The next day, I woke up, showered, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and headed to school. I might have spent a little extra time on my hair, since it was completely possible my path would cross with Lucas' again in between classes. However, each time I headed to my locker, I failed to see any sign of him. Why was I even looking? He would never ask me out, not with all the other, prettier girls in the school. Like that Rachel, or even her friend Melissa, but then again, Melissa was the vice principal's daughter, which immediately put fear into any guy who might want to ask her out. There were also rumors that Rachel had a boyfriend, or something, but no one ever saw her with anyone at school, other than Melissa, or her other friend, Cassie. I had also heard that Rachel had tried to break a guy's fingers for copping a feel, so maybe guys were afraid to approach her, too.
That, of course, did not immediately mean guys would start flocking to me. There was also Brittany, and her clique. Oh, and Kassidy. She had her own little gaggle of friends who seemed only to exist for Kassidy's whims. I was not one of those people. Every time I was anywhere near Kassidy, she seemed to see right through me, or past me, or however you would describe someone not really noticing furniture. So, when it happened, it caught me totally off guard. I had just opened my locker.
"So, you like Lucas?" I turned around, a thousand percent confused that Kassidy was not only standing right behind me, but was also talking to me.
"Uh, I…" was all I managed to get out of my mouth.
"I saw how you looked at him yesterday," Kassidy continued. "So, you don't have to deny it. I think it's totally awesome!" My bewilderment at this entire situation kept me speechless, so Kassidy went on. "Don't worry, I happen to think you two would be the perfect couple!" She made one of those exaggerated gasps. "You guys might even have time to get voted in as Prom King and Queen!" That little bit of pure fantasy helped snap me out of whatever mode I was in.
"I've never even talked to him," I said, "except for apologizing for walking into him yesterday. We're definitely not together, and there's a greater chance of the dark side of the moon coming around to face Earth than there is of me and Lucas getting together, especially in time to be Prom Royalty." I went back to fishing for the books I needed for my next class, expecting Kassidy to walk away, and stop playing whatever game this was. However, she simply turned slightly, and leaned up against the locker to my left.
"What if I told you there's a way for you to get loads of time to talk to him?" she said, staring at her nails, which were expertly manicured.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "Is this some sort of joke?"
"No joke," Kassidy said, sounding sincere. "I saw you and Lucas yesterday, and I thought, 'Perfection!' So, today, I'm offering help. Call me a matchmaker!"
"Okay, say I'm buying any of this. What is this 'way' I can get 'loads of time' to talk to Lucas?" Kassidy reached in her purse, and pulled out a card, slightly bigger than a business card. It was dark, with stars on it, like the night sky, and glowing words spelling out "The Sharing." On the flip side were days and times of meetings, all at the new community center.
"Lucas love love loves The Sharing!" Kassidy said excitedly. "I've seen him almost every time I've gone. He's really into helping out the newer members. He showed me around for awhile, but I got the hang of it real quick. If you play your cards right, he'll 'help' you for as long as you need, and then you could always invite him for a coffee or something!" I kept looking at the card, half expecting it to be something Kassidy had mocked up, except it matched the poster Mr. Chapman had tacked up on the school bulletin board.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked again. "No offense, but you've never come across as someone who would care one way or the other about me."
"That's the thing about The Sharing," Kassidy said. "It totally changes your perspective on things. It totally changes your life!"
Well, I have to give Kassidy credit. There were no lies in what she said. She just did not mean it the way I thought she had.
According to the card, there was a meeting the following evening. Somehow, I found myself waiting outside the community center, feeling totally out of place. I was just about to go home, when I heard Kassidy squeal my name.
"Shana!" She rushed over to me. "You came!"
"Actually, I think I'm just gonna head home…"
"Nonsense!" Kassidy grabbed hold of my arm, and pulled me inside.
There were several people partaking in a variety of activities. Board games, ping pong, basketball, all sorts of things. Various ages, too, and well mixed. Adults playing with kids, teens, as if they did it all the time.
"Is there a sign-up sheet, or something?" I asked.
"No," Kassidy replied. "Nothing like that. You just come, and have fun. Once in a while we do community outreach activities, but even those are totally voluntary. There's no leaders, no hierarchy. Just people getting to know each other, and not letting things like age, race, social status, income, anything, get in the way." Deep inside, I liked the way it sounded, but a part of me sensed it was not as idyllic as Kassidy made it seem. "Ooh! There's Lucas. I'll make myself scarce, so he won't think I'm helping you!" Before I could say anything, Kassidy disappeared into the stream of people entering the center. I looked around, feeling totally out of place. Again, I was just about to bail when suddenly Lucas was standing in front of me. I did not even see him walk over. A blonde girl, maybe college age, stood with him.
"Shana, right?" Lucas asked, and I felt my insides melt hearing him say my name.
"Yes," I said, my voice sounding hoarse and scratchy.
"I've seen you around school. I'm Lucas," he said unneccessarily. "This is Taylor." The blonde smiled at me, and I smiled back, but had to force myself to. There was something about this Taylor that just felt...off. She may have been drop dead beautiful, the kind of pretty supermodels aspire to be, but there was just some air about her that said, "Be careful."
"I'll leave you to show her around," Taylor said, sounding exactly like any your typical Barbie wannabe. However, it also sounded like she was issuing an order. I felt a sense of relief as Taylor walked far away from us.
"I take it she's your boss?" I asked. Lucas shook his head.
"No bosses here. I mean, there's a couple of people who are 'in charge,' like dealing with government red tape and all, but other than that, everyone is the same." Basically the same spiel Kassidy gave. I still was not buying it. There was always someone, somewhere up the food chain to pass the buck.
Suddenly, all other thoughts immediately evacuated my brain as Lucas took my hand, and started to lead me around. He introduced me to a few other people, showed me where some more activities were being held in other rooms. One room was set up with quite possibly the largest TV I ever saw, and a handful of people were watching a movie, muncing on popcorn. Another room had a few TV's set up, along with all the latest video game systems. I began to wonder where, exactly, The Sharing got its funding.
"Come along," Lucas said, smiling that intoxicating grin of his, "there's something I want to show you. Something really special." He led me down a hallway. The farther we went, the quieter it got. All the sounds of the people playing and talking became increasingly subdued.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Normally, only Inner Members are allowed back here," Lucas said.
"Inner Members?"
"They're the 'in charge' people I mentioned earlier. They're the ones that get things done."
"Sounds an awful lot like a hierarchy to me…"
"I guess in some ways," Lucas admitted, "but they never lord it over you. They never go up to anyone and say, 'I'm an Inner Member! You must do as I say!' Plus, anyone can become and Inner Member. You, me, anyone. No matter who or what you are."
"I'm sure I'll have to come here a few more times before that," I said, "even if I was interested. They'd never make anyone an 'Inner Member' on their first night in the door." Lucas shrugged. Just then, and man rounded the corner. Visually, there was nothing particular about him. He mostly looked like a generic business office type. However, similar to Taylor, there was something invisible that sent chills to my very core. It was worse than Taylor, she just seemed sort of fake. This guy was...dark. That is the only way I could describe him. It was like someone had given bodily form to darkness.
"What are you two doing back here?" the man demanded. For a second, Lucas almost looked as if he were going to stand at attention, but he relaxed again so quickly, I thought I might have imagined it.
"This is Shana, Mr. Visser," Lucas explained. "She just joined us tonight, and I was showing her around." Lucas also used my last name. This Mr. Visser stood there, almost glaring at Lucas, then he slowly nodded.
"Good, good. Excellent," he said, and I felt a little nauseous. "I hope you enjoy being in The Sharing," Mr. Visser said to me directly. "I guarantee you, it's like nothing else on Earth." Lucas and I stood where we were, and waited until Mr. Visser had gone on his way.
"Wanna see something neat?" Lucas asked suddenly, and he started pulling me down toward the end of the hallway. At first, I thought it was a dead end, but when we reached the end, I saw that the last few feet of the floor were missing. It almost looked like an elevator shaft, but without any of the equipment. "This is some of the latest technology!" Lucas exclaimed. My heart dropped straight to my feet as Lucas stepped off the edge. However, instead of plummeting to his death, he just hovered there.
"What the…?"
"It's called a 'dropshaft.' All you have to do is think about what floor you want to go to, and you float up or down to it!"
"I don't understand…"
"Come on, I'll show you," Lucas said. Despite the fact that he was still floating in midair, I had serious doubts about joining him. However, that gorgeous smile filled his face, and he winked as he held out his hand. I reached out, placed my hand in his, and felt absolutely giddy as he wrapped his fingers around mine. He pulled me gently into the gap, and I could not believe I did not instantly fall to my death.
"This is...beyond words!" I said.
"You haven't seen anything yet," Lucas said excitedly. "Now, all you have to do is think about what floor you want to go to. We're heading down to the basement, so just concentrate on 'bottom floor.'" I did as I was told, and felt myself begin to descend. Not so quickly as to feel like a freefall, but fast enough to tell you were actually moving. I was quickly becoming overwhelmed by everything that was happening, particularly by the fact that Lucas was still holding my hand, just like we were dating or something. My heart surged at the thought that maybe, just maybe, we might become a couple. He did seem to be showing me places newcomers normally did not go. I hoped this meant he liked me, a lot.
How gullible could I have been?