Rise of Alpha (The Prodian Journey #1) (7 page)

“I’ll call you tonight,” she said before I reached the stairs.
 

Revelation
 

In my room, I sat on the bed and tried to think. I felt like a douche bag for driving Shannon away. I would’ve loved to talk more or maybe invite her to stay for dinner, but I was afraid that my tics would get in the way. Even though she’d been warned, the likelihood of my having a full-blown episode was good, since I was nervous as hell around her. The news report had stressed me out even more.
 

My hands felt cold and clammy. I had no idea if my sudden discomfort had anything to do with my fever or if it had been the shock I’d gotten from the news. Leaning against my headboard, I brought a pillow to my chest, and my mind wrestled with two realities. Shannon. What should I do about her? Was I jumping the gun here? Imagining things? For all I knew, she was just being friendly for the project’s sake. Then there was the disturbing coincidence of my dreams turning out to be real. Two incidents couldn’t be mere coincidence. The most important question was what triggered these dreams.
 

Troubled, I picked up the remote control and turned on the television, avoiding the news channel. I flipped straight to a rerun of
Dragonball Z
, just to keep my mind occupied.
 

The next thing I knew, someone was rapping on my door.

“Brian? Mind if I come in?” Shannon asked.

Great! I must have fallen asleep again without noticing, and I was still trapped in my dream. Should I pinch myself? I’d play along, if that was what it was going to take to wake up. Once I slid out of the warmth of my sheets, the cold draft made me shiver. I rubbed my arms, trying to calm the rising goose bumps.

“Hi, babe. You’re still here?” I chirped when I opened the door. Even if it was just a dream, it felt good to have someone to call
babe
. Shannon stood outside my door, holding a tray of food and looking quite amused. To make it even better, I bent down and kissed her on those luscious lips, wondering if this would ever happen in real life.

Sure enough, her mouth was like a cushion of feathers. Soft and warm, it was a taste of heaven. I watched her eyes grow the size of saucers, and she stepped back. I smiled sheepishly.

“Are you bipolar, by any chance? You’re going to give me whiplash with your mood swings. One minute, you’re dismissing me like I carry the plague, and the next moment, you’re kissing me.” Shannon’s voice seemed to echo in the quiet hallway.

Okay. This sounded awfully real. I shook my head and blinked. “Shannon? Are you really here?” I asked, feeling stupid.

“Um, yeah?” She enunciated every syllable like she was talking to someone who’d gone crazy.

“Crap.” I muttered, and a round of quick tremors pounded my body. “I’m such a loser.”

“Well, I’m getting tired here. This tray isn’t light, you know. Your mom invited me for dinner, and I asked if I could bring your tray up and eat with you.”

I closed the door and took the tray from her. After putting it on the desk, I asked the most obvious question. “Why?”

“Why what?” She stared at me.
 

“Why are you hanging out with me? What’s in it for you?”

As someone who’d been used to rejection and humiliation all his life, I had the habit of verbalizing my inner skepticism. I didn’t accept kindness easily, since I had learned a long time ago that most kids my age didn’t have compassion in their make-up. Anyone different would always be someone to make fun of and humiliate.

The hurt that flashed across her face made me want to take back what I’d said. “Nothing’s in it for me. Do I need a reason to want to be friends?” She turned to the door.

I took hold of her arm to stop her, letting go when she turned around to face me. “Shannon, I’m sorry. I’m not used to girls wanting to hang out with me. It’s pathetic, I know.”

She chewed on her bottom lip as if deliberating if I was worth the trouble, so I went with the puppy eyes I’ve seen on television. “Please . . . would you stay and join me?” God, even
I
was giving myself whiplash.
 

“I don’t want you kissing me. Despite my popular reputation in school, I’m not easy, you know.” She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for my reply.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I promise I won’t ever kiss you again . . . unless you ask me to.” What in the hell made me say that? I’d be an old man, and still waiting for that to happen. “Just blame it on the flu or whatever.”

Shannon narrowed her eyes before the crook of her mouth turned up into a smile. “We’ll see about that.”
 

“Thanks,” I said with relief. “What’s for dinner?” I migrated to a safer topic so I could think straight. The fast beating of my heart made it difficult to think clearly.

“Your mom made chicken soup for you and a ham sandwich for me. And of course, I brought more orange juice.”
 

Her smile grew wider when I pulled out the desk chair for her.

“TV or music?”
 

“Um, do you have Pink’s ‘Just Give Me a Reason’?”
 

I stifled a smile. “I didn’t know you were into mushy songs.” I got my phone from the nightstand and searched for the song.
 

“Hey, she’s amazing. Stop dissing her.”
 

Once I found the song, I put my phone into the docking station and pressed play. I turned around to find Shannon laughing.

“What?”
 

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I like Pink. She’s a tough chick.” I shrugged.

“Yes, she is. In fact, she has a concert here next month. I was hoping Brittney and Veronica would go with me.”

“Cool.”
 

Damn, it would be nice if I were the one taking her to the concert.
Dream on, lover boy.
 

After I set the volume to an acceptable level, I sat on the edge of the bed, holding my bowl of soup while Shannon took a bite of her sandwich. After she finished chewing, she glanced around the room.
 

“What’s with boys and
Call of Duty
?” she asked when she spotted the numerous posters plastered on the walls.

“Some of us who have nothing better to do like playing video games. Try
League of Legends
online. It’s fun.” This was true. I passed the time playing with other kids, mostly when Mark was out on a date and Darryl had to work in his father’s gas station.

“Don’t tell me you’re so anti-social that you’d rather play video games than hang out?” Shannon appeared surprised. It was obvious that she didn’t know much about me. My social calendar had been empty even before I realized what a big loser I’d turned out to be.

“Well, let’s see. I have two friends. Two. One is popular enough to hang out with the ‘in’ crowd, and the other one is content to play video games all of his waking hours. I try to minimize getting myself into awkward social situations. As you can see, I don’t do well with people, considering my . . . ” I shrugged and jerked my shoulder, “you know what.” I shoved a spoonful of soup in my mouth and watched her.

“You’re exaggerating!” Shannon socked me on the arm.
 

“Am
not
.”
 

“Whatever.” She took another bite and chewed in silence.
 

I ate, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Shannon was not what I’d expected. She was easy to talk to, and as I was realizing she wasn’t easily discouraged. The short time we’d spent together showed me I’d passed judgment on her the same way other people always did to me. In my mind, popular people would never befriend the unpopular ones.
 

“I’m curious. What were you doing at the tarot shop the other night? Don’t you guys have better things to do?”

Good opening. “It was Darryl’s idea. He said Madame Elizabeth is good . . . and pretty,” I added as an afterthought.

“Oh . . . ” Shannon sounded doubtful.
 

“My turn to ask questions. Do you work in the shop every day?” I would have expected her to work at the mall, maybe at the perfume counter or selling fancy handbags, or whatever women called those things.

Shannon seemed reluctant to answer, but after a moment, she dropped her sandwich back on the plate. “I don’t talk about myself or my family all that much, but I’m going to tell you since you look like you can keep a secret.” She glanced up at me, looking hopeful.

I placed a palm over my heart. “Not a peep.”

“My dad travels on business a lot. My mom gets bored, so she took classes on tarot reading. She’s one of those . . . um . . .
eccentric
people. When she got her certificate, she talked my dad into getting her a spot in that awful location. And to make things worse, she demanded I helped her out after school.” Shannon’s mood shifted, and she seemed unhappy.

“Madame Elizabeth is your—”
 

She didn’t even let me finish. “Yep, my mother.”

“Does it bother you to be working there with her?”

Shannon nodded. “Sometimes I ask myself why I agreed to it, but I don’t have the heart to tell her to look for someone else. It feels weird, because I feel we’re just fooling people. But her readings—I’m not sure what to make of them.”

I stared at her, stunned.
 

“Don’t look so shocked. I saw your face when you went out of her
office
.” She tried to make it sound funny, but I couldn’t smile.

“What are you trying to say?” I put down my soup bowl.

“Madame . . . err, my mother said something that scared you. I knew it, because she’s done the same thing to me.” Shannon picked up her sandwich again, as if debating another bite, but she put it back down without eating more.

This small revelation triggered the warning bells in my head. “Is that why you’re here?”
 

“Yes and no.” She got up to walk over to the window, and she stood there for a long moment before turning around. Her eyes misted. “I didn’t believe her at first. She told me after you left that you’ll be the key to what lies ahead for me.”

I stared at her, dumbfounded. “So our being partners in class is falling into a pattern designed by some cruel jokester?” I tried to make sense of it, but I was drawing blank.

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. That’s what she told me. It scared me, and for days, I didn’t talk to her. It felt like she wasn’t the same person. I don’t know what to say, Brian. Believe me, I’m freaked out, too.”
 

I patted the mattress and urged her to sit beside me. I had no idea what to say to her. It sounded so weird.
 

Shannon sat down and wrung her hands. “I have no idea why I didn’t believe her then, but I do now. My peculiar mother saw something in those cards. When I asked her, she cried and hugged me. She said she has no idea how to help me. When she saw you, she was certain you’re the one who could. It’s just plain unbelievable!” She shook her head.

“Did she explain why?” The whole thing was too confusing.
 

Shannon glanced around as if what she was about to tell me was top secret. “Mom wants me to stay as close to you as possible. I got so upset with her because the whole thing was ridiculous, but she insisted. I know it sounds like I’m taking advantage of you, but how else can you explain how we became partners all of a sudden?”

That much was true. Even if it did sound suspicious, there was no other way of explaining how we ended up on
two
projects together. If I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t be complaining. Instead, I should get down on my knees and thank my lucky stars for adding some excitement to my life.

“I’m not going to lie. She freaked me out, too. Besides, I don’t believe in psychic stuff,” I replied, not apologetic in the least.

“She freaks me out every day!” Shannon laughed. Then she glanced at the clock on my nightstand and bolted up. “Shoot, I have to get home. My dad’s getting back tonight, and I don’t want him to send out a search party.”

“Hey,” I pulled at her arm again, “Can I call you?”
 

“Sure. You have my number.” The smile she gave me was more than dazzling—it was mind-numbing.