Fledgling (5 page)

Chance led her around the building past a grassy area to a small fenced garden. As they walked through the entrance and across some dried vegetation, Ana noticed how soundlessly her companion moved. For a moment she closed her eyes and heard her feet scratch across the earth. She would have guessed she was alone, but when she let her lids slide open Chance was moving silently beside her. He didn’t face her, but she felt his eyes following her movement.

She stopped at the center of the garden. “Perfect. I can work with this,” Ana whispered in enthusiasm, wandering around the small lush enclosure.

Chance squatted down to focus on a tiny daisy while a bee collected pollen from its valuable core. He took a couple experimental shots while Ana meandered around the garden.

She felt his eyes on her and she kept her back to him, not wanting to reveal the color that had risen to her cheeks.

Ana watched a group of tiny white butterflies flicking around the garden as though attached by strings tugging them up and down. Fascinated with their paper-thin wings she turned to Chance. “I have an idea for a picture. Do you mind helping me?” she asked with a glint in her eye.

“Sure,” he mumbled.

“Would you get up on the bench and jump down with your arms out? The butterflies gave me an idea.”

Ana figured if they were working with shudder speed, what could be better than something in movement. She pictured it in her mind, then setting her camera on a birdbath that was flipped upside down, she prepared for the shot.

She looked up at Chance, “On three. One, two…three.”

He jumped off the bench arms outstretched, landed and paused before the camera.

They huddled together reviewing the image and saw Chance with wing-like arms arching out. The delayed shudder speed and the movement created a motion trail giving the illusion of wide wings.

Ana met Chance’s startled eyes as he muttered, “Wow…you’re good.”

Her stuttering heart gave a squeeze and she snapped her attention to her pale fingers curling around the camera. She shoved the camera back into its case and stuffed her hands into her fleece jacket. Embarrassed, she shrugged and shook her head.

The bell rang out across the school grounds reaching their ears.

“Thanks for helping me out,” Ana said keeping her eyes on the ground, and turned to walk away. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Why was her heart behaving this way? She was in a daze, woozy. It would be better to gain some distance from him so she could clear her mind. Boys were trouble, and she didn’t need any more. Trouble.

As she wandered toward the large brick building lost in thought, she glanced sideways and discovered Chance walking beside her. His face was turned to the ground, but somehow she still felt him monitoring her.

They passed a cluster of students who were whispering and staring at them as they walked by. Ana glanced over and noticed Chance’s jaw tighten and his expression harden.

“So…what class you have now?”

Ana was surprised to hear his voice break the silence. “Um, English with Penroke, I think.”

“Follow me,” Chance said in a wooden voice keeping his gaze straight ahead, avoiding her face. She was confused. He seemed angry with her. If he didn’t like her, he didn’t have to speak to her. Was he obligated to show her around? He didn’t seem like the welcome committee type. In fact, she really couldn’t figure out why he was talking to her at all.

As they approached a flight of stairs, he flew up them effortlessly, and Ana was left behind moving slowly, becoming out of breath. She felt his eyes on her and wished he hadn’t offered to lead the way. She knew she was too thin to appear out of shape. It was too soon to tip her hand. She wanted a fresh start. She wanted to know what it felt like to fit in, without sympathetic eyes following her wherever she went. Eyes to the floor, she reached the top stair and followed beside him down a hallway until they stopped.

After opening the classroom door for her, he followed her in and strode to his desk. Ana watched his muscular body move with ease and she berated herself for caring. The teacher signed her form and pointed her to an empty seat at the corner of the room. She set her things down beside her chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could take a moment to collect herself.

“Miss Hughes, I’m sorry but we don’t have enough textbooks in the class-cutbacks. You’ll need to share with someone until we can get another,” Ms. Penroke said. “Is someone willing to share their textbook with Ana?”

A couple of unenthusiastic hands rose around the room, but Ms. Penroke called the first one to rise. “Yes, Mr. Morgan. It’s nice to see you participating in class for once. Go ahead and sit next to Miss. Hughes.”

The teacher paused while Chance grabbed his things and settled into the chair beside Ana. An array of surprised faces watched him, including Ana. “We’ll continue reading
To Kill a Mockingbird
, and then you’ll have some assigned reading tonight. Please open your books.”

Ana was relieved to discover she was ahead in at least one of her classes. She remembered it well, one of her favorites from last year.

She turned to Chance. Something about him made her nervous, and it bothered her. No one caught her off guard like this; she always kept an emotional distance from everyone.

Chance lifted his desk as if it didn’t weigh a thing and brought it closer to hers.

“Um…thanks for sharing,” Ana said staring at her hands.

“No problem,” he said and kept his eyes on the book.

The class had only begun reading the book and they were just past chapter two. She began reading the pages held steadily before her, and became unnerved when Chance finished the page well ahead of her. She considered herself a fast reader; eating words off the page like a starved animal.

From the corner of her eye, Ana discovered him watching her, waiting for her to finish the page. She continued reading, flustered and disoriented. After finishing a paragraph, she realized she just reread the section twice. Beads of perspiration dewed at her temple, her embarrassment peaking. Bumbling to the page’s conclusion, she smiled at Chance indicating she was done.
Finally,
she grumbled to herself.

Slumping dejectedly in her seat, Ana figured he must think she wasn’t very smart from her tortoise-like reading speed. Resolved to get her own copy soon, she glared at the book in agitation. Anyways, since when did she care about what a guy thought about her?

As her mind wandered, her reading speed slowed and she closed her eyes in frustration, collecting her thoughts, which scattered and broke like spider webs in a fierce wind.

“Alright class, I want everyone to read up through chapter three tonight. Within chapter two, one of our main characters says that you never really understand a person until you climb into
his
or her
skin and walk around in it. I’d like us to explore this topic together. I want all of you to create a poem about this subject matter. Feel free to get creative. It’s due Friday.”

The bell rang and everyone grabbed their belongings, leaving so fast Ana questioned if it had been a fire alarm.

Ana rested her head on her hand and muttered to her reading partner, “I’m sorry I was so slow-I threw you off pace.” Unable to find the words, she stopped short of berating herself.

“I’m
very
fast,” he said, his face softening. “Good eyesight runs in the family. Sorry I made you self conscious. You can use the book tonight. I’ve already read it-I don’t need it.” He held it out and placed it in her empty hands, his skin brushing against hers.

“I read it last year, but I guess I should skim through it tonight if there’s a poem due at the end of the week. It isn’t a bad read.” She turned to slip the book into her bag so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes, faltering in a lapse of stupidity-again.

As Ana stood up he followed at the same pace and walked her out of the room into the awaiting sunlight. She felt like she just woke up from a trance.

He waited for her to lead on as though any direction she picked was fine. Why did he seem so interested in her? She didn’t consider herself pretty and was disappointed she hadn’t exhibited a great intellect in his presence, which she thought was her strongest attribute.

Ana broke the awkward silence and announced, “I need to go pick up my little sister now. She’s waiting for me.”

“I’ll walk you to your car…if you want,” he offered, grasping onto the strap of his bag, as though it were the only thing keeping him from floating away.

“Sure,” she said breathlessly.

“So, why’d you move
here
?”

“Oh, well, my mother got laid off and her sister lives here and was able to get her old job at the bank-my mom grew up here. We needed a change anyway. It’s a really small town…smaller than I’m used to. I lived just outside of Denver.” Ana paused, realizing she was babbling and cleared her throat. “What about you?” Ready to pass the responsibility of conversation to Chance, she listened in relief.

“I’ve lived here forever. It’s a
really
small town-not much to say about it, like you said, it’s small.” He paused, “How do
you
like it?”

“It’s beautiful. I didn’t think I’d be happy here, but…I might have been wrong.” Ana thought better of continuing, apprehensive to expose too much about herself.

“What?”

A pulse of heat flushed through her palms. She focused on the far end of the parking lot as she answered casually, “The night sky’s so impressive-it’s…perfect.”

Chance’s eyes swept the sky and he thrust his hands into his pockets.

As they approached Ana’s bright yellow camper van she grew uncomfortable. Chance chuckled as she walked up to it. Ana felt an explanation was necessary and began gesturing wildly, her arms taking on a life of their own. “Um, my Uncle Jace gave it to me. It’s not exactly inconspicuous, and it’ll probably deafen me for life…but it works…sooo…” Her eyes flicked around to the trees shading her car, unsure where to rest her gaze.

“It seems to fit you.” He said appraising her in silence, making Ana’s heart jump again.

Unsure how to take his remark, she paused in thought. Was it a compliment or something else? Did he think she was odd, loud and ornate or someone who didn’t fit in? He sensed her confusion, and mumbled, “You’re hard to ignore too.”

Ana wasn’t used to compliments from boys, and laughed nervously, completely baffled.

“If it needs any work-let me know. I work at an auto shop. I’m not a mechanic, but I know enough to be dangerous.”

Dangerous, that’s for sure
, Ana thought.

“Thanks, my Uncle said it checked out-but I’ve learned not to trust his word about mechanical things.” Ana unlocked her car and threw her backpack in between the front seats.

“Well, this is me, here.” Chance indicated the black truck parked beside hers. It’s shiny paint job and fastidiousness was the antithesis of Ana’s camper. “It was my pet project when I turned sixteen.”

“Nice. At least
it
isn’t yellow.” Ana gave a sideways glance to her van.

“Nothing a little paint can’t fix.” Chance walked around to his truck.

Ana caught him eyeing her surreptitiously as he leaned against the frame.

“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“As appealing as it is being the new girl…I wouldn’t miss it,” Ana laughed and jumped into her van to cover her blushing. Without taking another look, she sped out of the lot to pick up Eva.

Chapter 7.

Ana turned the corner at her sister’s elementary school and saw Eva standing out front with some students. She was talking and laughing with other girls her age. Eva always found it so easy to fit in and find friends.

Her eyes lit up seeing the yellow van pull in, waved goodbye to her classmates and came running over to the car. With all of her strength, she jerked the door open to jump in and gave Ana a bright smile. “Hi Ana! School’s great! I made lots of friends. How ‘bout you?” She flinched after the question, too familiar with Ana’s social history.

Ana considered her answer and said, “You know, I think school will be good. I met a couple people who aren’t so bad.” Involuntary warmth spread across her face.

She listened to Eva’s happy chatter while driving home, giving her time to put off thinking about her first day. When they drove up the driveway Eva collected her things, preparing to run into the house.

Once inside, Ana asked, “So, you got any homework?”

Eva rolled her eyes, “Some math homework and spelling, too.”

“Sit down and get started-I’ll take care of snacks today.”

She returned from the kitchen with a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and set them beside her sister. Ana pulled out all of her homework and sat across the dining table from Eva. She turned to the multitude of work she needed to catch up on and grabbed a sandwich.

Half an hour later, Eva stacked her books and papers and shoved them into her backpack. “I’m going out back!”

“Change first!” Ana called after her, and heard her stop short before reaching the back door, followed by a loud “
Humph”.
Distinct stomping led upstairs, and then a door boomed shut.