The Mars Project by Julie Steimle (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

Darren watched as Zormna joined the other cheerleaders.

Several other people stood near Darren at the fence to watch the cheerleaders practice. And a few passed by to go in the gate. Gazing towards the stadium, Darren noticed that Jeff was already sitting on the bleachers, propping a math book in his lap and a notebook in his hands. He appeared to be doing his homework, scratching out whatever with his pencil. But Jeff glanced up often enough that it was also obvious to people other than Darren that he was watching Zormna.

“He really has a crush on her, doesn’t he?” said Adam Arbor who was leaning near the gate within the crowd, watching the cheerleaders also. The fair haired new boy had an open manner and an almost yearning look on his face as he watched the girls on the field. He and Sam had both stopped to watch their red-and-black-decked cheerleaders.

Currently in their simple Pennington Pirate cheer uniforms, the girls wore their black leotards with a skull and crossbones on the front with red skirts over them. Their fancier uniforms were all piratey with steampunk level ruffs and laces, jackets and corsets and tall boots. But they were awkward to practice in. Their school mascot—leggy, curly-haired Amanda Stephens—was a pirate wearing a huge hat with a plumed feather and carrying a fancy saber, which she twirled during football games in place of the majorette’s baton. To be honest, they always drew a crowd after school—though this year’s team seemed especially ‘hot’.

As the practice commenced, Brian Henderson and his buddies pushed through the watching crowd at the gates, Brian’s younger freshmen brothers skipping off with a tandem eye-roll at Darren. Darren gave all of them a wide berth, especially as Mark Wheley sneered at him and Jonathan Baker rolled his eyes with a snort upon seeing him. Going through the crowd, they headed toward the stadium steps to where Jeff was sitting, but did not go far in.

“Jeff!” Jonathan called to him, waving him over.

Jeff smiled then stood, packing up his books and cramming them into his backpack. As he stepped off the bleachers and down into the track, coming toward them, his buddies turned their eyes to the cheerleaders. Mark whistled and waved at the girls.

Several of the cheerleaders turned their heads. Zormna’s turned also but then rolled her eyes when she saw him. Joy giggled and blushed, waving back.

“Jeez, Mark, you’re whistling at my sister,” Brian said with disgust.

Shrugging, Mark just smiled. “She’s cute too.”

Brian clocked him on his head with half a smirk.

“She is cute,” Adam said while leaning on the fence.

Brian looked back at him. Recognizing him from class, and Sam, he huffed. “You’re in my English class, aren’t you? The new kid.”

Adam nodded sheepishly.

Turning to face him, Brian stuck out his hand. “Brian Henderson.” He then pointed to the others, he said, “That’s Mark Wheley and he’s Jonathan Baker.” Then pointing farther to the approaching Jeff, he finished, “And you should know Jeff Streigle. He’s in class with us.”

Adam and Sam nodded together as Jeff joined the group.

“The state champ wrestler?” Adam almost murmured it, his eyes trailing to Jeff’s face the most, his eyes tracing the scar across Jeff’s nose and cheek. But his eyes also took in Jeff’s unusually pale skin.

Brian nodded with a shrug.

“What’s up?” Jeff asked, approaching the group. His fathomless eyes took in all the new faces, and Darren’s of course. He had shot Darren a warning glance as he was approaching.

Darren wisely stepped back.  

“New guys,” Brian said, thumbing toward Sam and Adam.

Jeff nodded at the two, looking them both in the eye briefly. “Hi.”

Brian smiled, then said to the new pair, “So, are you joining any sports or are you here just to look at the cheerleaders?”

Adam and Sam blushed, ducking their heads and shifting their feet.

“Just looking,” Sam muttered sheepishly.

Jeff smirked, and so did the others in the group. “Look all you want. Just don’t check out Brian’s sister. He’s a little sensitive about that.”

Gaping, Brian reacted immediately. “Sensitive? Jeff, you little…. That’s my kid sister. A brother can be protective, you know.”

“Aw, you softie,” Mark said, rubbing Brian on the head while snickering.

Stepping next to Sam while the other two started pounding on each other in fun, Jeff said, “You’re in my English class too, aren’t you?”

Sam nodded, grinning calmly. He was attempting to meet Jeff’s intimidating stare, as it really was like gazing into the fathomless depths of space. Most felt like they could see stars and galaxies in Jeff’s dark blue eyes.

“You guys also go to History with Zormna, don’t you?” Jeff asked more inquisitively. He stood casually, leaning back to get a good look at them.

Adam glanced at Sam. And he likewise shared a knowing look as if this question confirmed their suspicions. They knew Jeff had been watching them. They had seen it at lunch when they had come up to Zormna in an attempt to get her to eat with them. But when she had gone to Brian’s group, they had noticed Jeff’s watchful stare relax.

“Um, yeah. She and her friend, what’s-her-name…Jennifer, sit next to me in History,” Sam said.

Jeff nodded. Then, thinking to himself, he continued to nod. His pals were already leaving the stadium together, so he turned to go with them. However, just as he was about to walk out of the stadium, he leaned back and whispered, “Be careful of Zormna. She’s a little dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Sam stared at him.

Nodding, Jeff said, “Ask around about her. Anyone will tell you the details.”

He then continued on. He joined his pals. Brian and Mark had ceased teasing each other and followed Jonathan and Jeff out to the parking lot where Jonathan was going to show off his relatively new car. Adam and Sam watched them go. After admiring the secondhand piece of machinery, Brian’s gang all climbed in the small sports car and let out whoops of excitement as it roared off.

Darren sighed.

Both Sam and Adam looked back at him.

“What?” Sam asked.

Startled, Darren hadn’t realized that he had been heard. “Sorry?”

Adam eyed him then glanced back at the speeding car with the group boys. “Not one of their pals, I gather.”

Darren shrugged and leaned against the fence. “Few aren’t. I’m just one of the elite uninvited.”

Sam laughed though he tried to swallow it, coughing instead.

“But you’re friends with Zormna, and she’s with them, right?” Adam said, glancing over at the cheerleaders.

Nodding, Darren said, “It’s hard not to know her, though. She owns a house right next to mine.”

Adam’s eyes widened with strange excitement. “She owns a house?”

“Don’t you mean she lives next to you?” Sam asked skeptically.

Shaking his head, Darren said, “No. She lives with Jennifer McLenna. I really mean she owns the house next to mine. It used to be her great aunt’s house, but when she died she left it to Zormna.”

Both boys stared with wider eyes. It was obvious they were interested in Zormna, like most of the boys at school were. They watched her like hungry children. But being new, they were clearly ignorant of her reputation.

Sam leaned in to whisper. “But why is she living with Jennifer McLenna? Where are her parents?”

Darren shrugged. “They’re dead. Zormna’s an orphan. She came to live with her great aunt, but her great aunt was dead when she got here.”

They stared more. Those around them listened in, knowing the story, but were finding it interesting hearing it from ‘Darren-the-weirdo’s’ point of view.

“Wait.” Sam kept shaking his head, clearly unable to wrap his mind around it. “If she owns a house then why isn’t she living in it? Man, I would if I had one.”

“She owns a house?” Adam said again, still amazed and staring into space as if one of his dreams were materializing in front of his eyes.

Darren shrugged. “Zormna’s only fourteen. She can’t legally live in a house by herself. Believe me, if she could she would. She’s been trying to become an emancipated minor ever since she moved here.”

“She’s fourteen?” Sam gasped. His eyes turned across the lawn toward the well-developed yet petite blonde whom he had clearly assumed was much older. “But isn’t she a junior?”

“She owns a house?” Adam grinned dazedly, his eyes twinkling.

“Yeah, she owns a house,” Darren said in irritation to Adam. Then to Sam he said, “And yeah, she is fourteen. I think her birthday is this October, but I’m not sure.”

Darren glanced back at the cheerleaders. He could see that Michelle Clay was busy tearing into the girls for how their routine looked after that summer. Darren could even see from that distance the annoyed expression on Zormna’s face. He figured she was probably thinking a number of angry Martian thoughts, with wishes that she could be Home to use her military training just once on Michelle. The soldier in her came out when she got irritated.

“What is she, some kind of wiz kid?” Sam asked, following Darren’s gaze across the field. He looked overblown.

With an absentminded nod, watching the cheerleaders break formation and start their routine, he murmured, “She’s near genius.”

“She owns a house?” Adam said one more time.

Sam gripped him by the shoulders and shook them. “Yes! She owns a house, Adam!” Then turning to Darren, he asked, “How smart?”

Shrugging again, Darren said, “I dunno exactly. She claims to be finished with school back where she’s from.”

“And where’s that?” Adam asked suddenly, now curious. “I mean, she’s got this cool Australian accent. She’s from Down Under, right? Like Teresa Palmer and Yvonne Strahovski?”

Sam listened eagerly, waiting for Darren’s answer.

Darren swallowed. It wasn’t the same as last year. Last year he would have told them in an instant what she was. This year he knew he had to be more cautious. It was no longer a game to him—and Jeff would definitely kill him if he brought it up again. The FBI were watching and listening after all. And he had promised Zormna.

“She’s from Ireland,” he said, shrugging. “That’s what she says anyway.”

The crowd nearby sighed with relief. No more Mars nonsense.

“Abandoned your old cry, dork-o?” A voice echoed from across the parking lot.

The three boys looked up. They saw the football team approaching the gate in full padding and red, black and white regalia. The three parted to let the hulking boys through. But the captain of the team and quarterback, Bradley Hershott, stopped in front of them with a sneer especially for Darren.

“You’re not going to tell them that Z-babe is a Martian? Have you stopped believing in little green men?” Bradley’s mockery goaded him. The rest of the team laughed in their usual thick-headed chorus as they passed through the gate.

Darren closed his mouth and clenched his fists. There was nothing he could do against the gargantuan football player. True, he was no longer the short pimply weirdo of the last year—Darren had hit his growth spurt that summer and his skin had cleared up—but he was still a weakling in comparison to that behemoth. 

“He just better not call her Z-babe to her face,” Darren muttered once the players passed entirely through.

Others at the fence skirted away from him though. Sam and Adam also stared at Darren for a moment. They could see now why people edged away from Darren. Already people were turning away from Darren to ostracize him as they always had. But the new boys also watched the football team catcall at the cheerleaders as they passed by. And though a lot of the girls flirted back, Zormna grew annoyed at the attention.

“Can we get on with this?” Her voice echoed in the stadium, calling to the rest of the cheerleaders with Irish irritation.

The other girls’ voices echoed back, teasing her about some boyfriend she already had—which made her even more furious.

“Jeff is not my boyfriend! For the last time!” Zormna’s voice echoed.

Their teasing laughs resonated across the field, bouncing through the stadium to the boys’ ears.

Sam