Earth Angel

by E. Van Lowe

  “Yes. When we were dancing I was thinking this was the best day of my life.”

  “So was I. More to come. Promise.”

  He grabbed me by the hand and a few minutes later we found Maudrina out back by the pool, chatting up the cute boy.

  She’d been so busy flirting she missed all the action at the door. I looked into her eyes and could tell she’d had a drink. Somewhere between the last time I’d seen her on the dance floor and now, she’d managed to dip into the alcohol.

  “Hi. Where have you two been?” she asked, a little too loud. She smiled brightly.

  “Nowhere,” I said. I pointed to my wrist as if I was pointing to a watch. “Time to go.”

  She looked into the eyes of the cute boy, whose name was Curtis, and said good night. She wasn’t slurring or acting drunk. She was happy. He offered to drive her home, but she hadn’t had enough to drink to make her do something as foolish as that.

  As we exited the spacious home and walked up the drive to the car, she leaned onto my shoulder and whispered, “Today was the most perfect day, a day I will never forget.”

  I’d never forget it either.

  #

  I was in my room doing homework when my mother got home from work. Okay, that’s not exactly true. By the time I got home and changed back into wardrobe that didn’t look like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing, it was almost time for her to come walking through the door. I had just sat down at my new laptop, pretending to do homework when I heard her come in.

  She came right up to my room. She was in a good mood. The gallery had landed a show by an important artist they had been after for months. For a small gallery, this was a very big deal. She was so excited about her news, she didn’t think to ask why I left the house so early in the morning. Good thing, because I hadn’t had time to come up with an excuse.

  She was standing in my doorway as she’d done on many occasions, gushing out her news. “Anyway, that was my day, anything exciting happen at school today?”

  It was an innocent question, one she’d asked hundreds of times. But today it didn’t seem so innocent. Today it seemed weighted, and I felt the weight of it pressing against my conscience as I sat pretending to stare at my computer screen.

  “No. Nothing.”

  It was the truth. Nothing exciting had happened at school today because I wasn’t in school for much of the day. Something exciting did happen, however. My boyfriend had saved the biggest social event of the year from sure disaster. I couldn’t share that with her:

  “Guy was the hero at the ditch day part today. The Explosion.”

  “Really? The Explosion is the social event of the year. How proud you must be of him.”

  Yeah, right! Like that conversation was going to happen. She was my mother. She wouldn’t understand.

  There was a time in my life when I told her everything. Everything. But that’s when I was a little girl, and the most exciting thing that might have happened in my day were things like Billy Walker farting in class. Those were innocent times, and they were gone for good.

  I was quiet during dinner. I was actually bubbling over with exciting news, but I had to play it cool. As soon as dinner was done, I excused myself and went to my room to finish my homework. I immediately got on line.

  I opened my email to chat with Maudrina about the cute boy, but mostly to tell her all the things Guy had done that I couldn’t tell her in front of him in the car. He’d done some kind of angel mind melding thing to Danny Tambor and she missed it.

  When my gmailbox opened, I saw twenty-seven new emails. That in itself was strange. I didn’t get many emails. What made it stranger was that twenty-five of them were from people wanting to friend me on Facebook. My pulse sped up as I scanned the names: Ashley Scott, Heather McNamara, Melody Cruz, Jeremy Bowen. The Poplarati were all friending me. I’d been going to G.U. for a year and seven months, and most of that time the Poplarati had pretty much ignored me. I was a geek—persona non grata. But not after today.

  As I dashed off an email to Maudrina, I was tingling with excitement.

  Megan Barnett has arrived.

  Chapter Six

  School was different the next day. In fact, it was surreal. I was at my locker before third period, changing out books, when Monica Swainson and her crew walked by. “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey,” I replied. It was like I was having an out-of-body experience. Monica Swainson passed my locker every day. She’d been passing my locker every day since freshman year, but had never spoken to me. Wait, that’s not exactly true. She spoke to me once during freshman year when she was trying to cop a look at Alonzo Briggs’ butt, and I was blocking her view.

  “Hey, geek girl! You make a better door than a window,” she snarled to get me to move. That was it, my last conversation with Monica Swainson, until today.

  I felt disoriented as I watched her move down the hall with her girlfriends. A few of them looked back at me, curiosity etched into their brows. Wow!

  The day continued weirding out when French class ended. As we were gathering our books, Jack Parson, who was cute but also happened to be the dumbest boy in school called out: “Hey Barnett, how come you never give me any play?”

  Before I could respond, Ashley Scott zinged: “because Megan’s got taste!”The whole class cracked up. Ashley smiled and nodded as if to say:I got your back. I smiled and nodded my appreciation.

  I knew I’d been having a lot of weird dreams lately, but I was certain this wasn’t one of them. I knew this wasn’t a dream because dreams are triggered by your subconscious, and I couldn’t have imagined any of the things that had happened to me today. Today was just weird, period!

  “Thanks to your heroics, I’m popular,” I said. Guy was seated next to me in our usual lunch time spot at the bottom of the bleachers. I was going on and on about my weird day.

  He hesitated before saying, “Is that a problem for you?”

  “I’m not sure. I mean most of them are jerks, but it is flattering to finally be noticed by them.”

  “Then I say go with it.”

  “It’s you they want to friend. But since you don’t have a Facebook page, they’re reaching out to me.”

  “Man, you sure know how to complicate things.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “I sure do, don’t I?”

  “Mortals need to learn to accept things as they come to them,” he said and laughed. I stopped laughing.

  It was the first time since I had known what Guy was that he had called me mortal. Different. That’s how I was suddenly feeling. As much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself, his words hurt. I knew he was an angel. I knew we were different. I didn’t need him throwing it in my face. I tried to will away the pain because I knew he didn’t mean anything by it.

  “I suppose you’re right,” I replied, my voice faltering. “I really had a good time yesterday.” I changed the subject to something more pleasant. “You’re a good dancer.”

  He stared at me, narrowing his gaze. “I’m sorry. I said something that offended you.”

  “No. No, you didn’t. I was just thinking about Erin is all. She’s running with the wrong crowd.”

  I could tell he didn’t believe me. “Yes. It was sad to see her with that biker bunch.” He looked deeper into my eyes. “You’re sure it wasn’t something I said?” His eyes were smoldering. How could I be angry at a boyfriend who was so hot?

  “Positive.” I put on a plastic smile.

  He slid closer. Taking my chin into his hand, he kissed me gently on the mouth. As he pulled away, he latched onto my lower lip with his teeth, but he didn’t bite down. “I never want to hurt you,” he said soflty.

  “I know.”

  #

  The weirdness continued over the next several days. On Wednesday, Jeremy asked me to sit at the jocks’ table. I was stunned. I knew he felt a sense of gratitude for what Guy had done at The Explosion. No telling what would have happened if Guy hadn’t bee
n there. Yet it was odd that the boy who ignored me whenever I sat with the jocks in the past was now inviting me.

  On Thursday, Ashley Scott told me a secret about Melody Cruz. We were exiting French class when she stopped me at the door and said: “Melody Cruz had a boob job.” Just like that. No preamble or anything.

  When I shot her look of disbelief, she shot back with a knowing look. “Over the summer,” she added with a smirk. “Nobody grows two cup sizes between July and September.”

  This revelation was big since Melody was a card carrying member of the Poplariti. It was Ashley’s way of letting me know I was not only included in the Poplarati, my status had been elevated above Melody’s.

  Then she dropped the bomb. “See you at the game on Friday?”

  Friday was G.U’s last basketball game of the season against our cross town rival, Coronado. While we didn’t have many wins this year, a victory against Coronado would make our season. I didn’t know much about basketball, but Ashley had just invited me to sit with the Poplarati at the game. That was an honor.

  I managed to choke out a response. “Umm, sure. I’ll be there.”

  Erin would have loved my new-found status. We were AP girls because of our brains, but in our hearts and minds we were cut from the same cloth as the popular crowd.

  I wondered about Erin.

  I couldn’t get over how seedy she looked at The Explosion. The craziness of ripping the head off a bird and leaving it in my garden alarmed me even more. I needed to call her again. If she didn’t pick up this time, I would stop by her house. I knew a cry for help when I saw one. I would not let her down.

  When I got to the math lab, the week’s strangeness continued. As I was coming down the hall, I could hear Tran’s voice, animated and passionate, spilling out of the room. When I entered, he looked up from a conversation with Mrs. Brewster. This is where things got weird.

  “Megan, come over here! We need a third vote to break the tie,” called Tran, excited to see me.

  What’s strange is I am a girl. With Erin’s departure,I am the only female member of the mathlete’s. While the male members feel they have to protect me, they have never asked for my opinion on anything. Choice of problems, choosing up sides for a competition, even snacks. My opinion has never mattered—until today.

  “Sure,” I said, heading back. “I’d love to help.”

  “Megan, you’re smart, and very hip. Please tell Mrs. Brewster which is the best design for a mathletes tee shirt,” said Tran. It was obvious that word of my admission into the Poplarati had made its way to the math lab.

  “Okay.”

  He blew out a breath. “Is it ‘A,’ a simple black tee with the words Glendale Mathlete in script over the left breast?” His voice rose with passion, “Or ‘B,’ a killer white tee with a monstrous transformer on the front in the shape of the number ten?”

  “Why the number ten?”

  “Because ten is cool!” he said as if suddenly realizing I was an idiot.

  I swallowed hard and looked at Mrs. Brewster, whose eyes were laughing because she knew no girl in her right mind would choose to wear a shirt with a transformer on the front.

  “Umm, let me see,” I said, stroking my chin as if in thought.

  “Come on, Megan, it’s not that hard.”From the look on Tran’s face he was having second thoughts about choosing me as the tie-breaker.

  I knew if I told him the truth he’d never ask my opinion for the rest of my life.

  “I know. It’s just that I’m not that fashion conscious,” I said after a few moments.“But Geoffrey is.”

  Geoffrey was Tran’s main confidante on the mathletes. The fact that he hadn’t called on Geoffrey in the first place proved the power of the Poplarati.

  “That’s a great idea!” exclaimed Tran. “You are so cool. Thank you.”

  “No problem. Glad to be of help.” As Tran called Geoffrey over to solve the problem, I slid into my seat.

  There was no way in hell Mrs. Brewster was going to allow us to wear shirts with transformers on the front, no matter how many boys trapped in their adolescence stamped their feet and insisted on it. I was off the hook.

  I realized, as we got down to work, that something had changed. It was a small thing, and yet it was huge. I had somehow bridged two very different worlds. The popular crowd ignored the geeks. The geeks detested the popular crowd. I had been accepted in both circles. Yet even though I had a place in both worlds, I was smart enough to know I could never bring the two together. That would be an oil and water moment for sure.

  Something had changed inside me as well. I felt as though I had stepped across an invisible line. On this side I was smarter, more beautiful, more confident.

  I smiled to myself as I sat working through a problem. I knew no one could see it. But it was there all the same. A brand new me.

  #

  Campus was nearly deserted by the time the mathletes let out. With both Matt and Erin gone from my life, a few of the male mathletes usually volunteered to walk me to the bus stop. Today, they all escorted me.

  When we exited the building, I was happy to discover the weather was still quite nice. Sweater weather my mother called it. My plan after I got home was to walk over to Erin’s and hopefully have a talk with her.

  As we moved down the walkway toward the street, there was a lone car sitting at the curb outside the main school entrance. I was surprised to see it was Guy’s Mustang. Guy had done his best to honor my mother’s wishes. When I had suggested to her that he could drive me home after school, she said “absolutely not. No riding in cars with any boys.” Matt was the only teen she had ever allowed to drive me around. To Guy’s credit, he never hung around after school to tempt me, until today.

  When Tran saw the Mustang, his eyes narrowed. “It’s Guy Matson,” he said as if there was a nasty taste in his mouth. Tran had had it in for Guy ever since Guy single-handedly won the countywide mathlete championships.

  “Hey fellas, thanks for walking me, but I think Guy can take it from here,” I called. I figured if Guy had stayed after to drive me home, it must be something important—like maybe he missed my lips.

  Tran pulled me aside and lowered his voice. “Megan, I know you are in love with him and can’t see he’s bad news? But you need to come to your senses.”

  My cheeks began to sting with outrage. Tran was a geek. What does he know about having a boyfriend? I wanted to tell him Guy was an angel, incapable of doing anything bad. But I knew I couldn’t. “You don’t know anything about him,” I said.

  “I know his type. Thinks he knows everything. I’ve been dealing with his type all my life.”

  There was pain in his eyes, and I knew why. Tran was smart, and because he was smart,he had been singled out to be in honors classes, and because he was singled out, he was picked on or shunned by those who saw him as different. I used to live in his world.

  “Guy’s not like that,” I said softly.

  A short burst from the Mustang’s horn interrupted our exchange. Tran looked darkly toward the car. “He will bring you nothing but trouble.”

  “Look, I know you’re only trying to look out for me. But Guy is my boyfriend. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  He shot me a look that suggested he didn’t think I could. “Okay,” he said with a sigh. “See you Monday. And study-up! We need you to win state.” With those words, Tran and the other math geeks headed back across the lawn toward the student parking lot.

  I smiled as I resumed walking toward the car. My boyfriend was picking me up after school. No biggy.

  As I got closer I realized there was a man in the passenger seat. They both climbed out. I watched the man unfold himself out of the car. He was about twenty-one,very tall and limber, with chiseled features that had just the right amount of soft edges. The word heartbreaker came to mind. His long blond hair was tied back into a pony tail. He smiled when he saw me coming. There was a bit of flirtation in his smile that made me uneasy
.

  “Hi, Guy,” I said, looking past him. “What a pleasant surprise. Thanks for picking me up.” I rushed around to the driver’s side and collapsed into his arms. He greeted me with a kiss that was soft and sweet and took my breath away.

  “Get a room, fer Chrissake!” the tall man said in an accent I believed to be Australian. Guy laughed.

  “Megan, I want you to meet a friend of mine,” he said as he released me.

  “Is this Rocky?” I kept my arm around Guy’s waist as I extended my other hand. I wanted him to know I was spoken for. He wore blood red jeans that somehow looked good on him, with scuffed black cowboy boots.

  “Rocky, eh? That’s a nice enough name, but no, the name’s not Rocky.” He glanced at Guy with what I took to be a sneaky smile. I didn’t like it.

  “This is Harrison,” Guy said quickly.

  “Oh. Sorry. Hello, Harrison.”

  I was caught off guard as it dawned on me Guy had more than just the one angel friend. But of course he did. I felt so stupid. I realized then Guy never talked about his friends, or what he did when we weren’t together.

  “In our world, Harrison is what’s known as a tracker. He’s been… watching you.”

  Harrison had brilliant hazel eyes that I’m sure had the desired effect on most girls. I didn’t like the familiar way he was looking at me with those brilliant eyes. “Watching me? Why?” I began to bristle.

  “It seems yer bein’ stalked,” Harrison said. The accent could have been quite sexy, and yet on him it was annoying.

  “Umm, if you’re referring to Erin, I am aware of it. I saw her in my garden a few nights ago. She left a dead bird. I guess she’s trying to send me some kind of message. It’s no big deal.”

  Another look passed between them.

  “Yer not bein’ stalked by a mortal, luv,” said Harrison. “Yer bein’ stalked by a demon.”

  Chapter Seven

  On the ride home, Guy explained that while he was out of town for the weekend, he had asked Harrison to watch over me. On several occasions over the weekend Harrison had observed a demon stalking me, but he was unable to trap it.