“Let me have a look.” Oddily peeked around Oliver, and adjusted her eyes while the kid stood like a mannequin. “I don’t want…”
Mr. Belmont removed the device from Oddily’s eyes and placed them on her desk, disrupting the virtual world.
“Are you all right?” the teacher’s voice sounded concerned while he stared at the pale, disoriented Oddily staring into space with her mouth gaping open.
“Paul, go get the nurse—hurry!”
The startled Oddily jerked in her seat and snapped her head towards Mr. Belmont when she realized she was back in the classroom.
Paul got up to fetch the nurse, but Oddily found her voice and blurted out, “No. I…I’m OK!” She wasn’t fibbing because as soon as the glasses left her eyes she had come back to this world.
“Are you sure?” The teacher wasn’t convinced.
Oddily nodded her head, snatched up the device, and shoved it into her backpack.
CHAPTER 8
Oddily’s next class was Physical Education. The locker room filled with girls changing into their gym clothes. Nothing smelled quite like a room full of stinky tennis shoes and sweat stained P.E. clothes.
As usual, Oddily was the only one not getting dressed. Instead, she sat on the bench in front of her gym locker reliving the strange phenomenon that took place in history class. To appear busy, she rummaged through her backpack, pretending to have lost something until everyone left for Aerobics.
Every day she had a different excuse not to change her clothes with anyone around. Her favorites were a stuck locker, forgotten gym clothes, a headache or injury, and too late for class.
The thought of undressing in front of anyone was humiliating, knowing her training bra had already become the butt for many locker room jokes. Girl’s her age had fully developed while she remained as flat as a pancake. Too bad there wasn’t a chest fairy to come to her rescue.
Then her thought went to the quirky, deadhead, Oliver, with his bald head, unnatural silver hued eyes and unfortunately, his lifeless personality. She found the magical glasses tucked in the corner of her backpack and shook her head in amazement as she took them out, re-examining them until the tardy bell rang.
A huge crowd of girls milled around the gym room floor, giggling and talking, when the shrill sound of a whistle brought most of the conversation to a halt. All eyes turned in the direction of the gym teacher.
“Cut the chatter, students!” Coach Berkley bellowed, and the rest became dead silent. The girls’ gym instructor sounded gruff, not sparing anyone’s feelings. Most learned to ignore her, although occasionally a girl would burst into tears when the teacher’s criticism became particularly harsh. She ordered everyone to line up in a straight line and took the roll call while Oddily managed to sneak in line unnoticed.
It didn’t take long for the P.E. teacher’s gaze to fall on the space below the neckline of Oddily’s gym shirt. She swiftly walked over to pull her out of line. “Oddily, if this is a joke, I’m not laughing!”
“I’m not trying to be funny.” Oddily’s response came with such sincerity the coach had no choice but to believe her.
“It appears as though you have developed breasts overnight.”
Oddily’s eyes widened. “Is it that obvious,” she whispered. “I just thought if I stuffed my bra a little it would—never mind.”
“I believe you can do without the enhancement,” the coach cleared her throat, and Oddily thought she caught a twinkle in the teacher’s eye.
“I guess you’re right,” Oddily made a face, “Besides, I think they’re lopsided.”
Oddily had already retrieved one ball of tissue and dug for the other while hearing muffled whispers and snickers from the classmates. Oddily handed the Kleenex to the coach and scurried back in line, ignoring everyone; this was including the watchful eye of a handsome stranger she wasn’t even aware of—someone who could hardly contain his amusement.
The whole class exercised, completing a standard routine of leg lifts, arm circles, toe curls, and side twists. Oddily was moist with perspiration and out of breath by the time the whistle twilled, and everyone came to a halt.
“Okay, hit the showers girls—you stink!”
As Oddily stood in line for the drinking fountain, she knew something was up. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a few girls surrounding Starla, full of excitement as they walked with her to the showers. The small group shot amused looks her way while Starla spun another web of meanness.
CHAPTER 9
The surprise attack came right after lunch. Oddily was waiting for the huge mass of kids to leave the cafeteria when she spotted Kip at the side door, chomping on a toothpick.
“Come here,” he waggled his finger at her.
“Me?” Oddily pointed to herself.
Kip nodded; but when Oddily remained in her seat, he marched over to her table and snatched her backpack from off of her shoulder.
“Give it back!” Oddily chased after him through the rear door and around the corner. She found Kip standing in front of the trash bin, and his hands were empty.
“Where’s my backpack?” Oddily glared at him.
Kip nodded at the dumpster as his smile took on the likeness of a sneer.
“Will you please give it back to me?”
“Yeah, right!” he started to bark, but calmed himself. “Get it yourself.”
Before Oddily could think, Kip grabbed hold of her waist and threw her, head first into discarded trash; soggy, smelly food, and paper waste.
“Ewww!” Oddily shrieked. While listening to Kip’s horsy chuckle, the strangest thing happened. All of a sudden he sounded startled and unnerved.
“Hey man—back off!” Kip’s agitated voice and heavy footsteps began to fade until her surroundings became eerily quiet.
Oddily grabbed her backpack from the trash and was about to climb out of the dumpster when she overheard someone say, “Hello?”
She froze for a long moment and waited, holding her breath. The magical sound of the voice wasn’t familiar to her, except maybe in her dreams.
“Do you need some help?” She overheard the comforting tone again.
Oddily slowly raised her head above the edge of the garbage bin and looked into the most exquisite face she had ever seen. Vibrant sky blue eyes stared at her while the boy’s mouth remained unresponsive to any smile. Inch by inch, Oddily lowered herself back down into the trash.
The stranger’s brooding eyes grew wide with surprise. “Does this mean you want to be left alone?” he tried not to express amusement, but he couldn’t fully contain himself. A strangled laugh caught in his throat.
Oddily raised her head again—enough to peek over the rim and couldn’t help but stare at his now parted lips. She got a glimpse of his perfect, white teeth while he smirked at her. Oddily’s gaze moved up to the hood of his sweatshirt, catching a hint of blonde hair, and then back to his pale blue eyes.
He reached over and removed a piece of lettuce from her hair, and the befuddled redhead gave him a goofy grin in return. He took note of how her smile began far down in her eyes and flowed outward to her face as if it were a shadow coming into sunshine. She was enchanting.
“Will you please help me out of here?” Oddily stood up and stretched out her arms to him. Her innocent, trusting gesture caught him off guard, and he staggered a little while helping her from the dumpster. The closeness of her body sent a wave of sensation through him like none he had ever experienced. There was an unfamiliar physical connection with her he couldn’t define—nor wanted to accept.
Jack, the school custodian, arrived to throw away more stinky food when he spotted the stranger lift Oddily from the dumpster.
“Well, hello again, Missy,” the old man chuckled as he glanced from one to the other.
“I accidentally threw away my backpack,” Oddily’s cheeks flushed into a deeper pink under the janitor’s stare.
Jack’s ey
es were full of kindness as he studied her face from under her hair. “Did ya get it back?”
Oddily held out her bag, and with a knowing wink, the custodian dumped the trash and left.
“Why did you lie to the old man?” the stranger asked. He had been staring in another direction as if he were hiding his face from the janitor, but returned his gaze upon Oddily when they were alone.
“I didn’t want to,” she lowered her head shyly and then peeked up at him.
Before he spoke, Maxim hesitated as he studied her demure, timid nature. “Do you always let people treat you like that?”
“Sort of.” She bit her lip from saying more. By the expression on his face, she suspected he must think of her as some freak of nature.
“I will walk with you to your next class,” the stranger spoke just before his sister’s voice rang loudly through his mind.
What are you doing?
The intensity of her tone startled him, bringing him back to his senses. He needed to shrug off this strange compulsion to protect this girl, and reminded himself that his original purpose was to retrieve his sister’s childhood game.
He believed this shy girl had his device on her, or somewhere close by. He was both worried and relieved when he overheard two students laughing over the incident in history class. From his observation, Oddily didn’t seem to be adversely affected by playing the game, and that pleased him. She also hadn’t breathed a word to anyone about what she experienced, which was both a relief and somewhat puzzling.
“Okay, if you want to,” Oddily shrugged.
“Where is your class?” He asked after eyeing the bits and pieces of garbage still clinging to her clothes.
You’re being foolish!
Sis, I’m aware of what I’m doing, so stop interrupting me!
Oddily pointed to the north end of the campus and awkwardly started to walk across a patch of grass. The stranger strolled along next to her, both remaining silent until he introduced himself. “My name is Maxim.”
“Maxim,” she repeated the name to herself. It brought to mind something both strong and powerful, like thunder during a storm. Maxim caught the hint of a frown on her partially hidden face as she appeared to be intensely preoccupied.
“Are you going to tell me who you are, or shall we keep it a mystery?”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m Oddily.” She would much rather have said something more beautiful, like Jasmine or Felicity, but she didn’t. Oddily blushed, feeling somewhat like an oaf due to her lack of social manners.
“Hello, Oddily,” Maxim already knew who she was, but she had no recollection of their first encounter. “Your name is unusual.”
“I know,” she shrugged her shoulders. Oddily’s sudden gesture caused her backpack to slip from her arm, but Maxim quickly caught it up for her.
“Here, let me carry that for you.” Maxim glimpsed a small crease form between her delicate brows hidden under her massive head of hair.
“Leave my backpack alone!” Her voice sounded distressed as she snatched her backpack from him and took a step back. “Starla put you up to this, didn‘t she?!”
Maxim watched her bottom lip quiver while she protectively hugged her schoolbag.
“What are you talking about?” He started to reach for her, but changed his mind when it appeared as though she was about to run. “Nobody put me up to anything.”
Oddily blinked up at him in a disbelieving way and shook her head. “I caught Starla and the others whispering under their breath in the locker room.”
“I’m sure that has nothing to do with me.” Maxim lowered his head, pulling his hood further down over his face. He listened to her accusing words all the while noticing her outburst had drawn too much unwanted attention to him. It was time to leave, but not before one last question. “Who is Starla?”
Oddily abruptly spun around and ran off towards her classroom; but instead of going inside, she slipped around the side of the building leaving Maxim staring after the unhappy girl.
“What just happened?” His brows knitted together in confusion. At this point, it didn’t matter because he had messed up and chided himself for his stupidity. This wasn’t the way he intended to get the game glasses back. His plan was to keep an eye on her from afar until school was over, and then follow her home; but when he saw the oversized bully toss her into the dumpster, he couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. After he had pondered over the incident, Maxim decided that no harm was done and chose to stay with his original plan.
CHAPTER 10
After arriving home and showering, Oddily flopped onto her bed—drumming up enough courage to use the game glasses again. If she needed to escape the game, all she had to do was remove the device from her eyes, and like magic, she would return to this world.
On the count of three, she slipped them on. After the blur and whirl of many colors, she was back, standing on a dirt path in the middle of the giant labyrinth. The tall hedges—everything appeared as before.
While Oddily wandered through the maze with a sense of awe at the realness of her surroundings, she could hear the vacuum noise start up again as if on cue. Then it only took a few more steps before she eyed the huge brown mutt from her previous game. The dog was larger than she remembered, and he didn’t look too happy. The canine’s lip curled into a snarl, showing sharp teeth, and a low-rumble sounding like thunder in the distance erupted from his throat. She knew the dog was simulated, but the sight of him terrified her nonetheless.
“E-e-easy b-b-boy!” she tried to steady her voice. Oddily started to back away, not daring to move too fast—hardly wanting to breathe. She slowly reached up to take off the glasses before the dog attacked, but she found no glasses to remove.
Game or no game, Oddily’s mind and body reacted as if her situation was real. Could the dog really hurt her? She edged her way towards the tall hedge to her right until she sensed the nearness of an opening to another path. Like a flash, she tried to flee for safety in an attempt to plunge through the archway; but, she didn’t move fast enough and her surroundings went blank, except for a flashing sign with the words: Game Over.
A new set of words appeared. Start Again.
Oddily was amused. She realized the sleek, peculiar looking glasses were a harmless virtual game designed to entertain kids. All she had to do was die at the hands of her enemy to end the game!
“Start again.” Oddily echoed the command, not remembering if her request came from her thoughts or she had said it out loud. To her surprise the game started over, the towering hedges reappearing just like before.
Oddily felt fearless this time. As she ventured through the maze, she searched for one of those special objects that had the power to advance her to level two. She wanted to know what the next level would be like. She was also wondering when Oliver would appear just as she heard the vacuum sound again. It didn’t take long before the vicious mutt came into view. Its lip curled in a snarl with the same threatening growl as before.
Oddily’s heart skipped a beat when she remembered her first, terrifying moment with the dog. Then she smiled, knowing this to be an extremely bizarre game. She considered it ‘high-tech’ kid stuff that she had heard about through the news media, but could hardly imagine until now.
When another resounding snarl ripped from his throat, Oddily reconsidered. Maybe she should have asked Oliver how to outsmart the dog first before she confronted him again.
* * * * * *
Maxim followed Oddily home with no problem. He sneaked around to the side of the large house and started peering through windows until he found the right room. She was lying on the bed with the glasses covering her eyes.
“I knew it,” Maxim whispered through clenched teeth. He wanted to shout out his frustration when he eyed her using the game, but bit his lip. He needed to stay focused in order to get the glasses back; however, he found himself intrigued. He couldn’t help but wonder why this girl would risk wearing them again; assuming, ‘The Labyrinth h
ad already scared her.
Maxim made his way to the front door and found the house key under the welcome mat. After he had entered the house, he needed to be careful not to run into other family members. He remained as silent as a cat burglar, sneaking through the foyer, past the living room and down a long hallway. He stopping at the first two rooms, heard nothing, so he proceeded to the third room to listen. With one quick stride, he was on the other side of the half opened door. A colorful girl’s bedroom came into view—nothing like the drab room where he had spotted Oddily.
With Maxim satisfied that no one was home, he circled back through the kitchen to the maid's quarters and stood in front of the white paneled door leading to Oddily. As quietly as possible, he turned the knob and cracked the door open just enough to see inside. There she was. Oddily’s motionless body was lying on the bed with his device still in place, oblivious to his presence.
Maxim stepped inside and wondered why Oddily’s room appeared so dreary compared to the rest of the house. The furnishings consisted of an antique wooden dresser, mismatched nightstands, a gaudy old-fashioned lamp, a long mirror on the back of the closet door, and a few unattractive dresses hanging neatly on hangers. Maxim didn’t want to stay any longer than he needed. For some reason, this glimpse into Oddily’s private world both puzzled and annoyed him in a way he couldn’t even begin to understand.
CHAPTER 11
Oddily’s eyes fluttered open and soon realized the glasses that had covered her eyes were missing. Like a silly fool, she still reached for them, but nothing was there. After discovering she had returned to her own bedroom, she sat up searching her bed and under her body. Her teacher was the one who removed her glasses in history class. So who took them off this time?
“Maybe they fell off!” she mumbled while scrambling to the floor for a peek under the bed. When nothing was found, she sat quietly for a moment to try and think logically. If she had returned to her own world, the glasses would be somewhere close by, but they weren’t. Did that mean she was still in the game? She considered this possibility until her eyes grew wide with wonder. What other explanations were there and yet, what happened to the labyrinth? What was the point in playing a game that was a replica of the real world?