Chapter 18 – The 'Big Picture'

In that instance, every nerve cell in my body went on red alert. Teachers never checked the gym for students in the morning since it was known that students could use it for free, whether they were on a sports team or just wanted to work out. The only way we could have been seen was if we were spotted through the locked double doors, but even looking through those from the hall wouldn't have been sufficient enough to spot us. My heart was racing and a cold sweat caked the back of my neck. Great, now I have to add this to the list of things to worry about: the Voice, Fang and his invisibility, James and his blindness, being afraid of getting caught.

Despite how scared I was, that was amplified by like a million for James. Not only would he be afraid of getting caught for the stink bomb, but he couldn't see. The thought of getting suspended and losing his sight permanently was a double whammy.

"How do you know?" I asked him, slightly panicked. If he was blind, then how did he know that someone was coming? I mean, I heard that when you lose one of your senses all the others enhance, but this happened like three seconds ago. It wouldn't kick in that quick, would it?

"I… I can't really explain it," he said in a small voice. "But I can see someone through the walls."

What the -?

The boys' locker room door opened slowly. James and I flinched as if we were being electrocuted. This was it. We held our breath as a tall figure stepped out of the door. Some hackneyed cliché like "it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop" applied in this situation.

The man who entered was someone I'd never seen before. He was dressed like a mobster straight out of the 40's with a sleek pin-striped suit. A vibrant red tie peeked out with a simple white oxford. His thick dark brown hair was slicked back over his structured face. Keen blue eyes observed the two of us with a sort of regal grace as opposed to having an evil luster of someone catching two teens doing naughty things. I hated to say that this man was gorgeous, because if I were to swoon him now I wouldn't be able to keep up my defensive plan.

Keep calm, the Voice interjected.

Thanks, I said in half sarcasm and half gratitude.

The gorgeous man sauntered toward us with a raised eyebrow. I squeezed James's hand, trying to get him to ease up. If he was going to be tense he was gonna blow our cover as soon as it started.

"Classes are going to begin soon," the man said in a melodic voice. I gulped, but I cocked a brow at him too; I wasn't going to show any sign of weakness. "Lingering around here makes me suspect that you were trying to skip first period."

"No," I said, planting my hands against my hips and trying to make myself look bigger. "I thought I left something in the girls' locker room, but then I thought I might have brought it in the gym by accident. I asked my friend to help me look for it." I gestured to James who was trying very hard to not to bolt in the other direction.

I smacked his arm to get him to say something. "Oof! Oh, I mean, yeah. She left her gym shirt here." He tried smiling but it looked strained. Not to mention that he wasn't even looking directly at the man. I mean, I knew he couldn't see, but let's not make it any more obvious that we're lying our socks off!

The man nodded to himself for a moment. "Well, if you did leave your shirt here, Miss, I think it would have been taken to the lost and found. If you'd like I could check for you."

"Um, no thanks," I said with a false grin in place. "Like you said, we need to get to class. I'll go check in between periods. So thank you Mr.… uh, I didn't get your name."

He smiled, one that would break the heart of any male model. "I'm Mr. Darnell. I'm on the Board of Directors for the school district and I came by to give Chester Nimitz High a look-over."

"Well, thanks Mr. Darnell." I honestly had no idea who this guy was. Like, I knew we had a School Board and all, but usually all the members are like graduates from PTA or something. This guy couldn't be any older than twenty-five.

I was about to grab James's hand again when he suddenly gasped. I stared up at him in shock. For a moment his eyes seemed very out of focus, but then they returned to normal. And when I say normal, I mean not glassy or glazed or hazy or anything of that sort. The way he was looking around, with extreme relief and an almost greedy satisfaction, I could tell that he could see again. His eyes suddenly found Mr. Darnell and they widened in shock. Huh? I wonder what this was about.

Mr. Darnell studied James, like this was the first time he was really looking at him. The look on his face was slightly curious and held some scrutiny with it. There was a glint of something I couldn't detect there too.

"Okay, see you around," I said, glad that we were going to make a clean get away. James muttered a gruff farewell to the School Board member. We rushed through our separate locker rooms and met just outside in the halls.

"What the hell happened in there?" I asked him in a low, serious voice. It wasn't every day that a person goes momentarily blind.

He seemed shaken. "I… I don't know. We were going to leave and then suddenly I couldn't see a thing. Well, I couldn't see anything around me…" He pursed his lips in consideration of his words.

Please, not again. I was really getting tired of the supernatural. I thought none of that stuff existed. Before you know it we'll see vampires and werewolves running around the streets! "What do you mean you couldn't see around you? James, what's going on?"

He looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I couldn't… see anything directly in front of me. Like you were gone, and the gym, the walls. Everything around me I couldn't see. But… I'm not sure, but I thought I could see through my surroundings."

It took a huge effort on my half to keep things light and joking, even though I was panicking on the inside. "I hope you weren't looking through me."

He rolled his eyes, and I was relieved to see he still had his humor. "I couldn't see through you, although if I could I wouldn't dare; you'd punch me again. But I could see people moving behind the walls, in the hallway. And I saw Mr. Darnell coming through the locker room."

My eyes widened. "You what?" Oh yeah, that's eloquence there for ya folks!

"I think I can see through walls."

"Well, remind me to never let you pass by the girls' room again." I tried joking but my mind was reeling. Why do things like this keep happening?

I told you before, Max, everything is a part of the big picture, the Voice said. It's for you to figure out how that picture is supposed to be put together.

So you mean that both Fang and James are a part of that picture? I asked it. I rubbed my forehead, getting annoyed with this whole 'big picture' crap. Why do you keep bringing this up? Why is everything happening to me? Why now?

You have a purpose, Max. Your destiny is what the big picture is based upon. How you deal with these situations is only a small test to what you'll face later on in life. When you complete your purpose.

Ugh, shut up! You sound like Jeb.

"Max?" Up until then, I hadn't realized that James had said my name several times. The Voice always seemed to distract me at the worst times.

"Yeah?"

"You don't believe me, do you?" He sounded a little worried, kind of like how I did when I talked to Fang last night.

"Of course I believe you. There's no way I could doubt it from how you were acting. It was clear that something was up." I smiled reassuringly at him, hoping he would see that I was being honest.

He smiled in return. His shoulders seemed less taut and straightened out a bit in confidence. "Okay, good. Oh, by the way, did you know who that Mr. Darnell guy was? I never saw him before in my life."

Oh, my God. I wasn't the only one. "I know! I had no idea who he was either. Aren't the Board of Directors supposed to be old retired men? He seemed like he just stepped off a runway instead of a golf course." I would have to ask my mom later about him.

The bell rang, making my eardrums vibrate painfully. Like the rest of the school, those bells were definitely obsolete ten years ago.

"See you around," I said to James, and then I grinned. "I'll be expecting something huge to happen in fifteen minutes."

"Does anyone know what war Chester Nimitz fought in?" Miss Wesley, our History teacher, asked as she walked around the perimeter of the room. Her stern gaze met the eyes of every student in the class. She may have graduated from college during the summer, but she was strictly no nonsense unlike most new teachers.

He fought in both World War I and II, but was mostly known for his ingenuity in leading the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Fleet against Japan in World War II. He was given the office of Chief of Naval Operations in 1918, and then later was entitled as the Commander and Chief of the U.S. Pacific fleet in 1941. He led the Allies to victory in the Battle of Coral Seas, Battle of Midway, and Solomon Islands Campaign.

Thanks, Voice, I thought. I raised my hand boldly, like it had been shot out of a pistol.

"Yes, Max," our teacher acknowledged.

"He fought in both World Wars but was known mostly for World War II."

Hey, Voice, will you help me cheat on tests? Or is studying a part of the 'big picture'? I laughed mentally, but sighed when it didn't respond. I was taking that as a 'no'.

"Very good," she said brusquely. "Now, we're skipping ahead in our textbooks because Homecoming is only a couple weeks away, and I wanted to spend time learning about the famed admiral that our school was named after. Expect a test in two weeks…" I tuned her out after a while. I was caught up in how wild her hair was; it was like a jungle. Did she keep her cell phone in there? Or maybe her car keys… Hopefully she kept her money there instead of a more private area.

Her rambling was interrupted by a monotone hum that sounded through the room, signaling that an announcement was about to be made. "Will the janitorial staff please report to the gymnasium… immediately?" The secretary sounded extremely annoyed, and I was cheering on the inside. I had made a special point not to be clock-watching in class. People might notice that I was doing it prematurely, but then again some students started checking the time a minute after class began. I wanted to celebrate, but then I realized that I had no friends in this class, and also that doing so would totally give me away.

A stream of students appeared outside of the door window, holding their noses and looking very disgusted. I held in my laughter. James was a genius! If he used his powers for good instead of evil, he could probably event a machine that would end, like, world hunger or something.

Plant the seed in his mind, Max. I swore I heard the Voice laughing at its pun. This is the kind of thinking you should be doing instead of having fun.

What? Are you saying that I can't enjoy myself even a tiny bit? I'm only fourteen, you know.

I thought I heard it sigh.

A steady murmur picked up among my classmates at the sight of the scurrying gym students. Some thought that a kid threw up, while others wondered if a water pipe blew in a locker room, causing the gym to be flooded. Despite all their wrong assumptions, it was definitely causing an uproar.

Then a heart stopping announcement came over the intercom.

Our principal, who we only saw for orientation - after that any disciplinary actions were dished out by the VP's - came over the loud speaker, sounding very serious and outraged. "Will the culprit or culprits behind the stink bomb please report to the Principal's office or we'll be forced to call the police to run an investigation."

Well, that really put a hamper on my good mood.

Yah! 14 reviews last chapter!!! You guys rock! So a big shout out goes to bookwurm96 for being the 100th reviewer!!!! So you can put down your pitchfork, although seeing the way I ended this one you might take it out again. :P But more importantly, you win the opportunity to meet Mojo - or if you just want cookies, I understand. I can poke one through each spike on your pitchfork. Mojo is a little shy.

Mojo: No I'm not

Me: yes, you are. if you want to prove me wrong, go up to bookwurn96 and introduce yourself

Mojo: ...

Me: That's what I thought.

Turtle787, I think I saw that episode of Wifeswap, too. I don't know why but I'm oddly addicted to the show. Anara Celebvilya, Max is a little more angsty only because she has never had to be a leader of anything except for bossing around Fang on the farm. Once she gets into that position (Me: :X), she'll be a little more reprimanding. Besides, it's not like it's an actualbomb. :D 123-Cat-Cat-321, I can give you a cookie any way for warning me about Mojo. This is what I get for leaving bobbypins on the ground. But, alas, he is still safely restrained, so I have full rein over him. *Rubs hands together evily* Blissful-x-Optimism, that's only a little creepy. ;) Nah, I'm flattered really. And I do want to write a novel, but refer to the A/N from last chapter to read my problem with that. You're welcome for the quesidilla (speaking of which, I'm starving XD), and that Michael Jackson thing is strange.

So to explain James's power, he can become 'blind' to things around him in order to see through those same things. It's like x-ray vision... almost. Like if he were to be looking through walls, he wouldn't be able to see a person sneaking up on him if they were in the same room. It's a little confusing, I know, but it's different. BTW, I need a way for him to get Iggy as a nickname. I have some ideas, but if anyone wants to offer some advice I'd love to use it!

Please Review!!!