I'm My Own High School Rival: Nakamura's Arc: Heritage

  Damn him for making stupid faces at me during lunch. I struck the rail with my baseball bat. The sound reverberated, causing the bat to tremble in my hand.

  Why does he want my attention so badly? I struck the rail again.

  I give him hugs, let him sleep in my bed, and listen to him at home; it's safe there. I thought about his tear-wet eyes, the silent scowl that begged for a hug, and him feeding Ms. Nakamura.

  Did he forget who he was—did Antwon wake up, or was the other spirit in control?

  I sighed. School had ended, and baseball tryouts were starting soon, but Jenie told me to meet her here.

  She saved Ms. Nakamura from an ass-whooping; teacher be damned, I would have totally thrashed her.

  I smashed my bat against the rail again, feeling my anger flow out with every strike.

  I did tell him to be romantic with other girls—I just never thought he would have done it.

  I lightly tapped my metallic bat against the rail. I didn't dent it, but I left marks, chipped paint.

  "Damn it, Jenie, where are you?"

  I dragged my metal bat against the ground, preserving my arm for tryouts.

  "Now that you've ceased swinging your bat, let us talk about your earlier actions."

  I looked around to find Jenie walking up the ramp leading to the baseball field.

  "Let us speak pinly; reading minds is tedious in a mortal coil."

  She was shorter than normal girls, but her lifeless expression matched the genie's tone. The darkness of the pyer tunnel gave her an ominous appeal.

  "What did you mean in the cafeteria?"

  She pced her hands behind her back; maybe she read me anyway.

  "As I said earlier, I can sense Antwon's soul, which is uncanny given the situation."

  My heart screamed, but I couldn't name the feeling.

  "So, is he Antwon—my brother, or is he—"

  "Knox… I'm unsure."

  "How are you unsure? You're the genie…"

  Her expression didn't change, or it couldn't.

  She focused on the bat in my hand, not understanding what it meant; I dropped it.

  "The vessel registers two essences, making it harder to distinguish which entity is paramount."

  I held my breath, thinking about the scene I had made in the cafeteria.

  "However, the possibility of an amalgamation fits this scenario; this variation doesn't quite fit the structural integrity of either."

  Gripping my shirt, a biting question chewed me up: who did I tell off, who was I holding at night, and who was I dealing with?

  "Jenie, does Antwon remember the future?"

  An unexpected breeze whirled through the pyer tunnel, pushing Jenie's hair in her face. I clutched my shirt tighter, so it didn't lift, but Jenie was unfazed.

  "I do not know."

  Silence.

  "Does anyone else remember… the Veil attacking the school?"

  "Sakura—help me write a retort to a young man whose interest I seemed to have piqued."