“Hey Ben, it just occurred to me that I don’t know your last name,” Alix said to him.
He laughed, “I don’t know yours or Shay’s either.”
They all smiled at each other. “Mine is Dracon,” Alix said.
“I’m a Stevens,” Shay said next.
“Travers,” Ben told them.
They found their lockers. Shay and Ben were close to each other while Alix was at the opposite end of the hall. With about seventy-five kids in the senior class, all of her classmate’s lockers were fairly close. She noticed some of the other kids whispering to each other. She figured they were talking about Ben. He seemed oblivious to it all, or if he did notice, it didn’t bother him. First bell rang, causing Alix to jump.
“Time for me to part ways,” Shay said. “My class is in another wing. See you in Spanish Alix, I’ll save you a seat.” Shay walked down the hall. She looked back at Alix with a grin on her face.
“Miss Fay’s English class is just down the hall from here,” Alix said as she led Ben to a classroom not far from their lockers and headed toward the back of the room. Only a couple of students had arrived before them. “If you don’t want to be stared at I suggest sitting near the back,” she whispered to him.
They took seats next to each other in the very back. Alix sat by the window. She always felt better when she could see outside.
Ben looked around the room as the other kids slowly made their way in. “This is a very, um, interesting classroom,” he said to Alix. The walls were covered with random bright pictures, quotations, and posters.
“Yeah, interesting is a word for it. Miss Fay is an interesting teacher. She can be fun though and she makes English far less boring.”
By the time the second bell rang it looked like all the students had taken their seats, most of them still talking to each other. Pretty much all of the kids looked at Ben a few times. Alix knew they were curious as to who Ben was and she could completely understand. It was only yesterday that her curiosity made her walk through the gate to see who moved in. Miss Fay entered the room in a flurry of skirts and bright colors. Ben inwardly smiled. The room definitely reflected the teacher.
“Good morning class. Welcome to your first day of senior year,” she said, in very bubbly voice. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
Miss Fay took attendance and entered it on the room’s only computer. When she got to Ben’s name she stopped. “Benjamin Travers,” she said.
“Here,” he said raising his hand. “Please call me Ben.”
The rest of the class started whispering to each other. “Of course, Ben. It’s so nice to have a new student. Welcome to Sunset Creek,” Miss Fay said to him and finished the attendance.
The rest of the class went by like a typical first day. They got their syllabus and since it was English, they all had to share a few words about what they did over the summer. Luckily for Alix, she hadn’t done much so her sharing was thankfully short. She knew she blushed when she had to talk in front of everyone. Ben just smiled at her and this time it was more reassuring than she thought it should be.
Finally, the class was over, and she walked Ben to the gym.
“I’ll meet you back here after class. Have fun, Ben.”
“See you later Alix.”
She hurried on her way to Spanish. She knew she was going to be a bit late, but she had that note from Mrs. Martel. She had never been late to class; ever. The door was closed when she got there. She took the note out before going into the room.
“Nice of you to join us. Do you have a reason to be late?” Mrs. Cozza asked her.
“Yes, actually I do Mrs. Cozza. Here.” Alix handed her the note and waited until she had read it. She didn’t dare look at the rest of the class. She really didn’t like being singled out.
“Okay Alix, thank you. Please take your seat.”
Alix finally looked up at the rest of the class and of course, they were all watching her. She saw that Shay had saved her a seat beside her and quickly went and sat down. She guessed that she would have to get used to people looking at her if she was going to be Ben’s school escort for the next few days.
Class went by quickly. Alix actually liked Spanish. Mrs. Cozza was a good teacher. Firm but patient. This was her fourth year of taking Spanish and Mrs. Cozza had been her teacher for the last three years and she knew that without Mrs. Cozza’s help, her Spanish would be almost nonexistent. There were some benefits to a smaller school.
The bell rang, and Alix and Shay hurried to go meet Ben. They didn’t want to make him wait in the hall for too long. Ben was just coming out of the locker room when the girls got there.
“Good timing,” he said. “I’m starving. Lead the way ladies.”
They showed Ben how to get to the cafeteria and got in the lunch line. They got their lunches and found a table. Alix felt like everyone was looking at them. They made casual conversation as they ate while a few seniors who were brave or curious enough to come over introduced themselves. Shay did most of the talking as Alix had had enough eyes on her already. Ben was as polite as ever and seemed at ease meeting new people. As she watched him she thought he must be able to fit in anywhere, in any situation.
Soon lunch was over, and Alix and Ben were off to Biology. Shay had Social Studies, a class that she hated and complained all the way there, regardless if anyone was listening or not. They parted ways at the stairs. Biology was upstairs in the science wing of the school. They found the classroom, sat down at a station together and watched the other students fill up the class. Alix watched Miss Hiller come into the room and organize some things at her desk. She had never had her as a teacher before so didn’t know what to expect. The bell rang for class to start and everyone quieted down, waiting for Miss Hiller to start.
“Good afternoon class. Thank you for all being on time and finding a seat, but in my class, I like to do things a little different. Could everyone please pack up your stuff, grab your bags and gather around my desk.”
As the class did what they were told Alix saw Miss Hiller take two glass containers out of a desk drawer. They had small pieces of paper in them. She set them on two corners of her desk. Once everyone was gathered around she pulled one of the slips of paper out of the container closest to her.
“Jessie please step forward,” Miss Hiller said. “Now Jessie, please pick a name out of the jar. This is how we are going to choose partners in this class.”
Jessie picked Carl and Miss Hiller asked them to take one of the stations at the back. Next was Patti, she picked Christine and they went and sat at the other station at the back. She turned to Ben to say something to him and noticed he did something strange with his hand. Before she could say anything, his name was called next. Alix watched as he walked up to the desk. He looked at her with a smile as he put his hand in the jar. She could have sworn she saw a spark as he picked a name. But she had to be seeing things, right? Since no one else said anything she was sure it was just the light reflecting off the jar or something like that.
He opened the piece of paper and said, “Alix.” She couldn’t help but smile as they followed the pattern and went to sit at the next available station.
“That was good luck, you picking my name,” Alix said to him.
“It wasn’t luck, it was magic,” Ben told her.
With the huge grin on Ben’s face, she knew he was joking with her. “Very funny, you know magic isn’t real.”
“What if it was?” he said, still smiling. “Really … what if it was?” he said again in a more serious voice.
“If magic was actually real it would be super cool. I’ve often wished for a magic wand,” Alix said laughing, making a motion like she was waving a wand. She forgot for a moment she was in class and got embarrassed and blushed when some of the other kids gave her funny looks at her wand waving.
Ben tried to stifle his laugh but didn’t quite manage. “You are very entertaining,” he said to her. “I’ve never met anyone who blushes as much as you.”
As the class went on she found her mind wandering back to yesterday and the few strange things that happened at Ben’s and then at home with her parents. And today with Ben picking her name. She was happy that they were partners and didn’t think it was a coincidence that Ben picked her name, but she couldn’t figure out how it had happened. She really needed to talk to Shay, but that was going to have to wait until after school.
Biology ended, and Alix gathered her belongings. “We need to hurry,” she told him. She had Culinary Arts and Ben had Math, of course, they were on opposite sides of the school. They walked quickly down the hall to the stairs and toward the north wing of the school.
“Are you okay?” Ben said to her. “You were quiet in class and I sensed that you weren’t really listening.”
“Yeah, I kind of spaced out in biology. I was just thinking about things. I’m okay though. It’s just been a weird couple of days and I’m not used to a lot of attention. I think it’s something that I have to get more used to if we’re going to be friends. You’ll be a big deal around here for a while,” she told him.
They arrived at Ben’s math class. Alix was going to be very late.
“Do you think you can find your way back to our lockers? she asked him.
“I think so. If I get lost, I’ll just yell really loud for you,” Alix started to say something, but Ben continued with a smile on his face. “I’m only kidding Alix. I certainly don’t want to embarrass you on purpose. I’ll meet you at your locker after class. You better hurry.”
Alix practically ran to her next class. She had her note ready to show Mr. Rollins. She reached the classroom about five minutes late. She knew everyone would be in there already and would have to walk in the door and have everyone look at her. The door was open, so she walked straight in and handed the note to Mr. Rollins. He read it and gave it back to her.
“Thank you, Alix,” he said to her. “I’m afraid everyone has found a partner already. Will you be okay working on your own?”
“Yes,” was all she said.
“Fine then, please go take your seat.”
She ended up at the kitchen closest to the door. That was fine with her and she was actually happy to not have a partner. She loved being in the kitchen, cooking, baking; she loved it all. She had no problem being by herself the whole semester, she actually preferred it that way.
Alix knew there would be no actual cooking today being the first day, but she still listened intently to Mr. Rollins. Cooking was an escape for her and she loved focusing all of her attention on the task at hand, even if it was only learning theory.
Class went by far too quickly for her and before she knew it the final bell of the day was ringing. She hurried out the door and toward her locker. She hoped Ben was able to find his way. When she got to her locker she saw that Ben was already there.
“You made it,” she said with a smile. “Have any trouble?”
“Nope, no trouble at all. I just followed the rest of the kids here when the class was over.”
He was smiling at her again. He needed to stop doing that, she thought, it’s very distracting. She put her books in her locker and looked for Shay. She saw her talking to a couple of the girls they sometimes spent time with. Alix wouldn’t really call them her friends, more Shay’s. Shay was the only person she truly called a friend, but Julie and Madison were always nice to her when they did hang out. Shay finished her conversation and came over to Ben and Alix.
“Ready to go?” They both answered yes at the same time and walked to the doors.
“So, Ben, how was your first day?” Shay asked him.
“Not bad as far as first days go. You have no idea how great it was to have Alix show me around. It made the day ten times easier for me.” He looked over at Alix, “Thank you, I know it wasn’t easy for you being late and having people’s eyes on you.”
Alix didn’t say anything, but she nodded her head instead. She didn’t know what to say. Ben seemed to be quite observant because she’d only briefly mentioned not liking the attention. She wasn’t sure if she liked him paying that much attention to her or not.
They walked back to Shay’s house, each talking about how their day went. Normally, she went straight home after school, but she wanted to make sure Ben knew his way and she was still desperate to talk to Shay about what happened in biology. They arrived at Shay’s house and stopped at the end of Shay’s sidewalk.
“I’d better get home,” Ben said to them. “I know my parents will want to know everything about my first day. We should probably exchange numbers, you know, in case I’m running late in the morning,” he said with a hint of a smile.
Ben put Alix and Shay’s contact information into his phone and they did the same with his.
“See you ladies tomorrow. Thanks again, Alix.” He turned, and they watched him walk down the sidewalk in the direction of his house.
“Shay, I think you’re drooling, need a napkin?” Alix said to Shay with a completely straight face, but inside she was laughing at Shay.
“Come on Alix, he’s totally hot! Definitely the hottest guy in our class. He’s got tall dark and handsome all wrapped in one delicious package. Even over the summer, other guys didn’t grow up enough to match his level of hotness. You can’t tell me you’re immune to it. I know you’ll be lying if you say no.”
Alix was quiet for a minute. Shay stared at her the whole time, waiting for an answer. “Okay fine, I think he’s hot. Happy now?”
“Yes.” Shay did a little happy dance and gave her a big hug and a genuine smile. “I know that was difficult for you. It’s okay for you to like a guy you know, you’re almost seventeen.”
“I know. It’s just that I’ve never liked anyone before and I don’t know how to act. I feel like I’m making a fool of myself when I’m around him. You know how much I like my control, but that seems to go right out the window when I see him.”
“That’s natural, it happens to everyone when they like someone. Remember when I had a crush on Steve last year? I could barely form a coherent sentence when he was around. This makes you just like everyone else. Oh my God Alix, you’re a normal human being!”
“Haha, very funny Shay. I’m not a robot, just shy sometimes. Hey, I need to tell you something that happened in biology today.”
Alix proceeded to tell Shay about the partner choosing in biology and what happened when Ben picked her name.
“I know it sounds crazy,” Alix said, “But I’m sure I saw a spark right before he pulled my name out. Just a tiny one, but still. It’s been a strange twenty-four-hours for me.”
Shay listened and thought for a minute before speaking. “I don’t really know what to tell you, Alix. I don’t think you’re going crazy, but I have no way to explain anything. Let’s just keep watching and see if we can figure anything out. I’d better get inside and check on my sister. Text me later.”
Chapter 4
Alix walked the few short blocks home, hoping that she wouldn’t be interrogated about school. Her mom told her she would be home when she was done with school, so she knew she’d be waiting for her and asking her some questions, but she hoped she’d get away easy. So, Alix was very surprised when she got home, and her mom wasn’t there.
She took out her phone to text her mom and realized that she still had it on silent from being at school. There was a text from her mom.
Mom: Sorry honey. I got called into work to cover a shift. I’ll be late. Love u.
Alix: Hey mom, just saw your text. See u later.
Alix went to the kitchen and made herself some cheese and crackers. After that she took some homemade lasagna out of the freezer and put in the oven, she sat down at
the table and really thought about the last day. There were just too many weird occurrences for anything to be a coincidence. She decided to write everything down. She usually found that making a list helped her to get things straight in her head. She went to her room, found a notebook and started writing.
Strange Occurrences
- New people move into a creepy house
- The old rusty gate is suddenly new, trees on the property all neat and tidy never saw anyone there to do it
- Ben seemed to appear out of nowhere
- The huge house looks new even though no one has lived there for years
- Inside of house was perfect, looked like they had lived there for a long time, not moved in that day
- His touch made my arm tingle
- The strange door that wouldn’t open
- Cookies were homemade and still warm even though there wasn’t enough time to do that in
- Something in treetops that I couldn’t see, but it made no noise
- Gate seemed to close by itself
- Parents giving strange looks when I mention Ben
- Parents hushed conversation about me
- How did Ben really pick my name in biology?
- Why does he throw me off my game?
That was all she had for now, but she had a feeling it was going to get longer. She felt a little better after getting those thoughts down on paper. Since she didn’t have to worry about homework, for now, she grabbed her eReader and phone and went into the living room. She curled up in the recliner and got lost in her book.
Alix was so into the book that she jumped when her phone went off. She figured it was her mom checking in. She was shocked to see that the text was from Ben.
Ben: I wanted to say thanks again. U have no idea what a difference it made having you show me around. You’ve already made my senior year better.
Alix smiled at the text, but not being good with boys had her at a loss of what to text back. She tried to think of something witty to reply with, but nothing came to her. She settled on something simple.
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