The final bell rang, and Edison Bates moved slowly through the crowded hallway, invisible. A kid like Edison had learned how to disappear.
He scanned the faces rushing past, hoping to avoid Carter. He was Salem Creek High's resident geek, complete with old-fashioned polos or button ups, wire-rimmed glasses, and dorky backpack.
He pressed closer to the lockers, shoulders drawn in, letting the wave of Friday-night energy pass him by. When the hall thinned out, he slipped to his locker and grabbed his books. Just as he closed it...
Tap, tap. A hand on his back. Edison turned, jaw tight.
Carter towered over him, a predator in letterman blue. Anna Devereaux, his main girl, wasn't around, so a couple of the more popular girls tried to catch his eye, but he ignored them.
"Glad you're still here," said the voice he'd hoped to avoid.
Carter's reputation was a twisted legend. He used girls like Kleenex and tossed them away. Yet they still lined up, even knowing the ending.
Senior year or not, Edison was still his academic hostage. Better to bend than break. He'd been doing Carter's homework for years, but recently he'd become so sick of it.
"Where do you think you're going?" Carter blocked him.
"Home." Edison kept his gaze forward.
From the corner of his eye, Edison spotted Carter's shadow, Alex Vance, walking up. Tall, smug, and just as dangerous.
"You can go home after you give me my English homework," Carter said.
"I don't have it," Edison replied.
"What?" Carter blinked.
"I said I don't have it."
Carter's smirk vanished. "What's up with you, Bates?"
Alex stepped in beside him. "Stay. Good dog." His grin was crooked, like something had been rewired wrong.
"I need my homework," Carter snapped, his voice lower now, anxious.
Edison looked him straight in the eye. "Then do it yourself."
Silence.
Alex's smile dropped. "What the hell did you just say?"
"I said - " Edison's voice didn't waver, "find someone else to cheat off of."
Carter glanced down the hallway. Empty. He grabbed Edison by the collar and shoved him against the lockers, but Edison didn't flinch.
Carter stared at him, confused. "You're different."
Edison gave the smallest smile. "You noticed."
Carter released him, roughly. "I want that homework by morning."
"Hey," a calm, clear voice cut through the tension.
Nora Slater.
She walked up, adjusting her backpack, her long auburn hair catching the fluorescent light. In her Nirvana tee and worn jeans, she didn't care who approved. Her freckles stood out when she smiled, and her presence, bold and unexpected, made Carter pause.
Edison's face lit up. "Hey."
Carter barely looked at her before stalking off with Alex.
"Have it tomorrow or you're dead," Carter ordered as they disappeared around the corner.
"They're still harassing you?" Nora asked.
"Not anymore," Edison said, brushing dust from his jacket. "I told them I'm done."
She blinked, then broke into a grin and hugged him. "Finally! I'm so proud of you."
"What are you still doing here?"
"Prepping for the art fair." She fell in step with him. "So, you really stood up to them."
"I guess I just... snapped."
They walked toward the doors. Outside, the sky was overcast, heavy with the scent of coming rain.
"Want a ride home?" he asked.
"Sure."
Ahead of them, Carter and Alex neared the exit, then suddenly, Carter screamed. The sound echoed. He was thrown against the wall, hard. Alex backed into a corner, whimpering.
"What..." Edison froze.
The hallway temperature plummeted. Electricity rippled across his skin. Eyes. Silver. Disembodied. Blinking. Gone.
A cold wind curled through his spine. The lights flickered once... twice... then snapped off.
Slam! Carter hit the floor. He tried to rise. Slam. Something invisible held him down.
Edison didn't move.
"We have to do something!" Nora said, trying to free her hand from his, but Edison wouldn't let go.
Carter yelled, blood running from his nose. "You do this, Bates? What is this, some of your dumbass voodoo?"
Edison ignored him and stood in front of Nora to block her view, protecting her from seeing the worst of it. "Let's go," he said firmly and led her to the exit doors. He didn't look back.
"You good?" she asked.
He nodded, but she knew it wasn't true.
As they turned down the east hallway, the one with the older lockers and the draft that always smelled like mildew, a metallic clang echoed ahead. One locker door creaked open on its own.
Edison paused.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Hear what?" Nora said, scanning the empty hallway.
He stared at the open locker. Nothing inside. Just rust and darkness.
"Never mind," he muttered.
They walked on. But Edison glanced back.
For a split second, he thought he saw a name scratched inside the door. Gracie.
When he blinked, it was gone.
They stepped into the gray afternoon. A light drizzle had begun. The world felt muted, suspended.
"I don't know what just happened in there," Nora said.
Edison grinned as he unlocked his car. "Our lives will never be the same, I can feel it!"
As they buckled in, Nora caught a glint of a tall figure in the rearview mirror. He stood at the far end of the parking lot, wearing mirrored sunglasses and a long coat that moved like shadows.
Nora started to ask if Edison saw him, but he was already pulling away. When she glanced back, the man had vanished.
~~~
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