Out of This World

Krel

"Hey, Krel," Eli said. Krel barely heard him, he was focusing on his math assignment. "Earth to Krel? Krel Tarron?"

Krel looked up, finally registering what the Eli was saying. "Yes? What is it that you want?" He looked peeved, crossing his two arms and tapping his pencil against his side impatiently.

"Is it true that you went to a girl's house last night?" Eli said, leaning forward across the aisle.

"Um... yes? Is that a big deal?" Krel lifted an eyebrow.

"Is it a big deal. He asks if it's a big deal," Eli said to himself, in an incredulous tone. "Of COURSE it's a big deal!" he exclaimed, turning to Krel. "How did you do it!? How did you woo her!?"

"I didn't woo anyone," Krel said, looking back down at his paper. "I'm her math tutor. That is all."

"Which girl is it though?" Eli asked, leaning into the aisle again. "Whose house did you go over to?"

"As if I'd tell you, Eli," Krel grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"C'mon, Terron! We bonded over surviving the Billycraggle! You can trust me!" Eli pleaded, with that stupid grin on his face.

Krel looked up to the heavens. "Gaylen help me," he said to himself. "First of all, we did not bond over the Billycraggle, because the Billycraggle is not real. I told you that much."

"But we both saw it!"

"It wasn't a Billycraggle, Eli."

"Fine, what was it then? HMMM?" Eli queried insolently.

"It was a-" Krel realized what Eli was trying to do. "Look, if you want to know so bad, I'll tell you. It was Andy, okay?"

"Wait, Andy Hawthorne?" Eli asked, excited.

"Is that her house name?" asked Krel. "I like it. Quite regal." Eli's attention turned, and it looked almost as if he were looking through Krel instead of at him. He had a dumb expression on his face, and Krel huffed. "What are you looking at, Eli?"

Eli gave Krel a sly smile as his attention was yanked back. "I think you have an admirer," he told him in a sing-song voice. "Don't look now, nine o'clock."

"It is not nine o'clock, it is 2:35," Krel said, sounding confused. The Eli was being weirder than usual today.

"Nine o'clock," Eli explained, "as in the direction. Like you are the center of a clock?"

"Ohh, okay," Krel said. That much made sense.

He snuck a glance in the direction of the nine on a clock, if he were a clock. Across from him sat Andy, who had a silly, dazed expression on her face. It was almost like the look Aja got when she looked at Steve. She seemed to see that Krel was looking at her and froze, the expression dropping from her face. Krel gave her a small wave and an awkward smile, and she did something odd, something Krel had never seen before. She turned bright red, making yet another expression and turning away quickly. She covered her face.

Krel was puzzled. He looked over to Eli. "What was that?"

"She was staring at you, dude!" Eli said, and attempted to cuff him on the shoulder. Krel pulled back before he could, however, and Eli fell out of his seat and onto the floor.

"Mr. Pepperjack, what are you doing out of your seat and on the floor?" Ms. Janeth loomed over the Eli with her hands on her hips. The class giggled.

"Sorry Ms. Janeth!" Eli exclaimed, scrambling up and back into his seat. "I just dropped my pencil is all," he fibbed.

She gave him a skeptical look, but passed on, making sure other kids were doing their work as well.