Shift

Chapter 2

Esper stared intently at the clock. Watching the second hand slowly tick, wishing it would go faster. It was third period, home room. Which meant twenty extra minutes in this prison, with her least favorite teacher. He was a nice man. He never really did anything bad to make her hate him. There was just something off about him that made her dislike him from day one. He was a tall yet stubbier man maybe in his late forties. He had a fat face with gray hair that went all the way down to his chin. And he had these thick black glasses that made his eyes five times bigger.

Esper sat on the right hand side of the class room in one of those stone cold, old timey, looking school chairs that creaked when she shifted her weight. The last two classes had gone bye so slow. In first period she had gotten away with telling her teacher she had tripped and fell on one of the benches and, had gone to the nurse. And the reason she didn't have a pass was because the nurse wasn't there and the lady filling in for her didn't give her a pass. Esper even had the bruise to prove it, even though that's not how she got it. She didn't really feel that bad about lying. She was however sickened by how easy it was for her to tell a good lie. It had always come so naturally to her. Esper wasn't really sure if she liked it or not. Like yes it came in handy, but she didn't like lying. Yet, she seemed to do it all the time.

The thought of the boy kept flowing through her mind like a song on repeat. The one who had helped her in the courtyard. All she could picture was his kind smile. She wanted answers. Mr. Wallace. Sat there watching her stair into space. "Macco!" He finally shouted. She jumped to the sound of her last name. Mr. Wallace stud and started towards Espers desk. The rest of the class broke out in sound.

"Mrs. Macco" said the teacher looking down over her desk. "I see you have no work done. Why is that?" Esper looked up at him with a blank stair trying to make an excuse. "I have given you plenty of time. You should have this completed."
"I know I just....." She was still trying to think of an excuse. For the first time in forever, she couldn't think of one. she couldn't think in general. He leaned over her desk. "Come on Mrs. Macco. Your already behind." She was trying to capture what he was saying but she just couldn't focus. There was a award pause. "Ok." He finally said. And in a smaller voice "keep watch." He leaned down close to her ear, making her uncomfortable. "You must trust no one" he whispered in her ear sending a rush through her body. She shivered. His warm breath on her ear gave her chills and, his words made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Mr. Wallace started walking back to his desk. "Keep working mrs. Macco!" He yelled over his shoulder as he sat down and picked up his book. That was it. as soon as that bell rang she was out of there. It wasn't that hard to leave, with that many people anyone could walk out, jump in a car and drive off. And that's exactly what she did. Esper sped home. She drove through two red lights. Cars all around her honked like they were yelling at her. Any minute now she would brake. Tears would come streaming down her face and she would through a temper tantrum right then and there.

She decided she was gonna take an early weekend and not tell her brother. No onewould care if she wasn't there. In fact no one would even notice she was gone. She couldn't live like this anymore. She was going to leave. go somewhere wonderful where people would understand her and maybe like her for a change.

If only.

She made a sharp turn to pull into her driveway and almost ran into a tree. She screamed and pounded her hands on the wheel. The wheels screeched to a stop at the bottom of her driveway. As Esper jumped out of the car, she slammed the door behind her and took off to the house.

Bolting into her room she threw her back pack down not caring about the shooting pain in her back. she flopped on her bed and screamed into her pillow. She kept telling her self not to cry, That life could be worse. But how could it possibly get any worse. Jay popped his head through the door knowing something was wrong. He wined as he came up and sniffed her hand. She shook her hand motioning for him to go away. Instead he jumped up on her bed and lied down resting his head on her back. "Ouch!" She yelled. Head still bared in pillow. "Get off!" He jumped down and looked up at her with his head down and his ears turned back. "Sorry." said Esper rubbing his head."I'm just so sick and tired of everything." She rolled over and looked down at jay still petting him.

Esper took off the ring her mom had given her on her birthday. She wasn't big on jewelry but she really did love that ring. It's a gold band with a Safire jewl. It wasn't too showy nor too complex. Esper liked things simple. She never liked drama, and when things get complicated she ran. Just like she did today. Maybe she did deserve all of this. She was a cowered. She's always been one. "I'm gonna take a shower." She told jay pushing herself up. She needed some place to think. A place to try and figure out what to do. Maybe she could go live with her friend Maggie up in DC. But she couldn't leave. Georgia was her home.

To be honest Esper hated the city. She turned the nob and warm water came poring out. Then she pulled the nob up and water came sputtering out of the shower head. She pulled off her cloths and stepped in. The hot water beaded down on her back. And for a minute the pain was gone. It actually felt good. Esper spent about an hour in the shower before she got out. She looked at the clock. School would be out in an hour which meant in about 4 hours her brother would be home. She went over and pulled on a large t-shirt and some leggings. Jay lay on the couch waiting for her.

"I know what you want." She said in a baby talk sorta voice. "You wanna go for a walk?" He perked his up giving her his answer. "Alright, come on." She opened the door motioning him to go out and she shut the door behind them. She didn't bother to lock it. There was woodland all around her house. And Esper knew every inch of it. Jay ran out in front of her and started sniffing the air. Esper had a weird urge to do the same. It was cool, and crisp, and autumn would be coming soon. When the leaves would turn into there rich seasonal color. Esper always loved this season.

There was a wonderful, mystical feeling all around her. She followed jay over to there favorite spot. A spot where the trees seemed to form a perfect circle. Little rays of sunlight peeked through the tops of the trees warming her skin. She sat down on a patch of green grass in the middle of the trees. Esper closed her eyes and let autumn breeze flow through her. Jay sat next to her and seemed to be doing the same thing. Jay must love the fall season too. He love to bounce through the leaves and sniff the air.

A tingling sensation raced up her back. It was strange but what was even stranger was the fact that it didn't really hurt. She felt energy all around her. Made her feel safe and refreshed. She forgot all her troubles. It was amazing.it was also why it was her favorite spot, for every time she went there all her problems seemed to disappear. For a little bit anyway. They sat there for a long while before Esper finally decided it was time to go back inside. She got up and walked out of the circle of trees.

"Come on jay." She called looking back at him. He didn't move. "Come on." She called agin. He still didn't move. Starting to get agitated she walked back over to him and waved her hand in front of his face lightly brushing his whiskers. He opened his eyes and looked up at her like she'd done something wrong. "Sorry to wake you sleeping beauty, but we gotta get home before Casey does." He cocked his head at her. She sucked in a deep breath before letting it out. "Oh, come on." She patted her led and he jogged up to her side. They started off back to the house.

"I'm tired." She said yawning. "It's been a long day." Even though it was only two in the afternoon, sleep was crashing over her like an incoming wave on the beach. Esper could tell the time from where the sun was positioned in the sky. That's something her mother had taught her when she was little. She missed her mother. Before she had gone compleat lay insane Esper and her mother were very close. They liked many of the same things, and her mother always had something new to teach her about nature. It never seemed important at the time, but did come in useful. They approached the door and she opened it. Jay slipped in and she closed the door behind her. Esper trudged to her bed and lie down. Her back was sore now and resting it made it feel better. Esper stared at the ceiling as the image if the boy she had met just that morning flowed back into her mind.