The Circle

by Kat Mayor

  He took full advantage of the situation. On Saturdays, he and Lilly would get in his car and just drive. One weekend they went to Spring, another they went to Lake Jackson, and another they went to Brenham. Soon he was attending Mass with Lilly. On Sunday afternoons they would stay in and watch movies. “Do you like Back to the Future?” Lilly asked one afternoon.

  “Uh, I’ve never heard of it,” Charlie answered. He should have just said, “Sure, I like it,” but he was thinking of something else: Liliana standing beside a waterfall with her wet hair blowing in the wind.

  “You’ve never heard of Back to the Future?” Lilly was surprised. “What? Are you from another planet or something?”

  His eyes grew wide. “What makes you say that?” Charlie asked a little too harshly.

  “I was just kidding. It’s just a movie I thought you would really get into because part of it is set in the fifties, but we don’t have to watch it.”

  “Oh,” Charlie said, relieved. “Of course I want to see it.” Lilly popped the movie into the VCR and pushed play. She was right. He did like it, even though the time travel aspect was ridiculous. Everyone knew that a DeLorean could never be turned into a time machine.

  ***

  Michelle and Lilly invited Charlie over for Thanksgiving. His parents were working through the holiday and would not be home until Friday, so he eagerly accepted. Thanksgiving was an Earthan custom that Charlie was unfamiliar with. He knew it involved saying thanks for your blessings and eating turkey, but that was about all he knew.

  When Charlie arrived for dinner, Lilly was pulling a pumpkin pie out of the oven. Charlie wrinkled his nose.

  “Don’t start with me, Charlie,” Lilly complained. “You thought you wouldn’t like my pumpkin bread, and now you love it.”

  “True,” Charlie agreed. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Well, you can make the coffee if you want. But that’s it. You sit down. You are the guest.”

  Charlie was happy to make the coffee. He had a cup of Mrs. Garcia’s before, and it was terrible. “Where is your mom, anyway?”

  “She’s just leaving work. She’ll be here soon,” Lilly said.

  Charlie started the coffeepot, then sat down at the bar. Michelle walked in a few minutes later and took off her coat. “It smells great, Lil. What can I do?”

  “You can set the table and fill the glasses. Otherwise we’re all set.”

  Charlie was impressed. For the first time since he had been having dinner with Lilly and her mom, they actually said grace. He was surprised when Lilly and her mom poured gravy over the turkey and potatoes, but completely left it off the cranberry sauce. When in Rome, Charlie thought and did the same. The food was all so good, and just like the Earthans, he ate way too much.

  After dinner they went to the den to watch TV. Charlie poured the coffee, and Lilly sliced the pumpkin pie. Lilly was excited because Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was coming on next.

  “Don’t you love it? I watch it every year. I have since I was a little girl.”

  “You mean like the song?” Charlie had heard the song. Lilly nodded. Charlie didn’t know they had made a movie of it. He thought that was kind of strange. The song wasn’t even that long. How much plot could this movie have?

  “Yes, of course. Don’t tell me you’ve never seen it.”

  Charlie didn’t want to admit he hadn’t seen it, like with Back to the Future. Instead, he said, “It’s been a while.”

  “C’mon then,” Lilly said. They sat on the couch and Lilly looped her arm through his and leaned against his shoulder. However bad this Rudolph movie was bound to be, it would be worth it just to have Lilly’s warm cheek against his arm. Charlie was only halfway paying attention, when Lilly sat up and said, “Next is my favorite part: the Island of Misfit Toys. Remember? They had a Charlie-In-The-Box. Just like you. Gosh, when I was a kid I always thought that was so funny.” Lilly laughed just thinking about it.

  Charlie thought it best if he laughed, too. So he did. Luckily, there was a commercial break. Charlie excused himself and ran to the bathroom. He whipped out his PCD and quickly typed in: Who is Charlie-In-The-Box and what about him is funny?

  A response popped up on the screen.

  CHARLIE-IN-THE-BOX IS A CHARACTER FROM THE 1964 CHRISTMAS-THEMED MOVIE RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER. HE RESIDES ON THE ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS AND HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY IS SENTRY OF THE ISLAND. THE HUMOR OF HIS NAME LIES IN THE FACT THAT THE EARTHAN TOY THE CHARACTER IS BASED ON IS ALWAYS CALLED A JACK-IN-THE-BOX; THUS BY HAVING THE NAME CHARLIE, HE IS A MISFIT TOY.

  He returned to the couch and sat down next to Lilly. This time he boldly put his arm around her. They watched the segment about the Island of Misfit Toys, and Charlie laughed in all the appropriate places. It did make him think, though. He was the Sentrian equivalent of a Charlie-In-The-Box. Getting involved with an Earthan—who ever heard of that? If the Sentrian government ever decided to designate an island for its anomalous and deviant citizens, Charlie would be the first to go.

  Predictably, Michelle fell asleep in the recliner halfway through the movie. After it was over, Charlie said, “Thanks for having me over. I really did like the pumpkin pie.”

  “Thanks for coming,” Lilly said, grabbing his hand. “Let me walk you out.”

  “No, Liliana. It’s much too cold. Stay in here where it’s warm.”

  “If you insist,” Lilly said. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and puckered up. Charlie kissed her on the cheek. “Your mom’s awake now,” he whispered in her ear. Lilly turned to look, and Michelle waved at her. Sometimes having a mother could be so inconvenient.

  ***

  When Charlie got home he was tired but happy. The food was good, but the company was even better. He thought Sentrians were immune to the effects of tryptophan but maybe not. All he wanted was to crawl in bed and sleep.

  Charlie awoke to the sounds of whispering. It was dark outside, and Charlie wondered if his parents were just getting in or just getting up. He looked at the clock. It was five in the morning.

  “I wouldn’t mind the long hours, if I thought it would do any good, but I’m still not convinced it will,” Helen said.

  “I wouldn’t mind the long hours, but it’s giving up the worship days I mind,” Louis said. “One day they tell us they respect our right to worship and have a day of rest, then the next day it’s ‘No, you can’t go to services today. You must come to work.’ Do they think we are total fools? That we don’t know the Sentrian code of law? Or maybe they know we’re too scared of them to complain.”

  “I think the latter. Just don’t say that around the others. We don’t need to get on Mr. Conner’s bad side,” Helen warned.

  “I wouldn’t dare,” Louis said.

  “Do you think we should tell Charlie?” Helen asked.

  “Only as much as we have to. We don’t need to burden him with this. Besides, there’s nothing he can do about it. And I don’t want you worrying about it either, dear. It will be fine.”

  Charlie got up then and went downstairs to the kitchen. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Did you just get home?”

  “No dear, we got home a few hours ago. Unfortunately we have to go back soon. You’ll be on your own for a while. We’re going to be working a lot,” Helen said.

  “For how long?” Charlie asked.

  “Until we return to Sentria for Christmas break.” All the families on the mission would return to Sentria for the extended holiday.

  “Why? What’s going on?” Charlie asked.

  “Mr. Conner is not pleased with the way things are going. It turns out the information breach is much larger than they first thought,” Louis said.

  “I can’t think about it anymore,” Helen said. She hurried into her bedroom and shut the door. In many ways she was like a child. When things got too stressful, she preferred to hide in her room.

  Louis watched her go and sighed. When she was out of earshot, Louis told Charlie, “All you
need to know is that your mother and I are going to be keeping very late hours.” Louis handed him a roll of cash. “For food and whatever else you need for the week.”

  Although Charlie was concerned for his parents, this couldn’t have been better news for him. He waved good-bye when they left for work. Then he ran up the stairs, raced to the phone, and called Liliana.

  “Hello,” Lilly answered the phone groggily. It was then that Charlie looked at the clock. It was only five thirty; he should have waited to call.

  “Did I wake you?” Charlie asked.

  “That’s OK. I was going to get up soon anyway. What’s going on?”

  “Well, I wanted to see if you had plans today.”

  “Not really, but aren’t your parents home? I thought you said you had things to do with them today.”

  “Now they have to work. My schedule is wide open for the foreseeable future.”

  ***

  The following Friday the school held a pep rally for the last football game of the year. The band stood on the floor of the gym and played the fight song. All the classes stood up in the bleachers and clapped while it was being played. Then the coaches started talking about the team

  and how wonderfully they were doing. (They had lost every game except for two.) Next the cheerleaders came out and motioned for everyone to get up. The students stood up and started stomping their feet and clapping.

  Amid the ruckus, Charlie heard a sound that got his attention. It was the sound of stressed metal, and it sounded as if it was on the verge of shearing. Charlie tilted his head to ascertain where the sound was coming from. It was the freshman section of the bleachers. They were still shouting and stomping, completely oblivious to the imminent danger.

  Charlie thrust his trumpet into Matt’s empty hand and ran toward the bleachers. “Get off of the bleachers,” Charlie yelled. “They’re going to fall.” Most of the freshmen continued to shout and clap, not hearing Charlie. Others simply ignored him. The left side started to buckle. A freshman girl at the top of the bleachers lost her balance and fell. Charlie ran over and caught the girl before she hit the ground.

  “It’s OK. You’re all right,” Charlie said, as he set her down lightly. The girl stared wide-eyed at Charlie, then took off.

  Lilly ran over to Charlie. “What’s happening?”

  “Not now, Liliana,” Charlie said. At that moment the rest of the section began crashing down. Students were falling on top of each other. Charlie and Lilly ran over to help. Staff and students joined them to help the freshmen off the now collapsed bleachers. Fortunately, a broken ankle was the worst of the injuries. No one noticed what Charlie had done except the freshman girl and Lilly. Charlie knew the freshman girl wouldn’t tell anyone. He had seen the fear in her eyes.

  After learning everyone was safe, Lilly approached Charlie. “How did you know the bleachers were about to collapse?”

  “I didn’t know. I saw them shifting, and I ran over.”

  Except Lilly knew that wasn’t true. She had been watching him and knew that his back was to the bleachers. “No. You weren’t even looking in the right direction.” Did he really expect her to believe that he could see something from that distance when no one else did? Lilly had gone with him to the eye doctor. She knew better than anyone that even with thick glasses his vision wasn’t great, and yet, he was the first person to notice something was wrong. “So how did you know?” she asked him.

  Charlie started to make up a lie, when Lilly followed with another question. “And how did you get to that girl so quickly?”

  Charlie was losing his temper. “Why do you have to be so inquisitive? Do you really have to know everything about everything? Can’t you, just for once, drop it?”

  Lilly flinched. Charlie had never used such a harsh tone with her before, and it hurt her feelings. She turned to walk away. “Liliana, wait,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Whatever, Charlie.” She headed for the band hall. Lilly sighed. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. That had to be it.

  Chapter 7

  Revelations

  Charlie awoke earlier than he intended. The voice in his head was arguing with him. “You need to end this. You’ve taken things too far.”

  “I’ve got it under control,” Charlie told the voice defensively.

  “It doesn’t look that way to me.” The voice had a point. Besides, it was getting harder and harder to keep it a secret. “What about when we return to Sentria?”

  “I haven’t figured that out yet,” Charlie said.

  “Well, you better figure it out. We’re not going to stay here on Earth indefinitely.”

  “I know, I know,” Charlie said.

  “I still don’t think continuing this relationship is a good idea. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  Charlie put his pillow over his ears and tried to silence the voice. Unfortunately, he had to admit, the voice was correct. The more time Charlie spent with Liliana, the more time he wanted to spend with her, but reality was rearing its ugly head. At the end of the month, he would have to return to Sentria for two weeks. How would he explain his absence and that he wouldn’t be able to contact her during that time?

  That wasn’t the only reality Charlie had to deal with. Lilly was not stupid, and she was starting to notice things about him, the recent pep rally being the most obvious. But there were other things. Things he could not easily explain away. The rapid heart rate was one. Also his extraordinary hearing and that no matter how hot it was, he didn’t sweat. He couldn’t even think about the numerous verbal slips. The charade was a burden, but what choice did he have? No other choice, if he wanted to keep seeing Lilly. Charlie sighed. Just thinking about it had put him in a really lousy mood.

  Charlie was right about one thing—Lilly had noticed his strange behavior of late. He had always had his idiosyncrasies, but now it was like he was undergoing a personality change. When they first started dating, Charlie had been so easygoing, but now he was moody. It reminded Lilly of how he was at the beginning of the school year. Sometimes she wondered if he even wanted to be around her. Lilly hoped it wasn’t the beginning of the end for them.

  At the end of the school day, Lilly met up with Charlie. “So, you want to go to the diner this afternoon?”

  Charlie shrugged.

  “It’s a simple question. Do you want to go or not?”

  Charlie blew out his breath. “I guess so. I’ll meet you at your house in an hour.” He walked off before she had a chance to say good-bye.

  By the time Charlie got to her house, it was thundering and lightning. They decided to wait out the storm. Lilly tried to engage him in conversation but he didn’t say much. She finally gave up and started her homework.

  The severe rainstorm left the road wet and slick, with tree limbs and leaves all over it. Lilly volunteered to drive to the diner and to her surprise, Charlie didn’t even put up a fight. He was preoccupied and climbed into the passenger side of the Jeep without a word.

  Lilly was playing her Depeche Mode tape and singing along. She had a nice voice, and normally he enjoyed her singing, but not today. Lilly tried to engage him in conversation. “So, do you think my mom will really get me a new car stereo for Christmas?” Charlie didn’t answer but stared straight ahead.

  This is great, Lilly thought. They had only been in the car for five minutes, and he was already sulking. “It would be so cool to actually have a CD player instead of this old tape player.” No response from the copilot seat. Now Lilly was starting to get annoyed. “So Sunday, do you want to help my mom and me put up the Christmas tree? Silence. “My, you are in such a loquacious mood. I can barely get a word in edgewise,” Lilly said.

  “Stop,” Charlie said.

  “What?”

  “Stop!” Charlie shouted. There was a fallen oak tree in the middle of the road just a few feet ahead of them. Charlie grabbed the wheel and steered them to the shoulder, while Lilly applied the brake. The Jeep skidded on the wet
pavement, but Charlie managed to navigate them safely to the side of the road.

  “Whoa. That was close,” Lilly said. She should have been paying more attention. She looked over to see if Charlie was OK. “Hey, Charlie, what’s wrong?”

  He was staring straight ahead, and the expression on his face kind of worried her. He seemed annoyed with her. “Nothing,” he said tersely.

  “I don’t buy it. You haven’t said two words to me all day. And you’ve been so angry lately, like I’m getting on your nerves. Do you want to break up or something?”

  Charlie turned and looked at her. He sighed. “No, that’s not it at all,” he said simply. He got out of the Jeep and started walking around it, checking the tires.

  Lilly followed him. “Look, I’ve been really happy these last few months, but if this isn’t what you want, then please, spare us both the pretense, and let’s end this now.”

  “I told you. That’s not what I want,” Charlie said as he leaned over her right front tire. His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was cold.

  “Then what exactly is it that you do want?” Lilly asked.

  “Never mind,” he said.

  “Forget it. Never mind. Just drop it. Is that all you know how to say?”

  Charlie didn’t say anything in response.

  “You know what,” Lilly said. “How about you never mind? How about you forget it? I am so out of here.” He had turned away from her, and that made her even angrier. She flung the car keys, hitting him in the back. That got his attention.

  “What’s this?” he asked, stooping to pick up the keys.

  “Drive yourself home. I’m walking.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Charlie told her. She ignored him and headed down the road. “Liliana, you can’t walk home. It’s at least ten miles. C’mon, be reasonable,” he said. She continued walking. “Come back,” he said. “Don’t run away. Talk to me.”

  She turned around then but didn’t come any closer. “Oh, so now you want to talk. Too little, too late,” she yelled at him. She turned back around and stormed off.

  Charlie sighed. Why wouldn’t she listen to him? Now he was angry, too. Charlie could hear Liliana griping about him, but he filtered her voice out. It would be better if he didn’t hear what she was saying. They were both angry, and he didn’t want to overhear something from her that he might be tempted to throw back in her face later.