  “You want to talk to Joel.” Her tone of voice said “yeah, right.” “What exactly are you planning to say? You barely got a word out to him in the parking lot this morning and I seem to remember you biting his head off at your locker just yesterday when he asked you about tutoring.”

  My face flushed. I hadn’t realized she’d seen that. “So? Maybe I’d like to . . . apologize, or something.”

  “Fine by me.” She shrugged lightly before glancing over my shoulder. “Here’s your chance.”

  The blood drained from my face. “That’s not funny.”

  She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and waved at someone behind me. “Hey, Joel. How was your doctor’s appointment?”

  “Fine.” Joel’s deep voice sent chills over every inch of my body. “The doc released me for football practice.”

  Julie hadn’t been kidding. Joel really was standing behind me. Suddenly, my head went dizzy. What did I want to do ag
ain? Oh yeah, shake his hand. But, I couldn’t remember how I was supposed to get him to do that. Hadn’t I practiced some lines? Something about lotion?

  Julie twisted the straw in her diet soda. “So your ankle’s better then?”

  “Yeah, it was just a sprain. Not a big deal.” He leaned against my chair, and I could feel his fingers brush my back. “How’s it going, Kylie?”

  My face flushed, but I was determined to be flirty. Only problem was that my neck muscles refused to turn around to even look at him. “Uh, fine.”

  Okay, not flirty. But, not hostile like yesterday and not ditching him like I accidentally did in the parking lot earlier. Cheers for improvement.

  “Shawn said something happened in class this morning,” he went on. “You screamed at him or something?”

  “Sh-shawn?”

  “Yeah.” Joel’s voice was smooth. “He’s got first period with you. He thinks you’re mad at him, but can’t figure out why.”

  Uh, oh. Shawn must be that guy who thought I was yelling “stop” at him in Chem Lab. Just my luck that he’d be one of Joel’s friends.

  “Wait a minute.” Julie held her hand out. “You yelled at Shawn? Why? What’d he do?”

  I bit my lip, hoping she wouldn’t haul off and sock that guy Shawn. We were juniors now, not in grade school. “I didn’t really yell at him.”

  “What then?” Julie leaned toward me.

  “Well . . . ” I grappled for a better explanation than I’d read the sub’s mind, spazzed out, and screamed. “I, uh, . . . ”

  The bell rang then, signaling the end of lunch.

  “ . . . have to get to class.” Lame, but what else could I say? I stuffed my lunch remains in a paper bag, swung my legs around to get up—and Joel held out a hand to help me.

  I slipped my right hand into his as he pulled me to my feet.

  An intense tingling sensation floated over my wrist, up my arm, and burst in my head. Shimmery images filled my mind. Joel and me, holding hands, walking toward the football field. A big blanket. The sun setting. Joel, laying on top of me. Kissing me. Taking off his clothes. Stripping off my clothes. Rolling around on the blanket and—