The Dark Jumper

Chapter 7: Attention

Chapter 7 - Attention

Max caught up to Jace at his locker that afternoon after morning classes, just before lunch. He sensed Max coming from a little up the hallway, but didn't expect him to approach the way he did. Not with the look of panic that crossed his new friend's face.

"Hey Jace, you doing all right?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

Max caught his breath. "Heard what happened yesterday in the gym. Kinda made the rounds in school. Sorry. If I'd known they caught up with you, I would've stuck around."

Jace knew his encounter with Russ wasn't a contained conversation. He didn't expect it to be. Couldn't be bothered to tell his parents; it was something he thought would go away on its own. His eyes shifted orange, but not a change that Max or anyone else could see anymore. Though Jace never told him what happened at school, his father had given Jace a pair of specialized brown lenses to mask the phase states of his eyes. The downside to them? Limited use of his Tria abilities. No invisibility, limited clairvoyance, and very limited time thread manipulation.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Jaceynd," his father had said. "You've not used your powers for frivolous uses before, and I don't expect you to do so in this century. But you must keep yourself mindful of how others perceive differences in this time, and for your age group. It may cause more controversy than we're willing to risk. So on the matter of your eyes, it may be helpful for you to wear these."

He wondered what his father would have to say if he knew about cutting it close on the first day.

No, maybe I don't want to know. Funny, I wanted to blend in this century, and I'm already standing out.

If rumors really had made their way around school, it probably wouldn't be long before Abby heard about it. She definitely wouldn't let him hear the last of it. He swallowed the groan bubbling in the back of his throat.

Max looked around the emptying hallway, running his hands along his backpack scraps. "So, you wanna grab something at the cafeteria? I don't see Russ and his six-eyed posse anywhere, so I think we're good, for now."

Jace's clairvoyance kicked in at the mention of Russ. Jace wondered if they were truly in the clear, so he figured it was worth checking to be sure. Around the corner and down the hallway from his locker, Jace could sense Russ slamming his own locker door, speaking to one of his friends.

"You don't know how much of an idiot that kid made me in front of those people. I'm telling you, there's something weird about him and I don't like it."

A boy slightly shorter than Russ rubbed the underside of his nose."You sure you wanna mess with him, though, Russ? Coach said you've got a strike against you for that prank you pulled during freshman orientation last semester. You get another two strikes and he could boot you from the team."

Russ snorted. "Yeah, but it's two strikes. I can afford to lose one if it means teaching that kid who owns this school - have him shaking at his knees by the time I'm done with 'im. I don't let anyone mess with my head. "

"Jace?"

Jace blinked a few times before looking up at Max, severing his link with the conversation. "Yeah, I think we'd better get our lunch and go somewhere else to eat other than the cafeteria. Just in case."

Max nodded, his expression softening. "Good plan."

***

"This is my usual spot." Max led Jace around the side of the school, past the courtyards, down grassy slopes of the student campus. Jace hadn't had a proper tour of the school since moving to Femince. It meant more than just seeing maps or limited virtual displays.