The Secret of Zormna Clendar by Julie Steimle (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📕

said in a voice so low, Jennifer had to angle herself closer to read his lips. “Turn me into the Patrol? You’ve been here for two months just puttering around. You’re not looking for me. Besides, I think I’m a little out of your jurisdiction now.” And he grinned that devilish smile that made weaker girls swoon. “Am I right?”

Here was the moment. Darren was coming. The janitor had finally stepped into the hall—probably under the pretense to clean up their mess. And some of Zormna’s classmates called to her, telling her to hurry or she would be late.

Zormna let go of Jeff’s arm, showing no awareness of the comings and goings around her. She only watched Jeff pick up his remaining papers. He smirked at her, then walked down the hall as if he were the only one in it. And as Jeff went off, he waved to people who were staring—which was what he usually did. He didn’t go far either. Just to his locker.

The ‘janitor’ swooped in, though not without making sure Zormna was ok.

Zormna shoved him off, grumbling and picking up her papers like she wanted to tear something apart.

Darren caught up with Zormna, grinning like a man who had discovered gold. “Wow! Zormna, you know Jeff?”

The ‘janitor’ perked up.

Panic rippled across Zormna’s face for a split second. Her eyes turned to the walls, likely searching for a window to jump out of.

Jennifer didn’t know why she did it, but she stepped forward and said, “Don’t be such a geek, Darren. She hangs out with his friends all the time. Of course she knows him.”

The ‘janitor’ immediately looked disappointed and went back to picking up papers despite Zormna’s brush-off.

Yet Zormna stiffened. Her green eyes had widened, lifting to Jennifer’s face in question.

“Jeff Streigle happens to be the state wrestling champ,” Jennifer said, linking arms with Zormna so that she could not run. “Everybody knows him.”

Darren frowned. “That’s not what I—”

“Stop with your stupid theories already,” Jennifer said. “You’re only embarrassing yourself.” Jennifer hoped if she were rude enough it would drive Darren away.

Betrayal filled all his looks. His eyes shouted: “How could you? I saw her do what she did to you. I stood by you.” Darren stormed away…first toward Jeff. But then he rethought it when he got closer to the guy. The jock had turned one derisive eye on him that said go-away-weirdo as he slammed his locker shut.

The ‘janitor’ lingered, wondering at him.

Zormna ripped out of Jennifer’s arm hold. She shook her head hard as she stumbled to the stairwell without a word. She pressed her hand to her forehead.

“Are you all right?” a nearby boy asked—the ‘janitor’ watching.

She shook her head. “My head hurts. I bumped it.” She shot Jeff a dirty look as the wrestler strode out of the hall as serene as he ever was. He almost seemed pleased.

Jennifer chased after Zormna, leaping over steps until she could link her arm in the girl’s again. When out of ‘janitorial’ earshot, she whispered, “So, how do you know Jeff Streigle?”

Zormna staggered to the stairwell railing, swearing under her breath.

“Come on,” Jennifer urged. “I know what I saw. And I’m pretty good at lip-reading, so…”

Zormna stomped up the steps again, going quicker in her march. “You should take up a career as a spy, with how you like to listen in to other people’s business so much.”

Compliment or insult, Jennifer was not going to let this whole thing go. It was another piece to Zormna’s lunatic puzzle. Besides, Jennifer always knew there was something really weird about the Streigle brothers.

“Come on. You have no real friends here except me,” Jennifer said.

Zormna halted where she was, swaying. “Are you my friend?” She turned a harsh glare at Jennifer, frowning. “Because not too long ago you were for proving my alien existence.”

Jennifer blushed. “Beside the point. I helped you out.”

“You didn’t.” And Zormna continued on all the way up to the fourth floor.

“You’re living with my family.” Jennifer chased after her.

Stopping once more, this time in the quickly clearing hallway, Zormna said to her, “All I asked for were directions. That was all I wanted.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes. “But living with my family will keep you safe from things, or people, you did not plan on ever seeing again—like him.”

The girl lurched a step, as if punched. In fact, Zormna looked likely to faint, realizing that Jennifer did know what had just gone on between her and Jeff. She pointed at Jennifer. “It is a long story, and none of your business.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes this time. “Oh please.”

Stepping back to her, Zormna whispered so low, Jennifer could barely hear it. “He is dangerous.”

“As dangerous as you,” Jennifer asked dryly.

“More,” Zormna replied.

And with that, she pivoted in a one-eighty and went into her classroom.

 

Chapter Fourteen: Our Friend Jeff

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“O’ Sir, it is better to be brief than tedious”—King Richard IV, Act 1, Scene 4—

 

When PE had finished, the guys expected Jeff and Alex to slip off as usual to wherever it was that they went during lunch. But this time, they didn’t.

“I think it is about time I told you guys about the trip to Europe,” Jeff said, pulling on one shoe, then the other. All of his things, including his lunch were sitting on the bench.

“No. It isn’t.” His brother, Alex, shook his head emphatically, his eyes wide. “I thought we talked about this.”

But Jeff said, giving a wry look to his brother, “It happened, Al. Today.”

Alex took in a sharp breath. His cool blue eyes stared into the space in front of him.

“What happened?” Brian asked.

With a heavy sigh, delivering a commiserating look to his brother, Jeff said, “The inevitable.”

“What?” Mark glanced at Jonathan who shrugged.

Todd listened.

“You see,” Jeff got up, leading the group (practically) in their walk out of the locker room, “A few years back our dad decided to take Mom to Europe for a trip.”

Alex looked skyward, groaning. “Don’t ask me to corroborate. I am not going to talk about Europe.”

“Just shut up and listen then,” Jeff said. He explained, “It was a bad trip. You see, Dad didn’t trust Al and me to stay home alone without trashing the place. So he took us along, even though he didn’t want us there.”

Alex smirked, shaking his head.

“It was supposed to be a romantic get-away,” Jeff explained. And Alex snorted.

Jeff paused his story until they had all gotten lunch and were sitting at the picnic table. He didn’t want every person around them listening in.

“Ok, so about Europe. Dad decided to take us all to the British Isles first. He and Mom were going to see Scotland, Stonehenge, the Big Ben—the works, mainly. But he decided to drop us off at—”

“Oh for pity’s sake!” Zormna snapped loudly at Darren, drawing Jeff’s attention away. They all watched Darren follow on her heels, even more persistently than usual. “Leave me alone!”

“Come on.” The space crazed moron was begging, his strides long. “Just tell me!”

Zormna looked like she barely was keeping from smashing the guy’s head in. But when she reached the redtop, her eyes set on Jeff. She stopped like she had just stumbled across a murder scene.

Then she took another step closer.

All of Todd’s pals cheered, happy she was there—all of them, except for Jeff and Alex. Both boys just stared at her, waiting. Realizing this was the first time they were in the same place together, Todd shouted out, “Hey, Zormna, come on over. You haven’t met my friends Jeff and Alex yet, have you?”

Her eyes had been focused on both boys, though she stared the most at Jeff.

Seeing this, Todd said, “Zormna, this is the infamous Jeff Streigle you’ve heard about. He was just about to tell us a story.”

He patted Jeff on the back then ruffled the guy’s midnight black hair.

Jeff smirked, shaking Todd off.

“We’ve met,” Zormna said, coldly.

Todd looked to his friend.

Jeff nodded back.

“When did this happen?” Todd asked.

“Earlier today,” a passerby said, chuckling. “They collided in the hall.”

Those around them snickered.

But Zormna shook her head. She leaned away, walking around the boys so that all Todd’s pals were between her and the Streigle brothers—as if they had rabies.

“We met before that,” Jeff said. He then nodded to Alex. “When we went to Europe.”

Alex rolled his eyes, lifting up his hands. “Keep me out of this.”

Zormna looked at him with a flicker of recognition in her green eyes.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Todd asked. “What do you mean in Europe?”

Patiently, Jeff explained. “When my dad went off with my mom, he dumped me and Al in this Irish military school.”

Zormna raised her eyebrows and folded her arms.

“I didn’t want to go,” Jeff said. “And neither did Al. But Dad gave us no choice. Two weeks—”

“It was more like a month,” Alex interjected.

“It felt like a month,” Jeff snapped back. “Because it was all marching and regulations….”

Jennifer walked up with Kevin, standing on the edge of the crowd of voyeurs. Half the campus was listening in, watching Zormna glare at the dark haired champ of the wrestling team. And Darren never left. He lingered back, half angry at being so disregarded, half intrigued at what he was overhearing.

“But it wasn’t even a week in before this happened.” Jeff pointed to the scar where his nose had been broken, and the cut across his right cheek. “See these? She did that. She’s the one who broke my nose. She also gave me a nasty black eye.”

“You’re still blaming me for those stupid scars?” Zormna stormed up to Jeff. “It was an accident. You hit your face on that step!”

“While you were tackling me!” Jeff rose to his feet, his chest swelling in anger.

“While you were trying to steal a—” Yet Zormna flustered, peeking back at the watching crowd.

Alex averted his eyes.

“I didn’t want to be there,” Jeff retorted and sat down.

Zormna glowered at him. “I know that. But I had to keep regulations.”

Jeff huffed.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Todd held up his hands, getting between them. He turned to Zormna. “Is this true?”

Zormna rolled her eyes, nodding. “Yes. I first saw him when he was on tour with…” she waved over at Alex, hardly looking at him. “Anyway, we have bad history. Jafarr here kept stealing vehicles—or was trying to. It was my job to make sure people stayed where they were supposed to be.”

“She was fanatical about it,” Jeff interjected.

“Was not!” Zormna unfolded her arms, fists clenched. “It was my duty.”

“Oh yeah?” He rose up from the picnic table. “What about that third time when you personally delivered me to the brig? Or when you kept your eye out for me even when you weren’t on duty?”

“A soldier’s duty does not end or begin on a timesheet.” Zormna glared at him with every indication that she would smash Jeff to the ground.

Jeff rolled his eyes.

“Jafarr?” Mark murmured—the one thing he latched onto. “Is that a nickname?”

Alex snorted, ducking his head. His pals looked to him.

Jeff closed his eyes and moaned.

But Zormna gazed dryly at him.

“No,” Jeff said, groaning as he did. “Uh…actually…my mom really liked the movie Aladdin. And, uh, well…my name is not…actually Jeffery or… Jefferson. It is…” he sighed.

And Alex snickered.

“No way.” Brian stared at him, smothering a laugh.

“She named you after the villain