Flashback

Chapter 15 of Love from Above

I blink, confused, as I look around at the faces of my old classmates. Nobody seems to see me standing at the front of the classroom, as if I’m a ghost. I see myself, or at least a past version of me, in the back row jamming out on my iPod. Across the room I see Libby doing the same. I chuckle to myself, already so alike even though we hadn’t met yet. Our teacher, Mr. McCoon, barks at us to shut off our music. I roll my eyes and put my iPod in my backpack. Libby doesn’t seem to hear him and continues rocking out. McCoon pops out his blonde wings and flies up to perch on her desk. He unplugs her iPod from the headphones and drops it into her backpack.

 

“iPod off,” he says sarcastically sweet.

 

He sets the class to work on an essay about guardianship. As past me is getting my laptop out of my bag, ghost me notices Mr. McCoon on the golden telephone, a telephone used to contact guardians. I don’t hear what he says, but a few minutes after hanging up, Janie walks in the door wearing her white with gold embroidery guardian robe. She walks over to the teacher who gestures to me and Libby.

 

“Kelsey, Libby, front and center,” he snaps. We both jump guiltily and fly down to stand in front of him. We share a look of confusion mixed with dread.

 

“This is Janie. She will be your new tutor, as well as zoo keeper,” McCoon says with acid in his tone, waving us off dismissively.

 

“Why? What did we do?” Libby asks in an annoyed voice, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

“You two hooligans need to be straightened out,” he barks. We fly back to our desks to get our stuff grumpily. Then Janie leads us out of the room to a private study room.

At first, Libby and I are reluctant to learn from Janie. Soon, though, we are all talking like old friends. She makes learning the basics far more fun than the Coon ever did.

 

Time seems to move at double speed through our years spent together.

 

***

 

Watching our instant connection reminds me why we really have become like family. The memory fades and I find myself back in the passenger seat of Jeremy’s car. I look at the clock on the dash. Not even a minute had passed. We were still in the parking lot of the police station.

 

“Hey, my dad is going out of town for a night. Would you like to come have dinner with my mom, sister, and me tomorrow night?” Jeremy asks.

 

“Of course,” I say smiling. No dad means it will actually be a pleasant evening. Jeremy smiles back as he pulls into my driveway. I lean across the center console to plant a kiss on his lips.

 

“See you tomorrow,” I say, stepping out of the car and giving him a little wave.

 

“Can’t wait,” He replies, giving me another smile that melts my heart.