Rouge

Rouge - Chapter Twenty-Three

Hunter threw down her pen in frustration and watched it bounce twice, roll unsteadily across the hardwood desk and fall to the floor with a tiny clink. Sighing, she leant over the table and picked it up, turning back to her work.

The library was almost empty. It was past school hours, but Hunter was desperately behind with her studies, particularly the physics test Miss Smart had set for next week. Besides, if she faced Joshua, he’d either argue with her for not coming home last night when he asked her to, or force her into another training regime. Since she was tired of everyone getting on her case, Hunter decided to stay after school and work inside the peaceful walls of the library.

The library was the perfect place to get a little quiet time. Clare Holloway, Benny Layman’s girlfriend and the younger sister to Eli’s best friend Jack, was staring miserably at a calculus book a few desks down from Hunter. She had been doing so for most of the day, would be gone long before her. And she was a cheerleader.

As if she could read her thoughts, Clare’s blue eyes rolled up from the book and rested on Hunter. Scowling, she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and stared at her book with an air of someone much smarter than she was.

Aside from Clare, the library was practically empty. It was the largest room in the entire school, and much more classic. Long stacks made of a deep brown mahogany ran along each side of the room, which towered high above their heads, bathed in the light from great glowing shades that hung low. Centering the room were lines of desks with small golden lamps and comfortable seats to study in. Near the tall double doors was the reference desk, where Mrs. Carman - a skin-and-bone, beaky woman with curling gray hair and old eyes that had read far too many books - stood flipping through ancient volumes. The only other person in the room was browsing through the poetry section two columns down from her, but she hadn’t seen his face yet.

Hunter forced her gaze back to the five or so text books spread open before her and wished her superpower could be super-intelligence. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so stupid all the time, said a snarky voice in her mind. It was right; she couldn’t handle her powers, no matter how hard she tried. She was reckless in kissing Eli last night and could have seriously hurt him. She’d practically handed Miss Smart the clue to discovering what she could do on paper without even noticing. And worst of all, she’d angered Joshua – who deserved much better – by lying to him about going to school and seeing Eli behind his back, even though he knew all along. Skipping out on him last night would have been the icing on the cake. He didn’t even leave her dinner.

What am I doing? I’ve made a mess of everything, and no matter how hard I try, I continue to screw things up for myself. I wish there was someone I could talk to who could give me the answers without scolding me or forcing tedious training exercises upon me. Why is it when I need comfort the most, I’m completely alone?

Hunter let her head flop with a loud bang on her textbook. She lay there, her eyes drooping shut, her world dark, until someone was pulling up a chair beside her desk and tapping her on the shoulder.

Hunter almost jumped out of her skin and lifted her head to see Eli’s friend Jack sitting next to her. She blinked groggily and wondered if she’d been asleep.

“Hey Hunter,” he said. “Do you have a pen I can borrow?” His brown hair and square jaw reminded her of someone who belonged on the football team.

“What?” she stuttered. His question didn’t even process through her mind; it was so immersed in misery. Coming back to reality, she tried to focus on where she was. The library, right. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

His eyes briefly slipped to the spread of books and worksheets on the desk and then back to hers. He had that same innocence in his eyes that she always saw in Eli’s, but there was something darker there, as if he too had a secret he was desperate to hide.