A/N Hi, Readers! The timing of this chapter takes place the morning after Anna tells Carter that he may be a "useful weapon." I'm not sure what POV to use here/or if I should keep it a general POV, so if you have any ideas, please comment and let me know. Thank you.
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It looked like it would be a sunny day as Edison drove to pick Nora up for school. He'd been contemplating telling Nora about the girl-thing. He wanted there to be no secrets between them. He probably wouldn't tell her today though; it just didn't feel right.
Nora was waiting on the front porch when he pulled up. She looked extra cute today in jeans, boots, and her dark blue sweater. Her hair was gently pulled back into a neat ponytail. As she settled herself in the front seat of his car, he noticed that she wore a hint of lip gloss and mascara which made her green eyes look even larger.
"You look extra beautiful today," he said.
Nora blushed. "Thanks."
A few minutes later, he and Nora walked to Miss Holly's English class, which was one of the few that they had together.
Edison walked Nora to her desk then went to his, which was behind Anna's.
Anna was already in her seat and on time for once. She doodled in her notebook as a satisfied smile played at the corners of her mouth.
Edison noticed that Carter's desk was empty.
"Hey, Anna, where's Carter?" Edison asked.
Anna turned around. "He's out sick today," she said, then turned back to face the front of the class.
The bell rang and Miss Holly stepped into the classroom. Everyone quieted down and opened their books. Most of the guys in the class listened attentively as Miss Holly's pretty, southern voice lectured them about dangling participles and prepositions. She had long, naturally golden hair which she wore in a topknot.
Miss Holly was oblivious to the effect that her appearance had on others. How she could not realize that she was made to be a model and not be stuck indoors teaching boys with sex drives gone wild and a few jealous girls, (though most of the girls even liked her) was beyond Edison.
The inside of Miss Holly was just as beautiful as the outside. She was kind, sweet and gentle. Even though it would have been easy, no student had yet taken advantage of her naivete. No student ever dared to do such a thing. There was an unspoken respect that no other teacher had ever gained from students at Meadow Ridge.
At the end of class, Miss Holly said, "Have a fantastic day, Y'all," and smiled as she watched them file out into the hallway.
~~~
Edison and Nora talked for a moment before they went to their different classes. Edison had chemistry and Nora had art class.
"Don't forget, I'm babysitting tomorrow night," Nora told him.
"I did forget. I had planned on taking you to the new sci-fi that just opened."
"Rain check?"
"Sure."
"See you at lunch." Nora squeezed his hand.
Edison nodded and felt eyes on him as he watched Nora hurry off. He turned to find Anna who watched him from across the hallway. Something misty weaved itself around her. He made his way to her, but by the time he did, she'd vanished into the crowd.
EDISON'S POV:
Edison stood where Anna had been just a few moments ago. How had she moved so fast? Had his eyes deceived him, or had he really seen that that mist hanging around Anna? Did Anna know?
Other students hurried past him, on their way to their next class.
Edison sighed and turned to head towards the library. Because he was lost in his thoughts, Miss Holly's voice from behind startled him.
"Edison, I'm glad I caught you. I know you live near Carter. Would you mind giving him the assignments he's missed? I don't want him to fall behind." Miss Holly held out a folder of papers.
"Uh, sure," Edison replied, taking the folder.
"Thank you, Edison."
"No problem."
"See you in class." Miss Holly smiled then turned and her heels clicked across the hallway floor as she left.
Why didn't she ask Anna? Why me? Ah, whatever, Edison thought as he bent down to tuck the folder into his backpack.
"Here, I'll take it to him," the voice said.
Edison straightened up with a jerk to see Anna holding out her hand. "Jeez, Anna, what the heck! I thought I saw you hurrying off to your next class."
"You must have seen someone else. I was over there." Anna gestured to a small group of the popular girls not too far away.
"That's weird. I swear it was you..." Edison frowned.
"You were clearly mistaken," Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I'm seeing Carter later, so I'll drop off his homework."
"Yeah, fine," Edison handed the folder to Anna.
"Thanks," she smiled and stood there with a blank look on her face. Her eyes didn't look at him, they seemed to look through him.
What's with her? "Aren't you going to be late?" Edison asked.
"Oh, yeah. See you around," Anna walked away.
"See ya." Edison zipped his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and once more headed towards the library.
~~~
Nora looked at Edison. Her expression was one of puzzlement. She sat across from him at one of the smaller tables in the cafeteria.
"I saw her but something was wrong." Edison looked a bit freaked out.
Nora put down her homemade turkey sandwich and sat back in her chair.
"It didn't feel like her. You know what I mean?" Edison said impatiently as his eyes darted around the noisy room.
Some students passed by their table and Edison lowered his voice until they passed. "It was as if she were in two places at once."
Nora took a sip from her water bottle. "Okay, listen. Whoever you saw the first time probably just looked like Anna."
Edison raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "No one can look like Anna. No girl can imitate her that closely."
NORA'S POV:
Nora wished she could take wave a magic wand and banish his fear.
"Edison."
"Yeah?" He looked at her.
"Not too long ago you said that our lives would never be the same. Remember?"
A mask fell across Edison's face that made Nora want to squirm. "No. I never said that."
"You don't remember?" Nora leaned her arms on the table and leaned forward.
"I don't forget things I say."
"Do you the mist?"
Edison stared straight at her. "No."
Why was he lying to her?
"Okay." She took another sip of water then stood up. She packed up her lunch then picked up her leather jacket that was slung across the chair.
"You're leaving?" Edison said.
"Yeah, because I don't like being shut out." And with that, Nora walked toward the cafeteria doors.
EDISON'S POV:
As a cold loneliness descended upon Edison, he tried to stand up to go after Nora, but something made him sit back down. As he did, his eyes caught that one guys' gaze. That guy who always seemed to be around lately. As usual, the moron was wearing his trademark sunglasses and had a lazy demeanor about him that irritated Edison even more.
"Hey there," he heard Anna's honey voice interrupt his thoughts. She pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Nora looked upset. Did you guys argue?"
"None of your business."
"I was just trying to be polite."
Edison packed up his lunch but didn't stand. "What do you want, Anna?"
"Tell me what you know about the mist."
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