Avalon smiled sweetly. “You’re kind of funny. My last name is Martelli, by the way.”
Just as River was about to respond, a girl he didn’t know walked by, loudly wished Avalon a happy Halloween, then laughed as she continued to walk down the hall.
“Don’t pay her any attention.”
“Do you think people are going to make fun of me every day? Because this is the way I dress. I’m a freak for the vintage look. Really, I just like being me. I don’t care what’s in style with everyone else. I’m kind of like a canvas, and my clothes are sort of like what I paint.”
“I think you look great. I’m an artist, so I really get what you’re saying.”
“I am, too. I paint for real. But I had to stop. Things got ugly back home.”
Intrigued, River wanted to know more. “What do you mean? What happened back home?”
Avalon looked over River’s shoulder. “I think your girlfriend is waiting for you. I don’t want to keep you. I don’t want to make enemies.”
River turned and saw Gina smiling.
“Okay, I’ll see you later, Avalon. Maybe we’ll be in a class together.”
“I don’t think so. I’m a sophomore. You’re a senior, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’ll be in classes with my brother, Erik. I should warn you, River. He’s kind of angry, so just stay out of his way.”
`*`*`*`
Henry Sledge enjoyed hearing the collective groan of his students when he greeted them with a rousing “good morning” on Fridays when his was the first class of the day.
“It’s great to see your smiling faces this morning. I see we have a new student, Erik Martelli.”
Erik, his tall frame hunched in a chair at the back of the class, barely looked up when he heard his name.
“Mr. Martelli, I’d like you to stand and tell us something about yourself, but so that you don’t feel singled out, I’m going to ask each one of your classmates to do the same. By the end of this class, you’ll feel like you know everyone.”
“I don’t want to know everyone. Or anyone.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Martelli, you’re speaking in a very low voice, and it’s hard to hear from the front of the classroom.”
Antonio, who was sitting close by, yelled out, “He said he doesn’t want to know everyone or anyone.”
Henry looked away and spoke softly to himself. “Charming. Just charming.”
Duffie Walden, sitting in the first row, yelled to the back, “Mr. Sledge said you’re charming.”
The class broke out into laughter, but neither Erik nor Henry Sledge was amused.
“Miss Walden, should I find the need for a human parrot, you’ll be the first one I engage. But in the meantime—”
“Sorry, Mr. Sledge.” Duffie tried to look apologetic, but it was clear to all that she was doing everything to keep from laughing. Finding her suppression of laughter amusing, River couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
“Mr. Dalworth. We’ll start with you. Please stand and introduce yourself to Mr. Martelli.”
River stood up. “Hi, I’m River. I met your sister earlier. She’s really nice. Mr. Sledge is married to my aunt Stella. He loves to talk all teachery, but he’s more cool than he sounds. I’m an artist and have exceptional intelligence. Ha ha. That’s it.”
Henry gave River his usual what-will-I-do-with-you look, and Gina giggled while the rest of the class, except Erik, tried not to laugh.
“Moving right along. Miss Walden, your turn.”
Duffie stood up. “Hi, I’m Duffie. That’s with a D, not a B. I love horses, and I want to go to nursing school. And I want to visit Italy and France when I graduate. Over and out.”
Henry took a seat at his desk. “Okay, Mr. Martelli, you’ve got the hang of it. Your turn. Please stand.”
Erik stood up and looked defiantly at his teacher. “I’m here because I need to graduate. I’m not here to make friends. End of freakin’ story.”
“Perhaps it would be prudent to cease with the introductions for now. I’m sure you’ll feel friendlier toward your fellow students as time progresses.”
Erik mumbled to himself. “Bullshit.”
“Miss Walden, if you’ll pass this textbook back to our new student, we shall begin.”
`*`*`*`
When River walked into the cafeteria, Larsen and Gina were deep in conversation. Looking across the room, he noticed Avalon at a corner table by herself. He could see that the kids were watching her, and he couldn’t help but want to make sure she was okay.
“Hey, Lars, hey, Gin. You saved me a seat.”
“Sure did.” Gina pulled the seat out for River to sit down but noticed he was looking at Avalon.
Trying not to let her disappointment show, she tried to accept the inevitable. “You want to talk to the new girl so she won’t feel alone, don’t you?”
“Sort of. Yeah. I heard some kids making fun of her this morning. I think she could use a friend. I thought she might be sitting with her brother, but I don’t see him.”
Larsen swallowed a bite of his sandwich before speaking. “After third period, he headed for the front doors. I don’t think he wants to have lunch with anyone. Not even his sister.”
“Why don’t you go talk to her, River. Larsen and I will have lunch together. We’re still getting together after school, right?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, then. Go talk to the new girl.”
As River walked away, Gina confided in Larsen. “I’m so afraid, Larsen. She’s so different, but cute. In the same kind of way that River is. What if he dumps me for her before we really even get started? I don’t want him to think I’m a jealous girlfriend. In fact, I’m not even sure we’re actually a couple. I don’t want to be a bitch like my sister. But between you and me, it’s kind of freaking me out.”
“I get what you’re saying, Gina. But River is being nice to her for the same reason he was nice to me: because he’s a good guy and doesn’t like to see other kids feeling alone or being the target of other people’s stupidity.”
Gina looked down at her half-eaten sandwich. “I’ve kind of lost my appetite. Lars, I’m really glad that you and River became such good friends after he stood up to Jax and Antonio for you. But that’s just it; I’m afraid the same thing will happen with that girl. Look at her. Her whole face lit up when River just sat down at her table. Big time. There’s enough wattage going on there to light up Mystekal High’s football field.”
`*`*`*`
“Hi, River! I was hoping I’d see you.”
“Is everything okay, Avalon?”
“Depends what you mean by ‘okay.’ A few kids have said hello to me, but I see and hear them whispering about me. One guy asked me where the Halloween party was.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Just as he said that, Erik came walking by. The guy took one look at my brother’s face and took off. Erik has that effect on people. Guess you’ve noticed by now. He doesn’t want to be here. Can’t say I really do, either.”
“I hope you’ll like it better after a while. And don’t worry about the Halloween stuff. Every day is Halloween in this town. We’ve even had ghosts living in this school.”
“For realsies?”
“Yup.”
“Oh, wow. Then maybe I won’t be so out of place here after all.”
“How’s that?”
“I’ll get to that part in a minute.”
“Oh, okay. So … your family just moved here from Jersey City. To Mystekal? Don’t think anyone has ever made that particular move in the long and rich history of mankind. Why did you come here?”
“Kind of a messed-up story.”
“If you want to tell me, I’d like to hear it. I won’t blab it to the school. I know you don’t know me, but—”
“You have very trustworthy eyes. And you’ve been the only person to treat me like a human being today. So, yeah, I guess I’ll tell you … if you’re
sure you want to keep talking to me. But your girlfriend doesn’t look happy that you’re sitting with me. I notice those things.”
“She’s with my friend Larsen. He’s a good guy. I want you to meet them both. Everything is cool.”
“Well, for starters, we didn’t move here right away. We moved to Los Angeles. I told you this morning that I was an artist … a painter.”
“Sure, I remember. Go on.”
“Well, I don’t want you to think I’m a witch or anything, but I kind of have this gift where I can paint stuff before it happens. But when I first started doing that, about a year ago, it was never bad stuff. And I didn’t know I was painting the future. It started when I painted the neighbors’ new dog before they even adopted him from the pound. Stuff like that. Everything was okay until one day I felt compelled to paint this lady lying in the street. The very next day, a dark-haired lady just like the one in my painting got killed by a drunk driver who ran into her … You think I’m a psycho witch, don’t you?”
“If you are, then I’m a psycho warlock. I draw dead people. Only when I see them, I don’t know they’re dead. They just catch my eye, and then I draw them from memory and freak people’s shit when they see my stuff.”
Avalon smiled. “Awesome!”
“So, how did you end up moving out here from Jersey City?”
The smile on Avalon’s face disappeared. “Well, people in our neighborhood found out about my ability to paint the future. I couldn’t figure out how they knew, but I’ll get to that in a minute. See, after I painted that poor lady, my family started getting death threats from strangers who were calling me the Jersey City harbinger of death. It got really ugly … fast. Do you know what a harbinger is?”
“Hell, yeah. It means you were like a messenger telling people what was gonna happen in the future.”
“How did you know that?”
“I’m a walking dictionary.”
“Oh, okay. Because I didn’t know what it meant before people started calling me that. So, anyway, my mom got super adamant that we had to move. Then, about a week later, she tells my dad that she got a job in LA, so that’s where we needed to go. My dad’s in the building business, and he had just finished a two-year project, so he agreed … very reluctantly, and only because he didn’t have any work lined up right away, and my mom did. She’s a fitness instructor. Okay, so my little sister, Isabella, just like me, was not happy to leave all of the friends we’ve known since forever. But we were all worried someone would kill us all, and we all agreed to move. Meanwhile, and you can’t tell anyone this …”
“I promise. I won’t. Not even Larsen or Gina.”
Avalon nodded. “Okay, so Erik, who’s almost twenty because they held him back in the first grade and then he missed most of his senior year back east—”
“How come? Was he sick?”
“No, he was working part time and wanted to drop out of high school to get a full-time job because his girlfriend is pregnant.”
River’s eyes widened. “Oh, man.”
“Yeah. But my dad was stone-cold set about him finishing high school. Erik was going to stay in Jersey City and live with my aunt and uncle, but then my aunt had a stroke, and it was just too much. Erik couldn’t take care of her, his girlfriend, and go to school at the same time. So my dad told him he needed to move west with us, finish high school here, and said then he can go back east and live his life. He is steaming mad being in high school so old, but it’ll be better for him to finish. I think he knows that, but he doesn’t act like he does. He’s just so miserable.”
“He must be really unhappy to be here with his pregnant girlfriend back east.”
“For sure. Super angry. But it gets worse.”
“You sure you’re okay telling me this, Avalon?”
“I trust you. If I were still painting, I would probably have painted you and me talking together. You’re not like anyone else here. I can see that.”
“So, what else happened?”
“When we got to LA, my mom told my dad she was leaving him. Thing is, she already had a boyfriend out here. Met him about six months ago when she came out for some convention. You’ll never believe this mess. My dad figured out that it was my own mom who leaked the news to the neighbors about my painting. She was also the one sending the death threats to my family. She orchestrated the entire thing just to get my dad to use some of our savings to move the family to LA. As soon as she got what she wanted, she split on us. She told my dad that her new boss was well connected and she’d ask him to help her find him work because, get this, it was the least she could do.”
“Whoa! Why are the coolest people I meet having such bad mom problems? That blows. So, how did you end up in our fair town of desert sand and ghosts?”
“My mom’s new boss managed to get in touch with some well-known building contractor in LA. When the guy heard that my dad is an expert in vintage building restoration, he got him a job here with some lady who is restoring a theater. He just started today. This job only has a couple more months to go, but then he’s going to be working on some other projects in town.”
“Whoa! Hold the cell phone!”
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, it’s an old-fashioned expression I heard in a 1940s movie. Hold the phone. I just updated it for today’s technological times. But it means the same thing. You know, like ‘what the fuck?’ ”
“How come you said that, then? What did I say? What’s wrong, River?”
“Is your dad working at the Desert Theater?”
“Yeah, with some lady named Arielle.”
“That’s my mom!”
“For realsies?”
“Yeah! Hey, is your dad a nice guy?”
“I guess. I mean he’s always been the best guy ever. But my mom pulling this major con game on him kinda left him not so happy. And it’s left Erik spitting mad, like I told you.”
“Uh, yeah. I see that. My friend Larsen over there is going to be working as my mom’s assistant. So I guess he’ll get to know your dad, too. I hope you don’t mind me asking this, Avalon, but your dad isn’t looking for a new woman or anything, is he?”
“Heck, no. The way he’s feeling right now, I think finding a girlfriend is the last thing on his mind. If I were still painting, I wouldn’t be drawing him with anyone. I can just feel it. Why do you ask?”
“Just that my mom is super pretty, and my parents just got remarried two years ago. I wouldn’t want anyone to come between them.”
“Do they love each other a lot?”
“Hell, yeah. They’re lovebirds. Cooing away.”
“That’s sweet. Well, if they’re in love like you say, then nothing will come between them. But you certainly don’t have to worry about my dad.”
Chapter 9
Larsen walked behind the abandoned paint store, adjacent to the Desert Theater. Behind both buildings was a large expanse of desert, and far in the distance he could see thousands of wind generators, spinning like white pinwheels, right in front of the mountains. The only splash of color was a bright blue truck parked not too far from the back door of the theater. A man, with his long hair in a ponytail and dressed in paint-spattered jeans and a red T-shirt, quickly hopped into it, started the engine, and drove away. Larsen was mesmerized by the way the spinning tires sent sprays of sand into the air as the truck disappeared from sight.
“Over here, Larsen!”
He looked up to see Arielle waving to him from the door of the work trailer and hurried over to her. “Hey, Mrs. D; hope I’m not late for my first day at work.”
“Nope. In fact, you’re almost twenty minutes early. I hope this wasn’t a bad day for you to start. I thought you might have plans with your friends.”
“I’m going to help Kathryn give out candy later. That’s all.”
“That sounds like fun. She’s a very special person. I think she’s lived in Mystekal longer than most anyone here. She’s one of the town’s few remaining or
iginal residents. I’m so glad you’re living with her now, though I’d imagine you miss your mother even under the unfortunate circumstances.”
“ ‘Unfortunate circumstances.’ That’s a graceful way of saying ‘rotten, miserable situation.’ ”
Arielle nodded as she held the trailer door open for him. “And some would argue that ‘rotten, miserable situation’ was a graceful way of saying something a whole lot worse.”
“Yeah, you’re right, Mrs. D.”
“Larsen, I hate the way you were being treated, but I’m not going to dis your mom. I don’t know her and certainly am not in the know about whatever inner demons she’s battling. I’m just glad you’re out of the line of fire. And I’m grateful as hell that my family forgave me for some pretty disgraceful behavior. When I think back on the years I was gone, it sickens me. I was another person then. All I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t give up on your mother.”
Larsen closed the door to the trailer just as the wind was picking up in the desert. “I’m not giving up on her, but I sure as heck don’t have any great expectations, to quote a recent book we read in English class.”
“Oh, I love Charles Dickens. He was masterful at creating colorful characters, don’t you think?”
“For sure. But I think Mother Nature’s been pretty good at doing that, too.”
Arielle laughed. “Oh, yeah. Now, are you ready to learn all there is to know about your new job?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been ready since you first told me about it.”
“I hope you don’t mind working in a trailer. As you can see, it’s kind of a tight squeeze in here. Two steps in the door and I’m already at my desk. Four steps in and you’re at yours.”
“I love it, Ms. D. No worries.”
“Great! Well, this is my desk. Excuse all of the mess. This is called multitasking.” Arielle laughed. “My job here is to oversee all of the work being done. But I’m also in charge of choosing everything related to the decor—you know, finishes, chair fabrics, handles, trimmings, flooring, carpet, bathroom hardware, spigots, basins—a long list. You get the idea. You’ll be helping me with all of this, including setting up our grand opening-slash-talent competition in January and getting the school started. So, as you can see, there’s plenty of work to be done.”
Desert Star Page 9