Chapter 5- Cocky Avalon

     Lyra sat in her usual spot at lunchtime. She poked at her cold mashed potatoes and lump of meat. She had been pondering about the note the whole lunch period. She looked up and spotted Jace sitting off by himself with the other new kid. She still had yet to find out who he was. When the blond haired boy caught her eye, he smiled and waved at her. Lyra scowled and turned away. When she looked back up, she saw them murmuring to each other.

     I wonder what they’re talking about. She snorted. Probably laughing about that stupid note Jace gave me. Not feeling hungry anymore, she grabbed her trash and threw it away. As she headed back to her spot she saw that they had moved over there with her. Want to play the game huh? Fine. Let’s play. She sat down across from them and glared. Several people in the lunchroom noticed the rising tension and, hoping for another fight, decided to watch. Lyra was not interested in fighting today and judging by the laid back looks on their faces, they weren’t interested either.

     Lyra pulled the note out of her pocket and tossed it to Jace. “What’s up with this?”

     Jace didn’t even look at it nor did his smile falter. “It’s just a note. What’s the big deal about that?” Before Lyra could answer, he continued, “Lyra, this is my friend Avalon, we transferred here together.” He pointed to the blond haired boy with his thumb. “You both have the same last hours together, isn’t that great?”

     Good first move, but try and counter this. “Avalon? What kind of a name is that? Is he related to some pedigree stallion or something?” Now I got them.

     A devious look came across Avalon’s face. “Why thank you, I’m not sure about the pedigree part, but I’m definitely part stallion. It’s so nice of you to notice.”

     Darn it. Lyra met his gaze with a cold one. “What do you want?”

     Avalon thrust his hand out to her. “I simply wanted to be your friend. It’s very nice to meet you Lyra.”

     She just stared at it. “Does it look like I want any friends?”

     Just then, the bell rang and Lyra took off before they could ask her anymore questions. She plopped down in the seat of her Biology class and let out a sigh of relief. Stupid boys. What right do they have to…..to….. She growled and folded her arms over her chest, unable to think of an argument. Not one second before the bell rang; Avalon strode into the room and sat down at the only available seat. Next to her. She snorted and shifted her seat as far away from him as she could. He smiled and waved to her. Lyra stuck her tongue out at him.

     The teacher, Mr. Cardwell, got our attention by clapping his hands. “Alright everyone, get last week’s homework out while I take attendance,” he said before he sat at his computer and called out names.

     Avalon leaned a little closer to her. “Hey there.”

     “Haven’t you ever heard of personal space?”

     “Yes, that’s why I’m in yours. Am I making you angry yet?”

     She glared at him. “Are you trying to get me into trouble? Why on Earth would a pansy like you be trying to pick a fight with me?”

     He placed his hand on his chest, exasperated. “Harsh.”

     “Do you two have anything that you’d like to share with the whole class?”

     They both sat up straight. Before Lyra could make a retort, Avalon said, “No sir, we were just talking about how nice your tie was today.” He pointed a thumb in Lyra’s direction. “She was just telling me how sexy it looked on you.”

     Lyra scowled when she heard several giggles throughout the classroom. Mr. Cardwell didn’t look amused. “One more word from either one of you and I’ll give a detention slip.” With that, he made his way to the front of the room to start class.

     He put his arms around Lyra. “Of course we won’t have any more problem sir.”

     Lyra smacked his arm away and watched as Mr. Cardwell started to teach. Avalon was relentless. He slunk down in his chair and spread his legs wide apart. One leg was touching hers. She kicked him under the desk to try and get him to move it. Avalon smiled and moved it closer.

     “Will you move your leg?” she hissed.

     “What’s the magic word?”

     “Now.”

     “Wow, not exactly the word that I had in mind.”

     He did move his leg, but rested his arms on the desk. He spread them out so that they covered most of it. Lyra scowled when she found that she couldn’t out her own arms on the desk. Two can play at this game. She leaned back in her chair and spread her legs out. One of her legs was touching Avalon’s. He smiled, unfazed by her gesture.

     They only stopped touching when they stood to go get paper to take notes. When they sat down, Avalon snatched her pencil from her and started writing with it. She growled and snatched his. Just as she was about to write her notes, he snatched his pencil back and threw hers to the ground. She slammed her fist on the desk.

     “Will you cut it out!”

     “Is there something wrong Lyra?” Mr. Cardwell asked.

     Of course he’s going to get into my business. “No sir, I’ve got it.”

     Avalon chuckled. “She dropped her pencil because she got a good view of your butt just then, Mr. Cardwell.”

     The teacher glared at him. “Enough Avalon.”

     He held his hands in mock defeat before he took his own pencil and started writing. Lyra watched him out of her peripheral vision, when he reached for her pencil again she growled. He smirked and left her alone. At the end of the hour Lyra grabbed her stuff and bolted from the room. She raced down the hallway, trying to get away from him. When got into the safety of her economics class, she let out a sigh of relief. I never thought that I’d be this glad to be here.

     A set of books slammed down on a desk behind her. Without turning in her seat, she already knew who it was. Avalon. She groaned and slumped down in her chair. Why me? Much to her surprise though, Avalon didn’t bother her for the whole period. The class worked so efficiently that they were able to get their work done early. The teacher allowed them to spend the last few minutes to talk. A paper airplane landed in front of her. She rolled her eyes; she knew who it was from. She picked it up and opened it:

            Hey there,

        Just wanted to let you know that, well, it was fun hanging out with you today. Oh, by the way, before we get off topic, I’d just like to say that you don’t need to worry. Your spirit will be set free real soon.

           ~Avalon

     What the heck? This is just as weird as Jace’s letter. Before she could confront Avalon about it, the bell rang and he bolted from out the door. She crammed the note into her pocket, grabbed her stuff, and left the room.

*****

      Don’t turn down the trail. Don’t go into the woods. Don’t do it Lyra! A bead of sweat made it’s down her cheek. Her eyes darted to the opening in the undergrowth. It was invisible to all but her since she was the one who created it. It was only a few yards away now. She gulped. Don’t do it. Come on, all you have to do is walk by it. But something didn’t feel right in the pit of her stomach. She became increasingly uneasy as she drew nearer to it.

     Her heart thundered in her chest. She was getting nearer. Her instincts were screaming at her to go. They were saying that something’s wrong. She stopped only a foot away from it. Something was wrong. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The birds weren’t singing. The wind wasn’t blowing. It was dead silent. Her father’s warning echoed in her mind. But how can I stay away?

     Unable to restrain herself any longer, she dashed down the trail. Faster and faster she ran. The familiar fluttery feeling of her heart returned a she picked up speed. She felt light, she felt wild. She leapt into the air and twisted, landing in the same direction she was going in, without breaking stride. All of a sudden, she came to a complete and utter halt. There was still something wrong.

     Her little trail stretched out ahead of her, but there something wrong off it. She turned her head in the direction of the slow descending sun. There’s still something wrong. Without thinking, she headed in the direction. His part of the forest was new to her. While her legs itched to continue with her run, she knew better than to run in an unfamiliar area. She could break a leg or something.

     The further she went that way, the more her body shuddered. Not from cold, but from this strange new sensation of being watched. She constantly glanced up at the treetops to see if there was anyone watching him. She had never been nervous while she was out in the woods, but today she was. She almost didn’t recognize it when she wandered into the clearing where she found the strange wolf earlier.

    I was here before? Dang, I didn’t realize that this wolf was so far, yet so close to the school and my house. Her fingers brushed the scared earth from where the wolf struggled. A stick snapped from behind her. She swung around and scanned the tree line. Her spine tingled with uneasiness.

CRACK. CRACK.

          Her eyes fixed on the darkest part of the woods. Lyra’s eyes widened with fear when two men hobbled into the clearing swinging their guns and beer at each other. They shouted slurred words to each other. They stopped and stood frozen in their spots when they saw Lyra. They stared at her. She stared back. They whispered to each other for a moment, their eyes never looking away from hers.

     The idea of other people being this far back in the woods kept her frozen to her place. It seemed so strange and out of place to her. What purpose could these men possibly be out here for? Her face went from shock to anger. They are the ones hunting on our property. They’re the ones who set that trap to catch that wolf. She clenched her fists and went to confront them. One man raised his rifle, aiming it at Lyra. The other man tried to grab for the muzzle of the rifle.

BANG!

     Lyra screamed as the bullet zipped past her head. When she looked back at the men she saw them rushing toward her. Shaken up by her near death experience, Lyra turned and ran away. She crashed through the forest with branches slapping her face and thorns scratching her arms. She spotted a break in the trees and burst through it, Lyra paused a moment when she heard the sound of rushing water. She didn’t know that there was a river in this part of the forest.

     At this point, she didn’t care either. She could hear the men’s distant shouts from behind her. She leapt into the water and swam against the current. Her arms pumped through the fast flowing river. She was drifted down the stream a bit before she was finally able to reach the other side. Tossing her soggy backpack into the bushes to keep it from weighing her down, she stood on shaky legs and took off into the woods. Her thoughts were clouded with only the need to escape. She had no idea where she was now. Lyra looked up at the darkening sky. In that split second, she tripped over a stump and cracked her head on a rock and passed out.