HOLY CRAP THIS WOUND UP LONG. Alright, my computer is pissing off. Those fake ass "virus scans" keep coming up, so I keep restoring my laptop to earlier dates so it'll go away. Only it came back again, so I guess after I put this chapter up I'm gonna be restoring AGAIN...Ugh. Anyways, thanks to Leka10, MizzC, and that-person-who-doesn't-sign-their-reviews-still (lol) for the reviews! Yeah, the characterization in this chapter was hard as a bitch for me, but hopefully I got it right. I know people will be quick to tell me if I didn't. haha.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Boondocks. Still...GODDAMNIT.
Busted
The first thing Jazmine saw when she opened her eyes the next morning was a pair of blue eyes on her left. She quickly glanced to her right and spotted a pair of brown ones. Then, she blinked.
"Um…"
"Happy birthday!" Her parents, Tom and Sarah DuBois, cheered, backing away and clapping. Jazmine shook her head, rubbing the side of her head as Sarah reached behind her, grabbing a plate stacked with blueberry pancakes that had a candle sticking in the middle of them, and handing them to her. Jazmine smiled.
"Thanks." She held the plate in one hand, glancing between both her parents. "Aren't you two supposed to be at work by now?"
"We're going in late!" Tom shouted; he was always the most enthusiastic when it came to surprised or celebrations, no matter how insignificant. She nodded and, upon glancing at her father's excited face, rolled her eyes and blew out the candle. He cheered and Sarah rolled her eyes as well, trying not to laugh. Jazmine took a forkful of pancake and shoved it in her mouth. She loved blueberry pancakes.
Someone (most likely her mother) had taken the liberty of opening her curtains as well as the windows, so crisp morning air was filtering through the room. Warm sunlight was already peeking through. Jazmine couldn't help but feel optimistic about the day.
Even if, according to her grandmother, it was probably gonna suck.
"So." Sarah sat down at the edge of her bed, crossing her legs. Behind her, Tom was straightening his tie. "What do you want for dinner tonight? Do you want to go out to eat, or-"
"Can we just stay home?" Jazmine asked, swallowing. "Please?" She watched her parents exchange glances, then Sarah shrugged.
"Sure, honey." She smiled. "You're not getting your gifts until tonight, though."
Jazmine rolled her eyes. "No fair." She took another bite. "Can I get a ride to school today?"
"No can do." Tom checked his watch. "I'm late enough as it is." He sped over and kissed Jazmine forehead before rushing out the door. "Love you!"
"Bye, dad!" Jazmine yelled. She glanced towards her mom, who was getting up as well. "Well, can you give me a ride?"
Sarah laughed. "I would if you were ready to go now." She gestured towards her daughter. "But you're nowhere close. I've got to go, too."
Jazmine waved her hand. "Fine. Bye, mom."
"Bye, sweetie." She walked out the door, pausing at the doorway. "Have a great day."
"You, too." Jazmine went back to her pancakes. Instead of walking away, like expected, Sarah suddenly stepped back into the room.
"And honey?" Jazmine looked up. "Just…be careful today."
Jazmine nodded. "Okay."
"I mean it." Sarah wrung her hands. "It's just…well." She cleared her throat. "Things aren't always the way they seem." She nodded. "Remember that."
Jazmine raised an eyebrow, swallowing. "Well…okay." She cut herself more pancake. "I'll keep that in mind."
Sarah gave her one last smile before closing the door behind her. Jazmine shook her head, taking another bite. Her parents and she had an odd relationship. It usually depended on her; the more normal she behaved the happier they were. If she even gave any hint of being the little girl who believed in ghosts and wailed about seeing the future then the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. When she'd been younger, her grandmother had always told her stories about their "gifts" and how their ancestors had been the same way. When she'd told Jazmine that her own mother had these same gifts and Jazmine had asked Sarah about them, it resulted in her no longer being able to spend the weekends over her grandma's house. Even when her Grammy did come over Tom or Sarah was usually around, there to steer the conversation away from anything along the lines of ancestry talk or anecdotes about seeing the future. After a while, they'd stopped letting her come at all. She'd moved back to Boston.
And then, she'd gotten sick.
Jazmine hadn't really ever forgiven her parents for taking away the only person who understood her, not even when she was twelve. They'd never shown any sign of believing her; they sent her to therapist after therapist, convinced that she had a runaway imagination. One of the therapists tried to diagnose her with schizophrenia. Luckily her mother had refused to believe that. They'd given up on therapy altogether, instead choosing to ignore her vivid dreams or "wild stories". After awhile, she'd gotten even more frustrated. After even longer, she stopped telling them altogether.
She'd already secretly resented them for that. After her grandmother died…well, it just all went downhill from there. When someone had existed that hadn't believed she was crazy, it hadn't mattered as much. Only with her gone, she'd felt alone and even crazier than before. She'd stopped talking to people. She dropped her friends. She ignored her parents.
Things had gotten better between them in the past couple of years, except on occasions that Jazmine would happen to have visions around her parents. She'd have to make up some elaborate story on why she'd zoned out, or how come she was lying on the kitchen floor, or slumped against the bathroom sink. No matter how good of a story it was, her mother never seemed completely convinced. But what was she supposed to do, tell them that she saw dead people still? That she heard voices, or had visions? No way. Not when she was now old enough to get put into an insane asylum.
She finished her pancakes and set the plate along with the candle on her nightstand, crawling out of her bed and going to her closet. She knew that if she wore something that Cindy considered "bummy" on her sixteenth birthday, she'd never hear the end of it. She yawned and stretched, closing her eyes. When she felt a cold breeze behind her, her eyes popped open. She didn't even have to look.
"Can I just have one day." She turned around, spotting the ghost that sat on the edge of her bed, his hands in his lap. "One day where I only have to talk to the living? No dead people?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am," The ghost snapped with obvious sarcasm. "Forgive me." He rolled his eyes. "How dare I choose to die?"
"I didn't say you chose to die." Jazmine ripped a green and white striped shirt off a hanger, turning towards him. "I simply mean that you're irking my nerves."
"You don't even know me!"
"And I don't want to."
The guy tilted his head to the side, looking at her. "You are one mean medium."
"Then go find another one." She flipped through skirts, finally choosing one. "I'm sure there's plenty this side of the water."
"Not necessarily." The guy settled back, shrugging. "Besides, I was informed you were one of the best."
Jazmine nose wrinkled. "Who on earth told you that?" She pointed at him. "And if I hear anything that starts with "Freda" and ends with "Alston", I will snap. I really will."
He shrugged, grinning. Jazmine sighed.
"Fine." She came out the closet, shutting the door and dropping the clothes beside the man. "Tell me what you want."
He cleared his throat. "My name is Daniel James." He grinned. "I'm your great-uncle."
Jazmine lifted a brow. "Oh. Well…" She shrugged. "Nice to meet you. But really, I've got to get ready for school-"
"I'm coming to warn you."
She groaned. "Yeah. There's a lot of that going around-"
"Listen." His voice was stern. "Something's beginning. Something's about to happen. It's going to be hard on your, because you're so strong." He paused. "Your strength makes you weak."
"What?" She shook her head. "That makes no sense."
He sighed. "There are…people. People who want revenge." He stared at her. "People who will stop at nothing until they get it."
She blinked. "Why would someone want revenge against me?"
"Not you." He frowned. "Anya."
"Anya?" Jazmine made a face. "Daniel. Anya's been dead for sixteen years. You know that. She's your sister! Don't you two…I don't know, have chats up there on the astral plane or something?"
"She'd been dead sixteen years today." He gave her look. "Haven't you ever wondered why she died the same day you were born? Sixteen minutes before you were born?"
"I don't know." She put a hand on her hip. "Viral pneumonia?"
"Wonderful." Daniel sighed. "Did you even read the letter?"
Jazmine's eyebrows drew together. "Letter?" When Daniel nodded she slowly shook her head. "What letter?"
His eyebrows drew together. "You never got a letter?"
Jazmine slowly shook her head. He pointed to her neck.
"You have the locket." He sounded confused. "How can you have Anya's locket and not have the letter?"
"I don't know." Jazmine shook her head. "I didn't even know I was supposed to get a letter. A letter from who?" Instead of answering her, he narrowed his eyes in thought. "Um, hello?"
And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Jazmine gasped. "Hey!" When she didn't get an answer she stomped her foot, grabbing her clothes and heading towards her bedroom door. "They come when you don't want them to and leave when you're not done with them," She mumbled to herself, opening the door and heading for the bathroom. "Stupid ghosts."
She didn't notice the white envelope that had appeared where he was sitting, her name scrawled across the front.
---
Homeroom was boring as hell, especially when it was chock full of people who either ignored you, used to be your friend but now weren't, or simply had heard about you through the grapevine and therefore couldn't stand you…which, in turn, made them ignore you.
Which, she didn't feel too bad about. After all, there were way worse things than not being acknowledged. She could be getting books slapped out of her hands or mean, crude drawings in her cubby like back in-
Whoa. She wasn't going to go there.
Homeroom basically consisted of showing up to the class for fifteen minutes, long enough for the teacher to take roll and say announcements, and then you got the hell out. Mr. Hall, a middle-aged, indifferent man who constantly whined about his ex-wife taking everything he owned and never letting him see the kids, couldn't care less about what students did from 7:10 to 7:25. It was always chaotic. There were the kids like her who chose to try and catch a quick nap at their desks, and then there were the loud, energetic kids like Caesar, Maya, or Hiro who sat on their desks in the front of the room and talked loud enough for everyone to hear. There were arrogant jocks who tossed a football or other projectiles throughout the room at each other. There were people like Huey, who just sat there and read a book or listened to their iPods. Most people talked on the phone, texted, did homework for other classes, or minded their own business. It was seven in the morning, after all. What else could they do?
"Hey." Mr. Hall looked up from his paper, sighing when no one glanced his way. "You guys…"
No one paid attention. Some boy with frizzy hair was singing some song about Date Rape. A few guys off the track team were throwing paper airplanes. Some girl who always wore dark clothes and had more tattoos than Kat Von Dee was drawing graffiti on her desk.
"Hey!"
Still, nothing. If anything the noise grew louder. He slammed his coffee mug down on the desk, making everyone look up.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS BEFORE I SHUT THEM FOR YOU, YOU HOOLIGANS!" He screamed so loud that half the class shrank down in their seats. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT! MY EX-WIFE'S THREATENING A RESTRAINING ORDER AND-"
"With your crazy ass? Maybe she needs it," One of the football players whispered. Everyone started laughing except for Huey, who was too busy reading and Jazmine, who was too busy texting and wishing she were somewhere else. Mr. Hall's nostril's flared.
"Alright, smartass." He held up a stack of yellow papers. "Since you want to be such a clown hand these out." He cleared his throat, shoving the papers into the offending boy's chest. He groaned. "What you are receiving are permission slips for an all day field trip that we'll be taking to the concert hall when the opera-" A chorus of boos flooded the classroom and he banged his fists on the desk. "I DON'T MAKE THE RULES! I ENFORCE THEM! NOW SHUT YOUR WHINING ASSES UP AND GET THE DAMN FORMS SIGNED!" He looked up and spotted Huey, who had raised his hand. "What, Freeman?"
Huey lowered his hand, straightening. "It is my understanding that the school district assigns us these field trips to try and give us an enhanced view of various cultures displayed in the form of liberal arts, such as music. Am I correct?"
"Your observations are always appreciated, Mr. Freeman," Mr. Hall said, rubbing his head. "And when I say that I mean they're a headache. Yes. You are correct."
"Then," Huey went on, not the least bit phased by the teacher's words. "If this is true, how come we are constantly reminded of the positive attributes of the white man to music and artistic development when African Americans have also demonstrated the usage of musical expression towards the betterment of art in our present day society?"
"Oh, my god. How the hell should I know?" Mr. Hall rolled his eyes. "Huey, if you feel like the white man's trying to bring you down, please go talk to superintendant Martin about it so that I don't have to pretend to care."
Huey's eyebrow rose. "Why do you even teach?" He asked in a disgusted tone. The classroom burst out laughing as he shrugged.
"Because I figured why not make kids as miserable as I am and get paid for it." His tone was dry. "Stephen, I told you to pass them out, not throw them at people."
"Sorry," The football player said, not sounding the least bit sorry. He continued to ball up the sheets and hurl them at people in the class as hard as he could.
"It's another heist! Hands in the air! Wave em like you just don care, leave em there!" Caesar burst out rapping, dancing in his seat to something on his iPod. Huey shook his head, going back to his book. Jazmine put down her phone and raised her hand. Mr. Hall looked up again. "What, DuBois?"
"Can I use the restroom?"
He looked at her. "Do I look like I give a damn?"
Jazmine seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment, dropping her hand. "Um…no?"
"Wow. You are smart." He held up a hall pass and Jazmine got up, grabbing her purse. "I guess you do learn something new every day." Jazmine rolled her eyes as she began for the front of the room. "Don't diddly daddly in the halls either, swishing your skirt around and trying to flirt with boys or whatever you girls do all day. It don't take fifteen damn minutes to use the bathroom-"
"Whoops!" Stephen suddenly grabbed the back of Jazmine's skirt, laughing as she flushed and pulled away, glaring at him. "What?" He joked, his friend who was sitting behind him letting out a catcall. "You'd better be glad someone cares about what's under that skirt!"
A good portion of the class laughed and Jazmine rolled her eyes, storming out the classroom and slamming the door. She sighed, starting down the cool, silent hallway.
"Hey!"
She looked over her shoulder as Michael Caesar ran up to her, pausing when he reached her. He stopped, putting his hands on his knees and panting. Jazmine gave him a look.
"Um…hey." She shifted from side to side, her hand on her purse. "What's up?"
He took a couple more deep breaths, finally straightening. "I…wanted to give you this." He held out a piece of paper, which she took with reluctance. She unfolded it and glanced down at it.
"Your address?" Her face turned pink. "Um-"
"Not like that!" Caesar laughed, shaking his head. "I'm having a party tomorrow night. I was wondering if you could give that to Cindy, since I'm leaving early."
"Oh." Jazmine nodded, opening her purse and tucking it away. "Okay." She turned away. "I'll do that-"
"You can come, too." She paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. He shrugged. "If you want, I mean." When her eyebrow rose he shook his head, laughing. "Well, Cindy told me that you're not really into the social thing, but I figured I could help her change your mind, you know?"
Wow. A handout. How kind. "I'm not a charity case," Jazmine said. Caesar winced.
"I didn't mean it like that." He smirked. "Come on. We used to at least acknowledge each other's existence. We used to talk. What happened?"
Jazmine paused. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty. It wasn't as if Caesar knew what was going on. She nodded.
"Fine." She shrugged. "I'll go."
He grinned, backing away. "That," He said, clapping his hands together. "Would be awesome."
She shook her head, his infectious grin causing her to smile as well. "I don't know about that-"
"You won't regret it. Really." He spun on his heel, heading back down the hallway. "Oh!" He spun around again. "Happy birthday."
She nodded. "Thanks." When he turned the corner she shook her head, still smiling.
Alright…so maybe it wouldn't kill her to be a little more social. She trailed her hand along the row of lockers as she walked, whistling to herself. Maybe junior year wouldn't be so bad-
"Why isn't that kid looking?" The driver frantically blared on his horn repeatedly, slamming on the brakes. The truck began to swerve dangerously over the road as the wheels locked, turning sideways and swinging wildly towards the boy, who looked up with wide eyes, finally realizing what was happening too late-
Jazmine gasped, her head jerking upright. She was on her hands and knees on the floor next to the lockers, her purse lying beside her. She shook her hair out of her face and tried to catch her breath, the burning headache already beginning to subside. She bolted to her feet, bracing herself against the lockers as she tried to stop her legs from shaking. Her grandmother hadn't been kidding; her powers were stronger. They were also taking a lot more energy out of her.
She didn't have time to think about that right then, though. She glanced to the locker she was leaning against. It was Riley's.
Oh, shit.
"Riley," Jazmine breathed, pushing off the lockers and running down the hallway, quickly darting around the corner. Was this happening right now? Would it happen later? Had it already happened? No, it couldn't have. It had happened right in front of the school. It if would've happened, they all would've heard it, or at least the rumors would be circulating about it.
She ran down another hallway, hitting the main corridor and bursting into a full sprint. She ignored the weird looks she got from a few students who happened to be in the hallways as she attempted to push down the awful thoughts of what would happen if she didn't reach him in time, tried to ignore the aching in her chest as well as her head. She practically flew into the main doors, yanking them open and rushing down the steps. She stopped to catch her breath and stared all around, walking towards the main road. She didn't see him anywhere…She wiped the sweat off her brow, panting. She looked up, her eyes anxiously scanning the road. Her heart stopped in her chest.
"Riley!" She yelled, taking off again for the road. "Riley, wait! Stop!"
Riley was walking towards the street with his hands in his pockets, his backpack slung over his shoulder. No doubt he was skipping class. He was probably blasting his earphones, which was why he wasn't focusing on the area around him. Otherwise, he would've seen the white, massive, one hundred percent visible semi trailer that was approaching. The truck which was emitting frantic honks from its horn. Riley stepped into the street, oblivious to his impending doom.
"No!" Jazmine screamed, pushing herself faster across the grass. The truck was coming closer and closer…she hit the sidewalk and jumped, knocking Riley over like a linebacker. Caught off guard, he practically flew head first across the street, rolling into the grass. Jazmine herself lost her balance, falling to the ground and rolling over onto her stomach on the asphalt. She sat up quick enough to see the truck screeching as it attempted to stop, its tires locking and the back of it swinging around so that the entire thing was sliding straight towards her. Her eyes widened and she brought her arms up to cover her face, squeezing her eyes shut…
And then, a pair of rough hands grabbed her waist, hauling her off the ground. Her back hit another surface a couple seconds later, followed by someone falling on top of her. "Ouch!" She managed, feeling the wind being knocked out her. She coughed, her eyes popping open just in time to see Huey turning his head towards the street. She sat up on her elbows as well, her eyes widening as the truck skid past. It seemed to move in slow motion as it slid into a power line, setting off a trail of sparks that rose up as the wires snapped, followed by a banging sound and a loud crack. The power lines then snapped completely, the wooden pole letting out a loud groan and falling on top the trailer part of the truck. Riley, who was in the grass beside them, sat up.
"DAYUM!" He jumped to his feet, dropping his backpack and earphones to the ground. His eyes were huge. "Dat was da power fo half da block!" He grinned. "You know dey fendin ta cancel school!"
"Nigga, you were already skipping!" Huey screamed at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? You just almost got killed and you can only think about them canceling school?" He pointed towards the truck, which two people were quickly climbing out of, slamming the doors shut and running away from the mess. One of them ripped out a cell phone.
"How da fuck was I supposed ta know I was bout ta get hit?!"
"Try looking both ways before you cross the goddamn street!" Huey snapped. "That's what happens when you skip class!"His hands were balanced on either side of Jazmine, his knee between her legs. He was so busy yelling at Riley that he didn't even notice. She grimaced, gently pushing him off of her and sitting up as well. She fixed her skirt and glanced towards the school. Already a few heads were poking out the front doors and a few people were even running towards the lines, assessing the damage. Which was pretty stupid, considering that they were still sparking. Luckily, fire trucks were already sounding in the distance. She heard someone clear their throat loudly and looked over to see Huey glaring down at her. She stared up at him with wide eyes.
"You," He said, his eyes narrowing. "Have a lot of explaining to do."
"But-" She started, but he shook his head to ward off her protests. He looked so mad that she abruptly shut her mouth, inwardly groaning.
She was so busted.
---
"You a good one." Cindy was sprawled across Jazmine's bed, reading Cosmopolitan and chewing on a stick of gum. Jazmine was at her mirror, straightening her hair. "Let somebody offer my ass a free meal. I'd be all over that shit."
"Cindy, you probably eat four out of seven nights a week at my house," Jazmine pointed out. "What is that if not free meals?"
"Pssh. Please." Cindy waved her hand in her direction. "I might as well live here. That don't count."
That was pretty much true. Cindy was over so often that she had her own place set at the table. Half of the contents that were in Jazmine's bathroom belonged to Cindy. She even had clothes in the guest room closet! Why Cindy would want to spend most her time at Jazmine's house as opposed to her own mansion-like house where she could be waited on hand and foot if she desired was beyond her.
"Can you change the song or what?" Cindy asked, her nose wrinkling as Usher suddenly came on the radio. Jazmine's eyes widened.
"No!" She rolled her eyes, turning back to the mirror. "Why would you even ask me that?"
"Fine." Cindy sat up, spreading her legs out so that she could examine her feet. Her wavy blonde hair fell over her shoulders. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry. She's probably almost done, anyways." Jazmine turned off her straightener, shaking her now straight hair and smiling sweetly at her best friend. "Well?"
Cindy smirked. "At least you don't look like something off Sesame Street anymore."
Jazmine threw a hair clip at her, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Shut up."
Downstairs the doorbell rang. Cindy frowned, glancing towards the window. "Is anyone else supposed to be coming?" She asked. Jazmine made a face.
"Yeah. My cousins Demetria and Druscilla." She sighed. "They hate me."
"Then…why did your mom invite them?" Cindy asked, making a face of her own. Jazmine shrugged.
"She figured that since they live a few towns over that we should be close to them since they're family." She shoved her feet into a pair of flip flops and tucked her hands in the pockets of the black basketball shorts she stole from Cindy. Cindy snorted, getting up so that she could peek out the window. Her eyes narrowed.
"Okay…" She turned to look at Jazmine. "So if this is supposed to be a family thing then why is Huey, Riley, and they granddad coming up the driveway?"
Jazmine's jaw dropped. "What?!" She ran over to Cindy's side, peeking out as well. Sure enough, Grandad, followed by Huey and Riley, were walking up! She blinked. Cindy gave her a look.
"I mean, didn't you and Huey stop being friends a few years back or something?"
"Yeah." Jazmine snorted. "Mr. Freeman's probably making them come. Mom probably invited them to be nice."
"Wow." Cindy laughed as the doorbell rang again. "Tonight should be interesting." The doorbell rang and she flounced out of the room. "I'm going downstairs!"
Jazmine turned away from the window, ringing her hands. Damn it. She'd luckily gotten away from Huey when Cindy had snuck out of school during the whole thing with the power lines and picked Jazmine up so that they could both go downtown for the rest of the day. After all, as Cindy put it, "Ain't nobody trying to sit in a dark ass school all day. Fuck that".
Huey couldn't prove anything. Jazmine tried to convince herself that as she pulled on the ends of her bright red t shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles with her palms. She glanced in the mirror. Other than her hair, she looked like a straight bum. Good. That's exactly what her parents would get for inviting a whole bunch of people she didn't even like to her birthday dinner.
Alright, so she did like Riley. And Mr. Freeman was perfectly fine.
But her snotty cousins and nosy Huey? On the real, they could carry their asses.
Jazmine started to walk out the room, pausing as she noticed a white envelope lying on the floor. She squinted at it, crouching down to examine it. Had that been there all afternoon? How had she not noticed it? Shrugging, she reached for it, touching it with the tips of her fingers.
Fire. There was fire, and it was everywhere.
"Run!" The man was shoving at the woman, his eyes wide. Her own eyes were filled with tears. "You have to leave! Before it's too late!"
She shook her head, her hazel eyes spilling over. "Matthew-"
"GO!"
She gave him one last tearful look, then turned on her heel, running away and never looking back.
Jazmine looked up to see the ceiling over her head. She took a deep breath, glancing around her room. She sat up, then flopped back down to the ground to get over the dizziness that seemed to smack into her like a freight train. "Whoa."
That…was weird. Jazmine blinked, her eyes narrowing. Was that vision brought on by touching something?
Whoa! Jazmine bolted up at that one. As a matter of fact…she'd gotten the vision about Riley after touching his locker that morning! Not only were her premonitions stronger, but…she could touch something to trigger one?
Geez. Her grandmother hadn't been kidding.
"Jazmine!" She heard her mother yell up the stairs. "Dinner!"
Jazmine pushed herself to her feet, her hand going to her head. They were stronger, alright. Stronger, and more painful.
"Coming!" She yelled, glancing at the still unopened envelope. Too scared to touch it again she slowly pushed it under her bed with her foot, deciding to open it after dinner. As she head out her room, she thought back to what she saw.
There'd been a cabin on fire. The people that had been around it, the two that she saw, had been dressed in old fashioned clothes. The colors…they'd been different. Older. As if what she saw had already happened. Did she really see something from the past?
That had never happened before. She paused on the steps, grimacing.
Hopefully, these new "quirks" were all that she'd get. As she jogged down the stairs, she couldn't help but think that there was more to come.
---
She was avoiding him.
He could tell. She didn't acknowledge him, except giving him a nod hello when she'd sat at the table. She talked to Cindy, who sat on one side, and Riley, who sat on her other side. She didn't look at him. If their eyes happened to meet she'd quickly look elsewhere. Homegirl was acting suspicious.
Well, good. Because he hadn't forgotten what he'd seen.
After Jazmine had left the classroom, Huey had been sent to make copies of the emergency contact information forms that their homeroom teacher had given out. So when he'd stepped into the hallway to see Jazmine on the floor, he'd started to go see if she was okay. But then she'd gotten up. And she ran away.
At first he'd shrugged it off as nothing more than her acting like a nutcase, until he'd seen her purse lying on the floor. So he'd scooped it up and, even though he usually didn't do that sort of thing, followed her. After all, what was so important that she'd forgotten her bag? Of course, when he'd gotten to the front steps and spotted her running across the front field to stop Riley from being hit, he thought she was running after him so that she could skip, too. But then, he'd seen the truck. He'd seen Riley not seeing the truck as he stepped into the street. And he'd seen Jazmine, who seemed to have known about the truck before it even came.
On one side, she'd saved his brother's life (even though Huey had ended up having to save her life in the process) and he should've been grateful for that. On the other side…
What the hell was going on with that girl?!
That was probably the only reason he hadn't objected when Grandad had told him and Riley that Sarah had invited them over for dinner. Just so he could get to the bottom of this.
"Man, where's da cake at?" Riley asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Cindy rolled her eyes.
"Did yo ass buy the cake?"
"Hol up, hol up." Riley gave her a look. "Excuse me. Was I talkin ta you?"
"Do I care if you were?" Cindy asked, flipping her hair. Druscilla and Demetria, Jazmine's cousins, snorted.
"Screw cake." Jazmine glanced at her parents. "Can I have my gifts?"
"You know," Robert Freeman said, pointing his fork towards an old framed picture on the wall. "She sure does look familiar."
"Really?" Sarah glanced at the picture as well. "That's my grandmother."
"Hmm." Grandad stroked his chin. "Could've sworn I knew her."
"Unless you were in Louisiana before 1924, then you didn't." She laughed. "I don't even think you were alive then!"
"Damn." Riley tore at his napkin. "Dat broad old."
"Boy!" Robert shook his head, sighing. "Louisiana, huh?"
"Yeah!" Tom set down his water, getting the excited look he got when he was about to tell a story. "Sarah's got an interesting family history."
"But I'm sure no one wants to hear about it, Tom," Sarah said in a dangerous voice. A dangerous voice he obviously missed, since he went on.
"Sarah's great-grandmother was an immigrant from Ireland," He said, staring at Robert. Everyone else looked between them. "She moved to New Orleans in 1899. In 1902 she moved to the bayou because it turned out she'd been with a black man and was exiled by the townspeople."
"So let me guess." Huey's tone was flat. "The man got lynched."
"Well…" Tom grimaced. "Yeah."
Huey rolled his eyes. "Figures. Well, my interest in this story's already gone-"
"Boy!" Robert said in his warning voice.
"Anyways," Tom went on. "Her daughter, Anya, was biracial. So-"
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Riley sat up straight, looking as if he were trying to keep from laughing. "So she-" He pointed to Sarah. "Her pasty, lily white, Casper ass is part black?!" He laughed. "What's next? Lebron James took ballet?"
"Riley, I swear-" Grandad started, but was cut off by Tom.
"Actually, Riley," He said, his elbow resting on the table. "Our entire country is made up of immigrants. Did you know that fifty eight percent of African Americans have at 12.5 European ancestry?"
"Nigga, I ain' white!"
Cindy giggled.
"But yeah." Tom shrugged, still not noticing Sarah's glare. "It was rumored that Sarah's great-grandmother practiced Witchcraft."
Huey's head shot up. Druscilla and Demetria rolled their eyes. Sarah sighed.
"Tom." She gave him a look. She seemed…worried? "Please."
He stopped. "Sorry." He glanced back at Robert. "She gets embarrassed about it for some reason." He shrugged. "I always thought it would be cool to be a descendant of Druids, but I guess that's just me."
"Druids?" Robert's face wrinkled. "Those them people that did all that…boy!" He glanced at Huey. "You're a walking encyclopedia. What the hell them Druids do?"
"Druids were an ancient Celtic people who were given their names due to being seen as wise," He said, sitting straighter in his chair. "They put emphasis on the importance of nature. It's rumored that they built Stonehenge and used it for rituals. It's also said that many of them were seers and practiced witchcraft."
"Mmm hmm. Yup." Grandad nodded. "That's them Druids for ya. Doin crazy shit…shoot, I met a Druid at Farm Fresh one day! Uh huh. Tried to cheat me out two dollars!"
"Grandad, that was a bagger named Havier." Huey rolled his eyes. "Druids lived before common era. They were last recorded in writing around the first century."
"Oh." Grandad scratched his head. "Hmm."
"I'll be back." Jazmine pushed away from the table, walking out the room. Huey's eyes narrowed.
She thought she was slick.
"I've…got to use the bathroom," He said, pushing his own chair back. No one paid any attention as he walked out the room, following Jazmine towards the back door. She opened it, stepping outside and closing it behind her. Huey yanked it open a few seconds later, stepping outside and slamming it shut behind him. She glanced at him from where she was leaning against the house, her phone out.
"How did I know," She breathed, rolling her eyes and turning away. "That you would follow me out here?"
"Damn right I followed you!" Huey snapped, glaring at her. "Jazmine! What the hell?"
"What the hell what?" Jazmine shot back, straightening and sticking her phone back in her pocket. She folded her arms over her chest. He squared his shoulders, not letting up.
"You push people out of the way of trucks you didn't even see coming."
"That thing was big as day! How the heck could someone not see it?"
"You know that someone's going to need a spare tire before it even blows out-"
"I was talking to you two-"
"You stopped me from getting hit by a truck that neither of us saw coming!"
"I did see it!"
Huey shook his head. "You're going to have to do better than that, Jazmine."
"Excuse me?" Jazmine snorted, her hand on her hip. "I don't owe you anything, Freeman. Especially not an explanation for being in the right place at the right time. I told you, I saw that truck that almost hit you coming. I was talking to Cindy, not you and Caesar. And I was chasing Riley to warn him that his teacher knew he was skipping." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Honestly. What is with you?"
What was with him? Why did he care so much? Huey stopped, contemplating. In his head, it had made so much sense for her to someone see all that coming. But what, she was a psychic? She saw the future? Yeah, right. How illogical was that? There was an explanation for everything. Coincidences were a possibility.
But that many? Somehow it didn't add up.
He shook his head. "You didn't see that truck the first day of school."
She laughed. "How are you going to tell me what I saw?"
"If you were so set on warning Riley about his teacher, then why would you leave your purse?" Huey asked. Jazmine shrugged.
"I was nervous! I forgot it!"
"What, do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, but you're sounding pretty irrational right about now!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Huey practically laughed. "Jazmine, I don't even need you to tell me! I already know!"
"Know what?"
He leaned forward, smirking at the way she seemed to shrink back, her eyes filled with a worry she probably thought he couldn't see. Oh, he was on to her. "There's something going on with you." His voice was low. "I may not be able to prove it. You might never admit it to me. But I don't need you to." He gestured towards the door. "All the proof I needed was in your mom's face."
"What?"
"Come on." Huey leveled her with a look. "Whatever you do, however you know "see" things…you're not the first one in your family who can."
Jazmine raised an eyebrow.
"Your mom looked ready to throw Tom out a window for talking about your family," He went on, crossing his arms over his chest. "Like she didn't want anyone to know. Like it would be bad if any of us did."
Jazmine's eyes narrowed into slits. "This…is none of your business," She said coolly.
Got one.
"If it's not important and I'm so off base," Huey replied in a nonchalant voice, shrugging. "Then why are you getting so defensive?"
Got one.
Jazmine's jaw loosened. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. She glanced away, suddenly finding a section of fence to be quite interesting.
"What I don't get," She said, sounding annoyed. "Is why you're taking it upon yourself to get in my business. Like you're trying to find some big, catastrophic secret." She turned her head back towards him, her fists clenched. "I don't bother you. I mind my own business. I saved your ass and your brother's. Why should it matter if-" She stopped, shaking her head and turning away. "Whatever. You're crazy. You're insane."
"No." His voice was hard. "I'm perfectly sane."
"Bullcrap." She glared at him again. "If you were so sane, you'd realize that there's such a thing as coincidences. If you were so smart, you'd go back to living your life and let me live mine, instead of trying so hard to get to the bottom of-"
"Bottom of what?" It took all his energy not to grin at her expression. "You keep saying it's no big deal, but then you jump on me for being so mistaken." He shrugged. "Did I touch a nerve?"
"No."
"Then what's the big deal about me asking you questions?"
"The big deal is that you just won't let it go!" Jazmine yelled, throwing up her hands. She let them drop again and gave him a look. It was as if she were pleading with him. "Please. Just let it go."
He shook his head. "No."
Her shoulders slumped. She sighed, shaking her head.
"Just admit it." He took a step forward, clasping his hands behind his back. He didn't take his eyes off of her. "There's something going on."
"No!"
"We both know it's true."
"There's nothing out of the ordinary going on!" Jazmine closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Let it go!"
Huey nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "Fine." He shrugged casually. "Okay."
Jazmine blinked. "Really?"
"Sure." His eyes narrowed. "Under one condition."
Jazmine looked wary.
"Answer one last question." He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to say something, most likely to tell him where he could shove his question."Just one."
She sighed, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot. She nodded slowly.
"Thank you." He took a deep breath, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "What did Riley get on his first math test?"
Jazmine made a face. That obviously wasn't a question she'd been expecting. "What?"
"Riley's math test." He shrugged casually. "How did he do? You are his tutor."
"Oh." Jazmine shrugged as well, not even putting much thought into her response. "He did pretty good. He got an eighty seven." She made a face. "It's probably only because he cheated off that girl beside him, but whatever."
Huey smirked. Jazmine gave him a look.
"But I don't see what that has to do with anything-"
"Jazmine." Huey shook his head. "Riley doesn't take his exam until tomorrow."
Jazmine's eyes narrowed, then widened in realization. "I-I meant his last test," She started, but Huey cut her off, laughing. There was no point in her even trying to make up excuses. He knew, and he could tell by the horrified look that fell across her face that she knew that he knew, and there was nothing she could do to fix this.
"There was no other test. This is going to be his first one." Huey shook his head, staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably in her spot. "I don't believe this. Are you kidding me?"
She looked away, not saying anything. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was so crazy, so ridiculous…how could anything like this even exist?
"Look." He gave her a look. "I usually don't believe things like this." Her eyebrow rose. "All those damn fortune tellers who don't know what the hell they're talking about, people who claim they have mystical powers in order to get over on others. It's just a big scam." He paused. "But I remember that time your dad got possessed when we were ten. I never thought things like that could happen either, but I watched it happen. So…" His voice trailed off and he shrugged. "If someone can be overpowered by an evil spirit, then I guess some people can see the future." He looked reluctant. "Well...maybe. That, or people are lucky guessers." He snorted at her. "Unless you have a better explanation to how you always know what's going to happen before it does, then this is the theory I'm going to stick to."
Jazmine shrugged. "Instinct?" She tried weakly. Huey rolled his eyes.
"Cute." He shook his head. "Try again."
She gave him a long, hard look. The air was still and silent around them. Finally, she closed her eyes.
"There are rules with this kind of thing," She said quietly, so quiet that he had to strain to hear her. "You can't just go around, talking about your abilities. No one's supposed to know." She glared at him. "You aren't supposed to know."
He didn't say anything.
"Fine. Fine." She looked aggravated. Extremely aggravated. "You caught me. I see what's going to happen before it does. It comes to me in my sleep, it comes to me when I touch things, it comes to me for shits and giggles. I see the future." She glared at him. "I'm a seer."
He snorted, shaking his head. "Unbelievable."
"Obviously it's not, since you were so quick to figure it out!" Jazmine clapped her hands together mockingly. "Congratulations! You found yourself a real life psychic." She rolled her eyes, spinning around on her heel. "You must be so proud of yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"You just couldn't leave me alone, could you?" Jazmine yelled, causing him to blink at her in surprise. "I tried to stay out of your way, tried to leave you alone just so I could keep it to myself! Do you know what could happen if this gets out?" She glared at him. His eyes narrowed.
"You must have me mistaken with your loud mouthed friend in there," He said sharply, pointing past her. "Because I'm not going to tell anyone."
"Yeah." Jazmine snorted. "Right."
"Yeah. I am right." Huey gave her a look. "What the hell do you take me for?"
"A mortal." Jazmine put her hands on her hips. "That's what I take you for. It's what you are. And it's what I'm not." She shook her head, twisting the doorknob. "It's only a matter of time before you screw up."
"Jazmine." Geez, he'd wanted to find out what was up with her, but he didn't want to upset her. He reached out, meaning to tug her back around by her arm. He accidentally swiped at her collar, tugging the golden chain that hung around her neck too roughly and breaking it. His eyes widened. Whoops.
Nothing like breaking a girl's necklace to improve her mood. Jazmine spun back around, her eyes widening when she saw him holding the locket.
"Give that back!" Her jaw dropped. "What is wrong with you?"
"It was an accident!" He snapped, examining the gold locket with curious eyes. Now that he thought about, he hadn't seen Jazmine without this thing ever since her grandmother died. It was always around her neck. Always. It looked pretty old. "So…what does this have to do with your powers?"
"Nothing," Jazmine said, a little too quickly. He glanced up at her, his eyebrows rising. She held out her hand, looking mad. "Now give it back."
Huey spotted the tiny latch on the left side of it, tapping it with his thumb curiously. "So, what's in it?"
"Don't," Jazmine said harshly. "I don't open it. Ever."
He gave her a look. "Why not?"
"Why should I?" Jazmine sighed. "Look. It's one of those things. Huey, just give me my necklace back."
"Okay." He hesitated. "Right after I open it."
Jazmine's eyes widened.
"No!" She shouted, but he'd already opened the clasp, glancing inside to see…well, nothing.
That was anticlimactic.
"There's nothing in here." Huey snorted. "Way to get all worked up over nothing-"
Boom.
His head whipped up to the sky as a sudden crash of thunder shook the ground underneath them, a bolt of lightning lighting up the sky so brightly it was as if the sun was out. The leaves and branches on the shrubbery around them started to move, then began to blow frantically in the wind, which was picking up by the second. Jazmine came up to stand beside him, her hair whipping in her face.
"What the hell's going on?" Huey shouted. Jazmine glared at him, pointing to the locket.
"I'll give you three guesses, you idiot-"
On the word "idiot", the wind suddenly died down and the sky darkened all over again. Everything around them seemed to fall back into its still, silent world, the clouds above their heads even quickly fading away to reveal a star filled sky, the twinkling lights prominent against the black drop. Huey took a deep breath, glancing at Jazmine, who suddenly yanked the locket away from his slackened grip, shaking her head.
"Way to go, Freeman." She turned on her heel, storming towards the back door. "Way to mess everything up-"
"Me?" Huey rolled his eyes. "What, I upset mother nature by opening your empty locket?" He snorted. "Please. If you think that then you must be crazy."
Jazmine paused in front of the back door, whirling around and pointing at him. "Just stay away from me," She said angrily. His eyebrow rose. "Don't talk to me." She gripped the doorknob. "Just leave me alone."
"Jazmine-"
She stormed inside, slamming the door behind her. Huey shook his head, glancing up into the sky again. Great. She was mad at him.
It wasn't like they were friends or anything like that…but her having visions explained a lot. Not to mention she didn't exactly get mad at too many people, so it was a bit unnerving to have her angry at him. Not like he'd ever admit it. He didn't even know why he cared about her being mad.
Okay, so he'd opened a damn necklace. He didn't see what the problem was.
Little did he know, he soon would.
Trying to keep Huey from getting OOC was RIDICULOUS. You know what else is ridiculous? Tell me why I googled Miss Cleo (I was bored, alright?!) and her birthday is the day before mine. Weak.
Thanks for reading! Ya'll know what to do with that green button.
And When I say you know what to do, I mean click it so you can REVIEW. Not ignore it. Meanies.
-Kelsey