Different Kinds of Magic

The Cross

 History…last block. No pit stop before class this time. Long before the tardy bell rings, her books lie open and her pen hovers above for note taking. However, when she looks up at Mr. Sterling, she doesn’t see his salted brown hair and ordinary brown eyes framed by a million laugh lines. She sees black hair, probing green eyes and the slightest hint of a dimple to the left of a knowing smile. She hears not a word of Mr. Sterling’s lecture on the discovery and settlement of America. Bent over the notebook, she holds her pen, giving a pretense that she is taking notes.

It seems like seconds later that the final bells shrieks through the halls. Everyone heads for the door before Mr. Sterling is finished talking...end of the day, after all.

Aidan’s pen still perches above an empty page.

 Ok, so maybe it isn’t completely empty.

In the upper right hand corner where she usually puts the date, she’s drawn a cross. Not just a couple of lines bisecting each other, but an elaborate Celtic cross about two inches wide and three inches tall, worthy of biblical illustration. Normally, she can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler, yet here is a masterpiece. How did her mind just skip like that?

Aidan snaps the notebook closed, grabs her things and almost runs out of the classroom. After a quick stop at her locker, she heads straight for her car in the far parking lot. Sliding behind the wheel, she tosses everything but the history notebook into the backseat. Flipping through the pages, she half expects the doodle to be gone.

But there it is.

Perfect. Precise. Even vines with tiny leaves and…. She peers closer…yup, minuscule flowers that could be roses.

The passenger door opens.

Aidan tosses the notebook into the back as Celia climbs in.

"Have you ever seen someone so delicious?" Celia hums.

"Who?"

"Stop being dense. The sub, Mr. Morgan."

Another chill runs down her spine. God, just his name inspires a physical reaction. She hopes Celia doesn’t notice. Why, when she shares everything else with her cousin? “I seem to recall you saying something similar about half the male student body.”

“So I like good-looking guys despite their age,” Celia shrugs. “Speaking of….” The glint in Celia’s eyes put Aidan on edge. “I told Jason we’d stop by practice so you can meet his friend Corey. I met him this morning. Not only is he hot, he’s definitely your type.”

“How can you possibly know what that is when I don’t?” This is what she needs: normal scary instead of irrational scary. She is honestly more afraid of dating than anything else. As a telepathic high school senior, that is saying something.

“Comes with the territory. No one knows you better than family except your best friend.” Celia pauses, a finger poised on her cheek, tapping as if thinking. “Oh, wait! I’m both!” She pounds the dash with her palm. Long black hair bounces. “Come on. Get this thing moving. “I am so not walking down that hill.”

Aidan obediently cranks the engine and pulls out of the parking space. “Fine. I’ll meet him. But if he can’t remember my name tomorrow, you can forget about that double date you’re planning.”

“Stop it.”

“Sorry. Apparently ignoring boundaries ‘comes with the territory.’” Aidan smiles in Celia’s general direction as she pulls out of the parking space. She feels Celia’s thoughts dip behind a delicate wall, which, according to rules forged long ago, she will not break. For some reason, without Celia bouncing around in her head, the world seems a bit dimmer. On the other hand, maybe it was the sight of the green plain shirt and black hair heading downhill toward the stadium.