Jack James and the Tribe of the Teddy Bear Read Free Page B

crowd?”
    “You…you know that?” Jack felt his shyness fading. “Yeah. I knew that.”
    She went on. “I also know you have one heck of an imagination.”
    He froze in his tracks. She walked two steps before realizing he’d stopped. Then she turned and flashed a grin. He got the feeling she knew what he was thinking, and it gave him the creeps.
    “Did I hit a nerve?” she asked.
    “No. I just,” he stammered. His daydreaming episodes were becoming more and more frequent, and he was having difficulty keeping them secret. “How’d you know?”
    “It wasn’t hard to spot. You just stood there for a few seconds. And it looked like you were seeing something, something no one else could see. What’s with that?”
    He started walking again, mindful the bus drivers around there didn’t wait for dawdlers. “Is it that obvious? I-I do have a pretty active imagination.”
    “Hey, it’s all right. So you’re a little different. I like that about you,” she watched him out of the corner of her eye. “Besides, it’s good to be different. I pride myself in being different.”
    “Different, huh? Is that why you’re here in Willow? Because you’re different?”
    She shot a glare at him. “What do you know? What have people been saying?”
    “Nothing,” he didn’t want to lie. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, either. People were talking.
    “That’s okay. Small towns and gossip go hand in hand, I guess.”
    “So, can you tell me why you had to leave your hometown and move here to Willow?”
    She examined the floor. “I’d rather not. Can you tell me what you were daydreaming about?”
    It was his turn to study his own feet. “I’d rather not.”
     
    THEY STROLLED OUTSIDE and a seagull squawked overhead. It swept downhill toward the waterfront, where a fleet of trawlers sat in their slips. Massive Willow Bridge loomed on the horizon, a gateway to the mighty Pacific beyond. The Columbia River stretched for miles, carving the landscape and ensconcing the town of Willow between Young’s Bay and the coastal mountain range. It was the far northwest corner of Oregon, and distant, snow-tipped peaks, shrouded in haze, sat nestled in green foothills bisected by valley after valley after valley. Overlooking the school from the top of Coxcomb Hill stood Willow Column, a 125-foot tower and historic landmark. On the far bank sparkled the state of Washington, teeming with evergreens as far as the eye cared to wander.
    It was a magical place. Jack had always thought so. He loved the glorious scenery of Willow. He didn’t have time to take in the sights, though. He was too busy gazing at Amelia.
    “Listen, about your presentation,” she changed the subject. “I think you were missing something.”
    “Oh, yeah, what would that be?” he forgot all about his nerves.
    “I just didn’t know where you were going with the whole ‘monsters’ thing. I mean, why be so sensationalist about it?”
    He eyed her. “It’s not sensationalist when you think about it, really. With multiple dimensions, anything is possible, even the existence of what we would call, ‘monsters.’ Where they come from they might not be monsters at all. Heck, in his own world a vampire might be ordinary. Like me and you.”
    “Hey, who are you calling ordinary?” she gave a wry smile.
    “Well, maybe not us. We’re not so ordinary. Neither is my dad. He’s the one who first taught me about the multiverse when I was a kid.”
    “When you were a kid? What are you now, like a hundred?”
    “You know what I mean,” he laughed. “Ever since I was a baby, my dad’s been letting me in on his work. I knew about different dimensions even before I could walk. It’s really important research, and he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that might just change the world.”
    “If it’s so important, then why are those boys always teasing you?”
    “You know how it is with people like Dillon and Mike,” he shook his head. “I mean,