"Until we meet again," said the
girl with a smile as she vanished. "How will I know you," asked the
boy, but it was too late. She was gone. Seth awoke with a yelp. He could never
remember the beginning or the middle of this dream, but the ending was always
the same. A girl whose face he couldn't make out smiling and then disappearing.
He had had this dream consistently on the night of the full moon for as long as
he could remember. He wondered just who the boy and the girl was, but knew he
probably would never know. He thought of this as one of those annoying facts of
life that he couldn't change and looking back, he had instinctively known that
the dream was something that was not meant to be shared, even with his family
and best friend. He wondered now why this was true and then heard his mom
calling him to get ready for school. His train of thought got interrupted as he
recalled that today would be his first day as a junior in high school, so he
had better get dressed soon so his mom didn't come in and wonder what was
taking so long.
He
pulled on a long sleeved gray shirt and dark blue jeans with black tennis
shoes. Ordinary clothes that weren't too eye-catching so that he didn't draw
too much attention to himself. In a school like his, Seth and his best friend,
James, had figured out the best way to blend in without drawing the notice and
interest of certain crowds that James had dubbed for them "the
untouchables." Members of "the untouchables" were all pretty to
look at, but whenever normal people got involved with them, bad things happened
to said people. Thus the name "untouchables." Look all you want, but
do not touch them.
He
remembered how just before summer a boy , who had gotten involved with them had
"mysteriously moved away." Everyone knew that there was more to the
story, but they were all too scared to voice their opinions. Not that Seth was
one to talk. He had spoken to the boy, Josh, a few times at lunch and knew that
Josh's parents had no intention of ever moving because his dad had a permanent
position in an office that was way too good, according to Josh, to give up, but
Seth didn't have the guts to speak his mind. "Seth, you're going to be
late so get down here right now," cried Seth's mom. The boy in question
shook his head at having thoughts that were way too depressing for any normal
sixteen year old boy to be having.
With that thought, he went downstairs,
grabbed a quick bite to eat, waved bye to his mom, and grabbed his backpack on
his way out. Outside his first generation Suzuki SV650 was waiting for him.
Seth didn't like to stand out, but he had always loved motorcycles, even as a
little kid. He worked non- stop since he was fourteen at his dad's bookshop
just so that he would be able to have enough money for this baby by the time he
turned sixteen and got his license. Seth's grandpa was a mechanic who
understood his love of motorcycles and had even helped him get his permit when
he was fifteen along with helping Seth fix-up the old thing so that it was as
good as new. He knew that it wasn't as good as a BMW Motored or a Triumph, but
he had earned it through his hard work and wouldn't have traded it for the
world.
Seth
lived in Brooklyn, but went to school on a full scholarship to the best school
in Manhattan, not that he was stupid enough to ever tell anyone that. His dad
was a přistěhovalec or immigrant from Prague and couldn't find any other
work than a bookstore when he moved here. Seth's mom always said that his dad
had the devil's luck because the old man who ran the fore mentioned bookstore
liked my dad so much that he left it for him when he died twelve years ago.
Seth was only four at the time so he couldn't picture his dad working anywhere,
but at his bookstore. His mom was a nurse that worked the night shift. This
worked for her because she wanted to work, but still be around her family.
Seth parked far enough that his bike
wouldn't be noticeable, but near enough that he would only have to walk for
about two minutes to get to his school. He thought about his school now. The oh
so prestigious St. Gregory Academy. He laughed at the thought that a Drak
attended a school named after a saint famous for slaying a dragon. Of course
Seth wasn't a real dragon, but that was what his surname meant and he still
found it funny. "Hey dude," said a familiar voice. Seth looked to the
side and saw James. "You know it's creepy how you do that," commented
Seth. "Do what?" Seth sighed and said, "Never mind." They
had this conversation before and James was the sort of guy where if he didn't
want to answer something, he either ignored it or figured out a way to
completely dodge the question. Seth supposed that he should be annoyed by this
fact, but he had known James for years and knew that even with his occasional
weirdness he was a good guy and always had Seth's back.
The school ran on a block schedule because
whoever was in charge figured out that no one was learning anything by jam
packing six or seven classes into one day. This year, Seth and James had the
same lunch period and AP Calculus A/B class, but that was it. On the way to AP
Calc he heard James talk about this rumor about transfer students from
California that came in to their year. Seth found this odd because this was a
hard school to get into. It went from K-12 and the only reason he got in was
because academics had always came easy to him, even at an early age. Seth came
in the fourth grade when his parents found out he had gotten the highest score
in the New York State ELA and Mathematics exam. At the time, he didn't really
care because for him, it just meant going to a new school where he didn't know
anyone. Now he thanked whoever was watching him from above because if it wasn't
for that it was very possible that he would not be attending any college after
graduation.
When
Seth and James walked in they were separated by the teacher who was arranging
the students to his seating chart. He looked around him and saw that although
the seat next to him was empty, the
other seats were filled with untouchables. Seth wondered why the untouchables
had to be so smart. He could avoid them in a crowded hall or lunchroom, but it
was quite another feat when they surrounded him in his classes. He told himself
to relax and keep his head down with his eyes focused on his desk and there was
no way that they would notice him.
"Why are you so scared?" For a
brief second Seth looked up and locked eyes with a girl that he recognized, but
didn't know. She was pretty, but she didn't have the perfect beauty that the
untouchables had. Not with the freckles that dotted her olive-toned skin and
her messy black curls that we're barely kept in a waist-length braid. Seth was
normally good with faces and names, but for some reason he couldn't place where
he had seen her. She put her stuff down next to the seat that was adjacent to
his and sat before turning to him and saying, "Well, are you gonna answer
the question?" Instead of answering, Seth dumbly asked, "Do I know
you from somewhere?" She gave him a cocky grin and said, "Is that
supposed to be some pick-up line? I just moved here from L.A. two days ago, so
how could I possibly know you?" He quickly apologized before the bell rang
and the teacher started the class. This was the first time that Seth had met
her, in this lifetime, but it would not be the last.
