Plagued by never-ending nightmares and cursed with a mysterious ability to sense others' emotions, 19-year-old Diana Massey is no stranger to the peculiar. Bizarre events start piling up when a young man named Casimir comes to live at her family far...
"Actually sir, I am not really feeling well. May I go see the nurse?" I blurted out, my voice was loud and desperate and not at all in my usual timber. Mr. Burke turned to look at me, a flash of worry on his normally stern face. Yikes, I had overdone it. Standing up that quickly made me sway dangerously, which only seemed to add to my tale of sickly woe. Am I really sick? Is this a panic attack? I was ready to bolt from the room, given permission or not.
"Of course, Ms. Massey," Mr. Burke nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "Just have the nurse's aide escort you downstairs please." He turned to walk to his desk, checking one of his many clipboards. Every month we elected another classmate whose job it was to walk students to the nurse's office, mostly for safety issues but also so the student couldn't ditch class. It was an easy job, but not many wanted it. When nobody rushed to stand up, Sunita slowly raised her hand. Mr. Burke sighed and gestured at my friend. "You can go with her Ms. Mishra?"
"Actually," Sunita corrected softly. "Ms. Massey IS the nurse's aide... this month."
Mr. Burke's face grew dark with the idea that this would waste any more time and Sunita averted her eyes from his angry glare.
Casimir's hand shot up. "I'll take her," he volunteered, standing as he spoke. "I know where the nurse's office is."
Panic spread through my body at the idea of being alone with the new boy. Mr. Burke was apparently not up for arguing and waved his hand to dismiss us both. I staggered to the back door with Casimir on my heels, I was in such a hurry that I didn't take my bag. I glanced at my friend's worried faces as I stepped out into the hall. The new boy closed the door quietly behind us and I didn't wait, taking off down the hallway towards the stairs. Casimir was quick to close the gap between us.
"I'm sorry you're not feeling well," he said glumly.
"Hmmm yeah," I muttered back. I paused at the stairs, letting a wave of nausea pass over me. I swayed slightly and Casimir jogged down the stairs past me, turning to offer his hand to help me down. What is with the gentlemanly act? I had a hard time trusting that he was being sincere, especially with how the boys acted in this school. Also, the fact that I couldn't get a read on him with my powers just made me extra suspicious. I stared at him for a moment then decided to cling to the railing instead.
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"No thanks," I said, rejecting his hand. Casimir dropped his arm down by his side, but he didn't look upset at my refusal. Instead, he waited until I was next to him and he followed alongside me until we reached the first floor.
The nurse's office was located towards the front of the school, near the administration office. I assumed this spot was chosen so that the employees in administration could make sure no one was skipping class for non-medical reasons. The door to the nurse's office was open and there was a sign on it that said, 'be right back!' with a smiley face. I groaned inwardly because I just knew Casimir would insist on staying until she returned and all I wanted to do was lay down until this sickness passed. Casimir was studying the sign and I turned to look down the hall in hopes of seeing Ms. Johnson, the plump and perky school nurse. She was hard to miss in her brightly colored scrubs and white coat.
