DayDreamer: DayDreamer, #1

By Chrissy Moon

Kayla's 16 and a half. And she's Lyzicc, which means her birth parents are ancient mythos creatures who've been hiding out on Earth.

She has no idea who they are.

All she knows is that she has a new power that shows her the daydreams of others. Two of the cutest guys in school are competing for her attention. Hale is Lyzicc and is pretty tight-lipped about his background. Collin comes from a family whose dark obsession with the Lyzicc Community keeps Kayla guessing about his true intentions.

Join Kayla as she hunts for the truth about herself and survives high school at the same time!

(Book 1 of the DayDreamer series; approx. 73,000 words)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chrissy Moon
• Release date: Jul 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393046301

Chrissy Moon

Chrissy Moon suffers from road rage, would like to own a movie theater-sized popcorn popper one day, and enjoys country music. She has two sons (one adult and one young), is a Power Ranger nerd, and would like to call herself a linguist by hobby, even though she's still learning her native English. (Who isn't?) She enjoys writing about strong women and wants to inspire and amuse the world with her words. Come visit her at chrissymoon.com.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to Charmaine for patiently answering all my cheerleading questions, as well as to Rachel, for letting me use her name.

1

Date

IT WAS LIKE A SHOWDOWN in the Old West.

I could almost see the tumbleweeds drifting by, could practically smell unwashed cowboy underarms and fresh horse crap.

Or maybe it was just the decayed socks of Mr. Cofield, my chemistry teacher.

There was my rival, covered in a white t-shirt: My stomach.

I was done with my chemistry test and had nothing to do except deal with this crisis. I could feel it happening before I could actually hear it, my stomach growling and positively barking at everyone around me.

Springing into action, I cleared my throat as loudly as possible for several seconds, covering up that embarrassing, social life-killing noise.

I continued with the ahems until the racket died down.

Relieved that I won the showdown, I slumped down in my chair and exhaled.

Phew, I said aloud, earning a frown from Mr. Cofield.

My triumph was short-lived, however. Panic washed over me like sweat when I felt the growling start up again.

Great. The growling was back way too soon.

I had no choice but to produce a staccato-like string of throat-clearings, leading to some questioning looks coming from a couple kids in my class, and even more frowns from Mr. Cofield.

Didn’t that guy ever smile?

Just a few more minutes until food, I told my tummy silently. In response, it decided to growl yet again, but thankfully a guy who sat a few rows over was finishing his test and making a lot of noise by getting up. He put his test on Mr. Cofield’s desk and sat back down.

I smiled. It saved me a lot of throat-clearing.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had a sore throat after all this. It wasn’t easy covering up my stomach-barking during my last two classes. I’d been completely famished, but the throat-clearing wasn’t my only secret weapon. I’ve also been known to crumple up a piece of paper or shuffle my feet around on the floor. My timing was down to an exact science, and I was damn proud of it.

I looked at the clock above the doorway.

Ugh! When will lunchtime be here?

In what seemed like hours but in reality was probably only about five minutes, the bell rang, signaling the end of fourth period and the beginning of lunch. Greatly relieved that I wouldn’t have to time any more ‘convenient’ noises, I started packing up my pen and cell phone as a small riot broke out in class, kids hurrying up to finish and turn in their tests, and others hurrying up to get the heck out of there.

Grabbing my books, I headed toward the front of the classroom, the side of my hip smashing into the empty desk at the front of my row. I yelped in pain, but no one paid attention as they continued filing out of the room. I sighed and continued walking, this time hitting my left shoulder on the doorframe. I cried out again, this one hurting a lot worse.

Coordination had never exactly been my strong point.

I stopped outside the classroom and rubbed my shoulder a little bit, pouting.

A large hand appeared out of nowhere, covering my shoulder and hand. Are you okay, Kayla?

Who should be standing there but Hale Harkason, who was, as far as I was concerned, current ‘Hottie of the Universe’ reigning champion. Totally caught off-guard, I gave a small, helpless cry and backed up as if attacked, my butt hitting the open door of a sophomore’s locker. The door banged against the locker behind it.

Oh, sorry! I managed to say to the locker’s owner, some emo kid with multi-colored hair and lots of black eyeliner. He shook his head at me, slammed his locker shut, and angrily stomped away. I watched him walk off, afraid to turn around and see Hale’s reaction to my clumsiness. I felt throbbing pain in my butt, shoulder, and hip, all of which I’d managed to hit against something in the last two minutes.

I finally turned to see if Hale was still there or if he had decided to take his conversation to someone who didn’t act like a half-crazed monkey.

He was definitely still there, standing and waiting patiently for my attention to revert back to him. I couldn’t get over the fact that he was here talking to me. I couldn’t wait to tell Otty about this.

I hadn’t felt this proud since a few weeks ago. I had eaten twelve pancakes all in one sitting while my mom watched, clearly shocked and mouth agape. But I don’t think that had impressed anybody except for myself.

It was incredible that Hale even knew who I was. We did have a couple classes together last year, but we didn’t hang out in the same circles. Still, I had a class with a couple of his football friends, Hale being the quarterback for Hemet High’s varsity football team. I was kind of athletic too. Sort of. I had been on the volleyball team until my mom made me quit last year.

My grades had seriously been slipping. I’d been very, very close to failing geometry.

Stupid shapes.

Sorry about... I began. I was distracted for a moment as I straightened the books I was carrying in my left arm, glad they didn’t have a chance to jump out and plant their butts on my foot. And then I looked up at Hale, right when his gorgeous, sky-blue eyes were looking at me, I mean really looking at me. As if we were the only two people standing in that hallway. I’m not sure I’ve ever been looked at like that by anybody. He made one of the most crowded hallways at Hemet High look like a beautiful desert island that housed only him and me.

It was a beautiful, connected moment of silence.

Let me just say that I’ve seen Hale before, countless times, and I’m sure (or rather hoped) that he’d seen me, but this was the first time we’ve really locked eyes.

The first time we really peered into each other’s souls, and the world around us slowed down and really didn’t even seem to exist for a few moments.

I didn’t just see a superhot boy that channeled the heavens as he walked. There was something else beyond all of that – a depth to his being that wasn’t apparent right away, intelligence and softness, serenity and strength, as well as a subtle gleam in his eyes that suggested he knew much more about the universe than he might pretend.

Added to this assortment of incredible traits that made him unreal was something just as unreal as everything else about him.

He was looking back at me as if he could see the very same things in me.

He was also looking back at me as if he would follow me to the ends of the earth.

More interesting than that was that he didn’t look that way a moment ago. Did he also sense something about this moment?

Sorry about... I tried again, but I was looking deep, deep into Hale’s eyes, and inside I saw waterfalls, lush green meadows and even some jewels in outer space. I saw everything. I have never seen so much in a person’s eyes or felt so weak when looking at a boy. I simply stood there, my sentence forgotten, and darned if Hale wasn’t just staring back at me all the same.

That’s...okay, I... was just... Just uh, wanted... was Hale’s half-answer.

And then someone walked between us abruptly, putting a damper on the spell that seemed to pull us together. It was as if a soft barrier was broken.

Hale composed himself and straightened his posture, seemingly back to normal. He attempted a smile, I think, but it was lopsided and only reached half of his face. His gaze changed a little bit as he looked at me in a strange way, as if I was in on some hidden government conspiracy but that I was just playing dumb. Little did he know I wasn’t playing.

He put his hand on my shoulder again, gently moving my hair behind it and rubbing my shoulder gently, like I had been doing just a moment ago. Uh, congratulations on staying awake in Cofield’s class. I have him for first period, and I know it’s a struggle staying conscious for even ten minutes.

I laughed, part of me still disbelieving what was happening here. It isn’t easy, I admitted, temporarily lost in his gorgeous blue eyes.

Kayla, he finally began, Would you like to grab a bite with me after school tomorrow? We’ll go to Steer ‘n Stein, hang out and talk, and I’ll take you home after that. If that’s okay with you, he added abruptly. He squeezed the side of my shoulder lightly and smiled at me again.

Hale. Just. Asked. Me. Out?

Breathe, Kayla. Oh, god. Breathe!

I wiggled my feet a little to make sure my leg muscles still worked and actually hadn’t turned into jelly. If my legs gave way or if I passed out, I would most likely miss out on our...date.

Say something, you idiot. Say something before he walks away.

Burgers.

What the hell did I just say?

Blaa. Yiiii—yah. Yes! I said, raising my voice and putting as much enthusiasm into it as I could. I tried to shrug it off. At least I’d blurted out ‘burgers’ and not ‘tampons.’

I reached up and pulled him down awkwardly into a hug, hoping the aggressive action would make him forget my stupidity although, looking back on it, randomly hugging a guy I didn’t know too well probably added to my idiocy rather than erased it. I shoved that out of my mind and enjoyed the brief feeling of his toned shoulders.

He broke away from our hug gently. Okay, then. Great. I’ll meet you after school tomorrow out front by the flagpole, okay?

But what about practice? Don’t you have to do, uh, football stuff?

Hale gave me a grin that threatened to break into an all-out laugh. I instantly felt stupid, again. Of course he would know whether he needed to be at practice or not.

No. He lifted his left knee quickly and gestured toward it. ACL. Tore my knee ligament during a game last December.

Oh. Ouch! I didn’t know what that felt like, but I could pretty much imagine it. I also felt a little stupid – here it was October, and I hadn’t noticed that Hale hadn’t played any football at all these last couple months.

And to top it off, he continued, I tried to practice too soon after the accident, so that set me back even more. I can walk just fine now, but my doctor doesn’t want me doing anything too demanding for a little while longer. By the time I’ve completely healed, football season will be over. So I’m out until next year.

Oh, no. They must miss you. Your team, I mean.

Duh. Who else would I mean? Could I act normal just once?

Eh, they’ll be okay, he said, grinning modestly. So...I’ll see you after school tomorrow?

Shorp, I replied, wanting to punch myself in the face. I was going to say sure or yup, and out came a franken-word. Silently, I prayed he just thought I was pronouncing ‘sure’ in a really cool way, as if I were British or something.

I began walking away from him quickly before he could change his mind about our date. See you then.

He smiled again and nodded. Bye, Kayla.

I looked over my shoulder at him, wondering if he would ditch me after school and go to practice after all, sitting on the bench and telling his football buddies, I asked Kayla out because I thought she was nice, but did you guys know she can’t talk or walk very well?

My foot hit something on the ground. I panicked as I lost control of my body and was airborne for about half a second before I landed on the ground hard, pain shooting up from my right butt and hip.

I groaned in pain – it was the same hip that I’d slammed into a desk during 4th period just five minutes earlier – and put my hand on my hip, giving the evil eye to the raised tree root that I had tripped over, as if hating on that tree root could get rid of the humiliation. Maybe my dad was right – maybe I really should wear full body pads over my clothes when I went out in public. People would call me Marshmallow Kayla. I could be the new mascot of the school. At least my mom wouldn’t have to worry about me wearing revealing clothes.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Hale running over to me. I panicked, kind of wishing he had walked away and wasn’t a witness to my pathetic, ever-growing lack of grace.

Oh, no. Are you okay? He stuck out his hand for me to take. I looked at it with dread. This was not how I wanted to touch hands with him for the first time.

Then again, I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t want to touch him. I managed a smile and took his rough but strong hand. He smiled back and put his other arm around me, helping me stand up.

Yeah, I replied, not wanting to elaborate. I just wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.

It’s the tree’s fault. I officially declare war on trees and greenery everywhere.

I laughed. Better not let anyone hear you, especially Mr. Jolston. He’d have you tarred and feathered. Mr. Jolston was the recycle king of the school.

It’d be worth it, he said, looking at me, his eyes dancing. He dropped his hand from my shoulders but held onto my hand, and we just stood there for a little while, looking at each other, lost together in our own world.

Until my best friend, Otty, came stumbling through, breaking us apart.

"Kayla! You’ve got to see something! Let’s go!" She started pulling me by the hand to the quad area, where we hung out a lot during lunch.

She wasn’t bigger or stronger than me, but she caught me by surprise and was hauling me away pretty quickly. I waved goodbye to Hale with my other hand and shouted to him, See you tomorrow after school!

He shouted back that he would definitely be there. I returned my attention to Otty, sighing and commenting on his gorgeous eyes and irresistible smile, excited that I wouldn’t have to take the bus home and that I would get alone time with him. Alone time!

She either didn’t hear me or decided to ignore me. We clashed, me talking about Hale’s cuteness and Otty trying over and over again to direct my attention to the quad area. I could tell there was music being played, but that couldn’t have been as important as describing in graphic detail the way Hale’s thin eyebrows had scrunched together in concern as he had asked me if I was okay.

KAYLA RACHEL!

I looked over at her, finally stopping and giving her my undivided attention.

What, Autumn? I asked her, displaying my annoyance by using her full first name. I took a moment to look at Otty: her pretty green eyes hiding behind a pair of glasses, freckles sprinkled lightly on her nose and upper cheeks, light brown hair that was naturally curly but was always brushed out, giving it a frizzy and unflattering look. So many times have I offered to bring my hair stuff over to her house, but she refused. She was just so damn stubborn. She would look amazing with some gel in her hair to accentuate her natural curls, maybe even add a little color.

I’d also tried to convince Otty to get contact lenses. I wasn’t trying to tell her how to dress or anything – I just really wanted her to show off those gorgeous green eyes that I’ve always been envious of. Still, she wouldn’t hear of it. I mean, she literally wouldn’t let me talk to her about it at all.

Otty was odd, but I loved her.

She was also pretty assertive – she put her hands on the sides of my head and turned it so I would finally look at what was happening on the quad area.

Our favorite radio station was visiting Hemet High, and a deejay that I listened to pretty often, Dash Elton, was standing on the stage, talking to some students. No way! I exclaimed, staring at him. He was actually a little cute – I always thought most deejays were ugly, and that that was how they chose their profession. Boy, was I wrong.

He’s going to be here all week, Otty said excitedly. We watched as Dash Elton walked over to his temporary station and played some dance music.

Let’s dance! I tried to pull her out to the quad area, but her face got pink and she ran back to a safe watching distance. My eyes flitted over to her as I marveled at what a change in attitude my best friend just displayed. I sure wish I’d thought of how shy she gets around music a minute ago when Otty was desperately trying to wrangle me away from Hale. I could have played some music on my cell phone and suggested she dance. She would have run off and left me standing there with the ADORABLE Hale.

I shrugged and looked for a friend I could yank over to the grassy quad area, which was starting to fill up with dancing kids, mostly with seniors, and some juniors like me. The smaller, younger kids just stared at us, trapped with shyness.

Did I say that coordination had never been my strong point? Well, it was different when there was music on. I could visualize the beats, my body wanting to help the song take a more visual shape. I was aware of how strange it was, being on both ends of the grace spectrum like this. I could never really understand it but then, I never put too much energy into figuring it out. Dance was one of the most beautiful things in the world. It was life, art, and music rolled into one.

I couldn’t live without it. The fact that it was the only time I was graceful didn’t hurt either.

Miran, a cute but not-terribly-bright friend of Hale’s, was standing at the edge of the crowd talking to a couple guys, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the edge of the grass, mimicking some moves I had seen Ke$ha do in one of her last videos and wishing I had been wearing a skirt to school today instead of just a t-shirt and jeans. A lot of moves were difficult, if not impossible, in jeans.

I had practiced these new dance moves during the odd hours of the night, since I don’t sleep. I had always longed for when I’d be able to use them in public. Miran, to his credit, tried to keep up with me, but it was pretty obvious he’d rather be bungee-jumping over Niagra Falls with dental floss wrapped around his waist.

Uh, I have to go, Kayla, he shouted over the pumping music, and began to walk away.

Sighing, I stopped dancing and looked around the quad area to see what else was going on. A few of the cheerleaders stood to the side, engrossed in what seemed to be a kind of dance rehearsal. I watched them for a few minutes, staring and fascinated. I loved watching people dance. The way bodies moved in time to the universal language of music...it was just genius. Sometimes.

Today, it was kind of a disaster.

When the cheerleaders stopped rehearsing, I approached their captain, one of the few cheerleaders that I knew by name – Diamond. Everybody on campus called her Princess Di because she was, well, perfect, and really fitting to her name. Not only was she captain of the cheerleading squad, she also headed an unofficial Snobby Girls Club which was actually called Jewelry. The only other two members also had names of gems. They didn’t do much with their ‘club’ other than poke fun at everyone else and act high and mighty.

I wasn’t intimidated by that, though. Not today. I had a purpose in mind, and it kept me focused. Diamond turned her head to see me as I approached, and mumbled out a decent enough hello to me. I pulled her away from the others and suggested she change her routine just a little, giving her details of the order I thought the cheerleaders should do the moves in.

After I was done filling her in, I shrugged it off. It was just a thought. Thought it might help. See ya.

She rolled her eyes a little and went back to the other cheerleaders, coaching them as if I’d never interrupted her.

I ran to catch up to Miran, who by this time was nearly off the quad area, close to where I had probably left Otty, but she was nowhere to be seen at all. As we walked, I looked back over my shoulder longingly at the other kids that were still dancing and having fun.

Suddenly, I slammed into Miran’s back. Apparently, he had stopped walking, which I would have figured out if I’d been paying attention. Complaining, I rubbed my nose and noticed Hale standing there, watching