Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

willing to fall again, just to feel the warmth of his arms.
    The endless questions grew annoying as the day dragged on. I just wanted to get home and wait for Nicholas to come see me. Plus, my armpits were sore from hobbling around on crutches all day.
    “What does he look like?” Dena asked me, while Sam and Katie listened in during lunch in the cafeteria; the boys talking about something else.
    “Well, he’s probably six feet tall with dark brown hair, green eyes, medium build and I think he’s my age. Oh and he’s really strong. I couldn’t believe he carried me up the side of the trail and then all the way home. He acted as if it was effortless. And the weird thing was he knew me.”
    “You don’t remember meeting him?” Sam asked.
    “No, I think I’d remember meeting him .”
    Again, I tried to place when we could have met. I wasn’t one for going to parties and we had a relatively small student body. I’d also grown up in this town and knew a lot of faces from the deli. I made a mental note to ask him when we had met. Yet another question he needed to answer.
    “Maybe he’s a peeping Tom and he was stalking you,” Katie said with a smirk.
    I shot her a look.
    “He’s not like that.” I would know being stalked, for real.
    “Do you think he’s in high school still? Or maybe he’s in college,” Sam suggested.
    Dena and Katie giggled. I hadn’t thought of that. What if he was in college? Would he think I was too young?
    “Now you have a date for the homecoming,” Dena said in a sing-song sort of way, eyes beaming.
    “Oh, I don’t know about that. We just met,” I said quickly.
    I wonder if he’d want to take me .
    The bell rang and we all groaned.
    I tried to concentrate in Algebra, but I kept daydreaming about what happened, and the entire class faded into a blur. I didn’t snap out of it until I saw our homework assignment and panicked. I hadn’t paid attention one bit and now was behind in two lessons. I’d forgotten to do my homework the night before. But it wasn’t due until the end of the week.
    But when sixth period Spanish finally came to a close and I was free to go, I started to get nervous. And seeing Luke’s Blazer come into the parking lot to pick me up made me break out in a sweat. The wait would soon be over. He got out and helped me into the cab, putting my crutches in the backseat.
    “How was it today?” he asked after pulling away from the curb.
    “It was actually a good day. Everyone wanted to know what happened. It was crazy! I had girls I didn’t know wanting to hear the story. I couldn’t believe it!” I gushed.
    “No one had the guts to tell you you were stupid for going out on that trail alone last night?” he said with a smirk.
    “No,” I chided back, sticking my tongue out. He did have a point. “I think my school is just desperate for some good gossip and my mishap fit the bill.”
    “Uh huh.”
    I could tell he only half listened to me.
    “I still can’t believe it happened, you know?” I babbled. “I mean, here I am, hanging off the cliff and Nicholas is there to catch me just in time. If you think about it, it’s so crazy.”
    “Yeah, you are.”
    “Shut up!” I said as I jabbed him in the side, deciding it would be better to remain silent the rest of the ride home.
    At home, I quickly changed and put on a light pink shirt I always received compliments on. I also touched up my makeup and fixed my hair a little bit, still trying to look natural.
    I decided that I would sit on the couch close to the front window, with my leg propped up and work on homework until he showed up. This would give me a perfect view of the street and still look casual.
    But I got nothing done. Every car that drove by, or walker on the sidewalk, drew my attention and my head bobbed up in anticipation. This constant back and forth made it impossible for me to concentrate, so I gave up trying to do anything and just stared out of the window instead.
    I tried to imagine what he might be doing at the moment. Did he have a job? And did he live close by? And how old was he really? Maybe he would take me to homecoming. Visions of me and him dancing on the floor with the “popular” guys looking on made me smile. I would have a real date for once.
    I also couldn’t wait to get a little better so I could return to the place where we’d met. The thought of going back to the cliff made my insides knot up, in a good way. Maybe I could find some answers to my