I watched Amy as she walked into detention. I felt so guilty. I knew her mom would kill her when she got home. Anger boiled inside of me. Why had I let her take the blame for me like that? It wasn’t her fault! It was mine. I watched through the door window as Ms. Blaine helped kids with their science experiments. They had chemical test tubes boiling over the small flame.
I watched the fire carefully. As my anger grew, I clenched my hands into fists. That’s when the fire amplified, almost burning the people around it, who were doing the experiment. I had this overwhelming feeling that it was because of me that the flame grew, feeling that I almost could make the flame do what I wanted. I narrowed my eyes on the flame, unclenching my hand and the fire went out. The people doing the experiment looked at each other oddly. I clenched my fists again, focusing on where the flame used to be. Suddenly, it exploded!
The fire alarm was immensely loud. I must have over-sensitive ears because it seemed I was the only one really, truly affected. Then the sprinklers shot on. I raised my hand, as if to block the rushing water.
‘As if that will work.’ I scoffed at myself, but it was as if my hands had formed an invisible barrier. No water had yet touched my skin. I watched as the beads of water clashed against the invisible layer that surrounded me. I almost screamed. What was going on? I dropped my hand and in an instant was soaking wet.
No one saw it but I was scared out of my mind when everyone in any of the classrooms came rushing into the hall, ready to escape the building because of the fire alarm.
“Did you see that?” Amy gasped when she found me outside in the parking lot after the fire department left. She had gotten excused from detention and now we were getting ready to leave.
“Yeah, it was weird.” I tried to cover my tone of astonishment, by changing the subject. “But hey, no detention!” I smiled at her as I walked her to her mom’s car.
“Yeah, do you think Fox News will come to interview us? I mean fire appearing out of nowhere. That’s something to report on. My dad always says they love conspiracies.”
“Amy, Fox News isn’t going to come interview you because a fire alarm went off.”
“Man, I could have been famous.” She flipped her hair. “What if I faked a thirty degree burn?”
“You mean a three degree burn.”
“Silly Marie, three degrees isn’t enough to burn someone.”
I rolled my eyes at her as we continued to walk.
“So anyway did you meet the new guy yet?” Amy moved on quickly to gossip.
“What new guy?” I live in the most boring uneventful town that a new kid was usually the pinnacle of excitement. Well other than the weird fire that was still running play by play in my mind. Anyway, there was really no reason for anyone to move to Linthicum. It was in Maryland, a place known for crab cakes and, as far as I know, nothing else. Once I saw the sheriff at the library… I didn’t even know Linthicum had a sheriff. We certainly didn’t have any crime. I loved Linthicum but it’s one of those towns that if you don’t escape when you’re young, you’ll never leave.
“The totally hot one, of course. I think he’s foreign or something. He doesn’t have an accent, but he just acts different.”
“Weird, different?”
“No, different, different.”
“I completely understand what you just said.” I said sarcastically.
“He just… he acts so mature… and mannerly.”
“A sixteen year old boy who is mannerly?” I questioned his existence. “He must be an alien.”
“What if he’s a vampire!”
“I think you’ve officially read too much Twilight, Amy.”
“But it makes sense doesn’t it? All these people missing… He acts like he’s never heard slang words before…”
“Slang words like what?” I inquired.
“Fudge.”
“Fudge?” I raised my eyebrows at her. “That’s not a slang word, that’s an odd/creative substitute for cussing.”
“Yeah well, Shane said it in English and the new guy’s all like ‘what’s food got to do with anything?’“ Amy eyeballed me like what she just said changed everything.
“Whoa, he knows what fudge really is.” I mocked her, gasping for dramatic effect. “You’re right; he must be a vampire.”
“Just you wait. I’ll prove it to you.” Amy looked determined.
“What’s his name anyway?”
“Whose name?”
“The new guy’s.”
“Oh. I don’t know.”
“You, Amy, the queen of all that is gossip, don’t know the supposedly hot new guy’s name, and yet somehow you know he is a vampire?”
“Do you think it’s Edward?”
boysaredemonsseries 