Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 1 - The First Day of School - VI

  The gym teacher let her sit out the rest of the class inside, away from the rest of the students. They'd chalked it up to nerves or something. She didn't really hear the explanation. They told her she wasn't in trouble and that the boy was totally fine, so no harm no foul. Still, Natalie couldn't bring herself to face the whole crowd after that. She went into the locker room to sit alone for a while, then changed back into her school clothes.

  She had lunch next. She didn't feel like braving the cafeteria. Instead, she found her way to the nearest bathroom. She double checked every stall, then took the one at the end and closed the door. She sat down on the top of the seat and pulled her legs up so she couldn't be seen.

  At least I don't have to worry about anyone seeing my purse. She lifted her perfectly intact lunch out and began eating in silence. Lily had made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As typical as you could get, but Natalie appreciated it. It comforted her more than Lily could know. Natalie finished eating without a single person coming in, and sat there for a while, replaying the incident on the field in her head over and over, mixed in with the memories of home. She shuddered.

  Stop it. This isn't helpful. She didn't know what else to do though. Was lunch over yet? She decided to just head to her next class and hope it almost was. Natalie tried to clean her face up before she set off, and when she glanced in the bathroom mirror she thought she'd done pretty well. She could tell she'd just been crying, but she doubted anyone else could. When the bell finally rang, she was already halfway there, just as the first few began to emerge from the cafeteria or outside.

  Of course, she was only one minute into the classroom when Quinn strolled right by her desk and stopped suddenly, looking at her face. His eyebrows creased up, and she knew he'd noticed. "I'm okay," she whispered.

  "Do you want to go take few minutes? I'm sure it'd be okay. I can explain it to the teacher."

  "No, please," Natalie said. Anything but that. I don't want to stand out more than I already do. "I'm good," she added, with the best fake smile she could muster.

  His brow stayed creased, but he nodded slowly. He pointed at the chair next to hers. "You cool if I take that seat, then? No assigned seats in this class."

  Natalie felt a real smile start to replace the fake one. "All yours."

  To her great relief, he didn't ask what had happened. She'd tell him later probably, but she didn't want to relive it right away. But then, maybe he'd hear about it from someone else first. He might be told how she freaked out and flipped a guy over in football. They still had time before the bell, and no one else was sitting very close.

  "Hey," she started.

  "Yeah?"

  "I kinda... nothing." She chickened out at the last second.

  He glanced over, wiggling his eyebrows. "I kinda nothing all the time. It's my specialty."

  She laughed. His expression was ridiculous. "Thanks."

  "For nothing? Anytime."

  A few other kids sat down near them, ending her chance at any more private conversation. She looked down at her notebook and smiled to herself. Quinn seemed like a pretty cool kid. He was nice, and funny, and actually kinda cute too. She was glad she'd met him so soon. Her school life was looking up already.

  "No way, you went there?"

  A conversation behind them was heating up. Quinn seemed to be preoccupied with something on his calculator. As she glanced over, she realized it was a game. He'd snuck a game in on his calculator to pass the time in math class. She'd have to ask him how. It'd be better fidgeting material than risking more magic or fiddling with things in her purse all day.

  "Totally did."

  "I thought was off limits still!"

  "They haven't found shit in four months now. No one really cares anymore. We just walked right in over the border, me and my big brother."

  Natalie tensed up again, realizing what they were talking about. Four months ago, closed off area. It could only be one place.

  "So is it really full of ghosts?"

  "Nah, just a bunch of burned down buildings. That big library is super spooky though."

  "Did you go inside it?"

  "No duh!"

  "Were there bodies everywhere?"

  "No, idiot, they cleaned those up in the first couple days."

  "Aww, that would have been so cool."

  Natalie's pencil snapped in half with an audible crack between her index and middle fingers. She froze in panic, not daring to move a muscle. The conversation behind her didn't pause for a second. They hadn't noticed her slip up. She breathed a silent sigh of relief, slowly glancing around again.

  Quinn was looking at her with those inquisitive eyes again, half-visible behind the reflected light in his glasses. His brow furrowed up. "Hey Jenny, you okay?" he murmured.

  "Why wouldn't I be?" Natalie asked in a low voice, but her tone didn't even convince herself.

  Quinn nodded slightly down at the snapped pencil on her desk. "You, uhh, broke your pencil there."

  "Oh." Natalie hadn't realized she'd still put some magic into her hands, flickering just underneath her skin like tiny embers. Was it leftover from the football field, or was it a reaction to the conversation about her home? Why didn't she get tired when she did spells like that for so long like everyone else did?

  What had Quinn noticed?

  The bell rang to start the class, saving her from having to answer him. Natalie stared determinedly at her notebook, while echoes of Kendra and Lily's voices bounced around her head. I have to be normal. I can't be noticed. Being noticed means people paying attention to me, and people paying attention to me means they might find out who we are.

  If anyone discovered who she was, Natalie Hendricks was in very big trouble.