Post by sena09 on Aug 25, 2016 22:44:43 GMT -5
My name is McKenna St. Clair, and never in my whole life have I met people as weird and unique as Charlotte and Patricia Sky. Now, at first glance at their names, you’d probably go “are they sisters?”
Well, yes and no.
But first, let’s start at the beginning. The first day of school.
☪
I decided to take theater class because I’ve always dreamed of being an actress some day. Perhaps the next [insert current famous celebrity here].
And, as always on the first day of school we had the pleasure of announcing our names. Luckily, since it was sixth hour, we very well knew that this would be the last time we’d have to do this… well, until next trimester.
Since my name was towards the end of the alphabet, I looked and listened carefully to everyone. Putting faces with names. Of course, I already knew everyone, so I relaxed and started to daydream… which I was quite famous for in middle school. I never really paid attention to anything… I was weird that.
But what awoke me from la-la-land was the teacher bellowing the name “Patricia Sky”.
Patricia Sky. Patricia Sky.
Where have I heard that name before?
“HERE!” the girl said a bit loudly, most definitely predominantly.
Oh, yeah. I think I’ve seen her before. I don’t think she was ever in any of my classes, though.
Patricia was exceptionally pretty. Her beige-colored skin went very well with her crisp, green eyes. And her smooth, light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
When the girl responded to the teacher’s call, the class erupted into laughter.
Why are they laughing? I wondered. What’s so funny about her name?
I then found my answer in the form of the teacher reading my mind.
“What’s so funny?” he wondered, frowning.
“Potato Girl’s in theater again,” cackled one boy, who I thought for certain was only in the class for extra credit.
The teacher (God bless him) ignored that comment. “Patricia, I fondly remember having your brother Charlotte a few years ago. It’s nice to see you appreciating the finer arts, too.”
It was deadly quiet in the classroom when Mr. Himburg was speaking. And just like before, the students laughed, causing an uproar of epic proportions.
“She’s got a brother named Charlotte?”
“What, is he a tranny?”
“Charlotte Boy and Potato Girl!” One student shouted, starting a trend of some sorts.
But me? I didn’t laugh. I didn’t laugh the time before, either. I thought that Charlotte sounded like a pretty name for a boy. Sure, it was a little girly, but people named their daughters Parker and Drew all the time and I didn’t see the problem in that.
“MCKENNA ST. CLAIR!?”
Sadly, Mr. Himburg ripped me out of my la-la-essay-land, grounding me back to my awful reality, one where kids made fun of people just because of their names. (Although I still didn’t know why people called Patricia’s “Potato”. Should I pay attention more?)
“Uh… here!” I finally responded.
As the teacher finished up attendance, my eyes seemed to be glued on Patricia.
She’s so pretty, I thought. What’s with the hate?
I then decided, right then and there, that I was going to become friends with Patricia Sky.
The first step, I assumed, was to greet her when we had the time to talk and roam around freely, which I also assumed was before the class got out for the day.
Or would that cause rumors to start…? Probably, seeing how these kids could get a rise out of just anyone, going by the expression of utter sadness on the girl’s face.
Then, I had an idea. Why not talk to her right as the bell rang? Assuming she rode the bus, of course… which I had a feeling she didn’t.
☪
Turns out, I was right twice over. Since the kids’ ruckus had took up most of class time, we didn’t even have time to breathe. (Okay, so maybe we did. But still!)
The other thing I was right about was the “Patricia-not-riding-the-bus-thing” thing. However, I did accomplish some things.
Brrring!
At last, the bell had signaled the end of the first day- er, half day of school!
The kids almost mauled me over as I rushed to get to the front door of the classroom. I was also amazed at how quick Patricia was, her body seemingly moving at the split second it rang.
Now, to catch up to her… how?
I decided to pull the big guns- which also happened to be an idiotic, rumor-starting idea, by the way.
But it was the only way I could get her attention and for her to slow down.
And if I never did this, I would have never became her best and only friend.
“PATRICIA!?” I practically screamed.
As quickly as she had responded with the bell, she stopped mid-sprint, approximately six feet away from me. (I’m not the quickest runner.)
Everyone seemed to freeze what they were doing, watching as I caught up with her.
“D-do you mind if we could hang out this afternoon? After all, it is only half a day.”
At my question, Patricia’s face morphed from a face of pure terror to a face of pure joy.
It’s as if she realized that she’d finally been accepted by someone, I mused in my head.
“Sure!” she replied with as much enthusiasm as a cartoon character.
And with that response, it was if time itself had resumed.
“Really?” I felt skeptical.
“Yeah! Let’s hang out at my house, okay? You can call your mom to tell her my brother’s outside. I’ll tell him to wait for you.”
Her brother? Charlotte? Possibly cute?
Count me in.
My heart beated a bit too fast as we walked outside, after calling my mom. Let’s say I was really, really looking forward to seeing the Eponymous Charlotte Boy.
And as I saw the car that Patricia was going to’s passenger window rolled down, I finally got my glimpse at him.
And boy, what a glimpse it was.
“This a new friend of yours?” he questioned as Patricia got into the car, gesturing for me to get in the back.
“Yeah,” she said excitedly. “Her name is… Maggie, right?”
Uh, no. “McKenna,” I responded, ogling at the beautifulness of Charlotte.
He was truly beautiful, though. Remember what I said about ‘Charlotte’ being a pretty name?
Yeah, multiply that by a thousand for him. In full honesty, the beige skin did wonders for his shaggy, dark brown hair, which was tousled a bit. And his eyes… the same shade of green as Patricia’s, but…
What was that in his mouth?
“What’s in your mouth?” That accidentally came out of my mouth (speaking of.) Oops.
We were moving now, out of the parking lot, so Charlotte quickly took the thing out of his mouth and showed me.
It was a blue sucker, which oddly enough matched the shirt he was wearing under his leather jacket.
Oh yeah, I notice all the details, including this completely noticeable birthmark that I forgot to mention, which was on the bridge of his nose.
Okay, so perhaps I’m a little too obsessed now, huh?
Patricia was about to open her mouth when I directed yet another question at him.
“How old are you?”
This time, Charlotte did not look back at me, only opting to stare at the rear view mirror, as he was fiddling with the radio.
“I’m turning twenty in two months,” he responded, his voice sounding a bit funny (which I just noticed) because of the sucker taking up residence in his mouth. He then made a noise akin to “ah ha! I got it!” when he found the station he wanted.
As I was jamming out to the song, I couldn’t help but notice the five o’clock shadow that he was sporting on his face.
Man, is he hot, I thought dreamily. He’s my butterfly, sugar, baby.
Then, this question came about.
“Are you hitting on my brother?” Patricia quipped, making me snap out of my stupid daydreaming. “He’s got a girlfriend, just so you know.”
Charlotte had nothing to say about that. He just kept head-bobbing to the song, which I thought was absolutely adorable!
And, amazingly enough, I might add, his complexion was something to die for… it really was.
I just might have, if, you know, he didn’t have a girlfriend. (He didn’t, by the way. What Patricia said was a lie.)
☪
“I think I have a crush on your brother,” I announced, rather ashamed.
We were now inside Patricia’s room, a very nice one at that. The walls were painted light green, complementing the light purple bedsheets. Her room was also dusted with posters of puppies and puppy stuffed animals. The rest was your standard teenage bedroom stuff.
Patricia sighed. “I’m not surprised. I saw you eyeballing him in the car.” I could tell that she looked a little upset, perhaps even jealous that I was paying more attention to Charlotte than her.
For a brief moment, Patricia’s room was enveloped in a blanket of silence. That was until Patricia decided to speak again.
“You know what? I’m gonna finish up my annotations for my book project and then we can work on my geometry homework, okay? I suck at geometry.”
I must have looked a little puzzled because, not even a beat later, she added, “You can hang out and flirt with Char more.”
“Is that his nickname?”
Another sigh. “Yeah.”
And so I trudged downstairs, mentally preparing myself for what was to come.I was hoping that I wouldn’t overthink stuff and end up looking like an empty husk of a human being to The Prettiest Guy Ever.
I ended up finding him sitting on the front porch, with yet another sucker in his mouth. This time, it was a light brown.
At the sight of this, I giggled and sat down and decided to break the ice.
“You know that if you keep sucking on those, your tongue isn’t gonna be pink no more, right?”
Charlotte must have not heard me very well because he looked up at me, the sucker in his mouth moving to the side accordingly.
I repeated the statement/question, this time in a slightly higher tone.
Shrugging, Charlotte took the conversation blocker out of his mouth and sighed greatly.
“Where do you think we go when we die?”
He directed this loaded question to me, of all people, the least religious person I knew. But yet again, I really did wonder.
“Well…” I mused. “To heaven, I guess? Or maybe there is an afterlife. I really don’t know.”
Charlotte, who was still staring at me, wiggled his eyebrows in a vertical manner.
“So you’re like me… a deep thinker.”
I couldn’t help it. This time, I really laughed. The look on Charlotte’s face made it clear that he felt a bit hurt.
“I certainly am!” I reassured, to let my crush know that I wasn’t making fun of him. Then, my thoughts accidentally slipped out of my mouth again. “You know what? You’re really cute!”
Charlotte, unexpectedly, started to nod, as if he agreed with that statement. “I guess you could say I’m attractive, but the perception of beauty varies from person to person…”
As I was listening to rambling on about that, I came to a realization.
“But it’s what I think, right? I think you’re attractive, and in case you were wondering, I do have a crush on you… you don’t have to be all philosophical about it.”
What I said had an effect on him of some sorts. First of all, he slowly took his suckers out of his mouth once again, put it back in its wrapper and shoved it in his jacket pocket. Then, something a little unexpected happened. He started to run his fingers through his hair, his whole face turning a brilliant shade of red.
But, instead of getting up and walking away like any sensible young man would do, he continued to sit there, acting all girlish.
“You really think so?” he said in a low voice.
“Well, I am me, you know?” I then noticed that my speech was comprised of a lot of the same words and phrases. (Do I really sound that stupid when I talk?)
Luckily, this awkward silence (another one!) was saved by Patricia sliding the door open and dragging me back in, forcing me to “help” her with her homework.
________________
I had thought a lot about what I said that might. At night, I mean. Or was the correct wording “the conversation I had with Charlotte that evening?”
Oh, well. You know what I mean, I hope.
I have to admit, I’m still a little weirded out at how strange Charlotte Sky is. His looks, personality, and body language never seemed to match up. I mean, he looks like a tough guy but on the inside, he’s a delicate boy who is trying to make sense of the world. Oh, and he does some girly things like playing with his hair, and always has a sucker at the ready, which in my honest opinion was to make him shut up… and it totally works, kind of.
However, there were multiple things that hadn’t been discussed during my short time with him, and that I wanted to discuss the next day.
Topic 1: did he have any girlfriends in the past? (His reaction to my confession seemed rather authentic.)
Topic 2: Why did he do theater in high school if he wants to be a philosopher?
Topic 3: Rather obvious, but he got bullied at school… how did the bullying start with Patricia? (I really wanted to know the origin of ‘Potato Sky’.)
And finally…
Topic 4: Why is he not college?
☪
These were perfectly legitimate questions, and it seemed as if Charlotte was psychic or something because during third hour, the teacher gave me a note saying that I was to leave early for lunch in fourth hour… thank God we were doing nothing in Spanish that day!
But of course, at the time I had no idea what the slip meant, therefore my brain was practically buzzing with predictions.
In doing so, I went from that point on in chemistry to the beginning of Spanish like that… stupid overactive brain.
I was to wait at the front of the school for the car to show up, the note said.
And boy, was the car on time.
My eyes almost went out of my head when I realized that who was taking me to lunch was not my mom, not my dad, but none other Charlotte Sky himself.
As he came out of his car, I noticed that he was rather self-conscious about how he looked because his clothes didn’t look to threatening (a layered white and blue top and khaki jeans can do you good), and his stubble was gone. Even his long-ish hair appeared to be cut two inches shorter, probably to prevent any playing with it.
Never in my life had I been so disappointed and impressed at the same time. (I, for one, actually liked his slightly unkempt, bad-boy look.)
Oh, but what was still there? His sucker, which he was twirling in his hand. Some habits never die.
“Ready to go?” he said, in a teasing manner.
I still stood there, hands on hip. “Okay: how?”
Charlotte smirked. “I have my ways- now get!” It was the sort of smirk that you’d use on your pets if they were doing something bad but not necessarily horrible. (In fact, the whole delivery of his line reminded me of how I treat my cat.)
Like I should, I got in the car, wondering what my parents would think of this situation. After all, was he really that much of a stranger if I’ve known him for one day?
☪
The restaurant of choice was some generic restaurant that was not too far from the school, and I didn’t really mind. Once we got our seats and stuff, I was mentally preparing what to say to him.
Too bad he spoke first.
“You better thank me when this is all over with,” he sniped. The dialogue made a stark contrast to how he sounded in the car. Did something go wrong… ?
I gave him a weird look. Why does it like he’s reading my mind? I thought as I pulled out a menu.
Unexpectedly, Charlotte started rubbing the back of his head like he had a headache. Also, he kept mumbling things like “stop it” and “it never ends”.
So, after the waiter got us something to drink, I asked him what was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated. “What’s wrong?” He leaned in close to me, causing me to blush horrendously. “After yesterday’s talk, I’m now somehow physically connected to you… but it seems only one-way.” When he said that, it was in a low voice, only for me to hear.
Yet I was still afraid someone would overhear.
The waiter came back to take our orders and when he was gone, the conversation continued.
“Uh, yeah. I don’t hear any voices in my head other than mine. But can you really know what I’m thinking? Are you sure?”
Charlotte, who took the sucker out of his mouth (red) finally, started to stir his Mountain Dew around with his straw.
“Dude, I hear your thoughts all the time now… even when I’m not anywhere near you.”
My mouth formed on upside down U. “Hm. Well, I’m very sorry for you having to have my dumb thoughts in your head.”
For some reason, I just kind of believed him, even though it sounded a little too far-fetched. After all, I don’t even know how it happened! I don’t remember touching him or even… wait.
I looked him in the eyes.
Surely that caused it, right? But how?
“I don’t know either,” he replied. “But you wanted those questions to be answered, so here you go. One: Yes, I’ve had a girlfriend before, but it only lasted two weeks in tenth grade. Two: The whole philosophy thing I got into last year, but before that I loved to act… yeah, I know. I don’t seem like the acting type. Three: It’s a long story, but Patricia isn’t a real good actress. Her acting is definitely potato-quality. And four: I dropped out of college. It wasn’t exactly my thing.”
He said that all of that rather quickly, except for the part where he paused to answer my question, which didn’t really need answering.
________________________________
And then we ate. And then after that, he drove me back to school, but before that he promised me that we would have a meet-up of sorts at the library, to do some research on the phenomena that was Charlotte’s one-sided telepathy that came out of nowhere.
Since the library was so close to my house, I rode my bike there. Luckily, I had no homework and the day was beautiful, so the bike ride there was great and free of stress.
As I was doing so, all I could think about was Charlotte. How was he able to think straight when he had double the thoughts in his head? I had no idea myself, especially when I knew how much time I spent thinking. And worrying.
Unsurprisingly, as I locked my bike up, Charlotte came striding up alongside me.
“You need help?” he asked politely.
I smiled as sweetly as I could. “No, but thanks!”
“It seemed as if you’re having trouble, though. In… you know what, never mind.”
Oh, Charlotte… indecisive as ever, I thought to myself, knowing that he could hear me.
When I was finished with the bike thing, we headed inside, the AC and the murmur of quiet voices flourishing around us.
Okay, so perhaps it’s just me, but I think I’m in love with the library. Or, in general, any libraries. The coolness of the air, the smell of the books, the friendly librarians. It feels like a second home. It’s no wonder that, over the summer, I volunteer here. Plus, I love renting out DVDs of my favorite TV shows!
But today, me and Charlotte Sky were on a mission, albeit a rather impossible one.
“So, where should we start off first?” Charlotte wondered, and I couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to be copying the same poses as me. I guess that does happen when you share the same thoughts as someone, I figured mentally.
As expected, charlotte shifted his stance into something more masculine.
“I guess in the nonfiction section, under magic or supernatural or something.”
“Or physcology,” Charlotte supported. “Or, we could go on the Internet.”
I looked at my crush sourly. “You really think we should search online first? That should be our last resort. Books never lie.”
“Some do, but you’re right. Books first.”
So, the first section we looked in was the supernatural, since we both agreed that what was going on definitely wasn’t normal. But alas, nothing was really found. Same with the magic section, and by the time we got to psychology, it was decided we really needed to search online.
“You’re a real downer, you know that?”
It didn’t take long to ponder that thought. “Well, I’m just thinking realistically. This is crazy, and I’m partially thinking that you’re just a real good liar.”
Charlotte snorted, looking irritated. “Would I ever lie to someone?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve only known you for a day.” I said this as we waited for the Internet browser to open.
Charlotte finally plunked down in a seat, his arms folded cutely. “Fair enough. But still, I’m not lying. Wanna know how?”
I sneered. “Try me.”
Charlotte took a deep breath. “Your first crush on Samy Enderson in second grade. You always spied on him on the playground and pretended he was Prince Charming and you were Cinderella.”
I buried my face in my hands, watching Google load on the page. “Please. Don’t go on. I believe you now!”
But he continued. “You’re deathly afraid of the dark, so at night you have to sleep with a nightlight on. And, today you- okay, I’ll stop.”
I shook my head, now completely convinced. “So, what the heck should I Google?”
“I don’t know. Try using keywords, like ‘telepathy’ or ‘mind reading’.”
“Or, I could just search ‘help! My crush can suddenly read my mind!’ Ugh, you’d be much better at this. I give up! We’ve found nothing and I wish you’d just do your philosophy thing and think of of a reason as to why this happened. Maybe we’d find out better that way.”
At this statement, Charlotte knocked me out of my seat and began to research instead. “Dude, you know how hard it is to do that when you’ve- never mind, I’ve already explained it to you. And it really bugged me this morning when my mom caught me contemplating on what clothes to wear. Mom said, ‘Charlotte honey, what are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Mom, I don’t know what goes well with green’ and she laughed.”
“It is when you’re a guy. Guys just usually throw on whatever, not just sit there for five minutes looking for something. Plus, you know why I shaved? Because last night, you were thinking about guys with beards and how they’re gross. And before I knew it, I was taking the razor to my face. Subconsciously. This mind-reading stuff can screw you up!”
My face was flushed. “You cut your hair, too. I liked it long.” I mumbled.
Charlotte looked back at me, his features hard and unmoving. “Yeah, I did that too, but on purpose. So that I couldn’t play with my hair.”
“Oh, so that’s-”
“Yeah. I frickin’ hated that, you know?” He turned back to the computer and logged off. By then, his face was no longer stone cold.
He sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s just, well… we found nothing, and I don’t know what to do now. Sorry for me being so pissed off.”
I nodded sympathetically. “I understand.”
Charlotte stood up and pulled a sucker out from his pocket. Pink, I noticed. (I also noticed that during this time, he had none in his mouth.) He, however, then reluctantly put it back.
“Oh my God.” he murmured. “How had I not thought of that?”
There was a beat. “What?”
With force, Charlotte dragged me into the teen room, where no one was there. He closed the door obediently.
“All this time… all this time, it never occurred to me about how this all began. I do remember that it started yesterday, but I really didn’t think anything of it at the time. Wait- the thing that triggered it was you saying that you had a crush on me and that I didn’t have to be so philosophical about it. At that very moment, we seemed to have locked eye. When you said that, I remember exactly what I was thinking: ‘Wow, a girl likes me… and we have something in common. We think so much alike!’”
I felt a little let down by the fact that that might have been the case, but I still felt excited, nonetheless.
He continued. “Wait, I remember thinking more, but I can’t remember what. What I’m trying to get at, though, is this: I think I might have a superpower, and I think I know how to cut it off from you.”
I smiled a wobbly smile. “A kiss?”
Charlotte looked taken aback. “Ew, no. I could get in serious trouble for that. But, here-”
Like that, Charlotte took my hand and looked me straight in the eyes. I couldn’t help but do the same, while trying not to scream and die of happiness.
What happened in the next ten seconds was something I can’t explain. It just felt, well, magical. It really felt like Charlotte was searching for something in my mind in order to make that madness stop. (Hey, I just explained it to you!) And for whatever reason, it really did feel like his eyes were special, not just gorgeous.
Something else, I figured, made them magical somehow. I wonder if Patricia can do the same thing?
But just like that, it was over. Charlotte freed me from his grip and began to pace around.
“Well?” I chirped. “Feel any different?”
“I feel nothing.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?” Could it have gone awry? What if I could read his mind now? However, I didn’t think any boyish thoughts, so…
“No, as in, I don’t hear you rambling on about having to do the dishes when you get home.”
I smiled, then frowned. I still had to do them. Darn it!
Then, Charlotte started bouncing up and down like a little kid on a sugar high.
“Oh my God, it worked! Holy crap, ah ha ha ha!”
“Shhh!” I said. “Library. But yay!”
Charlotte was still shaking, which made me consider why I still had a crush on him in the first place. (Nope. Still adorable.)
“We should probably go now,” he announced quietly. “But I’m sooo gonna write this down in my diary when I get home.” He then had a pretend coughing fit. “Journal. I meant journal.”
☪
That night felt like a repeat of the night before, but this time more focused on the weird superpowered eyes thing instead.
Also, I thought about Patricia again. And while I was thinking about, I also thought about how nice it was to actually think without being self-conscious about it, knowing that some nineteen year old boy was listening to it, albeit against his own will.
Man, that weird.
Here I was, just some normal girl going to high school, who just happened to be acquaintances with a guy with magical eyes named Charlotte.
Say what?! (Well, that’s what I was saying.)
☪
The next day was nothing special, except the fact that it was Thursday and what happened in sixth hour was pretty noteworthy… but that was pretty much it.
In theater, we assigned partners and we had to make a little skit, and of course me and Patricia were paired up.
“So we meet again,” Patricia said shyly. “My brother was talking about you an awful lot last night. I think he even wants to hang out with you tomorrow.”
My face flushed. “Oh boy,” I mumbled, but in reality I was super excited.
“Also… I guess what!”
“What?” I had a feeling her answer was going to have to do with superpowers and eyes.
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I found out that I have a superpower yesterday.”
Oh boy, again.
“What is it?” I wondered.
Patricia smirked. “Watch this!” Casually, she went up to a fellow classmate named Ashley and looked her in the eyes.
“It would be amazing if you could make your skit about a talking pizza,” she said sweetly.
Ashley, who was looking like she was being hypnotized, nodded slowly. “I sure will,” she replied, in a daze.
When Patricia turned around and walked away, I heard Ashley telling her partner, Trey, about having their skit being centered around a talking pizza.
My reaction about this situation could be summed up like this: Oh my God, her too.
I ran after my friend, following her into our assigned practice room.
Slam!
“So apparently you can hypnotize people!?” I yelled, regretting it a second later.
“Yeah, but only for a few minutes,” Patricia confessed. “Trust me, the first time I tried it out I made Charlotte believe he was dog for about two minutes. It was pretty amusing.”
Funnily enough, I could picture him on all fours, barking and fetching a bone. The image was pretty disturbing.
“Anyway,” she continued, “last night, he told me about what happened between you two and how we can read people’s minds. He said, ‘Patty,I think you have a superpower too’, and I said ‘really’? and he told me what to do and bam! Check me out.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Lucky. I tried my darndest but it looks like I don’t have one. I think that because you guys both have such beautiful eyes, you’re blessed with magic.”
Patricia. “Oh, hey! That makes sense! How about me, you, and Char can all talk about this tomorrow. Perhaps Mom has magic too, because that’s where we got the green eyes from.”
☪
Friday rolled around, and I found myself at the Sky’s house again. Me and Patricia rode the bus to her home together, and it was pure hell because it was so messy and noisy and the bus driver was awful.
But it ended soon enough, and me and Patricia got off without a hitch, although slightly scared.
And guess who was sitting on the front porch without a sucker in his mouth? Charlotte!
“Hey Charlotte,” I said shyly for almost no reason whatsoever.
Charlotte stood up to greet us. He seemed to have cut his hair yet again, probably another inch and a half or so, and the bangs were parted neatly on his forehead. His wardrobe had also gone through yet another change, because he was wearing a nice white button-down shirt and jeans with white sneakers.
He looked… pleasant. Nice. Pure.
“Really, Char? Again? You’re not gonna have any more hair left to cut soon,” Patricia joked.
Charlotte frowned. “Patty. Don’t be rude.” He was just joking, as evidenced by the playful shove he gave his sister.
“Hey McKenna,” he said back to me. “Yeah, I gave myself another makeover again, but this time it was intentional.”
I grinned. “Looks like some of my girliness rubbed off on you.”
Charlotte opened the door for us as we walked in. “Nah, just good taste.”
The Sky’s house looked the same as it did last time, but this time I paid a bit more attention to the picture frames on the walls, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a picture of a Charlotte that looked suspiciously close to my age.
“We’re going upstairs to the attic,” he instructed us.
“Why?”
“Because there’s a bit of stuff in the attic,” Patricia concluded.
When we got up there, Charlotte turned on a light and the whole place became illuminated with a dim yet still serviceable light.
Unlike certain attics, this one didn’t any windows at all and was pretty dusty. (Duh!)
“Where should we start looking?” I asked.
“In the boxes,” said Charlotte, stifling a cough. “I know Dad loves labeling them, so I’m sure we should look for some with interesting or magical sounding labels.”
“There’s nothing too magical about ‘Miscellaneous Pots and Pans’,” snarked Patricia.
We all had a good laugh, and I couldn’t help but notice that Charlotte was unusually cheery today. That made me cheery, too.
☪
It didn’t take that long for us to find something interesting. I had found a box labeled ‘Dates to Remember’, a rather small box that the Skys encouraged me to open.
Inside it was a thick notebook that at first looked pretty mysterious, but when I opened it, everything made sense.
“‘September 9, 1923. I, Rosemary Ruby Sky, got my superpower of premonition. When I look into someone’s eyes, I can see a bit of their future… but only the near future.’”
“Oh,” marveled Patricia, leaning over to see. “So we aren’t the only ones!”
I read on. “‘I recall my grandfather saying he had a special power, too. Something about seeing the truth in one’s eyes. So, I figure that these powers run in the family, and that they skip a generation. However, they can only be activated on a certain day, month, and year- Tuesday, September 9th, (year ending in 3). So, the next people to have them in my family will be my future grandchildren.’”
“That’s us,” Charlotte said in awe. “And she’s right! It’s 2003! No way.”
“But wait- there’s more! ‘It seems as if these powers can be activated by only people with green eyes, and they have limitations. They can last until death, as evidenced by grandpa. (Rest in peace!)’”
“Is that it?” Patricia asked inquisitively.
“Yeah,” I said sadly. I closed the book and put it back in the box. The other things in there were just a few wedding items, but that was it. I was disappointed, yet hopeful at the same time. After all, we unveiled the secrets about their powers, but that was it?
For the first time that day, Charlotte looked genuinely negative. “I can’t believe our mom never told us about this- after all, it is her heritage.”
Patricia rolled her eyes. “But you know Mom. She can be flighty sometimes.”
Charlotte snorted. “More like all the time.”
Sighing, Patricia looked from her strange brother to me. “Hey, Char. Isn’t there something you wanted to tell McKenna here?”
All of a sudden, Charlotte blushed. “U-um, yeah. But is it okay if we could, I don’t know, go to a different place, like the family room or something?” Then, he quietly mouthed “Leave us alone”. (Hey, I’m really good at reading lips!)
Patricia nodded robotically. “Of course, your honor!” She then stepped out of the way as me and Charlotte trudged downstairs for Charlotte to tell me whatever.
Said boy flopped onto the couch and tried to find a comfortable way to sit, but ultimately chose the “one leg crossed” pose.
He patted on the seat next to him. “McKenna.”
I was daydreaming again, so I flinched. “Huh?” I looked down. “Oh, sure!”
And thus I sat down next to him, me facing in his general direction.
“So what is it?”
Charlotte closed his eyes and did what looked like a breathing exercise for half a minute. Finally, he was done.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’m really nervous. So, if you don’t mind…”
That was when he looked at square in the eyes, my thoughts now in his head.
“Ah, much better!” he announced. “Yeah, that’ll help me out some.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, so I know that these last few days have been hectic, but I knew that when I first saw you… I like you, okay? I’m in like with you. Whatever, so it’s more than like, but if I were to say anymore than that, it’d be creepy. I’m turning twenty in November, and that means we’ll be five years apart- okay, for only two months- but still. That’s a big age gap right now, so… yeah.”
My face when he was talking was rather neutral, aside from the blushing, but we both had it. But when he stopped rambling, however, I giggled. “I never did realize this before, Charlotte, but you sound so indecisive when you talk like that.”
“With the ‘two minds’ thing? Oh yeah, totally.” He chuckled a little to himself. “I think that’s- why no more suckers? I’m trying to stop, okay? They’re so frickin’ addictive. And yeah, I- no? You’re such a mess, Mcken-”
I decided to stop his sorta one-sided conversation with a kiss. Why not? I figured.
Man, I should have known better. For some stupid reason, I thought that would be another way to stop the telepathy- but it just made it worse.
Now we were both telepathically connected to one another. Yay.
Ugh, she should not be kissing me, I heard Charlotte think in my head.
“Huh?” I said aloud. I looked at my crush, who was now relaxing on the couch instead of doing that pose.
“What? Oh.Oh no. Oh God, no. How are we?-”
That’s when I came up and kissed him again, but this time quickly.
“Oh. I guess that’ll work.”
As this was going on, Patricia was watching from the stairs, and she was amused that the two lovebirds didn’t see her yet. She was hiding in plain sight.
Patricia narrowed her eyes.
“How come,” she said softly. “How come this always happens to me?”
-the end -
Well, yes and no.
But first, let’s start at the beginning. The first day of school.
☪
I decided to take theater class because I’ve always dreamed of being an actress some day. Perhaps the next [insert current famous celebrity here].
And, as always on the first day of school we had the pleasure of announcing our names. Luckily, since it was sixth hour, we very well knew that this would be the last time we’d have to do this… well, until next trimester.
Since my name was towards the end of the alphabet, I looked and listened carefully to everyone. Putting faces with names. Of course, I already knew everyone, so I relaxed and started to daydream… which I was quite famous for in middle school. I never really paid attention to anything… I was weird that.
But what awoke me from la-la-land was the teacher bellowing the name “Patricia Sky”.
Patricia Sky. Patricia Sky.
Where have I heard that name before?
“HERE!” the girl said a bit loudly, most definitely predominantly.
Oh, yeah. I think I’ve seen her before. I don’t think she was ever in any of my classes, though.
Patricia was exceptionally pretty. Her beige-colored skin went very well with her crisp, green eyes. And her smooth, light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
When the girl responded to the teacher’s call, the class erupted into laughter.
Why are they laughing? I wondered. What’s so funny about her name?
I then found my answer in the form of the teacher reading my mind.
“What’s so funny?” he wondered, frowning.
“Potato Girl’s in theater again,” cackled one boy, who I thought for certain was only in the class for extra credit.
The teacher (God bless him) ignored that comment. “Patricia, I fondly remember having your brother Charlotte a few years ago. It’s nice to see you appreciating the finer arts, too.”
It was deadly quiet in the classroom when Mr. Himburg was speaking. And just like before, the students laughed, causing an uproar of epic proportions.
“She’s got a brother named Charlotte?”
“What, is he a tranny?”
“Charlotte Boy and Potato Girl!” One student shouted, starting a trend of some sorts.
But me? I didn’t laugh. I didn’t laugh the time before, either. I thought that Charlotte sounded like a pretty name for a boy. Sure, it was a little girly, but people named their daughters Parker and Drew all the time and I didn’t see the problem in that.
“MCKENNA ST. CLAIR!?”
Sadly, Mr. Himburg ripped me out of my la-la-essay-land, grounding me back to my awful reality, one where kids made fun of people just because of their names. (Although I still didn’t know why people called Patricia’s “Potato”. Should I pay attention more?)
“Uh… here!” I finally responded.
As the teacher finished up attendance, my eyes seemed to be glued on Patricia.
She’s so pretty, I thought. What’s with the hate?
I then decided, right then and there, that I was going to become friends with Patricia Sky.
The first step, I assumed, was to greet her when we had the time to talk and roam around freely, which I also assumed was before the class got out for the day.
Or would that cause rumors to start…? Probably, seeing how these kids could get a rise out of just anyone, going by the expression of utter sadness on the girl’s face.
Then, I had an idea. Why not talk to her right as the bell rang? Assuming she rode the bus, of course… which I had a feeling she didn’t.
☪
Turns out, I was right twice over. Since the kids’ ruckus had took up most of class time, we didn’t even have time to breathe. (Okay, so maybe we did. But still!)
The other thing I was right about was the “Patricia-not-riding-the-bus-thing” thing. However, I did accomplish some things.
Brrring!
At last, the bell had signaled the end of the first day- er, half day of school!
The kids almost mauled me over as I rushed to get to the front door of the classroom. I was also amazed at how quick Patricia was, her body seemingly moving at the split second it rang.
Now, to catch up to her… how?
I decided to pull the big guns- which also happened to be an idiotic, rumor-starting idea, by the way.
But it was the only way I could get her attention and for her to slow down.
And if I never did this, I would have never became her best and only friend.
“PATRICIA!?” I practically screamed.
As quickly as she had responded with the bell, she stopped mid-sprint, approximately six feet away from me. (I’m not the quickest runner.)
Everyone seemed to freeze what they were doing, watching as I caught up with her.
“D-do you mind if we could hang out this afternoon? After all, it is only half a day.”
At my question, Patricia’s face morphed from a face of pure terror to a face of pure joy.
It’s as if she realized that she’d finally been accepted by someone, I mused in my head.
“Sure!” she replied with as much enthusiasm as a cartoon character.
And with that response, it was if time itself had resumed.
“Really?” I felt skeptical.
“Yeah! Let’s hang out at my house, okay? You can call your mom to tell her my brother’s outside. I’ll tell him to wait for you.”
Her brother? Charlotte? Possibly cute?
Count me in.
My heart beated a bit too fast as we walked outside, after calling my mom. Let’s say I was really, really looking forward to seeing the Eponymous Charlotte Boy.
And as I saw the car that Patricia was going to’s passenger window rolled down, I finally got my glimpse at him.
And boy, what a glimpse it was.
“This a new friend of yours?” he questioned as Patricia got into the car, gesturing for me to get in the back.
“Yeah,” she said excitedly. “Her name is… Maggie, right?”
Uh, no. “McKenna,” I responded, ogling at the beautifulness of Charlotte.
He was truly beautiful, though. Remember what I said about ‘Charlotte’ being a pretty name?
Yeah, multiply that by a thousand for him. In full honesty, the beige skin did wonders for his shaggy, dark brown hair, which was tousled a bit. And his eyes… the same shade of green as Patricia’s, but…
What was that in his mouth?
“What’s in your mouth?” That accidentally came out of my mouth (speaking of.) Oops.
We were moving now, out of the parking lot, so Charlotte quickly took the thing out of his mouth and showed me.
It was a blue sucker, which oddly enough matched the shirt he was wearing under his leather jacket.
Oh yeah, I notice all the details, including this completely noticeable birthmark that I forgot to mention, which was on the bridge of his nose.
Okay, so perhaps I’m a little too obsessed now, huh?
Patricia was about to open her mouth when I directed yet another question at him.
“How old are you?”
This time, Charlotte did not look back at me, only opting to stare at the rear view mirror, as he was fiddling with the radio.
“I’m turning twenty in two months,” he responded, his voice sounding a bit funny (which I just noticed) because of the sucker taking up residence in his mouth. He then made a noise akin to “ah ha! I got it!” when he found the station he wanted.
As I was jamming out to the song, I couldn’t help but notice the five o’clock shadow that he was sporting on his face.
Man, is he hot, I thought dreamily. He’s my butterfly, sugar, baby.
Then, this question came about.
“Are you hitting on my brother?” Patricia quipped, making me snap out of my stupid daydreaming. “He’s got a girlfriend, just so you know.”
Charlotte had nothing to say about that. He just kept head-bobbing to the song, which I thought was absolutely adorable!
And, amazingly enough, I might add, his complexion was something to die for… it really was.
I just might have, if, you know, he didn’t have a girlfriend. (He didn’t, by the way. What Patricia said was a lie.)
☪
“I think I have a crush on your brother,” I announced, rather ashamed.
We were now inside Patricia’s room, a very nice one at that. The walls were painted light green, complementing the light purple bedsheets. Her room was also dusted with posters of puppies and puppy stuffed animals. The rest was your standard teenage bedroom stuff.
Patricia sighed. “I’m not surprised. I saw you eyeballing him in the car.” I could tell that she looked a little upset, perhaps even jealous that I was paying more attention to Charlotte than her.
For a brief moment, Patricia’s room was enveloped in a blanket of silence. That was until Patricia decided to speak again.
“You know what? I’m gonna finish up my annotations for my book project and then we can work on my geometry homework, okay? I suck at geometry.”
I must have looked a little puzzled because, not even a beat later, she added, “You can hang out and flirt with Char more.”
“Is that his nickname?”
Another sigh. “Yeah.”
And so I trudged downstairs, mentally preparing myself for what was to come.I was hoping that I wouldn’t overthink stuff and end up looking like an empty husk of a human being to The Prettiest Guy Ever.
I ended up finding him sitting on the front porch, with yet another sucker in his mouth. This time, it was a light brown.
At the sight of this, I giggled and sat down and decided to break the ice.
“You know that if you keep sucking on those, your tongue isn’t gonna be pink no more, right?”
Charlotte must have not heard me very well because he looked up at me, the sucker in his mouth moving to the side accordingly.
I repeated the statement/question, this time in a slightly higher tone.
Shrugging, Charlotte took the conversation blocker out of his mouth and sighed greatly.
“Where do you think we go when we die?”
He directed this loaded question to me, of all people, the least religious person I knew. But yet again, I really did wonder.
“Well…” I mused. “To heaven, I guess? Or maybe there is an afterlife. I really don’t know.”
Charlotte, who was still staring at me, wiggled his eyebrows in a vertical manner.
“So you’re like me… a deep thinker.”
I couldn’t help it. This time, I really laughed. The look on Charlotte’s face made it clear that he felt a bit hurt.
“I certainly am!” I reassured, to let my crush know that I wasn’t making fun of him. Then, my thoughts accidentally slipped out of my mouth again. “You know what? You’re really cute!”
Charlotte, unexpectedly, started to nod, as if he agreed with that statement. “I guess you could say I’m attractive, but the perception of beauty varies from person to person…”
As I was listening to rambling on about that, I came to a realization.
“But it’s what I think, right? I think you’re attractive, and in case you were wondering, I do have a crush on you… you don’t have to be all philosophical about it.”
What I said had an effect on him of some sorts. First of all, he slowly took his suckers out of his mouth once again, put it back in its wrapper and shoved it in his jacket pocket. Then, something a little unexpected happened. He started to run his fingers through his hair, his whole face turning a brilliant shade of red.
But, instead of getting up and walking away like any sensible young man would do, he continued to sit there, acting all girlish.
“You really think so?” he said in a low voice.
“Well, I am me, you know?” I then noticed that my speech was comprised of a lot of the same words and phrases. (Do I really sound that stupid when I talk?)
Luckily, this awkward silence (another one!) was saved by Patricia sliding the door open and dragging me back in, forcing me to “help” her with her homework.
________________
I had thought a lot about what I said that might. At night, I mean. Or was the correct wording “the conversation I had with Charlotte that evening?”
Oh, well. You know what I mean, I hope.
I have to admit, I’m still a little weirded out at how strange Charlotte Sky is. His looks, personality, and body language never seemed to match up. I mean, he looks like a tough guy but on the inside, he’s a delicate boy who is trying to make sense of the world. Oh, and he does some girly things like playing with his hair, and always has a sucker at the ready, which in my honest opinion was to make him shut up… and it totally works, kind of.
However, there were multiple things that hadn’t been discussed during my short time with him, and that I wanted to discuss the next day.
Topic 1: did he have any girlfriends in the past? (His reaction to my confession seemed rather authentic.)
Topic 2: Why did he do theater in high school if he wants to be a philosopher?
Topic 3: Rather obvious, but he got bullied at school… how did the bullying start with Patricia? (I really wanted to know the origin of ‘Potato Sky’.)
And finally…
Topic 4: Why is he not college?
☪
These were perfectly legitimate questions, and it seemed as if Charlotte was psychic or something because during third hour, the teacher gave me a note saying that I was to leave early for lunch in fourth hour… thank God we were doing nothing in Spanish that day!
But of course, at the time I had no idea what the slip meant, therefore my brain was practically buzzing with predictions.
In doing so, I went from that point on in chemistry to the beginning of Spanish like that… stupid overactive brain.
I was to wait at the front of the school for the car to show up, the note said.
And boy, was the car on time.
My eyes almost went out of my head when I realized that who was taking me to lunch was not my mom, not my dad, but none other Charlotte Sky himself.
As he came out of his car, I noticed that he was rather self-conscious about how he looked because his clothes didn’t look to threatening (a layered white and blue top and khaki jeans can do you good), and his stubble was gone. Even his long-ish hair appeared to be cut two inches shorter, probably to prevent any playing with it.
Never in my life had I been so disappointed and impressed at the same time. (I, for one, actually liked his slightly unkempt, bad-boy look.)
Oh, but what was still there? His sucker, which he was twirling in his hand. Some habits never die.
“Ready to go?” he said, in a teasing manner.
I still stood there, hands on hip. “Okay: how?”
Charlotte smirked. “I have my ways- now get!” It was the sort of smirk that you’d use on your pets if they were doing something bad but not necessarily horrible. (In fact, the whole delivery of his line reminded me of how I treat my cat.)
Like I should, I got in the car, wondering what my parents would think of this situation. After all, was he really that much of a stranger if I’ve known him for one day?
☪
The restaurant of choice was some generic restaurant that was not too far from the school, and I didn’t really mind. Once we got our seats and stuff, I was mentally preparing what to say to him.
Too bad he spoke first.
“You better thank me when this is all over with,” he sniped. The dialogue made a stark contrast to how he sounded in the car. Did something go wrong… ?
I gave him a weird look. Why does it like he’s reading my mind? I thought as I pulled out a menu.
Unexpectedly, Charlotte started rubbing the back of his head like he had a headache. Also, he kept mumbling things like “stop it” and “it never ends”.
So, after the waiter got us something to drink, I asked him what was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” he repeated. “What’s wrong?” He leaned in close to me, causing me to blush horrendously. “After yesterday’s talk, I’m now somehow physically connected to you… but it seems only one-way.” When he said that, it was in a low voice, only for me to hear.
Yet I was still afraid someone would overhear.
The waiter came back to take our orders and when he was gone, the conversation continued.
“Uh, yeah. I don’t hear any voices in my head other than mine. But can you really know what I’m thinking? Are you sure?”
Charlotte, who took the sucker out of his mouth (red) finally, started to stir his Mountain Dew around with his straw.
“Dude, I hear your thoughts all the time now… even when I’m not anywhere near you.”
My mouth formed on upside down U. “Hm. Well, I’m very sorry for you having to have my dumb thoughts in your head.”
For some reason, I just kind of believed him, even though it sounded a little too far-fetched. After all, I don’t even know how it happened! I don’t remember touching him or even… wait.
I looked him in the eyes.
Surely that caused it, right? But how?
“I don’t know either,” he replied. “But you wanted those questions to be answered, so here you go. One: Yes, I’ve had a girlfriend before, but it only lasted two weeks in tenth grade. Two: The whole philosophy thing I got into last year, but before that I loved to act… yeah, I know. I don’t seem like the acting type. Three: It’s a long story, but Patricia isn’t a real good actress. Her acting is definitely potato-quality. And four: I dropped out of college. It wasn’t exactly my thing.”
He said that all of that rather quickly, except for the part where he paused to answer my question, which didn’t really need answering.
________________________________
And then we ate. And then after that, he drove me back to school, but before that he promised me that we would have a meet-up of sorts at the library, to do some research on the phenomena that was Charlotte’s one-sided telepathy that came out of nowhere.
Since the library was so close to my house, I rode my bike there. Luckily, I had no homework and the day was beautiful, so the bike ride there was great and free of stress.
As I was doing so, all I could think about was Charlotte. How was he able to think straight when he had double the thoughts in his head? I had no idea myself, especially when I knew how much time I spent thinking. And worrying.
Unsurprisingly, as I locked my bike up, Charlotte came striding up alongside me.
“You need help?” he asked politely.
I smiled as sweetly as I could. “No, but thanks!”
“It seemed as if you’re having trouble, though. In… you know what, never mind.”
Oh, Charlotte… indecisive as ever, I thought to myself, knowing that he could hear me.
When I was finished with the bike thing, we headed inside, the AC and the murmur of quiet voices flourishing around us.
Okay, so perhaps it’s just me, but I think I’m in love with the library. Or, in general, any libraries. The coolness of the air, the smell of the books, the friendly librarians. It feels like a second home. It’s no wonder that, over the summer, I volunteer here. Plus, I love renting out DVDs of my favorite TV shows!
But today, me and Charlotte Sky were on a mission, albeit a rather impossible one.
“So, where should we start off first?” Charlotte wondered, and I couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to be copying the same poses as me. I guess that does happen when you share the same thoughts as someone, I figured mentally.
As expected, charlotte shifted his stance into something more masculine.
“I guess in the nonfiction section, under magic or supernatural or something.”
“Or physcology,” Charlotte supported. “Or, we could go on the Internet.”
I looked at my crush sourly. “You really think we should search online first? That should be our last resort. Books never lie.”
“Some do, but you’re right. Books first.”
So, the first section we looked in was the supernatural, since we both agreed that what was going on definitely wasn’t normal. But alas, nothing was really found. Same with the magic section, and by the time we got to psychology, it was decided we really needed to search online.
“You’re a real downer, you know that?”
It didn’t take long to ponder that thought. “Well, I’m just thinking realistically. This is crazy, and I’m partially thinking that you’re just a real good liar.”
Charlotte snorted, looking irritated. “Would I ever lie to someone?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve only known you for a day.” I said this as we waited for the Internet browser to open.
Charlotte finally plunked down in a seat, his arms folded cutely. “Fair enough. But still, I’m not lying. Wanna know how?”
I sneered. “Try me.”
Charlotte took a deep breath. “Your first crush on Samy Enderson in second grade. You always spied on him on the playground and pretended he was Prince Charming and you were Cinderella.”
I buried my face in my hands, watching Google load on the page. “Please. Don’t go on. I believe you now!”
But he continued. “You’re deathly afraid of the dark, so at night you have to sleep with a nightlight on. And, today you- okay, I’ll stop.”
I shook my head, now completely convinced. “So, what the heck should I Google?”
“I don’t know. Try using keywords, like ‘telepathy’ or ‘mind reading’.”
“Or, I could just search ‘help! My crush can suddenly read my mind!’ Ugh, you’d be much better at this. I give up! We’ve found nothing and I wish you’d just do your philosophy thing and think of of a reason as to why this happened. Maybe we’d find out better that way.”
At this statement, Charlotte knocked me out of my seat and began to research instead. “Dude, you know how hard it is to do that when you’ve- never mind, I’ve already explained it to you. And it really bugged me this morning when my mom caught me contemplating on what clothes to wear. Mom said, ‘Charlotte honey, what are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Mom, I don’t know what goes well with green’ and she laughed.”
“It is when you’re a guy. Guys just usually throw on whatever, not just sit there for five minutes looking for something. Plus, you know why I shaved? Because last night, you were thinking about guys with beards and how they’re gross. And before I knew it, I was taking the razor to my face. Subconsciously. This mind-reading stuff can screw you up!”
My face was flushed. “You cut your hair, too. I liked it long.” I mumbled.
Charlotte looked back at me, his features hard and unmoving. “Yeah, I did that too, but on purpose. So that I couldn’t play with my hair.”
“Oh, so that’s-”
“Yeah. I frickin’ hated that, you know?” He turned back to the computer and logged off. By then, his face was no longer stone cold.
He sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s just, well… we found nothing, and I don’t know what to do now. Sorry for me being so pissed off.”
I nodded sympathetically. “I understand.”
Charlotte stood up and pulled a sucker out from his pocket. Pink, I noticed. (I also noticed that during this time, he had none in his mouth.) He, however, then reluctantly put it back.
“Oh my God.” he murmured. “How had I not thought of that?”
There was a beat. “What?”
With force, Charlotte dragged me into the teen room, where no one was there. He closed the door obediently.
“All this time… all this time, it never occurred to me about how this all began. I do remember that it started yesterday, but I really didn’t think anything of it at the time. Wait- the thing that triggered it was you saying that you had a crush on me and that I didn’t have to be so philosophical about it. At that very moment, we seemed to have locked eye. When you said that, I remember exactly what I was thinking: ‘Wow, a girl likes me… and we have something in common. We think so much alike!’”
I felt a little let down by the fact that that might have been the case, but I still felt excited, nonetheless.
He continued. “Wait, I remember thinking more, but I can’t remember what. What I’m trying to get at, though, is this: I think I might have a superpower, and I think I know how to cut it off from you.”
I smiled a wobbly smile. “A kiss?”
Charlotte looked taken aback. “Ew, no. I could get in serious trouble for that. But, here-”
Like that, Charlotte took my hand and looked me straight in the eyes. I couldn’t help but do the same, while trying not to scream and die of happiness.
What happened in the next ten seconds was something I can’t explain. It just felt, well, magical. It really felt like Charlotte was searching for something in my mind in order to make that madness stop. (Hey, I just explained it to you!) And for whatever reason, it really did feel like his eyes were special, not just gorgeous.
Something else, I figured, made them magical somehow. I wonder if Patricia can do the same thing?
But just like that, it was over. Charlotte freed me from his grip and began to pace around.
“Well?” I chirped. “Feel any different?”
“I feel nothing.”
My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?” Could it have gone awry? What if I could read his mind now? However, I didn’t think any boyish thoughts, so…
“No, as in, I don’t hear you rambling on about having to do the dishes when you get home.”
I smiled, then frowned. I still had to do them. Darn it!
Then, Charlotte started bouncing up and down like a little kid on a sugar high.
“Oh my God, it worked! Holy crap, ah ha ha ha!”
“Shhh!” I said. “Library. But yay!”
Charlotte was still shaking, which made me consider why I still had a crush on him in the first place. (Nope. Still adorable.)
“We should probably go now,” he announced quietly. “But I’m sooo gonna write this down in my diary when I get home.” He then had a pretend coughing fit. “Journal. I meant journal.”
☪
That night felt like a repeat of the night before, but this time more focused on the weird superpowered eyes thing instead.
Also, I thought about Patricia again. And while I was thinking about, I also thought about how nice it was to actually think without being self-conscious about it, knowing that some nineteen year old boy was listening to it, albeit against his own will.
Man, that weird.
Here I was, just some normal girl going to high school, who just happened to be acquaintances with a guy with magical eyes named Charlotte.
Say what?! (Well, that’s what I was saying.)
☪
The next day was nothing special, except the fact that it was Thursday and what happened in sixth hour was pretty noteworthy… but that was pretty much it.
In theater, we assigned partners and we had to make a little skit, and of course me and Patricia were paired up.
“So we meet again,” Patricia said shyly. “My brother was talking about you an awful lot last night. I think he even wants to hang out with you tomorrow.”
My face flushed. “Oh boy,” I mumbled, but in reality I was super excited.
“Also… I guess what!”
“What?” I had a feeling her answer was going to have to do with superpowers and eyes.
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I found out that I have a superpower yesterday.”
Oh boy, again.
“What is it?” I wondered.
Patricia smirked. “Watch this!” Casually, she went up to a fellow classmate named Ashley and looked her in the eyes.
“It would be amazing if you could make your skit about a talking pizza,” she said sweetly.
Ashley, who was looking like she was being hypnotized, nodded slowly. “I sure will,” she replied, in a daze.
When Patricia turned around and walked away, I heard Ashley telling her partner, Trey, about having their skit being centered around a talking pizza.
My reaction about this situation could be summed up like this: Oh my God, her too.
I ran after my friend, following her into our assigned practice room.
Slam!
“So apparently you can hypnotize people!?” I yelled, regretting it a second later.
“Yeah, but only for a few minutes,” Patricia confessed. “Trust me, the first time I tried it out I made Charlotte believe he was dog for about two minutes. It was pretty amusing.”
Funnily enough, I could picture him on all fours, barking and fetching a bone. The image was pretty disturbing.
“Anyway,” she continued, “last night, he told me about what happened between you two and how we can read people’s minds. He said, ‘Patty,I think you have a superpower too’, and I said ‘really’? and he told me what to do and bam! Check me out.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Lucky. I tried my darndest but it looks like I don’t have one. I think that because you guys both have such beautiful eyes, you’re blessed with magic.”
Patricia. “Oh, hey! That makes sense! How about me, you, and Char can all talk about this tomorrow. Perhaps Mom has magic too, because that’s where we got the green eyes from.”
☪
Friday rolled around, and I found myself at the Sky’s house again. Me and Patricia rode the bus to her home together, and it was pure hell because it was so messy and noisy and the bus driver was awful.
But it ended soon enough, and me and Patricia got off without a hitch, although slightly scared.
And guess who was sitting on the front porch without a sucker in his mouth? Charlotte!
“Hey Charlotte,” I said shyly for almost no reason whatsoever.
Charlotte stood up to greet us. He seemed to have cut his hair yet again, probably another inch and a half or so, and the bangs were parted neatly on his forehead. His wardrobe had also gone through yet another change, because he was wearing a nice white button-down shirt and jeans with white sneakers.
He looked… pleasant. Nice. Pure.
“Really, Char? Again? You’re not gonna have any more hair left to cut soon,” Patricia joked.
Charlotte frowned. “Patty. Don’t be rude.” He was just joking, as evidenced by the playful shove he gave his sister.
“Hey McKenna,” he said back to me. “Yeah, I gave myself another makeover again, but this time it was intentional.”
I grinned. “Looks like some of my girliness rubbed off on you.”
Charlotte opened the door for us as we walked in. “Nah, just good taste.”
The Sky’s house looked the same as it did last time, but this time I paid a bit more attention to the picture frames on the walls, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a picture of a Charlotte that looked suspiciously close to my age.
“We’re going upstairs to the attic,” he instructed us.
“Why?”
“Because there’s a bit of stuff in the attic,” Patricia concluded.
When we got up there, Charlotte turned on a light and the whole place became illuminated with a dim yet still serviceable light.
Unlike certain attics, this one didn’t any windows at all and was pretty dusty. (Duh!)
“Where should we start looking?” I asked.
“In the boxes,” said Charlotte, stifling a cough. “I know Dad loves labeling them, so I’m sure we should look for some with interesting or magical sounding labels.”
“There’s nothing too magical about ‘Miscellaneous Pots and Pans’,” snarked Patricia.
We all had a good laugh, and I couldn’t help but notice that Charlotte was unusually cheery today. That made me cheery, too.
☪
It didn’t take that long for us to find something interesting. I had found a box labeled ‘Dates to Remember’, a rather small box that the Skys encouraged me to open.
Inside it was a thick notebook that at first looked pretty mysterious, but when I opened it, everything made sense.
“‘September 9, 1923. I, Rosemary Ruby Sky, got my superpower of premonition. When I look into someone’s eyes, I can see a bit of their future… but only the near future.’”
“Oh,” marveled Patricia, leaning over to see. “So we aren’t the only ones!”
I read on. “‘I recall my grandfather saying he had a special power, too. Something about seeing the truth in one’s eyes. So, I figure that these powers run in the family, and that they skip a generation. However, they can only be activated on a certain day, month, and year- Tuesday, September 9th, (year ending in 3). So, the next people to have them in my family will be my future grandchildren.’”
“That’s us,” Charlotte said in awe. “And she’s right! It’s 2003! No way.”
“But wait- there’s more! ‘It seems as if these powers can be activated by only people with green eyes, and they have limitations. They can last until death, as evidenced by grandpa. (Rest in peace!)’”
“Is that it?” Patricia asked inquisitively.
“Yeah,” I said sadly. I closed the book and put it back in the box. The other things in there were just a few wedding items, but that was it. I was disappointed, yet hopeful at the same time. After all, we unveiled the secrets about their powers, but that was it?
For the first time that day, Charlotte looked genuinely negative. “I can’t believe our mom never told us about this- after all, it is her heritage.”
Patricia rolled her eyes. “But you know Mom. She can be flighty sometimes.”
Charlotte snorted. “More like all the time.”
Sighing, Patricia looked from her strange brother to me. “Hey, Char. Isn’t there something you wanted to tell McKenna here?”
All of a sudden, Charlotte blushed. “U-um, yeah. But is it okay if we could, I don’t know, go to a different place, like the family room or something?” Then, he quietly mouthed “Leave us alone”. (Hey, I’m really good at reading lips!)
Patricia nodded robotically. “Of course, your honor!” She then stepped out of the way as me and Charlotte trudged downstairs for Charlotte to tell me whatever.
Said boy flopped onto the couch and tried to find a comfortable way to sit, but ultimately chose the “one leg crossed” pose.
He patted on the seat next to him. “McKenna.”
I was daydreaming again, so I flinched. “Huh?” I looked down. “Oh, sure!”
And thus I sat down next to him, me facing in his general direction.
“So what is it?”
Charlotte closed his eyes and did what looked like a breathing exercise for half a minute. Finally, he was done.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’m really nervous. So, if you don’t mind…”
That was when he looked at square in the eyes, my thoughts now in his head.
“Ah, much better!” he announced. “Yeah, that’ll help me out some.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, so I know that these last few days have been hectic, but I knew that when I first saw you… I like you, okay? I’m in like with you. Whatever, so it’s more than like, but if I were to say anymore than that, it’d be creepy. I’m turning twenty in November, and that means we’ll be five years apart- okay, for only two months- but still. That’s a big age gap right now, so… yeah.”
My face when he was talking was rather neutral, aside from the blushing, but we both had it. But when he stopped rambling, however, I giggled. “I never did realize this before, Charlotte, but you sound so indecisive when you talk like that.”
“With the ‘two minds’ thing? Oh yeah, totally.” He chuckled a little to himself. “I think that’s- why no more suckers? I’m trying to stop, okay? They’re so frickin’ addictive. And yeah, I- no? You’re such a mess, Mcken-”
I decided to stop his sorta one-sided conversation with a kiss. Why not? I figured.
Man, I should have known better. For some stupid reason, I thought that would be another way to stop the telepathy- but it just made it worse.
Now we were both telepathically connected to one another. Yay.
Ugh, she should not be kissing me, I heard Charlotte think in my head.
“Huh?” I said aloud. I looked at my crush, who was now relaxing on the couch instead of doing that pose.
“What? Oh.Oh no. Oh God, no. How are we?-”
That’s when I came up and kissed him again, but this time quickly.
“Oh. I guess that’ll work.”
As this was going on, Patricia was watching from the stairs, and she was amused that the two lovebirds didn’t see her yet. She was hiding in plain sight.
Patricia narrowed her eyes.
“How come,” she said softly. “How come this always happens to me?”
-the end -
