Level 13, Virginia Lang [early reader chapter books TXT] 📗

under the clipboard hold so I could write without making holes in it, I plopped onto the bed holding an orange #2 pencil.

“Physics…” I began to read the content on the page. “Advances in physics often translate to the technological sector, and sometimes influence the other sciences, as well as mathematics and philosophy.”

“Huh.” I shrugged and started to write my essay, looking through the book and then continuing on the papers.

Four in a half pages, and an hour later, I finally finished the essay. Not that I was complaining, I liked learning, and studying. However, my brain was burnt out just from that short amount of time, due to my lake of sleep. So I laid my head down on the book, and started to drift off into a light sleep that was much well needed.


<pagebreak>
Chapter 9: The Dreaming Echos


Jack looked up at Aileen who was brushing her long hair from a wet mess to straight strands. He had this look, of pure thought on his face, and Aileen could see it. He was no longer invisible he was in solid form.

“Why the perplexed look?” Aileen asked with curiosity as she gazed through the mirror at his slumped body against the shower wall.

“You can…” he looked down at his knees which were visible in front of him instead of the cold stone floor of the Girls showers. “Oh.”

“I can see you, yeah.” She gave a small chuckle and then turned her body so she could lean back against the sinks. “You never answered my question.”

“I was just wondering what she meant by her last comment to you when she walked out.” He said as he continued to stare at his visible jean covered knees. “Did she know I was here, and didn’t say anything?” He asked with a bit of uneasiness. “Or…”

“No, she didn’t, Jack.” Aileen cut in. “Honestly man, you worry to much.”

He gave her a slight glare, but it wasn’t threatening to Aileen because of the putty frown that played along with it. Aileen gave a short laugh. “Aww, poor baby.”

This caused his frown to deepen and a huff to escape him. Pushing himself up from the ground, using the wall, he managed to get himself into a standing position. A mixture of pain and aggravation replaced his features, and he almost curled back over against the wall.

“Are you okay?” Aileen asked with semi-serious tone. Jack nodded and reverted to hopping around and stopping whilst admitting the frequent ‘OW’ from his vocabulary. Aileen couldn’t do much but sit there and make weird hand gestures for him not to hit something, or semi-quiet incoherent sounds of empathy. Finally Jack settled down and his pain eased away. Leaning against the wall, he caught his breath and relaxed.

“Gees.” He managed to mutter through his lack of energy.

“Are you okay, now?” Aileen asked with her normal tone, a hint of a smile in her voice. “Because I would hate to call help and then be questioned why you were in the girls showers to begin with.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jack gave a small wave of his hand and then let out a laugh. “I never thought my leg falling asleep would be so painful.”

“Are you kidding me?” she laughed. His leg fell asleep? That’s why he was acting so weird? That was a priceless moment. Thought Aileen as she pushed away from the sinks and grabbed her brush and towel. “Well, I must admit this has been fun and all.”

But I have a friend to meet and you, my dear Jack Kresht, have a girl to find. Aileen gave a bow and grinned as she walked for the exit but stopped a moment. You may want to do something about your non-transparency, also. She smiled and walked out of the Girls showers to go catch up with Emerald.

Jack gave a slight nod and started to walk out after she left, now completely invisible again. He knew which girl Aileen meant. She meant Kitty. He needed to tell her he appreciated what she was doing, being nice to him and all, and coming out to look for him after breakfast. However, as he stood in front of Kitty and Kara’s dormitory, he suddenly lost all ways of speaking. His hand stopped mid knock as the door opened. He had just realized what he was doing, the fact he was invisible probably hadn’t made this any stranger, right.

Gazing at the girl before him he realized it was Kara, Kitty’s roommate. She obviously didn’t see him because she stepped out of the room, which caused Jack to move out of the way before she brushed up against him and realize he was there. As Kara left the room, pulling her sweater on, Jack took the opportunity to slip into the room before Kara turned and shut the door behind her.

Jack let out a steadying breath as he realized he was now inside the same room he was standing in about an hour ago, in the same spot, but Kitty wasn’t. Katrina was laying on her bed, her face pressed into the curve of her Physics book. Jack couldn’t help but smile at the sight. She was in a soundless sleep; her breathing was soft and steady, which caused him to move forward without realization towards her bed.

The soft creek of her bed as he slowly sat down on it, caused her to slightly stir, but she did not wake. Her exhaustion kept her in ‘bed bye’ land for longer, which Jack, right now, was perfectly fine with. Her skin looked soft, soft enough to touch, and her lips were formed in such a peaceful smile it made Jack’s heart beat faster.

Respecting her boundaries, he didn’t reach out his hand to confirm his hypothesis, but rather admired her from his current position.


The tree’s she had so long wanted to see were in front of her. The groups of them all together in a gigantic forest, flowers growing up from their roots to give the place such a wonderful glow were crushing under her feet as she explored through the forest. But the darkness was starting to surround her and she couldn’t keep up with the light.

‘Katrina…’ the haunting voice called out to her. ‘Katrina, help me.’

“Where are you?” she cried. “I can’t see you, you have to tell me where you are!”

‘Help me, please, I can’t see.’

Kitty started into a run. She found a small clearing in a group of trees where she stopped.

“Where are you, help me find you.”

‘the door…’

Kitty looked around, she briskly searched until she found a door in a tree which she yanked open from the vines surrounding it. Stumbling inside she fell to her hands and knees, her breath heavy.

Click..click…

“No…”she breathed. She looked up through her fallen hair to view the hallway of level 9. She fumbled to stand up and when she did she ran for the stairwell.

‘Help me, please!’ it cried.

“How!” she cried.

‘…level 13.’

“Kitty.” She started to stir as she was being shaken out of sleep. “Kitty, wake up!”

Kitty flew up into a sitting position, knocking someone to the floor. When she turned to look down her features turned curious.

“…Jack?”

<pagebreak>
Chapter 10: Hallway Gems


“Emerald Derricks…”

“It’s Em! Not Emer-” Em turned to shoot an irritated look of scorn at the person who decided to use her full name. “-ald…Hi.”

Jake Kresht stood with an amused look on his face as he gazed at the girl in front of him. “Yes, I just said that, anyway-“

“You did not!” she snapped, heat rising in her cheeks at the egotistical, yet gorgeous boy in front of her. “What do you want, don’t you have a girlfriend…girlfriends. To bug?” She asked a bit aggravated that she already was waiting 10 minutes longer for Aileen than she had even intended, making sure to emphasize on the s in girlfriends. How long does it take to shower! Four decades? Honestly woman, move it!

“I did too, and I don’t have girlfriends.” He retaliated. “I don’t even have a girlfriend, thank you very much, I’m waiting for the right person to come along, I do have morals!”

“Did not!” she challenged. “Yeah well good for you.”

“Did too.”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Not!”

“Did!”

“Did!”

“NOT!”

“HAH!” Em pointed a finger at him and did a little jump in triumph. Jake put a finger out to argue but huffed, she defeated him and tricked him, and he frowned slightly.

“Humph.”

Em smirked. “So much for you winning that argument!” She stuck her tongue out at him as Aileen walked up behind her.

Em! Jake Kresht!

Oh, hush.

Aileen continued to hold back a laugh as she cleared her throat. “Sorry I took so long, ran into something along the way here.” She smiled, at Jake. “I’m Aileen.”

He gave a curt nod. “Jake Kresht.”

“I know. Nice to have met you in person finally.” She turned to Emerald. “Okay, well are you done?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Em nodded and turned to leave.

“Did not.”

Emerald turned her head and rolled her eyes. Jake smirked and turned away from the two girls who were walking the opposite direction. Well, he didn’t get to ask them about their friend Kitty, but he did meet someone interesting.

“What was that about!” Josh exclaimed as Jake walked over to him.

“Just arguing.”

“Ah.” He nodded slowly before Jake pushed him along to go bug someone.

<pagebreak>

Chapter 11: Kitty


“Jack?” I stared at him from atop the bed as he lay on the floor a bit dumbfounded, for a moment I forgot all about the dream I had just had. At first I was confused, then worried, and now my anger was rising in the fact he was in my room. “What are you doing in here?!”

Jack gave me an astonished look before he stood up, pushing himself with his hands to a hunched over position before wincing and standing semi-straight. “I needed to…ow.”

“To what…”

“To talk to you.” He looked up at me. “Aileen said I should, because I talked to her after I followed you out of here to the showers-“

“You followed me into the showers!” I repeated slowly. That explains why I had the passing feeling of a presence earlier.

“Yeah…I didn’t see anything!” He screeched then lowered his voice as so not to catch anyone’s attention outside the room. “I covered my eyes when you started to change..and I leaned up against the shower stall wall when you were in there…talking to Aileen…well…um..thinking thoughts..thoughting…think outing-”

“Think outing?” I raised a brow and then let out a small laugh. Jack frowned. “Well give me a break! I was trying to find a word for it, I’m not particularly used to having someone talking to me through my thoughts!”

I nodded, giving him credit for that, but the fact he was in my room, watching me sleep, seeing as how he had to of snuck in here somehow…and knew I was having a bad dream, cause he shook me awake. But why the hell did he have to follow me into the showers! I couldn’t tell if that was