Dodgeball, yeah!

[ALEX KING]

Starting at a new school was hard. What was even harder was starting at a new school after the school year had already started. Alex had the misfortune of doing that on more than one occasion. You’d think she’d be used to being the new girl in school, right? Wrong. She hated unnecessary attention, which her teachers always felt compelled to give her. ”This is Alexandra King, she’s just transferred here from Pennsylvania! Let’s give her a warm welcome!” “Everybody, Alexandra and her father just moved here from Texas.” “Why don’t you tell us a little bit about where you’re from, Miss King. Rhode Island, was it?”

Same awkward introductions to different classrooms filled with the uncaring eyes of bored students in new schools. Nobody cared where she came from or why she moved. She certainly didn’t. And after nearly an hour of Geometry followed by World History she was ready for lunch so she could shy away to a quiet little bench away from her fellow classmates. But of course she had one more class to get through before she could do that, and it was the most dreaded class of all. P.E. And as luck would have it, they were playing her favorite sport of all time - dodgeball.

Lucky for her it was still her first day of school and she didn’t buy gym clothes yet which meant she’d just have to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else have the time of their lives throwing not-so-soft dodgeballs at each other’s heads. Bummer. Except as luck would have it, there was a box of spare gym shorts that had been ordered for her to take. She’d just have to pay the fees the next day. It was everything that Alex had hoped for! She could join in on the fun and knock the opposing players out of the game with her good arm and the swiftness of her step would keep her from getting thrown out! Not!

After issued a locker and changing her jeans into the spare pair of gym shorts that were a little too long, she headed into the gymnasium with the rest of the class. She stuck out with her black shirt on among the sea of white tees with the extremely weird green wave mascot printed with the school’s name across the front. Nothing screamed ‘new girl’ and ‘target’ more than clashing with the crowd.

Once out of the locker rooms and into the gymnasium the squeaking sounds of shoes on the floor and chatter of the students echoed off the walls, bouncing back and sounding like a jumbled mess. The noise only intensified as more students from the other side of the gym came piling in from what had to be the boys’ locker room. Looked like they were sharing the gym today, yippee! The boys didn’t look like they were going to join in on their sport however, as their coach/teacher/whatever they called him started to give the instructions. While in the meantime her own class was breaking up into teams and she found herself on the ‘green team’. Apparently they were either green or white, just like the school colors.

Dodgeball started up once everyone was in position. Alex wouldn’t say she was disinterested in the game.. just that she was really, really bad at it. When she tried to throw one of the balls to strike out someone on the other team her aim would go all wonky and she’d end up hitting the wall to her side instead. Or when she’d try to dodge she’d knock into one of her teammates. One time she even kicked the ball by mistake when trying to lift her foot so not to make contact with it, kicking it over to the other side of the gym where the boys were.

By the time they got to the third game she had three people hit her at once knocking her out first thing. In a way she was grateful to be able to just go take a seat on the bleachers and watch from afar. Maybe if she got up the courage she’d cheer for her teammates. Maybe one of them would even come sit beside her after they struck out as well. She’d just have to wait for one to strike out and see what happens, but in the meantime she stuck her legs out straight in front of her and looked down at her pale chicken legs. If she knew she’d have to wear shorts today maybe she would have put on a little more lotion. Ick!

[CONNOR NOLAN]

A month into school and Connor was back in the swing of things. Not that three months is really enough time for you to get out of the swing, but it was enough time for him to slack off some. It wasn’t something that Connor usually did, so he liked the summer months when he could…on occasion. Working part-time at the bookstore, practicing his “gift” for a couple hours a day, playing piano for another couple of hours, considering college applications, and soccer practice every day in the last three weeks of summer didn’t give him a whole lot of time to really relax. Then again, it was plenty of time if you didn’t sleep normal hours. Whenever he wasn’t a Dylan’s, practicing spells in his grimmerie, at his piano, looking at colleges or out on the field, he was painting, reading, or glued to his television screen as he and his friends played Xbox. Basically, he was being lazy. He was one of the more popular kids in school, however, by whatever miracle, and he felt obligated to make social appearances every now and then. The summer, though cold, had been ripe for parties when kids’ parents were out of town and hardly a week went by without some invitation. He didn’t always go; he didn’t like crowds and he usually just found himself watching instead of participating…and avoiding the gaze of the latest girl looking for summer love. How did girls have so much time to be on the hunt for a boyfriend?

That seemed to be the main occupation for eighty percent of the girls in Cypress High: finding their newest boyfriend. At least, that’s how it was for the girls that hung out in the popular crowds. They did sports and had good grades, but so many of them didn’t have jobs because finding a man was their job. On top of that, their expectations were way too high for high school boys, in Connor’s opinion. They wanted designer gifts from their boyfriends at Christmas and Valentine’s like they saw in the movies and on TV, but what high school student could afford that unless it was their parents’ money? Connor had long since lost interest in the girls that hung around his group of friends. Were they hot? Of course, but he didn’t want to deal with the rest of it, not with everything else on his plate. And then there was his secret to worry about…none of those girls would be able to keep that secret. So he remained a mystery to most of them, an untapped resource that maybe they got to make out with if he was in the mood, but not boyfriend material. It was a wonder there weren’t rumors that he was gay.

With school back in session, life returned to normal and Connor was always busy. Today he had Music to start the day, followed by World History, P.E., lunch, and then Calculus, after which he had soccer practice and a shift at Dylan’s which went until closing at nine. Then there was homework. A typical day for Connor. Well, it was typical until he noticed the new girl in World History. Connor had lived his whole life in Scriptor Bay and many of the kids he went to school with he’d known since elementary school. This girl was not one of those kids. She sat close to him in class, but he doubted she noticed him at all. The girl was pretty, but that wasn’t why he noticed her—she was just new and that alone piqued his curiosity some. Class went by leading up to the Renaissance, and then it was time for gym. The guys were being their normal gross selves and Connor got sucked into a shirt snapping competition until the coach told them to cut it out and get dressed. When he walked onto the court, lo and behold, there was the new girl standing out in her black shirt. “Damn, check out the new girl. I’d hit that.” The comment came from one of his team mates and the other guys laughed, but Connor only offered a smirk. He hoped the new girl was smarter than to get mixed up with those guys. They were his friends, but they were douches when it came to women.

Dodgeball had to be one of the most competitive sports among teenage boys, which was precisely why they weren’t allowed to play it with the girls. These guys were vicious and being pelted by the ball often left several bruises, though it was all in good fun. Connor was actually pretty good at the game, jumping out of the way to avoid balls flying in his direction with ease, though his aim wasn’t all that great. Until he turned around. One of his friends got him right between the shoulder blades. With a yelp, he straightened up to the laughter of his pals and he had to laugh too. He’d made himself too easy. He shuffled toward the bleachers, seeing most of the band geeks had already struck out, but he threw them a smile. Most of them were in his morning class anyway and they were nice guys. Then he noticed the new girl was sitting there too, sticking out like a sore thumb in that black shirt. She looked pretty awkward and alone sitting away from everyone else, and he always felt bad when people were left sitting out like that. He’d been that kid in elementary school.

Casually he took a seat near her on the bleachers, trying to think of what he could say. He wasn’t very good with introductions…Finally he just turned his body toward her with a kind, crooked smile. “You’re the new girl, right?” As she looked at him, he was glad he’d gotten her attention and his smile grew a little more. “Sorry, I just…we had World History together and I remember the teacher introducing you. I think I missed your name though…I’m Connor.” Could his introduction be any more awkward? He was awful at this stuff, but at least she had someone to talk to now. Connor didn’t even notice the eyes on him as he attempted to make friends. He thought the “shun the new person” routine was stupid.

[ALEX KING]

Alex's eyes moved back and forth from the girls' game to the boys. The boys were definitely the more agressive gender, hitting each other as hard as they could. She cringed as one boy was hit in the face with so much force that it nearly knocked him off his feet. She was so engrossed in watching the kid rub his face and move to take a seat in the bleachers with the other boys while trying to act like she wasn't interested in what had just happened to him, that she didn't even see another boy who came over and took a seat beside her on the bleachers. At first she just looked at him like he had three heads before averting her eyes and staring above the heads of the girls still playing dodgeball and looking at the far wall of the gym.

The short glance that she chanced proved what she was thinking; second period they had a class together. She had taken a desk a few seats away from his in that class, but she didn't pay enough attention to know who he was. In fact, she'd kept to herself the majority of the morning, not counting the useless introductions that she had to do in her classes. She wasn't sure why he chose to sit near her or even what his name was, but the two of them sat there in awkward silence. She thought about saying something, anything to stop the uncomfortable quiet that was starting to make her nervous when he beat her to the punch.

"You're the new girl, right?" Alex turned her head in his direction and her eyes followed. "Sorry, I just...we had World History together and I remember the teacher introducing you. I think I missed your name though...I'm Connor." She didn't think anyone would remember her name from when the teacher said it, and she was thankful for that. She didn't want people to call her Alexandra, which was how she was introduced in all of her classes. She preferred to go by the nickname she'd had since she was a kid, and it wasn't as if she had a steady set of friends to know her preferences in what name she went by. That was one of the downfalls of relocating so often.

The introduction that he gave was a little silly, almost like he had decided to come over and talk to her but when he sat down he realized he had to actually muster up the courage to say something. "Alex.." She said and averted her eyes as if the girls' dodgeball game was far more interesting to watch than stare at his face. It was a new school.. she could play it cool and try to blend in, right? She had plenty of opportunities to reinvent herself and to try and get in with the popular crowd. Yeah, okay, maybe she failed every single time, but she gave it a go at least! This time, however, she decided she wasn't going to try and change who she was. She was just Alex. No more 'mean girls' chic or flower power. Just Alex.

"Yeah, I thought you looked like someone from second period," Alex offered and shot an awkward smile back to Connor, trying to look friendly without being overly friendly. High school really was a drag. You couldn't be too nice because then you'd be weird and if you weren't nice enough then you were categorized as a bitch or worse. She wished high school would just be over already. "But that's me.. 'the new girl'. Looks like you stink at this game too, huh?" She asked just trying to keep a light conversation going. Truth of the matter was, she didn't know what to say. Was he some jerk guy who was going to start hitting on her and ask for her digits so he could try to score and then brag to all of his friends? He didn't seem like the type. If he was, he wasn't any good at it. He also didn't look like he belonged to the chess club either. There weren't any Star Trek memorabilia anywhere in sight so total dweeb was another unfit.

Suddenly she became very aware with a sweep over the gym that other classmates were watching them. You didn't just go up and talk to the new girl in school. One girl in particular with bleached blonde hair seemed to be glaring at them. Was he her boyfriend and she was jealous? Whatever the reason the blonde girl was giving her dirty looks she didn't want to be caught in the middle of someone else's drama. Looking back to Connor she let out a sharp exhale. "So what happened, did you lose a bet or something?"

[CONNOR NOLAN]

“Alex…” The way she spoke her name made Connor wonder if she was one of those aloof girls who wasn’t really interested in making friends. He felt a little silly for having come over in the first place since she didn’t really seem interested in having company. With an awkward little half smile, he looked back to the guys’ dodgeball game, wondering what he could say next to fill the silence that fell between them. “Yeah, I thought you looked like someone from second period.” Connor’s eyes moved back to hers and he returned her awkward smile with a relieved one of his own. Okay, so he hadn’t really done anything weird in coming over. These sorts of situations were so delicate in high school. You weren’t supposed to seem overeager to have a conversation with someone, but you didn’t want to come off like jerk either. It was funny how just one smile to turn the mood of an entire conversation around. “But that’s me…’the new girl.’ Looks like you stink at this game too, huh?” He let out a breathy laugh, looking down at his sneakers with a wide smile. “Yeah, I guess I do. Rule number one: never turn your back on the enemy.” Looking back up at her, his grin was wide and crooked. So she wasn’t that aloof…but where did she fit in? He seemed to fit in with the popular kids, though he was on the quiet side and tended to hang around the edges in that group. Was there a group she fit into? Or was she just a drifter? Did it really matter?

She wasn’t looking at him as he studied her for a long moment; instead, she was looking out over the gym. He figured there must be something interesting going on, so he glanced out too. Other than a couple strange looks from his friend that made his brow furrow, there wasn’t anything to catch his attention. What was she looking at then? The girl’s game was less active than the boys’ game. With a sharp breath, her eyes came back to his and he wondered if she was irritated. “So what happened, did you lose a bet or something?” Again his brow furrowed, but this time a confused smile spread across his face. “Huh?” he said, glancing toward the girls and catching Georgia Roberts’ eye. With her bleached blonde hair and overly tanned skin, she might have been the object of another classmate’s fantasy, but not his. He liked girls to be more natural than that. Ignoring her, he looked back to Alex with a wider smile, the kindest one he could muster. “No, no bets…You just looked uncomfortable sitting up here up yourself. I figured I could come over and say hello. But maybe that’s more awkward than sitting by yourself.” He gave an amused half smile at his attempt at humor. Glancing over at the guys’ game, he could see his friends shooting him smirks. He shook his head and then looked back to Alex a little bashfully. “Ignore those guys. They’re douchebags.” With another small laugh, he glanced back to his sneakers, trying to think of things they could talk about.

“So, is your mom or dad in the military? Most of the new kids around here move here because their parents get stationed at the base.” He’d met a few new friends and had to say goodbye to a few old ones over the years because of the constant moving around military brats did. A lot of military kids had lots of stories to tell about the places they’d lived because of their parents’ occupations. In a lot of ways they were more interesting than normal kids. Connor certainly had no interesting stories about other places he’d lived or visited. All his life he’d lived in Scriptor Bay and he was pretty sure with his gift, he wouldn’t fit in anywhere else.

[ALEX KING]

”Yeah, I guess I do. Rule number one: never turn your back on the enemy.” She laughed at his little piece of advice to go along with dodgeball. No matter what rules there were or what tips she received she would always stink at the game. Nothing could fix that train wreck. Fortunately for her being skilled in dodgeball didn’t make up her grade. As long as she put out an effort and tried to play the game then she was in the clear. She just didn’t have high expectations. Heck, she didn’t have any expectations when it came to dodgeball.

When she asked if Connor had lost a bet he seriously looked confused with his friendly smile plastered there on his face. ”Huh?” She stared at him, waiting for an answer to her question. Did he come over because he drew the short straw and the boys wanted to find out where she was from and what sort of girl she was? Or was he just a one-of-a-kind nice guy? ”No, no bets...You just looked uncomfortable sitting up here by yourself. I figured I could come over and say hello. But maybe that’s more awkward than sitting by yourself.” She grinned and looked away knowing exactly what he meant. It was awkward sitting there trying to talk to this complete stranger, but they had two classes together so far. Might as well make the best of it. Maybe they could be friends? She had a few openings available afterall.

When Connor looked over toward the group of boys she took notice of how they all looked amused, and she couldn’t help but wonder once again if maybe he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. Maybe he actually did lose a bet. ”Ignore those guys. They’re douchebags.” Aren’t most teenage boys? She kept her thoughts to herself and chuckled softly before trying to tuck her legs under the bleachers and out of sight. “You don’t say,” she uttered quietly, partially to herself and looked away from the boys’ game.

”So, is your mom or dad in the military? Most of the new kids around here move here because their parents get stationed at the base.”

At first the question seemed totally weird and out of place. Like somehow he knew by some freaky way that she was a military brat. Did she wear a sign that broadcasted it? But his question had been followed by the simple fact that a lot of military brats came through the area and more than likely didn’t stay long. She pursed her lips together and gave a firm nod of her head. “Right on the nose. My dad is in the Air Force... you must be used to getting new people here who only stay for a couple of years before getting shipped somewhere new, huh?” It sucked whenever it was time to move again. Every time Alex would begin to feel comfortable and call someplace her home that was when they picked up and left again.

“I take it you’re not a military kid. Which means you probably know a lot about this city..” Her dad told her that he’d heard from others who had been stationed in Scriptor Bay that the city was eerie. Strange things seemed to happen and there had been a whole big thing on the news about the city. At least that’s what her dad said. It wasn’t like she watched the news. She wasn’t weird or anything. But the weather had been gloomy nonstop since they got there. She’d heard it rained in Oregon a lot but this was just ridiculous! “..what’s up with your weather? Does it ever stop being so.. depressing?”

[CONNOR NOLAN]

“Right on the nose. My dad is in the Air Force…” Connor had to say he felt pretty good at guessing why Alex had moved and his smile widened. Simple pleasures… “You must be used to getting new people here who only stay for a couple of years before getting shipped somewhere new, huh?” He nodded and glanced to his feet. “Yeah, they come around every now and then. I’ve had a few friends over the years that have had to leave because their parents were reassigned. It’s a good thing Facebook and Twitter were invented.” His smile broadened. He probably would have lost touch with those friends a long time ago if he didn’t have social networking to keep him connected. “I take it you’re not a military kid. Which means you probably know a lot about this city…” Connor nodded, slouching in a more relaxed position now that he and Alex were in a comfortable conversation. His elbows rested on his thighs, his hands clasped together as he leaned forward some. “Lived here my whole life,” he replied. He loved it in Scriptor Bay, but he couldn’t wait to see other places. Though he couldn’t see himself really living anywhere other than Scriptor Bay, he definitely wanted to do some traveling in the years after high school. He wanted a chance to see the world…

“…What’s up with your weather? Does it ever stop being so…depressing?” Connor laughed at her question, snapped out of his thoughts. He supposed it was depressing with the skies as black as night all day, every day. “It wasn’t always like this. Over the summer it just happened all of a sudden. Like overnight these permanent clouds blew in. You should have seen the snow we had in July. This weather’s been crazy.” He gave a lighthearted shrug as if the weather didn’t really affect him. “But it can’t stay like this forever.” Sometimes it felt like it would, though. Though he played it off as though there were no adverse effects the weather had on him, his magic hadn’t worked right since it started. He’d almost adjusted his most basic spells to accommodate the shift, but it still felt incredibly odd. If he tried something more complicated, there was no telling how wrong the spell could go with the strange effect the darkness had on his powers. It was almost Halloween and still it was hanging in the air…With a mischievous glint in his eye, he smirked gently at Alex. “You know, they say it happened because of the curse on the city.” The look she gave him made him grin wider, well aware that she couldn’t know very much about the legend of the city. It was a well-known tale in their city, but the rest of the world wouldn’t know it. “It’s true! There’s a legend we have around here about the big tree in the center of the city. We call it the Tree of Enlightenment. The story goes that a Native American chieftain, angered by the white men forcing his people off their land, cursed the land in retaliation. The Tree of Enlightenment split open and a darkness came out and began to destroy the settlement. When it came for the Native Americans, though, the chieftain regretted what he’d done. But when the moon turned full, beings came out of the tree and sealed it up again, closing the darkness inside. They say those beings still protect the city today.” With another shrug of his shoulders, as if he didn’t know whether the story was true or not, he smiled at Alex. “Rumor has it, the earthquake split the tree open and released the darkness again.”

It was obvious Alex disregarded his story as nothing more than that—a story. He looked amused and played along with this conception that the legend and the truth behind the darkness weren’t real. With a playfully knowing nod, he glanced back out to the games of dodgeball still continuing. “So now you know the town’s big secret. It’s kind of a big deal.” His grin returned, easing further into this conversation. So he wasn’t so bad with this introduction stuff after all…Once he got comfortable, he wasn’t so awkward, it seemed. “So where were you before this?” He thought maybe the teacher had said, but he couldn’t remember at the moment and it would be something more to talk about. Alex actually seemed pretty cool.

[ALEX KING]

"Yeah, they come around every now and then. I've had a few friends over the years that have had to leave because their parents were reassigned. It's a good thing Facebook and Twitter were invented." She laughed at the social network comment knowing that it was true. She wasn't a fan of Twitter but she did love Facebook. "Lived here my whole life," well that's unfortunate, Alex thought to herself but only nodded in reply. When he leaned forward she decided to lean back and cross her arms over her stomach as if she was trying to give herself a loose hug. She thought it must be boring living in one place all your life. But a part of her envied him for being able to have roots and not have to pack more often than she got a haircut.

"It wasn't always like this. Over the summer it just happened all of a sudden. Like overnight these permanent clouds blew in. You should have seen the snow we had in July. This weather's been crazy." "You could say that again," Alex wrinkled her nose. "But it can't stay like this forever." It was strange how it was so dark all of the time. Connor was right; it wasn’t going to stay dark and cruddy outside forever. The sun had to shine at some point.

Alex caught Connor’s eye and gave him a quirky single brow lift when he started to speak again. ”You know, they say it happened because of the curse on the city.” Curse? She leaned back and gave him a skeptical look like he was nuts. Then again she believed in strange things already.. ghosts? Yep. Superstitions? Most definitely. Zombies? Okay well maybe not yet but a zombie apocalypse was very possible! Someday! ”It’s true! There’s a legend we have around here about the big tree in the center of the city. We call it the Tree of Enlightenment. The story goes that a Native American chieftain, angered by the white men forcing his people off their land, cursed the land in retaliation. The Tree of Enlightenment split open and a darkness came out and began to destroy the settlement. When it came for the Native Americans, though, the chieftain regretted what he’d done. But when the moon turned full, beings came out of the tree and sealed it up again, closing the darkness inside. They say those beings still protect the city today.” She stared at him for a long moment before slowly bobbing her head up and down in a nod. ”Rumor has it, the earthquake split the tree open and released the darkness again.” There was an earthquake? Must have been before they moved there. It just didn’t seem possible that a tree would have some strange magic inside. “Well that’s.. quite a story..” She tried to keep a straight face but the corners of her mouth kept threatening to curve up. From the look on his own face it was obvious that he didn’t expect her to buy into that little tale.

”So now you know the town’s big secret. It’s kind of a big deal.” Every town had its thing she came to realize. It was always something strange.. like a town that had a thing for chucking pumpkins with homemade catapults. Another town they’d been in had a weird thing for purple food coloring. You could get almost anything edible in the color purple! They didn’t stay there long enough for her to find out what that was about. ”So where were you before this?” If she had a nickle for everytime someone asked her that question.. she uncrossed her arms and slapped her hands against her thighs. “Just outside Tucson, Arizona.” She watched the dodgeball game that was still going on. Actually it looked like they started a new round and nobody bothered to tell her that she had to join in again. Probably for the best.. her teammates didn’t want her on their team. “There’s an Air Force base there. We were stuck there for six months but then there was a promotion if he transferred here so... here I am.” It got old after awhile moving all over the place and she felt like a broken record that kept saying the same thing just to different people.

“Okay so... obviously there’s some magical tree and earthquakes and moody weather.. is there anything normal around here? Like a movie theater? Skating rink?” She shrugged trying to act nonchalant. She had a bike and she rode around the city a little bit to scope out the scenery. She’d seen the library, city hall and Peanut Street so if she ever needed a good book, city information or a pair of socks then she was covered. “Where does everyone hang out?” It wasn’t like she wanted to actually go where all the cool kids hung out. More like she wanted to stay away from those places. Actually she wanted to know where the closest Game Stop or Best Buy was. Video games heck yes!

[CONNOR NOLAN]

“Just outside Tuscon, Arizona. There’s an Air Force base there. We were stuck there for six months but then there was a promotion if he transferred here so…here I am.” Connor nodded. That sounded about like every other military brat’s reason for being in Scriptor Bay. Parents got promotions and kids got uprooted; while going to different places would have been fun, Connor just couldn’t see liking having to move after only six months of arriving in a new place. Especially somewhere like Tuscon, Arizona…Then again, Alex must have been good with people if she had to make all new friends everywhere she went. It was more than he could say for himself. He was totally awkward. The only reason he was popular, he was certain, was because he looked like he fit in with them and he played sports with them. Otherwise, who knows what group he would have ended up in? Alex didn’t seem too keen on talking about her previous residences, though. He could only imagine how many times she’d been asked that question, which made him feel like maybe he should have been more original with his question.

“Okay so…obviously there’s some magical tree and earthquakes and moody weather…is there anything normal around her? Like a movie theater? Skating rink?” He grinned and chuckled lightly at the way she worded that question: obviously there was magic and crazy stuff in this town. It was like it was totally believable. “Where does everyone hang out?” Connor had to think about that. “The beach is a popular spot, and the Pier. There’s a bonfire just about every other weekend. And yeah, there’s a movie theater just past Peanut Street. Then there’s Dylan’s, the café on Peanut. And when the weather is nice, a lot of people go to the park to hang out. Of course, with this weather, there’s not a lot of that happening.” He smiled again and shrugged his shoulders. “This time of year, though, a lot of kids go out to Megsy Isle to check out the hauntings out there. Some people say there are ghosts out on Megsy, people who have jumped or fallen off the cliffs. A lot of kids will tell you that they experienced something out there when they were dared to go. I don’t know if I really believe in all of that, but it’s funny to watch the tough guys get freaked out over noises in the woods.” He’d watched one of his teammates nearly jump out of his skin when one of the other guys hiding behind a tree jumped out screaming. Connor had never taken the ghost stories of Megsy all that seriously.

“We don’t have much of a mall nearby, though. I mean, there are a few stores major stores in the one just outside of town. Ikea, Target, Barnes and Noble and Best Buy are the biggest names. There’s a cool little art store out there also and a couple restaurants. Actually, some kids go out that way too, since it’s the closest thing to a mall that we have. I mostly go out there for art supplies and video games, though.” He gave an awkward smile, not sure why he was blabbering on the way he was. Connor didn’t usually talk this much to anyone, but Alex didn’t look bored with what he was saying. That was a good sign…Looking out at the gym, there was a new game started, but Connor was more interested in hanging out with the new girl than joining the game again. For the moment they were forgotten and even the coaches weren’t hassling them. That just gave him more time to get to know the girl sitting next to him.

[ALEX KING]

”The beach is a popular spot, and the Pier. There’s a bonfire just about every other weekend. And yeah, there’s a movie theater just past Peanut Street. Then there’s Dylan’s, the café on Peanut. And when the weather is nice, a lot of people go to the park to hang out. Of course, with this weather, there’s not a lot of that happening.” Although Scriptor Bay’s rich, magical history had been a new one it wasn’t the only ‘new’ for Alex.. she’d never lived so close to the ocean. They’d lived in states that had coasts on the ocean but they were never stationed close enough and it would be a two to three hour drive. Needless to say she didn’t get to the ocean much. ”This time of year, though, a lot of kids go out to Megsy Isle to check out the hauntings out there. Some people say there are ghosts out on Megsy, people who have jumped or fallen off the cliffs. A lot of kids will tell you that they experienced something out there when they were dared to go. I don’t know if I really believe in all of that, but it’s funny to watch the tough guys get freaked out over noises in the woods.”

Not only did they have magical trees but a haunted isle too? Man, did this city have problems! The bonfires did sound like they could be a lot of fun though. “Sounds like you have your hands full. Are there faeries and werewolves out there too?” She grinned at him for a split second before glancing away awkwardly. Alex wasn’t sure if he would find that funny or if he’d think it offensive. This was his territory after all. Maybe she could ask her dad to borrow the truck and a map and she’d find this haunted place he was talking about. Not that she believed in ghosts... nope not at all! And she was a really big chicken but her curiosity was way higher than her fear. Yep. She was so checking it out.

”We don’t have much of a mall nearby, though. I mean, there are a few stores major stores in the one just outside of town. Ikea, Target, Barnes and Noble and Best Buy are the biggest names. There’s a cool little art store out there also and a couple restaurants. Actually, some kids go out that way too, since it’s the closest thing to a mall that we have. I mostly go out there for art supplies and video games, though.” Malls weren’t really her thing anyway.. she didn’t like hanging around large crowds and didn’t find hanging around clothes fun. But video games? That was more down her alley.

“Video games are.. cool.” How could she say that she liked video games without sounding like a weirdo nerd chick? Girls didn’t play video games unless it was Just Dance or some kind of karaoke game. She actually liked computer games though. She’d take her World of Warcraft over partying anyday! “What kind are you into? And what kind of art? You don’t look like the artsy fartsy type.” He didn’t look like the nice let’s-say-hi-to-the-new-girl type either though so maybe he was full of surprises. She offered him a friendly little grin and waited to hear what he had to say, hoping she didn’t sound too invasive or like a total dork. But truth be told if she wasn’t afraid of being labeled a total dweeb she’d be wearing a Star Trek shirt. One of several that she only wore when she wasn’t at school.

[CONNOR NOLAN]

“Video games are…cool.” The hesitant way Alex said that made Connor’s brow furrow curiously as his smile grew. Was she afraid of sounding like a geek? He was pretty sure he’d already crossed that threshold. Honestly, he had no idea how he ended up popular; he had to be one of the biggest geeks out there. “What kind are you into? And what kind of art? You don’t look like the artsy fartsy type.” He laughed softly. “If I wore thick glasses and a scarf, would that help my artistic image? Maybe skinny jeans?” he teased in a lighthearted manner. It was true he didn’t resemble a hipster in the least, but he enjoyed art. “I really like RPG kind of games—Zelda has to be the best video game series ever, though Halo is a close second. First person shooters are awesome too.” He looked down at his feet momentarily as he considered changing the subject to his art. “As for art…I like a lot of different mediums. I like painting and sculpting and drawing…oil paints, watercolors, clay, metal, wood, pencil, charcoal…I like to work with all of them. I can’t stand modern art, though. I mean, pop art like Andy Warhol or those artists who mimic Mucha are good because it’s realistic, but I’m not one for abstract forms or cubism…a two year old could make a two million dollar painting by some of these critics’ standards.” He looked at her warily, throwing a nervous sort of smile at her. His hand combed through his hair gently as he sighed. “Sorry, I tend to babble when I talk about art. I don’t get to do it that often. Normally I don’t talk all that much. Not that you could tell.” He was starting to sound like a bumbling idiot.

With another heavy sigh he sat back and could feel his neck and ears flushing somewhat. He should never have brought up video games or art. He probably sounded like a totally dweeb. Not that he was trying to impress Alex or anything. Was he trying to impress her? She was cute. More than cute actually—she was really pretty. Still, Connor didn’t do the whole impressing girls thing very well, so he stopped trying a long time ago. In fact, he tried to stop noticing how pretty girls were when he talked to them because it just made him nervous. And now he’d just noticed how pretty Alex was, which wouldn’t help him at all. With another smile and a slightly nervous glance at her, he leaned his elbows back onto his knees.

“So how about you? Do you play video games? Do art? Maybe extreme sports?” He gave a wider smile at his teasing. “Unless you play Warhammer, I swear I won’t judge. Nothing could be nerdier than that spiel I just gave you about art. Except for Warhammer.” What if she did play Warhammer? Then he would sound like a dick…no, girls that pretty didn’t play Warhammer, did they? He needed to stop with the internal monologue and second-guessing everything he said. It was a miracle his face managed to stay as calm as it was without betraying the neurotic geek in his head.

[ALEX KING]

It was true.. the boy sitting next to her looked like the kind who liked sports and parties not a drawing gamer. ”If I wore thick glasses and a scarf, would that help my artistic image? Maybe skinny jeans?” She knew he was only kidding but she hesitated and then nodded her head. “Uhh, yeah! That would definitely help your image.” Alex laughed knowing that it was stereotypical to say something like that. And if Alex was anything it wasn’t the sort to label people based on how they looked. ”I really like RPG kind of games—Zelda has to be the best video game series ever, though Halo is a close second. First person shooters are awesome too.” She’d never played Zelda but she knew the game well enough to know what it was about and that the biggest mistake people made was think that Zelda was the name of the character you played. You actually played Link and Zelda was the princess. A google search was all you needed to figure that out. Halo was another story. Alex LOVED Halo! She used to play it all night long on XBox Live and she owned all the little boys who made fun of her for being a girl over the game.

”As for art...I like a lot of different mediums. I like painting and sculpting and drawing...oil paints, watercolors, clay, metal, wood, pencil, charcoal...I like to work with all of them. I can’t stand modern art, though. I mean, pop art like Any Warhol or those artists who mimic Mucha are good because it’s realistic, but I’m not one for abstract forms or cubism...a two year old could make a two million dollar painting by some of these critics’ standards.” She couldn’t agree more when it came to modern art. The paintings where people just splashed paint on canvas was something that even SHE could do! The colors were cool to look at but she would hardly call it art. ”Sorry, I tend to babble when I talk about art. I don’t get to do it that often. Normally I don’t talk all that much. Not that you could tell.”

“No no no it’s totally fine. Babbling is cool. I babble sometimes.” She didn’t want him to feel awkward so instead she made herself out to be the awkward one. Alex never really cared what people thought about her or what they said behind her back. Not like she stayed in one place long enough. Even still she didn’t want to seem too goofy.. she was already starting to make friends with this kid and the last thing she wanted was to make him think she was batty.

”So how about you? Do you play video games? Do art? Maybe extreme sports?” Her? Sports? Hah! ”Unless you play Warhammer, I swear I won’t judge. Nothing could be nerdier than that spiel I just gave you about art. Except for Warhammer.” Alex inhaled sharply between gritted teeth and then let out a loud sigh giving Connor a sidelong glance almost like what he had told her had been offensive. Warhammer wasn’t her game of choice. She had tried it but it was just too geeky even for her! “I tried it before but I didn’t like it. World of Warcraft and Guild Wars are my games. I like computer games best but I play everything. I’ve got an XBox and Playstation -- all of the systems -- hooked up in my room. It’s what keeps me sane.” Could she sound any dorkier?

“And art isn’t really my thing. Well, I like it. I like to look at it but I don’t do art. Like drawing and stuff... no. I do like taking pictures though.” She rolled her shoulders in a shrug. She looked back at the dodgeball game going on and just in time because from the boys’ side a ball came flying right at them and she threw her arms up shielding her face.

[CONNOR NOLAN]

Connor gave a wider smile as Alex gave him an almost annoyed look at even the suggestion that she liked Warhammer. At least she wasn’t THAT nerdy. “I tried it before but I didn’t like it. World of Warcraft and Guild Wars are my games. I like computer games best but I play everything. I’ve got an Xbox and Playstation—all of the systems—hooked up in my room. It’s what keeps me sane.” He laughed a little, but he more amazed than amused. She was a hardcore gamer! There weren’t many pretty girls who could be called that—most of them thought they were too good for video games. Alex was definitely pretty, though, and she sounded like she liked gaming as much as he did. He wasn’t much for the computer games, but when he had time he would sometimes get into them. Seriously, she had to have a boyfriend somewhere. Girls like her got snatched up in a heartbeat. She seemed cool enough, but then he didn’t know her at all. Just because she liked video games didn’t mean she wasn’t a psycho…she didn’t have that psycho vibe though. Connor found he was interested in getting to know more about the new girl. “And art isn’t really my thing. Well, I like it. I like to look at it but I don’t do art. Like drawing and stuff…no. I do like taking pictures though.” Photography was fun and he wouldn’t mind talking about it with her, but as she looked to the dodgeball game, she flinched, which immediately caught his attention. There was a ball coming right at her face!

Without thinking, Connor jumped off the bleachers in time to block Alex’s face…with his head. In fact, he got smacked right in the face; the nose to be exact. As soon as the ball hit, his vision went white with pain and faded into stars. He’d been hit in the face before a couple times during soccer, so it wasn’t a new sensation, but it was never good. He stumbled onto a bench once more, grabbing his nose and feeling hot liquid dripping out of it and onto his lips and chin. The noise he made was between a hiss and a moan, his eyes still shut tightly until the stars disappeared from his vision. There was a lot of commotion, voices erupting in the gym, but he couldn’t process what any of them was saying at the moment. He felt hands on his shoulders which caused him to open his eyes and try to adjust his blurry vision. When his hazel eyes focused he could see Alex was the one holding his shoulders, a worried look on her face. Coach Carr was bounding up the bleachers toward him, shouting, “Nolan, you alright?” Connor pulled his hand away from his nose and saw it was covered with blood. Well, so much for this gym uniform. “I think I need to go to the nurse.” His voice was thick and nasally as the pain continued to throb throughout his face. He realized there were tears on his cheeks, but not really from crying—that was just his body’s natural reaction to the sting in his face.

The coach looked at Alex with a stern face. “You think you can take him to the nurse’s office?” Connor’s eyes went to Alex again as she agreed. He hoped she didn’t feel guilty or anything about his face. She looked a little upset. As he stood, Connor cupped his hand under his nose to keep blood from spilling all over the gym floor. His face was a mess, but he could see his group of buddies fighting back laughter. Some friends… “Sorry about your face, bro. It was an accident, I swear.” Though his friend Ryan was swearing by that, Connor had to question it. He didn’t think he would intentionally chuck a ball at Alex’s face, but maybe he did it accidentally on purpose. Connor shot him the dirtiest look he could muster from behind a fistful of blood. “I’ll get you later…” he promised in his thick, nasally voice. He walked on with Alex at his side, but the nurse’s office was on the other side of the school, so they had a walk ahead of them. From behind his hand, though, he managed a smile for Alex who was walking silently beside him. “I told you they were dicks.” He wanted her to know he didn’t blame her for what had just happened.

[ALEX KING]

Everything occurred too fast for Alex to wrap her head around what happened at first. She saw the ball coming towards them and just as she stuck her arms up to shield her face Connor got up and blocked the ball from hitting her. “Omigodthankyousomuch!” She gushed out stringing her words up as one while she bit down on one of her fingernails nervously. She expected him to maybe shrug nonchalantly and tell her it was no prob, but instead he stumbled away from her and she could see him cupping his face with his hands. What had happened?! She looked around with wide eyes wondering if anyone else seemed to notice what just happened. Of course everyone noticed! How could you miss something like that? And the noise that Connor made only confirmed that he was hurt. Who tossed the ball?! Everyone had that same shocked wide eyed expression plastered on their faces just like Alex did. Getting up she walked between the bleachers careful not to trip over her own two feet and placed her hands on Connor’s shoulders trying to steady both him and herself just as the coach was heading up to them. When Connor turned to look at her she could see the red liquid seeping between his fingers and dripping down onto his shirt. “Ouch..” Most definitely one of her better lines. ”Nolan, you alright?” Alex watched Connor pull his hands away and suddenly felt queasy from the sight. That was a lot of blood! If that had been her she would have passed out, but Connor had saved her from that sort of embarrassment and she would be eternally grateful.”I think I need to go to the nurse.” Connor’s voice was almost unrecognizable due to his nasal passage being flooded with gross blood.

”You think you can take him to the nurse’s office?’ Alex stared at the boy’s coach like a deer in headlights. Everyone’s eyes were on her now to see if she would do it. Her answer came in a head nod as if she was some sort of mute but it was more shock than anything else. She almost thought she saw a few of her classmates disappointed that she agreed to take Connor and she wondered if it was because they wanted an excuse to get out of P.E. or if they were friends of his. In her case any excuse to get out of P.E. was a godsend. She guided Connor down the bleachers awkwardly with everyone’s eyes still on them, wanting to the exit as quickly as possible. ”Sorry about your face, bro. It was an accident, I swear.” So it was him that threw the ball! One of the guys that Connor said was his ‘douchebag’ friend. Well he was definitely living up to his title that was for sure. Alex never got why guys were such jerks and had to do stupid things. This could have all been avoided if this kid would have just played stupid dodgeball instead of throwing the ball at them. ”I’ll get you later...” Alex couldn’t tell if Connor was only joking or if he was serious. She didn’t know him yet to tell.

When they were finally outside of the gym Alex stopped and looked around before pointing left and then right like she needed confirmation of which way to go since she was still new at the school and she had yet to make a trip to the nurse’s office. This had to be a record. Connor took the lead and she walked silently next to him not really sure what to say to him now.. but he was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence. ”I told you they were dicks.” She glanced at him and then snorted out a quiet laugh. “Yeah that was a pretty dick move if you ask me.. are you going to be okay? You saved my face with... your face.” OH GOD WHAT. “My nose thanks you,” she nodded before looking down at her feet nervously. She totally knew how to sound like a dum-dum sometimes. “I guess I kind of owe you now, huh?” In a way she was kind of glad that he got hit in the face with that ball. Not that she was glad his nose was spewing blood but it gave her an excuse to ask him if he wanted to hang out. She could use a real friend. “I’ll tell you what! Do you drink? Like coffee or tea or juice? Maybe you could show me those stores you were talking about and I’ll buy you a cup of whatever you like to drink.” She laughed to try and keep the mood light but his hands were stained red just like the front of his shirt and it looked like something out of a horror movie. “Are you going to be okay?” She asked for a second time.

[CONNOR NOLAN]

Alex let out a soft snort and Connor gave a small smile behind his fist. “Yeah, that was a pretty dick move if you ask me…are you going to be okay? You saved my face with…your face.” He let out a short, but genuine laugh. Had he ever saved a person with his face before? “My nose thanks you.” Still smiling behind his hand, the pain was dulling somewhat though it still throbbed throughout his face steadily. “Your nose is welcome,” he managed in his congested voice. “I guess I kind of owe you now, huh?” Did she? It’s not like he was going to hold it over her. He certainly didn’t expect her to take a hit to the face for him in gym as payback. His hazel eyes wandered to her curiously. “I’ll tell you what! Do you drink? Like coffee or tea or juice? Maybe you could show me those stores you were talking about and I’ll buy you a cup of whatever you like to drink.” The way she laughed made it seem like she was inviting him out to casually hang out, not on a date or anything. He didn’t do well on dates. He was often a nervous wreck and second-guessed everything he did. But hanging out with Alex outside of school was a nice thought; he could use more friends and she seemed like a cool girl. He was about to accept her offer when her eyes fell to his shirt.

“Are you going to be okay?” Connor wanted to look, but he didn’t want to take his hand away from his face before it was cleaned up some. He knew he would be fine though and he nodded his head to reassure his new friend. “Yeah, it’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. Playing soccer, I’ve taken elbows and balls to the face.” His words rang strangely in his ears for a moment before he laughed at how inappropriate that sounded. “Wow, that came out wrong. But I’ve broken my nose a couple times before. I don’t think it’s broken now, but it’ll be bruised.” Whenever he broke his nose, he’d heard the bone crack and when he pinched it he could feel where the bone had split. He didn’t feel that now and he didn’t remember a crack, so it was probably just traumatized. His eyes were kind as they turned to Alex again. “But a drink sounds nice. Saturday nights are usually best for me, so, you know, whenever you’re free.” He gave a gentle shrug of his shoulders and smiled again. Just like that, he was friends with the new girl. He’d saved her face with his face and now they were friends. If he got teased for it, he didn’t care. His “friend” had intentionally overthrown a ball to try and hit Alex in the face—he didn’t need friends like that anyway. Good thing most of his friends weren’t that shallow.

At last they reached the nurse’s office and one look at his bloody shirt and fist and the older woman was running about to get supplies. She shoved him in the bathroom to wash his hands and his face, which he did gladly. He gingerly wiped around his nose, wincing when he pressed the cloth too hard to the reddened skin. Finally he gave up when there was just a light shade of pink left around his nose. The bridge was already turning a deep red and would probably be purple by the next morning, but for the most part it didn’t look all that bad. The nurse made him blow all of the blood out of his nose and by the time he left the bathroom the trashcan made it look like the nurse had just performed a surgery. He walked back out and she placed an ice pack wrapped in a soft cloth in his hand and pointed to the bed. “Lie down and put this on your nose for a few minutes. I have to run to the supply closet for Motrin.” She locked the nurse’s office behind her, leaving Alex and Connor alone in the all white room, the paper spread crinkling below Connor as he kicked back on it. He looked at Alex sitting in a nearby chair and smiled. “I bet you’re glad to be out of gym, huh?” he teased softly. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl who was great at sports, well-intentioned as she may be.