by Layman, Tate
Mr. Shepherd started class by introducing Whit. He made her stand at the front of the room and tell them three things about herself. Whit had always hated it when teachers required new students to talk. It was embarrassing, to say the least. But she didn’t have much choice, so she told the class that she loved to read and run, and enjoyed biking. As she headed back to her desk, she saw Nolan glance from her to Mark. He looked back at her for a second before Darby tapped his arm and leaned in to whisper to him. The last thing Whit saw before she sat down was Nolan grinning at Darby as he grabbed her hand.
Whit cleared her mind and tried to focus on Mr. Shepherd. Class flew by as she tried to keep up, though the lecture on DNA wasn’t that interesting. She took notes like any good student, writing everything down so she could go over it again later on. At the end of class, Mr. Shepherd assigned a reading in the textbook. Whit shut her own notebook and made her way to the front of the class, where she collected a textbook from Mr. Shepherd. After getting her book, she turned to leave and found Nolan leaning against the door waiting for her. She hardened her heart and repeated in her head that he was a womanizing ass, and not someone for her to get involved with.
“Hey. Need help getting to your next class?” he asked.
“I have Mind Study, but I already know where it is. Thanks anyway, though,” Whit said as she walked past where he was leaning. As she turned out of the room toward the stairwell, Whit felt a tug on her backpack strap. She turned, thinking it was snagged on something, but that something turned out to be Nolan’s hand.
“You okay?” he asked, frowning.
“Yeah, just headed to class.” She waved and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor before he could respond. She knew she’d been a jerk, but was a bit worried about developing a crush on him. Her inexperienced heart couldn’t handle a guy like him, and the less time she spent with him the better.
Once on the fourth floor, Whit glanced in the rooms as she passed them. Each was labeled with one of the five classes. Most of the doors were shut, so she didn’t learn much about what went on in each of the areas. She finally spotted the mind sign and entered a room with couches and recliners. Mrs. McFaddin was laying on one of the couches with her eyes closed. Whit paused in the doorway, not wanting to intrude on the napping teacher, and wondered what it was about this woman. Every time she saw her, she seemed to be sleeping.
“Come on in, Whit,” Mrs. McFaddin said, though her eyes remained closed.
“How did you know it was me?” Whit asked.
“I am the mind teacher, surely I have some psychic ability,” she said with a chuckle. She opened her eyes as she moved into a sitting position and motioned for Whit to take the seat beside her on the couch. As Whit sat down, three other students came into the room and flopped on the various pieces of furniture. Whit watched each one out of curiosity. They acted like it was naptime.
“So everyone, this is Whit, the newest addition to our club. Whit turned sixteen in October and that was when she started having dreams or visions,” Mrs. McFaddin explained. Whit felt uncomfortable with everyone knowing her business, but held her tongue. There must be a reason the teacher was telling everyone that. “Okay, everyone introduce yourselves,” Mrs. McFaddin commanded, confirming Whit’s thought.
Then they went around the room like it was planned. One at a time, they introduced themselves to Whit and told her a little background about their gift. Christopher was the first to speak. Whit knew him from dinner the night before, and was interested to hear what he had to say. His gift had started when he was five year old, he said, and he was telekinetic, which meant he could move things with his mind. Next was a Kade, who was a sophomore and had psychic episodes, but had developed some telepathic abilities since being at Maverick. His talents presented themselves after his tenth birthday and had scared the crap out of him. Last was Wallace, a freshman, who described himself as a mindbender. Whit knew from lunch what that meant and it still freaked her out a little.
Mrs. McFaddin told Whit to take one of the unoccupied couches and try to nap. She explained that to control the visions, Whit needed to focus her energy toward a particular subject and keep it there until she fell asleep. Whit laid down and realized how tired she felt. She closed her eyes, thinking to herself how much she wanted to dream something about Maverick. She pictured the people she’d met since coming to the school. She visualized the cafeteria, her classrooms, and her dorm. Whit tried to block all other thoughts from her mind and focus entirely on Maverick. Then she was falling asleep.
Her mind started to lose focus as she tumbled into a room that looked like the Maverick cafeteria. She was sitting at a table with Rory and Mark. Again they seemed to be talking, but like all the other dreams, she didn’t hear anything. She glanced around the room and noticed Nalini and Darby sitting with a group of guys. Then she saw Nolan sitting at a nearby table. He wasn’t talking, but was staring at Whit with anger. As she continued to watch, he jumped up, grabbing Darby by the arm and stomping across the cafeteria. He stopped directly in front of Whit and started speaking angrily. Actually it looked closer to a roar. Again, though, there was no sound.
Whit came awake as someone shook her arm repeatedly. She opened her eyes to see Mrs. McFaddin standing over her, smiling and nodding. “Very good, Whit.”
“What? What was very good?” Whit asked, confused.
“You were having a vision. That is most excellent. And on your first attempt, too.”
“I have a dream almost every time I close my eyes, so I don’t really know how much credit I can take,” Whit confessed, although she was excited that she might’ve controlled what the dream had been about.
“Hm … well, that could be a sign of a very gifted psychic. Most students only have dreams or visions a couple times a month. You might be very strong indeed,” Mrs. McFaddin said with a look of excitement. “Okay, everyone come to the circle and we’re going to discuss your visions. See if you think they’re real, changeable, or just a dream,” Mrs. McFaddin said with a nod. “Who would like to go first?”
Christopher raised his hand and started talking before anyone else had the chance. “I saw a girl eating lunch. That was all.” Christopher looked down at his hands. Mrs. McFaddin asked several questions, none of which he could answer. She finally determined that his vision was probably just a dream – something he had seen earlier and remembered.
Kade went next. He said his dream was more of a nightmare. A building caught fire and people were running out screaming. Mrs. McFaddin again asked questions. After discussing it, he realized that he recognized the scene from a movie he’d watched recently, and immediately looked relieved.
Wallace looked at everyone and flatly declared that he had not dreamed anything at all. Mrs. McFaddin looked unconcerned with this admission, and told him that she was optimistic about him dreaming next time. Wallace looked like he didn’t really care.
Everyone then turned their attention to Whit. She felt uncomfortable, not only with revealing her dream, but also that it was about people here at Maverick. She knew that Christopher was friends with Nolan, and had no doubt that he’d run and tell Nolan that she was dreaming about him. She focused on Mrs. McFaddin, putting that thought from her mind, and related the vision that she saw. First sitting with Rory and Mark, and then Nolan yelling at her.
“So there’s no sound in your visions?” Kade asked.
“Nope, never. They’re always silent.”
“Well, that’s interesting. We’ll have to work on getting you some sound for the visions,” Mrs. McFaddin said. “So guys, what do you think? Is Whit’s vision true or changeable or just a dream?”
“It sounds like a changeable situation to me,” Christopher responds. “It just seems like most visions that have teenagers in them can change at the drop of the hat.” He laughs. Wallace and Kade both nod, agreeing with Christopher’s statement.
After much discussion, everyone agreed that it was changeable but definitely a vision. This me
ant that it’d come true unless Whit changed something. That sounded crazy. How could she change something when she didn’t even understand why it was happening? This particular question bothered her so much, she finally asked the group.
“How can I change something when I don’t even understand why it will happen?”
“That’s a very good question. Guys, what do you think?” Mrs. McFaddin prompted.
“You can only take the clues from the vision and use them. So if you wanted to change that vision, you need to avoid getting in arguments with Nolan. At least that’s my take on it,” Kade shrugged. The other guys seemed to agree about finding the clues and using them.
Mrs. McFaddin finished the discussion by assigning the class to reflect on their dreams or visions over the next forty-eight hours. She then gave Whit a notebook, which she called a dream diary. They were to write their dreams down, then decide what they might mean, and whether they were real visions or just dreams. Mrs. McFaddin then dismissed class and reminded everyone that she would be available if anyone needed her before class on Wednesday.
This confused Whit even more. It was only Monday. Was there no class on Tuesday? When she asked, Mrs. McFaddin explained that Mind Study and Cooperative Learning alternated. Mind Study was on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while Cooperative Learning met on Tuesday and Thursday.
Whit thanked Mrs. McFaddin and exited the room, feeling relieved that her first mind class was over and she had survived. She made her way down the stairs and toward the gym for Movement Performance, her mind racing through what she’d learned. Suddenly she noticed Christopher running to catch up with her.
“Hey, just so you know, whatever we talk about in Mind Study is private. We don’t share it with others. I didn’t want you worrying about it.” He smiled, then turned and headed back down the main hall.
“Well, that’s good to know,” Whit said to herself, walking toward the gym for her next class. It was good to know that her dreams wouldn’t be discussed with other students, but then again how would she know they stayed quiet unless it got back to her somehow. Whit didn’t know how she felt about exposing her dreams to this group of strangers and knew it would take time to trust them. Until then, she would keep any dreams that she thought too personal to herself. Her attention shifted as she entered the gym and glanced around for other students who had Movement Performance for sixth phase. After waiting a couple of minutes, and seeing no one else arrive, she wondered if she was in the wrong place. She turned to leave just as a man came in through a side door. He was average in every way. His hair wasn’t short or long, he wouldn’t be considered tall or short, and she didn’t think he was attractive or ugly. He was just average. As Whit studied the man, she assumed he was the Movement Performance teacher from his attire. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweat pants, the uniform of every PE teacher she’d ever had.
“Excuse me, I’m new here and looking for sixth-phase Movement Performance,” she said politely.
“Ah, you must be Whitni. I noticed your name had been added to my roll. I’m Mr. Marcus. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to the girls’ dressing room and assign you an exercise uniform.”
Whit followed him inside a small office and watched as he dug around until he found a red t-shirt and pair of black shorts. Mr. Marcus pointed to another door and explained that it led to the girls’ locker room. He also handed Whit a piece of paper with a locker number and combination written on it.
She went into the locker room and no longer had to wonder where all the other students were. Girls raced around, changing into their exercise uniforms. Whit walked down the rows of lockers, searching for number 34, which was evidently hers. As she turned the corner, she spotted locker 34 and Rory at the same time. Rory glanced up as Whit made her way past other girls in varying states of undress.
“Hey,” Whit said as she walked up behind Rory. She was relieved to see a familiar face.
“Whit! So I take it you have Movement Performance in sixth phase,” Rory said, rolling her eyes at her own comment. “I mean, otherwise, why would you be in the locker room?” She’d already changed into her uniform, and the shorts hung down past her knees. Whit held up her shorts to see if they’d fit, laughing. Her pair looked so much smaller than Rory’s, at least. Suddenly a whistle pierced the air and all the girls scurried toward the door leading to the gym. Rory called out that she’d see her out there.
After changing into her exercise uniform, she stood in front of the full-length mirror. The shirt fit fine, but the shorts were a little too short for Whit’s liking. Rory must have gotten a huge size while Whit got shorts fit for a kid. After accepting that there was nothing she could do to make her shorts longer, she headed into the gym.
Both boys and girls were in the gym, sitting in lines that were spread out. Whit spotted Rory but didn’t see any space around her to sit, so she made her way toward Mr. Marcus for directions.
“Okay Whitni, you may sit in line five spot five,” he said as he pointed toward a line in the middle of the gym. As Whit made her way to spot five, she felt like everyone was staring at her tiny shorts. In reality, her shorts didn’t appear to be any smaller than most of the girls’, but Whit felt exposed. Still, there was nothing to do now but deal with it. She counted the rows and then the spots until she found hers, then looked to the side to see Mark smiling at her. She also recognized several students from her other classes. Nolan and Darby were sitting beside each other on the far side of the gym. They looked awfully cozy with each other, Whit thought. She continued to watch them talking, and could tell from Darby’s blush that Nolan was flirting like usually.
She really needed to stop noticing him.
Nolan chose the moment Whit was rolling her eyes at him to look up. Before Whit could dodge his eyes, he caught her, wrapping her in a force she couldn’t control. She finally tore her eyes away and repeated to herself that this could only end in heartache. She needed to avoid getting involved with Nolan. He was just a flirt, nothing more.
Whit had only dated a couple of times, and only one of those dates had turned into a boyfriend. It lasted all of one month. Tyler had been a great guy and super sweet, but he hadn’t been able to handle the accident and how it destroyed Whit. She didn’t blame him for ending it. He had tried to be there for her, but when she lost her parents, she hadn’t wanted to be around anyone. Unfortunately, that had included her boyfriend, no matter how supportive he was.
And that had been a good guy. She still questioned whether she would ever be ready to trust someone she didn’t know. At times she felt lonely and wanted to have a boyfriend, especially when she was around guys who looked like Nolan. On the other hand, though, getting involved meant the chance of getting hurt, and Whit hated being vulnerable.
Mark saved her from sliding further down the Nolan slope by tapping her shoulder and distracting her from the mesmerizing effects of Nolan’s eyes. It was obvious from his expression that he had been trying to talk to her. Whit looked once more in Nolan’s direction before turning to Mark.
He’d been asking about her classes she realized. She told him briefly what classes she had and then gave him an overview of her mind class. Of course, she left out the part about Nolan. He looked interested in her dream, and Whit knew that if Mr. Marcus hadn’t started class, he would’ve asked more questions.
The teacher called them to attention then, though, starting class by demonstrating the three volleyball skills he wanted them to practice: bump, set, and spike. He asked students to partner up and get a ball, then practice the first skill: bumping. Whit glanced in Rory’s direction but noticed one of her tall boys hovering close by, so she was out. Before she could look around anymore, Mark tugged on her arm and asked if she needed a partner. She nodded, grateful. As Mark headed across the gym to get them a volleyball, Whit noticed Nolan walking towards her.
“So you and Mark are partners?” he asked, scowling.
“Yeah,” Whit answered lightly, frustrated that her heart thu
mped a little harder when he was near.
“I was going to ask you to be mine, but I guess Mark beat me to it,” he said with a flick of his eyebrows. Before Whit could reply, Darby called Nolan back over to her. It seemed to her that Nolan already had a partner, so why did he lie about asking her? Whit rolled her eyes again in Nolan’s direction.
“Something wrong?” Mark asked.
“Oh … uh … no,” Whit answered surprised that Mark had returned so quickly and silently. They started bumping back and forth, or trying to at least. Whit couldn’t quite keep the ball in their area. It seemed to have a mind of its own, and kept going all over the gym. They had to chase it so many times that they were both winded by the time Mr. Marcus call a halt to bumping and started setting practice. Whit and Mark were giggling so hard by that time that their setting skills were definitely the worst in the class. But they kept at it. Mr. Marcus finally challenged each pair to attempt a bump, set, spike rotation, and see how long they could keep the ball from hitting the floor. Whit and Mark were both grinning before they started, knowing that before long the ball would be back across the gym. When it happened, Whit took off to retrieve the ball, which was headed right toward Nolan and Darby. Nolan stopped her ball with his foot and picked it up. As Whit got closer, she heard Darby comment that some people just weren’t skilled at sports. Nolan laughed then turned his attention to Whit.
“Lose something?” he asked tossing the ball in the air. Whit just smiled and tried to take the ball back, but Nolan held it out of her reach. “So if I give this back to you, what do I get in return?” he grinned.
“My thanks,” Whit replied plainly.
“Hum, I was thinking something else. Want to guess?” Whit knew he was just trying to be cute, but she decided he really needed to be put in his place. Show him that she wasn’t someone that cared to be toyed with like the other girls.
She gazed in Nolan’s direction for a second before looking on Darby. “Hey Darby, would you mind giving me your ball so I can go back to my partner?” she asked sweetly. Darby tossed the ball lightly toward her, only too happy to oblige if it meant getting Nolan back to herself. “Thanks,” she said before jogging back toward Mark, who was watching with a baffled expression. She wanted to look back Nolan and see how he reacted, but fought the urge.
