Chapter Eleven

The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning was call Tanner. I’m not sure how much he actually heard as I had my phone on speaker and I was running around my room trying to get ready for school, but I think he got the main point. Sibeal is most likely a total crazy. I knew I risked him freaking out and demanding I bail before things get dangerous, but he actually handled it better than expected.

His response was that maybe Sibeal was being medicated now and whatever she was going through in the past was over. He thought that might be why Sibeal and her mom had moved here, to get away from any reminders of her past. I am hopeful that he’s right, but as I hurriedly eat my French toast I decide that watching Sibeal a little more closely than usual can’t hurt.

My first chance to follow up on this comes in my second hour class. The range of electives to take at this high school was pretty slim when I was registering for classes. Since shop and office assistant didn’t sound like something I wanted to sit through, I took a risk and signed up for a beginning art class. Tanner assured me the teacher was pretty relaxed and graded more on effort than drawing ability.

Normally, I sit across the room from Sibeal in this class, but since everyone is always up and down going for supplies or better light, the seating arrangements are pretty fluid. I trek across the classroom and slide into the seat next to her.

“Hey, Sibeal, how’s it going?”

She peeks out from under her long hair for a second before going back to her drawing. “Hey, Arra. I’m good. How’re you?”

“I’m pretty good. I haven’t seen you much since the party,” I say casually. Hopefully she doesn’t realize I’ve been avoiding her for the most part. “I just wanted to see how you’re adjusting. Are your classes going okay?”

She bobs her head. “Yeah, it’s good. I really like it here.”

“That’s good.” My brain tries to come up with something else to say to her. Since, are you some kind of unstable, magic using freak, doesn’t seem terribly friendly, I stick to class topics. “So, are you very good at drawing? Most of what Mr. Bell tells us to do makes no sense to me.”

Sibeal pauses, tosses her hair over her shoulder, and lifts her tablet of paper to show me what she has been working on. I try to keep my jaw from dropping as I stare at the flawless horse frozen on her paper. The beautiful white mare is splashing through the surf. Only a corner of the beach is still unfinished.

“Wow, Sibeal, that’s amazing,” I say.

She smiles, but ducks her head back down. “Thanks. I’ve been working on it for a while.”

I want to ask her more about where she learned to draw, but Mr. Bell comes in and starts class. We’re working on crosshatching today. I peak over at Sibeal’s drawing throughout class and marvel at how she manages to turn her little crisscrossing lines into an actual picture. Mine just looks like blotchy shadows. Tanner better be right about getting graded on effort.

As class finishes, I stuff all my art gear into my bag and hustle after Sibeal. She is patient while I ask her questions about her artwork. She even tries to explain some of the concepts Mr. Bell has been teaching that have gone right over my head. When she heads for the restroom, I follow.

Sibeal drops her bag against the wall and chooses the first empty stall she comes to. I am a bit more choosy. Casually, I slip into the stall that is directly in front of the mirrors, and then I take my time.

It’s no surprise when Sibeal finishes first. I try not to make it obvious that I’m watching her, but luckily Sibeal is too absorbed in washing her hands to notice. At first, I think nothing unusual is going to happen. She’s just washing her hands, although, that might be unusual depending on who you’re looking at. Thinking nothing more exciting than soap and water sloshing around will transpire, I start preparing to leave.

I stop in the middle of zipping up my jeans when Sibeal drops her paper towel in the waste basket and stares at her reflection. Her hands move up to press against the mirror. I can’t pinpoint what, but something about the movement seems off. I press my face closer to the crack between the door and the wall of the stall.

It’s so bizarre watching my dream come to life. Sibeal’s eyes reflect so much sadness, I can barely stop myself from running over and hugging her. Her glassy eyes stare back at the reflection like she thinks it will tell her the mysteries of the world. The agony she feels is reflected in her posture. I hold my breath as Sibeal pulls her hand away from the glass. She watches the reflection a second longer before turning away.

She’s the only one who does. I stumble back against the bathroom stall as Sibeal’s reflection stays where it was. The noise of me tripping snaps the reflection over to me, and I see in that brief second, the vileness of the crazy Sibeal from my dreams. My foot knocks into the base of the toilet and I barely catch myself before falling in. My elbow is screaming at me, though, after getting whacked on the porcelain.

“Arra, are you okay?” Sibeal calls out.

I groan, knowing she must think I’m the one who’s a nutjob. “Yep, fine. Just tripped on my …” I glance down, remembering that I wore my Tom’s today and don’t have any shoelaces like I was about to claim. “…on my own feet,” I finish lamely.

Sibeal chuckles softly. “Be careful,” she chides.

I push myself, and my flagging self-esteem, out of the stall and over to the sink to wash my hands. I try to act normal. I really try. When Sibeal walks toward me, I flinch.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks.

“Just embarrassed.”

We abandon the ladies’ room and head back to the main hallway. “I’ve got to drop some stuff off at my locker, but I’ll find you in a minute. I’m sure Bas and Dani are already in there.”

“Oh, sure.” When she turns around, I practically sprint for my locker. I know Tanner’s last class was clear across campus, so he’s usually a little late to lunch on B days. I hurry to dump all my art stuff into my locker and find my math book so I can snag Tanner before he makes it to the cafeteria. I am racing through the halls, but I barely manage to grab him before he hits the chow line.

Tanner stares at me with concern, but says, “Either you’re super happy to see me, or you and Bas just got in another fight.”

“Wrong on both counts.”

Tanner pouts, making him look so cute, but I don’t have time to enjoy it. “Sorry, I am happy to see you, but this is about Sibeal.”

Now Tanner is really paying attention. He pulls me away from the cafeteria doors. “What happened?”

“It was just like my dream!” I half whisper, half shout.

“Which dream?”

I shake my head and try to collect myself. “The first one. I followed Sibeal to the bathroom after class and I watched her from my stall, and it was so freaky! She stared at the mirror all weird like Dani said, and then when she turned away, her reflection stayed put! It scared me half to death and I tripped and nearly fell in the toilet …”

Tanner chuckles at that part, which I ignore.

“And, then…the reflection looked at me!” I squeak.

“It what?”

I pull him even farther away from the doors. “It looked at me!”

Tanner’s eyes dance around the hallway, as if Sibeal’s reflection has somehow escaped the mirror and come to find us. When his eyes finally make it back to mine, he looks appropriately freaked out. “What on earth is going on with her?”

“I don’t know, but it is seriously starting to weird me out.”

“No kidding. I didn’t even see it and I’ve got goose bumps.”

I press my hand into his and try to draw on his warmth. “What do you think it means?”

“I think it means it wasn’t medication that is keeping psycho-Sibeal from coming out to play. Something really strange is happening with her.”

“Do you think …” I trail off knowing what I’m about to say will sound really stupid. Although, I just told Tanner that Sibeal’s reflection looked at me, so how crazy can it really sound? I try again. “What if it has something to do with that shadow soul thing? Maybe she used whatever weird power she has to, I don’t know, lock up her shadow soul?”

Tanner just shrugs. “I really have no idea. At this point, I think you could tell me it was the Easter bunny and I’d have to admit it was a possibility.”

“Could her shadow soul be sentient enough to actively send me the dreams?” I wonder.

“I don’t know, Arra. Maybe.” He sighs and presses his lips to my temple. “But if that’s true, helping her doesn’t sound like a good idea. I don’t think anyone wants to set loose Sibeal’s alter ego.”

He’s completely right about that. The evil look in nasty-Sibeal’s eyes is more than enough to make me believe in monsters under the bed again. I feel like we’re onto something, but once again, that strange sense that I’m not seeing all the pieces to this puzzle assaults me. I just wish I could figure out what I’m missing.

“Maybe I’ll try to talk to Kivera tonight. She might know something about these shadow soul things.”

Tanner shakes his head again. “This has got to be the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Ditto,” I say with a laugh. Although, I’ve had some doozies of conversations lately. It’s getting hard to compare them.

“Well,” Tanner says, “I’ll think about it during my next two classes. Eventually we’re going to figure this out, but for now, let’s go get some lunch and see if Sibeal does any other weird things today.”

When we grab our lunches and head for our usual table, part of me feels bad to see Sibeal sitting at the end not talking to anyone. The other part of me…well, it totally understands wanting to keep my distance. Dani is sitting as far away from her as possible and is chatting with Bas about something, probably the next class social event. Tanner and I sit down near Sibeal, though Tanner takes the seat closer to Bas.

“So, Arra,” Dani says as she leans around Bas, “the first official archery practice is going to be this weekend.”

“This weekend? But …”

She doesn’t let me finish. “Don’t worry, David can come. It’ll be fun for everyone to meet him. Plus, I heard he’s pretty hot.”

My nose wrinkles at her comment. I mean, sure David is handsome, but thinking about him like that is gross. I decide to refocus Dani. “What do you mean by official?”

“Well, official might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s the first practice where everyone who’s planning to try out for the team gets together to show off. You are trying out, right?” she questions.

My eyes dance between Bas and Tanner. The conflict seems to be gone, so I say, “Uh, yeah. Bas brought me the registration forms last night.”

Tanner looks over at me. “He did?”

“Yeah, he came by after you left. He said he was going over to your house next.” I glance over at Bas with narrowed eyes. If he didn’t apologize to Tanner like he promised, the ride to Portland is going to be very, very long.

“He did,” Tanner says, “he just didn’t mention he had seen you.”

“Anyway,” Dani interrupts, “we usually make a picnic out of it, so …”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I’ll see if my mom will make some treats.”

Dani isn’t the only one happy to hear that.

“Maybe we should do something Friday night, too,” Evan suggests. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a bonfire on the beach.”

Heads start bobbing around the table. I know Dani loves throwing bonfires as much as Evan, but her head stops bobbing as she turns to Bas. “Hey, what time are you and Arra getting back from Portland?”

Bas and I lock eyes, instantly realizing neither one of us told Tanner about the trip. Tanner isn’t usually the jealous type, but his fork stops before making it to his mouth. First, he turns to look at Bas. Bas’s mouth starts to open, but closes again right away. Tanner turns to me for answers.

“What trip to Portland?” he asks slowly.

“To pick up David.”

He leans in closer to me, no doubt hoping the rest of the table isn’t dead silent and intent on eavesdropping. Which they are. “And you’re going with Bas?”

“I didn’t really have a choice,” I explain. “My parents are both busy, but they won’t let me drive down by myself.”

“I could have …” He shakes his head as understanding dawns. “He said no, right?”

I nod quietly.

“But Bas?”

“He was there when my dad mentioned David coming home and he asked him. To be honest, I don’t even know if we’re going. Bas has to ask his parents first.”

Tanner looks up at Bas. “Did you ask them?”

“Yeah,” Bas says, “they were fine with it. Don’t worry, man, I’ll take care of her.”

The level of sincerity in his voice has an odd effect on the table. Most of the eavesdroppers seem to take that statement to mean the drama is over. Why not? If Bas says something will be alright, they trust him without a doubt. I, on the other hand, am having a hard time wrapping my head around this. Is he so concerned because he knows how much I mean to Tanner? It’s reasonable, but when he turns to look at me, I’m not so sure anymore. Tanner’s reaction surprises me the most. His easy grin returns and he reaches over the table to clasp Bas’s hand.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate you looking out for her.”

“No problem,” Bas replies.

I sit back in my seat, unable to say another word. That was the weirdest thing ever. I’m not sure whether to be insulted that Tanner isn’t concerned about me going on a road trip with another guy—his best friend, no less—or if I should take it as a compliment that he trusts me so much. What bugs me the most when I think about it is that it isn’t either one of those. It all has to do with Bas. Bas can do no wrong. He would never consider moving in on his best friend’s girlfriend. Nothing bad could ever happen when Bas is around. If Bas says it will be okay, then it will. It’s strange, and odd, and for some reason it really irritates me.