Chapter Two
-Jamie Mystique Sorrow-
Okemos, Michigan USA, Earth
Four days before school
Present Day…
It was only a few days before high school would start and Jamie wasn’t divulging herself in study to remember everything she had forgotten over the two months of summer vacation like she usually did. She was attempting to calm down an excited friend via cell phone conversation.
“Belle! Please, I can’t understand what you’re saying!”
“YoujusthavetocomerightnowJamie!” Belle Lefèvre was saying at top speed on the other end of the phone.
“Belle! Please! Where do I have to go? Slow down!” Jamie cried, becoming anxious as she tried to decipher what Belle was talking about.
“Meet me at the library in ten minutes! I have someone you just HAVE to meet!”
“But Belle-!” Jamie protested, but she had already hung up.
Jamie sighed and pocketed her phone. If she was going to meet someone, she would have to look presentable…
Combing her straight dark brown hair (everyone just said it was black, though), Jamie stared at herself in her bathroom mirror, wondering who could possibly have gotten Belle so excited for Jamie to meet them.
Then Jamie remembered what Belle had tried to do just the last week and her eyes narrowed. Was Belle possibly trying to set her up with a boy again? Well, it was possible; the last week, Belle had had Jamie meet her at the local mall and had brought along a teenage boy for Jamie to meet. He had been quite a narcissist if Jamie remembered correctly –which she did.
Deciding to walk the ten minutes rather than driving her beloved Jeep, Jamie still pondered who the mysterious new stranger was. Only when she arrived in the library parking lot did Jamie give a thought of ‘maybe I’m not meeting a guy’.
She wasn’t so lucky.
“Misty! There you are!” Belle exclaimed upon Jamie’s entrance. She was the one who had given Jamie the nickname ‘Misty’ based on her middle name ‘Mystique’ and since then, her two other friends Ronald Hipskin and Esmeralda Almaraz had taken to calling that, too.
“So? Who is it you want me to meet?” Jamie asked, looking around. There were a lot of people spending their free time in the library during the summer, but not as many now that the start of most schools was close by.
“He’s back at the table near the teenager section.” Belle said breezily, pulling her friend toward the back of the library.
“He? Great.” Jamie said, grinding her teeth together.
“Oh, please, he’s quite a looker, but I’m not introducing you two for that reason, so loosen up.”
“Then what…?” Jamie tailed off, catching sight of the man sitting at the only table near the teenager book section.
He had looked up and Jamie’s heart fluttered and she was speechless as she took in the beautiful sight in front of her. His hair was black as well as his eyes and his skin was unbelievably white. Even though these features were pretty simple, there was something about him… maybe the pleasant expression that seemed so natural on his face or maybe the way he looked at everything as if he only saw the good in it…
He could be Belle’s brother, Jamie thought immediately, noticing the light shadows under his eyes that Belle, too, possessed and the fact that their skin was both snow white and that… they were both the most beautiful people Jamie had ever met.
Belle’s name literally meant ‘beautiful’ in French. Speaking of which, Belle claimed to be descended from French nobility, but anything with that woman was possible. Jamie had met Belle Lefèvre two years previously, when she was a ninth grader working at the Meridian Mall. Belle said she was twenty-two years old, a student at the University, from Wisconsin. That was basically all Jamie knew about Belle.
Admittedly, it had taken Jamie many weeks to get used to Belle’s beauty and she had never imagined that there would be anyone who looked better, especially that there would be a man that looked that gorgeous.
“This is James Allen.” Belle said, and Jamie came out of her trance.
“What?” She said automatically, feeling stupid as soon as it slipped out.
“He’s going to be staying with me this year and he’ll be going to the high school, too. He’s a senior, same as you.”
“I… nice to meet you,” Jamie finally managed to say, “I’m Jamie, Jamie Sorrow.”
“But all her friends call her Misty.” Belle said helpfully to fill in the awkward silence that was about to fall.
“Only three people call me that!” Jamie said.
“Exactly.” Belle said, a smirk crossing her lips.
Jamie’s cheeks flushed pink for a moment, and James came to her rescue.
“Four friends, if you’ll let me.” He smiled, making Jamie melt inside.
“Thank you. I mean, yeah, sure.” she said.
“No problem, and thank you.”
“Well! Gotta run!” Belle said suddenly, glancing between them, “Ciao!” She fluttered her fingers at James and Jamie and
quickly disappeared around the corner.
“Um,” Jamie said, unsure if she should leave, and deciding against it, “So, what’re you doing?”
“Reading.” James held up a book.
“Right, of course. Library, reading, Of course.” Jamie said again.
James gave her a crooked smile.
“Mind if I join you?” Jamie asked, taking a familiar book off one of the shelves.
“Sure.” James said comfortably.
Jamie sat down across from James and glanced at the book he was reading, “The Keeper of the Dark.” She
said aloud, “I’ve never heard of it before.”
“Oh, um, it’s mine. A friend of mine likes to, um, write. Except then he only prints a few copies. So, yeah.”
“That’s weird.” Jamie said.
“Snow Walker, by Catherine Fisher.” James read off her cover, changing the subject, “Have you read it before?”
“Yeah… It’s one of my favorites –but I don’t like Catherine Fisher’s other books that much.” Jamie admitted
“That’s interesting.” James muttered, and Jamie had a feeling he was talking about his own book rather than what she
had just said.
Silence fell and Jamie indulged herself in her book. After a while, James took out a blue notebook from his
pocket and began taking notes or something.
At a quarter after six, Jamie noticed a vibrating in her pocket; her cell phone was buzzing!
“Oh no…” Jamie murmured, seeing her step-mother’s name on the caller ID. She stood up and quickly returned
her book to the shelf.
James looked up and asked, “Do you need a ride home?”
“I…no, I can walk.” Jamie answered, barely noticing that James seemed to know that she had walked and was now going
home.
“Really, I insist.” James said, standing up also and gathering his things in one fluid motion. He was tall, Jamie noticed –
probably a few inches over six feet. It was good she was five foot eight; Jamie hated craning her neck up to see
someone’s face.
“Ok, thank you.” Jamie said gratefully, moving toward the exit.
James walked after her in the same silently graceful way as Belle did. He stopped at a sleek black car in the parking lot
and opened the passenger door for Jamie before walking around and getting in the other side.
Jamie told James how to get to her house and they were quickly on the road.
Jamie’s phone buzzed again and she answered it this time.
“Where are you?” Ursula Sorrow, Jamie’s step-mother demanded.
“I’m on the road, a… friend is driving me back; I was at the library.” Jamie answered quickly.
“Good! And next time tell me if you’re going somewhere.”
“Ursula –I mean, Mom, I’m almost an adult.” Jamie said, annoyed.
“Almost an adult. So until you are an adult, you will let me know when and where you are going.” Ursula said, hanging up
afterwards.
Jamie clenched her teeth together and glared at her cell phone before closing it and putting it away.
“No freedom just yet?” James asked with a grin.
“Nope.” Jamie said, her mood brightening as she saw his dazzling smile.
He pulled into the long driveway of Jamie’s home and cut the engine. She got out and saw him closing his side
of the car’s door.
“You don’t have to send me to the door.” Jamie said, but he was already walking her up the path to the front door.
Jamie took her house key, which was hanging around her neck on a thin black string, off and opened the
door, “I’m back, Mom!” she called out.
“Thank God! Your father has been-! Oh.” Ursula Sorrow, an attractive strawberry-blonde haired woman stopped on the
middle of the staircase, catching sight of James Allen who stood behind Jamie outside, “This is your friend, Jamie? I’ve
never met him before.” Ursula said, her eyebrows pulling together.
“Oh, um, Belle just introduced me to him. He’s her cousin. Uh, this is James Allen. James, this is my step-mother,
Ursula Sorrow.” Jamie said.
Ursula came down the rest of the stairs and shook James’s hand, “Are you and Belle family?” she asked.
“We’re… cousins.”
“Does cold skin run in the family?” Ursula joked.
Jamie smiled politely but until then, she hadn’t thought James would have cold hands like Belle… besides, she
had always thought all doctors had freezing cold hands.
“I guess it does.” James replied, smiling.
Ursula blinked. Obviously his dazzling effect worked on her, too.
“So, um, thanks for the ride.” Jamie said, eager for James to leave –she could hear footsteps upstairs which most likely
belonged to her father, Philip Sorrow, who just happened to be that kind of over-protective father who didn’t want his
daughter anywhere near teenage guys.
“Yes,” Ursula said, “You should go on home…”
“I should. See you at school, Jamie.” James waved, stepping off the porch, “bye.”
“Bye!” Jamie said, closing the door just as her father’s feet appeared on the staircase, followed by the rest of his body
as he descended.
“Was that a boy, Jamie?” he demanded with an accusing tone and a frown. Unlike his second wife, Phil did not
encourage Jamie to get to know some boys. In fact, he frowned upon the whole idea of young men –just as he was doing
at the very moment.
“Yes. He offered me a ride home from the library –don’t worry, he’s a friend.”
“Since when? You could have walked home, you know.” Phil said sternly.
“I wanted her here immediately.” Ursula said, “She has some shopping to do with me… you know, start of the school year
stuff.” She waved her hand dismissively.
Phil let the situation go, evidently not realizing that Jamie didn’t go shopping with Ursula anymore…
“We’ll leave in a moment; just let me get my purse.” Ursula said as Phil clomped off into the kitchen.
“But I don’t need anything!” Jamie protested, “Besides, I have… other things to do.”
“Nonsense!” Ursula scoffed, “I hereby clear the rest of your afternoon.” She waved her index finger over
Jamie like it was a wand, “Poof! See? You’re free! Now, come on!” and she pulled her reluctant step-daughter out the
door.
“I can shop alone, you know.” Jamie said once they were on the road in her step-mother’s black Chevrolet;
she was still grasping at anything to boost her side of the argument.
“Yes, but, that doesn’t mean you can’t go with me once in a while!” Ursula said cheerfully, “I got you out of a sticky
situation; you are now paying me back.”
"Phil wouldn’t have made such a big deal out of it! He doesn’t mind Ronald, anymore.” Jamie reminded the other woman.
“Ronald and Esmeralda have been your friends since time began.” Ursula snorted, “Them and Belle.”
“I can still shop alone.” Jamie grumbled, crossing her arms.
“Whatever you say.” Ursula said, taking a turn into the parking lot of the shopping mall.
“Please, mom!” Jamie begged, “You can shop for yourself! I’ll go to the book shop… I have everything I need. Just buy a
few things for me if you want…”
Ursula sighed, “I guess so; you obviously think it’s such a horrible thing to do a little shopping with your
mother…” she sighed dramatically again.
“Great!” Jamie clapped her hands together and got out of the car.
Before Ursula could say another word, Jamie Sorrow was running through the spaces between the cars in the
lot toward a store with big block letters, ‘SCHULER BOOK STORE’.
The next morning, Jamie woke up early as she always did during the last week of summer vacation –this was
her method for helping her get used to the school hours that were to come.
No sooner had she stepped out of the shower and pulled on a fresh pair of clothes, the personal telephone in
her room rang.
“What’s up, Misty?” a familiar voice sang on the other end. It was Esmeralda Almaraz.
“Nothin’ much.” Jamie said, stifling an early-morning yawn, “I met Belle’s cousin yesterday.”
“Really? I think she might’ve mentioned a relative… isn’t she going to be going to school with us?”
“He, Esmeralda, as in, he is going to school with us.”
“Ohh… Anyhow, have you seen Ronald? He shaved his head!” Esmeralda snorted, “Just when I was beginning
to get used to his hair, he goes back and shaves it again.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” Jamie started to say, but Esmeralda rattled on.
“He said he wanted to grow it out and get dreadlocks –but that obviously doesn’t work. I mean, his hair is barely half an
inch long and he’s complaining that it’s too hot under it all… it’s so pathetic”
“-Esmeralda!” Jamie finally cut in, “what’s going on?”
“Whaddya mean, ‘what’s going on’?”
“You know what I mean.” Jamie said seriously, “you’re talking too much. In the past, that has often been a sign that
something’s bothering you.”
“Oh, Jamie! We’re moving again!” Esmeralda said miserably.
“What!”
“I was starting to think since we’ve lived here for nine years that we would actually settle down and stay… but my dad
thinks… and there are not a lot of clients in the area… and he has to travel too much… so now we’re moving to
Chicago…” Esmeralda mumbled, “And he says Detroit isn’t good anymore for business and that he already had to drive an
hour to get there anyway so we should move to Chicago… and my mom is okay with it. Jamie, I don’t want to move
anymore!”
Jamie gave a short laugh, “Chicago isn’t even that far away, Esmeralda! It’s only five hours! Chill out… you
can still visit and email and call. So. When are you moving?”
“Second trimester.”
“See? You still have time to persuade your dad anyway!” Jamie said cheerfully.
“Yeah… I guess you’re right. Yeah. I’m just being silly…”
“You could totally ask your parents to come visit anyway, and we’ll be going to college, soon, so it’s not like we would be
doing a lot together then, anyway. Right? We’d be too busy studying.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Esmeralda agreed, “I was just being melodramatic, I suppose. So, how’s Belle’s cousin?”
“He’s really nice.” Jamie said, momentarily thinking about his dazzling looks and his polite and easy going
manner, “His name is James Allen.”
“Any family resemblances?” Esmeralda inquired.
“Yes. They look similar in different ways, if you know what I mean.”
“Not really, no…” Esmeralda admitted, “Is he cute?”
“Esmeralda!” Jamie pretended to sound shocked,
They laughed and Esmeralda said seriously, “no, really; is he?”
“Yes, Esmeralda, he’s gorgeous… BUT, don’t you have Ronald? Have you told him?” Jamie asked suddenly.
“No!” she squeaked, “how can I? What if he doesn’t like me?”
“He’s your friend, isn’t he? That means he likes you.”
“But he was your friend first!” Esmeralda said, her voice sounding suddenly odd.
Jamie opened her mouth to speak, but there was a knock on her door, “just a moment.” She said instead.
“Come in!” she called louder, putting her hand over the speaker on the phone.
The door opened and Ursula poked her head in, “Belle’s here to see you. She says she’ll buy you breakfast.”
“Okay, tell her to wait a moment, I have to wrap up this conversation.” Jamie said, pointing at the phone in her hand.
The door closed and Jamie put her telephone back to her ear, “Hey Esmeralda, I’m back, but I have to go in a
moment –I have an appointment with the doctor.” She joked.
“That’s great…” Esmeralda said, sounding distracted (no doubt she had turned on her TV in Jamie’s
momentary absence), “bye…”
“Okay. See ya.” Jamie hung up and went downstairs to find Belle chatting with Phil.
Jamie cleared her throat to make her presence known.
Belle grinned and said, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, of course. See you, Dad.” Jamie waved to Phil as they left.
“So?” Belle burst out as soon as they were on the road.
“So what?”
“Did you like James? Was he nice?”
“He’s very nice, Belle, don’t worry; I’m sure he’ll make tons of friends in school.” Jamie said.
“I’m not worried about that. I mean, no doubt everyone will welcome him warmly –but he’s not a people-
person, anyway. I just wanted to tell you that James would not shut up about you all last night.” She laughed and Jamie
looked at her in wonder.
“He was talking? About me?” she asked.
“Mm-hm. It’s weird for him actually –talking a lot and talking about a girl.” Belle laughed again.
“What’s so weird about that?”
“I just never thought that he was into girls…Like, he was never the type of person to go on dates or anything.”
“So that’s what you wanted to tell me?” Jamie said, trying to act casual while inside, she was marveling with
extreme giddiness at how a boy like James would be talking about her, “You could’ve just called.”
“Yes, but, I thought you might like pancakes. My treat.” Belle said.
“Belle! I can’t let you do that!” Jamie protested.
“You can and you will. You barely ever allow me any pleasures, seriously. I want to pay for your breakfast.”
Belle shook her head, “you just argue about all the wrong things, Jamie.”
“Well, sorry.” Jamie said, rolling her eyes, “but I do work during the summers and sometimes after school, so
I do earn my own money now.”
“Sweetheart,” Belle said breezily, “you’ll be thrilled to spend your money now, when you’re still a teenager, but later,
when you’re out in the world by yourself, you won’t be nearly as carefree about it.”
“Okay, okay!” Jamie said quickly as they entered a favorite local diner, “you pay, then. But I’m warning you –
I’m starving.”
“So…” Belle said a few minutes later as Jamie started on a stack of pancakes, “your school starts in three
days, right? Can you and Esmeralda help James get settled into school?”
“Of course, Belle… You’re just like a fretting mother.” Jamie smiled.
“I want him to have a full high school experience.”
“Uh, we’re talking senior year, Belle, not the ninth grade.”
“Yes, yes… I mean, I know that, but still… uh, he’s never attended a lot of extracurricular activities, so uh,
get him involved in something. Convince him to go to one of the dances, maybe.”
“That has got to be the first time you’ve ever said the word ‘uh’ so many times.” Jamie said with narrowed
eyes. Then she relaxed her features and popped a bit of syrup-soaked pancake into her mouth, “I’m sure he’ll get enough
offers to any dance that he’ll end up going.”
Belle looked at Jamie with a thoughtful expression, “Oh…” she said with understanding after a while, “I see
now.”
Jamie nodded with a snort.
“Here’s an idea!” Belle said, “You can ask him to that homecoming dance-thing!”
“Belle, how about we focus on the present, huh? How’s that sound?” Jamie said casually, but something inside her was
secretly thrilled at the idea of going to homecoming with James Allen… AKA, the guy she met the other day.
Okay, Jamie. Let’s not rush things here, even if there is an amazingly gorgeous guy involved.
After repeating this to herself a few times, Jamie only liked Belle’s idea more and more.
Great, Jamie thought, first crush since the seventh grade. This ought to be interesting.
A/N: There will be a LOT of parallel plot lines.
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