The Secret of Zormna Clendar by Julie Steimle (great reads .TXT) đ
- Author: Julie Steimle
Book online «The Secret of Zormna Clendar by Julie Steimle (great reads .TXT) đ». Author Julie Steimle
Zormna nodded again, looking more like sheâs rather merge with the concrete.
âItâs going to be fun,â he said.
She just shrugged and went into the girlâs hall.
Sighing, Todd walked the other direction, into the boysâ locker room.
âThere he is!â Jonathan Baker raised his arms, cheering once he entered the main room.
Mark Wheley clapped while Jeff Streigleâs fair-haired, older brother Alex beckoned him over. They were gathered in the wrestling teamâs locker row, waiting for him. His other pals, Brian Henderson and Jeff were quickly changing into their new red tee shirts. They said Pennington Wrestling Swabs Up! on them. Both boys smirked. Todd caught a glimpse of the scars on Jeffâs back as the boy quickly pulled his new shirt over them. They didnât talk much about them, but everyone knew Jeffâs father had beaten him. It was why the Streigle brothers were living with an uncle in town and why Jeff supposedly once been in a gang. It was why people said he was trouble. But Jeff was smiling.
âSo?â Jeff peeked back at his older brother as he asked for all of them, âTell us about this girl that moved in with you. Everyone says sheâs hot.â
Todd laughed. âI guess the secret is out.â
âDetails!â Jonathan latched one hand on the back of Toddâs neck and shaking him. âWho is she? Friend? Family? We saw her at the mall yesterday with your mother.â
Chuckling, Todd nodded. âYeah. Mom took her shopping after enrolling her. And she is a fox.â
âWhat is she like?â Alex asked.
âBlondeâŠâ Todd answered, tilting his head back, âGymnasticâŠâ
âGymnastic?â the boys murmured, sharing approving glances.
Alex reached in to strangle him. âNo. I heard all of that from them.â
âYou werenât at the mall?â
âI was at work.â Alex shook his head, glancing to Jeff. âSo I didnât get the sneak preview.â
The brothers shared yet another of their secret looks. Todd liked the Streigle brothers, but there were days they made him nervous. The fair-haired, lighter-tempered brotherâAlexâs crystal blue eyes most of the time were filled with amusement. But Jeffâs abused, brooding, deep blue gaze remained mysterious and questioning. Salt and Pepper, some people called them.
âI was,â Jeff said, âBut I didnât get to see her in time.â He grinned almost deviously. âSo, what is she like?â
Todd stepped back. âI think it is better if I introduce you, then you can decide.â
They all grinned.
Mark let out a whoop as everyone changed clothes quickly.
Outside, the air was pungent with damp lawn and manure, the odor mostly coming from the football field. They jogged straight to the track, took two laps per the coachâs usual instructions then gathered on the bleachers for roll call. In the distance, the other classes were still assembling. Zormna had to be in a class out on the asphalt, probably doing calisthenics by now.
âAsher! Keep up!â Coach Bakerâs voice echoed from across the parking lot.
Toddâs class snickered. Darren Asherâthat weird lanky sophomore who believed in aliens, Atlantis, and government conspiraciesâwas probably doing something stupid again. The crowd he was in echoed the same sentiment. Zormna was in that group somewhere. Todd was sure Coach Bakerâs name was on her schedule. Sophomore/Junior PE.
Coach Bakerâs shouts echoed frequently over the fields, but Todd stared that way, listening, hoping he would catch sight of her. Unfortunately, having adjacent classes was turning out to be a big flop. The school fields were just too large.
And then their coach showed up with his assistant, ending his free time to look.
The meaty wrestling instructor gazed up at them all sitting in the bleachers. âJust because the wrestling season is over does not mean you can slack off. If you want to make the team for next year, you had better keep in shapeâŠ.â
The usual shtick. Todd tuned it out as Coach Bakerâs class rose then stretched. The jog-by. Her class would take their two laps around the track. Then he could point her out to his friends.
âMcLenna! Are you listening?â
âWhat?â Todd popped his attention back on the coach.
The boys around him snickered.
Coach set his hands on his hips. âWhat are we all doing today?â
Todd cringed. He peeked to the others.
Alex made hand gestures that, frankly, made no sense. Jeff rolled his eyes and elbowed Brian in the side. Brian was making one of his âstrong-manâ faces, flexing his biceps. Then it hit Todd.
âStrength training.â
The coach sighed. âTwo points for McLenna for having friends who can bail him out.â
Todd hunched with a wince.
âOk. On your feet. Up and down the bleachers five times then start the circuit. Go.â
All of them rose.
Up and down the bleachers, jogging as a team together. It was the Pennington way for wrestling, football, soccerâŠany sport that required strong legs. It also hurt. Because of it, Todd missed Coach Bakerâs class jog-by. By the time his team had reached the end of the bleacher run and started their circuit training, he spotted Zormna in the distance. She was back on the black top. He could barely make out the large block letters on her back in permanent black marker that said CLENDAR. Amazingly, she was ahead of her class at the finish of their two laps around the track. Everyone in her class fought to keep up, especially the boys.
âIs that her?â Alex pointed, squinting to make her out. âSheâs pretty short.â
âSheâs really fast,â Brian murmured.
Todd nodded. âYep. Thatâs her. Sheâs too far away to see. Maybe I can introduce you at lunch.â
âPromise?â Mark asked, grinning.
Todd only chuckled.
Strength training, in their coachâs mind, was not done in a room with weights, but had to be done in a circuit in all weather. They were required to run to each post in succession, perform a set of exercises, and complete as many laps as they could. Most of his friends jogged the circuit together, keeping a slow pace, but he pulled ahead, skipping a few of the tasks so he could get to the fence that divided the football field from the back fields. That was where Coach Bakerâs class had gone. Zormnaâs class was currently in the middle of an intense frisbee-football game, slogging over the damp lawn.
Zormna darted through the heart of the field, playing not at all how Todd expected for a girl with her kind of looks. She dived after a soaring frisbee. Tumbling into a slide across the muck, snatching the disk up before it could make contact with the earth, she rolled with a pop right onto her feet. Mud smeared across Zormnaâs cheek and one ear. But she came up grinning, triumphantly lifting the red disk above her head.
âHoly cow!â Jonathan halted next to him. He lurched against the fence where Todd was watching.
Then she sailed the disk to her teammate like an expert.
âDid you see that?â Jonathan gaped.
âYeahâŠâ Todd shook his head though. âThatâs Zormna.â
âZorâwhat?â
Brian and Mark jogged up next with Jeff following not far behind. Jeff paused at exercise the station to stretch, not quite going to the fence. He stayed back to keep watch in case the coach saw what they were doing.
âIs that her?â Brian leaned against the chain link.
âThatâs the chick we saw at the mall, all right.â Mark nodded, clutching the fence railing. âSo she really is staying with you?â
Todd laughed. âYeah, she is staying with us. Sheâs sleeping in our attic.â
âWhatâs her name?â Brian asked, unable to take his eyes off her.
And Todd chuckled. He couldnât wait to hear their reactions. âZormna Clendar.â
âZorma what?â Jonathan repeated again.
âZorba the Car?â Mark stared. âThatâs not aâŠ. Youâre joking.â
Jeff got up from a deep knee-bend and rushed to the fence. Breathing hard, he squinted at the small blonde running across the field. Her fiery blonde hair surged back from her face like smoke, settling in curls around her head to its chin length. The longer thin strands that hung in front of her ears fell against her chest in broad spirals. Jeffâs hand automatically covered his mouth. He drew in a breath.
The boys took in her pale, thin, toned legs, then the curvature upwardâa hot image in a pair of running shorts. Her leg muscles flexed as she turned and walked back towards a teammate. Her bow-shaped mouth pressed together with a question, probably about the rules. Entrancing, how her stare was so solid, so exotic. And when she turned and blinked at them with her deep green eyes, they were left breathless. She waved at Todd.
âOh my gââ Mark turned immediately toward Todd, grabbing him by his shirt front. âCan I have her for my birthday?â
âNo.â Todd shoved him off. âAnd my mom made me promise to treat her like a sister soâŠif I canât date her, I donât think itâs fair that you guys can.â
âAh!â his collection of friends moaned in protest.
But Jeff said, âHow come she moved here?â
âHey!â Brian protested. âHere is a good place to be!â
Shrugging, Todd replied, âIâm not exactly sure why she moved here, but she said she came to live with her great aunt.â
âSo then how come she is living with you?â Brian asked.
Jeff nodded, his dark eyes transfixed on her.
Todd chuckled, averting his gaze a little. âWellâŠthatâs a funny story, really. I mean, my parents taking her in is pretty much impossible to believeââ
âKnowing your parents,â Jeff agreed, nodding wryly.
ââBut it turns out her great aunt wasâget thisâthe crazy lady of Hayes Street.â Todd nodded knowingly.
All his friendsâ eyes went wide, except Jeffâs of course. Jeff remained puzzled.
âNo way.â Brian was floored. All three boys looked back at her too see it they could make out the family resemblance.
âYou donât know about her,â Todd said to Jeff, âbecause the crazy woman died a year before you got here. I donât even think Alex has seen her.â
âBefore Alexâs time,â Brian murmured.
âIâve heard rumors,â Jeff said, snorting. He then chuckled, looking back at Zormna. She was too involved in her game to pay attention to their group of gawkers. âA fat lady who believed she was from Mars. Some say she had lived here for forever. Is that really true?â
âAs far as I know,â Brian said.
Jonathan nodded.
âI heard the FBI was all over the scene, and thatâs why Darren the dork is so obsessed with aliens,â Jeff said.
âYou hit the nail on the head.â Jonathan patted Jeffâs shoulder. âWhen the old woman died, the government was all over the neighborhood. Men in black.â
âI hope insanity isnât hereditary,â Mark said, gazing back at Zormna. A yearning sigh escaped his chest.
Jeff smirked. âIt is.â
âSo why did your parents take her in?â Brian asked Todd, âThey donât even let us hang out at your place.â
Shrugging, Todd replied in a murmur, âIâm not sure. Maybe because sheâs Irish? But I donât know if that is a plus or minus with them. And they did occasionally talk to her aunt before, you know, the old woman croaked.â
All of them nodded.
Todd wondered on that a bit more.
âIs she related to you?â Jeff asked.
Todd shook his head. âNope. Not at all. And Zormna has been talking about becoming an emancipated minor, which means she does not intend to stay with us long.â
Jeff snorted at that. The others murmured over the phrase emancipated minor.
âHey!â Alex jogged up. âCoach is coming this way. Youâd all better move on.â
They looked back.
The coach jogged towards them like he would stomp them into the track. His face contorted between something like a grouchy bull dog and a peeved Rottweiler.
âAlright,â Todd said, gesturing for Alex to come to the fence first. âBut get your look at Zormna before we run off. You can see her right over there.â
âZormna?â Alex rushed up, eyes wide. He snuck a look at his brother, who raised his eyebrows, nodding.
The coach was gaining.
Brian and Jonathan cringed, breaking into a run back onto the track. Mark lagged a little, peeking once at the coach before joining them back into the circuit.
Todd
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