SAVANTS
The Chapture 16

I put plant-based foods in the water. "This is a good start." Actually, this is the first time anyone has given me flowers. I feel a little nervous during the day, knowing my parents are just upstairs. I can handle this conversation if he just wants to apologize. 

Tina would probably consider it worthy of her own news if she knew that the great Zed Benedict had bowed to humble himself to a girl.

Zed toyed with the coffee filter. "How does it work?"

I picked it up and showed her how much coffee to put in. "Aren't you in the kitchen?"

"We are all a family of men and one woman" he said as if to explain. "We have coffee maker—filters coffee well"

"And she called your mother."

She laughs. "Cannot be. He is the king of our house.

Okay, I can do this. We had normal conversations about normal things.

He took his cup and sat down on the chair. "So tell me something about yourself. I play drums and guitar. What about you?"

"Piano, saxophone, and guitar."

"Look, we can talk without you being afraid of me"

"Yes." Yeah." I accidentally saw her, she noticed me like a bear crouched over an ice hole, ready to hook a salmon. "You .. You like all the music, or just jazz?"

"All, but I like the freedom to improvise." He patted the spot next to his stool. I sat down, keeping my distance between us. "I like to play alone. For me it's kind of freefall with a parachute."

"I like that too."

"It's a musical musician". He looked at me, asking me to understand there was another meaning under his surface words. "I mean, you have to be really confident to start solo without preparation and not embarrass yourself. Everyone can make mistakes when they're in a hurry."

"You really don't know." Further.

My God, he's gonna lift those weird things up again.

He shook his head. "And you have absolutely no idea why I warned you that day. You think I'm trying to scare you."

"Are you really scaring me? All about knives and blood."

"I didn't mean it that way." He rubbed his thumb against my knuckles that were on the table. "Funny sitting with you. I get so much from you, like you broadcast on all frequencies."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

He stretched his long legs, gently bumping into my legs. "It's hard to explain. I'm sorry for being rude to you."

"Rude? I just thought that you had a strange allergic reaction to English girls of inadequate height"

He's lookingat me. "Is that you?" Goda.

"Um .. yes." I looked at my feet. "I'm still waiting for the growth spurt that Sally promised me since I was fourteen."

"Your height is perfect. I come from a family of giant redwoods, bonsai make a nice change."

Bonsai! If I knew him better, I'd have him on the ribs for this one. But I was too embarrassed, so I let it go. "So you won't explain what's the problem with me?" Ask me.

"Not today. I've messed it up once I won't risk damaging it a second time in a hurry. It's too important." He grabbed my hand and punched himself on his shoulder. "I've got it I deserve."

"You're crazy."

"Yes, it's me." But still he didn't explain how he knew that I wanted to hit him.

Zed took my hand. "Okay, I'm going out now. I don't want to force you. Nice to meet you, Sky. See you soon."

I don't trust this confirmed brat behavior, but Zed obviously didn't let me go. On Monday at the end of school, she was waiting for me near Tina's car.

"Hi, Tina, how are you?"

Tina looked at him, then looked at me, her eyebrows raised. "Good, Zed. You alone?"

"good. Sky, ready to go home?" He's prodding a motorcycle helmet.

"Tina gave me a ride."

"I'm sure he won't mind if I drop you off. I want to make sure Sky gets home safely, okay, Tina?"

Tina seemed as if she was objecting, not least because she didn't trust Zed more than me. "I said I'd drive Sky."

Zed Benedict says 'please'. Ice formed in Hell. And he offered to fulfill one of my personal fantasies.

"Sky" Tina asked, she's worried now.

I guess such humility should be given a chance. "It's okay. Thank you, Tina. I'll go with Zed." I took the helmet Zed offered.

"You sure?" He tied his dreadlocks back, a move I know means he's uncomfortable.

Not particularly. "See you tomorrow."

"Yes." Yeah." His last look made me have no doubt that I would be angry about what happened after he left.

Zed took me to his motorcycle. We attracted some astonished gazes from the students who were wandering around.

"I've never been on a bike before" I admitted as I rode behind him.

"The secret is to hold on tight."

I couldn't see his face but I could have sworn he must have grinned. I put my hands around her waist, my feet touching her hips. Leisurely we got out of the parking lot, he turned his bike up the hill. As he raised his speed, I tightened my embrace. I felt a brief caress of his hand in my hand a soothing touch.

"Are you okay there?"

"I... Aye"

"Want further road? I can take you to the mountains. There's about thirty minutes before night"

"Maybe a little further"

He passed the turn to my house. There were many trees and some hunting cabins as well as some remote huts. He stopped at a promontory with a view back to the valley. The sun set in front of us, bathing everything in a golden light of butter that gave the illusion of warmth despite the cold.

He parked his bike, then helped me down and let me admire the view quietly for a few minutes. The frost all night still stuck in the shade, the leaves, the white-eyed, crispy underfoot. I could see for miles the mountains I had neglected all day pushing themselves back into my consciousness, reminding me of my insignificance in comparison to them.

"So, Sky, how was your day?"

The usual question from Zed surprised me. Wolfman turned into a gentle like a cat lover? I don't think so. It's a little hard to believe it when he's acting so normally . "good. I did a little composition at lunch."

"I saw you in the music room"

"You're not in?"

He laughed and raised his hand. "I was being careful. Very, very careful with you. You're a scary girl."

"Me?"

"Think about. You scolded me in the parking lot in front of my friends, caught my best penalty kick, threw me out of your apple tree, you're scary."

I smile. "I like your compliments." SuperSkiy.

He grins. He didn't guess my mind, did he?

"But what scares me the most is that there's so much about our relationship and you don't even know it."

I let out a breath. "Okay, Zed, try to explain it to me again. I'll hear it this time."

He's nodding. "I guess you don't know anything about savant"

"I know more about football."

He's laughing at me. "I'll just give you a little bit of information now, just to get started. Let's sit here for a minute." He took me so I could sit on a fallen tree trunk, putting my eyes parallel to him as he leaned. 

This was our closest distance to each other since the raft and I was suddenly very aware of his eyes as if hovering over my face. It almost felt as if his fingers, not his gaze, were caressing my skin. "Are you sure you want to hear it? Because if I tell you, I'm gonna have to ask you to keep it a secret for my family and you"

"Who will I tell you?" Surprisingly I sounded breathless.

"I don't know. Your friend may. Or the cat on the street." Wry expression.

"Eh, no, no, and for sure I won't tell anyone" I laughed.

"All right then." He smiled and removed a hair from my brow. There was a strong vibration within him, as if he was holding back, afraid of getting out of control. A little nervous, I did one of my usual distance-keeping techniques, trying to rearrange this encounter as one of my comic imaginations, but it turned out I couldn't. He kept me close and now, he's fully focused. Color—hair, eyes, clothes—not rough, but smooth, shiny, multi-colored. High definition has lit up in my head.

"Savant, I'm one of them. All my family too, but I had a bigger dose of being the seventh child. My mother is also the seventh child."

"And that makes it worse?" Ask me.

I could count every eyelash framing her spectacular eyes.