Wander Dust - Book 1

Chapter 8 - Act of Idiocy

It would be nice to spend a day at school where I actually get to think about, well…school. Instead, I sit in class and find myself contemplating a stupid note and its very hot messenger. Just the thought of his silky voice warms me all over.

Why would I want to run around the neighbors’ yard with Mona’s mail? And why is someone I don’t know instructing me to do so?

Is this some strange prank everyone is playing on the new girl? I glance around the class, taking in each individual student’s face, to see if anyone breaks into as little as a smirk, but no one does. I hoped someone would because a prank would be easier to deal with.

Macey leans over when the teacher walks out of the room in sixth period. “What’s with you today? You’ve been in a funk all morning.” She pulls her hair back into a low ponytail. With a few quick movements of her fingers, she secures it with a rubber band.

“I dunno. Just got a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“Like what?” she pushes, picking up her pencil and playing with it.

“You know, the usual girl drama.” I give a weak smile because I know as soon as the words leave my lips, this information will set her off.

“Oh—I love drama. Tell me more,” she insists, leaning in with interest, the way she always does.

Hmm, which absurd thing should I share with her? The part where the Lady in Black burns my brain into a crispy critter, or the part where a Grungy Gang materializes out of thin air to try to kill me? Everything sounds so ridiculous, so I stick with the tamest. No need to scare my new friend away.

“Well, for one, I kinda have a thing for a guy,” I say. Macey’s eyes light up.

“But?” Her eyes grow larger, if that’s possible.

“But, I have no idea who he is, and—well—he’s kind of mysterious.”

“Hmm, that’s definitely a drama problem, but I love mysterious boys.” She leans closer and tips her pencil to her chin. “Is he in this class?” she whispers. Her eyes shoot around the room, surveying the options.

“Uh—no. I’m not even sure if he’s a student here—don’t know anything about him.”

“That sucks,” She harrumphs. Her lips form a pout.

“I know, tragic, right?”

“Anyway, did you notice how many students were absent from Spanish earlier? Even this class looks pretty slim,” I say and glance around, looking to change the subject. Despite my meeting with the boy this morning, I did manage to make it for part of the class.

“Yeah, I did. Really weird.” Macey scans the room, obviously counting the empty chairs.

“You ladies know that some of the students switch to the east building, right?” Chris Kwan, the boy nearby, chimes in.

“What do you mean—they switch? Isn’t it the same school?” I ask.

“Yeah, of course, but the east building is for boarders. You know, like a boarding school,” he explains.

“A boarding school?” I hadn’t taken much notice of the other building. There never seems to be any activity there. I guess I’ve been too caught up in my own craziness to consider it noteworthy.

“Yeah, they have dorm rooms and take classes there. Kinda blows if you think about it. They’re always hanging around the same building,” Chris continues.

“Seriously, that does suck. You’d have a hard time skipping wouldn’t you?” I say, and we all laugh together at the east building’s unfortunate boarding students.