The Athena Effect by Derrolyn Anderson Read Free Book Online

remembering the way she wielded a knife.
    She looked angry at being laughed at, “I wasn’t the one meeting with the ruffians.”
    “ Ruffians? ” he said mockingly.
    She set her jaw and started walking away fast.
    “Hey Cal,” he called after her.
    She turned, “What?”
    “The dog… Rufus. He’s my brother’s dog. I’m taking care of him while he’s away. I only leave him out at night when I’m gone… He goes nuts and tears up the house if you leave him alone.”
    She shrugged and kept walking.
    “You still didn’t tell me what Cal was short for,” he called after her.
    She didn’t turn around this time, “That’s right Calvin, I didn’t.”
    She heard the bike roar to life and watched as he sped away past her, popping a wheelie for her benefit.
    Reckless fool, she thought.
    ~
    The next day at school he watched her, intrigued. There was something so completely different about her– It was like seeing a unicorn wandering the halls. At first glance she seemed shy and timid, but he realized that she was really just doing her best to disappear. She moved through the crowds fluidly, like a cat stalking through the jungle, in stark contrast to the other girls who bounced and strutted, trying to get his attention.
    Her choice of clothes was odd. He was used to provocative displays of bare skin and cleavage, but she wore oversized shabby looking things, dwarfing her slender frame in earth tones. He could see how hard she worked to blend into the background, keeping her head down and her nose buried in a book. He could also see how pretty she was underneath her camouflage.
    Fascinated, he became acutely aware of her presence, and when she passed by him he grabbed the girl next to him, just to show her he could. The girl he embraced noticed his gaze following the new girl, and took him by the chin, turning it to kiss him.
    She could turn his face but not his eyes.
    As for Cal, all she saw was a strutting, arrogant, peacock of a boy. She went out of her way to avoid him, alarmed by the way his eyes sought her out in the crowds. He was the high-school Cassanova, and she wasn’t interested in becoming one of his conquests. She didn’t need any more trouble in her life– even if it came in an undeniably attractive package.
    She struggled to find her way, clinging to her new routine to keep from drowning in her sorrow. She wandered the streets at night, wraithlike, and kept to herself at school. She faded into the background, her head down and her golden mane of hair tucked away in a braid.
    She soon discovered that the trick to being left alone in public was to look like you were completely engrossed in something. She avoided eye contact, and kept her body language closed off. She also broadcasted the very best back-off blue color she could muster, and it seemed to work.
    On everyone but Cal.
    He sought her out, leaning over to murmur into her ear, “Calista, right?”
    “No,” she said, darting into the nearest girl’s restroom to wait him out.
    He pulled up alongside her on her way home from school, “Calpurnia?”
    “No.” She trudged along, shifting her heavy bag from shoulder to shoulder.
    “I like Cali better than Cal… You know, for a girl. How about I call you Cali?” he said, trying to strike up a conversation.
    “Suit yourself,” she replied, continuing to walk away.
    “Do you want a ride home?”
    “No,” she wondered why he wouldn’t just go away.
    He wondered why she wasn’t interested in him. “Are you afraid?” he taunted her.
    “I happen to value my life,” she retorted.
    He laughed, “You are afraid.”
    “And you’re too stupid to wear a helmet.”
    He was taken aback, “It wouldn’t matter anyway.”
    She cast him a withering glance, “That’s not what the statistics say.”
    “Well, I like to be free,” he said defiantly.
    “To do what? Donate your organs?” she snapped. She rushed away, eager to get home and take a nap before her aunt had to leave for work.