CRITICAL POINT/ THE BLACK KING (MAGIC CHRONICLES #1)

Chapter 12:

Thursday, 7:45 p.m.

Commerce City High School

            All the classrooms were deserted already, except for the one in Home Economics. Inside, Laura Collins was finishing up the last batch of props to be used for the dance. It was getting late, but she was confident that everything is all set. The rest of the group will take care of attaching these to the gym tomorrow morning.

            “And that’s the last one, finally!” Laura said triumphantly.

            It had been a hectic day for her. Not only was she dumped with a lot of lessons, but that male friend of hers had been acting weirdly all throughout the day. For one, Rick had been bothering her all day long, staying with her or watching her. And if she would try asking for his help, he would quickly walk away. But Laura’s sure that he was still watching. She could feel his eyes looking at her and everything around her.

            It was giving her the creeps.

            At the same time, a flurry of images popped into her head, like a vision.

            It was the long, dark alleyway again. There was a flight of shadows, flashes of light, buildings and rooftops rushing past her, and a woman. That woman stood in the darkness, her eyes glowing white. She looked so familiar.

            “Hey, Laura!”

            Laura gave a shrill yelp, suddenly pulled back to reality. She turned to the source. Rick Alderfer was standing by the doorway, looking intently at her.

            “You done? I’ll walk you home,” he offered.

            “No, not yet,” Laura lied, “I still had a lot of things to finish.”

            She had no intention of being with him for now. She was still bothered by his actions yesterday afternoon. Rick had apologized to both them earlier but did not elaborate.

            “But it’s getting late,” Rick said, “it’s not safe for girls like you to walk alone.”

            “Look, Rick,” Laura was a bit irritated, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’d appreciate it if you could go ahead and leave. I’m still busy, and I have a lot of things to do.”

            Laura pretended to busy herself with the props. After a few moments, she looked at the doorway. Rick was still there, looking at her intently.

            “What?” Laura asked in irritation.

            “Nothing,” Rick shook his head.

            “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something every afternoon?”