Braydie

School was not a big deal. I was pretty much invisible to my peers, and I liked it that way. It helped me to follow Rule #2: Blend In; no problem, since I look like your average kid, and there’re about a billion of them floating around at South Glen.

                South Glen itself is something you would more than likely find in a movie like The Stepford Wives. It’s pristine, collegiate, and only most worthy students go there. I attend because Barrick pulled some strings when I was ready to transfer out of junior high. My grades helped a lot in getting me in, and with the exclusivity I couldn’t understand how the administration had lost my documentation.

                When I got to school the next morning, it was teeming with life; more so than usual. There was a sizable crowd near the street, across from the main entrance. I wondered for a moment if there had been a fight and thought for a moment that I might go over and see who was getting pummeled. But the collective haze of Auras around the crowd was that of excitement and anticipation, not blind animal instinct that had just rushed to the scene of action. Something more in-depth was happening here.

                Curious, I walked over to the crowd and looked over some of their shoulders. Most of the crowd was guys, but a few girls were nearer to the long black car that had pulled up next to the curb. I wondered for a moment if someone had rented a limo as a joke; trying to raise a little ruckus. But the excitement in the air was real.

The Auras around me were riddled with yellow anticipation. They knew who was in that car, and they really wanted to see that person. More than anything they’d wanted in a long time. When the drivers’ side door opened, a few of the girls shrieked. This alerted several other people around campus that something was going on, and suddenly bodies were swarming all around me. I felt a little dazed as the bright colors swirled around me in a Technicolor cloud; I pushed out of the throng to the outskirts, near the sidewalk. I didn’t want to go back into that mob, but the mood was contagious, and my curiosity was piqued more than ever.

                The driver had fought against the adolescent crowd, and had opened the rear passenger door, giving full view to those in the front of the mob of the occupant. A lot of people gasped, and all but a few girls were screaming in excitement. The noise grated on my ears, and I considered ducking into the safety of the school, but I doubted it would be safe for long, especially when the mob began to converge around the moving occupant of the car. The group was moving up the sidewalk, toward me.

                As if it were a dream, as they came upon me, the kids opened their excitable ranks and I had a front-row seat to what was causing all the excitement. My peers were literally jumping around me like monkeys, a few had cameras and the flickering flashes were momentarily blinding; only for a split second, but long enough for the brief glimpse of the mysterious visitor.

                It was a girl; an amazingly beautiful girl with flowing brown hair, green eyes, and a lilac colored Aura that flickered on her skin like sunlit water. Between the flashes of blue light behind her, she turned her head and her emerald eyes settled on me. In that split second, her lips curved upward and she winked.

                I forced my Aura to be still. It wanted to fly right off my skin in a rage of umber, displaying my feelings to the entire world. That girl, whoever she was, was amazing. Mesmerizing. I wanted to follow her into the school like a drunken puppy dog. I controlled myself. I took a deep breath and waited for the crowd to disappear into the school.  I knew I was smitten, I could feel it threatening to smother my calm demeanor, and every time I thought of it, my Aura would cloud into a strange puke-green of utter confusion.

                I found it hard to concentrate that morning. Every time I had a spare moment, I would zone out and picture that amazing face that had captured my mind so completely. Her eyes had been unlike anything that I had ever seen. They were so perfect, that just being seen by her made me feel refreshed. I saw her once again before lunch, when she and her mob of now nearing fifty rolled down the hall between classes, and once again, she turned her head in my direction, though I couldn’t see her face for all of the people around her.

                An announcement came over the loudspeakers a few minutes later that if the ‘mega-clique’ didn’t break up immediately, security would be strictly enforced. That was when I heard her name; Braydie MacLeod. I was almost drooling when I suddenly snapped. I couldn’t do this. About a hundred other guys at South Glen were drooling over her already. I was supposed to be in control. I couldn’t let her, whoever she was, control my emotions. I took a deep cleansing breath and concentrated on my English homework.

                If a period of the day ever became physical, for me it was Lunch. Lunch Period 2 came and slapped me upside the head that day, when the newcomer ditched her mob and sat across the table from me and said aloud three little words.

                “You intrigue me.”

                It took everything I had to keep from either going into shock or laughing hysterically. I should have been shocked, because I hadn’t been able to keep this girl out of my head all morning, and here she was sitting in front of me in all her amazing glory, talking to me. By the same token, it should have been hilarious. I surprised myself by keeping my cool.

                “Why is that?” I asked her in all seriousness. I intrigued her? Who besides bookworms like Barrick even used that word?

                She flashed me a flawless smile, and my heart jumped. My Aura stayed a calm aqua color. With a blast of canary yellow, she said, “I’m Braydie MacLeod.”

                I nodded. “Yes, you are.”

                Her Aura wilted to a pale brown. “No, I’m really Braydie MacLeod.”

                No doubt she was gorgeous, but I had no idea if I should know her name or not. She acted as though I should. My confusion must have shown on my face, because her Aura wilted once more to a more annoyed color and her smile lessened considerably. “You really have no clue who I am?”

                Um, no.

                When I didn’t say anything, she kind of squinted at me and leaned forward. “Who are you?”

                It was at that instant that the goalie of the school soccer team, Lars Teague, walked up and collapsed casually next to the amazing girl. I was a bit annoyed, but hid it well; continuing to eat my lunch as though the conversation had never happened. Inside I was reeling.

                “Hey, Bray,” Lars said in his deepest voice, “I was watching you earlier and I figured you for a sushi kind of girl.”

                She gave him a once-over. “Really.”

                He gave her his award-winning half-grin. “What do you say? 7:30 tomorrow night?”

                Braydie ran her hand through her hair, giving me an intense whiff of strawberry shampoo. She then said matter-of-factly, “I’m a vegetarian. And I already have a date tomorrow night.”

                Lars glanced at me with a mild kind of malice. I couldn’t blame him. Everyone in the school district knew who he was, and I was one of a million nobodies. I perked up the tiniest bit when she said she had a date. She couldn’t mean with me, could she?

                Braydie gave me a smarmy smile, like she was expecting me to say something. I simply stared at Lars, at a loss for words. Lars’ usual calm demeanor exploded into a fiery forest green (jealousy). I almost cracked a smile at him. What was wrong with me today?

                “What you gonna do, watch a Star Wars marathon?” Lars asked me in a low voice.

                Typical that he would think anyone beneath him was an average nerd. And for some reason, there was a nagging feeling that started to tug at my stomach. I noticed that my Aura turned an interesting shade of indigo. I wanted to egg him on.

                “We might,” I murmured.

                  Braydie snorted back a laugh, and my heart soared for a moment. That she had laughed at something I had said made a tickly feeling rise up in my stomach. I felt as though I were on top of the world. Who was this girl who made me feel like this?

                Lars looked ready to kill, his Aura turning darker by the second. And then he suddenly straightened up and his Aura flickered and changed to a sky blue. He chuckled once without smiling, winked at Braydie, and walked off.

                I stared after him, wondering what on earth had come over him. I was interrupted by Braydie speaking to me. “So, what are we doing tomorrow night, maestro?”

                It caught me off guard. The first thing that came to mind was Barrick. He’d have a heart attack if I went on a date. The second thought was amazement that she had actually been serious. And she still was; she was staring at me expectantly.

                I shook my head. “Sorry. I have some things to do.”

                Braydie raised her eyebrows. “You do realize that I could have any guy in this city.”

                Oh, yes.

I cleared my throat: “You’re that special?”

                Her Aura darkened annoyingly, but she grinned in an almost admiring way. “Yeah, Mono. I’m that special.”

                “My name isn’t ‘Mono’.” I told her; I hadn’t even a clue what that meant, except the illness.

                Her Aura brightened back to a giddy yellow. “Hah! It might as well be. So what is your name?”

                “Flynn.”

                Her eyes sparkled. “Well, Flynn. Tell you what: how about you and I have sort of a mini-date? Say, this time tomorrow? Same time, same place.”

                And with that, she got up from the table and did an abrupt cartwheel in the middle of the South Glen cafeteria. When her feet hit the floor, she turned back and winked at me before flitting into a fresh crowd of admirers who were cheering her on.

                I had to find out who she was.

                The computer lab was open during the lunch periods, so I dumped the rest of my tray and ducked out of the lunchroom and into the hallway. The lab was pretty much empty, so I helped myself to the computers in the back of the room and logged into the internet. I’m not much at Googling people, but it was not hard to Google her. As soon as I searched for Braydie MacLeod, 20,000 links popped up, and right in the center of the page was an image of her. She had one hand in her tousled hair, and the other held a microphone that she was singing into, her eyes closed in the effort.

                She was a singer? I thought back to her voice and realized that yes; she did have the tone for a decent vocalist. I clicked on a YouTube link and jumped as a pumping bass busted out of the speakers. I slammed the volume button down and waited until it was quiet enough to not bother the entire tri-county area. I then sat back and listened, my awe growing with each word:

                When I first saw you,

                I knew it could be.

                When I said you were special,

                You said it was me.

                Before I was blue,

                But you gave me light.

                When I am with you,

                The world is so bright.

                Please don’t say it’s not right…

                ‘Cause it is.

 

                Say what you will,

                I’m a misjudger.

                Breaking my heart,

                Is a whole different color

                A seperate hue…

                Is my life with you.

 

                The loudspeaker shrieked on, and I jumped again at the sound of the announcers’ voice. It was a voice that would have made a Buddhist monk want to burn her at the stake. But it was more the message that got my attention.

                “Mr. Flynn Barrick, please report to the Administrative Office immediately. Mr. Flynn Barrick.”

                I looked up at the speaker that was mounted on the wall with a sigh. Really? I was listening to good quality music that was being sung by a girl who was intrigued by me. With a sigh, I turned off the computer and grabbed my backpack before starting on the long journey to Administrative Services.

                I didn’t think of it until I saw Barrick sitting in the lobby. Then I remembered Mrs. Forman’s regards toward my missing documents. I rolled my eyes as I seated myself next to Barrick. His Aura was irritable, so I didn’t say anything to him. My papers were in a file folder on his lap.

                “I had to close the bookstore for this.” He grumped.

                I gave him a small sympathetic smile. His bookstore, Aurora Books, was a safe haven for him during the day. A place where he and enthusiasts like him could hide out from the rest of the world. And no other occupation fit him better.

                “Why’d she call me?” I asked to no one in particular.

                Barrick laughed without smiling. “Administrators: they like nothing better than to take their fellow man and bend them to their will.”

                “I thought those were politicians.”

                His gruff exterior remained, but his Aura laughed at my joke. I watched it with a bit of enjoyment, since it had been a few days since Barrick’s Aura had showed an emotion that was even remotely optimistic. I figured it had to do with the statement from the bank that had come in for the mortgage of the bookstore, but I could’ve been wrong.

                Ms. Gill the receptionist walked into the lobby and asked us to please accompany her to Mrs. Forman’s office. Barrick’s mood turned grouchy again; I could hardly blame him. Mrs. Forman’s office was a formal space, with high-backed chairs and potted plants atop oaken shelves. A couple of books sat on top of her file cabinet; Barrick looked at them with disdain.

                “Mr. Barrick, how nice of you to join Flynn and me for this little conference,” Mrs. Forman said with a broad smile. Her Aura was cement; such a faker.

                Barrick shook her hand lightly, dropping it too soon. He sniffed and sat in one of the chairs facing her desk. “What exactly is the meaning of this conference?”

                Mrs. Forman looked a little taken aback by his lack of formalities. She gestured for me to sit in the remaining absent seat before taking her own. “We as the faculty were compelled to ask you and Flynn some pressing questions about…guardianship.”

                “Guardianship,” Barrick said with a steadily darkening mood. “You don’t think Flynn is my son?”

                “Mr. Barrick, that is not what we’re saying. It’s just that we all assumed you were the biological father, so certain documents were overlooked. However, we have discovered through interesting means that you are in fact the adoptive parent.” Mrs. Forman explained carefully.

                “And I suppose that these ‘interesting means’ won’t be disclosed?” Barrick gruffed.

                “It was an anonymous tip.” Mrs. Forman said cooly.

                Who on earth could have known I was adopted? According to my true adoptive parents, I had dropped off the face of the planet. Everyone else knew me as Flynn Barrick; no one could know that Barrick hadn’t actually adopted me.

                “Exactly what do you want, Mrs. Foleman?” Barrick asked bluntly.

                “It’s Forman, Mr. Barrick.” Mrs. Forman said with only a trace of annoyance in her voice. Her Aura remained a strange cement color, and I could tell that Barrick was watching her with the same analyzing eye.

                “Whatever.” He grunted.

                Mrs. Forman crossed her arms and gave us a pleasant smile. “All we want is a copy of the paperwork that you filled out when you adopted Flynn. We would have just contacted the adoption agency, but we don’t have the name of the institution.”

                I narrowed my eyes. “For school?”

                She fixed me with a subtle glare. “We are a high class educational institution. And unless your ‘father’ is simply illegally harboring a minor, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

                “That’s bogus.” I said in a loud voice, my Aura spiking into a lime green (panic).

                Barrick shot me a warning glance. “Flynn!”

                I sighed and slouched in my chair. “Sorry…Dad.”

                Mrs. Forman watched our exchange with some interest. “I see. Young man, this is not bogus. It is a problem that seriously needs to be addressed. Childhood Abduction in this city is at an all time high, and we need to be sure that there are no instances here at South Glen.”

                I scoffed. “I can’t believe this! I have a birth certificate for crying out loud, that my Dad signed!”

                Mrs. Forman looked surprised, Barrick’s aura pealed with laughter as he dangled said certificate in her face. For the first time, her aura changed. It went black as coal. Barrick suddenly became very serious. Their silent actions confused me utterly, but that was a conversation for later.

                Quickly, Mrs. Forman snatched the paper and scanned over it. “Well, Marcus. Where is your wife then?”

                “We were not married.” Barrick said, his annoyance at being called by his first name by a stranger rising to unhealthy levels. “Flynn was born out of wedlock.”

                Mrs. Forman raised her eyebrows. “I would still like to speak with her.”

                Barrick leaned forward. “I have not seen her in several years. We never kept up.”

                  Suddenly the period bell rang and Mrs. Forman straightened in her chair. “Very well. Thank you for your cooperation. I believe we will be seeing more of each other, Mr. Barrick; Flynn, back to class with you.”

                Barrick and I walked out of her office, and as soon as the door closed behind us, Barrick grabbed my arm and quickly steered me out of the lobby and into the courtyard. “Stay away from her.”

                I looked at him incredulously. “Stay away? She’s on the school board. I can’t stay away from her.”

                Barrick’s grip tightened, “Listen to me, boy. She is very dangerous. I don’t know who is controlling her, but they are trying to keep tabs on you.”

                I was confused. “Wait, what? Someone’s controlling Mrs. Forman? Who? How?”

                He waved his free hand in dismissal. “Tonight. We will talk tonight. But for now, keep out of her sight as much as possible.”

                With that, he let go of my arm and walked toward the waiting taxi; he had to get back to his bookstore, after all. I watched him until the taxi was out of sight. All of the sudden I felt a sudden prickling sensation on the back of my neck, as though I was indeed being watched. I shuddered and tried to shove the conversation to the back of my mind.

                I was late to class, and wouldn’t you know that all the seats were occupied except for one that was seating Braydie MacLeod’s bag. I had all but forgotten about her with the conference and all, but when I walked into fifth period English, there she was, waving at me.

                Trey Pope was sitting on her other side, and when he noticed she was waving at me, his guard went up. I apologized to the teacher for my tardiness and then set my emotion to my neutral blue hue while I stepped around desks until I got to the one that was the resting place of a green denim backpack.

                “I saved a spot for you.” Braydie said under her breath, winking at me.

                If she was trying to get me excited, she was doing an awesome job. My control was nigh unto perfect, and I made a mental note to brag to Barrick later after our talk. I nodded my thanks to her as she removed her bag, and I began to sit down.

                Suddenly I was shoved to the floor. Trey’s buddy Martin was standing over me with a smirk. “Sorry, kid. This was my seat.”

                I swallowed back my anger and got to my feet. Everyone was watching us, even the teacher. In fact, she seemed to be more intrigued than any of the other students. I looked Martin in the eye and said, “No, I’m sorry. Because I’m pretty sure you were sitting at the back of the room.”

                Martin leaned forward. “I was saving it for you, nark.”

                I decided to keep it peaceful. “Thanks. I like the back. Teachers don’t pay any attention to me back there.”

                “Who does?” Another girl piped in.

                The class erupted into titters, and the teacher asked me to please be seated so she could get the class started. I moved around Martin’s bulk and flopped down into his previous seat. He and Trey smirked in my direction, and Braydie looked a little annoyed. I still hadn’t a clue why a diva like her would even give me the time of day, when she should be dating some superstar. Hell, she was a superstar.

                The lesson was something about plagiarism. I didn’t listen. I was too busy thinking about Braydie and about Barrick’s assumptions about Mrs. Forman. Maybe Barrick was losing it. But then again, she had singled me out among all my classmates; and so had Braydie. Nothing about that day had made much sense.

                After the bell rang, Braydie was escorted out by her usual throng, though the group had lessened slightly. I waited until the class was empty before I started out. The teacher, Ms. Greene, stopped me before I got out of the classroom.

                “Are you okay, Flynn?”

                I was surprised that she even knew my name. “Yes. Thanks.”

                She smiled. “Be careful, okay? I don’t need one of my best students pummeled.”

                I nodded and ducked out of the classroom. I was glad that someone was vying for me. And the fact that I was someone’s ‘best’ made me feel a little better. The rest of the school day passed without a hitch, and I was able to do as instructed and stay under Mrs. Forman’s radar; though I still had no idea why.

Reviews

[Rose of Gondor]

I should be writing my own novel, but instead I'm reading yours. Your just THAT good!

[Jasmine Thousand]

Intriguining... O.o *reads next chapter*
~Jasmine Thousand~