Dominions

Chapter 6: Judah

 "Alright, settle down, please be seated," Mr. Ross commanded to the class as he walked into the room. "We need to get started and take attendance. Mr. Alamas?"

Judah tuned out the droning of names and began to scribble in his notebook. He drew a stick figure slipping on a banana peel when he heard the door open.

"Ms. Cardona-"

"Sorry I'm late. It's my first day and I had some registration stuff I needed to finish up."

Judah looked up at the door to see the girl from this morning standing there. She looked nervous, but upon seeing Judah her expression softened. Mr. Ross smiled and motioned for her to come in. She walked slowly to the front of the class and stretched her hand out. "Selena Conchos."

"Ah, yes," said Mr. Ross. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Conchos. Please find a spot anywhere you see open."

Judah looked over to his right and left and thanked his lucky stars that the desk next to him was open. He imagined that Selena had the same thought because she came and sat right next to him.

"Are you stalking me?" he asked her flirtatiously.

"Yeah," said Selena. "Something about the way you knocked my things out of my hand earlier just really stuck with me."

She averted her attention back to Mr. Ross who continued to work his way down the attendance list. "Oh, and happy birthday, Ms. Conchos," congratulated Mr. Ross with a smile. "Mr. DiMarco? Oh, that's weird," Mr. Ross said. "It's also your birthday. Now that I'm looking at it, we have five birthdays here today! What are the odds of that?"

"That actually is weird," said a girl from the very back row. Judah recognized her as Elle Mayweather, the mayor's daughter. Her sandy blonde hair was tied back into a messy bun, and she gave Judah a pleasant smile when she made eye contact with him.

"Quick, let's trace back nine months and see when our parents banged it out," said Asher Kidd, resident bad boy, and class clown. He had his feet popped up on the desk and a toothpick dangling out of his mouth. His shaggy brown hair fell into his face and he swooped it out of his eyes.

"Not an image I needed of my parents," said Jayden Moore, the baseball star. Judah wouldn't be surprised if he made it to the major leagues. His presence alone was enough to intimidate even the biggest of guys. Judah was just glad that he was never on the receiving end of a baseball bat.

Mr. Ross quickly got the class back on track after the distraction and passed out a form to fill out. Judah began to write his name on the paper and read question number one when a strange presence made him feel uneasy.

Judah. Called a voice. He turned his head and looked at Selena who was concentrating on writing on her form. He shook his head and thought he must have heard something, and then began to fill out the question when the presence came back.

Judah. Judah, can you hear me? Judah!

Judah knew he wasn't imagining the voice this time. He couldn't help but think that it sounded oddly familiar. He closed his eyes and focused, trying to allow whatever it was he was hearing to speak again. He squinted his eyes, and suddenly Judah felt the room begin to spin. His eyes opened to the world around him vibrant in colors. The people he was sitting next to were no longer there, but blobs as Judah moved faster and faster in what felt like the teacup ride at the carnival.

Judah! Judah you can hear me!

The sound of the bell snapped him back into reality. He was no longer spinning in the room, but was sitting in his seat. His head was down, and Selena looked at him quizzically from her desk.

"Are you okay, dude?" she asked him.

"Yes," said Judah whose knuckles were white as they gripped onto the edge of the desk. 

At least I think I am.

"It's a great day here at J.P Adams High School!" said a voice over the announcements. "Welcome back after a beautiful summer break, and I hope that you're excited for another fantastic year! Remember kids, the annual bonfire is tomorrow night at Westfield Cove. Stop by, make a s'more, and a new friend!"

Judah tuned the announcements out and looked at Selena and smiled. She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Something you want to say?"

"Go with me to the bonfire?" Judah asked.

"I just met you. You could be an axe killer or something," she teased as she flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. Judah caught a hint of strawberries when she flipped her hair. He loved strawberries.

"I don't kill until at least the second date," Judah said, not feeling discouraged. Selena smiled at him and couldn't help but laugh. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Fine. I'll meet you there at eight," said Selena as she ripped out a piece of paper and jotted her number down for him. "Don't be late, birthday boy."

"Wouldn't dream of it, birthday girl."