Enthrall

Chapter 3

Miles

Mark didn't show up to school today, which was odd for Mark, but not completely impossible. He usually got dropped off at school right before the bell for first period rang, so I didn't notice that he wasn't here until nutrition since we don't share a class until 3rd period. So when nutrition came and I didn't see him, I decided to stroll the campus to Pre-Calculus. I had no idea that the day of Mark's absence would be the day that changed my life.

When I got to class, I didn't take out my homework like I had initially planned. Instead, I started thinking about the weird things that had been happening to me, first with Aimee and then with Blaine's friend Tyler. I was the only other person in class aside from my teacher, Mr. Ross, since everyone else was still outside enjoying their short break between classes, so I got out my notebook and started doing some brainstorming.

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First incident: Asked Aimee to go out with me, and she agreed even though she never usually shows any interest in dating me.

-She had a weird look on her face

-She took back what she said after a minute, and seemed confused

Second incident: Tyler left my room immediately after I told him to.

-He got the same weird look that Aimee did

-He didn't argue with me in the least bit, but he also didn't change his mind right afterwards like Aimee did.

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I decided to test it out again. I waited until the break was over and the class began filling up, and this guy that sits next to me named Nathan took his seat. We kind of talk once in a while, and through those short conversations I had come to understand that he was an extremely focused student who was Harvard-bound-or-nothing-at-all, and had extremely strict parents who didn't allow him to have any kind of social life. He was the kind of guy who would never be caught dead without his work completed, and in that same vein would never allow himself to be involved in a situation that might get him into trouble or put his spotless reputation at risk.

"Hey, Nathan," I greeted him. He glanced over at me as he settled in, pulling his book out of his backpack and setting it on his desk.

"Hey, Miles," he replied, turning his attention to the front of the room.

"So, hey...did you do the homework?" I asked, attempting to pull him back into the conversation. He looked over at me in confusion.

"Yeah..." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he raised an eyebrow. I saw a picture of a Korean pin-up girl on the front of his folder and wondered if his parents knew about it. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to keep his hormones in check, as well.

"Can...I see it?"

"Why?"

"I just wanted to see something," I bluffed, not really having a good excuse.

"No," he replied resolutely. Hmm. What was I missing? Of course, I didn't feel particularly strongly about the subject, so that could have something to do with it, but was that it? Were there no other elements that fit into the equation? Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe it was important for me to make eye contact with the person. I had been looking directly into Aimee's eyes when I had asked her out, and I was looking at Tyler's when I told him to leave. Plus I remotely remembered watching Obi-Wan Kenobi staring into people's eyes when he used the Jedi Mind Trick on them in Star Wars. Yes, in theory that was a ridiculous connection, but could it really hurt?