I shook my head slowly, my gaze glued to his beautiful mouth. I could see the small chip in his tooth.
I want to kiss you, he was thinking.
My heart was beating so fast, I thought I might faint.I want to kiss you, too.
He leaned slowly into me. His breath was warm on my lips. I’d often wondered where my first kiss would be, and with whom? I’d never imagined it like this.
–insert sensual first kiss here–
…in my dreams.
A knock on the door startled us. We both sprung up like jack-in-the boxes. “Uh… wait here, I’ll go see.”
I curse you, whoever you are. Why can’t I see through doors? That would be a cool power to have.
I swung the door open. Alicia was standing there, a guilty wince on her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she stretched her neck to see who I was with–nosy body. “I just need to grab my textbook for Psychic Development. And then, I’ll be right out of your hair, I swear. I’m so sorry.” She finally caught her breath. “Really sorry. I waited for a bit, but if I don’t get started on it, I won’t get it done for class tomorrow.”
I looked over at the clock on my desk–it was already past ten. I understood. It made complete sense. I opened the door wider. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“No worries. I never go to bed before eleven anyway.” She waved at Leo who lifted a hand and smiled awkwardly. “This should only take me an hour, tops.”
When Alicia darted out of our room, Leo’s gaze traveled to the door and he spotted the tie. A slow grin traced his lips.
Oh crap.
I was mortified. I didn’t want him to think I had naughty intentions. I totally didn’t… well, maybe a little. “Yeah, it’s kind of late,” I said. “I should probably catch up on my homework, too.”
“Oh… okay.” He rose slowly to his feet, and grabbed his jacket off my bed. “Yeah, me too.”
He was disappointed, and so was I. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the party?”
He nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said, eyeing my Dorothy dress. “Is that your costume?”
I blushed. “Yeah…” I wanted to explain the whole story but I just couldn’t find the words.I’m really not as promiscuous as that short skirt would imply.
A wicked grin stretched across his face. “Yeah, Idefinitelywill not be missing that party.”
And then he was out the door in a flash.
Friday dragged,but there was excitement in the air. I still wasn’t quite used to all the bats and spiders hanging from the ceilings, and the webs and black feather garland lining the walls, staircases, even the teachers’ desks. At my old school, Halloween was outlawed -- it was called black and orange day; some politically correct bull poop. I liked this much better.
I had Realms and Channels first period, followed by Biology, lunch (eggplant lasagna was the day’s special–surprisingly not horrible), Music Composition, and Realms and Channels.
All day, I jotted down notes absentmindedly and couldn’t focus on a single word. I couldn’t stop thinking about Haley. I wished I could do more and I was wracking my brain trying to figure it out.There was something on the tip of my subconscious, just below the surface, something I knew, but couldn’t remember, and it was driving me absolutely bonkers.
And then there was the whole Leo ting. I tried not to think about him too much (especially in music class) because I was pretty sure I looked all dreamy and googly eyed when I thought of him (in other words, like a complete idiot).
I didn’t see him at all at school. I never did. He and I didn’t have any classes together, and we didn’t have the same lunch break.There were three different lunch periods, and I was on block three, my stomach usually growled by the time I got to eat. The dining hall just isn’t big enough to accommodate all RAMS students at the same time.
Most of the kids darted out of the classroom at the end of fourth period. We’d been talking about the subconscious, and I had a question for Mr. Morris.
“Mr. Morris, do you have a minute?” I asked as he was gathering his things.
He looked up at me, curious. “Sure, Anna.” I’m sure he was thinking,It’s Friday, let me go home, you overeager girl.
“Uh,” I started, “...is there something a person can do to access thoughts that might be buried in their mind?” I had no clue if I was making any sense at all.
He cocked a brow and shot me a grave look. “What do you mean exactly, Anna?”
