AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glance over at Tammy. “I’ll be back in a little while. There might be an issue with Pax.”
“She’s got lots of issues.” Tammy winks. “Which one is it this time?”
“Someone or something is following her and giving off bad vibes. A shadow, she thinks.” I stare at the picture, concentrating on it while summoning the dancing flame in the back of my mind.
“Eek. Want me to come along?”
I shake my head. “I can handle a shadow. I’ll call if I need help.”
“I’ll be here.”
I nod, still focusing on the single flame in my mind. An opening appears at the center, widening to reveal the same bathroom scene from the photo. I stand out of my chair, then mentally step through the opening. Yeah, I learned that lesson already. Teleporting from a seated position ends with me landing on my butt. No, the chair does not teleport with me.
The AC is much stronger in here than at my office. Noise fills the air: the din of many people talking plus loud footsteps. Behind me, a stall door clicks and opens. The mirror spanning the wall over the sinks reveals Pax emerging from her hiding place. I turn to face her an instant before she rushed out and clings to me.
“Thank you.” My youngest shivers a little, though she seems to be trying to calm down.
“What did you see?”
Paxton looks around, checking other stalls to confirm we’re the only two people in the room, and whispers, “At first, I thought it was this one man following me. I’d feel creeped out and turn to look and saw the same guy there.”
I grumble to myself, being generally angry at a society that leaves young girls and even adult women constantly on edge.
“But then I realized the guy was museum security. He had a uniform.” She fidgets. “Probably just watching a large group of kids to make sure we don’t break anything.”
“Isn’t the whole point of this place for kids to interact with the science?” I ask.
She flashes a cheesy smile. “Yeah. But that doesn’t mean we can’t break stuff.” Her mirth fades in an instant. “Then I noticed something else. The creepy feeling wasn’t coming from the man. Shadows were kinda following me, too. One was smaller than me. One bigger. Every time I looked at them, they disappeared.”
“All right. Well. I’m here now. Let’s get you back to your group so you don’t get in trouble.”
“M’kay.”
We exit the bathroom. Paxton hurries over to the teacher who’d been waiting for her. The middle-aged woman—Mrs. Brown—gives me a curious look. We’ve met once or twice at PTA events.
“Ms. Moon?” asks the teacher. “Where did you come from?”
“Happened to be nearby,” I say, playing it cool. “Pax got a little spooked. Thought someone was following her.”
Mrs. Brown faces Paxton. “Dear, you should tell us right away if someone is making you uncomfortable.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Paxton looks down.
“It’s not a problem.” I smile at the teacher. “I wasn’t far away. May as well help chaperon if you don’t mind me tagging along.”
The teacher seems a little hesitant—I’m sure they adore having pushy parents show up unannounced. I don’t consider myself pushy, well at least most times. This might go past ordinary neurotic parenting, however. If something supernatural is around, I need to be here. Time for a little mind control. Sorry, lady.
A heartbeat later, she gives a soft sigh and waves for me to follow before walking off down the hallway. We rejoin the group of eighth graders.
Renae scurries over to Pax and asks if she’s okay. They have a quick whisper-conversation about how Paxton thought some guy might be following her and she got ‘weird vibes.’ That’s her code word for ‘stuff I really can’t talk about.’ I’m not completely sure how much Renae knows about the extent of strangeness in my family; however, she knows more than is common knowledge. The girls don’t appear to have any lingering post-breakup complications. To look at them now, they’d seem to be ordinary friends… if unlikely friends. The super cute cheerleader blonde and a surly-looking goth kid.
The look on her face makes me think that if she spotted ‘the guy’ following Paxton, Renae would march right over and punch him in the face.
For about twenty minutes or so, I uneventfully follow along as a chaperon while the kids check out various science-themed exhibits and play with the ones that invite interaction. It’s fascinating, really. Wish they had stuff like this when I was in grade school. Maybe they did… I just never got to go.
Renae and two other girls, Savannah and… I think her name is Andrea, occasionally refer to Paxton as ‘Harley.’ I think it’s some kind of comic book joke. They’re not making fun of her, though. It’s said in affection. Something to do with looking like she’d be a pretty but air-headed blonde while, in reality, she’s smart. She loves all this science stuff. Tammy’s joke is that Pax is going to become a scientist someday whose life goal is trying to genetically engineer unicorns.
While the kids are enamored with several displays on plate tectonics and geology, I get a sudden, unsettling feeling from behind. My alarm bells aren’t going off. The vibe isn’t threatening as much as it’s ‘wrong.’
