The Joining: The Saga of the Shards Book One (The Cycle of the Shards 1)

by Chris Stephenson

  He moved his hand then, and Brian fell to the ground groaning. Critock then turned and smiled, just in time to see Mr. Phelps coming towards him behind the group. Once they realized the teacher was coming, the crowd scattered as quickly as it arrived, for fear that whatever punishment was coming would also be visited upon them. As Phelps reached him, Critock quipped, “I think that went well.” There were a few guffaws from the remaining onlookers that were close enough to hear, but Phelps was not amused. He folded his arms as he appraised the boy. Just as he was about to speak, Shanna ran up to them.

  “Wait! Kyle never touched him! Brian just came out of nowhere and started swinging at him and hit him!” Shanna was trying to sound like a little scared girl, very far from her usual preference, but she could usually convince teachers of almost anything as long as she sounded cute.

  Phelps looked at her, knowing that Shanna was someone that stayed out of trouble as much as anyone could, and then looked back at Kyle, who up into yesterday had never been known to be in any kind of fight. “Is this true, Kyle?” He asked, hoping that the story would match up.

  To his relief, Kyle didn’t add anything, just nodded. “Good. I’ll make sure he gets to the office with his buddies, you two…” He was interrupted by one last roar from the bully, who had stood up. He couldn’t believe what had happened to him. Embarrassed in front of everyone by this shrimp? This sophomore? No, this would not stand! Brian jumped up, ignoring the pain from whatever had been done to his back, and ran right at Phelps, Critock and Shanna.

  Thinking quickly, Critock put his hands on the girl and the teacher and pushed them back, perhaps with a touch more force than necessary but he wanted to make sure they were clear. As they moved back from the force, he himself jumped back, marveling at his reflexes and the slowness of the bully, and watched as Brian moved past them.

  Brian didn’t realize the kid could move so fast. It would be impressive if he wasn’t so angry. Too late he knew he had missed them, and he was moving too fast to slow down. His motion sent him headlong into Mrs. Smith, and the two of them collapsed together, with her screaming.

  Phelps cursed as he ran over to help her, hoping that the elderly woman hadn’t broken anything. Shanna looked on in concern as she was in a class she taught, albeit a horribly boring one. Critock could see that the old woman wasn’t going to be hurt, as she had begun screaming at the slow boy that had knocked her down almost immediately. Humans aren’t really smart yet, he thought, but at least they weren’t that fragile. He walked away, wanting to get a head start towards his next class, as Computers were something that he needed if the plan was still going to work, and he knew he would have more time there to get to know Shanna better, and hopefully enlist her help without having to reveal the whole thing. He noticed Tom floating next to him, full of questions but still within earshot of others, and he just shrugged and muttered, “Welcome to Earth.”

  13

  Shanna walked through the hall quickly, having satisfied herself that Mrs. White was going to be okay. The last that she had seen, she had stood up and was very close to assaulting Brian before Mr. Phelps had got in between the two of them. At that point she decided she would much prefer heading to Computer class than to get caught in whatever that was going to be. And with computers also came Kyle.

  She had always had a slight interest in the boy, like Brian and most of the boys that had glanced at her admiringly she always knew when he was looking, yet it was his reaction when he was caught that was the most amusing and a little bit sweet. His face would get red, and he would stammer whatever sentence he was saying, if he had been saying anything. He was a little bit…safe? She guessed at the word for it, but he wasn’t exactly someone that gets caught doing something that he wasn’t supposed to. But he wasn’t a goody two shoes either. He was…Well, if she had to describe him, he was just kinda there, trying to stay out of things, not getting involved in a whole lot. For some reason, that was enough to cause a small attraction, but until yesterday that’s all it was, based on looks and his general ability to not care, as it was a feeling she herself fell into from time to time. She did require some sort of adventure to her life though, so that probably left him out for anything more than a brief flirtation. But then he showed up in the office with Brian, and she started to wonder if she had written him off a little early. Something had changed with him, that’s for sure. When she had caught him today, he had met her gaze, seemingly unafraid, and while she couldn’t really make out what was said, she knew that he had spoke for quite a while. And then just outright embarrassing that jackass without throwing a single punch!

  Her feelings were high as she moved through the halls but they dropped as she entered the classroom to take her usual seat right next to Kyle, but Kyle wasn’t there. She looked at Jim, who just shrugged. “No idea. Maybe he got in trouble after all.”

  Shanna sighed as she sank into her seat. Even without actually making contact, she worried if Kyle would get thrown out anyway. She had done everything she could to help him, including pretending to call his father. There was no justice among the principal and the teachers, at least she could do something to try and even things out. She knew he should have found a way out of facing off with Brian again, but it seemed so wrong for anything to happen to him, especially when he was just becoming interesting!

  As she moped, waiting for the bell to ring so at least she could lose herself in her typing, she heard the students behind her talking. To distract herself, she leaned back and listened.

  “…And the guy got tripped by Brian’s guys in Phelps’ class, so he was probably looking for revenge.”

  “I know! I was there! He rushes out bleeding, comes waltzing back in like he owns the place, and then ends up spouting some crazy stuff, like Mr. Spock stuff. Phelps didn’t know what to say!”

  “I didn’t realize the guy ever talked. Good for him.”

  “Good for everyone if Brian’s gone! Talk about taking one for the team!”

  Shanna smiled. Word travels fast. Maybe something got shook up when he got knocked down in Science? She hoped that she’d get the chance to talk to him in person instead of just getting everything from the gossip. The teacher started going over the lesson and she leaned forward, brushing a hair out of her eyes. Her fingers splayed over the keyboard, and she began.

  Critock had every intention of reaching the class on time. While he hardly was looking forward to 'learning', especially with everything weighing on his mind, he was hoping strongly that Shanna would be able to help him. He knew he was making a lot of assumptions, which Tom continuously called him out on.

  “All I’m saying, is that you’re putting a lot of eggs in one basket.”

  “I don’t even know what that means, Tom.” He made sure to put extra emphasis on Tomkari’s English translation. “She’s our best shot. Unless you know some other way we can get an image of every student in this school, and the teachers just in case, we need to get on their computer system. Unless that machine of yours managed to give you an instructional lesson on medieval technology, she’s our best option. Did it?”

  Tom drooped. “No.”

  “But I bet it told you how many species of bird are on this planet, didn’t it?”

  Tom floated back up happily. “Roughly 10,000! With 22,000 subspecies…”

  “You are incredibly useful.” Critock walked faster to get out of earshot. As he walked, he noticed he had attention. People were stopping to clap him on the back, and more than once he saw one or two girls looking at him a little longer than he was comfortable with, and giggling. As the halls began to empty and he neared the Computer Lab, he heard feet running up to him, he turned and once again, there was Mr. Phelps, breathing slightly heavily from the unexpected exercise both out in the courtyard and running to catch up with him.

  “Kyle! Hold up.” Phelps slowed to a stop as Critock appraised him.

  “Hi, uh, again, Mr. Phelps. Can I help you?”

  “Can you join me for a coup
le minutes? I’ll write you a pass, just want to talk to you real quick.”

  Critock looked at Tom, who happily whispered to him. “We can use him just like we were going to! See if you can get anything out of him!”

  Critock nodded almost imperceptibly, then tuned to Phelps. “Yeah, all right.” Phelps started walking again, leading Critock and Tom to his classroom. He flipped the lights back on, and Critock found the idea of being in a classroom alone to be slightly eerie. This didn’t seem like a place that was suited to a one on one (or one on two, as it was) conversation.

  Phelps sat behind his desk, and he motioned to Critock to sit at a front table. As Critock sat, still uncomfortable in the student’s seats, Tom explored the room, looking at books and different displays that were left out. He took particular joy in zooming around the model of the Solar System. Oblivious to the actions of the wisp, Phelps began. “So, busy lunch for you.”

  Critock sighed, and looked deep in Kyle’s memories for anything that would help him. He didn’t find much. “You know, that guy’s been a thorn in people’s sides for a long time. I’m surprised I was the first one to face off with him.” Might as well be straight with the guy, or at least as straight as he could be without letting his true self slip. It seemed that Phelps was always going to be around for some reason, maybe Tom was right and he could still help.

  “Oh, you’re not the first. Every other time, it’s been off school grounds, or some place where there was no evidence. You must’ve really made him mad.”

  The bell rang, and Critock felt a sudden guilt that he wasn’t in the right classroom. He realized it was Kyle, wanting to be with Shanna. Twenty-Five-hundred years old, and I’m having teenage love pains. He thought, and then grimaced that he was using Earth time periods without thinking about it. He tried to shake it off and answer Phelps. “He’s been on my case for a long time, and he came after me, what was I supposed to do?”

  Phelps sighed. “Kyle, I don’t know if I can keep this from Principal Tompkins. You know what zero tolerance means. This fight may have been a bridge too far.”

  Critock saw a loophole, and he took it. “Doesn’t the definition of a fight require some kind of contact? I mean, he punched me, but I never struck him. I only pushed him against the wall to try and calm him down. Even then, I barely touched him.”

  Phelps nodded. “Earlier today I had you pegged as a future astronaut. Now I think you could go into law. I think I can sell that. But I want a deal.”

  “A deal?” Critock tried not to notice Tom excitedly moving around near a particular book that he had come across.

  Phelps stood up, and walked to Critock. “We let today slide. Brian’s out of school after this, I think everybody in the office has been waiting for him to slip up. But that’s end of this. No more fights, whether you touch them or not. I won’t be able to protect you next time.” He reached out his hand.

  Critock stood, taking his hand, and shaking it, mentally accessing what that meant. “You don’t have to worry, Mr. Phelps. I don’t need protection. Not any more.” He released the teachers hand, and then walked around the room over to where Tom was swooping around. As Phelps watched, he picked up the book the wisp seemed to be motioning towards. It was a yearbook, and as he opened it, he noticed pictures. Lots of pictures. Every picture of every student from the previous year. Critock snapped his head up, almost unable to contain himself. “Can I borrow this?” He raised the yearbook. “It’s for a project I’m doing.”

  Phelps shrugged, not understanding but it wasn’t like he needed it for anything. “Sure. Is this project the reason for your sudden change? It’s like you’re a different person, Kyle.”

  “Well…” He looked at the yearbook. “You might say it’s woken me up.” With that, Phelps wrote out a slip of paper explaining why he was late, and Critock left the room. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but at least now he had a direction, and now all he needed was help.

  14

  It was no use, she thought. There was no way she could get through this assignment today. Every time her mind wandered, it went back to Kyle’s fight and she got worried again. For the first time she wondered if she had led him on yesterday somehow. Could this have been her fault? She didn’t know anything about his home life, or really, himself, but she did know that boys had done stupid, stupid things for girls, and getting into a fight to try and impress her, and ending up getting kicked out for it would just be horrible, even if it was a little bit impressive to her.

  The relief that flooded over her when she saw Kyle enter the room couldn’t be quantified. It was like a weight was lifted from her when he strode in, and his walk seemed more confident. He walked straight to the teacher, handing her a slip of paper. Once she nodded, he returned to his desk, and smiled at Shanna. She smiled back, trying to rein in her happiness slightly, unwilling to share her relief that he was still there.

  As much as Shanna was inwardly happy, it seemed Jim was just as much outwardly, and he wanted to share his excitement with the whole class. “Kyle! Dude! Where the hell have you been!” The teacher gave him a stern look, and there was a shooshing chorus, but Shanna just laughed, as there were few things funnier than Jim when he got excited. Or agitated. Or anything, really. Kyle just smiled as he settled into his seat. Her curiosity immediately got the better of her as she leaned over, a little closer than she intended to, and whispered in his ear. “I’m with him. What the hell happened to you?”

  Kyles mind was in overdrive, and Critock had to struggle to contain it. He mentally tried to tell him to settle down, but it was no use, the old hormones were activated and there was no stopping them, he would just have to deal with a overexcited teenager bouncing around. Hopefully the girl didn’t do anything else, otherwise he wasn’t sure if he could maintain his control on the consciousness. Speaking out loud to both of them, though quiet enough to not disturb anyone else, he answered, coolly aware that there were other eyes on him throughout the classroom. “Had to take care of some things, Phelps wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to get kicked out.”

  Jim’s smile disappeared. “Are you? Going to get kicked out?”

  Critock rolled his eyes. “I’m here, aren’t I? What’s the assignment?”

  Shanna slid her paper over so that Critock could read it, albeit where both of their heads would have to come close together to do so. It was a fact that wasn’t lost on him, but he mentally shrugged. He was sure Kyle wouldn’t mind at least. Jim, for his part, knew when to get out of the way, noticing how Shanna was looking at Kyle. He lost himself in his own assignment as Critock glanced over at the paper, and looked at the screen in front of him. It was completely black. He realized that he was in big trouble.

  Tom flew over from where he was investigating the room, and whispered. “What is this? I knew they were behind the times, but…”

  Critock shrugged. With such tight quarters and Shanna keeping an eye on him ever since he entered the room, he couldn’t risk any verbal communication with his partner. Unfortunately he was being no help with the computer, and Shanna was starting to stare at him.

  “Here, let me help. The on button is right here…” She meant it as a joke, but he thanked her for the pointer, as he hit the button and waited for the login information. He tried in vain to access any information about the program in Kyle’s mind, but either Kyle was deliberately blocking any help because of what was happening with Shanna, or Kyle himself was as bad with computers as Critock was. Somehow he knew it was the former though, and was thinking as hard as he could to try and convince him of the urgency. While he was able to get the login and password, that was the entirety of the result before Kyle simply shut down completely and refused to answer in any way. Peering at the keyboard to try and decipher the language, and with the help of Tom nudging towards the proper keys, he was able to log in, but at that point he was stuck.

  Shanna peered over again. “Are you okay? Is there something wrong with your computer?” Usually by now they’d have been ra
cing to complete the assignment first, and right now it looked like Kyle had never seen a computer before.

  Critock thought quickly. “Yeah! Yes. Very strange. Doesn’t seem to do anything I want it to do.” He wasn’t lying, not entirely. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what he wanted the screen to do. Tell him exactly who Pt’ron is would be ideal and save a lot of time, but after scanning the keyboard he couldn’t find the “Save the universe” button.

  “Mr. Lyon?” Shanna turned to the teacher.

  “Yes?” The teacher answered, slightly annoyed at being interrupted.

  “Kyle’s computer is having problems. Can he work with me?” Critock looked at her surprised, and a little hesitant, but she didn’t notice. The teacher waved it off, and he wondered exactly what qualified her to teach a class. At the same time, Shanna was thinking of nominating her for a teacher of the year award. She began moving her things to create some space for him. While she did that, he took out the yearbook, opened it, and as close as he dared without it looking strange, he looked at the eyes of a random student. He strained a bit, and then sighed. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. He resigned himself to his original plan, and slid over next to the girl who looked slightly eager to have him huddled next to her at the keyboard.

  “Do you have enough room?” Shanna asked, concerned. While it was true she was enjoying having him a bit closer, at least for ease of communication (Though Mr. Lyon would barely care if they were screaming at each other), she wanted him to be comfortable. She had a feeling that he was purposefully acting weird about his computer in order to get closer to her, and she was more than willing to play along.