Shifted

Chapter 9

The next morning when I came down the stairs, my mother was in the kitchen. I quickly grabbed a banana from the counter, avoiding eye contact. She seemed tired.

"Morning, honey," she said with a yawn. "Sorry I haven't been home much over the last couple days. They have me taking all the worst shifts at the hospital right now since I'm new. I promise it will get better."

I nodded, still uncomfortable. Every time I tried to look at her, I couldn't help but think about all the questions I had about my father. She continued talking about her work, but I wasn't paying attention. After I'd eaten my breakfast, I grabbed my backpack and waved goodbye to my mom. I walked out the front door, and grabbed my bike from the side of the house.

The ride to school helped clear my head. When I parked my bike in front of the school, I had almost completely cleared my worries from my mind. Suddenly I was tackled in a hug from behind. I heard high pitch squealing as whoever had me in their grip jumped up and down.

"Let go of him Liz," I heard Todd say. "It's too early for your hyperactivity."

Liz unwrapped her arms from my waist, and I turned to see Todd, Liz, and Naomi standing there. Todd grabbed his girlfriend's hand in an attempt to calm her down. Liz was still bouncing a bit, but she tried her best to calm down.

"The reason that Liz here is spazzing out is because we're going to a club on Friday," Naomi explained. "There aren't any around here, so we have to drive a ways away. You should come with us. It's gonna be a great time."

"Vance Volt is gonna be DJing!" Liz said excitedly. "He's got, like, the BEST radio show ever. His voice is dreamy."

Todd rolled his eyes, and I laughed. Sophia and Gabe walked up, and Todd said, "Hey, Ping! You get permission to come on Friday?"

Sophia sighed. "My parents are dictators."

"That's never stopped you before," Gabe said with a laugh. And Sophia smirked.

"You guys nicknamed me after Mulan. I gotta do the name justice. I can't not be a badass," she said and flashed me a wink.

"So are you in, man?" Gabe asked me. I thought for a moment before I nodded yes. The group cheered, and we made our way into the school. The rest of the day went by without much happening. I didn't see Jackson in class, and I was left wondering why he was absent. At lunch I looked at his table, but noticed that his girlfriend Sadie wasn't there either. In fact several of his friends were absent as well. This made me a bit suspicious.

After school, I decided to text him to see where he had been all day. When I didn't get a response, I decided to ride my bike over to the library to do a little research. When I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised that the Oak Hills Library was actually pretty large for such a small town. I walked down the rows of bookshelves, looking for the older books. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I approached a librarian.

"Hi, can you help me find some old folklore books? I can't find any on the shelves."

The old woman behind the desk looked up at me over her spectacles. "I wondered when you'd stop in here."

I must have had a very confused look on my face because the old woman laughed. "You are the spitting image of your father. I'd heard you and your mother were back in town."

I suddenly felt uneasy. Again I was meeting someone who knew my father, and I wasn't sure how to react. She stood and walked around the side of the desk. She nodded for me to follow her, then lead me through the stacks of books. "Your father spent a lot of time here. He was quite the bookworm. Of course that has always been true of you Caldwells.  Bookworms, the lot of you."