Obscured (The Obscured Series Book 1) (2 page)

“Sure,
that would be nice.” I probably sounded overly enthusiastic.

“Okay,
I will meet you by the cafeteria after third period, see
ya
!”
He called over his shoulder.

I
felt like I was on cloud nine as I walked into the classroom, until I was
immediately shot down by the glare from the same boy I had seen in the hall.
His blue eyes sure felt icy when they were staring you down with such disgust.
He was standing next to the teacher’s desk, and I noticed now how well his baby
blue shirt complimented those very same eyes. I wasn’t sure exactly why he was
glaring at me—what had I done to deserve it? Maybe he didn’t like Pete, but why
would he not like me if he didn’t even know me. I picked a seat in the center
of the room and sat down. He sat down as the bell rang. Right. Next. To. Me.

I
tried to ignore him sitting there, but I couldn’t. I peered at him out of the
corner of my eye. He was looking right at me and he caught me looking at him.
Something in his hand was coming towards me: a folded up piece of paper. It
surprised me, but I took it anyway. His handwriting was a little sloppy, but
not terrible for a boy. The contents took me by surprise.

You’re new here and you're
already talking to the wrong people,
not the best way to start out a new school year.
Take my advice ditch the dumb jock.

         
                                                                                      
-Eli

I
was right. He did have a problem with Pete.

Yes, I am new here.
Isn't making new friends a good thing? Why not Pete?

      
                         
-Abby

I
waited for the opportune time to pass the note back. It
came quicker than I expected. I
put it in his hand as quickly as I could so that Mrs.
Mosebee
didn’t catch me. As my hand brushed his, a tingle shot up my arm. I snatched my
hand back from him, looking down at it as if I had been bitten. I wondered if
he felt it too, because he didn't seem disturbed. Maybe I had imagined it.

Anxiously,
I waited for him to return one to me. It never came.

The
bell rang and everyone filed out the room except Eli. He waited at the doorway
for me.   

Once
we were out of the classroom he finally spoke. “Where are you headed right
now?”

“Science.”

“Same
for me,” he said as he started to walk in the direction of our next class.
“That’s good we will have more time to talk.”

“Okay,
what is it?” I asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.

“I
don’t really know how to say what I want to say without sounding… jealous,” he
admitted. “I just don’t think you should be friends or anything else with Pete
Denali. Can we leave it at that? Can you just trust me?”

I
laughed. “Let me get this straight. You want me to stop talking to Pete, but
you won’t tell me why. You want me to trust you and just leave it at that, even
though we have just met! You must be crazy! I don’t know you any better than I
do him. So what makes you more trustworthy?” I demanded.

I
couldn't believe what he was suggesting—after all, it was my first day. I had
only made one friend so far, and he was already insisting that I was messing up
my chances of fitting in without so much as an explanation. He was insane.

We
walked into class and Eli took the seat next to mine in the middle of the
classroom. Then turned to face me.

“I
know how it must sound but—”

 “Stop!
Until you can give me valid reason, I will not stop talking to him and even
then I’m not guaranteeing anything!” I cut him off. I'd had enough of this nonsense.

I
sat down with a furious huff. A girl behind me noticed my foul mood and tapped
me on the shoulder.

Even
more irritated than before, I turned around to discover that she seemed kind
and friendly. I quickly tried to recover and smiled back to be nice.

“Having
a bad first day?” she questioned. She had an unusually round face, and her
smile revealed dimples, making her green eyes seem even warmer.

She
had a very bubbly voice, which I was sure matched her personality.

“Yeah,
something like that,” I answered sarcastically as I shot a glare in Eli’s
direction.

“I’m Bailey.”

She
tossed back her brown hair and held out her hand for me to shake; I took it.

“Abby.”

She
smiled.

The
bell rang and I turned around to face the front. I was glad to have met someone
that wasn’t a boy. I thought Bailey seemed nice and hoped she would become a
good friend. I sure could use one of those right about now. Maybe she could
even help me out with Pete and Eli. It sure would help if I knew why Eli was so
against my being friends with Pete.

I
turned to look at Eli to check if he was engrossed in Mr. Lang’s discussion. I
felt a little relief to see that he wasn’t. I took out a piece of paper and
tried to look as though I was paying attention. It bothered me that he was so
adamant about Pete, but I had a nagging feeling that I maybe shouldn’t ignore
him. I wished I could push that sense away, but try as I might it is stuck in
my head.

Eli-

               
You have to tell me why. What is so wrong with Pete
anyway? He seems harmless enough. I am meeting him for lunch

after class unless I
decide that what you have to say is worthwhile.

                               
-Abby

I
looked around the room in hopes that nobody was looking; the coast was clear. I
passed the note to Eli as quickly as I could, trying my best not to touch his
hand. I was still a little spooked from the last time. 

I
watched him read my note and noticed that he suddenly tensed up. Clearly
something I wrote had made him uneasy.

While
I waited for him to write back, I listened to Mr. Lang's lecture. He was
explaining some of the things we were going to learn during the year. He
mentioned protons and neutrons, something I already studied.

I
was startled when something hit me in my elbow. I realized quickly that it was
a note from Eli.

Abby-

           
Cancel your plans with Pete today at lunch and have lunch
with me instead. I will try to explain better over lunch. Please?

         
                                                                         
-Eli

So
he was going to try and explain, which was what I had asked him to do—but why
did I have to cancel lunch with Pete just to hear it? And while I was not one
to turn someone down, I also wasn't the type to cancel plans either. It would
be hard on me either way. That nagging feeling in the back of my mind pushed me
to say yes to Eli. What if I went to lunch with Eli and didn’t agree with his
reasoning? I would regret canceling with Pete. Then again, if it was something
compelling that made me change my mind, I would be grateful. There were a lot
of unknowns, but none-the-less, I decided to go to lunch with Eli and tell Pete
it was because we had to discuss homework. I hoped he would take it well
without being too disappointed. I didn’t want to lose any chance I possibly had
with him because I canceled. 

Eli-

I guess I will go to
lunch with you today but don’t think that this changes anything
with Pete… yet.
      
             
                                                               
-Abby

When
the bell rang I walked out of class with Eli, trying to think of the best way
to let Pete down gently. Bailey followed us out of class.

“Hey
Abby, wait for me!” she called.

I
turned and waited patiently to see what she wanted.

“Hey
Bailey.”
                                                     

“Hey,
want to have lunch with me today?”

Three
people asking me to go to lunch with them all in the same day. When did I
suddenly become so popular? I was flattered.

“Actually,
I am having lunch with Eli today.”

“Ooh
okay… I guess I will see you later then.”

She
scrambled away quickly before I got a chance to say anything else. I was glad I
didn't have to try to make up a lie about why she couldn’t join us, but I felt
horrible at the same time. I wanted so badly to have a friend, especially a
girl. I promised myself right then I would go to lunch with her tomorrow. Maybe
I could convince Pete to have lunch with Bailey and I.

I
sighed, glancing at Eli. “Well, let’s get to lunch."

We
walked in silence, mostly because I was too engrossed in my thoughts of Eli’s
mysteriousness and canceling plans with Pete. I had a lot to think about, and
it was only the first half of the day! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the
excitement to say the least.

As
I saw Pete up ahead waiting for me, my heart started beating faster. He looked
so excited to see me, and it made me feel twice as nervous. I’d never been good
at letting people down. Instead I was the people pleaser, and to upset someone
by canceling plans was really hard on me. It made me feel like a flake. I hated
when my friends were flaky, and I held myself to the same standard.

“Hey
Abby!” Pete called over.

I
cringed, hoping that Eli would be appreciative of how hard this is on me. Then
again, how could he understand? He didn’t even know me.

“Hey
Pete, I have some bad news.”

Eli
stood silently at my side, looking pretty smug. I could only believe that was
for Pete’s benefit.
What's his problem anyway?
I wished he had just gone
inside to wait for me. Instead, he decided to be an audience to my discomfort,
making the situation that much harder for everyone.

“What’s
wrong?”

“I
have to cancel our lunch plans today.” I frowned.

“Oh,”
he said sadly. His whole posture changed as his shoulders drooped downwards.

“I’m
sorry, I just have to talk to Eli about some stuff for our class.”

“Alright,
well how about tomorrow?” He perked up a bit when he asked seeming hopeful that
I would agree.

“I
have plans with Bailey, but if you are okay with Bailey joining us that would
be fun.” I hoped he wasn’t thinking that I was trying to avoid him, but he
showed no indication he felt that way.

“Okay,
see you later. Have a good lunch.”

He
walked away, looking a little less defeated than at first.

I
sighed.

“Shall
we?” Eli motioned towards the cafeteria, putting his elbow out for me to take.

“Yep,
let’s go,” I said, intentionally pushing past his arm.

I
heard him chuckle and I rolled my eyes.

My
stomach was grumbling as I ordered my lunch, but I patiently waited for Eli to
finish ordering his while I munched on the French fries that were placed beneath
my pizza.

Eli
suggested that we sit at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria. I could
only guess he was trying to get as far from everyone as he could, but I was
fine with that because then nobody would hear our conversation. The last thing
I wanted was for the conversation to get back to Pete, even if I didn't even
know what was going to be said. I didn’t want anyone to think I was talking
behind Pete’s back, even though that was exactly what I was doing. Plus, I
didn’t want to get a bad reputation for being a gossip.

“Okay,
so let’s hear what you have to say,” I demanded after we started eating.

He
finished chewing his first bite of spaghetti before beginning.

“This
isn’t about me being jealous, I just want you to know that from the start. I don’t
know how to explain it, other than just saying it very bluntly.” Eli paused and
a few seconds passed. “I think he killed someone.” He was staring directly into
my eyes.

Murder?
This was what he wanted to tell me?

“I
don’t believe you. He is in high school! There is no way he could have
murdered
someone!” I shot back, not realizing that my voice had reached shrieking
level. 

I
blushed in embarrassment when I realized there were people staring at me. My
voice carried in the big room, but I could only hope that the loudness had at
least masked what I said.

He
rolled his eyes at me. “Well if you’re over the theatrics, can I finish trying
to explain?”

“I’m
sorry, but that is absolutely absurd!”

“Can
I finish?” He was frustrated with me.

I sighed.
“Okay, I did say I would hear you out. Go on.”

“I
went to a football game here last year when I was still in junior high. Pete
was on the team. They lost the game and needless to say, Pete was really upset.
One of the guys on the other team was giving Pete a hard time, and the coach
had to get after Pete about his temper. Pete left alone that night and nobody
saw him till the next day. The guy on the other team didn't come to school the
next day and hasn't been back since. I don’t know if anyone at this school even
knows about that. I read in the paper a few days later that he was missing, so
you can see what I am talking about when I say I think he is no good.”