Mind Over Matter.... (first draft)

Chapter One: First Encounter
         A dark blonde haired boy set down a large box and wiped his brow.  He looked around at all the boxes that surrounded him and sighed in relief.
         “That’s the last box Mom,” he called.
         His mother came out from the kitchen, holding a set of plates.
         “That was fast, William!” she said, surprised.
         William shrugged.
         “Dad had most of them out of the truck when I got here,” he replied.
         “Ah, yes,” Mrs. Baker teased, walking over to him, “Your little getting lost episode.  Next time honey, when your father tells you to stay on the highway, don’t try to find a short cut.”
         William scowled at his mother and she laughed, giving him a hug.
         “I wouldn’t have gotten lost if I had remembered that this town is not as big as the last one we lived in.  I might have not driven right through it.”
         Mrs. Baker raised an eyebrow.
         “You make it sound like we’ve lived in several cities recently.”
         William folded his arms across his chest and looked at his mother skeptically.
         “Oh no, just the few thirty cities or so I care to remember,” he said sarcastically, his eyes showing that he was teasing.
         His mother smiled and gave him another hug.
         “You’ve always been able to keep a good attitude at moving.  But John’s company promised that this was the last move that we will ever have to do.”
         “If they do make him move again, do you think we can convince Dad to quit?” William asked, hopeful.
         “We will see,” Mrs. Baker laughed.
         “Convince me to quit what?” Mr. Baker asked, stepping through the front door.
         “The circus,” William joked, turning around.
         “Now you know I can’t do that,” Mr. Baker said in mock seriousness, “They would never let you practice your magic trick anymore.”
         William cocked his head.
         “Magic trick?” he asked, confused.
         “Sure.  Your ‘Make you and your truck disappear and reappear halfway across the state’ trick.”
         Mr. Baker winked at his wife and William threw his hands up in the air.
         “I can’t win,” William complained.
         William’s parents laughed.
         “Alright you two,” Mrs. Baker laughed, “That’s enough playing around.  If we want anything to eat or eat on tonight we have to at least unpack the kitchen boxes.”
         “Why don’t we just order out for tonight, Mom?” William asked, “I saw a pizza shop halfway through town.  We can see if they deliver or I can just go pick it up.”
         Mrs. Baker bit her lip, thinking.  She didn’t really find a pizza shop exactly healthy, but it would save from doing anymore unpacking for the day.  Mr. Baker seemed to have read her mind.
         “It’s alright babe.  We can suffer through one unhealthy meal.  We are all tired from the move and we should take the rest of the night off.  In fact, while William is in town, I will hook up the television and we can watch a movie tonight too.”
         “Yeah!” William grinned, “I can go and see if they have a video rental place around here so we don’t have to go searching for the box of movies.”
         “Well, alright.  But no blood and guts movies,” Mrs. Baker said, pointing a finger at her son.
         “And no sappy romance movies either,” Mr. Baker added, glancing meaningly at his wife.
         Mrs. Baker glared at her husband and William grinned at them both.
         “Got it,” he laughed, “strictly comedies tonight.”
         William picked up his black leather jacket from the railing of the stairs and slipped into it.
         “Hey, forget something?” his dad called as William walked to the front door.
         William turned around and checked his back pocket for his wallet and keys.
         “No, I’m good,” he replied.
         “Are you paying for the food then?” his dad teased.
         “Oh, right.”
         William walked back to his dad, who handed him a twenty.
         “I’ll take care of the movie,” William said, putting the money into his wallet.
         “Be careful and don’t get lost okay?  And don’t forget your cell phone,” his mom warned.
         “Got it,” William replied, grabbing his silver phone off of a box as he stepped out the front door.

         William turned up the radio as he drove through town, bobbing his head to the music.  It had been ten minutes since he had arrived in town and still had not found the pizza shop.  He wasn’t worried yet, it was nice to explore the town a little bit and it was no where near time for a pizza shop to close.  William watched the lights on stores come on as the sun sank behind the horizon.  The town looked pretty fascinating with all the colorful signs, inviting people in for coffee, books, and good eats.  William was pretty sure that really intelligent people were born here with all the book stores he found, driving by.
         Finally he found the pizza shop and pulling into the parking lot.  Stepping out of his blue truck, William surveyed the pizza shop.  It was small but must have gotten good business because nothing was decrepit or deteriorating.  Every part of the building was new looking, yet held an old fashioned sense to it.  William stepped into the pizza shop and looked around.  It was decorated as a fifties soda shop, jukebox included.  He nodded in satisfaction, before walking up to the counter to order.
         “Welcome to Homestyle Flava!  Can I help you?” a boy of sixteen with a name tag that read Tommy said enthusiastically.
         William grinned at the name of the place before responding.
         “Um, yeah,” William said, looking up at the menu, “How about a large supreme pizza with thick crust, an order of bread sticks, two sodas, and one water with ice.  To go, please.”
         “Water?” Tommy asked, looking up from the register, “Do you have a health nut to feed?”
         “Yeah,” William laughed, “My mom.”
         “We have a pretty good salad that’s filling but low fat if she’s interested.”
         “Can you add chicken to it?”
         “Sure.  You want it grilled?”
         “That would be perfect.”
         “Alright.  Is that all?”
         “I think so,” William said, handing Tommy the money.
         Tommy made the change and handed it to William before handing the order to the cook.  When he came back, Tommy studied William for a moment.  William was looking around again at the inside of the pizza shop.
         “You’re not from around here are you?” Tommy asked.
         “No, I’m not,” William replied, turning back to the boy, “Well, I suppose I am now.  My family just moved here.  Today actually.”
         “Oh yeah?  That’s cool.  Job move you here or just a change of scene?”
         “My Dad’s job.”
         “Got it.  Well it’s nice to meet you and welcome to our town.  I’m Tommy Johnson.”
         “William Baker,” William replied, shaking Tommy’s hand.
         “How old are you?” Tommy asked, trying to be polite and not so nosy.
         “I’ll be turning seventeen in September.”
         “Oh so you’re enrolling in our high school?”
         “Yeah.  This will be my junior year.”
         “Mine too.  Maybe will have some classes.  I’ll warn you now, though.  Some of the teachers are idiots and can’t teach their subjects worth crap.”
         “Good thing to know, thanks,” William laughed.
         “No problem.”
         “Hey, how long is the food going to take?”
         “We make it the good way so about a half hour.  Why?”
         “That should be enough time for me.  Do you have a video rental store around here?”
         Tommy smirked and nodded, pointed to across the street.  William turned around and felt himself turn red as he saw the big sign ‘Video Rental’ on the front of the building a crossed the street.
         “Oh, right.  Thanks,” William muttered.
         “Eh, don’t worry about it man.  Some of us have been here awhile and we still do that occasionally.”
         William was tempted to ask if they were drunk at the time, but he didn’t want to be rude so he just grinned and told Tommy he would be back for his order in a little while.  William jogged to the rental store and stepped inside.  The powerful aroma of buttered popcorn filled his nose as he looked around.  He was pleased to find that the store was well stocked in recent movies as well as older ones.  Deciding to not waste anytime to look around on this trip, William walked quickly to the comedy section. 
         There was only one person in this aisle, a girl with dirty blonde hair tied up into a pony tail.  She glanced up when he came into the aisle and smiled politely before returning her gaze to the movie rack in front of her.  William returned the smile quickly, before turning his own gaze to the rack.  After a few minutes of looking through the selections, William was aware that he had wandered close to the girl.  He glanced over at her and watched her cheek that was turned towards him, turn red as she realized he was looking at her.  William quickly dropped his gaze and focused on the movies in front of him.  Finally, he found one that he was familiar with and knew his parents enjoyed.  He reached out for it and his hand collided with a smaller hand.  The girl quickly pulled her hand away as William did the same.  He looked up and grinned embarrassed at her.
         “Sorry,” they said at the same time.
         The girl laughed.
         “No it’s alright, you can take it,” she said politely.
         “No, go ahead,” William said.
         “No really, I’ve seen it before.  You can take it.”
         William paused.
         “You’ve seen THIS movie before?”
         The girl flushed and looked down at her feet before turning her blue hazel eyes back up.  She had to look up into William’s eyes as he was four inches taller to her five foot seven.
         “I-it’s corny I know.  But it’s a funny movie.  You’ll like it.  I’ve seen it four times.  So I insist that you take it.”
         William picked up the movie and looked at it before handing it to her.
         “Ladies first,” he insisted, “besides, I’ve seen it three times.”
         “Really?” the girl brightened and laughed, “Wow, I’ve never met anyone that has watched this movie before.  And liked it!”
         William shrugged.
         “I’ve got parents that got me hooked on it,” he grinned, “Go ahead and take it.”
         “Tell you what,” the girl said, pushing the movie William was holding back at him and picking up another, “I’ll take the sequel for tonight.  It’s pretty good too, so I don’t mind.”
         “No way!  There’s a sequel?” William exclaimed, peering at the movie in the girl’s hands.
         “You didn’t know that?” she asked, surprised.
         “No I didn’t.  I will have to watch that sometime.  But for now, I’d better take you up on your offer and take this one.  I don’t think Mom will want to experiment with a new movie after a hard day of moving work.”
         “Oh, you just moved here?  From where?” the girl asked, interested.
         “South Carolina.”
         “Oh really?  So you went from the east to the Midwest.  That had to have been hard.”
         “Not really,” William shrugged, “We were only there for a year.  But Dad’s company promised that this was the last move we would have to make.  But we will see about that.”
         “Well, for the time that you may be here, welcome!  I’m Callie Rivers.”
         William took the girl’s hand and shook it warmly.  He was surprised at the strength of the grip she had for being as petite in weight as she seemed to be.
         “William Baker.  Nice to meet you.”
         “Same to you.  Welcome to our quaint little town.  The place with a bunch of fun signs, but never a darn thing to do!” Callie joked.
         William laughed.
         “You know, in a sense, I believe it.  Driving through this town, it looks as if scholars built it.  With all the books stores I mean.”
         Callie rolled her eyes.
         “Yeah.  That’s the mayor’s mad scheme.  Stomp out violence and any fun there ever is to have by setting up bookstores everywhere.  No one wants to rip off a dictionary.”
         William chuckled and looked at the girl, amused.  She was the most entertaining person he had met yet in this town.  She had a sense of humor and yet had a sense of sophistication.
         “Books aren’t all bad.  I’ve got a nice collection at home,” he commented.
         “Oh I agree.  Books are not all bad.  Ten dozen bookstores are, but the books themselves are not.  I have my own private library pretty much, I love to read so much.”
         “Oh yeah?  What kinds do you have?”
         Callie named off a few until one caught William’s attention.
         “You’ve read AND own that book?” he asked.
         “You sound surprised,” she replied, amused.
         “I am.  I mean, I just didn’t think you—I mean—don’t take this the wrong way but—,”
         “You thought a girl like me wouldn’t read a book like that?” Callie broke in.
         “Well, yeah.  Sorry.”
         “Don’t worry about it,” Callie shrugged, “I’ve gotten that before.  To be honest, I didn’t think I would read it or like it either.  But my sister insisted I read it so I did.  The phrase ‘you can’t judge a book by it’s cover’ is true for people and books.”
         “I guess so,” William agreed, “You are definitely not like other girls with your cover.  Oh shoot—I meant—,”
         “I know what you meant William,” Callie laughed, holding up a hand, “It’s okay.  I take it as a compliment.”
         William burned with embarrassment for his blunder.  He never was good at talking to girls.  Friends or otherwise.  Callie felt sorry for him and decided to change the subject.  She was enjoying her conversation with this new boy.  As long as he didn’t get caught in an awkward subject, he seemed quite intelligent.  Which in Callie’s opinion, was not common in the town.
         “So what kind of vehicle do you drive?”
         William grinned at her gratefully for the swift change in subject and decided to give his own spirt of comedy.
         “Only the best vehicle in town.”
         “Oh, that would be pretty much ANY vehicle then,” Callie joked.
         “Well so much for my joke then,” William laughed.
         “Sorry.”
         “It’s alright.  I drive a big Chevy pick-up truck.”
         “Really?” Callie’s eyes lit up, “What’s it look like?”
         “Well, let’s see,” William said, in mock seriousness, “It’s a truck—,”
         “William Baker you know what I mean,” Collie retorted.
         William laughed and led her to a window.  He pointed across the street to the pizza shop parking lot where his truck sat under a street light.  Callie stared at the truck with interest.
         “Wow!  That’s a really awesome truck!  It’s got a nice lift, tires, and everything.”
         William looked at her shocked.
         “You know about trucks?”
         Collie laughed loudly and pointed to the video rental parking lot.  Sitting where she was pointing, under a parking lot light, was a green Chevy truck exactly like William’s.  The only difference was that her cab was a cab and a half and her lift was not as high as his.
         “Wow!” William breathed, “That is awesome.”
         “Yup.  She’s a pretty sweet thing.”
         William looked at Callie’s truck, then at his own before remembering about the food he had ordered.  He glanced at his watch and realized that it had been almost an hour since he had left Homestyle Flava.
         “Uh oh.  Mom is going to be calling me soon if I don’t go pick up the food and head home.”
         “Ah yes.  Nothing is worse than an upset mother,” Callie said, nodding understandingly.
         “Tell me about it.”
         William and Callie walked up to the counter to pay for their movies.  William let Callie go first.  As she waited for her change, she looked out the front doors.  Suddenly she gasped and paled.  William looked up from his wallet and looked to where Callie was looking, terrified.  He didn’t see anything.
         “Callie?  Is something wrong?” William asked. concerned.
         Callie ignored him.
         “Ooh no!  Why here?  Ooo—,” Callie whimpered furiously before turning to the manager, “Joe, can I go out the back door?  Please!”
         “Yeah sure Callie, go ahead,” Joe nodded.
         “Thank you!” Callie turned to William, “It was great to meet you and I’m sure we will meet again.  I have to go!”
         Without waiting for William to reply, Callie grabbed her movie and rushed into the back room.  William stared after her, dumbstruck.  Still confused, he turned to the manager, who rang his purchase up.
         “Is she always like that?” he asked Joe.
         “Who Callie?” Joe looked towards the back room and shrugged, “Yeah, pretty much.”
         “Odd.”
         “Yes, she is very odd.  But she’s a brilliant girl.  Wait till you meet her sister.”
         William decided not to get into a new conversation so he thanked Joe and turned to leave.  As he reached to open the door, it was pulled open and a handsome young man with brown hair stepped into the store.  He glanced at William and nodded before continuing further into the store.  William shook off a chill that threatened to creep down his back before leaving the store.
         “There you are!” Tommy exclaimed, when William entered the pizza shop, “You’re food was ready almost a half hour ago.”
         “Sorry about that,” William apologized, “I got caught up in talking to this girl named Callie and forgot about the food.”
         “Callie?  Callie Rivers?”
         “Yeah.  You know her?”
         Tommy rolled his eyes.
         “Who doesn’t know Callie Rivers.  She’s a mystery no one has cared to solve.  Hot as any good looking girl but as odd as a cat with two heads.”
         William raised an eyebrow at Tommy’s explanation.
         “She seemed alright to me.”
         “Just wait till you see her in the daytime.  You won’t think she’s so alright,” Tommy smirked, handing William his order.
         William looked at Tommy, curious, but didn’t reply.  Thanking him for the order, William left the pizza shop.  William quickly drove home and was bombarded by his mother as soon as he walked into the house.
         “Where have you been?  We thought you had seriously gotten lost!” she exclaimed, annoyed.
         “Take it easy Mom,” William chuckled, “I took a little longer at the video shop than I planned.”
         Over their dinner, William told about his encounter with Callie.  Mrs. Baker looked at him happily as she munched on her salad.
         “So you like her then?” she asked, with a trying to be casual tone.
         “Mom,” William rolled his eyes, “Don’t start that again.  I just met the girl and I’m not interested in dating at the moment.  Besides, what’s the point of getting attached to a girl when we don’t even stay in a place long enough.”
         “I know honey, I know.  But your father has been promised he is going to get to stay here.  And you have yet to be on a date or go out with any girl ever.  Don’t you think it’s time?”
         “When I think it’s time, Mom, I will go for it.  Until then,” William broke off and shoved a piece of bread stick in his mouth.
         “Until then babe,” Mr. Baker continued for his son, “I think you should let William settle into this town and let him be himself.  He will do what he thinks is best.  He’s got good judgement.  You’ve trained him well.”
         Mrs. Baker blushed, pleased and looked down.  William looked at his Dad gratefully and Mr. Baker sneaked him a wink.