The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (7 page)

It was irritating for Valie to see practically the entire female half of the class hanging all over Jack—especially Candace. Yet,
to be honest, she knew that she herself was jealous of every word, every smile he threw in their direction. After all, she had discovered him, really; if anyone had the right to lay claim to him, it ought to be her.

She sighed.

Like that was ever going to happen…             

When class ended, Valie bolted for the door. Most of the class stayed behind as Jack packed up his things. At least while Candace was preoccupied with the new merchandise on the high school meat market, she wouldn’t bother Valie. 

The somewhat disappointed made it to math class in good time and took her seat at the back of the class. Propping her head up on her elbows, she closed her eyes and tried to think of
anything
other than Jack Haden
.
She heard the chair sliding out from beneath the desk next to hers and the light rustle of clothing. She shut her eyes even tighter.

“Are you asleep?” The velvet surety of that voice had Valie sitting up in a heartbeat. “I take that as a ‘no’…”

Jack Haden smiled crookedly at the rattled girl. Here he was now sitting beside her. Involuntarily she inhaled and held her breath, scanning those sculpted features as if seeing them for the first time. His eyes were bluer than she had remembered; his jaw stronger. His skin looked soft…touchable? No. Definitely not. He was as a statue to be admired, not touched.

She suddenly realized her lips were slightly parted as she studied his mouth, but, when she became aware of the amusement written on his face, her lips snapped shut and she looked away, breaking the spell.

This time she began to think, determined not to lose this opportunity.

“I’m Valie,” she managed to murmur timidly.

“Jack. It’s nice to meet you, Valie.”

“You, too.”
She looked down at her desk, her mind failing to keep up her end of this snappy conversation.
Don’t panic
, she thought.  Jack appeared to wait patiently for her neurons to fire.

“So how do you like Anders so far?” Valie looked back up at his serene face.

“It’s alright. Okay town. Nice people. I’m not used to the concrete, though. You know, city-limits. I miss the green.”

“Where are you from exactly?” Valie inquired, perhaps with a little too much interest. She remembered his vague answers in English class.

“The country.” He smiled and looked around the room, as other students entered.

“Ah,” Valie breathed, still notably dissatisfied, but she let it go.  “There’s a state park just north of the city if you like the outdoors,” Valie suggested. “And I hear the lake there is great for swimming and kayaking.”

Jack raised an eyebrow, turning his full attention back to the girl.  “Sounds great.  But you’ve never been?”

“I’ve been to the park and the lake. It’s very pretty.
Lots of trees.”  Now it was Valie’s turn to be vague.

“And the swimming?”

Captured again by those intense, dark eyes, Valie stammered quietly and self-consciously, “I don’t swim.”

Jack leaned in closer toward her and grinned sweetly with those wide, blush-colored lips. Valie’s heart began to pound uncontrollably in her chest, but his eyes wouldn’t release her.

“So you have this beautiful lake right next door and you’ve gone your entire life without swimming in it? That’s too bad. Didn’t your parents teach you?” he teased.

Valie’s heart slowed; she returned his gaze with a little less self-consciousness. “No. They didn’t. No one taught me.” The mood broke about the time class began.

Slightly annoyed with his personal questions, Valie concentrated on Ms. Bernadine and the complex math equation she was writing on the board.

But Jack wouldn’t let it go. “Why not?” Jack pressed. “Afraid of the water? Lots of people are.”

Valie looked at him seriously, brow furrowed. “No, I’m not afraid,” she answered flatly. “I didn’t know my parents and I’ve never felt the need to take swimming lessons.”

Jack leaned away. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

The girl nodded, but was put off by the boy’s pushiness and her inability to resist his attraction. She felt no better than the
rest of the juvenile, star-struck girls at Anders High.

The two sat in silence for most of the period. Was it her imagination, or did Jack now seem uncomfortable—perhaps, for the first time, unsure of himself?

At one point, during a short lull in the lecture, he leaned over and whispered to Valie again. “Where do you live? I mean, who do you live with?” he asked a little self-consciously, and with more tact.  His demeanor had lost its amusement.

“My grandfather,” Valie replied shortly, offering no more, at first, but in a few seconds, she added, “What about you? You moved here with your family?”

The boy nodded. For the next few minutes, he kept tapping his desk impatiently and glancing over at her. He took to wordlessly watching Valie again with his azure eyes. He seemed to be studying her and, Valie didn’t know if it was just her own insecurity or what, but she felt as if he didn’t like what he saw. Well, that was just fine. Wasn’t it fitting for the Jack Hadens of this world to be with the Candace Bang ’ems? 

Unexpectedly, Jack shifted his entire body to face Valie, totally disregarding the lecturing teacher.

“You have very interesting eyes,” he murmured. He seemed more perturbed, though, than enamored. Rather than delight her, the compliment made her uncomfortable; and she instantly turned her head away from him. Jack reached across the space between them and touched her face, turning her chin abruptly.

Bad
mistake…Instinctively, Valie jerked away angrily from his touch and blocked his arm in one fluid motion, but, to her surprise, his
first
instinct was to grab her wrist with lightning speed and pull her back towards him with an insane amount of strength. The scene lasted no more than a couple of seconds. Before she had time to respond, he’d let go of her and turned away.

Only two or three of the kids close by seemed to notice the exchange—eying them with some amusement. So fiercely did Valie glare at them, they quickly turned around and left the pair alone. She scooted her chair further away from the guy.

The pair sat there, eyeing each other warily. Jack seemed frustrated, Valie was visibly upset. She did not like being touched, especially by complete strangers, no matter how handsome they were.

“You have quick reflexes,” he whispered, grinning apologetically. He tried to resume his casual manner, but a remnant of his perturbation remained in the small furrow of his brow.

“And you have no manners,” Valie snapped back, in less than a whisper. She did not like presumptuous guys who thought they could get away with whatever they liked with whomever they liked.

The boy held Valie’s glare for longer than she was comfortable with. She felt like smacking the smirk off of his pretty face. His whole demeanor felt to her like an invasion of her personal space, like her very thoughts were open to his scrutiny.

The bell rang.

Without a word, Valie hurriedly packed her things and marched out the door, trying to appear in complete control. To her dismay, Jack followed right behind.

“Don’t follow me,” Valie commanded him, without turning around. How quickly her infatuation was waning. She just wanted to get away from him. His presence was making her feel claustrophobic.

“If I’m following you, then so is everybody else. It’s the only way to the quad,” Jack said smugly.

Valie rolled her eyes.

Once outside, she felt better, though the boy still walked much too close to her. 

Without warning, a forgotten image appeared below and waltzed up the steps halfway to meet them. It was the lovely blonde from the coffee shop. Valie had forgotten her entirely. Surely, she wasn’t enrolled at Anders High, too. The events of the morning –and the nearness of Jack Haden—must have pushed out of her head the very existence of this beautiful creature. She almost felt a sense of relief. Now, her only thought was,
Great!
You can have him.

“Hello, Shane,” he greeted her with understandable familiarity.

“Hi, Jack,” Shane replied in a voice that matched her looks, sultry and alluring. They were perfect for each other.

Shane was almost as mesmerizing as her counterpart. From a distance, she was pretty; but up close, her features were flawless.  Today, the gorgeous mane of blonde hair was straightened and swept back—pinned on top of her head—to reveal the high cheek bones and full mouth. Her body was long and svelte in low-cut jeans and a tight-fitting, black sweater that accentuated her ice-blue eyes. Her kind of looks put Candace to shame.

“Shane, this is Valentine,” Jack introduced. “Valentine, Shane.” He motioned toward his girlfriend as she offered her elegant hand.

“Valie,” she corrected, taking it meekly. Shane gripped her hand with strength belied by the delicacy of her figure.

“Hi, Valie,” Shane greeted, smiling.

Valie started down the steps; but, to her annoyance, Jack remained by her side and now Shane joined her on the other. Several of the other students were showing more than a little curiosity at this strange threesome—Valentine McRae with these two newcomers who were obviously not from their small town. Valie wrapped her arms around her math book and gripped it to her chest, as if it could make her invisible. 

“So how do you like the school so far?” she asked Shane, disinterested. She hated small talk and honestly wished they would go away.

“It’s boring,” Shane declared without reservation. “I don’t know how you sit in a classroom for seven hours a day, five days a week, nine months out of every year. I’ve only been here for two hours and it’s already mind-numbing.”

Valie stopped and looked at her, confusion written on her face.  When she opened her mouth to speak, Jack quickly interjected, “Well, we were home-schooled back in our old home,” he explained. Valie didn’t fail to notice the meaningfully look he threw in Shane’s direction.

This time Valie wasn’t going to let it go.

“You guys moved here
together
?”

Jack nodded, though something on the other side of the
quad suddenly distracted him.

“So how long have you guys been together?” The question was aimed directly at Shane, who just as abruptly began studying her nails. Again, Jack answered for her.

“Four years.”

“Ah,” was Valie’s only reply. What else could she say? Obviously, they were a couple. 

Desperately, Valie was trying to find a way to extricate herself from this awkward conversation when Luci thankfully walked up.

“Hey, Valie,” she greeted, though her voice held a hint of wariness, unusual for Luci, who was an extremely outgoing person. She didn’t even advance far enough for an introduction, but kept her position at the bottom of the broad steps.

“Hey, Luc. What’s up?” Valie tried to sound as natural as possible.

“Nothing much.
Just came to let you know Jonathan wasn’t feeling well.  I’m going to his place after school.”

Valie nodded, still confused by Luci’s distant tone.

“Anything the matter, Luc?”

Blatantly, Luci stared at Shane, and then at Jack and the pair stared back—obviously, with no interest in introductions. Valie’s friend hesitated slightly before she replied, “No, nothing’s the matter.  But I do need to talk to you—like, right now. Can we go?”

“Sure,” Valie said eagerly.

She, then, watched incredulously as Luci ran up the steps, grabbed her arm and unceremoniously began dragging her away without another word.

“Good-bye, Valentine,” Jack called.

Under her breath, with obvious annoyance, the girl corrected the error again, “Valie.”  She knew he couldn’t hear her, but couldn’t he even remember her name?

“Valie, then,” he called back in her direction, humor in his voice.

Valie’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The boy could not have heard her…

Or could he?

LINES CROSSED

The two friends were almost at Jonathan’s house and Luci had spent the entire time warning Valie about Jack and Shane, desperately urging her to stay away from them.

“I don’t
like
them, Valie.  I don’t trust them.”

“You don’t even know them, Luc!” As much as Valie herself had some serious questions about the Haden boy, she wouldn’t admit disliking the pair of them—despite the fact that Jack had proven that he could be a pretentious ass. Although now, Luci had made her feel guilty, because Valie
was
drawn to the odd pair, but couldn’t admit it to her friend.

“Neither
do you, Valie! Not really! Please. Just trust me on this one? I really
really
wish you would stay as far away from them as humanly possible. Promise me! Please!”

“And just because somehow you get a bad
vibe
from them? I don’t know, Luci. I appreciate your concern and all, but it’s a little too hocus pocus for me. I’m not saying I’m going to be their friend or anything, but I can’t promise anything either. We’ll just see. Okay?”

But the truth be told, Luci’s attitude had Valie worried. The urgency in her voice and the apprehension on her face was making Valie uneasy to say the least.

She tried to reassure her, “Since when do I go out of my way to make friends? I have the only friend I need.”

Luci attempted to smile, but failed. “We’re here,” she said with a sigh, nodding distractedly in the direction of Jonathan’s apartment building. “I’ll see you later. I’m serious, though, okay? Please, just stay away from them?”

Valie couldn’t find anything else to say. Something held her tongue, inhibiting her from making that concession to her friend. She nodded, though, and smiled as Luci gloomily ascended the steps to Jonathan’s place. Valie hoped for all the world that Jonathan could cheer Luci up and break the pall that hung over her. Valie felt terrible. Somehow, she knew that Jack had already come between them, and that she herself was playing a part in hurting their friendship—she felt powerless.

When Valie arrived home, she just wanted to sleep, but the insomnia returned. Silently, she lay on her bed staring, just staring—first at the ceiling, then at the four walls, and finally at the framed picture of her mother, which she kept on the bookcase under the window. The photograph reminded her of the wound Jack’s questions had opened—his probing about her family.

Valie sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the picture until the girl rose abruptly and walked over to the bookcase.  Momentarily, she touched the old wooden frame which surrounded her mother’s image, but then her hand fell away to finger a delicate beaded bracelet which she wore on her wrist. It was crafted in silver, with one charm attached. The slender charm was a thin, flat, diamond-shaped tag with a rounded edge. On one side, the charm had the imprint of a perfect circle with a line connecting it to the center of a v-shape. On the other side, however, was the inscription ‘E.M. + I.Q.
always
’.

Valie had always wondered about the bracelet’s history and the importance her mother had attached to it, but her grandfather was not one to answer her questions willingly. All she knew was that the bracelet had been her mother’s and Valie had been allowed to keep it, even after Alden began giving away
Elizabeth’s things. Without fail, Valie had worn it day in and day out since she was a little girl in the hope that, with it, she carried a part of her mother with her.

Valie returned to her position on the bed, toying with the silver trinket, but it gave her little comfort. Nothing was right; she couldn’t sleep anymore. Her best friend was distracted with Jonathan and distraught over two random strangers—strangers that Valie found herself thinking about more than the average
person should. . . .

This day had not turned out the way she thought it would. 

It wasn’t until two hours before dawn that Valie finally fell asleep, having done all homework and read through fifty pages of the
Scarlet Letter
without remembering a single word. She slept dreamlessly and awoke less than refreshed. So when she rose for school, she felt as if she had not slept at all.

Her mind was filled with pictures of Jack Haden in various angelic scenarios, all ending with the intrusion of Shane’s beauteous form. Valie became needlessly angry with the both of them, like it was their fault she felt inexplicably dissatisfied. She needed someone to tell her to snap out of it, that she was being silly, but nobody seemed willing, not even herself. Luci was the only one that thought Jack was trouble, but Valie just couldn’t seem to help the way she felt about him.
And
hadn’t she deserved a warning about Jack, about his unavailability? She shouldn’t have let herself hope for . . . no, she shouldn’t have let herself
dream
about having anything to do with him. She was now discouraged and discontent and therefore, annoyed.

The rest of that week was torture. Jack would greet Valie in English every day; they would walk independently to Math; he would take his seat beside her; few words would be exchanged; class would end, and they wouldn’t see each other until the next day rolled around. They never really had another wholesome conversation again and with the passing of each day, Valie grew more and more tired. Every night was the same—the same visions, the same restlessness, and the same irritability.

Halloween, however, turned out to be a different story when Jack entered class late.

“Good morning, sweets,” he whispered as he made his way to his seat.

“Hi,” Valie mumbled. She tried to ignore him, but he’d never been late before, and—despite her growing resentment toward him, and in her own increasing obsession—she found herself wondering why the delay.

“Miss McRae and Mr. Haden—please
be quiet,” Ms. Ables ordered glaring at Jack.

Better him than me,
Valie thought. The day was going to be long enough without her having to deal with Ms. Ables’ ill temper.

She turned to watch the clock above the door.

Ms. Ables began class with a review of the first few chapters of
The Scarlet Letter
. Valie had read ahead in the book already, so she was left to occupy herself otherwise. She chose to catch up on sleep, leaning against the wall to her right. Just as she was about to slip into unconsciousness . . .

“Valie!”

Snap!
She awoke with a start as Ms. Ables slapped her desk loudly with her pointer. The entire class—in their various Halloween costumes and make-up—was looking at her. Valie blushed, embarrassed. “My class is not for catching up on sleep!” Ms. Ables informed her.

Valie didn’t respond. That morning, she just wasn’t in the mood to be made to look the fool. The girl stared angrily at Ms. Ables’ upturned nose.

“Do you understand?” the woman demanded.

Still nothing.

“
Do you
understand
?”

Valie rolled her eyes and regretted the action as Ms. Ables turned a bright and furious red. Valie pretended not to notice as she finally replied, “Fine.”

With a blistering glare, Ms. Ables returned to the front of the class to finish her lecture. One by one the rest of the class turned back to face her, sniggering under their breath—except for one. Jack continued to stare at Valie with those exceptionally dark eyes with a thoughtful expression. Childishly, she turned away, pretending to pay attention to the lecture.

“Mr. Haden! Can you kindly direct your attention to
me?
”

Valie smiled vindictively as he was forced to turn and face the front again.

Class continued, dragging on slower than ever, until the bell rang, signaling the students to their next class. At least Ms. Bernadine would let Valie doze.

She rose and walked out of the room first; the mob of colorful, scantily-dressed girls had returned to surround the front row seat, with Candace—she had dumped her boy toy, Henry—
and Chelsea leading the way. A school dance was coming up, and Valie assumed they were all vying for Jack’s invitation. Apparently, they didn’t know about Shane.

Valie laggardly made her way to Math, unaccompanied.

“Good morning, Valentine!” Ms. Bernadine greeted as the girl walked into the room.

“Valie,” she corrected for about the thousandth time with a biting tone that immediately made the kindly woman shrink back.

“Of course! S-sorry,” Ms Bernadine stuttered.

Valie took her seat at the back of the room and organized herself for another catnap. Even before the first bell rang, she closed her eyes.

“Sleeping again?” a smooth voice asked.

Valie shut her eyes tighter and pretended not to hear him.
Stupid Jack. Stupid Shane. Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone?

“Are you going to sleep again?” he repeated more formally.

“Yes,” Valie snapped.

Valie tried to act as if he wasn’t there. She’d experienced him enough in her own subconscious; she didn’t need him harassing her in real life, too.

“Are you tired?”

“No,” Valie replied more quietly; she hadn’t liked snapping at him. “I sleep for the pure enjoyment of it.”

She heard him laugh softly to himself. She didn’t know why, but it was an interesting laugh, very…genuine, but she didn’t respond. She was still trying to sleep, though her determination to rest was lessening.

Jack lowered his voice and suddenly he was closer. “Are you asleep yet?” he asked quietly.

Surprised, Valie opened her eyes and gave him a disparaging look. “Someone is making it impossible.”

He smiled unrepentantly and leaned away.

“Was there something you wanted?” Valie demanded, sitting up and angling herself to face him now that he wasn’t quite so close.

“Not at the moment,” he replied.

That made her pause. Were there to be other moments? She couldn’t figure this guy out.

“Then can I sleep in peace?” Her cold attitude was abruptly undermined by an uncontrollable yawn.

A broader smile spread across Jack’s face. Valie scowled, which only made him smirk until she went back to lying sleepily on her desk. Her irritation was fueled by her lack of sleep, but the thought of him and Shane sparked it every time. 

Almost a half-hour passed without any interruption other than Ms. Bernadine’s lecture, but Valie couldn’t fall asleep. She kept feeling like the guy was watching her. His inconvenient presence tortured the girl to the point that she gave up entirely on trying to relax.

She opened her eyes to find him unmoved from his earlier, attentive position, like he’d been waiting for Valie to reopen her eyes the whole time.

Inquisitiveness defined his features, and the youth began where he’d left off. “Why are you so tired?”

“Why do you care?”

“Why do you keep avoiding my questions?”

“Why do you keep asking them?”

Jack heaved a slow, frustrated sigh.

“Ahem.” Ms. Bernadine was looking at the two from the front of the room, students’ eyes following her gaze, though she looked less than annoyed. “Can you two be quiet, please? I’m happy to see you’re hitting it off, but not in class.” She smiled pleasantly.

“Sorry,” Jack said, giving her his most charming, apologetic smile. He then turned back to Valie. “She doesn’t seem very upset,” he observed; his frustration had vanished.

“She’s just happy to see me socializing,” she muttered.

“What does that mean?”

Valie rolled her eyes. “Again with the questions . . . .”

“Fine.
Later,” he chuckled.

She looked at him suspiciously. “Later?”

His eyes narrowed playfully. “I thought you said no more questions.”

Valie frowned and was about to come back with a smart remark when the bell rang.

“Ugh,” she groaned. She hit her head against her arm on the desk. She was still dead on her feet—she desperately needed coffee.

“What?”

Valie looked up to glare at the boy. “Nothing.” She wasn’t used to anyone other than Luci and Jonathan actually paying attention to her.

Jack searched Valie’s expression for something other than total annoyance, but she knew he wouldn’t find anything. She picked up her things and walked out of the room, joining the mass of costumed students moving through the halls like a school of fish trapped in a fish tank.

About halfway down the hall Valie realized he was still behind her. She walked faster.

“Aren’t you supposed to be bugging Shane—or Candace?”

“Who?” He closed the space between them and walked next to Valie, looking at her face, confused.

“Candace? Cheer captain? Evil eyes, vindictive smile, large . . . .”

“Oh. The blonde with the, uh . . . bangs? Yes, well, she is a little
too
eager.” He chose his words tactfully. As much as Valie hated to admit it, Jack seemed to have
some
decency.