Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

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

  She only had one more class before the end of the day, and luckily Quinn wasn't in it. She managed to get through it without another terrifying flashback or magical incident, while the teacher talked excitedly about science and experiments. She didn't even feel the urge to fidget through the entire class, which was a welcome relief from her usual tics.

  The day ended and Natalie headed for the street as quickly as she could, while most kids started loading up into the bright yellow school buses. Natalie couldn't take one of those, as she wasn't going anywhere near the district. She'd be taking a city bus again, but for extra safety she'd also be starting from a stop further away from the school. She left the school grounds on her own and started down the sidewalk, as brisk as she could without breaking into a full on run. Running looks suspicious. Running calls attention to me. Walk, don't run.

  Of course, since she was only walking, she hadn't gotten far enough away from the school before other kids who lived close had caught up to her. Natalie did her best to ignore them, though a few tried to say hi to the new kid, or pointedly talk about her from a distance and see if she'd respond. They all split off in the end, except for one.

  Of course Quinn would be one of the kids who walked home. And of course he would happen to walk home in the same direction as her. Natalie tried to speed up, but Old Man Boris' instructions had been super specific. She did not run, and that gave him all the time in the world to catch up.

  "Hey, Jenny!"

  She slowed down. Trying to ignore him would only make things worse, when he already suspected something. She put on her smile and waited for him to catch up. "Hi, Quinn."

  "You live out this way too?"

  "No. I'm just going to the bus stop. Down on uhh... the one with the 7-Eleven. I live on..." she trailed off, not sure how to answer. Luckily, Quinn saved her the effort.

  "You just moved, didn't you?" He grinned. Natalie just kinda gazed back at him. In truth, she couldn't remember the name of the street because she didn't live there. That was just where she was supposed to go after school. Their actual house was... somewhere else.

  "Yeah, totally did." She looked around, then quickly crossed the street with Quinn at her heels.

  "Wanna walk home together then? I actually just live one street over."

  "Oh. Sure, I guess." She'd probably be overjoyed, if she didn't have a snapped pencil in her pocket and no actual home address to go to. "Thanks."

  "Anytime."

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, Natalie feeling increasingly uncomfortable. It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with him, but she didn't know how much she could say. She wasn't Old Man Boris. She hadn't lived this life for decades. How was she supposed to just lie about everything to everyone she met? Nobody could keep that up.

  "Look," Quinn started, and Natalie snapped.

  "A boy was running at me and I kinda flipped him over and hurt him and everyone freaked out. Then I was hearing them talk about Rallsburg and about the bodies and stuff and it was so terrible and I freaked out again. I didn't mean to."

  Quinn's mouth was stuck open for a few moments. "Oh."

  "Yeah," Natalie said, looking down at the ground.

  "Well, I don't know if this makes you feel any better, but the guys want you to join the football team now. Not that you're allowed to," he added hastily. "It's a boys-only thing, even if you could probably beat most of them."