Chapter Two

We stare. That’s all either of us can do. Tanner doesn’t question me—which I appreciate—but he seems to be at a total loss. The silence is unnerving and my panic begins to creep back in. I tell myself that I must be wrong. My eyes scour this unfamiliar girl for clues to discount my recognition, but everything is exactly right. Curly blonde hair spirals in perfect ringlets over her shoulders. Her green eyes stare, but at nothing in particular. The paleness of her skin convinces me she is about as outdoorsy as I used to be before moving to Grainer. Altogether, she is the definition of hauntingly beautiful.

And she is scaring any hint of logical thought right out of me.

“What do I do?” I whisper to Tanner.

He finally turns to look at me. “Do?”

“Yeah…do? Like talk to her, run, pretend she doesn’t exist? What should I do?”

“You should stay as far away from her as you possibly can,” Tanner says emphatically.

“But …”

Tanner shakes his head and starts dragging me away from the lonely girl. “Seriously, just stay away from her,” he says. “We have no idea what this might mean. She could be connected to what happened this summer, for all we know.”

“What?” I admit, this thing is pretty weird, but that just sounds ludicrous.

The firm hand on my back forces me even further away. “Arra, I’m not taking any chances with your dreams, and neither should you.”

“But what if it’s nothing, just a weird coincidence?” I turn and look back at her. I frown at the image of her standing alone, staring off in the distance as if she is waiting for someone she knows will never arrive.

Tanner finally stops pushing and shoving. His eyes meet mine, filled with sincerity. “With you, Arra, there are no coincidences. If you dreamed about her, there’s probably a reason, but that doesn’t mean you need to get involved. Whatever is going on with that girl, it’s her problem, not yours.”

“What if she needs help?” I say quietly. The helplessness I felt when I was the one in trouble threatens to overwhelm me.

Tanner pulls me out of the flow of hallway traffic and corners me against a row of lockers. “Arra, please. I don’t want to even think about something happening to you. Please just stay away from her.”

His concern is hard to combat. “Fine, I’ll do my best, but this school is the size of a fishbowl. Chances are I won’t be able to avoid her for too long.”

“Just try, okay?”

I smile up at him, glad he cares so much. “I’ll try.”

The bell tears through the halls with its awful screech, pulling Tanner away from me. After making sure I know where my first class is, he sets off for his own. Because of the size of the school population, there won’t be too much variety in classmates. Surprisingly enough, though, Tanner only ended up in three of my classes. It’s probably because we have different tastes in electives. My bid to convince Tanner to take Spanish, Graphic design, and beginning art didn’t pan out as well as I hoped it would.

What I’m not looking forward to is sitting through classes twice as long as usual. At my old school, I had seven to eight classes every day. Here, I will only have four, but they will be twice as long. Tomorrow, I will have four new classes, and then back to the original four. A lot of the teachers here double up on subjects and it’s easier for them to switch every other day than every fifty minutes.

I try to put the blonde girl and my strange dream out of my head entirely as I head into my first class. Remembering my first day at high school back in Manhattan and the anxiety it induced, I’m glad to walk into a classroom of familiar faces. Dani has a seat saved for me by the window and I head in her direction.

When I reach down to get a notebook out of my backpack, I’m not expecting a pair of legs to come barreling by at the same time. I’m too slow. One of the legs connects with my head and knocks it into the desk behind me. The legs are gone an instant later and I sit up rubbing the side of my head. Annoyed, I look back to see who forgot their manners over the summer, but all I glimpse is the unfamiliar backside of someone in a grey canvas jacket hustling to the back row.

“Good morning, class,” the teacher at the front of the room calls out. I recognize him as Mr. Harrington. His easy smile puts the rude guy in the back of the classroom out of my mind. “It’s nice to see everyone again. I hope you all had a nice summer and are ready to get back to work. We’ll be studying U.S. history post 1865 this year. We will be covering everything up to World War Two this semester, so your mid-term projects will be to choose an invention created during this time period and explain to your classmates how it impacted daily life.”

Nobody complains about the project, and even I think it sounds pretty interesting. I figure I can get some first-hand help with this from my grandpa. He’s always happy to tell stories, and as long as they have nothing to do with Aztec curses, I’m happy to listen.

As I spend the next hour and a half in history class, I realize my grandpa isn’t the only one who likes to tell stories. I am absolutely captivated by Mr. Harrington’s lecture. Even calling it a lecture is an insult. It’s a story. He tells us about the aftermath of the Civil War and how difficult it was for a country to begin rebuilding itself as if he experienced it. He knows every detail and somehow manages to tell us about the reconstruction of the South and make it seem more like we’re watching a movie about it.

I’m not the only one caught up in his story. The whole class is glued to his every word. When the bell rings, almost the entire class jumps. Even Mr. Harrington looks startled. He seems disappointed for class to be over. I think he could spend the entire day talking about history. The funny thing is, I think the whole class would be willing to sit and listen.

I completely forgot when I sat down that I needed to ask Dani a question about the party this weekend. When I look up, I realize she has already taken off. I see her retreating form escaping through the door too late to get her attention. After gathering up my own things, I follow suit.

As I walk down the halls, I keep an eye out for the locker I was assigned, but have yet to set eyes on. I’m so distracted by my hunt that I block out the other students crowding in the narrow hallways. All I care about is the fact that my backpack weighs a ton and I can’t wait to give my shoulders a rest. Only a few feet from my next class, I see it. Sighing with relief, I set to work trying to open the combination lock.

Deciding that I would make a horrible thief after finally getting my locker open on the fifth attempt, I drop my backpack to the ground and start unloading the pounds and pounds of school supplies my mom insisted I would need today. I don’t know what she was thinking, because all I really need are a binder and some loose leaf paper, but I didn’t want to stomp on her motherly kindness.

I stand up with a bag that is about twenty pounds lighter and turn toward my next class. My view is immediately blocked by the canvas jacket-clad guy from this morning. Irritated that he didn’t even bother to apologize after ramming into me, I fold my arms across my chest in silence. His molasses colored hair and classic good looks don’t faze me at all. Neither does his robin’s egg blue eyes.

Canvas Boy only grins at me. “You don’t look familiar, and since this is a ridiculously small town, you must be either the new doctor’s kid or the mystery girl no one seems to know anything about.”

“Hey, Arra!” Dani calls out as she rushes down the hall. “You’re still coming to the party on Friday, right? I thought I heard that your brother had to postpone his trip for a couple weeks.”

Trying not to dwell on the fact that I won’t be seeing David this weekend like I had hoped, I say, “Yeah, I’ll be there. Do I need to bring anything?”

“Some of your mom’s cookies,” Dani calls out with a grin before disappearing around a corner.

Her request makes me laugh. Tanner isn’t the only one who has come to love my mom’s cooking. I think her delectable treats are half the reason I get invited places. I turn away from Dani and find myself once again confronted with Canvas Boy. He waits expectantly for me to answer his earlier question.

“I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count,” I say, a touch of sarcasm edging my words.

If he hasn’t pinned it down after my quick conversation with Dani, he’s welcome to stew over it all day. My head still hurts from whacking it on the desk, and as I reach up to rub it, I feel a knot behind my ear where it hit. Great. I grab my bag and try to step around him. He blocks me once again.

“It’s nice to meet you, Arra,” he says cockily.

I roll my eyes and again try to get around him with no luck. He looks at me as if I should have something to say. I’m not in the mood, so I just stare at him.

“You’re not going to ask who I am?” His smile is very irritating.

“I don’t care who you are,” I say, already tired of this conversation. “I already met everyone else over the summer, and since no one even bothered to mention you once, I figure I’m not missing out on much.”

Especially not after the lump he gave me without so much as an excuse me or an apology.

After that comment, the last thing I expect from him is to bust up laughing. “I like you,” Canvas Boy says when his chuckling dies down. “I heard you were from New York, so I guess I should have expected some attitude, but I was not expecting so much sass.”

“Sass?” I say. “What century are you from?”

“Well, you are living in the real life version of Mayberry, Miss Arra. What do expect?” he mocks.

“For this being Mayberry, you sure don’t have the charm or manners of Andy Griffith.”

He shakes his head at me, laughing again. “You may be right about that, but I have never claimed to be Andy Griffith. My name is Sebastian Wallace, but most people call me Bas.”

Bas. I cringe as the name rings a bell. This can’t possibly be Tanner’s best friend.

Bas steps forward, no doubt basking in my embarrassment. “I’m guessing that look means you have heard my name before?”

“So what if I have? It doesn’t change the fact that you ran into me this morning and made me hit my head on the desk behind me without bothering to say you were sorry and you pop up in front of me like I should stop everything I’m doing just to talk to you.” I take a firm step back from him. “I don’t care if this is Mayberry or New York. I have to get to class. Would you please just get out of my way?”

Bas bows out of my way dramatically, and I finally manage to step around him and dart into class. I am so annoyed and over this whole day that I drop into the first seat I see without bothering to look around. I roll my eyes when Bas walks in right behind me and slides casually into the seat across from mine. Of course.

My day only gets worse when my science teacher, Mr. Davis, hands out a packet of chemistry worksheets and tells us to get into groups of three to work on it. Trying to avoid Bas, I turn away from him in search of willing group members and find myself face to face with the blonde from my dream.

She seems startled at my abruptness, but asks, “Wanna be in a group?”

I nod wordlessly and slide my desk toward hers. Like fingernails on a chalkboard, the sound of Bas dragging his desk into our circle sets my last nerve on edge. I am determined not to let him see how much he is bothering me, though, so I plaster on a polite smile and turn back to my original group member.

“I’m Arra. What’s your name?”

The girl’s eyes dart around before answering. “Sibeal Ahearn.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sibeal. I’m new in town, too.”

“Really?” she asks quietly. “It’s seems like you already know everyone.”

I laugh. “Yeah, well you’ll know everyone by the end of the week, too.”

Sibeal’s head turns toward Bas as he flops into his chair. His grin seems to be a permanent fixture. “I’m Bas,” he says. He extends his hand to Sibeal, waiting patiently as she hesitates, and then takes it. “Sibeal, that’s an Irish name, isn’t it?”

The smile his question inspires makes Sibeal look even prettier. “Yes! How did you know?”

“My mom’s Irish. Most of her family is still in Ireland. We visit them every summer, and I remember hearing that name before. It’s nice.”

“Thanks,” Sibeal says shyly.

Bas begins asking her about her family, where they’re from, and if she’s ever been to Ireland herself. When she nods that she has, he fills the silence talking about his summer trip. Her shyness and hesitancy remain, but he manages to draw out a smile and take away some of her nerves.

I am amazed that Bas can be so sweet to Sibeal after having just been so rude to me five minutes ago. I’m still irritated at him, but I am big enough to admit that it was nice of him to be kind to Sibeal and help her feel more at ease. She suggests we start working on the papers we were given and surprisingly enough, we all work together without a problem.

The sound of another obnoxious bell breaks up our circle. Bas picks up the worksheets and taps them into a neat stack, scribbling all three of our names on the top page.

“So, Sibeal, has anyone mentioned the party this weekend yet?”

She shakes her head quickly, as if the idea of a party is terrifying.

My insides squirm at the idea of spending too much time with Sibeal before I can figure out what my dream meant, but I hate the idea of her reverting back to the sad, lonely girl I saw this morning. Shoving away my fears, I say, “You should come. Literally everyone else from our grade will be there. Dani hosts a back to school party every year. They have a big barbeque, silly games, and a movie out in her backyard. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“I don’t know,” she says slowly.

“If you need a ride, either me or Arra can pick you up,” Bas says. He turns to me with a playful smile that makes me want to roll my eyes again. “Or we can all ride together.”

“Thanks,” I say not at all sweetly, “but Tanner was planning to pick me up. He is my boyfriend, after all, as I’m sure he mentioned.”

For some reason, Bas smiles like he’s suddenly morphed into a Cheshire cat. I watch him warily as he turns to look at the other side of the classroom. My stomach drops when I see Tanner watching us with a frown. Oh no! I completely forgot we had this class together.

“Just let me know if you change your mind,” Bas says, still grinning. “Either of you.”

I look back at Tanner, knowing I am in trouble for the second time today.