Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (4 page)

               
He points to the paper. “What the first two lines say.”

               
“Why are you even in here?” Kayla snaps.

               
 “To make sure you’re working on your paper.”

               
“How did you even get out of class?”

               
“I handed in my essay and said I wanted to come and check out the library.”

               
Narrowing her eyes, Kayla inquires, “He looked at your paper and accepted it?”

               
“Yup, he even read part of it and said…gosh…
what were his
words…
‘
I am very impressed.
’
”

               
“Are you going to torment me for the rest of my life?”

               
With a serious expression, Jackson replies, “Not that I want to, but probably.”

               
“What is that supposed to mean?”

               
“Nothing,” Jackson mutters.  “How much more research do you have to do for
your paper?”

               
Kayla turns to the computer.  “Not a whole lot.  I came in here to
figure out what this says.”

               
Picking up the piece of paper, Jackson reads, “If you want help with foreign
languages, I can help you.  All you need to do is select a language. 
I promise to not make fun of you.  All you have to do is ask.”

               
“Oh,” Kayla whispers.  “Thanks.” 

Jackson hands her the note
back but doesn’t say anything. 

“That’s nice of you,” she
says.

               
“If we’re going to go toe-to-toe academically, I can’t have such an advantage
over you.  It’s not fair.”

               
Kayla groans.  “Way to take a nice moment and make a snarky comment.”

               
“I love that word…snarky.  I wasn’t trying to have a nice moment. I was
just being honest,” Jackson states matter-of-factly.  Kayla starts to say
something but then stops.  Jackson leans forward. “What were you going to
say?”

               
“I wasn’t going to say anything.  I was going to ask you a question.”

               
With a wave of his hand, Jackson says, “Ask away.”

               
“Are you like this with everyone?”

               
 “What?  A jackass?”

               
“Yeah, I figured that you would be more interested in making friends instead of
enemies.”

               
“Are we enemies?  Taking this bet a little too far, aren’t you?”

               
Kayla exhales dramatically.  “You and I are like oil and water.”

               
“No, Kayla, my dear.  We are oil and the rest of the world is water.” He stands
up and points to the computer.  “Finish your paper.  I want it to be
your best so when I win, it will make my victory all the better.”

               
“Go jump off a cliff,” Kayla snaps.

               
Jackson leans over and braces himself on her chair and the table.  He
comes breathlessly close to her and whispers, “That comes later and one of
these days, I bet you’ll join me.”

               
“What?” Kayla breathes out against him.  He gives her one last, long look
and then turns and walks away.  Kayla watches him leave and then says,
“Weirdo.”

               
She takes the piece of paper and puts it in her pocket, debating on using it
for a spell to curse him.  During the remaining hour, Kayla finishes
researching for her paper.  When the bell rings, she gets up and heads to
her next class.

               
During lunch, she stops at her locker.  When she opens it, there is a note
inside.  Curious, Kayla takes it out and reads it:  Sorry, babe, got
sick and went home.  You’ll have to catch a ride with someone else. 

               
“Grrreeeeaaaat,” Kayla draws out.  She shoves her books in her locker and
groans.  Having Tracy go home early puts her in a bad mood, because now
she has to ask someone else to give her a ride.  Kayla lives on the
outskirts of town by the woods, and no one likes going out that far.

               
When she arrives at creative writing, Jackson is already in his seat. 
Kayla walks past him and flops down in her chair. Crossing her arms she glares
down at her desk. She is so annoyed, she won’t even look at Jackson when he
turns around in his seat and stares at her. Two minutes of silence pass before
Jackson says, “Who or what in the world pissed you off so much?”

               
“Nothing…my parents…my friends…people,” Kayla mumbles.

               
“PMSing?” Jackson asks.

               
Her jaw drops. “What? NO!  My friend Tracy went home sick, and I can’t
find anyone to take me home,
which means
I have to wait for one of my
parents to get off work.  I love school and all, but I don’t want to wait
around here that long.”

               
“So you’re mad because you don’t have a car and have no way to get home.”

               
“Would you be happy if you were going to be stuck at school for another two
hours?”

               
Jackson looks off to the side.  “Probably not, but I don’t have to worry
about that.  I have a car.  Since my parents are both
well-established scientists, we have money.  Never needed to worry about
finding a ride home since I learned how to drive.”

               
“I know how to drive.  My parents just won’t get me a car.  I’m an
honor student, but they still want me to wait until I graduate.  I’m
surprised they’re okay with me dating and don’t try to lock me in my room at
night.”

               
“Ooh, now I’m intrigued.  Who do you date?”

               
Without thinking, Kayla replies, “No one.”

               
“Awww, poor Kayla.” Jackson laughs.  “So tell me, why aren’t you dating
anyone?”

               
“Have you seen the guys around here?  Would you date any of them?” 

               
With a thoughtful look, Jackson says, “No, I like the female body too much, so
I can’t really see how any guy would sway me from that.”

               
Kayla bursts out laughing.  “We have a wide variety of female bodies
around here.  You could probably pick anyone.”

               
“Mmm, I’m pretty particular about who I date.  She has to have
certain…assets.”

               
“Wow, could you be any
more shallow
?”

               
Jackson chuckles. “No, no, not
those
assets. I may be a jackass, but I’m
not petty.  No, rest assured, Kayla, I love women in many different forms—
many
different forms.”

               
“You could have earned brownie points with that, but you also made yourself
sound like a slut, so you lose points instead.”

               
“Hmmm, and where do I rank on your scoreboard?”

               
Kayla returns with a thoughtful look. “I’m not sure yet.”

               
“Will I win more points if I give you a ride home?”

               
Sitting up in her chair, she asks, “Will you?”

               
“No, I was just asking.”

               
“I wish you would just go back to where you came from.”

               
Jackson grins.  “I was joking.  If you can deal with me for an entire
car ride home, I’ll give you a ride.”

               
“Thank you!”

               
Jackson sighs. “I have nothing better to do.”

               
Kayla rolls her eyes.

               
The bell rings and Jackson smiles as he turns around.  The teacher walks
to the front of the room and says, “Okay, today we are going to start a new
assignment.  It’s going to be a group project and you will need to pick a
partner.  You need to write a fifteen-page short story.  I want notes
from both you and your partner so I know it was a joint effort. 
Brainstorm; come up with an idea and then a plot.  Give your characters
life!  This will be fun.  Okay, go. Pick your partners.”

               
Kayla smirks as Jackson turns around.  “You know you’re going to be my
partner, right?” he asks.

               
“Oh, really?” she quips sarcastically.  “Why in the hell would I do that?”

               
“Because I have a lot to offer.  You and I are on the same playing
field.  Our two sexy, amazingly gifted selves can do this project and do
it to perfection.”

               
“Sexy? You find yourself sexy?”

               
Acting surprised, Jackson says, “I see the way you look at me.  Don’t deny
it.”

               
“What?
”
she shrieks.
“
I do not look at you in any sort of
way!  Arrogant much?”

               
Jackson looks at her thoughtfully.  “You sure kissed me with some real
passion.”

               
“I was putting on a show,” Kayla grumbles, having to look away.

               
“Mmhmm, that’s it.  So what are we going to write about?”

               
With a threatening stare, Kayla says, “Who said we were going to be partners?”

               
“Who said she needed a ride home?”

               
“Fine, I’m horrible at creative writing.  My imagination is
way
too
out there.”

               
Jackson looks at her, confused.  “Doesn’t that mean you’re good at
creative writing?”

               
“No, I—” Kayla starts and then stops.  “I always have the same
ideas.  It’s not like I come up with tons of different story lines.”

               
“Then we’ll write about your idea.  I bet it isn’t bad.”

               
Nervously twiddling with her pen, Kayla whispers, “I’ve never really talked
about it.  When I was a kid, I would always draw pictures of this strange
world that existed only in my head.  My parents loved my pictures and put
them all over the house.  Dad always said it looked like a beautiful place
to live.”

               
“Tell me about it.”  For the first time he appears sincere.

               
“You’re going to laugh at me.”

               
Shaking his head, Jackson replies, “No, I won’t.  I promise.”

               
Kayla takes a deep breath before continuing. “It was a world I always saw in my
dreams.  It was very mountainous, and everywhere I looked, I saw peaks and
valleys.  The sky was purple and the sun was almost maroon.  The
plants were similar to what you see on Earth, but they were all different
colors.  It was always so beautiful when I dreamt about it.  You
probably think I’m nuts, huh?”

               
Jackson stares at her for a second and then responds, “No, not at all. 
Were there creatures on this planet?”

               
“Not that I ever saw.  You know, I never even thought about that.  I
never drew animals…or people.
”
Kayla laughs to herself. 
“
Like
people would actually live there.  I mean, I’m talking like this world is
real.  But no, there were no animals.”

               
“Mmm, well, let’s write about this world then.  What kind of animals do
you think
could
live on this planet?”

               
Kayla looks at him curiously.  “Why do you say planet?  I always
thought it was like a parallel universe.”

               
Jackson snorts.  “Planet is much cooler.”

               
“Whatever.”  Suddenly, Jackson grimaces and clenches his stomach. 
Kayla sits up, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

               
“I need to eat,” Jackson spits out.

               
With a confused look, Kayla says, “You get that bad of stomach cramps when
you’re hungry?”

               
“No, I have to eat something in particular.  I should go.”

               
“Wait!  You’re leaving too?  What in the hell am I going to do for a
ride?”

               
Jackson looks at her. “Come with me.”

               
“I can’t leave school!”

               
He looks at her and scowls.  “Either you leave with me or you wait for
your parents.”

               
“How are we getting out of here?” Kayla hisses.

               
“Just follow me,” Jackson says, grabbing his books.  He stands up and walks
to the front of class.

               
Kayla snatches up her bag and notebook and springs after him.  The teacher
looks up at them from her desk.  “Yes, Mr. Blakely?”

               
“I’m not feeling well and need to go home,” Jackson says with an even tone.

               
“You look just fine,” their teacher, Ms. Klein, responds.

               
“Five more minutes and I may explode all over your floor.”