Human Read Free

opposite. The idea of going home by car instead of by bus was very attractive, but the thought of Italia's brother, Amadeo, driving me home was scary. I could already picture embarrassing myself in front of him.
    "Do you need anything?" the nurse suddenly said, bringing me back from my thoughts.
    "Umm, are there any new students in our school?" I figured she would know if she had done any checkups recently.
    "No," she said. "No new students at this point of the year. It would be impossible to catch up. Unless you're asking for the beginning of the year..."
    "No," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "I was just wondering. Thank you."
    The nurse smiled at me and left the room. I sat up, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest, my hands sweating. If there were no new students, then how come I didn't know Devin? I slid off the bed and looked around the room. There was a big shelf with all kinds of books, medical stuff and files on it. Right next to it, in the middle of the white wall, was a huge AIDS poster and something about how to prevent it. I glanced at the door, listening for any kind of movement outside.
    When I was sure the nurse wasn't coming back, I padded over to the shelf. I picked up a few files, inspecting them for a moment and then carefully returning them to their right place so no one would suspect anything. There was nothing interesting, only some useless files about possible diseases, warnings, prevention and treatment. I was just about to give up when another file came into view. It looked a little bit different from the others, its yellow covers fresh and untouched.
    I opened it and found myself staring into Devin's cerulean eyes. It was his file, a small picture of his pretty face attached to it. My pulse sped up as I scanned through the file to find the date of the inscription. I froze. No, it couldn't be. The date was exactly the same as mine. I blinked, stared at the file again, but nothing changed. I couldn't have been going with him to school for three years and not remember him!
    The file stated Devin's parents were Valdas and Melissa Teneroli. I frowned. Melissa? The pregnant woman I had seen in my vision? But she was dead and some weird being with red wings. There was no indication that Devin's mother was dead. It was just another stupid coincidence. It had to be, or I was completely losing my mind. Maybe it was time for me to find a lawyer and sue the school for all the stress. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.
    I looked back at the paper. Apparently, Devin's birthplace was Salem, Oregon, and that didn't mean a thing to me. The current address field was empty. Great, these files probably hadn't been updated. I returned the file back to its place and went to sit on the bed. Closing my eyes, I tried to recall as many things about this school year as I could, but none of my memories included Devin. God, I even knew some of the old exam questions, funny things people had said in the class, titles of different projects... but no Devin.
    Was I having selective amnesia? Just thinking about it made me laugh. My life wasn't some movie where aliens visited our planet, kidnapped someone and returned them after wiping their memory clean. I was sure aliens hadn't kidnapped me. Except I wouldn't know it then, would I? Uh oh, and what if Devin was an alien and had everyone else under his spell? Maybe I should go up to him and ask him... and embarrass myself till the end of days. I sighed; I was most likely losing my mind. Yeah, that would be just my luck.

Chapter 02

    Italia and I walked out of the nicely warm school building into the freezing winter air. No matter how much I pulled my coat tighter around myself, I was still feeling like I had fallen into a lake covered with ice. A snowball flew inches away from my face, and I gasped, wondering why everyone seemed to love snow so much. Italia cursed at the person who had thrown the snowball, taking me by the arm and hurriedly leading me towards the black