Opheliac

by J. F. Jenkins

  Why does she have to be so addictive? Orlando put his remaining breakfast back into the bag so he could take it to class and finish it at his desk in peace. Chemistry class wasn’t good for him to do much else. The subject was interesting enough, but his teacher was far from engaging. Rather than focus on the lecture, he doodled and did his homework for other classes instead. He used to be discreet about it, but once he figured out that his teacher either was dense or didn’t care, he stopped being polite. If he were failing the class, he’d most likely be in a lot more trouble, but he finished the last semester at the top of his class. Chemistry was nothing like his Advanced Biology class which had a lot more hands-on tasks. The former was a cakewalk in comparison.

  Like usual, Tait gave him a smile as she entered the room. She winked then took her seat. Rick, one of the jock boys who was BFFs with her brother, went over to hit on her until the bell rang. She was unreceptive to the point where it was painful to watch. Rick would talk to her, lean forward, poke her, and practically tap dance in hopes of a smile, and she kept herself stiff and emotionless. While Orlando couldn’t hear the conversation going on between the two of them, he could see she wasn’t even bothering to humor him. A rather polite rejection. When she noticed Orlando was still watching, she rolled her eyes. He laughed. Nothing new.

  Right when he had a minute to say hi to her, a tall redhead with curly hair bounced between him and Tait.

  “Hi, Orly!” She waved and sat on top of his desk. Right on top of his notebook.

  He didn’t smile or wave back. “Hello, Beth.”

  “I was wondering if you could help me study for the next test. You’re so smart.” She batted her eyelashes at him. How could anyone have so much energy so early in the morning?

  Taking in a slow breath, and holding back just about every rude comment he could think of, Orlando gazed up at her with a frown. “I don’t do study dates.”

  “Well, we wouldn’t actually study anyway. We could just call it a date.”

  “While I admire your progressive thinking and getting out of the Stone Age where the guy is the only one who asks a girl out, I’m going to have to decline your invitation.” He grabbed his breakfast sandwich and took a bite, hoping she got the hint that she wasn’t even remotely sparking his interest.

  Beth pouted. “Still too soon? I can respect that. I thought if you knew other girls liked you, then maybe you’d be more receptive. Now I get that you’re just not over her yet.” She kissed his cheek. “Just remember there are other fish in the sea.”

  “Too bad I left all my hooks in my other pants,” he mumbled.

  She frowned, but finally got off of his desk just as the bell rang. Orlando risked a glance back at Tait and saw her seething. Hopefully, he wasn’t the cause of her anger. It wasn’t like he asked for Beth to talk to him. He shook his head at Tait and pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to communicate how much of a headache he now had. Being social was not his idea of a good time, especially when it was done with someone he’d rather not talk to. His brief opportunity to chat with Tait was now gone.

  We’ll have to actually talk if I’m going to figure this mystery out, anyway. That’s what lunch hour is for when I have more than five seconds. Still, it would have been nice to at least confirm she was okay. He pulled out his notebook so he could doodle.

  When his sister Lyssa had arranged his schedule at Lunar Falls High School, she’d gone out of her way to torture him. Orlando had transferred to the school after getting expelled from Morningtide High for fighting. Rather than ground him for life like a normal guardian would, she slammed him with unreasonable amounts of class credits. Most of them could have waited for his senior year of school, which would have been the following school year.

  At least she gave me a study hall. He’d never admit to it, but he did like learning. No one would think he was an overachiever if they looked at him. All black attire and unnaturally dyed black, shaggy hair tended to give off more of a slacker vibe than a studious one. Homework was enjoyable enough, tedious, but enjoyable all the same. It gave him something to do since he didn’t have a lot of friends.

  He had Dallas, now, who he wanted to spend time with more than anything, but couldn’t. Given Dallas’s circumstances of being a previously dead guy, their options for going out were limited until Dallas got situated again, as well as comfortable in his newly resurrected body. The guy was growing into his body, and quickly, like puberty was trying to catch him up to being seventeen like he was supposed to be instead of the fifteen he was when he died. Every time Orlando saw Dallas, he looked more and more normal. Soon, they’d be able to hang out just like old times. So long as Nia wasn’t too busy getting in the way, that is. Nia no longer annoyed Orlando to hang out all of the time. They talked in school, but that was about it. She was in love with Dallas and was only using Orlando to get closer to him. Not a big deal.

  That left Orlando with his teammates to spend time with: the other teenagers who had been recruited by Alan and his tribe. Cadence, he enjoyed well enough. She gave off the sister impression with him, and he could be around her and not get frustrated. JD, on the other hand was less of a good experience. The guy had a lot more energy than Orlando and seemed to thrive on being loud, blunt, and like a hyperactive puppy dog. His alias of Chihuahua Man was indeed fitting. Some days, Orlando and JD got along great. Others, not so much. Orlando respected the guy and trusted him with his life. In the end, those things mattered most, given the nature of the work they did for their alien boss.

  He couldn’t hang out with Alan, that would be weird, and that left Orlando with Angela. She was JD’s little sister, yet little like him. Sure, she had the energetic, bubbling, blunt personality like her brother, but she also had a spunkier, subtle side, could hold intelligent conversation, and all around meshed perfectly with Orlando despite his cynicism.

  He actually looked forward to spending time with her—a lot. It was a shame they went to different schools. After classes were done, the two went on a variety of adventures together—most involving food. He’d go so far as to even call them dates if he thought she was interested in him like that. Pretty sure I’m in the friend zone with her, which is probably for the better. What is it with me and having a thing for popular cheerleaders? First Tait, now Angela, it’s bizarre. And it was a riot they both wanted to spend so much time with him since he liked to be the social bubonic plague. There were differences between the two, of course. Angela was more honest and empathetic to him, where Tait was more jaded and nonchalant to going with the flow—much like him. Both girls should have been too good to hang out with someone like him. They were the only two people he sought out for company.

  Ugh, I am so bored. He couldn’t even focus on doodling; it was no longer entertaining for him. Watching the clock only made the minutes drag on, and he’d literally only been sitting for about five. Each second felt like an hour. There was no way for him to take a nap. Enough time had passed where his body was wide awake for at least another three hours. This sucks.

  It was Orlando’s lucky day. Just not long after the lecture started, Alan decided to pay him a visit. The alien had a tendency to teleport to wherever Orlando was hanging out, randomly. To prevent a mass freak-out, Alan was also invisible and muted to everyone except for those he chose. A neat trick, handy too. It was one of many powers Alan possessed.

  Maybe he’ll want me to leave class again. I wouldn’t mind conveniently using the bathroom for ten minutes today. Orlando noticed Alan’s gaze wasn’t on him, however. It was on Tait.

  “Watch her,” Alan said softly.

  Orlando gave a slight nod to let Alan know he’d been heard. Sometimes, if the alien wasn’t acknowledged, he just kept talking and got annoying, fast. No matter how bored Orlando was, he wouldn’t antagonize the guy just for his own entertainment. Alan held such a strong and serious gaze on Tait that Orlando didn’t think it a good idea to do anything but listen and obey. The alien didn’t have much of a sense of humo
r either.

  After another moment of watching the class room, Alan nodded. “Good, we’ll talk at the Apartment tonight. I have much to share.” And then he disappeared from sight.

  Excellent, now I have something to do and an excuse to get out, and I get to see Angela. Guilt washed over him and he glanced back at Tait. She gave him a small smile. I don’t need to feel bad. She’s not my girlfriend. I suppose if I’m going to give her another chance, then I should nip any feelings I have for Angela in the bud before she gets hurt too. Leading her on would be a bad idea. JD would kill me, and the whole team would suffer. Pretty sure Alan wouldn’t approve either. The last thing we need is more drama in the group. Thinking about Angela brought a small smile to his face. I can’t help it. I need to just forget the whole idea. It would never work, anyway. That idea hurt his heart even more.

  Chapter Two

  School was a necessary evil and, like usual, Cadence Sinclair was bored. Being bored made her frustrated, and the frustration made her even more restless. Before she gained the ability to retain an unimaginable amount of knowledge, classes had been difficult to sit through for completely different reasons. Six months ago, she’d been nothing more than the stereotypical ditz. Pretty and cute, but also dumb as a rock. Things were so bad that she almost dropped out of high school all together and thought about pursuing a career in modeling. Her mother would never approve of such an adventure, but at the time it felt like the only way for Cadence to be something worthwhile. If all she was, was pretty, then she could at least do something with it.

  Thinking back on just how stupid she’d been had her cringing internally. She was the exact opposite of everything she was now. Six months seemed like a lifetime ago. Everything changed in such a short period of time.

  Alan fell through the roof of the local mall and unlocked the superpowers of her and her friends. That in and of itself was still a mind trip every time she thought about it. Reminding herself it was real and not just a dream became harder and harder to do. Even after everything she’d seen, Cadence still couldn’t wrap her mind around an alien traveling through the atmosphere with nothing more than a self-generated shield, let alone crashing through a roof and having it be explained as nothing more than the building’s natural deterioration. Shortly after Alan decimated the ceiling, the Plaza on Main had been closed to the public, the last of the businesses were forced to move out, and then the mall was imploded. The encounter had scared her in a number of ways, but she was so grateful for having met Alan and becoming a part of the Alturan war. Regardless of the fact that she was only a teenager, for the first time in her life, Cadence felt like she wasn’t just a waste of space. After meeting Alan, she gained some guts. Ever since Alan entered the picture, she’d been on quite the ride.

  She finally gained a life direction of sorts, confessed her undying love to her best friend, JD, and then lost him completely by doing the most stupid thing in her life—she dated him. Them being a couple hadn’t necessarily been a bad thing; the bad part had been her rushing with him into bed thinking everything would turn out fine. Love was not all they needed to make a relationship work. Trust was essential as well, and JD hadn’t done much to gain hers. As much as she wanted to believe JD only had eyes for her, his noncommittal attitude suggested otherwise.

  Alone, everything had been perfect. As soon as they were in public, he acted as though he wanted anyone but her. A tiger couldn’t change his stripes. Cadence should have known better. All of JD’s exes had been treated in a similar fashion. One day they were the center of his world. The next, he had his sights on someone new.

  He couldn’t even say he loved me. The thought brought tears to her eyes. I’m his best friend. I should have known better, but I also should have been different to him. Of course, he swears up and down he does loves me and wants another chance, and I just don’t know what to think.

  She still loved him, but there was no way she could take him back without some kind of proof. JD felt things strongly, and unfortunately for her, that meant his feelings could also change at a whim. A near-death experience had blinded her of this pattern of his. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. They’d only been broken up for a few weeks. For the time being, she was still his world. He wasn’t her JD, however. Cadence only wanted her best friend back, not a puppy-love boyfriend.

  JD didn’t always get the hints. Case in point, every day, in the middle of third period, he tossed a love note onto her desk. Sweet, yes, but couldn’t he see she needed to take a few steps back before getting back into the lovey stage? Her insecurities were still at her peak, and that was the part she hated the most about dating JD. Before him, she had been a lot more confident in herself and even in her relationship with him. As soon as they stepped out of the friend zone, all of that security went away. She doubted everything he said, questioned everything he did, and thought more about how to make him stay interested in her than just enjoying his company. None of that seemed like a healthy relationship to her. For being so smart, when it came to him, she was really dumb. Space would let her have a chance to wrap her brain around what was actually going on inside of her heart. A concept JD didn’t seem to understand.

  Sure enough, ten minutes into class, a neatly folded triangle of paper landed on her desk. With a heavy sigh, she opened the note.

  “In case you don’t remember, I love you.” JD’s messy block lettered handwriting practically covered the entire slip of paper.

  She wanted to smile, but had to hold it back. If he saw a positive reaction, he would take it the wrong way. What she wanted him to do was back off. She got all of three days away from him before he started clinging to her again. I might have to ask his sister or Orly for help. I feel bad dragging them into this further. More has been said in front of them than I would have preferred already. I can’t believe I openly admitted to sleeping with him to everyone on the team. What if they think I’m just like every other girl he’s dated? She hoped her friends would be smarter than to make that sort of an assumption.

  Cadence tucked the note into her backpack with all of the others he’d been giving her. I fell for his magic and let it delude me. This is just as much my fault as it is his. Somehow, I have to fix things and at least preserve our friendship. Discreetly, she pulled out her cell phone and sent him a text.

  “We need to talk. Got time tonight?”

  She wasn’t expecting a reply until after class let out, so she put her phone away for the time being, double-checking to make sure that it was on silent. By the time he got the text, she hoped to be on her way to her next class. They didn’t share a lunch today, so she wouldn’t have to worry about actually seeing his face until the last class of the day, and that was assuming he didn’t wait around by her locker in between periods. He’d backed off from doing that all the time at least.

  When she looked up again, she saw Alan at the front of the room. Heat spread across her cheeks at the sight of him. The last time the two had been alone together, she’d made another big mistake and kissed him. Granted, she was on the wings of her breakup with JD, and vulnerable. Alan had been there, comforted her by being a good friend. At the same time, he was also going through his own pain. He’d just lost the woman he loved as well. Alona, his ex-fiancée, was now his sworn enemy. Something about his sadness had propelled Cadence toward him. It was inexcusable even if he seemed to understand. All the same, Cadence was still mortified with embarrassment. It was unprofessional and stupid. He was her boss, a friend too, but still her boss. There were lines, and she had crossed just about all of them.

  It didn’t help matters that the guy was gorgeous. Alien or not, Alan looked just as human as her. He was tall, muscular, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes. On Earth, guys like him were models. Altura must have had different standards for beauty because he was far humbler than any of the other good-looking guys she’d met. If anything, Alan could stand to be more confident in himself and his appearance. Any time she made a comment about how he l
ooked, he didn’t seem to believe her. All in all, he was a good guy and tender when he took the time to crack out of his stoic shell. No wonder she’d picked him in her weakest moment.

  At least it was him and not Orlando, because that would have been a disaster. She was pretty sure Angela had a thing for Orlando, for one, and the girl liked to hold grudges. Once, JD had made his sister so angry with him that she wouldn’t speak to him for two weeks. If she could do that to her own family, Cadence didn’t want to imagine what she could do to her friends. Because even if the kiss hadn’t meant anything, Angela would still probably get incredibly insecure. In truth, Cadence felt no attraction to Orlando to begin with. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, by any means, just not her type. Even before he went into Goth mode, he hadn’t caught her eye. Alan, on the other hand...

  The alien caught her gaze and immediately looked away. He shifted his posture, making his body straighter and giving her a better view of his chiseled abdomen, causing her to look down at her notebook instead. Another thing about Alturans was they never wore a lot of clothing. Alan had on pants and a vest that he referred to as a shirt. Constantly, he complained about Earth being too hot even though it was the middle of winter. Maybe his clothes have some kind of heating technology in them? I just can’t understand how he’s not freezing when it’s so cold out.

  “Meeting today after you are finished with your education,” Alan said, his speech more rushed than usual. Without even waiting to see if the teens had acknowledged him, he disappeared from sight. Not like him at all. Normally, he’d make as much of a scene as possible if he thought his charges weren’t paying attention. What was going on?

  Risking a glance back at JD, Cadence wondered if he noticed anything odd. JD shrugged and went back to writing in his notebook, clearly not concerned.

  If this is because of me, then I’ve really made a mess of things. She sighed. Maybe everyone would be better off without me on the team.