Omniscient Leaps (27 page)

“Well Ms. Benson, to make up for my discourteous first response I will make a special trip to drop the books by your dorm.” He stared at me with an intensity that made me slightly uncomfortable. As much as I wanted to glance away, I smiled graciously and maintained eye contact. “What dorm?”

“Lilly Hall,” I replied. Chloe was at my side in no time appearing astonished, yet slightly insubordinate.

“Chloe Kwan,” she said, extending her hand. I knew she was testing him for a reaction and he knew it. “I’m also in your freshman seminar.”

“Nice to meet you, Chloe.” His response was cordial, but his eyes never shifted from me. “I’ll have those books to you by days end, Ms. Benson. See you girls in class.”

“I think you were misinformed,” I jabbed as I grabbed my pack. It felt good to have Chloe stumped for once today.

“Not likely. Those other students were gawking and gasping. No. That was definitely not his normal conduct, at least not towards a freshman.”

“Maybe he’s changing his image,” I shrugged as I continued walking at a leisurely pace.

Chloe was speechless as she dragged behind me this time. She was evidently mulling over what had happened or what didn’t. Listening to her share the experience with our dorm mates made for an interesting afternoon. Apparently Chloe wasn’t the only one who’d heard off-putting information about Professor Jacobs, but I didn’t care. My books were delivered before dark and he’d even included an outline for the semester.

After debating the topic with Chloe before finally crashing for the night, I decided that whatever rumors were circulating about him, several resentful students had started them. Besides, working for Father God gave me a new perspective. If Professor Jacobs wanted to start this semester anew who was I to judge him?

The buzzing of my alarm clock sent a fresh wave of panic through me before I bolted upright and remembered where I was. It was the first day of classes and I wanted to arrive ahead of my classmates. I didn’t want to be just a number and punctuality was the only way to guarantee me a relationship with my professors.

A self-proclaimed early riser, Chloe had long since departed. Her already cluttered side of the room made me smile and I was thankful for the cup of flavored coffee she’d left brewing for me. It wasn’t something I cared for, but downed anyway because I needed the shot of caffeine. Although I’d normally embrace the solitude, my frazzled nerves wished she’d stuck around this morning.

Once I’d mentally prepared myself and gathered my belongings, a white light filled the room. My summer long doubts were squelched within seconds. As bad as the timing seemed, I knew I had no right to complain about something I’d been waiting weeks for.

When the world came into focus again, the scene surrounding me could only be described as a wild frat party straight out of
Animal House
. The uninhibited half-dressed individuals before me were in full party mode; funneling beer from the roof of a beautifully restored historic brick house, swimming in what could only be described as an oversized wading pool on the front porch and to top it off there were promiscuously dressed girls running amuck. I knew I stood out and the situation would’ve been amusing if I wasn’t so disoriented.

It was clearly summer and I was certain I was somewhere near the Rosewood College campus. The massive property of the fraternity stood at the top of a valley and I could see a lake gleaming in the distance below. The big question was
who
was I here to help? There were so many people I couldn’t count them if I wanted to.

A blond male, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, attempted to grope me as he passed by. “Woohoo baby! Where’s your swimsuit, hot stuff?”

He patted my rear, sending me unexpectedly reeling toward the pavement. Unfortunately the side of my face met the surface of the sidewalk briefly before I had my bearings.

I hadn’t recovered when a second male approached me. “Someone had too much to drink. I guess you didn’t read the flyer about appropriate attire. A shame, really.”

“Creep,” I mumbled as he sashayed towards another female target.

Wiping a trickle of blood from my neck, I noticed a third male stepping into my path.
Unbelievable, can’t I just have a moment to assess and observe?

The dark haired male stared at me with a sociable grin. “You look lost.”

If only you knew
.

Considering I wasn’t likely to find a newspaper lying around, a tool that would clue me in to the when and where, I decided to play dumb. The crowd was relaxed enough that I doubted my bizarre questions would be noticed.

“Where am I? And what year is it?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Oh… you must be our entertainment for the night,” he teased.

“Excuse me?” I interjected. My face seared, no doubt complementing my hair.

His remarkably navy eyes dropped to the ground and he pulled me aside, of course not without some resistance. “Someone must have slipped you something rotten.”

“As opposed to slipping me something delightful,” I snorted. “Just answer the questions.”

Unlike the other males in close proximity making fools of themselves, this guy seemed completely sober and genuinely concerned. “You are at a Rosewood College frat house and it’s 1980.” He patted my bludgeoned cheek with his shirt and I recoiled. “I’m guessing this isn’t your scene. What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to figure that out. If I do I’ll let you know,” I snapped.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I’m Blane Warren.”

I shook his hand grudgingly at first. Then I considered that he might be my assignment and I softened. “Kara,” I replied.

“Where are you from? Do you go to Rosewood or are you visiting someone? I definitely would have noticed you if you were student here. What I mean—” He was rambling and we both knew it. I cracked a smile and he relaxed. “You were messing with me when you asked those questions, right?” My smile broadened. “Gosh you’re beautiful.”

“I’m visiting someone.” His face lit up when I spoke and I suddenly felt self-conscious. “And I’m glad you have a sense of humor where my questions are concerned. So you are a freshman?”

“Yes. I’m pledging this fraternity. Although after seeing how some of my brothers treated you, I’m rethinking my decision.” I narrowed my eyes my eyes skeptically. “I’m serious.”

We sat in an uncomfortable silence as I thought about how to proceed. Right now I had nothing to go on. My new assignment had me stumped. For my second go around I thought it would be a straightforward process.

We chatted for over an hour as those around us continued to get inebriated. Although our conversing didn’t do much to further my cause, he was definitely growing smitten with me. How was I going to explain this to Luke?
Great Kara. Super professional.

When he made the move to kiss me I panicked. A nauseated emotion flooded in and I had about two seconds to react in a way that wouldn’t crush his ego.

“Hey baby,” someone cooed from behind. I was swiftly jerked upright. “Did you forget who your boyfriend was?”

My eyes widened in horror. I recognized his brawny physique, coffee colored hair and enigmatic dark eyes immediately. Caleb, a renegade leaper I had only met once, was clutching my hand. When he winked at me I was tempted to thoroughly clobber him. Instead, I decided to see how things played out.

“I had no idea Kara was your girl, Brother Jones. Forgive me,” Blane sputtered.

“Don’t sweat it,” Caleb replied with a satisfied expression.
Is he seriously this cocky?
“I can’t think of anyone else in the house she should hang with while I lollygag around.”

Blane appeared disappointed and defeated, and in that moment I felt remorseful for going along with Caleb’s fabrication. “Nice talking with you, Kara. See you around.”

Once he was clearly out of sight I punched Caleb with as much force as I could rally. “What do you think you are doing? He is most likely my assignment and you scared him off.”

“I highly doubt that,” Caleb guffawed. “Besides, you went along with it.”

“Something I am regretting,” I scoffed.

He tilted his head sideways and motioned. “I doubt he’s given up. He’s still watching you.”

I momentarily glanced in the direction he had gestured towards and sure enough Blane was watching. The scantily dressed girls surrounding him desperately tried to get his attention, but he didn’t seem interested. For someone so unlike the rest of the males present, I didn’t understand why Blane was associating with them. Maybe I was supposed to help him figure that out.

“These guys are bad news, Kara,” Caleb added more seriously. “You should just stay away and let the big boys handle this.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re unbelievable. Didn’t he just refer to you as a brother, one of them? What’s up with that?”

A sly smile engulfed his face. “I’m a visiting alumni, something that wasn’t too hard to convince them of I might add.”

“Are you following me? Trying to sabotage my mission? I don’t know why, but I bet you’d love to separate Luke and me.”

My voice had gotten progressively louder and the students were taking notice. Caleb grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a secluded area on the hill, leaving the curious individuals to get back to their previous activities.

“First of all, I have no intention of interfering with your mission. That’s not something I’d do, honestly.” His tone was sincere and as he continued on I could feel myself letting go of my resentment. “I can’t tell you what I’m doing here, but I assure you it doesn’t have anything to do with you.” I raised an eyebrow. “Not directly or intentionally anyway.”

“So of all the places in time you just happened upon this day and location?”

“God leads and I follow,” he replied. “Just because I’m somewhat of a loner doesn’t mean I work alone. In fact, I’d like nothing more than to just be living in your time while permanently applying what I’ve learned from this job. God banished me to a realm similar to Luke’s and I’ve learned to deal with it.”

Fear and curiosity made me want to probe further. I didn’t know Caleb at all and Luke didn’t seem too fond of him; I wanted to know why. “What did you do?”

“I’ll share that with you only if it becomes necessary,” he winked. “And I doubt Luke will enlighten you, so don’t bother asking. He probably wouldn’t like the fact that we’re working together.” His grin widened as his outline began to sparkle. “On second thought maybe you should tell him.”

“We’re not working together!” I snapped. The light began to consume me and I suddenly felt doubtful of my proclamation.
Are we working together?

The image of my lackluster dorm room soon came into focus. I sighed. Although it was still the crack of dawn, I no longer felt energized for my classes. Climbing the superfluity of stairs lining the hillside was going to expunge what little oomph I had left.

I decided the only way I was going to get through the day was by letting the affirmation of leaping inspire a new reason to be motivated. Thankfully it did the trick. By three o’clock I was finished with classes and overly excited about digging into my assignments. Something even I knew was unnatural.

“Why do you appear almost giddy?” Chloe moaned from her bed. Her afternoon nap had come to an unfortunate halt when I stumbled into the room. Apparently she was a light sleeper.

“Sadly, I am looking forward to cracking open my books and learning something new. Strange concept, I know, but this is why we are here after all. College is about wanting to learn and attend class.”

“No,” Chloe complained. She pulled her hair back and turned on the coffee maker. “You are here to learn and I am here because I needed a permanent vacation from my parents. Oh and a college degree would be helpful.” She continued to analyze my expression, like she knew I was hiding something. “You can’t be this worked up over classes. What else happened? Did you meet an attractive male?”

“I’m spoken for,” I replied instantaneously. “There’s just something about college. How about you?”

“I wouldn’t say my classes rocked, but they were definitely a step up from high school. As far as the male population here is concerned well… I think there is a lot to be desired. But,” she added with a devious grin, “I was invited to the first party of the year and you’d better not deny me the pleasure of attending. Parties are better in numbers and so far you are the only real friend I’ve got here.”

“I’m not into the party scene, but I’ll humor you this time. You know, just until you make some other friends,” I teased.

“Ha,” she snorted, giving me the evil eye.

For the rest of the evening I concentrated on my studies and even passed up a trip to the dining hall. Chloe’s photographic memory had her finished with her studies in a third of the time it took me. Not that I had anything against hard work, but sometimes I wished it could be that easy for me.

With a rumbling stomach that even Chloe could hear, I decided to crash for the night. I prayed that I’d either flash to the church so I’d get a glimpse of Luke or that he’d appear in my dream tonight. He hadn’t made an appearance in several days and being away from home had me yearning to see him more than usual.

“Rise and shine, Red. It’s time to go to Professor Charming’s class.” My eyes slowly adjusted to the light pouring into the room. Chloe had raised the blinds and was hovering over my bed with a cup of coffee.

Sound slumber meant no visit from Luke and no dreams in general.
Not a fair trade off
.

“Thanks,” I groaned, taking the coffee and sitting up. “And I hope your cynical impressions of him are squashed today.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how rude he was to you when you first approached him. It wasn’t until he turned around that—”

“He apologized,” I pointed out, not letting her finish.

“Mmm hmm,” she mumbled.

She waited tolerantly while I brushed my hair, grabbed a pop tart and stuffed my bag with the necessary supplies. Her critical eye roll suggested she didn’t approve of my choice of morning sustenance. To my surprise she was very health conscious. Maybe if  my metabolism slowed and I started to gain the freshman fifteen I’d consider taking some pointers, but for now I quite enjoyed my sweets.