Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  We ran up the steps to a set of glass doors and entered a long tiled hallway filled with bodies. Talking. Laughing. Checking themselves over in the mirror. I put my hands over my ears, the noise deafening but also strangely inviting. Chloe grabbed my hand and tugged me down the hall, stopping midway at a wooden door with black lettering that said “Office.”

  “Just hang on a sec,” Chloe said as she disappeared behind the door, leaving me alone in the strange zoo of students.

  I grabbed the straps of my backpack and tugged it closer into my chest. Down the hall, the noise erupted as people parted to the side, making way for a group of boys dressed in deep purple and yellow jackets, gold numbers stitched on their left sleeves. I watched them float effortlessly through the crowd, moving in sync. A pack. A unit. An army, marching through the battlefield of high school and commanding its attention.

  Toward the front, a familiar face stood out from the rest. Dark wavy hair and bright blue eyes. The apple boy from the farmer’s market. Griffin. Number 62.

  I tried to shrink into the wall as they passed, not ready to start my day flustered like I’d left him yesterday, but too late. Griffin glanced sideways and noticed me standing near the office door. His eyes caught my stare and he raised his hand with a polite wave, never breaking step with the rest of his group. The skin on my cheeks burned hot, but I waved back and his full lips curled into a smile. A taller guy to his left, number 34, shoved his shoulder into Griffin, knocking him off balance. Griffin simply shrugged him off, his eyes locked on mine until they’d passed too far and his head couldn’t rotate back any farther.

  “What was that?” Chloe had emerged from the office, but I hadn’t noticed.

  I shrugged and she shook her head, resting a piece of paper in my hands. I scanned over the grid of classes and my stomach lurched. Right. I had to go to class.

  “What do the purple jackets mean?” I asked as I watched the pack move farther down the hall. A roaring lion patch with its claws bared filled the space between their shoulder blades. “And why does Griffin have one?”

  Chloe grimaced and started to walk down the hall. “Football. Those guys are the closest thing to royalty. If the quarterback is the king of high school, then the running back, like Griffin, is the prince. The jacket is just to make sure we all understand. Why? Got a thing for football guys?”

  “No. I don’t know anything about football. But I’m starting to think I might have a thing for Griffin guys.”

  “Good luck with that. I’ve never seen Griffin with anything that resembled a girlfriend.”

  “Oh, so . . .”

  “Who knows? Either way, you’ve got some fierce competition. He’s smart, athletic, has been blessed by the popularity fairy with the gift of amazing genes, and he’s one of the least dickish guys on the team. Or at least he’s a lot more discreet about it.”

  “So, is football a big thing here?”

  She wrapped her arm over my shoulder. “I don’t know what it’s like in L.A., but football is kind of a lifestyle out here. You can keep your kale smoothies and avocado toast. We have tailgates and touchdowns.”

  I wasn’t sure I cared much about football but seeing Griffin this morning had me rattled. Maybe it would be worth learning a thing or two?

  An irritating bell rang and I shuddered. Chloe deposited me outside the door of a classroom already half-filled with students.

  “Here’s your stop. I’ll look for you at lunch.”

  “Wait. You aren’t coming to class?”

  “Of course I’m going to class. Chemistry. Down the hall. We don’t have anything together until English tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” I glanced in the open door and shivered as the thought of going in on my own slithered up my spine.

  Chloe shook her head and nudged my shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Now get in there and try to have a good first day.”

  I filed in and headed toward the back, still unsure why I was continuing with the charade of attending class. But I needed time to get my thoughts together, time to think, so getting a few hours uninterrupted with a notebook and a pen probably wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.

  At the back of the classroom I found an empty desk and slid in, dropping the backpack James and Margaret had gotten me onto the floor. I undid the zipper and flipped through the books inside, half hoping there would be something there to guide me, but instead found only notebooks with empty pages and a handful of pens.

  “So, you’re actually going to pose as one of them?” Seth had slunk into the desk next to mine and leaned back in his chair. His smart-ass smirk hadn’t disappeared from yesterday, but at least today he’d kept a bit of distance.

  “Can’t learn to be human without being human, I guess.” I pulled out a notebook and opened to the first crisp new page. “Are you going to tell me how you know about . . . well . . . me?”

  “Let’s just say I know how you feel, being different in their world. Besides, you didn’t think you’d be left here without help, did you?”

  I dropped my pen on the desk and swiveled to look at Seth directly. “James said I had to do this on my own.”

  “James and Margaret? Those two old kooks have been in service way too long. Do you honestly think they would know everything planned by the divine?”

  Fair point. They had been kind to me, when I probably didn’t deserve it, but it didn’t mean they actually knew anything more than they needed to.

  “So, if you’re here to help me, what am I supposed to do? What’s my first move?”

  “Well—”

  “I see you are doing a great job of welcoming our new student, Seth.” A teacher with tortoiseshell glasses and wavy silken hair sashayed down the aisle of desks to stop in front of mine. Her lips curled in a smile, but her eyes stabbed sharp as knives. “But may I remind you, this is class time not social hour. And, Seth, you aren’t even in this class. Get out.”

  Seth looked over at me and tipped his head subtly toward the door.

  I grabbed my books and began to stand, but the teacher put her hand on my desktop and rapped her knuckles. “I don’t think that would be wise. I doubt you want a call home on your first day of class.”

  “No, ma’am.” I dropped back down in the desk and watched Seth’s black boots disappear through the classroom door, the hollow slam of it closing in its frame, locking me up tight in my cage.

  The lunch bell rang in time with the fierce growl in my stomach. My morning of sitting on my butt must’ve taken more energy than I expected. I gathered my things then hurried into the hallway. Chloe was already standing outside the door with a small shopping bag.

  “Half a day already down. How do you feel?” she asked, handing me the bag and starting to walk.

  I glanced inside. Marvelous food. “Starving.”

  “Well, good. I packed your lunch. I figured you probably hadn’t thought of doing it yourself, and I forgot to warn you that the cafeteria here is dreadful.”

  “Thanks, but I’d probably eat dirt right now if it stopped the hunger.”

  She laughed. “Hopefully my sandwiches are a bit better than dirt, but you can let me know.”

  We walked down the hall and through the side doors of the school. The sun blared down as if it were July instead of late September. Chloe flipped on a pair of green sunglasses and marched out into the heat toward the track and the football field.

  “I figured we could eat outside. Grab some sun and just relax.”

  She pulled out a flannel blanket and spread it on the grass just before the chain-link fence. A few other people had taken their lunches to the bleachers or farther in the back field, soaking up what could be one of the last beautiful warm days of the year.

  I sat down beside Chloe and pulled out the many, many options she had provided.

  “I didn’t know what you liked, so I kind of made one of everything we had.”

  “Thanks. Now I’ll have lunch every day for the rest of the week.” If I lasted on Earth that lon
g. Hopefully not.

  I ripped open the container with the ham sandwich and tried not to completely devour it in front of her. Knowing her, she might take it as a compliment, but I didn’t want to creep her out either.

  “So how was your morning?” I asked, trying to make polite conversation as she picked at her own lunch.

  “Same old thing. Science. Math. Nothing major. Summer almost blew up her chemistry experiment though. That was kind of entertaining.” Her eyes rolled up to the right as she recalled the memory and gave a light giggle. “You should’ve seen it.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  A loud buzzing sound came from Chloe’s backpack and it started to vibrate on the blanket. I grabbed my sandwich and shuffled away, watching it bounce around, expecting the worst.

  “What’s that?”

  Chloe reached into the front pocket and pulled out a cell phone with a pink and silver houndstooth case. I let out a deep breath.

  She slid her thumb around the screen, one hand on her lunch and one hand on her phone. “Just Stacey. She wants to know if I want to go grab an iced cappuccino with her. No big.”

  She slid the phone back inside her bag and bit down on her sandwich. A large piece of lettuce pulled out, hitting the side of her face.

  “So why don’t you go?”

  She fixed the lettuce and wiped her face with a napkin. “’Cause I’m here with you. I’m not going to leave you alone on your first day. Unless you want to come with us.”

  “Not really, but it doesn’t mean you can’t go. I’ll be fine. I kind of wanted to catch my breath before my next class anyway.”

  Her face brightened, and she placed her palm on my knee. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thank you so much. You’re the best.” She tapped my leg and let out a tiny squeal, then started to pack up her food. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot after school, okay?”

  I nodded, but I doubt she saw as she hurried away. No sense in making her wait around for me. If all went well, I’d be forgotten by this time next week anyway.

  I finished my sandwich, enjoying the peace and quiet and letting my brain wander for a few undisturbed minutes. A warm fall breeze wafted by, taking the burn out of the harsh sun shining bright on the back of my head, my dark chestnut hair drawing it like a magnet. I leaned back, propped up on my elbows, and closed my eyes, savoring the last few minutes left before the deafening bell would ring and I’d be trapped in a box for the next three hours.

  A shadow cast over my face. I waited for the cloud to pass, but it never did. One minute. Two minutes. The chill of being away from the sun started to seep into my skin. I opened my eyes and jumped. Seth stood near my extended feet, the sun glowing behind him and blocking out all his features.

  I shielded my eyes with my hands. “You again?”

  Seth sat down cross-legged beside me on the blanket. He rested his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers as he leaned in toward me. I inched away slightly, as discreetly as I could. His unexpected presence a little too intense for a casual sunny afternoon.

  “Have you made any progress on this mission of yours?”

  I sighed and reached into my backpack, pulling out my notebook. “I’ve been trying to piece things together.”

  “Whoa. That’s a lot of pages. Are you sure you only had two classes this morning?”

  “Not funny. There are a lot of pieces to put together, and if I want my wings back, I’m going to have to start solving this puzzle.”

  He fidgeted with a stack of black and silver rings encircling his thumb, entranced as they spun around and around. “What do you have so far?”

  “I don’t know.” My shoulders deflated inward toward my chest. “What makes people human? I’ve ripped through everything I could think on biology, psychology, pathology. But I don’t think this is going to be some kind of written test. Raguel said he wanted me to experience humanity. Free will. But I don’t know what that means.”

  “Humans are irrational, emotional things. Birth, death, social media likes, love, hate—I think it’s all the same to them.”

  “Wait a minute.” I whipped open my notebook to a fresh page and wrote the word “love” across the top in large loopy letters. “What did you say about love? Maybe that’s it.”

  “You think Raguel sent you here to fall in love? That’s kind of insane.”

  “But why not? He said I needed to experience humanity, and what’s more human than love? Up there, everything is unconditional, we are supposed to love Him and His creations, but we don’t love each other. That’s a human thing. Besides, I asked Raguel for a sign—something to help me when I was at the market—and I think he might have given me one.”

  Seth fell back onto the blanket, pounding his fist in the grass, howling with laughter. “Right. Like being cast out of Heaven is some new kind of reality dating show. I’m sure there are a lot more important things in this world than love.”

  “Then why do humans care so much about it? They write stories, compose music, build monuments—all to this one emotion. Maybe that’s what he meant about feeling human?”

  “You also mentioned free will.” Seth sat back up and inched closer on the blanket, a strange look falling over his eyes. “Maybe he wanted you to exercise that. Make some choices. Make some mistakes. Just like the humans do. I’m sure there’s a ton of fun things you could do with that free will.” He slid his knuckle down the side of my cheek, resting it underneath my chin. He licked his lips, his face moving ever closer. “Don’t you want to make your own choices for once?”

  My muscles clenched as I pulled my head away. Seth, still moving in, fell forward into my lap.

  I pushed him up by his shoulders. “What are you doing?”

  He shook his head out, gripping the back of his skull. “Trying to help you have a full human experience. You did ask for my help, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, but I think we should leave it at you giving me advice.”

  He grabbed my hands and wrapped both of his around them. “There’s so much more I can show you without using words.” He crooked his eyebrow, his hazel eyes swirling with trouble. “Besides, you just said you received a sign from Raguel at the market, and then you met me. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

  I tugged at my hands, but he held tight. “Let go, Seth.”

  “I’ve been on this earth longer than you, and trust me, sometimes being good isn’t always the best option.”

  “I said, let go.” I yanked harder and we both tumbled over into the grass.

  “Is this guy bothering you?”

  I glanced up at Griffin towering over us in his bright purple jacket, four other purple jackets standing in formation behind him.

  “No, I think he understands me now.” I stretched out my hand, sore from his grasp, and scooted to the far side of the blanket. “Don’t you, Seth?”

  “Yeah, I understand real well.” He glared at Griffin and his army, then at me again. “I should probably be going anyway.”

  He stood up and straightened his black bomber jacket, giving Griffin a nasty scowl as he pounded off toward the school building.

  “You better run, buddy,” one of Griffin’s friends yelled after him.

  Griffin rolled his eyes. “Enough, Alex. Just take the guys out to the field and I’ll meet you there.”

  “Fine, but don’t keep us waiting.” Alex patted Griffin on the shoulder and gave him a dramatic wink.

  Griffin shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face. “Ignore them. They’re my best friends, but they can be such losers sometimes.”

  I stood up, the strange dynamic of him standing over me giving me a weird vibe. “Thanks, but I could’ve handled it—not that I minded you helping, but just so you know.”

  “Noted. We were just walking by, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make sure he got your message.”

  “Good point. Maybe we’ll meet up one day and I won’t be a complete d
isaster.”

  He chuckled. His light forget-the-world smile broke across his face and erased the icky feeling Seth had branded on my skin.

  “But before then, maybe you could tell me your name?”

  “Right, I guess I never did. It’s Arianna Fell.”

  He nodded, his eyes turned to the sky as if rolling the words around to see how they felt.

  “All right then, Arianna Fell, the girl who can save herself.” He started walking toward the field, each step long and slow, then he pointed at me. “Until next time, try to stay out of trouble.”

  7

  “It’s decided. I’m going to fall in love with Griffin Carlisle.”

  “What?” Chloe shook her head like I’d slapped her across the face. She pulled her hands out of the bubbly dishwater in the sink and wiped them on a checkered towel. “You know if you’re bored, or need validation or something, you don’t need a boyfriend. Why don’t you just get a hobby, or a job, or try out for the school play or something?”

  “I’m not looking for a boyfriend, silly. I’ve just never been in love before. And being around Griffin kind of makes my stomach feel all weird, so I figured that would be a good place to start.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s love. Maybe it’s just food poisoning?”

  “No.” I took the stack of dry plates from the counter and hoisted them into the cupboard above my head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, what makes him so special then? Besides indigestion?” Chloe scooped her fingers through the bubbles and flicked them at me.

  I laughed and wiped my face with the back of my sleeve before snapping the tea towel at her arm. “Well, he’s polite. He’s been kind to me. Even helped me out with keeping Seth at a distance this afternoon. Plus, look at him. He’s like one of the marble statues the ancient Greeks carved. All strong and beautiful and enchanting.”

  “Okay, I’ll give him the fact that he got you to listen to me about Seth, but enchanting? Really?”