Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker Read Free Book Online Page B

I recognized. It was more like humming.”
    “Humming? That’s interesting.”
    “Yeah, right? It was amazing. I heard it all afternoon…just gentle in the background. I kept feeling waves of the good energy. And I didn’t have to buffer what was going on around me. There was no more static the rest of the day. I just felt, well, calm, good, maybe even normal. Not that I have any idea what normal is, but you know what I mean.”
    He got his curious face on. I knew he’d spend hours in his head trying to figure it out. He had all kinds of theories about my strangeness. “Has that ever happened before?” he asked.
    I shook my head.
    “Not even once?”
    “No, never. I mean, I’ve gotten pretty good at handling school, but I’m on edge the whole time I’m there. All I can think about is getting home to my tree so I can be okay again. Today was totally different…well, starting in fourth period. I don’t know what to think.”
    He ripped the top off the yogurt and stirred it for a moment, not saying anything. Then he looked at me and shrugged. “Beats me, A.J. Every effect can be traced back to a cause. There has to be an explanation. Give me some time to think about it. Maybe you’re just moving past your strangeness, growing out of it or something.”
    “Maybe. I like the healing thing and all, but the rest of it, not so much. I don’t need any more weirdness.”
     “But this was weirdness in a good direction, right?”
    “I guess…well, yeah.”
     “So chances are it’s nothing bad. No use freaking out before you have to. Forget about it for now. See if it even happens again. Pay attention. Take notes. We’ll figure it out.”
    And then Lex called us in for supper, and I forgot about it for the rest of the evening.

I was up half the night obsessing. Since it was such a relief to have something to focus on other than the accident, I threw myself into it full force. I exhausted myself with theories, but I kept ending with my original conclusion. It had to be a student and they had to be a Shadow. There was just no other explanation.
    I looked like hell the next morning with huge circles under my eyes. No one noticed. Compared to my brother, I looked like I’d just gotten back from a three-month vacation in Maui. Everything’s relative, I guess.
    I cued up some music and hit the sidewalk an hour before school started. I wanted to be early to screen people going in the door. When I got there, I staked out a tree by the front entrance, scanning everyone who walked by. Not even a blip. I saw a few cute girls but all I did was look. Girls were the last thing on my “playlist” these days. I had way too much shit going on.
    Dude , I said to myself. You’re pathetic.  
    I checked my phone for the time and saw that the bell was ready to ring. Majorly disappointed, I went inside. The early morning had been a waste. But the moment I set foot in the door, my disappointment vanished. I felt it off in the distance. It descended on me like a cloud of salvation. My muscles relaxed and a wave of calm washed over me. The lottery was still a possibility. I’d staked out the wrong entrance, that’s all. I still had a shot at fourth period.
    I zombied through my first three classes and headed for room 217 the second the bell rang. I was the first kid in the room. I presented my paperwork, assuring the teacher that, yes; I’d seen the textbook before. No, I didn’t need after-school assistance to catch me up. I almost high fived her when she finally released me.
    Trying to look casual, I grabbed a seat in the back, eyes locked on the door and everyone who passed through it. Not him, not her, not her, not him. I was starting to get a little worried. But seconds before the bell, in rushed a couple of girls, and a wave of power swept over me.
    Nice!
    The first girl was blonde, hot, and dressed to kill. I focused on the waves of energy radiating from her direction thinking this could be interesting. Then a smaller