“Irish good luck tradition,” he stammered.
“Calling your parents by their name?” asked Laurel, puzzled. “I’ve never heard of that one.”
I’m sure you haven’t, thought Calum.
“My middle name’s Irish, though. Rosaleen. It means beautiful rose.” Light pink circles appeared on her cheeks.
“Yeah, I know what Rosaleen means.” Calum felt heat rising on his face and he self-consciously scratched the back of his neck.
“Is that what’s written all over the shelves? Gaelic?”
“No. That’s Italian.”
“My cousin told me about that writing. He said—”
“Said what?”
“He said it was magic, or spells…” She trailed off. “And now I feel stupid. He was probably just making fun of me. You know, because we’re new here.” She shook her head. “So, can you read the words? Do you know Italian?”
“A little.” Calum smiled a cockeyed grin. He was intrigued by the Foletti verses, and often wished he were a part of their clan. But one couldn’t help the clan they were born into. He glanced at Laurel, who was smiling down at Wrecks. Calum was surprised by how easy it was to talk to her. Maybe she was the non-giggling variety of girl. “So, why did you guys move here? I mean, hardly anyone does.”
“My dad’s going to be the new assistant principal at Longwood Middle School.” Laurel watched him closely as she said this.
The principal’s kid.
Calum tired to look cool, but he was never any good at that kind of thing. He felt his face warm again. Thankfully, Laurel looked away.
“What’s out there?” she asked, pointing to double glass doors at the back of the shop.
“A garden.” Calum believed girls were supposed to like flowers and stuff like that. He wondered if she’d like to see it, but before he could ask, Andrea called her to the café. They joined their mothers who were in the middle of a “getting to know you” conversation over tea and croissants.
“We moved to Emerald Lake to be closer to my husband’s sister, Ellen Spencer,” said Andrea. “Do you know her?”
Kenzie nodded. “Ellen’s son, John Phillip, has been in all of Calum’s classes since kindergarten.”
Calum was baffled that Laurel, who seemed perfectly normal, was related to John Phillip Spencer. That kid reminded Calum of a gnat—constantly buzzing around and annoying everyone. He hoped, as he did every year, that John Phillip would not be in any of his classes.
Andrea looked around the bookstore. “You have some nice pieces, Kenzie. This counter is exquisite. And the stacks are obviously handmade. I’ve never seen a solid piece of wood carved in such a way. The details on everything are amazing. Look at the checkout desk, LaurelAnn. I mean, Laurel.”
“What’s written on it?” asked Laurel. “It looks different than the Italian writing on the shelves.”
“It is.” Kenzie eyed Laurel suspiciously. “That’s Gaelic.”
“Here we go,” muttered Calum. He knew his mom needed little prodding to launch into telling the story carved on the desk.
“It’s a love story called A Broken Accord,” said Kenzie. “It’s about a couple named Aidan and Shona who lived in Emerald Lake. They were young when they fell in love, but it ended badly, maybe because of their age. In the end, Shona died of a broken heart.”
Laurel said she wanted to hear more, but Andrea glanced at her watch. “Sorry honey, we need to get a move on and meet your dad.” She looked at Kenzie. “He’s only here for a few hours before he has to go back to Virginia. We’re supposed to meet him at the realtor’s office in fifteen minutes.”
“What about my books?” asked Laurel.
“I’m afraid they’ll have to wait,” said Andrea.
“If you’re talking about Stanton Realtors, they’re just a couple of blocks up the street,” said Kenzie. “If you’d like, you can leave Laurel here to buy her books, it’ll only take a minute. And then Calum can walk her over on his way to the barber shop.”
Calum rested his forehead on his palm, hoping his shaggy hair covered his reddening face.
“Please?” begged Laurel.
Andrea considered this as she checked her watch again. “Do you have your cell? Is it on?”
“Yes.” Laurel sighed loudly. “I’ll be fine.”
“All right, but don’t you dare take the trolley. I think it goes too fast,” said Andrea.
“Okay, Mom.”
“I’ll send them over in a few minutes,” assured Kenzie.
Andrea gathered her purse and left the store, but not without glancing back at Laurel two or three times.
“She’s ridiculously overprotective,” said Laurel.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Calum. He hopped off the counter stool and guided Laurel deep into the stacks. “We have to read two books. Do you want both of ’em?”
“Yeah, but first I want to get something else.” She looked toward the café where Kenzie was clearing their table. Laurel lowered her voice. “Where are your mythology books?”
“Greek? Roman?” asked Calum.
“More like folklore. Stuff about fairies.”
Calum looked at Laurel, trying to measure her sincerity. “Aren’t you a little big for fairy tales?”
“Can you please just tell me if you have any books like that or not? If I don’t hurry up and get over to that realtor’s office, my mom’s gonna freak.”
“Sorry. Yeah. They’re over here.” He showed her the Nature and Folklore section.
Given the local legend about the faerie verses carved throughout the store, Laurel wasn’t the first customer to ask about fairies. But Calum thought she seemed to have more than a passing curiosity. He tried to smooth things over, hoping she would elaborate. “I guess your mom doesn’t like you reading about fairies.”
“She doesn’t believe they exist, but I know they do.”
Calum stared at her hard. She didn’t seem to notice. He watched her hand move to her neck. A gray stone with an ill-formed cross hung from a long silver chain. She held onto it as she scanned the titles on the stack, the fingertips of her free hand gliding over the spine of each book.
“I’ll try this one,” said Laurel. She pulled An Encyclopedia of Fairies and Other Natural Oddities from the stack. “I’d better pay for it now.” She carried the book to the cash register where Calum scanned the book’s barcode.
“That’s seventeen dollars and twenty-five cents,” he said.
Laurel laid down a handful of money. “I have change.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a quarter. There was a spark and a soft pop as Calum took the coin from her.
“Ouch!” he said, quickly withdrawing his hand.
“It must be static electricity,” said Laurel. She tucked the book inside her tote bag along with one of the Talent Night flyers.
“Yeah, I guess,” said Calum. Static electricity? In the summer?
The shop bell chimed. Andrea Werner was back. “Sorry, kiddo. Your dad wants both of us to look at a house.”
“Now?” asked Laurel. “But I didn’t get my books yet, and I only have a few weeks to read them before summer’s over.”
“We’ll have to get them later.” Andrea looked around the shop for Kenzie. “Would you please thank your mom for me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Calum. “Do you want me to put the books on hold?”
“No thanks,” Andrea said hurriedly. “Laurel and I are staying two doors down at the Whitney Hotel. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
Calum drummed his fingers on the desk as he watched them leave the store. He wanted to know more about Laurel and her interest in faeries. Or maybe he just wanted to know more about her. Calum wondered what Laurel thought about him, although he didn’t know why it should matter. He hid between the stacks, quietly following them through the bookstore, listening to their conversation.
“Well?” asked Andrea, as they approached the door.
“He seems nice,” Laurel said in a
hushed whisper. “Not at all weird like John Phillip said he’d be. And he didn’t seem to mind that Dad’s going to be the assistant principal. Maybe I will find some friends here.”
“Imagine that,” said her mother as they closed the door.
“Imagine that,” said Calum. He watched through the window as a car rolled to a stop in front of the bookstore.
“Imagine what?” asked Kenzie, stepping from behind a nearby stack.
Calum jumped at the sound of her voice, knocking several books to the floor. “Geez, Mom, don’t sneak up on me.”
“Especially not when you’re sneaking up on someone else, right?” A wave of Kenzie’s hand caused the books to float dutifully back to their places on the shelf. “You’re right to be curious, though. I’m sure you saw it hanging around her neck. I wonder how that girl got a token from one of the darkest of faerie clans. I’d love to get a closer look at it.” Kenzie squinted as she watched Laurel climb into the backseat of the Stanton Realtor car.
“I don’t think she knows what it is,” said Calum.
“Either way, we’d better keep an eye on her.”
My summer just got a lot more interesting, thought Calum.
Chapter Two
Old Friends - New Friends
Although he wasn’t exactly looking, Calum found an intriguing faerie verse among the hundreds at Siopa Leabhar that morning. He was careful to copy the lines quickly and hoped he’d gotten everything right. But as he wrote down the last few words, the lines began to switch and move. He glanced down at his paper, checking his notes. When he looked back up, he saw the last line of the verse rolling away from him as if it had been written on the crest of a wave.
After they closed the shop for the day, Calum spent the entire afternoon experimenting with the verse, trying to find the right mixture of ground leaves, snakeskin scales, and a light Moroccan spice. He held the end result, a vial of golden dust, in his right hand. The dust was like corn starch, silky and fine, but without the residue. He rooted around a long-forgotten toy box inside an armoire in the living room. Smiling, Calum placed a miniature corvette on the floor and sprinkled some of the dust onto its hood. The tiny red car reared up on its back wheels and raced across the family room.
Buster, Calum’s black-and-white cat, took off after the car, but stopped when it sped under the couch. The car crashed into a wall just as the doorbell rang.
This will come in handy, thought Calum. He pocketed the vial, feeling a sense of accomplishment over the success of this new verse. He smiled as he watched his father answer the door. Gus Ranson was tall with an athletic build. He was genuinely kind and told funny, sometimes corny, stories. Calum thought he was the best dad in the world.
“Bryan, glad you guys could come,” said Gus.
Bryan Stanton set two coolers on the floor of the foyer and shook Gus’ hand. The men were the same height, but Bryan was heavier around the middle. It was getting harder to tell he had once played college football.
“Your yard looks great,” said Bryan. “You must have worked on it all spring.”
“I worked hard following the shade around the house, that’s for sure,” said Gus, pointing to a hammock in the front yard.
Bryan chuckled and shook his head.
“Good to see you, Diane.” Gus bent to kiss her cheek.
“Hey Arlen, Mr. and Mrs. Stanton,” said Calum. He didn’t dare call other adults by their first name. Not within earshot, anyway. Arlen nodded a hello. His tanned skin and sun-bleached hair told of many hours playing in the summer sunshine. Calum felt sure Arlen had grown at least a foot since he had last seen him. Okay maybe not a foot, but he had gotten a lot taller.
“Hello, Calum,” said Diane. “Are you having a good summer?” She smiled in a syrupy way that made Calum think her face might look friendly, if it were on anyone else.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Calum.
“Kenzie’s outside,” said Gus. He closed the front door and picked up the coolers. Bryan and Diane followed him through the kitchen to the back deck.
“Come on,” said Calum. “I just got Hero’s Revenge. Let’s play.” He led Arlen to the game room. “What’s Elaine doing tonight?”
“Elaine the Pain decided to spend the night with a friend.”
As close as he and Arlen were, Calum barely knew Arlen’s younger sister, Elaine Stanton. She rarely came to Calum’s house because he had no siblings, no companions for her.
“I got my class schedule today,” said Calum. “Did you get yours?”
Arlen pulled a white card from his pocket, and the boys exchanged schedules.
“Yes!” said Calum, pumping the air with his fist. “We’re in the same homeroom.”
“Yeah, but Ms. Itig’s supposed to be really strict,” said Arlen.
Calum read over the card. “We also have lunch and PE.”
“That’s cool.” Arlen turned his baseball cap backwards, picked up a yellow controller and plugged it into the game system.
“Are you nervous about the first day?” asked Calum, not meaning to blurt out the question.
“No. Are you?” Arlen laughed. “Come on, Cal. People only get stuffed into lockers on TV.”
Calum tried to laugh along with Arlen, but it was forced. In elementary school, they used the wooden cubbies that lined the hallways. Calum knew it was illogical, but he wasn’t looking forward to using real lockers. He flipped on the game console and pushed a CD into the system. “So, what’ve you been up to?”
“Just golf camp, but it was awesome. Chuck Williams was there. He taught us how to putt.”
Calum had no idea who Chuck Williams was.
“He’s in the PGA, Cal.”
Calum’s blank expression showed he didn’t remember what PGA meant.
Speaking slow Arlen said, “The Professional Golfers’ Association. Geez.” He lounged on the denim blue couch and quickly tapped buttons on the controller.
“Oh,” said Calum. “Well, I spent the first week of vacation at my grandparents’ house in South Carolina. We went swimming and took their boat out on a lake.”
“Hmm,” said Arlen in a bored tone. “Golf camp was really fun. It was a little hard at first, but I met a kid who helped me a lot. He’s older than we are, and really cool…a great athlete…I’ve never seen a better player…” On and on Arlen gushed until at last he ran out of things to say.
Calum saw his chance to change the subject. “Hey, since camp’s over, maybe you can come to Talent Night at the bookstore.”
“Gee, Cal, that sounds like real fun.” Arlen smirked. “But I doubt it. I’m only home for a few days. I’m going to a baseball camp. Neal, that’s the guy I met, he told me all about it. Oh, I forgot. Neal said he’s gonna be moving here in a couple of weeks with his dad. His mom and sister are coming after school starts. Can you believe that?”
Calum couldn’t. Two families moving to Emerald Lake in the same month? He was sure that was unheard of.
Arlen seemed to zone out for a second, engrossed in the video game, blasting his way through the double doors of a dilapidated gray building. Although Calum had known him for years, their conversation seemed stiff and disconnected. He was glad to see Arlen, but there was something different about him. Maybe it was the expensive tennis shoes, the brightly colored polo shirt, or the cocky way he talked.
Arlen had definitely changed.
“Boys,” called Diane Stanton. “Supper’s ready.”
Calum and Arlen joined the adults on the octagonal deck off the Ranson kitchen. The air was heavy with the smell of grilled steaks. Wind chimes hanging from the eaves played their tune, and a glass bird feeder enticed several ruby-throated hummingbirds. Wrought iron gliders and café tables were clustered on the deck, and a green canopy covered the entire space.
Calum hoped to avoid more conversation about Neal, but his hopes were dashed. Kenzie made the fatal mistake of asking Arlen about golf camp. The praises of this wonderful new friend bubbled out again like a backed
-up drain. When Arlen’s parents shared their oh-so-high opinion of the talented Neal, Calum began to worry he had been replaced.
“He’s a great player,” said Bryan, passing a bowl of potato salad to Kenzie.
“I was worried Arlen wouldn’t make friends there,” said Diane. She speared a thick steak from a floral platter and passed the rest to Gus. “I was so happy when he called to tell us about Neal. We met him when the boys got back from camp. Such a sweet young man.”
Calum thought he might lose it if he had to hear one more thing about Neal. For the first time ever, Calum looked forward to the Stantons leaving. After they all played a round of Horse, he eagerly carried both of their coolers to the car.
Calum and Kenzie used their Sidhe talents to clean their bright yellow kitchen. Moving under their own accord, several dishtowels feverishly dried plates and drinking glasses. A broom zoomed past Calum and his mother, sweeping debris from the hardwood floor. An empty soda bottle soared from the table toward the back door, landing in a green recycling bin just as the front door flew open.
Calum froze.
“Forgot something,” said Arlen. He ran into the living room and snatched his baseball cap from the couch. “Later,” he said, closing the front door before Calum could react.
“That was close,” said Calum.
“It happens,” said Kenzie.
He was surprised by her calm reaction. She’d always warned him to be careful when he used his talents so he would not be discovered. Maybe she never expected someone to come through the house unannounced. Or maybe she’s just relieved to see me using my talents correctly. He smiled when Kenzie gave a flick of her wrist, bolting the front door.
“Hey,” she said. “Is everything all right with you and Arlen?”
“Yeah. Sure. I guess,” said Calum, agitated.
Kenzie looked at him with eyebrows raised, inviting further explanation.
Calum obliged with a long and heated rant. “No. It’s not okay. Arlen’s turned into a jerk. I don’t know what happened. All he wanted to talk about was Neal. Neal’s great at this. Neal’s great at that. And now he’s going to another camp with Neal. I probably won’t even see Arlen again until after school starts.” One of the flying plates slammed into a cabinet, falling to the floor in jagged chunks. “Sorry, Mom.”
The Circle Page 2