by Bobbie Rayne
“So… uh, how do you like school so far?” he asked before laughing self-consciously. “That sounded dumb. You and your sister have been here, what, three years now?”
I stopped what I was doing to eye him suspiciously. “How do you know I have a sister?”
“Oh, my little sister thinks yours is the coolest.” He imitated a teenage girl perfectly, earning one of my rare grins. He stopped what he was doing, too, and smiled over at me hesitantly.
“She does?” My sister hadn’t told me she’d made any friends at school.
“Yeah, they’ve had a few classes together over the last few years and she’s always pumped. She tries to partner up with her whenever she can. And I quote, ‘Kyla is the cleverest girl I’ve ever met.’” He shook his head. “My sis is sort of an odd kid, but she’s cool. Anyway, she noticed her the first day she came to the school. She loved that her nose was pierced, but my mom told her as much as she likes that look herself—oh, Mom has a diamond chip in her nose, too; anyway, she told my sister she had to wait until before freshman year. But she did let her dye her hair all these different colors not too long ago. It looks cool; funky. I think Jessa, that’s my sister’s name, was hoping your sister would want to hang out, but she’s really shy so she’s scared to ask her.”
I knew my eyebrows were touching my hairline, but I couldn’t help it. I pushed my bangs up out of my face so I could search Austin’s expression for any hint of mockery, but there wasn’t any. He was legitimately being sincere. Relief flooded me at the thought of my sister making a friend, and thinking their mom would maybe give her a chance was all I could hope for. “That’s… huh, that would be cool. If our sisters were friends, I mean.”
He nodded, then turned back to continue straightening the shelves, speaking up a bit so I could still hear him while we both worked. “It would be. I worry about Jessa, you know? Like I said, she’s a bit different. Cool, though, in my opinion, but I’m her big brother. I hate that she spends so much time alone.”
When his voice trailed off at the end, I stopped again to face him, taking in how stiff his shoulders had gotten and the color climbing his neck. There was no doubt in my mind that he was as worried about his sister as I was about mine. Being alone in middle school was no good, whether you had big brothers who adored you or not. My sister missing out on having a mom made it especially awful. “Um, Austin, if it’s okay, I’m going to mention this conversation to Kyla. Your sister may be shy, but mine definitely isn’t. Maybe they can at least talk on the phone or something.” I’d bought my sister a little prepaid flip phone the minute I got this job so she always had a way to reach me. If I had to spend extra for her to have more minutes and have someone her own age to talk to, it’d be worth every penny.
“Yeah?” he asked, hope pouring off him in waves.
“I’ll talk to her tonight.”
“Cool,” he said, then he walked over and fist-bumped me before he finished helping me get the candy aisle back in place. By the time I left the store for the day, it occurred to me that maybe I’d made a new friend, too. It didn’t totally eliminate my sorrow over Eeli not being who I thought he was, but it helped, at least a little bit.
“Hey, Slash,” Austin called as he walked toward me in the hall.
I’d just walked out of language arts so I stopped right outside the door in the hall to wait for him. “Hey, Austin. What’s up?” I asked, a touch of unease coursing through me. A couple of days after my and Austin’s candy aisle conversation, his sister had asked mine over to dinner. I’d made sure his mom picked Kyla up at MJ’s and dropped her back off there when I got off shift, but that didn’t mean my sister hadn’t slipped and mentioned something we’d agreed she wouldn’t, such as my parents or my uncle.
With a big grin, he held his fist up for a bump, and I noticed Eeli’s stunned face as we pounded it out. Take that, Mr. Thief Brainiac. Austin doesn’t treat me like dirt. “You weren’t kidding,” Austin said, bringing my focus back to him. “There’s nothing shy at all about your sister. She was so comfortable last night you’d think she’d been eating at our house for years. Thanks for mentioning our conversation to her. It meant a lot to Jessa. She’s never had a lot of friends.”
Again, I caught the concern for his sister in his body language, and I wondered what the deal was. From what Kyla had told me last night after we got home, Jessa had lived and gone to school here her whole life. I couldn’t imagine being lonely somewhere I’d always lived. “It was no problem, man. My sister had a really good time. Tell your mom thanks for having her.”
We had started to walk down the hallway together, but before we branched off in different directions, he said, “Your sister told her, but I’ll tell her again. Mom loved her, so tell her not to be a stranger. It was fun to listen to them giggle.” He bumped my shoulder with his. “See ya.”
Before I could turn the corner to go to my next class, Mrs. Eldrid, the counselor, grabbed my arm from behind. “Hey, Slash, can I talk to you in my office for a moment?”
“Sure,” I said, unconcerned. She pulled me into her office a lot to check on me. As we went the direction I’d just come from, I noticed that Eeli was doing a squirmy little dance next to a locker. I hadn’t even realized he was behind me as I walked down the hall talking to Austin, but he either had ants in his pants or poison ivy. What was going on with this kid?
“Have a seat,” Mrs. Eldrid said the minute we were in her office.
“What’s up?” I asked as I set my backpack in the chair next to me in front of her desk and settled back in my own.
“I couldn’t help but overhear that Austin’s sister and yours hung out last night.” She smiled encouragingly, so I grinned back at her.
“Yeah, it’s the first time she’s hung out with someone since we moved here, so she was pretty psyched.”
“Excellent.” She smacked her hands on her desk and leaned forward over it toward me. “Now, what about you?”
“What about me?” I asked.
“Who have you hung out with? Austin, maybe?”
“Oh, no. I’ve been working. Austin’s a nice guy, but I’m sure you know he has plenty of kids to hang out with. Nah, between working, schoolwork, and hanging out with Kyla; my life’s plenty busy.”
“You’ve been here nearly three years, Slash. You need friends, too.”
“Mrs. Eldrid, honestly, I’m fine. And the school year is almost over. It doesn’t really matter anymore. Anyone I’d make friends with now would probably be moving to go to college before I know it, anyway, and I have to be here for my sister.”
She pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything right away. “I’d always hoped that you and Eeli would become friends. You could’ve been good for each other.”
A snort of air escaped my mouth before I could stop it. “Me and Eeli? I don’t think so. We don’t have a thing in common.”
“Well,” she leaned back in her chair and swiveled back and forth, “you have a few things such as your love of music and you’re both phenomenal in language arts. I’d really hoped with both of you having lost your parents that maybe you could help each other, I don’t know… cope.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Mrs. Eldrid blinked at me. “What?”
“When did Eeli lose his parents? Is he okay?” That crushing weight I always felt in my chest at the thought of my parents being gone pushed down on me. I hated to think that Eeli was going through that, too. Maybe that was why he’d been acting so odd. I was surprised it hadn’t been making the rounds on the school gossip train, though.
“Oh, no, Slash.” She got up and walked around her desk to pat my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. Eeli and his brothers lost their parents years ago. I’d told you when you first started school here to seek him out if you ever wanted to share that you and your sister were orphans. I know you guys had wanted to keep that private, but I thought perhaps—” She must have noticed my perplexed expression, because after cutting herself off, sh
e said, “I should have brought it back up again. I don’t know why I would’ve thought you’d remember I told you that when you were in such a state of shock and grief yourself. I would’ve asked him to approach you, but you were so adamant about no one knowing until you were ready to talk about it. As far as I can tell, that time has never come.”
I let the rest of what Mrs. Eldrid said go in one ear and right back out the other. It was too difficult to concentrate on her words with all the thoughts I had swirling in my head. All of my assumptions about Eeli had been so off track. I’d lost my parents and I knew that no matter how good his grades were or how much money they had, it hadn’t replaced having his mom and dad. By the time I left for class, I was in a daze with one thought playing on repeat around and around in my mind—was Eeli’s stealing a cry for help? Should I do something? Tell someone? I’d never wished so much that my own parents were alive to tell me what to do.
6
Eeli
My eyes automatically narrowed as I walked out of language arts class. For the past two weeks, every day I’d had to endure seeing Austin talking to Slash after first period like they were suddenly best friends. When did that even happen? Why would Austin talk to the likes of that guy? He was always so rude. Granted, he hadn’t given me much of an attitude lately, but only because I’d rarely seen him. Okay, I’d been avoiding him. Definitely on purpose.
As I walked behind the new besties, I couldn’t help but notice how happy Slash seemed. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him smile until last week, and from the look on his face now, he was laughing at something Austin said. Since when did Goth Guy laugh like that?
I grounded my teeth and Bodhi rippled on my skin, making me squirm around behind them. Oh my god, Bo, please chill.
Mine.
My eyes widened. Please, please, please stay where you are. Don’t go after whatever candy you see. Please, Bo. I promise I’ll get you candy after school. She chirped in my head. But only if you stay there for the rest of the school day.
Okay. I’ll stay.
Blowing out a relieved breath, I looked up and nearly walked into Slash’s back. I held in my manly squeak when I sidestepped him and saved my nose from being smashed. As if sensing my presence, he turned around and eyed me, but didn’t say anything.
Austin followed his line of sight, then grinned at me and said, “Hey, Eeli.”
My eyes widened in surprise and I stammered out, “Oh, um, hi.” I cleared my throat. “Hi.”
Austin looked at Slash and bumped him with his shoulder, which made me frown, and my frown deepened further when Austin said to him, “You should come to Dargum Skatepark with us on Saturday. I’ll be there, so it would be a lot more fun if you were there, too.” Oh my god, seriously? Why are they friends?
Slash smiled at him, but he looked a little uncomfortable. Maybe because I was standing there like a total dork listening to them. Slash said to Austin, “Yeah, okay.” They fist-bumped and Austin walked off with a nod in my direction. Slash turned to look at me and asked, “Did you need something?” He didn’t sound mean, per se, but he didn’t sound happy about being forced to talk to me, either. Ugh. What was it with this guy? Why did I keep finding him everywhere when I wasn’t even looking?
Bodhi moved a little on my skin, and I jerked my arm in surprise, making Slash’s eyebrows rise as I rambled, “Nope. I’m good.”
He tilted his head with a furrowed brow. “What’s going on, Eeli?”
For some reason, Bo chose that moment to go crazy under my skin. As soon as Slash said my name, it was like she flipped out. I mean, he had a nice voice and everything—more than just nice, if I was being honest—but did she have to act like a crazy little beastie when he spoke? Stop it, Bo! I thought to her, then said out loud, “Nothing.”
His eyes narrowed and he looked me over again as I shivered and moved around, trying to get Bo to chill out.
I needed to get out of here, away from other people for a moment or something to calm her little butt down. Or at least away from Slash so he’d stop looking at me like I’d lost all my marbles. “Uh… see ya.”
I saw him shake his head in disbelief at my abrupt farewell before I turned and rushed away. Bodhi seemed unhappy, but I reminded her that I’d promised candy, so she settled down. Pulling out my phone, I sent a text in my group chat with my brothers.
Me: Can we spar tonight?
As I walked to my next class, responses came in.
Zale: I’ll go a few rounds.
Malachite: Sure, but be ready to get your ass kicked, pipsqueak.
There was an emoji foot and donkey at the end, and I snorted at that one because I was known to beat him on occasion.
Azaran: I’ll put together a schedule for tonight. How much homework do you have?
Me: Probably about an hour’s worth.
Azaran: Perfect.
Putting my phone away in my pocket, I sighed and grinned a little. Knowing I’d be able to take all my frustrations out with my fists made the rest of the day pass by quickly. And when Bo went crazy in music class, I simply ignored her as well as Goth Guy who kept looking at me. It was like the more I looked away from Slash, the more he noticed me.
The next day, I decided to stay after school to use the science lab because there was a project due in a few weeks and I wanted the extra practice. Since Mr. Sollers knew me well enough, he’d let me mess around while he was grading papers in his office.
Once I was confident I knew what I was doing, I put my supplies away and let my teacher know I was heading out.
Play? Bo asked.
When we get home, I replied as I made my way out of the building.
Eeli.
I sighed. You really can’t wait?
I need to stretch my wings.
I frowned and looked around the deserted parking lot. No one was around, not even the lacrosse and baseball teams because practice was already over. I hadn’t meant to stay so late, but I was glad the sun was still out, even if it was starting to go down. The lot was absent of people, but I still said, “We have to wait until we get home.”
I want out, Eeli!
Come on, Bo. We’re in human territory. You know we can’t take that chance. You can sit in the car if you want.
I felt her wiggling around on my skin, ready to make a jump for it, but then she froze and said, Go to your left.
Since she sounded serious, I threw my backpack next to my car and walked toward the open fields on high alert. What do you sense, Bo?
Mine!
Immediately, I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest. “We’re not hunting down candy wrappers!”
Mine, Eeli. Mine.
With a sigh, I kept walking, and when I turned the corner, Bodhi surged out of my skin and into her small dragon form. I was so shocked, I stood there for a second before whisper-yelling, “Come back right now! You’re going to be seen!”
Staring at me, she tilted her head in consideration for a moment, then she flapped her wings at me and turned around, flinging her tail toward me. It was basically the equivalent of her flipping me off. Or at least, that was how I took it.
Bo squawked and took off like a shot across the field and into the trees that ran along the road, so I ran after her. I didn’t even bother to yell for her because she obviously saw something she wanted. She jumped from tree to tree, occasionally swinging on a branch and mocking me, but I pretended it didn’t bother me. Even though I sort of wanted to leave her there since she was bound to get caught. By the time I caught up, she was happily chirping away in a tree, swinging around on the branches and playing.
What are you doing, Bo? We can do that at home.
You want to study all night.
I don’t want to study, I have to. But we can do that outside so you can play in the trees if you want.
I like this plan.
I grinned up at her and held out my arm, but I heard footsteps approaching on the sidewalk a few feet away, so I told Bo, Stay hidden.
Okay, Eeli.
I turned around with a fake smile plastered on my face so whoever it was wouldn’t bother me, but my smile instantly fell when I saw who was coming my way.
Slash made a face like he smelled something rotten and said, “What’re you doing here?”
“I, uh… I went for a run.”
“In your jeans?”
I shrugged, then noticed the younger girl beside him with blood-red hair and a nose stud. I had no idea who she was, but she was clearly hanging out with the right person with the way she looked.
As soon as Slash saw where I was looking, he pushed the girl behind him and asked, “Do you need… help?”
I blinked at him. Was he of all people really offering to help me?
“What was that?” the girl said, pointing up to the trees before I could ask Slash what he meant.
My eyes widened, and I stepped forward to bring their attention to me instead of Bo—who apparently wasn’t cloaking herself. “Oh, there’s a big hawk’s nest up there, but she’s really territorial, so I wouldn’t get too close.”
Slash eyed me for a moment and pushed the girl back another step, but then he stopped and stared at my arm. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he gawked and asked, “I thought... wasn’t your tattoo filled in?”
I blurted, “You noticed my tattoo?” Then snapped my mouth shut because I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But seriously, why was he noticing my tattoo? Peering at Slash with what I hoped were innocent-looking eyes, I said, “You must be thinking of a different tattoo.”