Lost Contact (The Bridge Sequence Book One), Nathan Hystad [primary phonics books .TXT] 📗

sixth Token, and without it, what use was looking for the other five?

I thought about the boxy metal holder and imagined my father grasping it as he placed the artifacts into the slots along its sides.

A paper dropped to the desk I sat behind, and I looked up to see an unfamiliar student walking away, heading for the gymnasium’s exit. There were five different exams going on simultaneously, with the students spaced apart to mitigate any risk of cheating.

I had two hours before the buzzer would ring, ending the students’ time with their final test for the semester. Many of the young adults were struggling, nervously tapping their feet, chewing the end of their pencils, playing with their bangs. I remembered what it was like feeling the strain of college at a time like this, mixed with the anxiety of going home for the holidays, with the ever-present vacant seat at the end of the table where Dad used to sit. Meals were always quiet, with Christmas music playing in the background and Mom drinking white wine.

Another student walked up, and she smiled at me as she set her test on the desk. Economics. I’d always hated courses like that. They were too mundane for me. I wanted adventure, mysteries explained, history to show us where we came from. Researching GDP and graphs with theoretical dollar values and calculations had never been my forte.

It was snowing outside again, and I stared at the dark midday through the window, feeling like I hadn’t seen the sun since we’d returned from Venezuela. Snow blanketed the courtyard outside the gym.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out.

Beverly: Rex, are you coming for Christmas or not?

I bristled. It was a couple weeks away yet, and she was pressing for an answer. There were other messages, and I scrolled through them.

Hunter Madison: You owe me an explanation. What did you find?

I’d ignored every communication from Hunter so far. I knew he’d be pissed, but I had to figure out just what precise details I wanted to share.

Richard: You okay? I don’t like that you left so abruptly the other night. Call me.

Doctor Richard Klein had already left three voicemails since my disappearance from his dinner party, and I wasn’t in the mood to tell him why I’d vanished, or that I was tired of his endless attempts to convert me to Harvard.

I rubbed my temples, the pressure building up. It was like the nervous energy of the two hundred students was encapsulating me, threatening to burst. I took a deep inhale, hearing the scratching of pencils across stapled pages, and replied to my sister.

Rex: I hate to do this to you, but I can’t commit. The school has decided to send me on an expedition, and I don’t know how long it’ll last.

I stared at it for a few moments before hitting send. I didn’t enjoy lying to her, but if she had any inclination of my plans, she’d drive to my house and handcuff me to the radiator.

I waited for a response, but none came. I could picture her cheeks growing red in anger, her lips pursing as she hastily typed a furious reply. Then her better judgment would take hold, and she’d delete it, returning the phone to her purse.

Before I put the cell away, I sent one note to Marcus. I’d left him alone for hours, but curiosity and dread forced me to contact him.

Rex: Any luck?

Marcus: …

I watched the screen, impatiently wanting a positive response. The dots vanished, and I slumped in the seat as a thickset bearded man set his completed exam on the desk.

The two hours passed with the slowness one could only experience in a doctor’s waiting room or at a traditional Italian orthodox wedding. The seconds dripped away, one tick at a time, until the buzzer finally sounded. Only a dozen students remained scattered among the empty desks, and I smirked as one set his head on the exam paper, his pencil rolling onto the floor.

“Time’s up. Please bring your exams to the front. I hope you have a well-deserved break.” I stood, feeling the stiffness in my back, and saw Jessica waiting at the gym’s exit.

The students shuffled out, and Jessica entered, her heels clicking on the wooden planks. “Thank you for stepping in today. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“It was no problem at all,” I assured her.

“That’s it. The last of the exams. School is officially out of session.”

“What are you doing for the holidays?” I asked her, gathering the tests. There were five piles, and I spun them around, making sure not to mix them up.

“Nothing much. My parents have decided to go for a cruise again this year, and after much insisting, I had to decline.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“I’ve never been one for confined spaces with hundreds of other people. Plus, I don’t have the best sea legs.” She grinned as she said it, and if her intention had been for me to peek at her long, stocking-covered legs, it worked.

I really didn’t need a distraction at the moment. I was about to walk past her when she set a hand on my chest. “You owe me a dinner. Remember?”

I checked the clock, seeing it was four. “Rain check?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were blowing me off. It’s okay, I don’t expect you to drop everything and make the time.” She lowered her hand, stepping back a few feet. “I may have come on a little strong, and dating isn’t permitted. Especially in my position, but there’s something about you that intrigues me.”

I hadn’t seen anyone following me since we’d returned, and suddenly, I had the urge to check her wrist for a tattoo. I was being rash. Jessica had an exemplary record and was the youngest president in the college’s history, not to mention a woman, which was also a first for this establishment. I doubted she was overly