Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) by Morgan Wylie Page A

harassed him but concluded that he would get lost in their craziness if he wore anything else. He would reply by saying that he just did it to give them the background to stand out—as if they needed any extra help in that arena.
    “Good morning! Sorry I’m late,” Chel said as she scooted Finn over to sit next to him on the bench.
    “Hey! Why don’t you go sit by Kaeleigh?” Finn grumbled at Chel.
    “Because look at us! We totally clash. Don’t you want to sit by me?” She batted her eyes in a falsely flirtatious way at him. He just grunted and scooted over to give himself as much room as he could. Chel laughed and looked at Kaeleigh curiously. “So... spill.”
    She cocked her head and looked at Kaeleigh curiously, then leaned in to get a closer look at Kaeleigh’s face when Chel’s eyes got big. “Whoa! Your eyes were just super vivid green then faded back to normal... must have been the sun reflecting in them, or I’m seeing things. Strange.” She kept staring at Kaeleigh.
    “Quit staring at me! You are weirding me out. It must have been the sun or your imagination,” she replied self-consciously. Then she remembered Chel’s perceptive question. “Spill what?” Kaeleigh asked a bit nervously. Chel had a way of always knowing when she needed to talk.
    “You look like you’ve got something to say. You’re making me feel all anxious and on edge. I already chewed off all my finger nails waiting to yell ‘surprise’ for you last night.”
    “Okay, well… Yesterday at Antonia’s this guy came in—a really hot guy I might add—and asked for me specifically... by name! He said something weird about watching me and how I was unaware of who I  was. Then while I was trying to figure out what he was talking about, he got up and left. Just like that—he was out the door. How weird is that? He must have been confused... or got the wrong Kaeleigh... or I don’t know. What do you guys think?” Kaeleigh knew she was rambling, but she was nervous for some reason. She watched both their responses. 
    “That is really weird, but I don’t think it’s anything to get worked up over,” Chel replied first—too nonchalantly for Chel—then leaned forward with her elbows on the table. “So this guy was really hot, huh?” She winked at Kaeleigh, obviously trying to change the subject.
    Finn’s turn. Kaeleigh simply raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “It was probably a mistake, but keep an eye out just in case he comes back.” Finn sounded distracted yet concerned.
    “That’s not the only thing that I haven’t told you guys,” Kaeleigh said, wringing her hands, suddenly scared to share one of her longest-held secrets. 
    “What else happened?” Finn questioned, now with an edge in his tone. Kaeleigh looked at him sharply. What was up with his responses lately? It was like she didn’t even know him these days.
    “Okay, okay. So this is all going to sound silly”— might as well rip the Band-Aid off, right? —“but I’ve been having these weird um... flashes... of places and things I’ve never seen before but they seem so real. I can’t figure out what they are trying to tell me and I can’t always remember them. They aren’t dreams, that much I’m sure. Sometimes they happen in the middle of the day.” Kaeleigh started biting her nails, anticipating their reactions.
    “Wait, you’ve had more of these dreams slash flashes? And this is the first time you’ve said anything?” Finn almost angrily interrupted her.
    “Yes, I’ve had them since I was little actually. Why would I tell you when it just makes me sound crazy? I knew well enough back then not to draw attention that way—I would have ended up in the psych ward on more than one occasion. I learned to live with them. It’s not like they mean anything; at least, I didn’t think they did, but I’m not sure now—they’re getting stronger. Why else am I telling you now?” Kaeleigh started thinking out loud to herself before