Something Strange: The Arsonist

VI: Lourdes

        Lourdes lugged her backpack over her shoulder and walked into the school building. As the torrent of rain grew colder, the thuds of water on the roof turned into the plinks of bits of ice. She shook the wetness off of her knitted hat and slumped down to her locker. She watched the other students walk by and smirked. I have something you don't, she thought. I'm special beyond your belief. She drew out her books and computer from her bag.

        The slam of her locker echoed through the hallway and was copied by many others. She lugged her books into the air and stumbled down the hall. Lourdes sat down with a plop into her seat and slammed her binder onto the top of her desk. She siged and looked over to Rory, who sat a few seats away, but it was mostly empty so she had a good shot.

        "So, write any good stories lately?" He snapped to attention with a startled look, processed the info, and shrugged. He went back to his book. Lourdes smiled and picked up hers. He wasn't the most talkative. She buzzed with ecstatiic energy. She was different. She was new.

        Every moment reminded her that she was something that had never been seen on this Earth, and that made her so happy. It made her jittery. She didn't even notice when Mr. Jon announced that they needed their computers for math today. She stared into blank space and smirked. That was until he yelled her name.

        "LOURDES DELAWARE. Earth to Lourdes!" She snapped back like a taut band and pulled out her computer. "That's better." She pulled her lips together into a line as the class giggled. She sighed and shoved her books under her desk. She then proceeded to pull up the website Mr. Jon had written on the board and type out vocab words.

*".'*'."*

        After second period, at about 9:30, Lourdes snuck away to the restroom and sat in the big stall. She liked to be alone sometimes. She stood on the tiled floor and willed herself to turn visible and invisible, knowing this was the only room in the school where she could do this without being watched. She held her breath, invisible, as the bathroom door swung open. Lin Thomas walked in. She whipped around, her loose black hair swinging around her head. Lourdes tugged on the back of her unseen blonde ponytail.

        She drew in a sharp breath as she watched Lin's hair turn the same color through the crack. She clutched the latch on the stall as a different girl turned around. She searched the stalls with her now green eyes. She fixed her eyes on Lourdes stall and opened them wide. they faded back to brown, her face became lean and pointed again, and her blonde hair melted away to veiw the black again.

        Lourdes suddenly became aware of the reason Lin was still looking at her.

        She was visible again. Lourdes cutiously unlocked the door and stepped out. Lin sucked in a tight breathe.

        "Did...did you see that?" Lourdes nodded. Lin's eyes became wide again. "Where...where were you? You weren't there before!" Lourdes's expression became hard.

        "How are you able to do that?" Lin narrowed her eyes.

        "Why should I tell you?" Lourdes licked her lips looking for an answer.

        "You got a package in the mail. A crystal, right?" Lin narrowed her eyes and nodded, listening. Lourdes sucked in a breath and turned invisible.

        "Yeah, well, so did I." Lin's eyes went big again, then returned to their normal position. "I know I don't trust you, and you don't trust me, but we need to keep this quiet." Lourdes said seriously. Lin sighed.

        "Im not stupid by any standared, you know. I realise that." Lourdes nodded, then realised Lin couldn't see her. She looked at the clock. 9:37. She returned to visibility and opened the bathroom door. She waved grimly and walked away. Something was going on, and she had a feeling it wasn't only Lin and her involved.

     *".'*'."* 

        The sleet had stopped by noon, but it was still cloudy as the sixth graders entered te cafeteria. Lourdes pulled her dark green jacket closer and spooned yourt into her mouth. She sighed and looked over at Lin. Lin met her gaze and disconnected with her friends for a moment, gving her a I-don't-really-like-you-but-I-can-tolerate-you look. Lourdes gave her the same, the slightly narrowed eyes, the relaxed eyebrows, the tight lips. She heard snippets of Lin's conversation with Jen.

        "That's a cool highlight in your hair, since when has that been there?" Lourdes looked over to see the blue streak matching her blouse.

        "Last night. It comes out easy." She bemonstrated by dragging her hand along it and acting as if to rub it off, but Lourdes knew why it was really disappearing.

        "Lin, meet me in the library after school." She said. Lin nodded.

        "What was that about?" Jen said.

        "School project."