Backshift-Replay by Judy Colella (books for students to read .TXT) 📕

As she was doing this, I reflected on the unusual sensation of paper between my fingers, aware that for this woman it was a familiar feeling, one she must never even think about.

“Well! Seems everything is in order. But I’d like to meet your parents. Why aren’t they here?”

“Work,” I said.

“Away on a business trip,” Shadow said.

“Couldn’t be bothered,” Niam said.

“I see. No matter. I’m sure they’ll show up if there’s ever a problem.” Her mouth twisted and I decided I didn’t like her one bit. She shuffled the papers together, tapped the bottom edge on her desk, and placed them in a drawer. From another drawer she took out three sheets of the same size, and a larger one that she unfolded and turned around to face us.

It was a map of the school’s interior.

“This is where you are,” she said, tapping a red x-mark, unaware that she was imitating Shadow’s words and actions of less than an hour before. “You need to go here – “ she took a pen and made a squiggle on another part of the map, “ – to find out what classes are available and then take a brief entrance exam.” She handed us the three sheets. “Here’s a smaller version of this. Once you’ve been assigned to your classes, you can use these to locate them. You’ll also need this.” She opened the center drawer and removed a small yellow slip, on which she wrote our names into a blank spot near the top. Have a great day.”

“You, too.” Shadow smiled at her, even though she hadn’t.

Piece of work, that one.

Niam, be nice. I smacked his arm.

We went out and followed the route she’d shown us, eventually reaching another office in an adjacent hallway. The halls were deserted by this point, which I suspected had something to do with the loud bell that had gone off while we were waiting for Lady Lemonface to finish reading our transcripts.

The person we met next was pleasant – how refreshing! Her name was Cindy Messing, and she was in charge of class assignments or something. I wasn’t paying attention any more. All I wanted was to get the legalities out of the way and start meeting our new classmates. It had occurred to me that as much as human nature tended to remain the same from one generation to the next, there would be fascinating differences on other levels based on environment and social climate.

I would soon find out how right I was.

After passing with great ease the simplistic placement tests, we were assigned to our first class. Miss Messing (she said she’d had as much fun ridiculing her name as everyone else) put the three of us in the same algebra class, which was the first one we’d join, but couldn’t get us all into the same ones for the other subjects. Shadow would take all but one of them by himself, Niam joining him in Physical Education, and I would share social studies and life sciences with Niam, but for the rest I’d be on my own. That was fine with me.

Since algebra was already begun, we were directed to the room on the third floor where it was being held, given admission slips, and sent on our way with a cheerful “Have fun, you guys!” from Cindy. Honestly, it took a serious effort on my part to remember not to call her by her first name. In her eyes, I was only sixteen, and had no business being familiar with her like that.

Our teacher, a small man with hair so black it had to be either dyed or a wig, stared up at us when we entered his room, his stare becoming a gape as we fanned out in front of his desk. We gave him our slips of paper (I was enjoying how it felt, which surprised me, making me reluctant to hand it over).

He gazed at them, looking lost for a few seconds, and then cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. Just find a desk. I don’t have assigned seating. Er, welcome to Algebra II.” He smiled, but I thought it looked phony.

Great. We terrify him, Shadow broadcasted, echoing my own suspicion. He was walking down an aisle to my right, and lowered himself into a desk near the end of the row.

These things were not made for someone his size, and I almost burst out laughing at the way he had to scrunch himself up to fit. I agree. By the way, you look hilarious – like a vulture in a canary cage!

Tosca, don’t. If I start laughing –

Snort! That was Niam, his inner reaction nearly setting me and Shadow off.

Niam! Shut up! I found a seat, and discovered it was almost as difficult for me to get comfortable as it had been for Shadow. The predicament sobered me up, enabling me to ignore the Irishman’s muffled chuckles as he sat down next to me in the aisle on my right. From the corner of my eye, I could see he was sitting sideways, his long legs crossed at the ankles in the aisle, one elbow on the desk, head propped in his hand.

“…for the sake of our newest class members,” the teacher was saying, “so please bear with me.” He turned back to the whiteboard and began rattling off formulae and how to use them.

Yawn. I’d forgotten more about algebra than this man would ever know. In our time, students were studying quantum mechanics by the age of twelve, non-Euclydian geometry and speculative physics in our equivalent of high school. So algebra? That was for babies. Double-yawn.

“Any questions?” Mr. Timmons – Cindy had given us his name, but I hadn’t been paying attention, so the name plate on his desk was all I had to go on – shifted his gaze from Niam, to me, to Shadow.

I shook my head and smiled.

“Excellent! We’ll be having a quiz on Thursday, a kind of review before we move on to the more complex equations.”

Around us we could hear whispered complaints and a few groans, but Mr. Timmons either didn’t, or didn’t care. He grinned and told us to read the algebraic sentences on page eighty-four in the text book.

I didn’t have the text book. Neither did Niam or Shadow, of course. We raised our collective brows at Timmons.

“Ah, yes. You wouldn’t have the book. So sorry – can you maybe look on with one of your neighbors? Guys? Help them out, please.”

We looked around, but none of the students closest seemed inclined to slide their desks over. I suppose we were somewhat intimidating, but come on! It wasn’t like we were sporting fangs or anything. I turned to the girl at the desk to my left and waved her toward me. “I swear I won’t hurt you,” I said, my grin small, contained.

She blushed (what?!) and scraped her desk across the aisle until its edge touched the edge of mine. “Who are you?” she hissed.

I shrugged. “Students. Why?”

“You – wow. Okay.”

“You have a name?”

“Aisha. Phillips.” Blush.

I raised a brow. “Okay – I’m Tosca.”

“Great name!”

“Ee-yeah. All right. Let’s get started with this before the teacher has an aneurysm.” I had noticed him watching our exchange, frowning.

I’m being mobbed by girls. Not good.

Raising my eyes from the page, I gave Shadow a confused look, simultaneously trying not to laugh. The girls on both sides of his desk had slid theirs over to him and were alternately staring at him with adoration, and each other with what I could have sworn was open hatred. Good lord. And that’s bad why?

Why? You mean the fact that I suddenly have this highly hormonal, strong, youthful male body that’s reacting in a most inappropriate way to their attention isn’t bad? I may not be able to stand up by the end of class!

I weep for you, Shadow. Lips compressed on a self-propelled grin, I lowered my gaze to the book once more. I had no idea what Niam was dealing with, and didn’t want to find out.

“Do you understand this one?” Aisha pointed to the third equation.

“Yeah. It’s simple.” I told her the answer and how I got it.

“You’re so smart!”

I chewed the side of my lower lip – this was weird. Did she think I was a guy or something? Or maybe she liked girls. Huh. “Thanks. I like math.”

“Could – could you, um, like, maybe help me some time? Like after school?”

Uh-oh. “Maybe. I said I like math, not that I’m good at explaining it.”

“I bet you’re great!”

Aw, hell. Crush. Damn. I shrugged and said nothing for the remainder of the class.

Niam and I had to go to Shadow’s desk when the bell rang. He was talking to one of the girls – not one of the ones who had shared their books with him – but wasn’t getting out of the desk.

“Stuck?” Niam put out a hand. “Let me help you.”

“Niam, I’m bigger than you. Remember that.”

“There are so many things I could say to that,” I told them, turning away.

Watch it, Tosca.

Or what? Put your backpack over your crotch and get up. Stop flirting or you’ll never calm down.

Wait – Niam’s rapid steps sounded behind me as I reached the door. Is he having a full-on-

Don’t say it, and yes. “Where’s your next class?”

“Ha! This is too funny!” He glanced over his shoulder, going out into the hall with me. “Looks like he took your suggestion, though.”

I sighed. “This is so bizarre. Hey, I gotta go back downstairs. You?”

“No, my class is a few doors that way.” He pointed to his left. “Guess I’ll see you later.”

We gave each other nods, leaving Shadow to sort out his dilemma himself, and went to our next classes.

My being alone as I looked from the map to the doors on the lower floor might have been what encouraged an athletic-looking blonde to step in front of me, blocking my progress. With her were four other girls, all of them close to attractive like the blonde, all them wearing beautiful outfits, none of them looking friendly.

“Who are you? The Hulk’s daughter?” asked Blondie.

I grinned. “No, she’s not as thin as me.”

“Oh, how cute –you’re trying to be amusing, right?”

“And you’re trying to be clever. How amusing.”

Beside her, the other girls were looking at each other, frowning. I had to assume they weren’t used to anyone challenging their beloved…whatever she was. Ah, children.

“I suggest you stay out of my way,” Blondie was saying.

Blondie. Now I was being childish. “What’s your name?”

“What?”

“It was a simple question.”

“Bitch.”

“Your name is Bitch? It doubt that.”

“No, that’s who you are!”

“Actually, I’m Tosca. Have you remembered your name yet?”

She took a step closer, glaring up into my eyes – she was reminding me of a cat I once had that would give me that same look when I didn’t feed her on time. “My name, Bigfoot, is Nicole Brandeis – don’t forget it!”

“Why? Will there be a test?” Unable to stop myself, I burst into chuckles of disbelief, pushed past her and her sycophants, and continued on my quest for Sociology class.

And all of a sudden, it looked like growing up again was going to be flat-out awesome.