by Lia London
She tucked her skinny arms around his burly body. “I already got my prize!” she giggled.
***
“Ah, you’re better in time for the party,” said Mr. Whittle, standing outside of the chemistry lab.
“Sir?”
“Nothing, nothing. Good to see you back.”
Amity was already at our station. “Whittle’s our sub again, huh?” she said. “What’s his deal?”
I shrugged. “He’s nice enough, I guess. He’s strict without being mean.”
“Does he know enough to teach this class?”
I flipped her hair with my finger. “Do you need a teacher?”
As it turned out, Mr. Whittle was surprisingly interesting. He had us all gather around his lab station while he talked about the various properties of cabbage juice. “It’s more than just a flatulent!” he pronounced importantly. The room cracked up, and soon we were making our own litmus paper and guessing the acidity of different household cleaners. It wasn’t anywhere near as hard as what Petercriss did, but everyone was engaged, and I could see the Corporals jumping into the discussion more. When we all filed out after class, kids were in a good mood because they’d had fun, not because they were escaping a torture chamber.
***
“I’m not getting many commitments from people about tonight’s party,” said Amity on Friday at lunch. “There’s still distrust.”
“Of me? What more can I do to show them I’m on their side?”
“It’s not about you,” said Amity. “It’s Mages in general. So far they’ve only seen you guys be consistently nice.” She pointed to Elizabeth and Hadley. “Even Curry’s still an enigma.”
“Yeah, well, he wasn’t on the original guest list,” I pointed out.
“Neither was Rikki,” said Elizabeth. “But we can’t very well leave them out now.”
Hadley shook his head. “Well, if the Nomers hear a Punker is—”
“A reformed Punker,” insisted Elizabeth.
“A very recently reformed complete and total jerk,” said Hadley. “I know he’s better, but give them time. Should we postpone?”
Everyone looked at me. I shrugged. “Mom already got the food. If they want to come, let them come. If not, more chips and salsa for us.”
***
Amity and Elizabeth showed up early with a bag of streamers and glittery things and big, puppy dog eyes, begging me to let them decorate for the party.
“Oh, brother,” I said.
“That’s a yes, isn’t it?” asked Amity. She and Elizabeth started moving chairs around. I noticed that Elizabeth climbed up on the chairs to hang the streamers instead of flying up there. She caught me watching her do this, and we exchanged a knowing smile. Hadley got himself a good girl in Elizabeth.
I got to work laying out all the grub. Mom kept Kelsey busy in the kitchen doing all the “detail work”, like using tongs to put ice cubes in the punch one at a time, or squirting little dabs of whipped cream on each cupcake. Mom’s brilliant at making Kelsey feel needed, and it’s amazing to watch how Kelsey responds. She adores Mom, and gives her hugs and kisses constantly. I’m pretty sure it’s because of Kelsey that Mom has any magic left at all.
Hadley showed up with a case of Hornet Soda, my favorite. “Is anyone here yet?”
“Just the girls.”
Hadley downed half a Hornet and surveyed the living room with a bobbing head. “You ladies are magnificent!” he said. “You make everything look better.” To me, the room looked like a birthday party for a six-year-old, so naturally Kelsey loved it. I told her she could stay with us until the other guests arrived because it made her feel grown-up. Only they didn’t show up even when we passed her bedtime. Mom eventually made her go to her room, and she went weeping and moaning at the injustice all the way up the stairs.
Even Elizabeth looked a little deflated. “What do we do now?”
Amity leaned back on the couch and kicked her legs up. “Why don’t you tell me a little about your family, Kincaid? Are your parents divorced? I never see your dad.”
“He died five years ago of a terminal illness.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Healers couldn’t—?”
“No. It came on too fast.” I could tell Amity felt bad for asking. “It’s okay. I’ve had a lot of time to get used to him being gone.”
“What was he like?” she asked.
I thought for a while, letting my gaze drift up to the fireplace mantle where our last family portrait sat next to the knickknacks Kelsey made in preschool. “He did things people didn’t expect him to do.” I looked at Amity. “He married a Nomer woman, for one.”
Everyone gasped, and Elizabeth scooted closer. “Really? That’s so awesome. I didn’t know your mom…”
Amity hugged her knees. She didn’t say anything, but I could see the wheels spinning in her brain. “What else?” she asked.
My mind flashed back to an early memory. “You know where Mill Creek empties into the river?” She nodded. “Well, you know that little dam of river rocks that goes across the creek and makes the swimming hole above that? He started that.”
“What are you talking about? That’s been there for…about ten years,” said Hadley, catching on.
“I know,” I laughed. “One day, Dad and I were playing there in the creek. He got it into his head to build a dam with the river rocks, and so he and I went to work. He was probably just trying to burn off my energy, but we got a few feet of rocks placed—not a big wall like it is now—and then other kids started to join us. He didn’t tell them to. They just did.” For some reason, I felt my eyes watering, and I was glad no one had shown up for the party yet. “It was just an idea, and he went with it, and people went along. By the time we left the creek that day, something like thirty people had joined us, and the dam went all the way across.”
“That is so awesome,” said Elizabeth. “It’s like being a part of local history.”
“Over the years, people kept adding to it,” I said. “Now there’s even a log in part of it. He has no idea how many people followed, finishing a project he did to keep a little kid busy on a hot summer day.”
Amity scooted closer. “You’re like your dad. You start things and people follow.” She gestured to Elizabeth and Hadley. “We’re your first rocks in the creek, and some day, we’ll be something big, too. It may take time, but it’ll happen.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Rocks in a river.”
The doorbell rang. Hadley punched my arm lightly. “Wipe your eyes, rock boy. The party’s here.”
I opened the door wide and said, “Welcome everyone! ‘Bout time you got here. I can’t eat everything myself!”
“Am I seriously the first to get here?” asked Rikki, slipping past me into the room.
Squinting into the darkness, I saw a car stopped out front. A man waved, so I waved back, and then he drove off. By the time I’d turned back into the living room, Rikki and Elizabeth were doing the girl hug greeting. “Are you it?” I asked.
Rikki put her hands on her hips. “Well, don’t act all excited to see me,” she said.
“No, no—I mean, yes! I’m happy to see you, but…where are the others?”
“Curry should be here any minute. I think he’s picking up a few of the Mages along the way.”
“Flying?” I asked.
“Not sure,” she shrugged.
I sat down next to Amity, who smiled brightly. “So they’re all just fashionably late. This is great! Thanks so much for coming, Rikki. How are classes going?”
Whatever boring scholastic conversation followed, I missed because Kelsey started calling out my name. I could hear Mom trying to quiet her, but I ended up Jumping up to her room. “What is it, Kelsey? I’m trying to run a party down there.”
“Someone’s in the trees outside,” she whimpered, pointing out her window.
I slouched. “Kelsey, please not this again. There are no monsters. No such thing.”
“But—”
“No fairies, either,” I said, more gently. I leaned over and tousled her hair. “You’re safe up here.”
“But—”
“I’ll save you some cupcakes, okay?” I moved toward the door. “I love you, Kelsey,” I whispered. “Sleep tight.”
When I came down the stairs, Rikki was standing in the open front door calling out, “Hey guys! Come on in!” A minivan was parked outside, and the door slid open with a clunk. Five kids got out, all of whom I recognized from senior classes as former Wisers. I was surprised that Rikki even knew any of them, but I appreciated her contagious enthusiasm. She made me look like a social slug. I joined her at the door and greeted each kid entering, introducing myself and the others already inside. Four Mages flew up, Curry among them. They looked around nervously, and hovered above the bottom step of the porch.
“Glad you could make it,” I said, feeling like flying myself. We had an almost 50-50 mix of Mages and Nomers, and from what I could tell, they were all pretty cool. Curry stayed in the background a little until Rikki came forward to draw him in.
As I shut the door behind them, two sounds filled the air: a high-pitched scream from upstairs and a roaring whoosh from outside the door. I opened the door to find the porch in flames. The room erupted in shouts, and all the Mages with Water Magic started balling up Hornet soda and Mom’s punch to douse the flame. I ran upstairs to where Mom was pulling Kelsey away from the window. One glance outside told me all I needed to know. Jack and at least half a dozen other Punkers hovered in the branches of the tree, looking in at us. Jack caught my eye, and the smug look on his face chilled my spine.
“Out the back! Out the back!” shouted Mom.
Everyone ran through the house and out the kitchen door to the back yard, but from there, we all ran around the side to see what had happened, even though we were scared. Mom used her cell phone to call the fire department while the Nomers went for the hose. I watched Jack and the Punkers in the trees. Moving quickly, I took Kelsey in my arms and backed away from them, but Jack swooped down so he stood in the air above our heads.
“Hey, Curry! Thanks for the invite! This party’s hot!” He showered us with sparks, and everyone shouted back at him while cowering away from the danger. Suddenly the ground dropped about three feet. The Punkers had opened a giant Dirt Hole under all of us.
Curry’s mouth fell open, his expression unreadable. The other kids turned on him, accusing, questioning. Rikki started to cry.
Jack flew down with his body parallel to the ground and his face close to Curry’s. “Your baby doll is crying, Curry. Better pick her up and take her home to bed.”
Curry picked Rikki up as easily as if she were a doll and started to fly away. Jack’s crew sped after them, cursing and sparking.
Everyone scrambled up out of the Dirt Hole. In my arms, Kelsey yelped and kicked free before I could stop her. I saw her peek over the edge of the hole, take a huge breath, and Blow. An intense sound drowned out the yelling. In the air, the sparks on the Punkers’ hands ignited into flames from the Wind. The Punkers actually fell out of the sky and tumbled onto the asphalt. I could tell they’d been hurt because it took them a while to get up, and when they did, two of them discovered they were on fire. They dropped to the ground again, and the four guys fumbled and slapped and cursed until the flames were out. They got up, stumbling a few feet before taking to the air again. Whether they were chasing Curry and Rikki, or running away from Kelsey’s Wind, I don’t know, but they were gone.
Just in time for the fire trucks to arrive. The firefighters leapt to the ground to see a porch on fire and a crowd of angry, scared teenagers.
***
With the ground steaming and the crowd gone, Mom sat next to me on the charred remains of our porch. She cradled a dozing Kelsey in her lap, and continued answering the police officer’s questions. Finally, the man snapped his notebook shut, folded his arms across his rather round frame, and stared at me.
“Young man, this is not going to go well for you if those boys decide to press charges.”
“Officer, he did nothing but invite a few friends to a party. How can anyone blame him for what happened?”
“According to the witnesses, the Wind came from his direction, and some of the kids say he has had a long-standing feud with that crowd, so—”
“I don’t believe this,” said Mom, rubbing her eyes. “Those brats set fire to our porch, opened a huge Dirt Hole in our yard, and you’re accusing my son of—?”
I put my arm around her. “It’ll be okay, Mom,” I said.
The officer sighed artificially and stuffed his notepad into his back pocket with difficulty. “We’ll be in touch, Ma’am. And…I’d make sure you get those boards fixed before someone breaks through the porch steps and sues.”
He spun on his heel and waddled down the walk, missing the dirty look my mother shot him.
“Mommy, am I in trouble?” mumbled Kelsey sleepily.
“No, honey,” said Mom, kissing her head.
“Is Kincaid in trouble?”
“Hush, sweetie. Go to sleep now. You can snuggle with me tonight, okay?” Mom stood up carefully and carried Kelsey inside, cooing soothingly to her all the way.
Chapter Ten: I’m a Celebrity
I sat on the edge of the Dirt Hole, trying to collect my thoughts. Now would be when Kelsey would normally be watching Saturday morning cartoons, but she was still curled up fast asleep in Mom’s room. The whole thing with the police officer had me really upset. He acted like all the damage was my fault, and that the injuries to the Punkers were worse—even though they could be healed in five minutes. With a heavy sigh, I stood up, looking down into the hole.
“I wouldn’t dive until you install the actual pool,” said Amity behind me in a weak attempt at humor.
I gave her the courtesy laugh. “You’re up early for a Saturday.”
She shrugged and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. “Did you watch yourself on The Morning Edition today? You were in the section with all the ‘features’ on local celebrities and stuff.”
“I’m a celebrity?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.
She didn’t look at me. “Well, you’re…infamous, sort of.”
I sank back down to the ground. “Are you kidding me?! What are they saying?”
“Jack’s mom must be behind it, covering up.”
“What are they saying?” I repeated through gritted teeth.
“They’re making Jack and the Punkers out to be victims of the kind of chaos that happens when Nomers and Mages mix.”
“Victims! They’ve been pulling stunts like this for—”
“I know, Kincaid, but Mrs. Bagler is hardly going to let her son look like a delinquent, is she? The Morning Edition was really impressed with the fire blowing thing,” she said, off-handedly. “However, they were sure to condemn the destruction. Somehow they thought you started the porch fire. Callers were mostly making the case for banning all magic use in minors.”
The barking, sarcastic laugh that came out of my throat scared birds into flight. The next thing I knew, I was in the Dirt Hole, kicking and tearing at the sides. “How can they think I did any of that? I’m an average Mage at best, and I can’t even…” I clawed at the edges of the hole, throwing clods of grass and dirt at the tree where the Punkers had hid.
Then Amity jumped in with me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She mumbled soothing things I didn’t understand, but it calmed me down. She tugged me to sit down, and we lay back on our backs at the bottom of the Dirt Hole staring up at the cloudless sky. Her fingers laced around mine, and she gave me a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “You’re building something beautiful and useful, and in ten years, everyone will love what you’ve done. We’re all rocks in a river, remember?”
“I’m not my father,” I said. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this, Amity.”
“You didn’t drag me into anything.”
“I did. Don’t you remember
how pathetically I hit on you that first day?”
“You were cute in your pathetic-ness,” she said. There was a long pause while we stared up at the sky. “You know, this would be a great place for a hot tub.”
“If I manage to stay out of jail for all of this, I’ll earn some money and get one.”
“I bet my dad would hire you to run errands at his office,” she said, suddenly perky. “You should come meet him!”
“Before or after I’m arrested?”
“After you’re showered. You stink.”
***
Mom had other plans. By the time I got out of the shower, she had sent Amity home and made my favorite breakfast, strawberry crepes with drizzles of chocolate on top.
“Things are that bad, huh?” I asked, seeing her bent over a stack of papers.
“Worse.”
I served up a few crepes and sat down next to her before she went on.
“Homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover magically induced trauma to a building by minors.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Honey, Mages can get great medical insurance because enough of us are healers that we don’t need the big claims, but property damage…The laws are against us in that…We’re going to have to hire someone.”
I suddenly didn’t have much of an appetite after all, so I swirled the strawberries around in the chocolate sauce. “Is Kelsey going to get in trouble?” I whispered.
Mom closed her eyes and kind of groaned. “I don’t know what to do here, Kincaid. She’s to blame, of course, but…”
“I’ll take the blame,” I said. “I already did it, according to The Morning Edition.”