Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,36
must be more careful. I see you on the floor more than I see you on your feet.”
The day before I had been able to play verbal war games with Nell, but today that power was lost. I glared at her in silent fury and sat down at my desk. Mr. Frame entered the room at that moment, and I was forgotten as he announced an impromptu Friday quiz.
“We’ve been talking about how the Civil War actually had its roots in the earliest days of our country. I want you to take just one of those causes and write me a one page essay on how that cause evolved to help bring about the war. You’ll have 30 minutes.” He looked around at the room of dismayed faces. “And people, I don’t think I need to say it, but no open books during this quiz.”
There were groans all over the room, but I had already pulled out a piece of notebook paper and begun writing. This was my type of quiz; I could express myself without worrying about ambiguously written multiple-choice questions.
I covered one page and half of another in about fifteen minutes and carried it to the front. Mr. Frame grinned at me. “You didn’t groan,” he observed to me in a low voice. “I think you were the only one.”
I smiled back and replied in the same quiet tone. “I like this kind of quiz. I only hope I didn’t write too much.”
His eyes scanned the pages. “I’m looking forward to reading it.” He winked at me as I returned to my seat.
We only had time for our weekend assignment of reading by the time all the quizzes were completed and turned in. Trig went by relatively quickly, if painfully; I sensed my peppy teacher’s enthusiasm for my talent in Math was diminishing quickly.
By the time I made it to my locker, both Michael and Anne were waiting for me. “I’m hurrying,” I promised.
“Don’t worry. If I’m late for work, I’ll just blame you. That’ll make my parents’ expectation more realistic, right?”
I grimaced at him and ran my eyes over my books. I needed Trig and History; I’d already finished my English and French reading, and nothing was due in Speech or Chemistry.
Slamming my locker shut, I turned. “Okay, all set.”
Anne climbed into the back seat of the Mustang and flipped the seat back into position for me. “Are you sure you don’t want sit in the front?” I asked for the third time.
Michael sighed in exasperation. “Tasmyn, let her sit there. I want you next to me.” As he turned to back out, I glanced down at the gearshift. He followed my gaze. “I was thinking that maybe tomorrow afternoon we could work on your driving lesson. Lots of country roads out by us.”
Anne let out a squeal in the backseat. “Tas, you don’t drive?”
“I’ve never driven manual, only automatic,” I corrected.
“Oh, you’ll have fun,” she assured me. “My dad made me learn to drive on his truck. And Michael is probably a better teacher than my dad.”
We pulled up in front of my house, and I slipped out, then moved the seat so Anne could exit. She started up to the porch. “I’ll just wait up here while you two say good-bye,” she said, looking at us meaningfully. “Make it snappy, Michael.”
I leaned back into the car. “Have fun at work.” I was still too new at this to initiate any physical contact.
Michael smiled at me. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he used the other to frame my face and leaned in to kiss me quickly. My heart thumped in response as I heard him think Wish I could stay… tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. I grinned back at him.
“Yup, tomorrow,” I whispered. He laughed before he stole one last kiss.
“Go,” he instructed. “Before Anne comes back and drags you out. See you tomorrow. Have fun!”
Other than the most obvious surprise—my special talent—I had been a fairly predictable child for my parents up until our move to King. But this last week had definitely tested my mother’s capacity for absorbing shock. I thought of this with some amusement when I went into her office, Anne trailing in my wake.
My mom was sitting at her drawing board, with several pages pinned up on the walls around her. She was completely caught up in her work and had barely noticed that I was even home.
“Mom,” I called from the doorway. “Can I interrupt for just a minute?”