The Healer: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 1) by C. J. Anaya Page B

Calculus.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
Chapter Five

    The rest of my day continued on its abnormal path. After mythology, I navigated my way to the second floor in order to reach my math class.
    I’d never realized how crowded my school was. I did everything possible to avoid coming into contact with my fellow students, but found that it was nearly impossible to accomplish such a seemingly simple task.
    I was inches from the door to calculus when three people managed to bump into me at the same time. I felt my senses expand outward and froze as I connected with all three students at the same time. A hot, searing pain shot from the back of my skull to the front, effectively dropping me to my knees. I grabbed my head in an attempt to keep it from falling off my neck.
    Logically, I knew losing my head wasn’t even a remote possibility, but the intense, throbbing pain insisted otherwise. As far as I could tell, none of the students I’d just connected with had been experiencing such a severe migraine.
    Is this headache mine?
    I put one hand on the floor and gingerly pushed myself up into a standing position. The movement caused the agony I was feeling to morph into nauseating dizziness. I could feel myself sinking to the ground again and braced for impact.
    It never came.
    Instead of hitting the hard linoleum floor, I felt two hands grab me under my arms and lift me to my feet. It wasn’t done roughly, but my nausea couldn’t tell the difference.
    “You all right? Are you sick?”
    I nodded as the dizziness I suffered from ebbed away. Two more deep breaths and the nausea vanished as well. I opened my eyes and saw a fuzzy image of colors and patterns across the shirt of a nicely formed young man. I focused in on the shirt in front of me, thinking if I followed the patterns of blue and gray swirls on the guy’s chest I’d be able to look up without getting dizzy again.
    “I’m not sick. I never get sick,” I protested.
    “Well, that‘s a relief. This is a new shirt, and I’d hate for you to throw up on it.”
    His voice was playful and soothing. It helped me gain control of myself. Slowly, the patterns on his shirt came into focus. I felt my own life force correct whatever it was that had happened to my body and nearly cried in relief. The warmth of his hands resting on either side of my waist confused me.
    Why didn’t contact with him allow me immediate access to his life force as it had the others? I decided to be grateful that my gift had behaved normally for a change.
    I looked up hesitantly, feeling embarrassed for drawing so much attention to myself. The eyes that met mine were startlingly familiar. They reminded me of Tie’s, but where his were cold and intimidating, these eyes were warm and inviting. I explored the rest of his face which was open and unassuming. He had jet black hair that hung just below his ears. It was so black that parts of it looked as if it had been streaked with purple. His six foot frame towered over me. He looked like some kind of gladiator who’d decided to borrow some clothes from a high school preppy. His friendly eyes were almond shaped, and his facial features hinted of Asian ancestry.
    “I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you new?”
    I wanted to smack myself on the forehead. Out of all the things I could have said to try and fix this messy first impression I’d given him, stating the obvious wasn’t the most brilliant way to go about it. His smile spread slowly across his face and lighted his beautiful brown eyes. His grip around my waist tightened, and I could feel the strength in his hands as they continued their firm, almost possessive hold on me. I kind of liked it.
    “I’m new,” he agreed softly.
    “Oh.”
    Face palm.
    Oh? Seriously? I am so stinking articulate .
    I was definitely doing some mental cringing on my own behalf. I watched in fascination as the warm smile that had been there moments before straightened out into this strange look