CHAPTER 14
School Days
I hadn't been looking forward to the first day of my senior year in Eden, but it was here nonetheless. Because I had spent every one of the scant summer days with Ty, I hadn't made any friends other than Mara. I really enjoyed hanging out with them, but I needed a friend like Jane who lived in Eden. I'd have to work on that. Surely I could find one girl out of all the students at South Effingham High. But today I would be the dreaded "new girl", a curiosity, a Yankee.
I had laid out my outfit the night before, in accordance with the school's dress code - a pair of cropped khakis and a white polo. Unfortunately, flip flops, always my first choice in footwear, were not allowed.
Ty picked me up this morning, as he had every day since we officially began dating, also wearing khakis and a white polo. Embarrassing. Jennie was so jealous because she and the rest of my siblings had to take the bus. My mother wasn't happy about this arrangement either. She would have preferred that I drive all the kids to school. But given the fact that the move to Eden was forced upon me, she capitulated; her only condition being that I had to come straight home from school to do homework before any extracurricular activities with Ty. Not that I would have anything else going on, at least not at school. The Student Media Club, which encompassed the newspaper, yearbook, and Mustang Radio & TV, was the only club I was interested in; however, it required one to register at the end of the previous year and perform various tasks over the summer.
The high school consisted of one large building and several portable classrooms housing the approximately one thousand five hundred students. My mother had brought me and Jennie here a couple of weeks ago to complete all the necessary enrollment paperwork so I was able to go directly to my first class, Literature - British & World Literature, to be precise - in Room 116. This was the only class I was excited about. Ty walked me to the door and wished me luck.
"I almost forgot. I got you a first-day-of-school present," he announced, taking something flat and rectangular from his back pocket. As usual, it was wrapped. I loved that he put in the extra effort that it took to wrap his gifts. It added a level of excitement. I ripped the floral paper carefully, not wanting to ruin whatever was inside, just in case it was something delicate. It was a beautiful silver bookmark with pale blue and green ribbons hanging from it along with some beads and a silver faerie. It was inscribed with a quote from Helen Keller that read, "The most beautiful world is always entered through imagination".
"It's perfect. Thank you," I said with a smile.
"You're welcome. See you after class."
Because it was the first day, I had insisted on arriving early. The last thing I needed was to walk into a classroom after all the other students were seated, bringing unwanted attention upon myself. Of course, that meant that the opposite was the case. I was the first to arrive. The teacher's back was to me and I watched in silence as he watered some plants that were grouped in front of the one fairly large window located directly across from the door.
Without turning around, he called out, "Welcome!" in a cheerful voice.
"Can I help with anything?" I offered, as I walked in and dropped my stuff on the desk in front of his.
"Thanks," he said as he turned around, holding out the watering can.
I took it from him, trying not to stare, but he was the best looking teacher I had ever seen. His wavy brown hair almost touched his shoulders and his blue eyes conveyed a genuine kindness. "I'm Mr. Joshua, by the way."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Joshua. I'm Essie Jacobs."
"You're the new family in Eden, right? You bought the old Edwards house?"
"It's still weird to me that everyone knows that."
He laughed. "That's big news in a small town."
I started watering the plants, anxious to complete the task before any students walked in and inferred that I was competing for the title of teacher's pet. When I finished, I surveyed the room and surmised that, as I had thought, this would definitely be my favorite class. Posters of authors and poets adorned the walls and there were two bookshelves crammed with what I imagined to be Mr. Joshua's personal literary favorites. I even spotted a poster from "Bright Star", a movie about the relationship between the poet, John Keats, and his muse, Fanny Brawne. It was truly one of the most romantic movies I had ever seen, due mainly to the fact that it was set in the early 1800's, and their longings for each other had to be sublimated to the socially accepted outlets of conversation and letter writing, unlike so many of the sexually explicit movies of today that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
As I was remembering "Bright Star" in my head, students began to trickle in, so I took my seat in the front row next to a beautiful Hispanic-looking girl with a welcoming smile. While most students seemed to prefer to sit in the back of the room, away from the teacher's scrutiny, I liked to sit up front, acknowledging my tendency to be easily distracted. Mr. Joshua didn't embarrass me by introducing me to the class, and I was appreciative, although my chatty neighbor whispered that her name was Karen in a slight accent that made her common name sound melodic - Kah-ren.
Brit Lit was everything I had hoped it would be, and I was now looking forward to my school days beginning with this class. Mr. Joshua let us know that he would make himself available after school should anyone want to further discuss anything that was covered in class. I was sure I would be availing myself of his generous offer.
I could see Ty leaning against the wall as I walked out of Room 116. "How was your first class?"
"Great!"
"Wow. I didn't think you were that excited about school."
"I wasn't. But Mr. Joshua seems to love literature, as I do, and I really think I'm going to enjoy his teaching style."
"Well, I'm happy that you're happy. Ready for History?"
"Sure," I agreed, allowing him to take my hand. We had World History together, as well as Biology, which left me to fend for myself in my remaining four courses - Statistics, French, Journalism and Fine Art. As we walked the corridor, it felt as though all eyes were on us. Everyone that we passed, guys included, greeted him like servile flatterers at the king's court. At the same time, they all eyed me with unchecked curiosity, whispering to each as they walked by. It was disconcerting.
Lunchtime brought more of the same. Ty was waiting for me again after French and escorted me to the cafeteria. He led me to his table where he took his seat at the head, offering me the chair to his left, the Queen's position. When Mara joined us, she took the chair to his right, the place of honor. Yes, to a newcomer like myself, it appeared that Ty was holding court, his loyal subjects all vying for a coveted seat at the table. Or maybe I was just a little too into The Tudors at the moment. Nevertheless, every available spot was quickly snatched up and several people even dragged chairs to form an outer circle. Everyone was talking at once, seemingly excited about their last year at SEHS. In the middle of the chaos, and to my dismay, Ty took the opportunity to present me at court.
"Hey, y'all. Quit for a minute," he shouted above the din, in a noticeably thicker drawl. When he had everyone's attention, he announced, "I know y'all have seen Essie around today," placing his hand on my shoulder, "but I wanted to formally introduce her. She and her family moved here from Massachusetts last month. She has a sister, Jennie, who's a junior. I'm sure y'all will welcome them properly. That's all."
Everyone crowded around to say hi. It took several minutes for them to be seated again and for my face to return to its normal shade from the beet red that I knew it had become.
The rest of the day was a blur of fellow classmates tripping over each other to ingratiate themselves to me. The "new girl" brand that I had dreaded had been replaced by the "Ty's girlfriend" brand, but I didn't enjoy being the center of attention the way that Ty and Mara did. I desired true friendships, not ones that were sought for perceived personal gain. The only one who seemed normal was Karen, my Brit Lit neighbor. It was too bad she wasn't in any of my other classes. I really nee
ded to talk to Jane.
As soon as school let out, Ty drove me home, and I reminded him of my mother's rule concerning homework. Even though it was only the first day, we were given a syllabus for each subject and I wanted to review it. I liked to know what was expected of me so that I could apportion my time and not be forced to cram at the last minute. Ty dutifully complied with my mother's wishes, walking me to the door, kissing my cheek, saying, "I'll call you later."
The house was empty, except for Axl. I headed straight for the back porch, which was currently blanketed in shade, turned on the ceiling fans, and pulled out a chair. This would be where I would do my homework, listening to the birds chirping, surveying the woods from time to time, and enjoying the breeze generated by the overhead fans whose blades were shaped like palm fronds. I picked up my phone, leaned back in the chair and dialed Jane.
"Essie!" she squealed. "How was your first day of school?"
"Oh, Jane, it was surreal. First of all, my Lit teacher is gorgeous. His name is Mr. Joshua. He looks about thirty, and he has pretty blue eyes and long dark hair. It's my first class of the day, so I'm psyched about that."
"Ooooh! You'll have to find an excuse to take a picture so I can see him. What about the rest of your classes?"
"Basically unremarkable."
"Even Journalism?
"Even Journalism."
"Do you have any classes with Ty?"
"Two. World History and Biology. But I have to tell you about lunch. That was the surreal part of the day."
"What happened?"
"Oh, my gosh. Ty and Mara are like the reigning king and queen of the school. It's ridiculous. The other students just fawn over them. And he actually stood up in front of his friends in the lunchroom and introduced me and told them to be sure to welcome me properly."
"Holy crap, Essie. Did you die?"
"Just about. It was really awkward."
"I can only imagine. But it's still preferable to being the new girl with no friends."
"I guess."
"Other than that, how's it going with you and Ty?"
"Well, you know how much I like him, and Mara's been a lot of fun, too; but I can't shake the feeling that something's up with them."
"Something like what?"
"I don't know, Janie. He's hinted at something mysterious a couple of times but would never elaborate. And the way that people do their bidding... I don't know. And..." I trailed off.
"And, what?"
"And, I'd swear that they can make things happen."
"Make things happen? Give me an example."
"Like making someone trip and fall, for example. Or spill something. Things that people would chalk up to clumsiness or an accident. It seems more than coincidental that it frequently happens in their presence. Do I sound crazy?"
"Just a little, Ess. Have you been watching too much fantasy tv again? You know that people don't have super powers in real life, right? Where is this coming from?"
"I'm not sure. Did I mention that I've had a few ominous dreams about them? Anyway, it's just a feeling. I can't explain it any better than that. Forget it. It's stupid. Catch me up on what's going on in Bradford."
I slouched down in the comfy cushioned chair and happily listened to Jane prattle on about Peggie and Annie and the latest gossip.
I needed coffee. I had seen an ad in the Pen Observer for a coffee shop in Pooler, just a couple of towns up the road. I decided to check it out. While still listening to Jane, I got in the car and headed east. It only took about ten minutes or so to get there and we were still talking when I pulled up to the place. I sat in the car until our conversation was finished. I don't know what I'd do without Jane, I thought as we said goodbye.
I was surprised that such a cute place existed so close to me. After all, there was literally nothing in Eden except for the MaMaws BBQ. I walked to the counter, eyeing all the tempting pastries artfully displayed in the case. My mother would kill me if I ruined my dinner, so I just ordered a coffee. As I looked around, I saw Mr. Joshua sitting alone at a table in the back. I waved hesitantly. He motioned for me to join him.
"Hey, Essie," he said with a friendly smile. "How was your first day at South Effingham High?"
"Surreal," I answered honestly, thinking of everything I had just told Jane.
"Surreal?" he repeated in the form of a question. "In what way?"
I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It was fine."
"Fine, huh?" He paused, but I didn't say anything. "Did you like my class?"
"Oh, I did, Mr. Joshua," I gushed. "And I'm not just saying that. Literature, in general, has always been my favorite class. I want to be a journalist and I love reading and I really love the way you have your classroom set up. 'Bright Star' is one of my favorite movies and when I saw your poster, I just knew that your class would be my favorite. I'm so glad that I have you first. It will start my day off happy."
He chuckled slightly.
I realized that I was rambling. "Sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm happy to know that at least one person in my class wants to be there. Did the rest of your day not go as well?"
"It's not my classes. It's my..." I hesitated, not wanting to use the word boyfriend. "Do you know Ty Gregory?"
"I know of him, but he's not in my class. Is everything okay, Essie?"
"It's fine, but..."
"There's that word again - fine," he interrupted.
"No, really. It's not that there's a problem with him, it's just weird the way that people interact with him and his sister. Do you know what I mean?"
"I have noticed that."
"So it's not just me. It's strange, huh?"
"Do you know anything about him and his family?"
"Well, I met him at the Piggly Wiggly the first week we were here. He invited my whole family to dinner at his house where I met Mara and his mother and father. They were really nice. I know they own the local newspaper and that they have a ton of money. I've been hanging out with Ty and Mara all summer. I think he's been intentionally vague when talking about himself and his family, though. Why? What do you know?"
"When you have specific questions, I'll have specific answers. But it wouldn't be right to just gossip about them." He looked at his watch. "It's almost five. I should get going. I need to get dinner started."
"Do you have children?"
"I'm not married. It's just me for now. But I enjoy cooking. It was nice to see you, Essie. You brightened my day with your enthusiasm for my class."
"I meant it. And I have a feeling I'm going to have specific questions for you real soon."
He smiled. "Take care, Essie. And be careful."
Be careful? What did that mean? But it would have to wait for another day. He was gone.
I finished my coffee quickly. I needed to get dinner started as well. "More Than A Feeling" was playing when I started my car. "I lost myself in a familiar song..."
My mother didn't usually get home until around 6:30, so if I hoped to eat before 8:00, I had to make it. The kids liked to help, especially Laurie, so that made the chore a little easier to take. She dumped the family-sized bag of frozen mixed vegetables in a large pot and I poured some marinade on the steaks that Mum had left defrosting in the fridge. While the grill heated up, we made a salad and set the table together. She was going to be a great mother someday.
After dinner, I returned to the comfy cushioned chair on the back porch, first turning the ceiling fans on high to help combat the insufferable heat from the setting sun whose rays now engulfed my sanctuary. As I looked over the Brit Lit syllabus, I couldn't help but think of Mr. Joshua and wonder what information he might possibly have about Ty.