“Afraid of taking a risk – to believe in a higher purpose, let alone a better one, than the one you’ve planned out for yourself.”
I was about to hotly deny I was afraid of anything when Cheryl called up. “Hamilton! I’m going to work now! Make sure you leave on time!”
I sighed. “This is not about you. My life has nothing to do with you,” I told Elysian. “I don’t want to hear this anymore.”
“But aren’t you the least bit curious?”
I stopped in my tracks. I glanced suspiciously at the small dragon, with a half-annoyed, half-intrigued look on my face. “Curious about what?”
Elysian grinned. “About your powers? About your mission?”
I huffed and turned away, about to leave once more.
“About Starry Knight?”
That one caught my attention. I swiveled around. “What about her?” I asked. “Do you know who she is?”
“Ah…” Elysian had a look on his face that made me want to punch him. “So you are curious. You want to know who she is.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “So you don’t know,” I countered.
Elysian frowned, staring at me for a long moment. Then he grinned and shrugged. “Nope.”
I could’ve kicked myself for revealing my weakness. I was curious about Starry Knight. I could hear the taunting remarks from Elysian already. “I’m out of here.”
“Just remember what I told you. Ignorance will make you happy until you least expect it.”
I grabbed my backpack. “Stay here today. I’ll be back home after school tonight.”
Elysian cringed inwardly as the door slammed behind me. “That boy does not like being pestered to do the right thing,” I heard him mutter. “What do you suppose I do now?”
Who is he talking to? I wondered. But I shrugged it off. Great, I thought. I’ve gone crazy and now so have my imaginary friends.
It was hot out. Hotter than most days, especially for November. And it wouldn’t help being inside, either; Apollo Central was too cheap for air conditioning. They’d probably turn them off for the winter by then anyway.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead before I rubbed my sore back. I sighed as I tried to control my anger at the moment. Elysian was a major pest. Imagine some lizard coming into my life and telling me there was some battle between good and evil I had to worry about.
And who was this Starry Knight person anyway? Today had been the first time Elysian even mentioned her. I suddenly wondered if Elysian was telling the truth when he said he didn’t know who she was. And why should I trust him? I certainly had no reason for doing so.
“Hey, Dinger,” Poncey greeted me gloomily.
“What’s up, Poncey?” Poncey looked sick today, really sick.
“Martha’s giving back the tests today. I think it’s going to ruin my weekend.”
“Aw, don’t worry about it so much. You’ll see.”
“I’m not as smart as you,” Poncey reminded me needlessly.
“So? You’re not the only one,” I smirked.
Poncey shook his head. “Never mind.” Poncey pulled out his Game Pac and started playing. “There’ll be no making fun of Martha today,” he sighed.
Drew and Jason came in and sat down. “Hey, Dinger, guess who’s in trouble with Gwen?” Drew asked. “Jason and I just heard her yelling at Tim.”
“I told you Bunny-face Tim was a loser,” I reminded them. “I’m glad Gwen’s beginning to see the light.”
“Well, they only had a fight, just so you know,” Jason clarified.
“I don’t really care,” I replied easily enough. “Tim’s not good enough for Gwen. She deserves the best out there, and I’m sorry if I just happen to be the best. Oh, wait… I’m not sorry. She’ll get over him when pity is replaced by annoyance and irritation, I’m sure of it.” A twinge of pain snaked up my back, and I had to bite back a groan. Speaking of annoyance and irritation.
Mrs. Smithe walked briskly into the room. “Good morning class,” she greeted. “I know you are excited it’s Friday.” She looked at us intently. “Today, I will give back your exams at the end of class, so you can pay attention to the lecture and take extensive notes. I was extremely disappointed in the grades for the exam, but seeing as how it came as a result of last week’s weather issues, I have decided to curve it. No one person got a hundred on it, just so you know.”
Half of the class (my side) gasped. They all turned and looked at me. I grinned. “I felt sorry for all of you,” I smirked. “So I missed a couple on purpose.”
Mrs. Smithe shook her head. “You and your ego can’t both fit into this room, Dinger,” she warned.
“Come on, Mrs. Smithe, just trying to be honest,” I smiled.
“I guess that’s a good character trait to have,” Mrs. Smithe agreed. “So I’ll be honest. You were not the one to set the curve this time. Hoshi was.”
The class (this time all of them) gasped.
I shrugged. “I was just trying to do all of you a favor,” I muttered, with something like anger behind my words.
“Well, now that’s settled, let’s talk about the Civil War Era!” Mrs. Smithe clapped her hands and headed for the board.
For some unknown reason, I decided to pay attention in class today – or least try.
Class passed by slowly, and it seemed like the room was stuffier than usual. As I was leaving the room, Mrs. Smithe called out to me. “Hey, Dinger, get over here for a sec.”
I almost dragged myself over to her desk. “Yes, Mrs. Smithe?” I asked, trying my best to smile brightly despite myself. I had a feeling I knew what is coming.
“I wanted to ask you if everything was going all right,” she told me bluntly. “I know you put up quite a front. You seem, well, not yourself.”
“I’m perfectly fine, Mrs. Smithe –”
“Don’t give me that,” Mrs. Smithe responded. “I’m in charge of the Mock Trial Team here. Prove it.”
“But I’m fine. See? All here,” I threw out my hands, almost in exasperation.
The rim of her thick glasses glimmered. She just looked at me with that intense stare for a long moment. I felt my breath catch; she wasn’t buying it. Crap.
But then she sighed, surprisingly relenting today. “I will not make you tell me, of course, what is bothering you. Denial never makes the problems go away; if anything, it usually makes things worse.”
That’s more or less what Elysian said before, I thought glumly. I respected Mrs. Smithe, probably more than most people, and here she was telling me the things I wanted to hear the least.
Mrs. Smithe scooted her chair back and sighed again. “Well, hopefully, you’ll be a bit brighter later tonight. I was thinking of coming to the game.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I see you’re not impressed. Well, in any case, if you need anything or just want to talk or think I can help with something, come and see me.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Smithe.” I smiled – genuinely – up at her.
“By the way, Dinger, what did you think of your test grade?” she asked as I headed out the door.
“Everyone’s got to get a 97% in their lives sometimes, I suppose.”
She grinned. “Go and get to class, Dinger; you’re going to be late.”
“Hammy!”
I turned around to see Gwen. “Hey, Gwen.” My mood suddenly picked up despite the oppressive nature of the atmosphere today.
“Hi,” Gwen blushed as she came up next to me. “I was hoping to catch you before the game today.”
I smiled. “Are you coming to the game? It’s the last one of the season.”
“No playoffs?” Gwen asked.
“No,” I remarked bitterly. “We didn’t get in. A couple games being canceled damaged our record really bad.”
>
“I see,” Gwen’s voice was softer now. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. College scouts don’t usually pay attention to sophomores anyway,” I told her. “I’ll be fine.”
“You want to go to college to play football?”
“No, but it’ll help me get a scholarship to a good university,” I remarked.
“Oh, I see.” Gwen nodded. “Do you mind if I walk home with you?”
“No, not at all,” I grinned. She turned away and looked down. “What’s wrong?” I could tell something was wrong.
“Nothing is wrong,” Gwen assured me.
Recalling how I’d answered the same question from Mrs. Smithe, I raised an eyebrow at her, skeptically. “Oh, come on, you can’t expect me to believe that.”
“Well…” Gwen sighed. “I should’ve known you would know. It’s Tim.”
“Is that loser annoying you?” I demanded to know. “I’ll get him beat up for you, if he’s been bugging you.”
“No, it’s not that,” she said. “Please don’t bother him. He’s just… well, I don’t think you should know. I like him and everything, you know. But I’m wondering… well, we’re just going through a rough spot, I guess.”
“But you’re happy, right?”
She looked over at me and smiled. “Hammy, you’re so silly,” she giggled.
“What do you mean?” I asked, more a little irritated. I hated it when people laughed at me when I was being nice (It’s one of the reasons it didn’t happen a lot.)
She grinned. “I’m sorry for laughing,” she apologized. “But you can’t expect me to believe happiness is the most important thing, right?”
“It’s a big part of it,” I reminded her.
“I know. But it’s not the most important part in any relationship. It might be a benefit, but love isn’t always happy. If I leave someone every time I’m unhappy with them, well, we wouldn’t be friends right now,” she told me.
I said nothing as we continued to walk towards Gwen’s house in silence. That’s what she thinks? Boy, she was… definitely out there.
My own personal peace and happiness, I decided, were key in my relationships. And that was more than perfectly reasonable to me. Why would I even consider dating someone if she wasn’t going to make me happy every day and every hour of my life? I rolled my eyes off to the side. “So you still like Tim, then?”
“Well, you should try to be considerate of other people’s feelings.”
Again, I said nothing. It’s too easy to reply to that and get hit.
“Whew,” Gwen muttered. “It sure is hot out this week.” Probably just changing the subject to get rid of the awkward silence.
“I know,” I agreed. The heat waves were coming off the road and some of the buildings, even off in the distance. “I would’ve thought it would have been a lot cooler. Even with the lake effect, we’re not supposed to be getting ninety degree weather in November.”
“I hope this doesn’t ruin the game for you,” Gwen remarked thoughtfully. “Our school sure is having bad luck with weather this year.”
Yeah, we sure were… I suddenly wondered if this sudden and odd change in weather had anything to do with those people Elysian had been talking about, those Seven Deadly Sinisters or the Saadonrasha or whatever they were called.
After all, that smurf-lady was responsible for conjuring up the week-long rainstorm last week, apparently. And I did have that dream – which I guess was not really a dream – where she was sent back out to collect more souls. Who’s to say she wouldn’t try to suck the souls out of people by making them weak with sunstroke?
She didn’t seem active enough to be very creative.
“I mean, games were canceled because of meteors, the rainstorm last week, and now this blistering heat… it doesn’t make sense. It’s not natural.”
Maybe it’s supernatural, I thought with a smirk on my face. Then I shook my head, scolding myself. Thinking everything unusual was not a coincidence but some strange mythological creature at work was going to drive me nuts. And I already thought I was insane enough.
Gwen giggled, drawing my attention back to her. “You know,” she said, “I think my arm’s been doing a lot better today. After I got home from the ACHE meeting, it was perfectly fine. My dad called the hospital. He’s wondering if they switched x-rays or something.”
I looked closely at her arm, surprised to see a faint glow coming from it. That glow…
Ugh, I am never going to get away from this! I screamed in my head.
I’ve seen that faint glow before, on the wrist of the girl in my dream. I glanced at my own marked wrist, which was carefully concealed by my football wristband. There’s nothing there, but I was not convinced everything was fine.
All of a sudden I’m afraid for Gwen. She was selected by that Maia Sinister before. Maia might’ve come back for her revenge already. I scrutinized her closely, relieved to see Gwen still looked like herself. Just a bit sweatier than usual, but still chipper and still herself.
“I hope it’s better,” I said neutrally. No need to get her freaking out and thinking I was as insane as I suspected. It wasn’t a lot of girls that went for that ‘insane guy’ profile when looking for a date. “I can’t imagine it’s fun wearing that bandage in this heat.”
Gwen nodded wryly. “Another reason I want to get it off.”
I glanced down at my wrist again, slightly nervous. I’d told no one about the mark on my wrist; thankfully, it’s small enough to hide with my armband. I told my friends and parents this week I was wearing it for good luck, but that was the worst of it so far.
And since I did want a perfect game tonight, I’d foolishly hoped my armband would grant me my wish.
But now the cursed mark underneath tainted any chance I had at happiness. The black star trickled with heat as I walked with Gwen, as if my suspicions were being confirmed.
17
Complications
“Are you home, Ham?” Mark called out, tearing at the fabric of my concentration.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I called out from my room. “What do you need?”
“I have bad news,” Mark said he walked to the door of my room. “Mrs. Weatherby was just admitted to the hospital. She’s got that new sickness, supposedly… and it doesn’t look good.”
“Who…Oh, Ms. Weatherby? Should I care?”
“She’s only been Adam’s nanny since he was two,” Mark’s eyebrow cocked up as he folded his arms and looked disappointedly at me.
Mark had this idea that just because I didn’t care much about my brother’s life or the other people in it, I didn’t have the proper ‘familial spirit.’
“Oh, I thought she was Adam’s daycare teacher.” I flopped down on my armchair. “Why’s that a problem?”
“Well, I just got beeped. Mrs. Ellsworth had a relapse and needs critical emergency surgery on her heart, and I’ve been stuck with Adam since I got home this morning. I need you to watch him until your mother gets home.”
“Ah, come on! I don’t want to watch Adam!” I complained. “He’s barely three years old; he’s not that exciting.”
My father frowned. “Look, Hamilton, I’m very tired, and you’re probably right, Adam’s not exciting for you. But he is your brother, and I need to go to work. I’ll make it up to you later, all right?” With that, Mark grabbed his keys and headed for the door.
“Thanks a bunch, Mark!” I complained again, before letting out a stream of curses and death wishes.
A loud roaring noise followed by a child’s shriek cried out seconds later. I groaned. I’d just gotten comfortable! “Elysian!” I yelled. “What did you do to my brother!?”
The tiny dragon huffed, smoke streaming out of his nostrils in annoyance, as he poked his head out between the stair railings
. A long white bandage was wrapped around his lower body, and a couple of Band-Aids were stuck to his forehead and horns. “That kid is not afraid of me!”
“So? You want a medal or something?”
Elysian shook his head. “No, I want him to stop trying to play doctor with me!”
I looked up to see Adam, not crying or screaming, wearing his play-doctor costume with a stethoscope hanging around his neck.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. So I finally had an idea of what to do with Elysian if he got on my nerves too much. “You mean you can’t put up playing doctor? Why don’t you just pretend you’re a stuffed animal or something? He’d never know the difference. Grow up.”
“You’re one to talk,” Elysian frowned. “Who was it again cursing and grumbling about having to baby-sit?”
I ignored that comment. “Can’t you do something about that, by the way?”
“What do you mean? You’re the one in charge of this kid,” he replied.
“Well, you are a supernatural creature, from what you’ve been telling me. Can’t you just put him under a spell or something?”
Elysian narrowed his eyes threateningly at me as he kicked off the last of the play bandages. “You’re mocking me, and I don’t appreciate it, especially since you’re the one who’s been neglecting your duty to protect the world.”
“Can’t you put him to sleep?” I asked/whined. “I don’t think it would hurt. Heck, with his crying, I think it would help the world.”
“No! There are little things called ‘rules,’ you know,” Elysian said. “I can’t break them because you don’t want to be responsible.”
“There’s rules? That stinks,” I muttered. “What is the point of having power if you had to follow rules?”
“Are you even listening to me?” Elysian asked.
“Not really.”
“I figured as much.”
A few hours later, it was getting close to kick-off time. With little less than an hour to get to the school, I was starting to go crazy. Not spooky-dooky crazy, just caged-lion crazy. “What in the world is Cheryl doing?” I muttered as I once again dialed her cell phone number. When it went straight to voicemail, I nearly chucked my phone at the wall.
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