In the Blink of an Eye
In the Blink of an Eye
Chapter One
Emily Ryan took a deep steadying breath, staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. A pretty 17-year-old met her gaze, with waves of honey-blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a Californian tan. This girl was a thousand miles from the pasty preteen who had left Albuquerque five years ago. She sighed; it was unbelievable. She had never thought she would be back here, in her childhood home. She hoped everybody else would be as pleased as she was about her return. With a last glance in the mirror she smoothed the fabric of her vintage floral-print dress, grabbed her cardigan and bag and headed downstairs.
Her mom, Jenna, had made pancakes for breakfast in honour of the occasion, topped with blueberries just the way she liked. Most people she knew preferred maple syrup, but Emily was a natural sugar girl at heart. She tucked in gratefully; she always ate when she was nervous. As she downed the last of her orange juice she noticed her mom's eyes welling up with tears.
"Oh come on Mom, I'll be fine. I'll be too busy catching up with everybody to worry about anything else!"
With that, she grabbed an apple from the new fruit bowl on the table and the two of them headed out to the gleaming silver jeep parked in the drive. Emily may have mocked her mom, but when the time came to get out of the car she was a little teary-eyed herself. Praying that she didn't look a complete mess she waved Mom off, half-wishing she was still in the car with her.
The space in front of East High School was alive with energy. Everywhere she looked Emily saw students dancing and running about, chatting enthusiastically. Nobody in the gathering crowd seemed to have a second to spare to look at the blonde girl in the flowery dress and flip-flops standing frozen in their midst.
"Heads up!"
The shout came from somewhere to her left. To spin and catch the ball high above her head came as naturally to Emily as it had years ago in the backyard with her friends. Her fingers stung a little on impact but at least her bag stayed put at her shoulder and her cardigan didn't fall from its position, wrapped snugly around her waist. In fact, she heard a couple of appreciative whoops, and even a smattering of applause. She held the ball in her hands, smiling slightly as she waited for the owner to come to retrieve it.
"Nice catch", said a familiar voice.
Emily looked up, and promptly dropped the ball with a scream of shock.
"CHAD!" she screeched, flinging her arms around him. "Oh my gosh, I wondered when I'd see you again!" She hugged him tight until he pulled away slightly.
Chad had stretched out completely since she'd last seen him, but other than that he was still the same boy she had pitched countless balls to at the baseball diamond each summer: crazy afro, warm grin, eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Emily Ryan….. is it really you? Why didn't you tell me you were coming home?"
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to surprise everyone. Plus, I didn't want anyone to have a chance to rehearse a fake welcome if they didn't mean it. Lucky for you, you passed! By the way, where's Troy?"
Emily had always had keen observational skills, so although it might have gone unnoticed by anybody else she caught the tiny falter in Chad's grin.
"Um, I don't think he's in yet….. He'll be really glad to see you though, Em. You're exactly what he needs right now."
