Trunks of Ages: The Seven Seals

by Mary Beth Frank

  Chapter 11 Blue Eyes

  Christmas morning finally came and Sebastian was exhausted. He nearly growled when he heard the sound of excited little feet pounding down the hall toward his room. Guessing what was going to happen in a matter of seconds, he rolled over and covered his head with his blanket trying to will himself into another existence. Bam! The door burst open with an excited Scotty, who leapt onto his bed. With all his might, Scotty slammed down onto Sebastian's chest and reached for his face, trying to pry his eyes open.

  “Sebastian,” Scotty said with his five-year-old lisp, “s time to wake up. Santa came and I want to go downstairs.”

  Sebastian moaned, knowing it would do no good to argue with Scotty, as he was probably the strongest, most persistent five-year-old in this and the next two counties. For his age, he was huge and very aggressive. Not in a mean way, but in a way that made people give him what he wanted.

  “Hmm,” Sebastian teased. “Santa? Well I thought he'd fly right over our house this year. Are you sure he came?”

  Scotty stuck out his lower lip and sat up. “Sebastian! He came! I want to go now!”

  “OK, OK. Just give me a minute, will ya? Why don't you go and wake up the others while I get dressed?”

  Scotty’s face beamed. This was his favorite game to play, but everybody else’s worst nightmare. Always being the first one up, as well as the loudest child in the bunch, Scotty was great at pulling everyone out of bed at an hour most teenagers never see. Alice usually tried to take him downstairs while the others slept, but he was so loud that it was pointless.

  Scotty ran down the hall, half laughing, half screaming, making Sebastian smirk when he heard the others grumbling while they were being grotesquely awakened. Jumping out of bed, Sebastian grabbed the first pair of jeans he saw on the floor, and then shoved his arms into a t-shirt before anyone else decided to barge into his room, his only place of privacy. He sighed, wondering what it would be like to live in a smaller family, where the parents' room was the destination point for awaking children, not the teenage son who wanted and needed ungodly amounts of sleep. He glanced in his mirror above his dresser, ruffling his copper hair. A shower would have to wait, he supposed. He flipped off the television he left on last night and threw on some socks. The one area where he was a normal teenage boy was the way he kept his room. There were clothes everywhere, socks hanging off his dresser and desk, a bed that was hardly ever made, a thick layer of dust that was acting like a protective coating on his much-too-expensive furniture. This was one room he didn't allow the house staff to enter, and he sometimes wondered if this was his one act of rebellion.

  “Wow,” he suddenly mumbled, “I need to get a life!” Shaking his head at the pathetic thought, he walked down the hall to get the others.

  Before they could reach the parlor, where the mountain of beautifully packaged presents awaited them, the doorbell rang and he knew his grandparents had arrived. Makayla ran to the door, shoving Ethan and Julian aside, who’d been racing to get there first.

  Grandpa and Grandma Hanks were your typical grandparents who loved to spend time with their grandchildren, but always thankful they got to go home, alone. Grandpa Hanks once told Sebastian that didn't mean they loved them less, but the best part of being a grandpa was you could spoil your grandkids and leave them to the parents to deal with later. Except, Sebastian had pointed out, with this family you leave them to the nanny. His grandpa gave him a knowing smile and said, “Yes, with this family, it’s the nanny.”

  The door flew open and Grandma Hanks walked in first. She was carrying two large bags stuffed with presents; their elegant wrapping contrasting with her plain appearance. She was exactly opposite of her husband and son. Where they were both remarkably handsome, she was plain. Since Sebastian could remember, she always had a tidy bob of gray hair, her short frame always been slightly overweight, never dressed in designer clothing, and always kept her appearance simple. But what she lacked for in appearance, she made up for in love. Like bees to honey, people were always looking to his grandmother for companionship. She was a rare jewel who always made people feel like her best friend, wearing a warm smile that never faded. Sebastian had always thought she was perfect, secretly adoring her. Grandpa Hanks was her counterpart. A quiet man, with an unnatural amount of patience, he was content in letting his wife have the spotlight. However, this was hard to do as he was very handsome. And unlike his wife, Grandpa Hanks liked dressing well and unintentionally attracted attention no matter where he went. Even so, his own attention never wavered from his wife. Sebastian admired the way his grandpa secretly watched her in a crowded room, or the way he spoke of her when she wasn’t there to hear. He never criticized, never complained. He was a constant and showered her with a love so deep, that it seemed only death could sever their bond. Sebastian hoped someday he would be able to love a girl with such admiration, even after 40 years of marriage.

  Grandpa Hanks was watching Marshall, who was hanging back, observing everyone else while they smothered their Grandma with hugs. Pulling a long rectangular-shaped box out of one of their bags, he handed it to Sebastian’s brother. “Marshall, I thought a young man such as you would enjoy something like this at Christmas.” Marshall’s eyes lit up and everyone looked from the box to him and knew instantly a package that shape could only mean one thing: a new train. Ethan rolled his eyes, pretending to choke himself and fall on the floor. Makayla let out an annoyed sigh, and Julian giggled. Scotty, completely oblivious, was wrapped around Grandma Hanks' legs, hoping she'd give him a ride to the parlor. Alice was trying to rescue her by prying him off, to no avail.

  Sebastian winked at Marshall and whispered in his ear. A smile flashed across his face. “Great idea,” he whispered back and took off upstairs.

  Grandpa Hanks watched the transaction between the two brothers and shot Sebastian a curious stare.

  “Don't worry,” Sebastian smirked. “I just sent him up to turn on the train layout so you two could play later.” Marshall wasn't the only one in the Hanks family obsessed with trains. Grandpa Hanks had quite a collection himself. Those two were always in the train room when he came to visit.

  “Sebastian, are you OK?” His grandpa was gazing at him, noticing his haggard appearance.

  “Yeah, it was a rough night and an early morning.”

  “Ah. Well, make sure you at least get to be a teenage boy during your break and sleep like the dead.”

  Sebastian rubbed his eyes, reminded of his lack of sleep. “If only it were that easy.”

  His grandpa looked like he was going to say something, but decided against it, and turned his attention to the younger ones instead. He snatched up Scotty into his arms, who eagerly went to him, pretending to pull his nose off his face.

  “Well, I say we get this show on the road.” Grandpa Hanks made a gesture toward the parlor and everyone went running in.

  The day was a whirlwind, with new toys, movies, CDs, iPods, clothes, laptops, bikes, and games to open and play with that Sebastian hardly gave two thoughts to the trunks or the lady of his dream. After several hours and many trash bags stuffed full, everyone ate a huge dinner the cook had prepared. When they were all moaning from eating too much, Grandma Hanks played the piano while Alice sang her favorite carols. Her voice was more angelic than pretty; floating over the notes with little effort. Very rarely would she sing for them, although Sebastian knew the rest of them would love to hear her sing more often.

  Before they knew it, Grandma and Grandpa Hanks were getting ready to leave, claiming they could not stay the night as planned. Grandpa Hanks grabbed Sebastian by the arm, pulling him into the hall bathroom where no one could hear them.

  “This is something I've been waiting to give you. I know you won't understand until the right time, but please promise me you’ll carry it with you from now on.” Grandpa Hanks pulled out a small package wrapped in brown paper tied with a piece of white yarn. It
looked very old, like the package had been wrapped for over a decade, waiting for this exact moment.

  “Do you want me to open it?” Sebastian gingerly took the package and carefully examined it.

  Grandpa Hanks shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes looking deep into his grandson's young face. “Sebastian, I’ve got a feeling you’ll know when to open it yourself. Son, something is different about you, like you are going through some kind of change. Don’t you think it’s time you learned to think for yourself, instead of letting your family situation dictate how you behave? But you must promise me that you’ll carry this on you at all times. I can't explain any more than that, but just promise.”

  Sebastian shrugged. “OK, I promise.” He put the package in his pocket and leaned against the wall. Man, everyone is getting weird on him. He was desperate for something normal right now. Maybe he needed to get out; maybe he could call Brooke and Trevor tomorrow. Brooke was supposed to be coming home in the morning and would be anxious to blab about her trip to Indiana. Trevor was probably just as ready to get out of his mother's grasp, although he seemed to enjoy being home lately, now that he was receiving all the perks of his dad's promotion.

  After his grandparents left, all the kids went to their rooms to sort through their new presents. Sebastian grabbed his meaningless pile and took it to his room. He really hadn't paid much attention to what he got, since he was helping his grandpa put the boys' toys together. He started rummaging through his half-opened stash, looking at each thing then throwing it into a pile by his desk when he was bored with it. He came to an envelope with his name on it. Sebastian ripped it open and pulled out a prepaid Visa card from his dad. Inside was a note in his father's precise penmanship. Sebastian sat on the bed scanning over the inscription that told him about financially responsible and how he needed to account for a larger amount of money. Along with the card, came the promise of it being reloaded every month. However, in return Sebastian had to keep a detailed register of the money he spent. He flipped the card over and noticed that it had $500 on it. He had no idea what he would use the money for, since he already had everything. Shoving the card into his wallet on his desk, he was suddenly sickened by the thought that more money had just been thrown at him. Frustrated and furious, he plopped back on his bed, wincing as something sharp poked his leg. Realizing it was his grandpa’s mysterious gift, he pulled it out to examine it again. Not really caring to open it, for deep down he was afraid of what was inside, he threw it into his backpack. He knew it was the best place to put it if he was going to keep his promise since he took his backpack everywhere.

  The next day, Sebastian called Trevor and Brooke and made plans to meet them at the Java Board around 11 o'clock. Makayla begged to come, but Sebastian told her to make plans with her own friends. She, of course, was in the parlor reading to herself when he left. A twinge of guilt crept over his face as he stepped out the door.

  “Sebastian, you must lead them.” Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks. The lady's voice from his dream, or rather nightmare, made its way into his conscious and was speaking? No way. He looked around, knowing for sure someone was playing a cruel joke on him. No one was in sight. All he could hear was a soft breeze blowing through the trees. He listened harder, but the only other sound his ears could detect was the distant rumble of the falls, just a mile away. Sebastian pulled his fingers into fists at his sides and grunted. Nothing was going to ruin his normal day. Everything had been crazy since school let out for break. He was determined not to let anything destroy his perfectly normal afternoon, with his normal friends, playing normal games, and having a normal teenage life.

  “Normal, normal, normal,” he kept repeating the words, as he grabbed his bike out of the garage. If Marty had been watching him closely, he would have thought he was crazy.

  He rode north on Giles, turning east through the commons and past the Garden Grate grocery store. He turned into the parking lot for the Boar’s Head Restaurant and found an empty bike rack in front of The Java Board.

  The Java Board was tucked in a cozy storefront behind the popular restaurant, which was a hotspot for tourists and parents visiting their college students. The coffee shop was a locally owned café but was hard to see from the main street, making it more of a hangout for the locals. It was decorated in bold, contemporary streamlined furniture that accented the blues, purples, and reds on the walls. In the back of the shop, there was a large flat screen television where many dance and guitar competitions were held on the latest video game console. Open mic nights were also held here regularly, giving local musicians a place to play their compositions. But mostly the Java, as the locals called it, was known for their video game competitions and Trevor was a legend around these parts for winning almost all of the time. At the side of the shop, there were bookshelves piled high with popular board games like Risk and Apples to Apples. Many kids came to play spades or euchre, as well as the newest game brought to the Java, Hand and Foot. The Java just launched a series of card game competitions. Sebastian always tried to stay out of the spotlight of such things, just wanting to go to support Trevor, but found himself thinking about signing up for the next Hand and Foot competition. He was really good at the canasta-based game and loved playing. Brooke was excited that he was finally showing interest, and ability, in something that could be competitive. He had mistakenly told her about his idea of signing up. Now she was always bringing it up, making a point to remind him of the deadline to join. She offered to be his partner, but Sebastian hadn’t had the nerve to bring it up anymore. He figured he’d lost his chance to do it without anyone paying attention.

  When he reached The Java, Brooke and Trevor were already going at it on some new dancing game the café owners had just purchased. Trevor was obviously the better of the two, but Brooke was not giving up the fight. Sebastian laughed at the sight. Those two were so competitive with each other and normally made a contest out of anything, including bathroom trips. It was usually funny, but there were times where it was just stupid, not to mention embarrassing. But he was so used to it, that he hardly noticed their obsessive, and often ridiculous, behavior.

  It wasn't hard to find the table they were at, since Brooke's skateboard was lying on top. This was one of her junkie ones, since she most likely rode it in the snow on her way here. She was paranoid about getting her bearings wet on her competition or practice boards. So, he knew this was probably one that she could care less about.

  Sebastian went to order at the counter. It seemed unusually busy today; full of teens from Ithaca High, the public high school in town, instead of the usual college crowd who had all gone home for the holiday break.

  As he was approaching the counter, the bell over the door jingled, announcing a new customer. Sebastian glanced over to see who was coming through the door, a little bit worried that Makayla, despite his warning, had come anyways. Taking notice of a group of girls walking into the café, he went back to studying the menu he knew by heart.

  “I guess I'll just have a caramel mocha shake.”

  Sebastian got out his wallet and paid the cashier. He stepped aside, trying to let the girls move up to order. While waiting for his drink, he glanced over at them. He didn't want to be too obvious, but some of the girls were fairly good looking and he, with all things being normal today, was checking them out. One of the girls chuckled quietly when she noticed him looking. She looked like she was about his age, maybe 14 or 15, had very long curly black hair that was unusually shiny. In fact, it reminded Sebastian of those shampoo ads where the girls, models actually, were throwing their hair in the wind.

  Sebastian glanced at the girl, letting his eyes look her over. Her skin was powder white with a translucent appearance, almost like melting snow. She had on a thick turtleneck sweater that swallowed her skinny neck. Her short stature was accentuated by her tight dark jeans, with brown-colored boots lined with fur that reached mid-calf. She
wore a short white puffy jacket over her sweater. The jacket was covered in fake fur around the collar, which was too much around her skinny face. Her makeup wasn’t overdone like some girls his age, but highlighted her full lips and cheeks. Sebastian let his gaze linger a little too long, finding himself staring into her eyes before he could hide his awe. Her eyes were brilliant. They were the most amazing blue he had ever seen. He expected brown, with her dark hair, but he found himself swimming in the sea of sapphire her eyes formed. It was as if they were pulling him into her gaze; trapping him into the perfection they bestowed. He found the strength to look away, knowing he'd looked too long. He stared at his feet.

  “Caramel Mocha Shake?” The voice of the café employee shook him from his trance and he looked up to claim his drink. Forcing himself not to look at the girl again, he shoved his straw into the lid, hoping his cheeks weren’t giving him away. He could feel her eyes boring into his head and knew, without looking, she was still staring at him. Despite himself, he felt drawn to look back into those blue eyes, to get lost in her trance once more, but knew it would be rude. Suddenly, he could feel her breath on his neck as she stepped uncomfortably close to him. His lungs involuntarily restricted, his breathing becoming erratic. His legs went numb; his stomach about to betray him. She cleared her throat.

  “Would you recommend that drink?” Her voice was soft and had a humming tone to it. It was like a lullaby, speaking in his direction. He glanced up, this time looking at her mouth instead of her eyes, afraid that if he met her gaze once more, he wouldn't be able to look away.

  “Um, sure, I like it.” Stupid, he told himself. He was fuming for not thinking of anything better to say. He shot his eyes toward Brooke and Trevor, looking for a distraction.

  “Well, then that's good enough for me,” the musical voice said. Sebastian looked at her again, daring himself to look into her eyes. When he did, he nearly fell over. There staring back at him was a pair of beautiful, but normal, brown eyes.

  “I'm sorry. Is something wrong?” She had noticed him gawking again.

  “No, I just thought...”

  “Ma'am, can I take your order?” The cashier cut him off.

  “Yeah, just a second.” Gina waved off the cashier and turned back to Sebastian. “Well, I'm Gina by the way. What's your name?”

  “Sebastian. Sebastian Hanks.”

  Gina winked at him. “Well, Sebastian Hanks, it's nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around?”

  “Sure.” Sebastian casually shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk over to Brooke and Trevor who were staring at him with their mouths hanging open. Sebastian tried to breathe again, as he made his way to their table.

  “What was that?” Trevor teasingly punched him on the arm, as he sat down next to him.

  “That was Gina.” Sebastian glared at his friend, silently warning him to shut up.

  “Wait a minute, you mean Gina Parkins? Do you know who that is? She's new to town, but all the girls have been talking about her. Her dad is some movie producer and they moved here to get away from the pressures of living in Hollywood. She is supposed to start at Preston Prep after break.” Brooke beamed at Sebastian, waiting for him to thank her for the gossip.

  Sebastian looked wide-eyed at Brooke. “You’re joking, right?”

  Brooke sat back and folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes at him. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have a small crush on this Gina.”

  “Oh, please. I just met her for two seconds.” Sebastian tried to wave them off.

  “Two seconds seems to be all you needed.” Brooke was ready to pounce. Sebastian was not going to let his friend ruin this day for him.

  “Brooke, back off.” He shot her a glare and he could tell by the flash of her eyes that she got his message. A smile crossed her lips.

  “Whatever you say, Romeo,” Brooke smirked.

  Sebastian quickly changed the subject, asking Brooke about her trip to Fort Wayne and getting Trevor to tell about his holidays. Suddenly, they were trying to one up each other with their stories, making Sebastian laugh at his argumentative best friends. He sat back and let them have their rounds with each other, letting his mind wonder over what had just happened.

  Her eyes were so blue! He couldn't ever remember seeing someone's eyes being that color blue before. He thought about how they went from blue to brown in a second and decided he was definitely losing his mind. He made a mental note to see the school counselor when they got back. Someone brushed past his elbow, waking him up from his daydreaming. When he looked up, Gina was walking by, looking down at him as she passed. Sebastian found himself staring into the pool of blue eyes once more, letting them take him back into the trance they had pulled him into at the counter. Then he knew where he had seen the blue. The dream! The sky over the kingdom with the lady! Gina nodded to him, as if she'd heard his thoughts, and walked out of the café with perfectly normal brown eyes.