Cailean by Brent Miller

Author:Brent Miller [Miller, Brent]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-07T08:00:00+00:00

Present

One Day until the Full Moon

Cailean

Sitting across from Brooke at the lunch table, Cailean could practically hear her heart beating. As he focused harder, he became confident that he was actually hearing the loud, rhythmic thumping as she twirled her long hair around a finger and gazed at him. Distracted, Cailean battled the urge to dart his eyes toward each sound around them. Every footstep was a roar of thunder and every conversation a resounding echo in his mind. Brooke spoke, but Cailean couldn’t process any of the individual pieces as everything melded together into a cacophony of sound.

Unable to hide his discomfort from the sitation, Cailean dropped his head onto the table in front of him. With Brooke nearby, he felt safe, so despite the overwhelming nature of the noise around him he didn’t panic. Still, his head ached and his brain longed for a moment of silence.

Since Cailean had easily beaten three eighth graders in what the other students were calling a fight, no one had bothered him. Cailean struggled to acknowledge that altercation as anything more than an inconvenience – a fight typically involved at least a semblance of a threat on both sides. Regardless, rumors of the confrontation were spreading like wildfire through the school, and Cailean’s name was on all of the students’ lips. Lifting his head, he noticed other kids ducking their heads as they passed his table – which he’d taken over from the previously most intimidating group.

As he looked up, his eyes met Brooke’s, and he detected a hint of concern. Her lips parted, but Cailean couldn’t hear any sound. Wondering if it was because she hadn’t spoken or her words had simply blended into the deafening roar of student life, Cailean narrowed his eyes in confusion. Brooke closed her mouth and gently reached out to touch his arm.

The sounds were momentarily washed away with her touch as goosebumps covered his skin. Everything in the world faded except her soft hand against his bare arm. Cailean stumbled for words, but he found himself lost, overtaken by emotions he hadn’t experienced before. As she retracted her hands, the sounds of the world around him returned, but they weren’t as overpowering as they had been before.

“Are you alright?” Brooke questioned, her voice nothing more than a gentle whisper.

“I’m fine,” Cailean nodded with a feigned smile.

“Sometimes it takes a while to adjust to a new school. Especially when there are so many people,” Brooke consoled.

“I guess,” Cailean responded unconfidently. Though he didn’t question her logic, he wasn’t sure why the stimuli became more unbearable with each passing day.

“So, what do you think?” Brooke asked, a hint of hope replacing the concern in her voice. For the first time, Cailean noticed a red tint to her cheeks. Apparently, it was obvious that he noticed, because as he looked toward her, her eyes dropped to avoid eye contact. Cailean searched his memory, desperately struggling to find any statement she’d said which may justify her reaction. Thinking back

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