Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Now he realized why the girl had seemed so familiar. His first thought was that flurry of red hair belonged to someone else, but he knew better when he saw her left hand bound in bandages. He moved toward her desk not really sure what he would say. The teacher walked in before Zach reached her so he went to his seat. He didn’t pay attention during class, he spent his time staring at the back of her head. Her? They were in the same homeroom and he didn’t have a clue what her name was, how pathetic was that!? As the day progressed however, Zach realized just how easy it was to overlook her. She never raised her hand or asked to leave class, she might as well have been a ghost. At lunch he sat at his customary table with the guys, he looked around and found her sitting with a girl he recognized. Kate Masterson was infamous for her attitude, which made Zach wonder what she was doing with a girl who never frowned. Every time he looked her way she was smiling, a few were smaller, more bashful and less obvious, but were distinctive. Zach shook his head, he really needed to stop staring before someone noticed.

“I can’t believe he got your hand again, didn’t you learn your lesson last time?” Kate asked.

“Yes I did, that’s why I used my left hand, as I’m sure you remember it was my right last time.”

“Of course I do Gwen, I was the one who had to rewrite your notes,” Kate said disapprovingly.

Gwen smiled kindly at her friend, “I know and I appreciate it, I really do.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “Stop that, your smile could make a drill sergeant surrender,” she sighed.

“Sorry.” Gwen giggled. “That isn’t my intention.”

She reached for one of the packaged sandwiches in front of them and ripped open the wrapper.

“That’s your third one.” Kate noticed. “Are you low on food?”

“No,” Gwen answered swallowing a mouthful of tuna salad. “I didn’t get dinner last night and woke up late so I just grabbed a bagel on the way out.”

Kate sighed, “Seriously if it’s not your nightlife it’s your eating habits.”

“Oh come on Katie, I’m not that bad,” Gwen replied lightly.

The last class of the day was gym and good weather meant baseball outside. Before they had been assigned teams Zach saw his mysterious rescuer walk up to Coach. After a few moments of conversation she ran off toward the far side of the school and Coach moved back to the field scratching his head.
“Something wrong, Coach?” Zach asked casually.

“Just Booker saying she can’t play because of her hand,” he replied shrugging. “Didn’t believe her at first, but she agreed to ten laps around the school so she might be telling the truth.”

Booker, so at least now he knew her last name, it was a start.

“You’re not going to make her run all of them are you?” he asked.

This was a big school, ten laps would be harsh even for an experienced runner.

“Nah, I’ll let her stop after five,” Coach answered, then blew his whistle to call order to the class. “All right everyone line up!”

There were a couple of arguments over the rudiments of the game, nothing major, which were entertaining. Every now and then Zach would glance over and find Booker doing her best to run the laps. With half an hour to go Zach was in right field and losing a battle against yawning due to slow progress in the game, the ball rarely came his way and he found his thoughts returning to her. Once again, he gazed at the school in time to see her turn the corner and run along the far wall closest to the field. She looked tired, her skin was so rosy it nearly matched her hair, but she kept going one step after another. A sudden shout interrupted his thoughts.

“Fly Ball!”

Zach watched as the ball flew high over their heads straight toward the school and . . . Booker! His brain screamed if they both kept moving that ball was going to strike her right in the back of the head! Without warning she tripped, falling flat on her face. The ball dropped a few inches ahead of her if she hadn’t lost her footing she could have been hurt. Coach ran toward her while yelling to the class that the game was over and to hit the showers. As he walked past Zach noticed the look of surprise on her face.

“You all right, Booker?” Coach asked concerned.

“Yes,” she coughed. “I must have stepped on a rock.”

“You have a few scrapes, let’s get you to the nurse so she can clean you up.”

Coach helped her to her feet and walked with her toward the nurse’s office. Zach watched them go and, considering his reaction to seeing her in danger, decided he needed to speak with Kate and learn more about Booker.

He waited for Kate after school and thanked his lucky stars when he spotted her by the front gate.

“Hey, Masterson!” he called out.

“What do you want?” she asked rudely as he approached.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” said Zach ignoring her attitude. “About Booker.”

“Her name’s Gwen, jerk,” she said frowning.

Gwen, well that was one question answered.

“Sorry, I didn’t know,” he said trying to stay polite.

“Your kind never does,” Kate snorted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zach questioned darkly.

“You’re so wrapped up in your own world girls like Gwen don’t even register,” she scorned crossing her arms.

“Then why would I ask about her?” he asked annoyed.

“Most likely because you heard a rumour, noticed I’m the only one who talks to her and came here to confirm your suspicions,” she replied dramatically.

“Rumour?” he said confused.

“Don’t act innocent,” she barked. “Yes, she’s a Hex okay, is that what you wanted to hear?”

“I was already aware of that,” Zach said calmly.

“So, you’re bothering me just for the hell of it?” she asked cocking an eyebrow.

“No,” said Zach patiently. “I told you I want to know more about her.”

“Why?” Kate asked suspiciously. “What has you suddenly so interested, if this is some kind of joke I’m not laughing.”

She stepped forward threateningly with her fists lowered, but tightly clenched, convinced he was lying when a kind voice called out, “What’s going on here?”

Gwen Booker walked up to them with her right hand in her pants pocket and her left dangling safely at her side.

“This jerk’s been asking questions,” said Kate quickly.

“Really?” she asked turning her eyes toward him.

She had small scratches on her chin from the fall, but they were clean and dry, nothing worrisome.

“I didn’t want to talk to you without knowing your name,” he explained, adding, “Gwen.”

Her smile widened, but her eyes were what grabbed Zach’s attention. They had a glow he had never seen before, maybe it was because she was a Hex.

“I’m flattered, most people don’t bother,” she said.

“Gwen, why do I have the feeling you’re hiding something from me?” Kate asked staring at her friend.

Gwen’s smile changed from cheerful to guilty in a flash, when she shifted her bandaged hand Kate groaned.

“Oh no, you took the hit for him,” she hissed, pointing. “That’s such a waste of an injury.”

“Katie, be nice,” Gwen said fairly.

“Why should I?” she asked pouting. “Don’t you know his parents are cops?”

“Family ties won’t help when you’re alone in an alley with a Hex like Fireball,” Gwen reasoned. “As much as I’d enjoy talking to you Zach I’m afraid you caught me on a bad day. Since this is my day off work I have chores to do at home, can it wait till tomorrow?”

“Oh,” Zach said surprised she knew his name. “Sure.”

“Thanks,” Gwen said happily. “Well Katie, unlike me you are due at work, come on.”

Gwen linked elbows with her best friend and guided her through the gateway.

She turned back momentarily, “See you tomorrow,” then continued down the sidewalk.

“You realize you’re giving him a chance to tell his family,” said Kate once they were out of earshot.

“True,” Gwen replied gently. “However, it is possible he’ll keep it a secret.”

“I just hope this doesn’t backfire,” said Kate nervously.

“Don’t you worry,” said Gwen pulling her closer. “I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

Dinner at the Wallace household that night was normal for everyone except Zach. His parents were discussing their cases, his older sister was complaining about life at the academy. Meanwhile he couldn’t get Gwen out of his mind. Was it simply that she had protected him or was there something else?

“Not in the mood for mashed potatoes, Zach?” his mother asked.

“Huh?”

Zach snapped out of his thoughts and looked at his plate, he had unwittingly created a large valley in the middle of his food.

“What’s the matter with you?” his sister Julie asked.

“I was just thinking,” he said spooning his potatoes back into a lump.

“Who is she?” Julie asked mockingly.

“It’s nothing like that,” he said irritably.

“Dork.”

Zach ignored her and turned to his parents.

“I’ve been wondering about the Hexes,” he said. “Have you ever heard of one Hex fighting another?”

His parents blinked with surprise.

“Not personally,” said his Dad. “Mind, I’m sure they get into arguments and brawls just like anyone else.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Zach with a sigh. “Has there ever been a Hex that fought other Hexes to protect regular people?”

You could have heard a pin drop after that question.

“What brought this on all of a sudden?” his mother asked.

“Just some rumours I’ve been hearing,” he said shrugging.

“What rumours?” Julie asked sceptically. “I’m not aware of any.”

“Your point would be?” Zach asked lightly.

“Can’t say I have,” said Mr. Wallace interrupting their bickering. “It would be a nice change though, when you consider the amount of damage Hexes cause in a week. Although, the Hex related crime rate has gone down over the past couple of years.”

“No kidding,” said Julie with a chuckle. “You should hear the stories from this guy in my class . . .”

Zach wasn’t listening, his parents were high on the chain of command at the Jett City Police Department if they hadn’t heard of such a thing, then nobody had. It made no sense, Gwen had done this before, her affiliation with his attacker made that clear. Why were there no stories about her exploits? This was just too weird.

Author's Note

I have no idea why the chapters always end up looking weird when I upload them, if you can see it please try to ignore it, if not pretend you didn't read this okay?

Reviews

[Calypso]

Another good chapter. Is this a fanfiction?

[YokaiShinigami]

I find this story to be most interesting. it has this tendency of just drawing me into it. Though a tad bit cliche (It's set up much like a rookie hero story), it's interesting nevertheless, and i find myself unable to keep myself from reading further

[Kira]

Alright, the absence of some commas made the text seem stiff, especially in the dialogue at the beginning. I might have been the only person to pick up on that, but I like my dialogue smooth and it's easily remedied.

Alright, Zach's found his mystery girl! What's next, I wonder?

[NinjaPi]

very interesting. lots more detail and much more feeling. Very nice and free of grammer and spelling errors that i can see. Very nice.

[Kanattas Atir Enomo]

reallly captivating Emi. this is one story that has me hooked. I love the whole concept and that slight air of mystery that surrounds Gwen