The Rockmore House

6 | No Place to Hide

I thought Eric had given up on trying to get my attention after I ignored his unwelcome gestures for a few days. He'd texted Hey I have a question for you once and I never responded. So I was shocked and annoyed when he surprise attacked me after school as I walked to my car.

"Hey Nessie!" Eric slowed from a jog to a walk beside me. "You never answered my text. I was wondering if you could help me with something. School-related," he clarified.

"I probably can't help you. You're the smartest person in our class."

"I need help with my Lit essays. You've gotten an A on every one."

"How'd you know that?"

"Sophie told me."

I grumbled incoherently as I walked to the nearest bench. Eric sat next to me and I noticed two junior girls eye us curiously as they passed. I thought about how I hated catching Eric watching me all the time, and smiled to myself as I realized that everyone else was watching him. Being well-liked, admired and attractive must suck sometimes.

"Okay, it's a pretty simple formula," I started to explain. "My brother was in his class a few years ago. He said Mr. Baer hates purple prose. That's like over-the-top descriptive writing, and using too many similes and metaphors that make no sense. You want to be descriptive without overdoing it. But the most important thing is to write about something personal and tie it into whatever we're reading."

Eric leaned forward to maneuver into my line of vision and I looked away.

"There's probably some deep reason for it," I rattled on, "like literature connects us to others and therefore connects us to ourselves. Or maybe Baer just likes to read about all of our secrets. Anyway, that's how you get an A."

"Why won't you look at me?" Eric asked.

Because he called me out it, I turned and directed my most dead-eyed stare at him. As usual, seeing his face made me deeply uncomfortable, but I tried not to let it show. Eric was the only person in the world who knew the worst and weirdest thing about me, besides Pete. I'd told Eric in all seriousness that I could time travel. He had to understand that I wanted to distance myself from him to avoid further embarrassment.

"Can I read yours?" he asked as I stood to leave.

"Um, no. Nobody's read them except for Baer."

"I want to see an example of what you're talking about. Come on, I've kept your secret so far, haven't I?"

Whoa. Was that a threat? I shivered.

"Are you okay? You're all white all of a sudden. Did you stand up too fast?" He jumped up and held my elbow to steady me.

"I'm fine." I pulled my arm out of his grasp. "It's fine. I mean, yeah, you can read them."

My heart was pounding. Maybe I did stand up too fast or maybe I was dehydrated. I grappled for my water bottle in my bag and took a sip.

But it was neither of those things that caused my reaction. It was the way Eric held my arm with that expression of concern and how it took me back to that night he pulled me out of the pool moments after I saw Pete for the last time.

"I don't have practice tomorrow because it's a game day. Can you come over after school?"

I nodded as I gulped more water and, as a result, dribbled water down my chin and the front of my shirt that I immediately mopped up with my sleeve. Eric Anderson once again witnessing me at my very best.

"I usually walk because I only live a couple blocks that way," he said with a broad gesture. "Do you want to meet me right here after school?"

"Sure thing."