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

Jennifer was reading too much into it. All if it could be true.

Yet, Alex had no such scars. None at all, actually. Jennifer had once asked Todd about that, long before Zormna had showed up in Pennington. And Todd had shrugged as he explained that Alex had been the favorite son.

Then Jennifer had asked then why did Alex leave home first.

Todd had shrugged again. He said that Alex wasn’t the type to put up with abuse. Whereas Jeff was incredibly devoted to his mother and had always fought with his father. In general, Jeff endured things.

No kidding. The day Todd had formally introduced Jeff to his parents, they had been sanctimonious and terse. And Jeff endured it, politely.

Jennifer had been in the living room watching TV at the time. It was the only time Jeff had been allowed in their house. He was wearing his signature black imitation leather jacket back then, the one he never left home without until he got his letterman jacket. The boy had politely nodded to her parents and shook their hands—perhaps the only time they ever came in close contact with him. But the way he looked about the room was so intense, it was like he was coveting their comfort. It was a stare, Jennifer recalled, exactly like Zormna’s.

But what did it mean?

Zormna was running from murders.

Jeff had been abused.

Maybe it meant nothing, except the look of a fugitive.

But from where?

Was Zormna Irish, or something else? And if she was something else—so was Jeff. Because if Zormna wasn’t Irish, then the Streigle brothers’ story about their visit to Europe was a lie. And that worried her.

What worried her more was how alike Jeff and Zormna really were.

Ok, they didn’t look anything alike except for how pale they were and how intense their eyes were. But their mannerisms, their nervous ticks, and—Jennifer hated this—how both were brilliant at math. Also, when in a pinch, they handled themselves the same way. They resorted to violence.

Ok…maybe that wasn’t entirely accurate. Zormna resorted to her military training and never actually hurt anybody. But Jeff—he had once broken a guy’s leg. The incident had made the local papers. But with the way Jeff had acted afterward, everyone had forgotten it had occurred.

As she remembered it, a bunch of guys from Monroe High had jumped Jeff after the big wrestling meet where Jeff had scarcely been declared state champ. A parking lot ambush. At the time, the Pennington team had been waiting for him on the bus in the other lot. Jeff had just come from the bathroom, rushing to catch up. He didn’t see the Monroe boys until it was too late. Outnumbered, and Jeff was alone.

But Jeff did the most amazing, yet unspeakable thing, allowing him to escape practically unscathed. Somehow, in a split second, he busted the knee of the key Monroe instigator with one perfectly placed kick. And he scrambled out of the pack of thugs during that momentary distraction. The Pennington team watched him spring on top of the cars to get away, running towards the bus. It was an award-winning Hollywood-style dramatic chase worthy of an action movie, according to Todd. The Monroe team was on Jeff’s heels, shouting curses. And the Pennington team scrambled out to help in what would have become a first-time street brawl. But the school security guards had also witnessed the fight and ran in with their Taser guns ready. Jeff and a couple other Monroe boys were arrested then taken in for disturbing the peace. Though, the charges changed when they found out what Jeff had done to the one Monroe guy’s leg to get away.

That’s when Alex leaked out Jeff had also been in a gang before he had come to Pennington. Alex had said that Pennington High was Jeff’s last chance to change his life.

Of course, Jeff had mellowed out a great deal since then. Todd blamed it on Jeff going with Brian and Joy to their weird Mormon youth group things. Brian had taken Jeff under his wing, in a way. Jeff often hung out at the Hendersons’ house on weekends. He had even talked about joining the school men’s choir, the Buccaneers. But really…would an alien attend Mormon youth meetings and join school choir?

Perhaps, Darren’s-paranoid whisperings replied, if it was an act make people let down their guard.

Jennifer slapped her forehead. Aliens? Really? What was she thinking?

Maybe she was losing it.

Shaking it off once more, Jennifer decided to abandon the alien theory altogether. Zormna and Jeff were the same because of their traumatic pasts. End of story.

But before Jennifer stepped onto the front door of her home, she glanced back at the FBI car on the street and frowned.

That nagging paranoid voice asked one last question: If Zormna wasn’t something other than just Irish, then why was this particular murder so important for to the FBI that they had to stake out one little girl? Something bigger had to be happening. Maybe it wasn’t alien, but that didn’t discount that it wasn’t something very dangerous.

 *

When the Streigle boys walked across the school parking lot to Alex’s truck, Agents Simms and Hayworth approached them, flashing their badges.

“FBI. Can we have a word with you for a moment?”

Both Streigle boys shared a look. Jeff sighed, hanging his shoulders. Alex tensed.

“What is it?” Jeff asked with a moan.

“Zormna Clendar—” Agent Simms began to ask.

But Jeff huffed more like he would gag.

Alex elbowed him in the side. Straightening up, Alex said, “Can I see those badges again?”

Agent Hayworth handed his over for Alex to hold, for a show of trust. Taking it, Alex inspected the card and wallet while Agent Simms continued his inquiry.

“You were overheard mentioning to your friend that you knew Zormna Clendar before she came to the U.S.,” Agent Simms said.

Flipping back his long dark bangs, Jeff shoved his hands into his pockets and lifted his chin. “Yeah. What of it?”

The agent frowned. He knew the type. Hostile to authority. Ready for a fight. This punk would be trouble.

Simms asked, “Can you recall the name of the school where you met her? We need it for contact purposes.”

Jeff cast another look to his brother who was distracted with the leather of the ID wallet. He said with a groan, “Like I’ve told everybody—I don’t know the name of the school. I don’t want to know the name of the school. Our dad unceremoniously dropped us there, and I have no desire to go back.”

“Of course. I understand—” Agent Simms said.

“Do you?” Jeff leaned in nearer. It took Simms a second to realize Jeff was questioning his intelligence.

Yet the agent would not let it mess with his professionalism. “How about your father’s address? We can contact him and obtain the school’s address or contact information that way.”

Jeff groaned, stepping back. His hands retracted from his pockets, fists clenching and unclenching.

But Alex quickly intervened. Putting himself in between while shoving Agent Hayworth’s wallet back at him, he said, “Sorry! Um, bad subject. We don’t have contact with our dad. But I can give you the number to our social worker.”

He pulled a card out of his pocket, a wrinkled thing that had been tucked in the side of his wallet. Extending it, Alex smiled apologetically.

“Dad moved when we moved out,” Alex said. “Kind of disowned us.”

This was intriguing. Agent Simms took the card, but he stared at the faces of these two boys, who, like Zormna Clendar, were without family.

“Can we get your home address as well?” Agent Hayworth asked.

Alex chuckled painfully. “Yeah.” He took back the card and dug out a pencil from his things, writing it down.

But Jeff moaned, stepping back.

When Alex handed the card back, he said, “We are staying with our aunt and uncle. Can you let us give them a heads up before you talk to them? They’ll think Jeff was arrested again if you just show up at the front door.”

Arrested. Again? Agent Simms glanced Jeff over.

The boy glowered back at him.

That meant he would have to have an arrest record. And that was something traceable. Things had to be verified. Identities, made sure. Then they would know.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Agent Simms said to Alex, ignoring Jeff’s dirty looks.

With a nod to both boys, both Agents Simms and Hayworth walked back to the school. There was one more stop they had to make before reporting back to the supervisor.

It was a small trip, and a familiar one.

Knocking on the classroom door, both agents stepped in, to the surprise of one school teacher and a handful of kids gathered for Astronomy Club. Off near the front of the room was the one they were looking for.

“Hello.” Agent Hayworth smiled and went into introduction mode. “I’m Agent Hayworth, this is Agent Simms of the FBI. Could we speak with Darren Asher for a moment?”

*

Things didn’t improve much the next day, though Todd tried to make it better.

When Zormna set eyes on Jeff in PE as the varsity wrestling team was strolling toward the playing fields for a game of soccer, she staggered as if sucker punched. Todd had tried to explain that morning Jeff was in the PE class with him, but apparently she had not really heard him. Her green eyes followed them, wide and horrified.

Teasing, Jeff waved at her as he tossed a derisive remark to Alex. Alex averted his gaze though.

“Knock it off!” Todd flicked the back of Jeff’s head.

But Jeff snickered, ducking away to avoid a second hit.

Later in the day, when Zormna also found out that both boys had classes not far from hers all around campus, she looked like she would vomit. Todd had tried to explain the brothers had been purposely avoiding her, but she took it as a personal insult that she had not seen them.

Of course they weren’t avoiding her any more. In fact, as things progressed, Todd noticed (with increasing chagrin) that Jeff had begun to tease Zormna.

It started off small. First with wisecracks about what a clueless blonde she was. But after a few punches in the arm from Alex (a blonde), Jeff switched to jibes over her military upbringing. He also made personal stabs about her ignorance of civilian life. He wasn’t usually this mean, but Zormna brought the worst out in him.

Jeff had been goofing at lunch with Brian (as he used to before Zormna moved in). They were helping a guy ask a girl to Prom by singing With or Without You to a girl on the redtop—words wonderfully altered of course. Everyone applauded their performance, and the obliging couple beamed with embarrassment. The video would be on YouTube soon enough. Zormna sat nearby under Jennifer’s tree, pretending to study, though Todd knew she was keeping an eye on Jeff. She had this entirely puzzled expression on her face. She looked confused, though Todd did know what about.

Yet Jeff picked up on it quickly. He turned to her almost immediately, and said in a loud voice, “Oh, come on. Don’t you know that song? It’s a classic. Have some national pride for pity’s sake. You’re Irish, aren’t you? Act like it.”

Alex pressed his hand to his forehead, quietly pretending he was not watching it happen.

“Hey!” Todd finally decided to intervene. “That’s enough.”

Zormna had begun to look like a wounded tiger. Besides, the people around them were enjoying her discomfort way too much.

But Jeff was not done. He sauntered not quite up to her, but near enough to taunt her. Hands on his hips, a smirk on his face, Jeff appeared downright spiteful as he said, “You are not in a military school anymore. You have the freedom to listen to what you want, including Aslan, and the Cranberries.”

“Sinead O’Conner…” Alex muttered. “Westlife…the Corrs…Enya… Brian McFadden…Van Morrison…”

Todd groaned, now shooting a glare to his other friend. “Please! Even I don’t know half of those.”

“They’re all Irish?” Mark asked, glancing to Jonathan who shrugged.

Brian chuckled, shaking his head.

“I’m willing to lend you a CD,” Jeff said