The Awakening (11 page)

Her mouth flies open and she claps her hands in front of her. "Oh. My. God! That is phenomenal! You're really psychic?" She stops herself with a hand to her mouth and quiets down. "Tell me what I'm thinking
right
now. No, don't! Let me try to block my thoughts from you." She shuts her eyes and smiles real hard, bursting into a giggle. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Just think of all the places we can explore and investigate right here in Radisson. We'll have to have a schedule and organize everything. Wow, I'm sure there aren't many other applicants to Duke University who'll have ghost hunting as an extracurricular activity." Then Taylor raises her fist and cheers, "
Scientia vincere tenebras!
"

"Excuse me?" I ask, unaware they taught Latin at RHS.

Beaming, Taylor says, "'Through science to conquer darkness.' It's the motto of Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium."

"And you know that how?" Celia puts in.

Taylor waves a hand in the air. "Just one of those things you pick up."

"Oh. Okay." Damn, these kids here in Radisson are smarter than I gave them credit for originally. I guess it's not just some backwater 'burb outside of Atlanta. I sit up tall, barely believing that she's interested. She should, like, go on
Jeopardy!

Taylor nods at me. "The motto fits here, don't you think?"

"It sure does," Celia says.

I place my hand on the table and lean in toward Taylor. "So, you're in? You'll ghost hunt with us?"

"Absolutely!" she says loudly, and claps her hands.

"Like hell you will, Taylor. Are you insane?"

I whip my head around to confront the deep-voiced intruder. Of course, the first thing I see is his blue-jeaned crotch.
Yikes! Sorry!
Wasn't expecting that. So I crane my neck up to see who has rained on our very private parade.

I take in the full details of the bellowing guy. Trim waist, athletic build, last season's Old Navy rugby shirt that's been washed too many times and has seen better days, tan arms, thick lips, straight nose. Short-cropped blond hair frames his gorgeous face, and his jaw is firm and clenched...

But as soon as I make eye contact with him, my ears start ringing. A wave of heat passes over me while I stare at his beautiful blue eyes. Breathing becomes difficult, and the pounding in my head returns. Bells, whistles, and lights punctuate my thoughts. It's like I'm in net for the Blackhawks and someone just scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal on me, top shelf, glove side, and I'm sprawled out on the ice like roadkill while the other team celebrates. The blood tiptoes away from my face and I hear Celia say something about "she's gone pale."

"Hey, are you all right?" the guy asks. I see his lips moving, yet his words blend into the noise of my brain that's telling me
This can't be real.
My balance on the lunch-table bench is precarious, and air to my lungs has suddenly become a precious commodity. I sense myself slipping away into oblivion.

Holy shit ... I'm going to pass out, and Dasani-Blue-Eyed Boy—
he's for real!
—is moving in to catch me as I fall.

"K
ENDALL
! K
ENDALL!
Are you all right?"

I think that's Taylor screaming at me, but I can't be sure as I emerge from my hazy funk.

"Somebody get the school nurse," Taylor instructs.

"No. She's fine," Celia says, knowing I don't want to be poked or prodded. "It's just hot in here." She's waving an empty cafeteria tray over my head in an attempt to give me air.

"I could pour some water on her," Taylor says. "They do that all the time in the movies."

"You'll get me wet too," a male voice says from behind me.

Even though I'm drenched in sweat, I'm chilled to the bone. Crap on a crutch! Why did I faint? I haven't passed out like that since Easter Sunday when I was ten years old. I was singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" in the children's choir and it was scorching hot, so hot that I crumpled to the floor among the lilies of the valley. When I came to then, my dad's strong arms were holding me, just like—now? Wait! That's not Dad cradling me. It's—

Dasani-Blue-Eyed Boy!

That's
why I zonked out. Because he exists! Here in Radisson. In my school.

"You okay?" he asks as he peers at me. Even from my upside-down point of view, he's quite breathtaking. I realize I'm slumped on the floor, half lying in his lap with his arms around me. Mmm ... it feels nice, too. Just like my dream. Whoa. My dream had been some sort of weird foreshadowing of right now. I fell. Dasani-Blue-Eyed Boy caught me. He's eyeing me with major concern on his tanned face. Wow. I'm serious. He's freakin' gorgeous. I guess there
are
guys like him in Radisson. Color me lucky. The brown mole I've seen in my dreams is right there next to his nose on the left side of his face. I resist the urge to reach out and feel it just to make sure it's real. Yeah, I need some oxygen.

"Uhh, I think I'm—ugh," I blurt out. My head is pounding with the now-familiar psychic headache. There are flashes and lights and images, but nothing's concise or coherent. I press the palms of my hands into my eyes and rub—but not so hard that I smear my mascara. Dasani-Blue-Eyed Boy is no longer a figment of my imagination.

Taylor squats down next to me. "Oh, poor Kendall." Then she turns to the mystery man who saved me from cracking open my skull on the cafeteria's linoleum. "This is all your fault, Jason!"

Jason? His name is Jason. That's a noble name. Like Jason and the Argonauts, bringing Pelias the Golden Fleece. (So I know some Greek mythology on top of all the Shakespeare.)

"How on earth is this my fault?" he asks. "I caught her, didn't I?"

"You scared her senseless with your bullishness," Taylor accuses.

"I'm just looking out for you."

"I don't need you to look out for me, Jason."

"You certainly do," he growls. "Especially when you're talking about shit like ghost hunting. Are you insane, Taylor?"

I zone out for a moment, away from the hubbub swirling around me. My headache intensifies and I start seeing full-color images flickering through my mind, like a PowerPoint presentation. They're of the two of us—Jason and me—together. Like, doing couple things. Walking together. Talking on the phone. And me falling again. He's catching me, but it's different from just now. I sense anger and resentment in the air around me, trying to hurt him ... or me. Then we're kissing. Whoa! What an amazing vision this is.
Come back.

Taylor is still going at Jason full steam. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Someone should so you don't act like a jackass."

"You're the jackass, Jason."

"Y'all—" Celia tries with no success.

"Nice mouth, Taylor. Do you kiss your mother with it?"

"You should know."

From the tone of this argument, I gather that golden blond Jason is Taylor's boyfriend. Of course, the beautiful people pair off together. Such is the way of the world. It's been occurring since the dawn of time. That leaves outsiders and geeks like Celia and me to watch in envy and wonder what their children will look like someday.

I try to sit up and find myself nestled between this Jason's muscular blue-jeaned thighs. His warmth radiates against my back, and I feel quite natural up against him like this. Rather a precarious position, I must say. I'm sure Taylor doesn't appreciate me being snuggled up to her honey like this.

She flattens her lips and death-glares at Jason over my shoulder. "I'm sick of you constantly telling me what to do! You're my brother, not my father, Jason. When are you going to get that straight?"

Brother?
Ohhhhhhhh ... iiiiiiiiiiiinteresting.

Celia steps forward and extends her hand to me. "Here, Kendall. Get up."

I clasp on and let her pull me to my feet. Oh my God! While she's tugging, Jason gives me a shove on the ass for good measure. My entire being tingles, from the roots of my hairs to my in-need-of-a-pedicure toes. And it has nothing to do with my psychic abilities. It's like I've been Tasered by his gorgeous looks and the crooked smile that he gave me when I was supine in his lap. I scramble away from him and mutter my thanks under my breath.

"What happened?" Celia asks in a whisper.

I don't want to tell her about my dreams of Dasa—urr, Jason yet. She's been a good egg accepting my psychic awakening and the quest to ghost hunt, but I don't want to freak her out too much. "I think it's all part of coming to grips with my abilities."

She places a hand on my back and says, "Next time you want to play fainting goat, give me a heads-up."

I chuckle. "I'll do my best."

Jason stands as well and brushes off his large hands on his jeans. "I know you just got sick or whatever, but are you seriously talking about ghost hunting and dragging my sister into it?"

Pushing him away, Taylor says, "No one's dragging me into anything. I
want
to do this, Jason. And like I said before, you're my brother, not my guardian."

A long sigh escapes my chest as my initial crush-rush wears off and I take another good, long look at Jason Tillson. He's a little bit taller than Taylor—his
sister
—and has impressively broad shoulders. Just like the ones in my dream. His eyes are the most amazing crisp blue I've ever seen. Taylor's aren't much different, only hidden behind a thick layer of eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. Upon closer inspection, I swear they look just alike.

"You're twins," I say more than ask.

Jason quirks his mouth at me. "What, are you psychic too?"

Taylor smacks him. "You're such a jerk. Yes, Kendall, we are twins. But because Mr. Wonderful here is three minutes—"

"Three and a half," he says emphatically.

"Whatever. Since he came out first, he thinks he can tell me what to do."

"I didn't mean to cause a family squabble," I say.

"This is my life," Taylor says. "As I was saying before the Incredible Hulk moved in and nearly sent you up to Jesus, I have two digital cameras and a video recorder that registers night vision. That should come in handy, shouldn't it?"

"Absolutely. Celia says our best hunting will be at night, so any equipment that lends itself to that is perfect. Right?"

I nudge Celia with my elbow, but she doesn't look up. "Sure." She seems to be fascinated by a bend of elbow macaroni on the floor at her feet. What's wrong with her? She's totally clammed up all of a sudden. Is she afraid of Jason Tillson? Honestly, he's just an overprotective brother. I think it's kind of cute, in a sweet, distorted way. Celia sits back at the table and begins shuffling the papers we'd been showing Taylor. I guess she's focusing on the task at hand, which is getting our team set.

Turning my attention back to Taylor, I say, "I'm so glad you're in. With you aboard, Celia can concentrate on the computer equipment and I can really start honing my intuitive skills so we can connect with the spirits around here."

A harrumph escapes Jason's chest. "Intuitive skills? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I actually
am
psychic." I poke my index finger against his steel-belted shoulder. "So watch your thoughts around me."

Okay, so it's a pretty hollow threat, but what Jason Tillson doesn't know won't kill him.

"Fine," he says and then turns to his sister. "Do whatever you want, Taylor. But don't come crying to me when the shit hits the fan or you screw up in some way."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, JT."

As Taylor and Celia begin making notes and comparing calendars, I watch Jason stride off through the cafeteria. People around us seem to lose interest and go back to their American chop suey and ponderings of the fainting new girl. With one more sidelong glance, Jason's electric blue eyes connect with mine, and he half smiles like he knows a secret. It's the same exact look I've seen in my dreams. The one he gives me right before I fall into his arms.

Damn it! Didn't that just happen?

I know one thing: if I'm going to keep my sanity, I need to steer clear of Jason Tillson.

When I walk into Divining Woman after school, Loreen hands me a Vitamin Water and invites me to sit on the couch with her. "I bet you could use something cold to drink after the day you've had."

"How do you..." Right, she's psychic. "You sense that from my energies?"

She runs her fingers through her curly hair and nods. "Your energy is almost of a static-electricity nature. I get the sense something happened at school?"

I tell her about the run-in with Jason.

"So, this is the boy you've been dreaming of?"

I bob my head while I gulp the orangey drink. "Exactly. Down to the details of the mole on his left cheek."

Loreen shuts her eyes and breathes in deeply. I almost have to snort at today's T-shirt, which reads "I know what you did, and there will be consequences." She shifts her eyes to mine. "I sense a cosmic connection between you and Jason, but it's not very clear right now what your future holds. As you develop your gift more, you'll be able to decipher the meanings of things like dreams, images, and visions. Right now, you just have to take it one day at a time and not get too discouraged or frustrated with yourself."

I laugh. "The fact that I'm even in your store again shows that I'm trying to come to terms with what might be going on with me."

She reaches over and takes my hand. "It really is a gift from God, Kendall. There's so much good you can do with it. Take it from me, I know."

"Thanks, Loreen. I'm trying to look at it that way." Although, maybe I should start playing the lottery or betting the ponies or gambling on baseball games. I could make a fortune! I sit back and smile, thinking
that
could be the life.

"That would be an abuse of your abilities, Kendall, and you know it."

"Get out of my head, Loreen," I say with a bit of frustration.

"Sorry, I can't help myself." Loreen smiles at me. I'm so glad to have her here to guide me through this awakening and to help me not make an ass out of myself. Stupid queen of hearts was right. I did need another woman to show me the way. "You should use your psychic intuition to do something good," she says. "I use my Reiki healing all the time at the nursing home where I volunteer. So many of those elderly people have family that's moved away or no one to take care of them and most of the time, they just want companionship."