Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (4 page)

Melissa also noted the awful attempt. She and
her friends looked at each other and shook their heads.

“
I’m sorry, Jack, but that’s going
to be a ‘no’. You’re a nice guy and all, but.” Melissa paused for a
moment. “To put it nicely, you’re a mess. And as a friend, let me
tell you—a girl wants a guy with at least some sense of fashion.
Get a haircut, put on some muscle, and gain some
ambition.”

Jack’s mouth fell open. He looked as if his
heart had been ripped out of him and then detonated with
explosives. He tilted his head down towards the grass and avoided
meeting Melissa’s eyes. It was cruel, but it was life. Adam was
only moments from going to console his friend when Melissa shocked
everyone by putting down her books and placing an arm around Jack’s
shoulders.

Her impassive voice softened. “Look, how about
this? You seem like such a nice guy. You’re not like all the other
macho-brained idiots around here, and I could use a good friend
like you. Why don’t you let me help you with this math? I know
you’re struggling with it, and I’m actually pretty good. Let me
tutor you.”

Jack looked up from the ground, surprise
forming wrinkles over his features. Adam was glad Melissa decided
to spare his feelings.

“
You
want to tutor
me
?”

“
Sure, why not? You could certainly
use the help, and since I moved here recently I don’t have a lot of
guy friends.” She winked at him.

Melissa and her two friends stood from the
bleachers. She took one step forward then stopped mid-stride. “Oh,
and by the way. We’re starting tonight, so be ready for me around
eight. I’ll come to your place.”

Adam thought he could hear the sound of his
friend’s heart beating faster. “You’re what? Tonight!”

Melissa laughed. “Yes, Jack. Give me your
address. The teacher is probably going to make us redo the
assignment in record time, so … you kind of need to learn this
stuff as soon as possible."

Jack rustled around his pockets in a fanatical
craze, and Adam knew he didn’t have paper to write down his number.
When Jack came up short he pouted, giving Adam a pleading,
desperate look.

“
Yeah, yeah, I know,” Adam said.
“This is why you should come to school prepared.” Adam reached into
his backpack, and then passed Jack a pen and a yellow Post-It. Jack
scribbled something that might have been English, but upon closer
inspection resembled ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Melissa saluted them. “I’ll see you boys around
later.” She walked gracefully away with her two friends.

“
Did you see that, Adam? She’s
coming over tonight. I told you I was lucky today. She’s going to
be tutoring me. The most gorgeous girl in school is coming over to
my house.” Jack wore a grin, and Adam couldn’t help but return a
smile of his own. “Adam! Let’s do our victory bump.”

“
No way, Jack.”

“
Aww, come on.”

“
Jack, there’s no way in hell I’m
bumping fists with you while shouting, ‘wonder twin powers
activate.’”

Adam didn’t know what could’ve possessed
Melissa to try tutoring Jack. That in itself was a lost cause. Adam
knew because he had tried. He had tried on
several
occasions, he recalled bitterly. At any rate, he appreciated the
kindhearted response.

“
Can we please go back to what we
were talking about before?”

Jack sighed. “Fine, fine, whatever.”

Adam thought of a way to return to the odd
conversation. He hoped for the life of him he was correct in his
assessment of Jack. If the fires turned out to be the work of some
freak, scientifically-explained accident, then Adam would feel
stupid for months.

“
Right before the fires started,
moments before it was our turn to have our homework checked—what
were you doing?”

“
I already told you. I wasn’t doing
anything. You were there, remember? We were sitting down waiting to
be yelled at, and the desks just started lighting on fire. If you
seriously think that I somehow pulled out a firework or something,
you’re crazier than I am.”

Adam rubbed his eyes. Clearly, his friend
didn’t understand what he was implying. Adam needed to explain that
he suspected him of doing it mentally. Adam wasn’t sure where his
suspicions came from, yet he couldn’t shake the constant nagging in
the back of his mind that something was very wrong.

Adam was about to speak, but he closed his
mouth, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. Two
classmates marched over to the bleachers, halting in front of Adam
and Jack. Adam knew by the scowls on their faces that the two punks
meant trouble.

Adam recognized one as Richard Davins. He’d
been the one throwing paper balls at Jack earlier. The other one,
Adam didn’t recognize. Both were giants. With each step, muscles
popped out of their tank tops. Oh, they meant trouble
alright.

“
Wow, Jack,” Richard said. I’ve seen
some pretty stupid people in my day, but you’ve gotta be pretty far
up that list to ask Melissa out on a date.” Richard’s lackey
snickered like the good little minion he was. “We saw the whole
thing. Pathetic, Jack. Really, really, pathetic.”

Jack’s face drained of color. Whenever he came
across Richard, the behemoth-sized boy couldn’t resist creating
trouble, and it was obvious that Richard enjoyed it.

“
You did a real good job, didn’t
you? Getting Melissa to pity you like that.”

 “
What do you mean, pity me?”
Jack asked. “We’re friends and she’s tutoring me. That’s all there
is to it, I swear.”

“
You know, I don’t get it, Harris. I
mean, did you honestly believe that a pathetic loser like yourself
could even be friends with someone like Melissa, let alone date
her?”

Jack held up a finger and tried to reply, but
Richard cut him off. “Tell me, Jack, did you really think in that
unbelievably stupid brain of yours that you had some kind of a
shot? Have you lost your mind?” Other students approached, and Adam
knew by their wicked grins and eager strides that they were each
hoping to see a fight break out.

Adam turned to Richard. “No, I’m sure she’s
much better off with you, Dick. After all, I’m sure she would go
together much more wonderfully with a misguided Jock whose only
scholastic achievement was learning how to tie his own damned
shoelaces.”

Dozens of students arrived to catch the
comment, laughing madly at the remark. They turned to look at the
one who had said it. Adam closed the chemistry book he’d been
reading and readjusted the glasses falling low over his
eyes.

“
Did you say something to me, nerd?”
Richard glared at Adam while punching his open hand.

“
Did I say anything to whom?” Adam
asked. “I hear a voice, but I don’t see anyone. Oh, that’s right.
My vision automatically filters out idiots. It’s a defense
mechanism, you see. I would lose my mind if I had to gaze upon
brain-dead imbeciles all day.”

Thirty students pointed and laughed at Richard.
In a battle of words, someone with Richard’s meager intellect had
little chance of defeating Adam.

Rage formed lines on his pit-bullish face. Adam
knew he’d provoked Richard, but Adam was feeling pretty angry too.
It was true he had expected Jack to receive some kind of ridicule,
but this was absurd.

“
Do you have a death wish, punk?”
Richard said. He flexed his muscles, accentuating them to impress
the crowd.

In hindsight, I may have just made
a big mistake.

Adam glanced at Jack. His friend was in his own
little world, looking at the ground in silence. Then Adam turned
back to meet Richard’s eyes. If the larger classmate decided to
make things physical, Adam doubted he would be able to do much
against him.

“
What are you looking at?” Richard
asked. He peeked at the crowd each time he spoke. Adam knew his
type. Richard needed to ensure his actions were met with
approval.

What an idiot.

Jack roused as if coming out of a trance and
stood beside Adam. “What’s your problem with us anyway,
Richard?”

Richard sneered at Jack. “I just plain don’t
like you, or your nosy little nerd friend, for that
matter.”

Adam sighed. “Well, I can assure you we don’t
like you either, which is why the simplest solution would be for us
to not speak at all. Think of how much of this nonsense we could
avoid.”

Adam never understood why Richard bothered with
them. If Richard hated Jack and himself as much as he claimed, why
not just ignore each other completely? It was a part of human
nature Adam couldn’t grasp.

“
Do something about it then, I’m
standing right here,” Richard said, missing Adam’s point entirely.
He spread his arms wide in an inviting gesture, once again looking
towards the crowd. They were growing hungry for action. Richard
gave Adam a preemptive shove that sent him backward and onto the
grass, prompting the spectators to go wild.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
they roared.

Adam jumped back to his feet. At this point, a
fight was unavoidable. As poor a fighter as Jack was, Adam hoped
they’d have a chance if they both went at Richard together. That,
of course, was assuming the friend Richard brought along stayed out
of it.

“
Fine, if you want a fight, then
I’ll give you a fight,” Jack said to Adam’s surprise. “But not
here. How about tomorrow at the entrance of the school, one hour
before class starts?” Melissa was now among the spectators, which
explained Jack’s sudden change of demeanor. He obviously wanted to
impress her.

“
What’s wrong with right here? Are
you so afraid that you’re trying to put it off?”

“
No,” Jack responded. “Look around.
Security is everywhere. As a matter of fact, some are already on
the way here.”

Richard shrugged. “Whatever, it’s your funeral.
Just make sure you show up tomorrow, because if you don’t, I will
break every bone in your body.”

Despite Jack’s bravado, Adam knew very well
that on the inside he was morbidly frightened. He was lazy and
hated exerting himself. If ever someone was less suited to
fighting, Adam would like to meet them.

Three men in the school’s blue security
uniforms arrived a few moments later, flashlights and
walkie-talkies dangling from the sides of their belts. “Is there a
problem?” a tall one asked, looking in Richard’s
direction.

“
Not at all, sir, I was just having
a chat with my friend here.” Within a few moments the disappointed
crowd broke up, leaving Adam and Jack alone on the
bleachers.

“
Oh God, this is horrible. I can’t
fight! What am I gonna do? I only acted brave because Melissa was
watching.”

Adam looked up towards the sky. A single cloud
challenged the bright sun’s rays, providing them with a few moments
of shade from the onslaught of heat.

“
We’ll figure something out. I can’t
fathom why you decided to feed into him and take on his ridiculous
challenge. In fact, the easiest thing to do now is to just not show
up. Then he’ll have just wasted his time.”

  
Jack nodded.
Adam had earned his full trust over the years. If he said it was
pointless, then he was positive Jack would listen. Sure, he might
experience some shame if he didn’t show up, but anything was better
than getting his teeth knocked out.
Besides
,
at the very, least Jack now had something to look
forward to.

Andy opened his eyes with a start and gasped
for air. Where was he? He looked around the room, and two faces
filled his vision as his eyes came into focus. Both people were
dressed in black. One was a tall, slender, and handsome young man.
He had dark hair and a genuine-looking smile that would’ve served
well to cover his intentions had Andy not known what lay
beneath.

Andy was new to the group, so he didn’t know
the man’s name or the name of the woman with him. She appeared to
be as young as the man, perhaps no older than eighteen. Her red
hair flowed down her small face, causing shadows to create an
illusion of dancing strings in the scant light.