Failing Test: Book One of The Shadow Series Read online

  He didn’t hear her.

  Cupping her hands around her mouth, she yelled even louder, “Test!”

  He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to see Nicole waving about fifteen people back. Immediately, he began walking back to her against the flow of traffic. He bounced off people like he was in a pinball game. He bounced until the moment that he ran into what seemed like a wall. He then felt a hand on his chest, and was thrust backwards onto the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing, Davis?”

  Test looked up to see Chad standing over him. Instantly irate, Test worked at controlling his anger. With a couple of deep breaths, he was able to manage a small amount of composure.

  “I’m sorry, Chad, I didn’t see you. It was just an accident, my bad.”

  Chad stood over Test with his chest inflated and chuckled. “Sorry? Yeah, you’re sorry.”

  “Knock it off, Chad!” yelled Nicole as she ran to help Test up from the floor. She knelt beside him and blazingly looked up to Chad. “Why do you always have to be such a jerk?”

  “No, Nicole. It’s okay. It was my fault,” Test pleaded as he picked himself off the ground. “Let’s just go.”

  Chad scratched his chin and then pointed back and forth between the two of them.

  “So . . . It’s for real, huh? You and Test?” asked Chad, cocking his head as he looked at Nicole.

  “Yeah,” answered Nicole, “me and Test.”

  “Well, congrats, Davis.” Chad reached out to shake Test’s hand. “You got a good one, buddy.”

  Chad was uncharacteristically sincere. It confused both Nicole and Test. Hesitating, Test reached out his hand and shook Chad’s.

  “Thanks, and I know,” replied Test as he studied Chad’s face, trying to figure out his angle.

  Chad released Test’s hand and then quickly turned to Nicole.

  With a smile on his face and a devilish twinkle in his eye, he asked, “Hey, does Heather know yet? I’m sure she’d want to know. You know, to congratulate you,”

  “I don’t think so, Chad. I haven’t seen her,” she replied nervously.

  “Oh, no worries; she actually skipped today. You know, with the party and all, she had to get some new clothes and what not. I’ll be sure to let her know for you. Sound good?”

  Nicole’s eyes turned to slits as she scowled at him. She stepped towards him and, when only inches away, stopped.

  Standing in Chad’s enormous shadow, she looked up to him and said sternly and confidently, “Sure. Whatever you feel like you need to do.”

  Test didn’t take his eyes off Chad the entire time. He knew that Chad was trying to get a rise out of Nicole, and that infuriated him. He caught himself clenching his fists and grinding his teeth.

  “Oh, I always do,” replied Chad, sticking out his chest and flexing his pectoral muscles. “Don’t you worry about that, sweetheart.”

  Test took one step toward Chad, and then Nicole quickly took his hand. Chad turned to him with arms crossed, ready for action.

  “You got something to say, Davis?”

  Nicole pulled on Test’s arm. “Come on, Test. Let’s just go.”

  “That’d be a wise move,” said Chad as he slapped Test’s shoulder. “You guys have a great day. I’m sure we’ll run into each other at the party. Take care, huh?”

  Test watched Chad as he walked away. Everything within him wanted to throw Chad through a wall. Test continued to watch him walk away until Nicole gently gripped his chin between her thumb and index finger, pulling his eyes back around to her face.

  “We knew this was going to happen. We knew we were going to have to deal with it. Just let it go.” After a pause, she asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Other than wanting to throw him through a wall, I’m great,” he replied as he repeatedly opened and closed his fists.

  “Calm down. Please, just calm down,” she spoke in a softer, more comforting voice.

  She ran her fingers through his hair like she had done in the parking lot that morning. It had an extremely soothing effect on him. To Test, her touch seemed to be the only pacifier for his anger. He closed his eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and, in moments, everything seemed okay again. He opened his eyes and fidgeted with the straps on her dress.

  “Thanks, I don’t know how that would have turned out if you hadn’t been there,” he said, pulling her in closer to him.

  “You would have been fine.” She wasn’t so sure herself, but she couldn’t tell him that. “Besides, I’m always going to be there so hopefully you’ll never have to find out.”

  She slowly wrapped her arms around him and gently laid her head on his chest.

  “I guess I never asked you about the party tonight. Do you want to go?” asked Test as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

  “I had been hoping all morning that you were going to ask me, but now with Chad and Heather . . . do you want—”

  Test cut her off mid-sentence and said in an artificially confident tone, “Forget about them. I’m going to take you, and we are going to have the time of our lives.”

  Nicole looked at him with a somewhat embarrassed grin.

  “I guess I mean that I’m going to take you if you still want to go?”

  Nicole backed out of the embrace and placed her hands on his chest. “I absolutely want to go with you,” she said with a smile. “Too bad there aren’t any swings there. I wouldn’t mind recreating last night.”

  Test put his hands an inch or so away from her hips. She could immediately feel a warmth and gentle constriction around her waist. Then she felt herself lift into the air just an inch or so off the ground.

  He nuzzled through her hair and whispered softly in her ear. “No playground equipment needed.”

  Gently, he set her back down and, from behind, gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. They turned into the flow of traffic, and walked hand in hand to their lockers.

  Chapter 7

  Poor Judgment

  “I’ve got a good one for you,” said Chad, as he leaned into Justin and punched him in the shoulder.

  Flinching with pain, Justin replied as he rubbed his shoulder, “Damn, man! What’s up with that?”

  “Shake it off and quit your whining,” Chad quipped. “Now, what has two legs, a girlfriend who owes us money, and is named after something that we hate to take?”

  “T.D.?” replied Justin.

  “Congrats, you pass,” said Chad as he faked another punch to Justin’s shoulder.

  Justin flinched hard and, shaking his head, replied, “So it’s official? Test and Nicole are going out? When did that go down?”

  “I don’t know when it started, but I do know that he literally ran into me in the hall this morning after first period,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I was going to kick his ass, but then Nicole stepped in.”

  “And that stopped you because?” asked Justin.

  “I figured that’s Heather’s fun, not mine. Besides I’ve got ideas.” He paused, stroking his chin comically. “Yeah, I’ve definitely got ideas.”

  The two slapped hands, knuckled up, and laughed as they walked down the hallway. There was now a trace of blood in the water, and the piranha in Chad couldn’t stop until there was nothing more to pick at.

  The two snuck out the back door, skipping the last two periods of the day. They walked around the south side of the school, going unnoticed by anyone in authority. It was far easier than it should have been, not that they were overly concerned about being spotted. They both felt like they owned the school and were untouchable. Upon arriving at the car, Chad pressed the remote start button on his keychain and brought the motor in his Challenger to life.

  As they opened the doors, Chad leaned over the roof and shouted to Justin. “So are you down for some action tonight or what?”

  Justin stared blankly.

  Annoyed, Chad yelled once more in a condescending voice, “Just nod your head yes, and get in the car, you dumb ass!”

  Just
in was used to being beaten by Chad both mentally and physically. He never dared to challenge him as he had seen first hand what Chad would do to those who crossed him. Remaining silent, Justin took his seat, and before he could even get the door closed, Chad put the car in gear and tore out of the parking lot. The two were now on a mission, and Chad, at least, was sure of the outcome.

  ****

  This had in fact been the longest day on record as far as Test was concerned. His mind was on anything but school. Now in his fifth period, he had ten minutes to go until the bell rang. He was bored out of his mind, and wished he could talk to Mark. Two weeks ago, that would have been easy in this class. Mark and Test used to sit next to each other; that is until Mr. Baker, the Algebra teacher, had a different notion of what constituted important conversation and what didn’t. After three semesters, he had apparently had enough of their off-topic chatter, and moved Mark up two rows and over one. Now Test’s fifth period was relegated to little more than daydreaming.

  His thoughts bounced between Nicole and his new-found skills. He had found himself using them here and there over the course of the day; not for anything major, just a few subtle things. In third-period English, he untied the teacher’s shoes several times as she was sitting at her desk. In between third and fourth periods, he shut someone’s locker from across the hall when the owner had turned his back to it. Now, once again, Test had the urge. He knew he shouldn’t, but he was bored. He knew that every time he did something, he risked being discovered. Doing the right thing had always been a desire for Test, but his ability to exhibit self-control sometimes defeated that desire. He sat at his desk arguing with himself, tapping his pen rapidly on the spiral binding of his notebook. How would they know what was going on? he wondered.

  He looked around the room to find a target, but nothing stood out to him; nothing that is until he noticed Jeff Harris. Jeff was sitting directly to the right of Mark and was sound asleep, face down on his desk. He was a coaster, only doing what he had to do to get by and absolutely nothing more. His Algebra book was opened and sitting on the right upper corner of his desk. Test looked around to see if anyone was watching. Of course, no one was, but arguing with himself had made him somewhat paranoid. Satisfied that no one was watching, he focused on the book and lifted it off the desk ever so slightly. The spine hovered only a half an inch or so above the desk top, while the outer edges of the cover still touched. He was testing the waters. He needed to see how the book “felt”. Now he was ready. Violently, the book slammed shut with a loud smack. Jeff snapped awake, and with a scream fell over sideways in his chair. Mr. Baker spun around from writing on the chalkboard to see Jeff lying half on the floor and half in his chair.

  “Mr. Harris! What is going on?” yelled Mr. Baker.

  Jeff clumsily sat up in his chair replied. “Um . . . I guess I just fell over, Mr. Baker.” He paused to wipe the drool off his cheek, and laughed with embarrassment.

  Rolling his eyes to the class, Mr. Baker replied, mockingly, “You guess you just fell out of your chair? What a brilliant response, Mr. Harris. Why don’t you hang out after class, and we can talk about your balance issues.”

  Test, along with the rest of the class, was laughing at Mr. Baker’s parody of Jeff.

  That couldn’t have gone off any better, he thought.

  As Test peered around the room, he saw Mark’s face. He was definitely not smiling. In fact, he looked as if he had just seen the devil himself walk into the room. The smile immediately melted from Test’s face as Mark looked back over his shoulder to him. He mouthed the words “after class” to Test. Test nodded as Mark turned back in his seat and faced the blackboard.

  A few minutes later, the bell rang. Mark hurriedly stood up from his desk, collected his belongings, and walked back to meet up with Test.

  “What’s up, buddy?” asked Test nervously.

  Mark looked at him with large eyes. His skin looked pale, and he had sweat beading on his forehead. As he wiped away the sweat, he replied, “I don’t know. I’m either going nuts or some seriously weird shit just went down in this room.”

  Test became nervous and flushed as they walked out of the room and down the hallway.

  Struggling to be surprised, Test asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “The thing with Jeff, man,” replied Mark, his hands trembling as he wiped more sweat from his forehead.

  Test’s mouth went dry. His tongue suddenly felt like a rock resting in the bottom of his mouth. “What about Jeff? He fell asleep and fell over in his chair.”

  “No!” replied Mark angrily as he stopped and faced Test. In a hushed voice, he leaned towards Test and said, “A few seconds before Jeff’s deal, I watched his Algebra book.” He hesitated for a moment and then continued. “Man, I’m telling you. I watched that thing move all by itself!”

  Test’s pulse raced. He had been caught by his best friend and really didn’t know what to say. There was nothing that he could say. All that he could do was deny.

  “Come on, Mark, that’s impossible,” he replied.

  “Listen to me! That’s not all. After I saw the book move, a few seconds later the thing slammed shut all by its self. I’m not saying a breeze blew a couple of pages over, I’m saying that it slammed shut like two cars slamming into each other head on!”

  Mark was now sweating profusely, and he was as white as a sheet. Concerned, Test took his arm and led him to a table and chairs.

  “Sit down, man. Take it easy and breathe,” he said as he pulled out a chair.

  Mark took a seat and rested his head on his folded arms atop the table. After a minute, he lifted his head and let out a prolonged sigh. He looked defeated.

  “What the hell, man? I swear I saw that happen. It scared the living shit out of me.”

  Test had thought about this moment for the last day or so, but only in passing. He hadn’t anticipated it would come so fast, though it was purely his fault that it had. He beat on himself for his lack of self-control. He then remembered the conversation with Mark about honesty and friendship. If I could tell Mark, he thought, that could be one more person that could help me keep it under control. Right or wrong, he was compelled to tell Mark the truth.

  “Mark? Are you okay?” came a voice from behind them.

  Test and Mark both turned to see Marcy and Nicole standing behind them.

  “You’re white as a ghost, what’s wrong?” Marcy asked.

  Test abruptly answered Marcy’s question. “He’s fine. He just had a little too much caffeine.”

  Mark looked at Test with a puzzled look on his face and then turned back to Marcy. “I’m fine, babe. Just felt queasy for a sec. It’s no big deal.”

  Nicole stood behind Test and gently stroked his back. She whispered into his ear, “Is everything okay?”

  Test shook his head no and continued to look straight ahead. In an attempt to steer the conversation, he put his hand on Mark’s shoulder and spoke to the girls. “Actually we were just getting ready to skip sixth period. We wanted to get everything set for tonight so we could just pick you girls up and have a good time, right, Mark?”

  Mark looked at Marcy and saw the confusion on her face. He shrugged his shoulders and matched her confused look with one of his own. Turning back to Test, he replied in an irritated and unconvincing tone, “Yeah, I guess.”

  Nicole stared into Test’s unemotional face as he gave her a wink. She knew what that meant. His secret was no longer going to be between the two of them. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and gave it a squeeze.

  “Be careful,” she replied to Test.

  “We will. No worries,” he whipped back with a weak smile.

  Nicole gripped the back of his neck with more force and steered his eyes to hers. “I mean it,” she said.

  Test didn’t speak. Instead, he subtly nodded and then turned away from her. Mark stood up from his chair, and now side by side with Marcy, the two looked like they had been dropped in the middle of a st
range city without any directions.

  “You ready, Mark?” asked Test.

  Still a little shaky on his feet, he replied, “Yeah, I guess.”

  Test was noticeably anxious and rushed the conversation. “Okay, we’ll meet up with you girls at Nicole’s house at about seven. Sound good?”

  Marcy and Nicole agreed, and each gave their man a parting kiss before they walked away. Both looked back one at a time, and then while whispering to each other disappeared around the corner.

  Continuing to stare in the girls’ direction, Mark sat on the table. “You want to fill me in on what’s going on?” he asked.

  “I need to talk to you about something.”

  Clearly aggravated, Mark answered harshly, “So in order to do that we have to skip school?”

  Test’s anxiousness increased. “Yes. I can’t talk about it here. Besides, you look like you need some fresh air,” he replied.

  Jumping off the table, Mark said as he walked past Test, “Fine, whatever.”

  The two quickly exited the front doors of the school and ran to their cars. Test was first to his car, and as he opened the driver’s door, he yelled to Mark.

  “Follow me!”

  “Where are we going?” Mark yelled back.

  “Don’t know yet. I’ll figure it out on the way,” replied Test with an apologetic grin.

  He fired up the Barracuda and took off out the main entrance of the lot. He could see Mark in his rearview mirror driving behind him in his white mid-eighties Toyota Celica. How am I going to do this? he thought. If Mark was that upset about a book moving, what Test was about to show him could send him over the edge. After a couple of blocks, he checked his rearview mirror again. He noticed that Mark had his left turn signal on. He hadn’t realized it until now, but they were close to Mark’s house. Test turned left and drove towards his friend’s home. As he turned onto the street, he slowed to let Mark pull up beside him, but instead of stopping, he sped by without even a glance in Test’s direction. Mark quickly turned into the drive and locked up the tires, missing the garage door by a matter of inches. Surprised and concerned, Test slowly pulled into the drive.