Chapter 2
"Father Dominic" I said trying to get his attention, as I walked into his office.
"Awh, Jesse come in, come in" he ushered me.
"Father, I had another dream…about, HER" I blurted anxiously.
"The same one, or new one?" he asked, looking intrigued.
"It was a new one" I replied sheepishly.
"Well, Jesse I honestly don't know what to tell you. In the dream, can you still not see her face?"
"No, just her eyes. Green and radiant, like two sparkling emeralds" I answered.
"And still no name? Surely you know her name…at least by now"
"No, I just call her 'Querida" I said, smiling slightly.
"Well, what happened in the dream? You said it was a new one, correct?"
"Yes, it was a new one. We were hugging…outside of her house. The way she held me, it felt so…real."
"That's all? In the other dreams, you talked, and…well, did other things you said" he was being very careful with his choice of words. I knew why, too.
For months now this mystery girl, my 'Querida' had haunted my dreams, not that I really minded. She was wonderful, to say the least. Her laugh was infectious, and she was very intelligent. Not to mention, extremely attractive, well shape wise, seeing as how I can never really see her face. All I can see is her body, her hair, and her eyes. Her eyes were breath-taking. In my dreams I'd always get lost in her eyes, and even in my waking hours, her eyes plagued my thoughts. This woman, apparently my girlfriend whom I refer to as my 'Querida', was quite amazing. Why I called her 'Querida', was beyond me. I'd never called anyone that. I may not have much experience in the dating world, but I have had a few girlfriends, and never had I even considered calling them Querida.
Suddenly my happy thoughts of my 'Querida' were interrupted by Father Dominic: "Jesse, oh my look at the time, you should be heading off to homeroom. Wouldn't want you to be late on your first day as a senior." His expression assured me, of what I'd always suspected; Father Dominic was proud of me. And why not, I spoke to him more often than I spoke to my father, who was always away on business. Father Dominic was quite a mentor to me; always helping me develop my mediator abilities, and stay on top of my school work. Plus the counseling he's been giving me since about the eighth grade, when he discovered I could see and speak to the deceased.
I quickly said good-bye, and made my way out of his office. As I was leaving the main office all together I noticed my best friend, seated by the secretary.
"School hasn't even started yet, and you're already in trouble. Adam what did you do this time?" I questioned, amused by his predicament.
"Nothing, I just…I wasn't alone. CeeCee should be in here too. It's not like I can get caught making out by myself. Besides, we weren't you know, tongue wrestling, just kissing, a little" he admitted, blushing.
I chuckled, but then remembered I had to get to homeroom, so I quickly darted towards Mr. Ochoa's classroom.
I was only about 10 seconds late, so Mr. Ochoa just laughed and said he'd let it slide this once. As the announcements were being read, and roll taken my thoughts returned to my Querida. I hadn't noticed that homeroom was over until Mr. Ochoa came over and told me I'd better get to my first period. Mrs. Walker, the new AP Calculus teacher, was very strict and loved being in control. I sat next to Kevin, an acquaintance of mine from Student Council, and prepared for Mrs. Walker's lecture.
"Yo, Jesse. Dude, have you seen the new girl?" he asked, sounding a bit like a Muppet.
"What new girl?" I asked, a little surprised Father Dominic had failed to mention this new student.
"Oh, dude she's totally smokin'! I saw her show up with my man Brad, but that dumb ass didn't even glance in her direction, after they got out of his car. But yeah, she's fine!"
"Wait, Brad Ackerman?" I asked, suddenly very confused by his awkward speech patterns.
"Yeah, you know, he's on the wrestling team. And that one chick is always after him…Debbie something" Kevin answered.
"Oh, right" I replied.
After that Kevin finally stopped talking about this new girl, and I actually managed to take notes on Mrs. Walker's lecture. Right before class ended she passed back some worksheet packets to complete for homework, and then dismissed us to second period.
I immediately went to my locker, and then to find Adam for our next class.
"Jesse, you have to see the new chick!" he exclaimed, as we made our way to Mr. Walden's room.
"Wait, you've seen her? When?" I asked, truly baffled.
"Better. I met her. She's a total babe, plus she's got a wicked sense of humor" Adam bragged.
"When?" I asked again.
"This morning in the front office, like right after you le-"
"Adam!" a girl's voice called. She sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place her voice. Adam and I both turned around to see who could be calling his name so sweetly.
Gasp
'Querida?'
It was her, it had to be. Those curves, I could never forget. Her silky hair, swaying in the breeze. And then her eyes. My heart literally skipped a beat. She came over, sauntering, which made me long to touch her. She smiled at both Adam and I, before asking "Adam, can you help me find Mr. Walden's classroom? I have U.S. History next period, and I'm completely lost."
I stared at her in awe. 'She's here. I'm not dreaming, she's here!'
"Yeah, me and Jesse have that same class, come on I'll escort you" Adam said holding out his arm. She took his arm, and gave him a gracious smile, before turning to face me.
"Hi" she cheerfully said.
"Umm…hi" I responded. 'Great. Good job De Silva, that intelligent response will really woo her.'
She giggled a little, and held out her hand. "Suze, Suze Simon" she stated, very business-like.
I shook her hand, and tingled at the mere touch of her delicate hand. "Err- Jesse…De Silva. Jesse De Silva."
"Don't worry about him, he's normally a little nervous around pretty girls. But this, is quite a surprise, I don't think I've ever seen him so brain dead. Most be the oh-so-lovely company" Adam, teased.
I shot him a warning glare, but he didn't even flinch.
"It's nice to meet you, Jesse" she replied, smiling at me rather seductively, before letting go of my hand.
"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine." 'There you go! How did I think of that? Oh, well it was charming, and she's blushing. That must be a good thing."
She turned back towards Adam, and they started off to our next class. I trailed after them nervously, trying to calm my racing heart. 'It's her! Those eyes! It is definitely her. But…why have I been dreaming of her? Almost four months ago I had my first dream about her. Ever since that night, she's invaded my mind night and day. Her name, I finally had a name and a face to put with my image of her. Must be short for something though, Suze? I-"
"Yes?" she asked me as we walked into Mr. Walden's classroom. I looked at her, not quite understanding what had just happened.
"What?", was my ever-so-clever response.
"You said my name."
"I…I did?" I asked, thinking back. 'No, no I'd thought her name'. I looked right at her and thought it again; "Suze."
She gasped, and looked at me strangely, before Mr. Walden pulled her aside. I practically raced to an empty seat in the back, by the window. Adam sat in the next row to my right, and one desk ahead of me. Mr. Walden then introduced the class to Susannah. 'Susannah, such a beautiful name, it suits her perfectly.'
At that moment she blushed, and sat down in the desk in front of me. "Thank you" I heard seconds later in my head.
That's when I realized she could hear my thoughts. 'Nombre de Dios! This is NOT good! What if she heard me thinking about her when I first saw her.'
"Why, what were thinking?" came her sweet voice resounding in my head.
'Umm…nothing, just that…you're…well, you're very…no, the most…'
"I hope the ends of these sentences are good" she teased playfully.
"They are" I replied, sounding a little flirtatious.
"Oh really?" she questioned in an amused tone.
"Yes, I was thinking…well, I was thinking that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on." 'Oh God, she can hear that! It's too early for this kind of emotional stress. I need coffee.'
I heard laughing in my head, and then she replied, "Why thank you Mr. De Silva. You just made my day. And since I'm stressing you out so much, I'll buy you the coffee you so desire."
"Oh, no there's no need…you don't have to, really. I'll treat, and we can both get coffee. Deal?" I asked, again sounding rather flirtatious.
"Okay, sounds great. And just to ease your stressed mind, I can only hear the thoughts pertaining to me. So clearly you haven't mastered the art of blocking off your thoughts."
"How do I do that? And…how do you know how?" I asked try to sound calm and collected. While also attempting not to think of Susannah.
"Jesse, haven't you noticed how you can only hear my thoughts, when I'm communicating with you?" she asked, sounding very coy.
"Well, yes…sort of." I replied.
"I can assure my mind is almost never silent, but because I know how to block people from hearing my thoughts, all you hear is what I want you to" she said wisely.
"Well Master Jedi, can you teach me that thought blocking thing?"
She laughed again, only this time she let a little of it come out so everyone could hear. Adam looked over at me, eyeing my curiously. I simply shrugged my shoulders, and pretended to be listening to Mr. Walden.
"Maybe later, right now I'm rather enjoying your thoughts" she said, giving her hair a little flip.
'Great, I have to control my thoughts! Especially the ones about Susannah.'
"Suze" she corrected me.
"I think I prefer Susannah" I responded.
"Urgh, fine. But, you better play nice, or it changes to Suze, got it?"
"I can assure you, I will most definitely play nice with you."
'Nombre de Dios. I cannot believe I just said that.'
She laughed again, in my head, and then asked, "Hey Jesse…?"
"Yes Susannah?" I asked, loving the sound of her name.
"What's there to do here, you know, in Carmel? I mean do you just hang out at the beach all the time?"
"Well, one could go to the movies, hang out at the Coffee Clutch, visit the historical society's museum, or eat in one of the many fine restaurants Carmel has to offer. Why? Did you just move here or something?"
"Actually, yeah. I'm originally from New York, but my mom moved us out here to be with my new step-dad and step-brothers."
"Oh." 'So that's why Kevin saw her with Brad. So maybe, she is single! No. no way, I mean look at her! She probably has boyfriends galore.'
Again came her sweet laughter in my mind, followed by "Jesse, I do not have 'boyfriends galore', but thank you again for that wonderful compliment."
"Anytime Susannah, anytime" I said happily.
"So, you wouldn't be interested in showing me around Carmel, would you? I could use a tour guide" she asked, sounding very sexy.
"I'd love to. How about Friday?" 'Oh, did that sound too needy, or worse; clingy?'
"You're not clingy, but can we do it Saturday? I've kinda got something going on Friday. You know if you're busy though, it's okay."
"Saturday is perfect" I cheerfully replied. 'But what she said about having something on Friday, made me a little anxious. I tried to rationalize, but I kept thinking about how all the boys were talking about her, and looking at her. Of course she has a date, what else could it be? Did I really think I had a chance with her? Sometimes, I think too much of myself, how could sh-'
"Jesse, relax. I've got dance practice on Friday 'till six. And, don't worry, you've got a chance" she cooed, very seductively.
"Really!" I asked, suddenly perking up.
She laughed again, and said "Yeah, don't put yourself down. I can assure you, you're on the top of my to-do-list."
I blushed, thinking about how I could interpret that, and then I heard, "Oh, God. Did I really just think that? Oh, God! 'To-do-list'?"
This time I laughed, and replied, "Actually I meant about the dance part, but thank you, I'm honored to even be noted on your to-do-list…So, what do you dance? Like what type of dance?"
"I…I'm taking a hip-hop class as like a refresher" she answered, suddenly very shyly.
"Wow, do you think I could watch you sometime" 'Oh no that was definitely clingy.'
"If you want, I'm not exactly pro" she said, shyly again.
"Don't be humble, you're probably great."
"Alright class, I'm passing out your homework. These worksheets cover the reading on pages 8-21, and you can complete these in groups of two, which I will be selecting" stated Mr. Walden
Luckily he was just pairing people up within their rows, so Susannah and I were paired off. She turned around in her desk, and smiled at me.
"Well, I guess we better get together after school to do these" she said, sounding a bit playful and flirty.
I smiled back at her, and suggested we do them in the library since my sisters would never allow us to study in peace. She seemed to find this interesting and we began talking about our families. Me, being the only son, and oldest had the responsibility of watching over all five of my younger sisters. Susannah, looked genuinely interested in my family, especially when I described all of my sisters. Her family was quite interesting as well, and I became a bit happier when she shared a little secret with me: "I have nick names for all my step-brothers" she said, looking around cautiously. "David, the youngest is Doc, Brad is Dopey, and Jake is Sleepy" she admitted giggling slightly as she told me.
"Dopey? Well, it certainly suits him."
"Well, why don't you just come over to my house. My mom and step-dad are still on their honeymoon, and my step-brothers all have stuff to do. Besides, my house is only like 2 miles from here" she insisted.
'She's asking me to go home with her? To her home! Her empty home! Nombre de Dios. Don't think about it, she doesn't mean it like that. She's just being nice.'
"Umm…okay, but you have to let me drive."
"Deal" she gleefully replied, and then mentally added; "Maybe, I do mean it like that, and…I am always nice."
I swallowed hard, and couldn't help but grin like an idiot. That's when I realized Adam was staring at Susannah and me with a slight gleam in his eye. He smiled at us before heading off to meet with CeeCee.
"Come on, I'll walk you around, so you can get a feel of the school. We've got a 30 minute break anyway, and I believe I promised you coffee" I said holding out my arm, as Adam had done earlier. She blushed a little, but gathered up her things and took my arm.
As I walked around with her on my arm, I could sense the looks I was getting. 'Most of the guys would wonder what 'the new girl' was doing with me. But I didn't care, I was happy to receive all those jealous glares, because Susannah was on my arm, not theirs'.'
"Hey Jesse, I have a quick question" Susannah said, blushing a lot now, and pulling me very close to her. Again I swallowed hard, but replied, albeit shakily, "Sure ask away."
She give my arm a slight squeeze, and stopped walking. Suddenly I was getting lost in her eyes, and then she pressed herself close to me, making me tingle in pleasure. Somehow my arms snaked around her waist, pressing her even closer to me. 'I'm going to need an ice cold shower after this.' She laughed, but then asked me a question that made my blood freeze; "Jesse, are the man of my dreams?"