Sight

Chapter 4 - My Crazy Day Continues

Recap:
His silver eyes meet my blue ones, and we share a silent agreement.

   "Just a bee," I say, and I give him a look that clearly says, we'll talk later. He nods almost indistinguishably. "Skylar Assad," I add, holding my hand out to him.

   "Jaime Colton," he replies, shaking my hand. His is cool and beaded with sweat, probably as a result of having a new and crazy truth shoved on him.

Time Skip
A few hours later

   I find Jaime under one of the old trees in front of the school as I walk out from softball practice. I walk over, having said goodbye to Rylan and Madison after my last period class.

    He nods in greeting as I approach him under the gnarled tree. He leans against the trunk, arms crossed, his scarlet backpack on the ground next to him. His black hoodie is unzipped, revealing a grey shirt underneath. With his dark hair falling in his eyes and alert, slightly tense posture, he looks kind of like a gangster.

   I'm suddenly self conscious of the black T-shirt and baseball cap I'm wearing, wondering if people see me like that. Unsure why I thought that, I slip my backpack off of my shoulders, letting it fall to the grass that surrounds the tree.

"So. You can see the weird things too." He sounds calm enough, but I've learned to read emotions over time. He is anything but calm, and his eyes give it away.

"Yeah. I thought I was the only one but..." I shrug. "Guess not."

"Nope. I've been wondering if I'm going insane since I was six years old. Now I know I'm not the only one." He takes a shaky breath. "It's so crazy to think I haven't been alone."

"I know. I- well, it feels good to know I'm not going nuts."

We share encounters and experiences for a while, talking about all the weird things we've seen. From velociraptors to hummingbird-lizards to sea monsters, together it's like we've seen it all.

   "When did you start seeing things?" Jaime asks.

   "I honestly don't know. I think the earliest thing I saw was when I was six? Maybe five."

He nods. "What about your friend? The one who saw a 'bee?'" He does air quotes when he says bee, and I hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh yeah, Rylan. That was weird. I've never known of anyone who's been able to see anything at all. Distorted vision- that's a new one for me."

"Likewise." Jaime is looking intently at me, silver eyes burning. I look away, feeling like a specimen on an examination table. Feeling uncomfortable, I'm spared having to stick around by my watch beeping.

"Oh gosh, it's already 3:00. I was supposed to be home fifteen minutes ago." I look up at Jaime. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He nods. "Here, hold out your hand."

Confused, I do as he says, and he pulls a pen from his jacket pocket. He writes something on the back of my hand, then slips the pen back into his pocket. As he picks his backpack up off the grass, I look at what he's written. A phone number, in blue ink, stands out against my pale skin.

Unexpectedly, I feel a redness creep into my face, imagining what Madison would say if she saw this. Wow, first day, and you already got a number! Slayyyy girl!

I shake the thought from my mind, picking my backpack off the ground and shrugging it onto my shoulders. Then, out of nowhere, I feel Jaime take my hand.

He holds my hand for a second, his touch warm against mine, apparently oblivious to the fact that I am blushing uncontrollably. Then he looks up at me, backing off uncomfortably.