Math passed slowly. Jacob struggled with paying attention, and Mr. Coolidge noticed. It obviously irritated him. Class finally ended and Jacob jumped from his seat, eager to get to history where he’d be able to melt into the back of the room. Except there was a substitute.
Jacob groaned. What made him groan even more was when he found out who it was. Shirley’s mom. And Shirley had gotten dismissed from whatever class she usually had at this hour so she could come to her mom’s class—which, of course, was Jacob’s class.
“Jacob Clark! What an honor to meet you!” Shirley’s mom was plump, a little shorter than Jacob, and had the same hair as her daughter, only a short version. An olive green surrounded her—something Jacob had never seen before. He wasn’t sure which emotion it was. “Please call me Manda.” She said her name with an interesting inflection, as if she were trying to be professional while coming across as Jacob’s “best friend.” He hid a desire to roll his eyes.
Shirley bounced into the class, straight to Jacob’s side. “Mom gave me permission to sit next to you. This is going to be so much fun!”
Great. It would be impossible to get lost in thought with that girl sitting by him. He rolled his eyes. Gus snickered, and Jacob glared at him, sitting in his usual spot, Shirley close behind him.
Manda started the class with a review of what they’d learned last time, and Jacob slumped in his chair, brushing Shirley’s hand off his arm, not even caring what she’d been asking him. Something about eating lunch at her table? He shook his head at her, then looked pointedly at the substitute. Shirley turned forward, a disappointed expression on her face. Yes, Shirley, you’ll have to pay attention, even if it is your mom teaching.
The minutes dragged by, and every time Jacob’s mind wandered, Shirley did something to pull him back. Or Gus would toss paper bits at him.
About halfway through, he spotted Early on the other side of the window, waving at him frantically. Why didn’t she just come in like usual? He guessed she didn’t want Manda to notice her.
“Man—er, Mrs. Christensen? May I be excused?”
She looked at him suspiciously, her color changing to a shade of purple. “Do you need to use the restroom?”
“No, but I . . .” He wasn’t sure what to say, and didn’t want to lie.
“Then it can wait.” She smiled at him, as if that would make him feel better.
Finally the bell rang. Jacob shot from his seat, ignoring Shirley’s requests to wait for her. He raced from the room, down the hall, and outside, to where Early waited impatiently.
“The Makalos say, get your brother and come now. And hurry! The potions are ready!”
Jacob jumped in excitement, then got Hazel out of his bag and had her search the halls of the school for Matt. She’d never be seen, and he didn’t have time to search everywhere. He decided to check the cafeteria.
Matt was just getting in line to buy his pizza when Jacob grabbed his arm, put the plate back on the counter, and pulled Matt from the room and down the hall.
“Stop it—man, that was pepperoni!”
“Doesn’t matter. Potion’s ready.”
Excitement crossed Matt’s features. “Really? Yes!” He punched the air, then sprinted down the hall alongside Jacob.
Early and Hazel met them outside—Hazel looked like she was about to die from an excitement heart attack . Jacob couldn’t blame her—it’d been so long since she’d last seen Aloren. He bit his lip, hopping into the passenger seat of Matt’s truck. Would Aloren still be normal? Would she even be alive?
Matt spun his tires as he pulled onto the 101. “What’s the plan?” he asked, turning the radio down.
Jacob shook his head. “Haven’t talked to them. Only know the potion’s ready.”
Countryside blurred past and Jacob kept looking behind them, making sure there were no cops.
“We’re in a hurry, Matt, but if you get pulled over, it’d be worse than us getting there a few minutes late.”
Matt only laughed. They reached Route 23 and zipped through Wellsville. Jacob gripped the seats of the truck—not really out of fear, but more from excitement. He was glad Matt was driving—if it’d been anyone else, Jacob was sure they wouldn’t have gone so fast, and they’d never get to Mendon.
They pulled onto their road, slowing only a little when the pavement turned into dirt. Dust billowed around them, entering the windows. Matt turned the music back up for the short drive up the hill to their home. He skidded the tires when they reached the driveway, slamming on the brakes, and he and Jacob hopped out.
Mom called to them from the kitchen. “What’re you doing home?”
“Get a hold of the school and release us from the rest of our classes, please,” Jacob yelled to her. “Potion’s ready. Gotta go.”
She put her hands on her cheeks, her eyes sparkling. “Really? It’s ready? Oh . . .” She ran to the phone.
Jacob took the stairs two at a time up to his room and dumped his books out of his backpack. He put Hazel’s container into Aloren’s bag, swung it over his head and one arm, then grabbed the journal, just in case he’d need it. He also snatched his first aid kit, matches, flashlight, and a couple of pocket knives and threw everything into his backpack.
Matt met him in the hallway. “Oh, man, I forgot. We have to walk the whole way, don’t we?”
Jacob’s shoulders slumped. “Dang it. Yeah, we do. It’s going to be a long walk, huh?”
“Well, let’s get going! We can run!”
Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3 Page 93