Ch. 2
She shrugged. "Bueno. Well, anyways..." Athena's voice trailed off. She gave Tommy a devilish smile & raised an eyebrow. 'Kiss me Tommy...' she told him without a word. He heard her & started coming closer. He tilted his a little. 'Oh my God!! Lori!! Tell me I have something on my face...NOW!!' I demanded silently. "Oh, you have something on your face...there we go. It's gone" he obeyed.
"Hey Tommy." Lori said as she kissed his cheek. "Hi Athena." she turned to her. As all this was happening, Tommy was wondering what came over his mind just a minute ago. He blinked & shook any thoughts away. "AHHHH!! HELP!!" they heard somebody scream across the hall. It was TnT stuffing Merton into a locker. 'Tell them this: Watch it chunky!! I'm gonna bite you!!' He did just that. "Whoa there Dingle. You're getting away easy today. But only 'cos you're acting kinda strange." Tim said. "TNT RULE!!" they did the one & only stomach slap. Merton walked over to the gang.
"Did those words just come outta my mouth?!?!" he asked astounded at his 'new' ability to bad mouth somebody. "Well Merton, sometimes you just have to be in a situation." Athena said. He whimpered at her blotches of skin. "Maybe you're right." he said while he pulled the ol' yawn & put the arm around the girl trick. Athena didn't mind. Before anything else could happen. The bell rang.
"Uhh, can someone help me here. I dunno where my English class is." Athena said. "Oh sure. I'm going there myself. C'mon." her & Tommy walked off to class. They didn't even look back to say see ya later. "That's strange. I think he's falling for her." Lori sadly stated. "Uhh, yea. It does kinda seem weird. But Lori. What about us??" Merton asked. Lori closed her eyes as they got to class. "You're right. If he wants it his way. He'll get it his way." she said. They sat down in their math class.
Tommy & Athena walked into Ms. Johnson's English class. Athena walked over to her desk. "Hello I'm..." she never got to finish. "Ms. Johnson, this is Athena Duque. She's new here. And I'll, take care of catching her up in our notes from yesterday." Tommy said. He sounded very sure of himself. In the middle of his statement, he snaked his arm around her waist. 'Oh my God!! He has his arm around my waist!! Ay Dios mio!!' Athena thought to herself. Ms. Johnson looked at her slip, then at her, & then at Tommy. "Well, Miss. Duque, you may take a seat where ever you like. And, thank you Tommy for taking your time."
By this time, the whole class was already there. More whistles & cheers were heard as Athena looked around the class. She looked at Tommy & he motioned with his head for her to follow him. "Way to go Dawkins!!" came a voice to his right. A fellow football player. He tossed a football to him. When Tommy realized the ball hadn't reached his hands, he looked over at Athena. She was rolling the ball in her hands. "Hey Dawkins, she's a keeper!!" came another voice. "You in the back!! Heads up!!" Athena yelled to the football player in the back. She threw the ball in a perfect spiral. He caught it & threw it back. She handed it over to Tommy who tossed it to the first guy that started this whole thing.
They walked over to their seats in the middle of the classroom. Tommy leaned into her very closely. "Athena, you are so amazing. I think I'm fallin' for ya." he declared. She smiled. "I've already fallen for you." she said as a matter of fact. He gave her a look that asked 'Really??'.
* * *
After school that day, as Tommy & Athena walked to The Lair, they found a book lying on the floor. Athena picked it up & read: Spells to Unleash Demons. "This looks interesting." Tommy said. Athena opened the book & all of a sudden this gust of wind blew past them. The pages in the book flipped. Then the wind stopped. They looked down at the book & Tommy read a spell. "This is a bunch of crap. I don't know what the frick Merton does with these spells. We'd better get it back to him." he said. They finally arrived at The Lair.
In the trees by where they had been, came a pair of red eyes. "Hey guys, what's up??" asked Merton. "Hey." Tommy & Athena said in unison. Lori was very hurt by what her eyes & mind were telling her. Even though she & Merton were sorta dating, she felt very bad. She didn't like Merton much. Not like that anyways. She had always really liked Tommy. 'Great, they even sound cute together!!' she yelled at herself. Tommy fished out the book he found on the ground. "Hey Merton, I think you dropped this on your way here." he handed Merton the book.
He examined the book. He opened it & flipped through the pages. Then slowly, he closed the book. His mouth rested on his hand. "Tommy, you didn't happen to read anything from this book did you??" Merton asked, knowing what was about to come. Tommy shrugged. "Yea, but it's not like it made any sense. Why??" he asked. Merton made a shocked look & ran his hands over his face. "TOMMY!! No offense but...YOU IDIOT!! Can't you read?!?! Wait, don't answer that. Look at the cover. Spells to Unleash Demons!! That couldn't of been made any clearer!!" Merton yelled as he grabbed Tommy by the shoulders & shook him.
Tommy's eyes started to glow & his fangs started to sharpen. Lori caught this & decided to speak up. "Uhh guys?!?!" she pointed to Athena with her head. Although she didn't notice 'cos she was busy playing with Rasputen. "Hey there, you're a beautiful snake. C'mere" she spoke to it & put it around her neck. Merton realized that she liked the snake & let go of the subject for a minute. "Hehe, you like snakes?? His name's Rasputen. You're welcome to..." he was cut off. "MERTON!!" Lori & Tommy yelled.
Lori walked over to a shocked Athena. "Uhh, let's go outside. I don't like to hear the guys yell. Plus, we should catch up!!" Lori grabbed her arm & took her & Rasputen outside. "So, how's life??" she was gonna keep Tommy if it was the last thing she did. So Lori started out with simple questions. Athena took the snake from around her neck & out in front of her. "Good I guess. The guys here seem to like me. But it's not like it matters if they do or not. They're just waiting in line to try to win me. I'm not a door prize!!" She put her free hand over her mouth realizing she got carried away.
Lori nodded sarcastically. "I'm glad to hear. Umm, I actually brought you out here to talk about something very important." she stopped hoping she had her friend's attention. Her friend. She didn't feel like they were friends anymore. Athena looked away from the snake. "What?? I'm listening. I don't listen with my eyes." she said to Lori. "Well, you do know that Tommy is my boyfriend right??" Lori asked. If Athena had moved back to Pleasantville a month ago, she wouldn't of minded much if Tommy fell for her. But it was a month later, so she did mind. "Duh, you told me. Ay mamita, I don't forget that easily." Athena said as she smiled. She knew what was coming. Mamita is a Spanish word for girl. Athena always incorporated some Spanish into her sentences.
"I hope you don't forget. Listen, I'm not pointing fingers, but Tommy seems to be going after you. Is there something I should know about??" Lori asked. Athena sighed & looked down. Lori's heart sunk. She was not liking the look on her face. "Lori, I'm disappointed in you. I thought you knew me better than that." she softly smile. Lori let out the air she'd been holding. "Yea, he is hott & I sometimes fantasize about being his girlfriend. But, I'm not doing anything to him. He has a good head on his shoulders & doesn't need anyone to tell him who or what to go after." She was making sense but...it was true. She wasn't doing anything to him.
He was...let's put it this way...a lone wolf. She wasn't making up his mind for him. She was just flirting like always. But it wasn't anything special. She was just real good at it. And it seemed to change his heart's choice of girl. Tommy was seriously falling for Athena. On account that she's beautiful, smart, & has a great personality. And there was something about her. She had this really sensitive vibe to her. A vibe that anybody could get used to.
Lori kicked herself for thinking that. "I'm sorry for assuming that you were doing something. Listen, umm, if there's a turn in fate & Tommy does seem to like you more, it's ok. I don't think we're gonna work out. That's what I get for giving him a second chance." Lori told her. She was so telling the truth. Athena looked astonished. Rasputen became a coiled oblivion. "Uhh, I don't know what to say...umm. Aya yai. Thanks I guess." she felt horrible. She felt like all her want for Tommy was gone. Not 'cos she felt un attracted from him. God help her, he was all that & a bag of chips.
But Lori had touched her with her words. If he did end up liking her more than Lori, she would definitely go with him. But she'd have to keep her flirting to a minimum. If she could. This wonderful guy made her senses go haywire. Her whole body was alert. Especially her telepathic power. She wanted to know exactly what Tommy was thinking about her. So far, she really liked what he thought. And she would like it even more.