Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 1 (8 page)

“That was under a
minute!” De Sylva exclaimed, rushing over to the pair of runners.
“Fifty-six point two seconds. Fifty-six point two! Aradia, if you
shave four seconds off that time, you’d be an Olympic
qualifier!”

She gulped down oxygen
in a seemingly futile attempt to feed her starving lungs and
muscles. “You, ah,” she attempted to reply. “You…
really…”

“I think,” Roy
interjected between his own panting breaths, “she’s asking… if you
really want us… to go faster?”

“Well, I don’t know
about you,” Coach replied. It was likely, but uncertain, that he
was at least somewhat joking. “For you it would need to be more
like ten or eleven seconds faster. But women’s times are higher.
Four seconds, Aradia, and you’re there!”

“So then weighted… for
gender,” Aradia sputtered, and even managed a wink at Roy, “I kind
of won?”

“You two are crazy,”
Coach replied. “Okay, go get some water, clear the track. Shayla,
Jennifer! You’re up next.”

They jogged lightly,
and without further conversation, to the water fountain. After long
draughts for both of them, with Roy allowing Aradia the first
drink, they finally started to really catch their
breath.

Roy straightened up and
stared at Aradia again, this time with both admiration and
curiosity evident. Aradia realized he wasn’t so good at hiding what
he was thinking.

"You’re new around
here,” he finally said.

Aradia gave him a half
smile and replied, "So I am told."

Roy grinned, held out
his hand stiffly, as if he wasn’t used to such formality. "I’m Roy.
That's short for Reynaldo."

"Aradia," was her
response as she took his hand.

"Yikes,” he whimpered.
“You got a pretty firm grip. I mean, for a girl. I
mean…"

"Uh...thanks," Aradia
cut him off before he got his foot any further down his
throat.

"So..." Roy trailed
off, eager to start a conversation which did not center on his
questionable show of masculinity.

He’s hot, and sweet,
but gosh is he an awkward one
.

Aradia thought about
letting him fumble, finding it adorable, but took pity. "You're a
pretty fast runner. Are you on the track team?"

"Nah. I’m more of a
lone… runner," he replied. He crossed his arms and puffed out his
chest now that they were on a more flattering topic. “Besides, I
enjoy good-natured contests, but it gets a little too intense when
it’s that formal. It kind of misses the point, for me.”

"Oh, thank goodness for
that," Aradia chuckled.

“That was definitely a
new PR, though,” he added, pride evident in his voice.

“PR?” Aradia
replied.

“Personal record,” he
explained. “Wait, you didn’t know that?”

“Well, geez,” she got
defensive. “You’re a real sweet talker.”

“No, no!” he stammered.
“I didn’t mean like that! I just meant, well, I’m shocked that
you’re such a natural runner, that you don’t have any experience.
You’d have known the term if you did. I’d assumed you
did.”

She made a conscious
effort to forgive his slip of the tongue.
You wanted a connection, a friend. This guy seems genuine
enough. Let it go, Rai
.

“Well then,” she
replied, feigning indignation. She could forgive him, but she’d
make him sweat it a little bit. After a dramatic pause, she said,
“I accept your praise, then.”

He paused a moment
while he figured out what to make of her. When she cracked a smile,
he realized he was through the woods, and beamed a toothy grin at
her. It was the opposite of Tristan’s rehearsed smile. It was
sloppy and so huge she wondered sincerely if he actually had a
couple extra teeth in there, but it was real.
I like real
.

As they walked to the
bleachers to do their rotation running up and down the stairs, Roy
turned and said, "Which lunch do you have?"

"First lunch, why?"
Aradia asked raising an eyebrow.

"I got that lunch too!"
said Roy, again lighting up with that amazing smile. More than
anything he could have said, she was flattered by the fact that she
could make somebody smile like that. "Maybe we'll see each
other."

"I hope so," Aradia
said, slowly nodding her head.

"Well, then, I'll see
you later," said Roy before reluctantly trotting to the guys’
group. Apparently they were doing stairs segregated by
sex.

At least it gave him
a graceful exit,
Aradia thought as she
smiled.
He’d probably have been at my
heels the rest of the period otherwise
.

Aradia giggled and
thought as she started bounding up and down the bleachers with a
few other girls.
Maybe moving here
wasn’t such a bad decision after all

Chapter
Six

Day Two began much as Day One had.
Aradia’s dad dropped her off, she wandered the campus, and she
wondered why so many people were staring at her.

She was sure of it now. At first she’d
held open the possibility that she was imagining it, but she’d
outright caught a few students looking at her. It wasn’t the way
one might stare at a celebrity.

She flattered herself to think maybe
they all found her really attractive, but it didn’t feel like the
right kind of staring for that explanation. Besides, it was about
equally guys and girls looking, and she didn’t think that answer
quite fit the facts.

It was more like they were confused and
were trying to figure her out. They stared the way one might stare
at one of those Seeing Eye puzzles, searching what appeared to be
chaos in order to find a 3D bunny.

When she heard the first bell ring, she
was practically on the opposite side of campus from her first
period.
Poor planning, Rai
, she chided herself.

She hustled.

Aradia’s forehead was slightly shining
with perspiration, but she made it to English Lit with time to
spare, and she wasn’t even the last one to arrive. She arranged her
notebook and her copy of
Anne of Green
Gables
, their reading assignment from
the night before, in a convenient manner on her desk.

Aradia was much more
comfortable than she had been on Day One. She was feeling
especially empowered in her friend-making abilities after her
successful interaction with Roy at the track, even though he hadn’t
made it to their proposed lunch date.

She had sat in the
corner of the lunchroom with a clear view of the entrances. She’d
made sure to get there early so she wouldn’t have to search
awkwardly for him. It wouldn’t have been hard to find him with her
summoning power, of course, but she preferred to be able to wave
him over.

She thought waving him
to her would be cuter.

She’d never gotten the
chance to try, though.

At first she’d sulked
through her cheeseburger and baked fries.
They should call them french bakes
, she had moped to herself.

By the time she’d made
it to her dessert fruit cup, though, she had felt much better. Roy
hadn’t necessarily stood her up. She imagined he probably didn’t
want to miss lunch. Maybe something unavoidable had come up, or
maybe he’d already had other plans which he had
forgotten.

She smiled at the
thought. She didn’t know him well, obviously, but she prided
herself on her ability to judge one’s character. She could easily
imagine Roy getting excited and double-booking himself.

At any rate, she
decided that as part of her new leaf she was turning, she would
give him the benefit of the doubt.

Aradia smiled as she
reminisced about the prior day’s gym class while she absentmindedly
rubbed her hand over the cover of
Anne
of Green Gables
.

The girl sitting next
to her sneezed. It was a polite, quiet sneeze, but it brought
Aradia out of her reverie nonetheless. “Bless you,” she
said.

The girl turned in
surprise. “Oh, thanks!”

She was wearing blue
denim overalls with a red shirt, paint splattered sneakers, and
chunky thick-framed glasses. Her ears were small and hidden by her
pig tails, which lay floppily on her shoulders. Her hair was dirty
brown and, like Aradia, she had a lot of it. Her face was blocky,
yet petite, and was dotted with plentiful freckles.

With another positive
interaction under her belt, albeit a small one, Aradia wondered if
she should perhaps try making friends with this girl.

“Alright, let’s begin,”
Ms. O’Dell lazily proposed. She sounded almost as unhappy at the
idea as Aradia felt. “Who here did not do last night’s
reading?”

What an odd
question
, Aradia noted. Not
surprisingly, nobody raised their hand.

"Rhonda," the teacher
said from the front of the class. She appeared to be looking at
Aradia, which probably meant she was addressing Sneezy to Aradia’s
right.

Sneezy’s eyes went
wide, confirming Aradia’s supposition. Aradia was glad to know the
girl’s real name.
Rhonda is a much more
pleasant name than Sneezy
.

"What chapter in
Anne of Green Gables
is entitled Rachel Lynde is Surprised?"

Mrs. Rachel Lynde is
Surprised
, Aradia corrected her teacher
mentally.

Everyone in class
turned to look at Rhonda. Observing the girl freezing up, Aradia
winced. Rhonda obviously had no idea of the trap into which she’d
been enticed.

Quick as a flash Aradia
flipped to the desired chapter and tapped lightly on the page to
get Rhonda's attention.

At first, Rhonda
hesitated, apparently reluctant to trust someone she barely knew.
With little to lose, though, she accepted Aradia’s help and said,
“Chapter One."

The teacher smiled and
said, "Good," then turned to the chalk board. In large letters she
slowly wrote and underlined “Themes.” “Imagination vs. Social
Expectations,” she wrote and said aloud. “Images of Nature.”
“Social Concerns.” She went on for a while in that
manner.

Rhonda breathed a deep
sigh of relief and whispered, "Thank you."

"No problem," Aradia
replied with a shrug and a smile.

"Reading books like
this one has never been my strong suit. I’m more of a Star Wars
Expanded Universe fan," Rhonda explained, then blushed after
realizing what she had just so casually admitted.

"Well, may the force be
with you," replied Aradia, earning herself a smile from Rhonda,
whose cheeks came down a notch on the blush scale. "I usually
prefer classics, but ‘to each his own,’ I like to say. Besides, a
hundred years ago the only book around was the bible. Nowadays, I’m
just thankful to have options."

Rhonda laughed, drawing
the attention of a couple nearby students, and she blushed again.
Aradia chuckled.

Ms. O’Dell seemed about
to start discussing the items she’d listed on the board, many of
which were not technically themes, Aradia noted. She was
interrupted, though, by a straggler sauntering into the room. It
was the blonde boy from her Algebra class, the one who had evaded
her the day before. Today he wore a dark green polo, khaki chinos,
and brown loafers. Aradia decided he’d be
The-Most-Handsome-Boy-I’ve-Ever-Seen
until she learned his name. Probably afterward,
too.

He was tall, though not
as tall as Roy, Aradia estimated.
That
could be good
, she thought.
Easier to reach his lips
. His wavy blonde hair bounced with every step he took. In
Aradia's mind he moved in slow motion. Even in the fluorescent
lighting, his skin glowed like the first winter snow.

Aradia gazed at him
adoringly.

Strolling to an empty
seat at the front of the class, he said, "I apologize for my
tardiness, Ms. O'Dell. I was...sick this morning."

Ms. O'Dell grunted an
acknowledgement of the weak excuse and asked, “You were sick
yesterday for class as well then, I take it?”

Again he was at a
pleasant angle for Aradia, and she saw him smile as he answered,
“Fortunately I am feeling much better now. Thank you for your
concern, ma’am.” His smile was more charming than Tristan’s and
seemed as natural as Roy’s.
He’s
smooth
, Aradia swooned.

"Well, at least you're
here now. Should I take it you did not get last night’s
assignment?"

“I asked a friend for
it so I would not get behind,” he replied, and Ms. O’Dell actually
seemed disappointed that she could not bust his chops in front of
the class. “I found the reading to be quite engrossing, really. It
has the reputation of being adolescent material, but was obviously
intended originally for readers of all ages. I see you have already
begun discussion on the primary themes…”