• The mysterious cat didn’t move-it let me pet it. I moved my hand down its back. Its midnight fur was soft. I moved my hand slowly and started to scratch it behind the ears. It purred softly and closed its eyes. I smiled to myself and looked to see if the cat had any kind of identification. All I saw was a silver chain around its neck- a necklace of some kind. I continued to examine it and realized it was male.
    “Tess?” I heard a woman’s voice shout from downstairs.
    I panicked. What would my mom think when she saw me petting a strange but beautiful cat? I heard a quick scratching sound and realized that the cat had squeezed back outside. I laughed when I saw that he was trying to close the screen with his paws. I closed it for him and he ran off right when my mom entered the room.
    “Hello mom! What’s up?” I asked with a slight grin.
    Mom looked at me like she was confused. “I heard something…” She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head.
    I sighed. Why did she have to have such good hearing? “I just closed my window. It was open because I needed some fresh air.”
    She nodded. Her dark eyes examined the room once before she left and started to make dinner.

    ~

    The next morning I sat through first period French Language wondering where that weird cat had come from. He was foreign to my area. Maybe it was a stray? But why wouldn’t anyone want such a beautiful cat? My mom would never let me have any animals-maybe just a fish. I laughed to myself.
    Meena leaned across the aisle. “Bonjour Tess!”
    I waved to her. “Bonjour Meena.” I grinned. All twenty-six students in French were grateful to Ms. Beaumont for letting them talk in class. She didn’t mind as long as they did it in French and not while she was teaching.
    Meena leaned in closer and grinned back. She never did follow Ms. Beaumont’s rules. “Did you hear ‘bout the new kid?” She whispered.
    “New kid?” I repeated, my eyebrows knitting together.
    “Yeah he just mo-“she then stopped. The whole room grew silent.
    I looked at Meena curiously and then at everyone else. For some reason I was always behind. I followed their wide-eyed gaze and knew exactly who he was. You could tell he was the new kid. He gave off that kind of aura.
    He stood in the doorway awkwardly. He had shaggy black hair- like he was some type of skater kid. His crystal blue eyes made any girl want him to be hers. He was ivory skinned just like myself. We both stood out from the tan Floridians of our school. He stood at about 6’3” which was not much compared to my 5’9”. He looked like a God but somehow an outcast. Currently he was wearing a navy blue band tee shirt and jeans. Around his neck was a silver chain. He quickly smiled to the class and swiftly walked over to Ms. Beaumont.
    “You’re Reese O’Claire, right?” I heard her ask him.
    He nodded. “Yes ma’am.” His eyes glanced over at the rest of the class. Again, I was behind. I was still staring at him when everyone else had gone back to chattering. He gave me a crooked smile and then looked back at the teacher.
    I quickly turned to the front of the classroom and stared at the whiteboard. My pale face was flushed.
    The next thing I heard that stood out from the classroom chatter was his footsteps. When they had stopped I glanced around timidly to see where he was sitting. Turns out he was sitting a couple of seats behind Meena, diagonal from me.
    Class continued and I peered back at him only a few times. I was extremely curious. He reacted with a slight grin and stared back. Sometimes I would test him to see if he was still staring at me. He was.
    When the bell rang for second period, Meena and I walked to the gym for Physical Education. We were changing for class when she came up with an idea.
    “Maybe we should invite the new kid-Reese to sit with us at lunch.” Meena shrugged and smiled at me.
    My mouth hung open. “But he’s so...abnormal. He was staring at me during French…” I murmured, putting my dark hair up into a high ponytail.
    She shrugged once more. “So? You’re a freak too. You guys would be a good couple.” I heard her soprano laugh while I threw my clothes in my locker and turned to look at her.
    “Meena,” I said and put my hands on my hips. “I’ve told you a thousand times-I do not take the term ‘freak’ lightly. Say abnormal. It’s less offensive.” But I sighed when I knew it had gone in through one ear and out the other.
    Coach led all the girls out to the field. The boys were already doing their laps around the track. One dark-haired boy was way ahead of the others. I knew exactly who it was…and something in the back of my mind told me that this extraordinary boy was definitely abnormal.