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Description
On that particular Monday, the prickly feeling was as strong as ever.  Natalie wasn't sure why, but she could actually feel her hair standing on end.  It was so bad that she'd accidentally knocked into several people at school in her daze, leaving Naomi to explain that 'She just isn't feeling well, the poor dear'.  After the fifth time, Natalie had become so accustomed to the words that she was repeating them along with her friend inside her mind. That was why it was so jarring when the words changed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Natalie's just...she's just...  Hey, are you new?"

Natalie blinked in surprise, and stopped her forward lurch.  She turned back to see a rather nervous Naomi and a very composed, very...odd young man.  He looked to be a few years older than them and (to her intense displeasure) quite a bit more beautiful.  It wasn't his slightly ethereal looks that put her on edge, though.  It was the niggling feeling she got that there was something missing, something wrong with his appearance.  She rubbed her eyes distractedly and let her eyes travel over his lithe form, wondering if she was going insane.  Somehow she got the feeling that his golden hair should be much longer, that his eyes shouldn't be obstructed by those thin frames.  There was also something much bigger, much more important, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.  So she simply settled with staring.

He smirked at Naomi, who blushed in return.  "Didn't feel a thing.  As to your question, yes, I am new to this school," he answered, giving her a lazy smile.  He let his gaze shift over to Natalie where it lingered for but a moment before snapping back to Naomi.  "And you two would be?"

Naomi's eyes dropped to her feet.  "Um..I'm Naomi Harpson and she's Natalie Walker..." she said, her voice becoming even more meek than it usually was around other students.

He turned to Natalie with a warm smile that she couldn't help but feel was calculated.  "And it was Miss Natalia who bumped into me?" he asked, his green eyes sparkling with hidden secrets.

Something sparked in her mind at the name.  Something...something from so long ago...  As soon as she reached out for the memory, though, it flitted away.  She gave him an entirely mistrustful look.  "Natalie.  My name is Natalie.  No one calls me Natalia," she snapped, taking a half-step away from him.

That damned knowing smile again.  "Ah, but Natalia is such a beautiful name, is it not?  It suits you better than Natalie.  You'll have to amend your statement, I'm afraid.  Someone calls you Natalia," he said, his silky voice sending shivers down her spine.

Natalie frowned at him.  This just wasn't right, and yet part of her brain told her that it was.  Part of her brain told her that this had happened before.  "Have we met?" she finally asked, her frown breaking down into confusion.

He gave an easy shrug.  "My name is Adon Smith.  You tell me," he responded.  Then, before she could answer, he glanced down at his watch.  "Ah.  Excuse me, my dears.  I have a class to get to."  And with that, he was off.

Naomi stared at Natalie blankly.  "Do you know him?  You sure seem to..."

Natalie looked down at her shoes in deep thought.  "Smith...Smith...but I don't know a Smith..." she muttered.

Naomi blinked.  "Really?  You don't know anyone named Smith?" she asked, giving Natalie a slightly owlish look.

Natalie gave an impatient growl.  "I mean I don't know a Smith like him!  I don't know anyone like him...I don't think..." she murmured, feeling as if she had no idea whether she would even know if she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A light twittering filled the classroom as the students waited for their new teacher.  Five minutes passed, then ten.  The chatter grew louder.  Finally, fifteen minutes after the bell had rung, the door swung open and Adon slipped in, sure and poised.  The twittering stopped and more than a few mouths dropped open, Natalie's among them.

"You've got to be kidding me  You're our teacher?!  No.  No way are you old enough to be teaching us.  I totally had you pegged as a student!" she burst out, not noticing the way that the rest of the students were staring.

Adon passed her an amused look.  "Now Natalia, my dear, is that any way to be talking to your teacher?" he asked, putting extra emphasis on the last word.  "Though I must admit that it's quite a compliment."

The stares of the surrounding girls began to border on jealousy, and the boys just looked confused.  Adon disregarded all of this and merely smiled calmly at the class.  "Hello.  As some of you may know," he began, looking pointedly at Natalie and Naomi, "My name is Adon Smith and I will be your new history teacher.  I'm sure that you all have plenty of questions and introductions, but as I was stopped by your school's...persistent principal on the way to class, we simply don't have time for niceties.  I was told that your class had last studied ancient Greece, so let's continue on to the Romans, shall we?  A fascinating group..."

Natalie tuned out the lecture and took to watching her teacher warily.  Being near him gave her the most horrible sense of de ja vu all the time, but there was something further...  It was as if something within her knew him fully, intimately, and was now reacting to his presence.  She rubbed her arms vigorously, trying to ease the now-ubiquitous prickles away, then looked up to find his gaze resting on her, something unknown in his face.  It was almost as if he was contemplating her, testing her.  She turned her eyes away from his again.  She was probably just being paranoid.  He was just a teacher, and she was just an outspoken kid.  He had no reason to focus on her more than any other student.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god, have you seen the new history teacher?" one girl whispered conspiratorily to another that day at lunch.

Her friend swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.   "God is right!  I don't think I've ever seen anyone more gorgeous!"

"That hair...and those eyes..." a third girl sighed.

A lone boy frowned and shook his head.  "I don't know.  I think he's creepy.  The way he moves--it's like a snake!"

"Nah, it's more like something exotic, like a leopard or a panther!" interjected the first, a girl named Sheila.

"Snakes are exotic...besides, what about how familiar he gets with his students?  It's always 'my dear' this, 'love' that..." the boy argued.

"Oh, come off it, Kris.  You're just biased because you're a boy and none of the girls think you're hot.  Besides, it's probably a cultural thing.  I mean, he's definitely not from around here.  Those strange clothes, and his voice, and his looks--"

"His looks..."

"Don't get all dreamy on me, Lissa," the second girl (who generally went by Pukky...no one was really sure of her real name, or the reason for the nick) snapped, annoyed at being interrupted.

"What if he's from a foreign country?  What if he left because they chased him out?" Kristoff proposed, wiggling his eyebrows in what he probably thought was a sinister manner.

As Natalie passed the older students' table, she couldn't help but listen in.  To be honest, she thought that Kristoff probably had the right idea of it.  She sat down at her normal table opposite Naomi and pulled out a sandwich.  "Please, please tell me that you haven't fallen under his spell, Naomi," she pleaded.

Naomi let her eyes fall to her own lunch, the school's glop.  "Actually...Nat, don't get me wrong, but I just don't get your natural aversion to Mr. Smith..." she said gently, not wanting to enrage her friend.

Natalie glared down at her sandwich, as if it was somehow its fault that she had lost her ally.  "I dunno. I just hate how Adon knows me, but I don't know him..." she said, helplessly trying to convey her feelings to someone who had never felt anything quite like them.  She couldn't help but wonder if this was why people never tried to explain to blind people what sight was like.

"Mr. Smith.  It's weird to call a teacher by his first name," Naomi murmured quietly.

Natalie opened her mouth, then closed it.  "Okay, I didn't mean to do that.  I just find it hard to think of him as Mr. Smith, my history teacher.  It feels like I know him too well for that...that's the problem.  I don't know him, but I do, and he knows me, and this is so messed up..." she mumbled.

Naomi gave her friend a very concerned look.  "Maybe you should talk to Mr. Smith about this.  Maybe he'll know what you're talking about.  You never know--maybe he's a friend of the family and you saw him at a get-together or something," she suggested, reaching across the table to pat her friend's hand comfortingly.

Natalie bit her lip as she thought about it.  "Will you wait for me after school?" she finally asked.

Naomi smiled in relief.  "Of course I'll wait for you.  I always do," she said softly.  "I hope that you can iron things out..."

"Thanks, Naomi.  I'll see if I can see him after school, then."

Description
On that particular Monday, the prickly feeling was as strong as ever.  Natalie wasn't sure why, but she could actually feel her hair standing on end.  It was so bad that she'd accidentally knocked into several people at school in her daze, leaving Naomi to explain that 'She just isn't feeling well, the poor dear'.  After the fifth time, Natalie had become so accustomed to the words that she was repeating them along with her friend inside her mind. That was why it was so jarring when the words changed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Natalie's just...she's just...  Hey, are you new?"

Natalie blinked in surprise, and stopped her forward lurch.  She turned back to see a rather nervous Naomi and a very composed, very...odd young man.  He looked to be a few years older than them and (to her intense displeasure) quite a bit more beautiful.  It wasn't his slightly ethereal looks that put her on edge, though.  It was the niggling feeling she got that there was something missing, something wrong with his appearance.  She rubbed her eyes distractedly and let her eyes travel over his lithe form, wondering if she was going insane.  Somehow she got the feeling that his golden hair should be much longer, that his eyes shouldn't be obstructed by those thin frames.  There was also something much bigger, much more important, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.  So she simply settled with staring.

He smirked at Naomi, who blushed in return.  "Didn't feel a thing.  As to your question, yes, I am new to this school," he answered, giving her a lazy smile.  He let his gaze shift over to Natalie where it lingered for but a moment before snapping back to Naomi.  "And you two would be?"

Naomi's eyes dropped to her feet.  "Um..I'm Naomi Harpson and she's Natalie Walker..." she said, her voice becoming even more meek than it usually was around other students.

He turned to Natalie with a warm smile that she couldn't help but feel was calculated.  "And it was Miss Natalia who bumped into me?" he asked, his green eyes sparkling with hidden secrets.

Something sparked in her mind at the name.  Something...something from so long ago...  As soon as she reached out for the memory, though, it flitted away.  She gave him an entirely mistrustful look.  "Natalie.  My name is Natalie.  No one calls me Natalia," she snapped, taking a half-step away from him.

That damned knowing smile again.  "Ah, but Natalia is such a beautiful name, is it not?  It suits you better than Natalie.  You'll have to amend your statement, I'm afraid.  Someone calls you Natalia," he said, his silky voice sending shivers down her spine.

Natalie frowned at him.  This just wasn't right, and yet part of her brain told her that it was.  Part of her brain told her that this had happened before.  "Have we met?" she finally asked, her frown breaking down into confusion.

He gave an easy shrug.  "My name is Adon Smith.  You tell me," he responded.  Then, before she could answer, he glanced down at his watch.  "Ah.  Excuse me, my dears.  I have a class to get to."  And with that, he was off.

Naomi stared at Natalie blankly.  "Do you know him?  You sure seem to..."

Natalie looked down at her shoes in deep thought.  "Smith...Smith...but I don't know a Smith..." she muttered.

Naomi blinked.  "Really?  You don't know anyone named Smith?" she asked, giving Natalie a slightly owlish look.

Natalie gave an impatient growl.  "I mean I don't know a Smith like him!  I don't know anyone like him...I don't think..." she murmured, feeling as if she had no idea whether she would even know if she did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A light twittering filled the classroom as the students waited for their new teacher.  Five minutes passed, then ten.  The chatter grew louder.  Finally, fifteen minutes after the bell had rung, the door swung open and Adon slipped in, sure and poised.  The twittering stopped and more than a few mouths dropped open, Natalie's among them.

"You've got to be kidding me  You're our teacher?!  No.  No way are you old enough to be teaching us.  I totally had you pegged as a student!" she burst out, not noticing the way that the rest of the students were staring.

Adon passed her an amused look.  "Now Natalia, my dear, is that any way to be talking to your teacher?" he asked, putting extra emphasis on the last word.  "Though I must admit that it's quite a compliment."

The stares of the surrounding girls began to border on jealousy, and the boys just looked confused.  Adon disregarded all of this and merely smiled calmly at the class.  "Hello.  As some of you may know," he began, looking pointedly at Natalie and Naomi, "My name is Adon Smith and I will be your new history teacher.  I'm sure that you all have plenty of questions and introductions, but as I was stopped by your school's...persistent principal on the way to class, we simply don't have time for niceties.  I was told that your class had last studied ancient Greece, so let's continue on to the Romans, shall we?  A fascinating group..."

Natalie tuned out the lecture and took to watching her teacher warily.  Being near him gave her the most horrible sense of de ja vu all the time, but there was something further...  It was as if something within her knew him fully, intimately, and was now reacting to his presence.  She rubbed her arms vigorously, trying to ease the now-ubiquitous prickles away, then looked up to find his gaze resting on her, something unknown in his face.  It was almost as if he was contemplating her, testing her.  She turned her eyes away from his again.  She was probably just being paranoid.  He was just a teacher, and she was just an outspoken kid.  He had no reason to focus on her more than any other student.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god, have you seen the new history teacher?" one girl whispered conspiratorily to another that day at lunch.

Her friend swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.   "God is right!  I don't think I've ever seen anyone more gorgeous!"

"That hair...and those eyes..." a third girl sighed.

A lone boy frowned and shook his head.  "I don't know.  I think he's creepy.  The way he moves--it's like a snake!"

"Nah, it's more like something exotic, like a leopard or a panther!" interjected the first, a girl named Sheila.

"Snakes are exotic...besides, what about how familiar he gets with his students?  It's always 'my dear' this, 'love' that..." the boy argued.

"Oh, come off it, Kris.  You're just biased because you're a boy and none of the girls think you're hot.  Besides, it's probably a cultural thing.  I mean, he's definitely not from around here.  Those strange clothes, and his voice, and his looks--"

"His looks..."

"Don't get all dreamy on me, Lissa," the second girl (who generally went by Pukky...no one was really sure of her real name, or the reason for the nick) snapped, annoyed at being interrupted.

"What if he's from a foreign country?  What if he left because they chased him out?" Kristoff proposed, wiggling his eyebrows in what he probably thought was a sinister manner.

As Natalie passed the older students' table, she couldn't help but listen in.  To be honest, she thought that Kristoff probably had the right idea of it.  She sat down at her normal table opposite Naomi and pulled out a sandwich.  "Please, please tell me that you haven't fallen under his spell, Naomi," she pleaded.

Naomi let her eyes fall to her own lunch, the school's glop.  "Actually...Nat, don't get me wrong, but I just don't get your natural aversion to Mr. Smith..." she said gently, not wanting to enrage her friend.

Natalie glared down at her sandwich, as if it was somehow its fault that she had lost her ally.  "I dunno. I just hate how Adon knows me, but I don't know him..." she said, helplessly trying to convey her feelings to someone who had never felt anything quite like them.  She couldn't help but wonder if this was why people never tried to explain to blind people what sight was like.

"Mr. Smith.  It's weird to call a teacher by his first name," Naomi murmured quietly.

Natalie opened her mouth, then closed it.  "Okay, I didn't mean to do that.  I just find it hard to think of him as Mr. Smith, my history teacher.  It feels like I know him too well for that...that's the problem.  I don't know him, but I do, and he knows me, and this is so messed up..." she mumbled.

Naomi gave her friend a very concerned look.  "Maybe you should talk to Mr. Smith about this.  Maybe he'll know what you're talking about.  You never know--maybe he's a friend of the family and you saw him at a get-together or something," she suggested, reaching across the table to pat her friend's hand comfortingly.

Natalie bit her lip as she thought about it.  "Will you wait for me after school?" she finally asked.

Naomi smiled in relief.  "Of course I'll wait for you.  I always do," she said softly.  "I hope that you can iron things out..."

"Thanks, Naomi.  I'll see if I can see him after school, then."