Jewel never came back into the store. We waited around for a good half hour, but there was no sign of her.
Danielle spent the time browsing though racks of clothes, picking up something here or there. I was far too distracted to follow her example. I paced up and down the floor, unable to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. My nerves were on edge.
I wanted to reverse time. At that moment, I would have given up every one of my powers for the ability to go back and fix the huge mess I had created. I could handle Kerry yelling at me. I could deal with Lucas acting like an obsessive stalker. What I couldn’t handle was the thought of losing Jewel’s friendship over this.
Danielle kept telling me not to worry. That this would all blow over. That Jewel would get over it. That Lucas would eventually lose interest. She told me repeatedly not to worry.
I worried anyway.
When it became obvious that Jewel would not be returning to the store anytime soon, we did our best to continue the day without her. I found a couple shirts that would successfully cover the bruises on my arm without turning me into a human furnace. Danielle picked up a pair or shorts and some new shoes. We skipped the beach and went out to lunch, followed by ice-cream, followed by a long, leisurely walk around the village, all the while bad-mouthing Lucas like there was no tomorrow.
“You know he said I wasn’t allowed to hang out with Reza?” I said, as we passed by the school for what felt like the hundredth time. “Like he has any right to dictate who I spend my time with.”
“Oh, that’s just the start of it,” Danielle said. “He tried to get me transferred out of any class with a male teacher. And he threatened this eight-year-old kid I was tutoring in math.”
“Are you serious?”
“I can’t make this stuff up, Eve. He had the poor kid in tears. I almost lost it.”
“Man, what a tool.”
“Massive tool.”
“Did he ever sort of… order you to go on a date with him?”
“Constantly. All the time. Never even asked my opinion about it one way or the other.”
“And then he showed up late, wearing the same stupid thing he always wears?”
“Couldn’t tell you that. I always stood him up.”
“Well, you’re smarter than me then,” I said. “Have you ever seen him wear anything besides that stupid t-shirt?”
“Never,” Danielle said.
“Do you think he has a whole closet full of them? Or do you think he just wears the same one every day?”
Danielle laughed. “Who knows?”
“He’s such an idiot.”
“Huge idiot,” Danielle agreed.
“Massive idiot.”
“Colossal idiot.”
“He’s a huge, colossal, massive idiot.”
Danielle let out another laugh. “Couldn’t have put it better myself.”
Talking to Danielle helped drain some of my nervous tension, but it never completely went away. The argument with Jewel nagged at the back of my mind, causing a stab in my lower abdomen every time I allowed myself to think about it.
On top of that, I kept getting this tingling, prickling feeling in my scalp, like I was being watched. Every once in a while, I seemed to catch a glimpse of a black shirt or a pair of bright blue eyes. But they always came and went so fast that I couldn’t be sure if it was real or just a figment of my imagination.
YOU ARE READING
Silent Heroes: Wildcat
Fantasy"What the hell?" I took a step closer to the mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief. The person looking back was still me, but at the same time it wasn't. I had the same thick, dark, curly hair. The same hazel eyes. The same olive skin wi...
