Alex Armstrong: Awakening

by Hayes Farley

  It was over. The X-Wing drifted lazily through the exit and Alex walked to the next obstacle.

  Professor Startsman stood there with his head cocked sideways and his crow’s feet on full display. He finally nodded, to no one in particular, and then pulled up his pants and followed Alex.

  “Hey, what just happened?” said a voice from the back.

  “It teleported!” called another.

  The professor stopped and turned to his class. “You will learn many wonderful things at this school. Sadly, teleportation is not one of them. What you just saw was speed. No tricks. Just speed.”

  Part two of the obstacle course was a large glass box that looked as if it could have housed the jellyfish exhibit at an aquarium. Professor Startsman flicked his finger and the three dozen red rubber balls that laid lifeless at the bottom of the box took off in all directions, bouncing this way and that with enough speed to tear through any of the ships.

  They moved faster than Alex remembered. He traced a line from the entrance on the bottom of the box to the exit on the opposite side at the top. It was a long way, and there was little chance he’d be able to keep on a straight line. Alex softened his vision so he could see all of the balls, searching for some kind of sequence that he could exploit. But there were just too many. He shook his head. He would have to take his chances. At least the physics looked predictable; the balls were banking off the glass with the same “angle in angle out” lines he visualized on a pool table.

  And then it hit him. “Angle in angle out,” he said. Alex looked at Startsman and grinned. He nosed his X-Wing into the glass box and instantly the red rubber balls froze in place. His ship weaved through the inanimate asteroid field and emerged from the other end. As it spiraled up to the ceiling, the rubber balls fell to the bottom, bouncing away their energy. He walked to the final obstacle, careful to avoid eye contact.

  Out of the confused whisperings of his classmates came one loud yell: “He cheated!”

  “Cheated? Did I just hear someone yell cheated? Far from it,” Professor Startsman said. He joined Alex at the back of the room. “Mr. Armstrong realized I wasn’t controlling those balls and so he took control. Took control of every one of them. It’s called thinking outside the box, and if any of you ever hope to become Greyjeans, you better learn how to do it. God help you if you don’t,” he added under his breath.

  Professor Startsman lifted the final cylinder for the second time today. It was triple the length of the first cylinder and contained twenty golf ball-sized metal spheres, each set at a different height and spaced from start to finish so they looked like depth charges waiting for some unsuspecting submarine. He looked at Alex’s X-Wing flying above. “What do you say we make this a little more…‌fitting?”

  “Sir?”

  Startsman’s tablet arced up and over the students and into his hand. He flipped open the cover and swiped through some screens. The wall monitors went blank. Another few swipes and taps and they flickered on again, this time showing the Trench Run from Star Wars. He closed the cover and tossed the tablet onto a nearby seat. “How’s that?”

  “Smokin the donkey,” Alex said.

  “Okay. Well then, may the Force be with you.”

  Alex knew right away that his strategy from the last tube wouldn’t work. These spheres weren’t bouncing around on their own. Each was firmly within the professor’s grasp, and with his experience and power it would be pointless trying to wrest control away from him. He thought back to Nate’s brief venture into this tube and remembered that each of the spheres would only attack once the ship neared its vicinity.

  Alex took a few calming breaths and looked back at the playing field with fresh eyes. He spied a path through the first half of the container. After that, he’d have to get creative. But the main problem was that last sphere, just hanging there gleaming in front of the exit. There was no way to avoid it. Would he be quick enough to dodge Startsman? Probably not. He was picturing his ship exploding into hundreds of Lego bricks when he had an idea. He looked at the professor. “I’m ready.”

  “I know.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw Han Solo clear the way for Luke. He glanced up at his own X-Wing and smiled. “Time to use the Force,” he said. The Lego ship sped straight down from the ceiling and into the cylinder, hurtling past the first two spheres and banking sharply out of its nosedive before Startsman could react. Alex kept his ship flush against the plastic, sliding up and down the wall as he made his way toward the exit. He got through the first half without any sphere so much as twitching.

  Alex narrowed his eyes. His ship dodged up and down and twisted right and left. He was nearing the exit when he was forced to barrel-roll between two converging spheres. They collided with a loud metallic CLACK and bounced into the plastic wall.

  Alex brought his X-Wing to a stop directly below the exit cut into the top of the cylinder, nothing left but the last metal sphere. Startsman pulled it back a bit, as if he would plug the hole. Alex pointed the nose of his ship at the obstacle and looked across the cylinder. The professor was already staring at him. “Your move,” Startsman said.

  It seemed that everyone had an idea that whatever was about to happen would happen quickly, and so they all scooted to the edge of their seats and leaned forward and didn’t breathe.

  Alex trained his eyes on the metal ball, and when he was sure that he wasn’t going to blink, he sent his X-Wing rocketing upward in what looked like an ill-conceived game of chicken. As he neared the exit and that inevitable moment of truth, the ball oscillated. It was all the warning Alex needed, because at that first sign of motion, his ship burst apart into a hundred different pieces, the metal ball touching not a single brick as it shot forward with so much speed that it punctured the cylinder and plugged deep into the wall beyond. The Lego bricks instantly snapped together and the X-Wing was once again whole. It flew through the exit and up to the ceiling.

  Alex pumped his fist. He realized it was out of character as soon as he did it, but he didn’t care. He laughed and pumped it again.

  “Well played.”

  Alex shook the professor’s hand. “Thanks. That was awesome.”

  Startsman watched the Death Star explode on the right wall. “Yes, I really outdid myself on that one,” he said, smirking. “You know, I keep thinking you’re going to run out of tricks, but you continue to find ways to impress me. No wonder Chris has taken such a strong interest in your progress.”

  “President Joyce?” Alex glanced at his friends running up the aisle, Eva in the lead.

  “That’s the one.” Professor Startsman turned on the lights and changed the walls back to the live stream.

  Alex didn’t know how to respond to that. Did he want to be on Joyce’s radar? Seemed like a lot of pressure.

  “Something wrong?”

  “No sir, just…‌thinking.”

  “No doubt.” Professor Startsman reached up and Alex’s ship tracked into his hand. “Here. At the very least, you earned a trophy.”

  Alex ran his finger across the wings.

  “You’re welcome.” Startsman patted Alex on the shoulder and walked to the door. “Oh, and don’t think too much!”

  14

  The Old White

  They turned east at the Student Center and made for the edge of campus. The sun was low on the horizon. There was a gust of wind and Eva tucked her chin inside her coat.

  “We can turn back if you want.”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’ll be warmer once we get on the trail.” The little fuzzy ball dangling from her ski cap bobbed along with each step.

  Alex adjusted his backpack and quickened his pace. Soon they were at the hedge. There was a small wooden sign:

  The Old White Trail

  Use Caution

  They entered single-file. They had discovered two other trails at the southern end of this hedge wall, but they kept coming back to The Old White. I
t was the longest and the most scenic.

  After half an hour of hiking, Alex glanced over his shoulder to check on Eva. He slowed so she could get within talking distance.

  “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I know the way.”

  “Oh I know. It’s just that…”

  There was a long pause. “It’s just that what?”

  “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  “What? What were you gonna say?”

  “It’s nothing. Forget it.”

  “What?”

  “Well…‌I’m hungry.”

  “So.”

  “So, not to be morbid or anything, but if you happen to take a tumble off this cliff and splat somewhere way at the bottom, then how am I gonna get my bagel? I mean, even if I could, it’d be a mess. Probably inedible. So I’d have to walk all the way back to the Student Center to get another one. And by then, they’ll probably be out of sesame seed. Inconvenient, to say the least.”

  “Plus you’ll probably have to spend time filling out police reports. You know, since I’ll be dead and all. Who knows when you’ll get to eat again?”

  “Now, see I didn’t even think about that,” he said, shaking his head. “Yeah, the whole event would just be a real hassle for me. A real shame.” He could only hold a straight face for so long.

  “You ass,” Eva said, laughing. She punched him in the arm and motioned for him to get moving.

  They were over halfway into the hike when the path veered east around a mossy embankment and opened into a field still blanketed by a light layer of fog. Standing in its center was a white oak at least eighty feet high and just as wide. Its blood-red leaves looked like stained glass in the backlight of the sun.

  Click.

  “I was wondering when the camera would make its first appearance.”

  Eva looked at Alex and stuck out her tongue and then went back to the viewfinder. “Sorry. I know how much you hate pictures, but this is just too pretty.”

  “I don’t hate pictures.”

  “You hate the act of taking a picture. Don’t deny it. I can read you like a book.”

  Alex stood there frowning and then nodded. “Well, it just takes so long. You know, how you have to take off your backpack and set it on the ground and unzip the top and pull out that huge camera and pop off the lens cap and stick it in your back pocket and look through the viewfinder and adjust the zoom and then finally you start taking some pictures. And it’s always a lot of pictures. It just seems like it kinda ruins the flow whenever we’re making good progress.”

  “Well I’m sorry for ruining the flow, but I want to remember our hikes. And I can’t remember unless I take pictures.”

  “I know, I know. And I get it now. I do. Seriously, I don’t mind anymore. Take as many as you want. Honestly, I’m surprised you waited this long because I saw a couple of good photo ops earlier.”

  “I saw them, too. It was killing me not to take any pictures.”

  “Then take em. Stop worrying about me. I wanna see how they turn out.”

  “On the way back then?”

  “Definitely.”

  Eva smiled. “Maybe you’ll let me take your picture.”

  “Don’t push it,” Alex said, backing out of her shot.

  As he listened to the click, click, click of the shutter, Alex thought back to their previous hikes. They began as tutoring sessions, and for the first few weeks, that’s exactly what happened. But Alex hit his ceiling as an instructor after Eva got past the basics. He couldn’t explain how he could lift that log above his head and toss it aside as if it was weightless. He didn’t know how he could move that pebble with such speed that it embedded into the tree trunk. He could just do it. So the tutoring stopped. The hikes continued.

  Alex approached the white oak. Its roots were thick and barkless, crawling along the ground before plunging into the soil some fifteen feet from the base. If these were the tentacles on an octopus, it would be sized to take down a shrimp boat. Alex got on his haunches and read the names carved up and down the length of the roots. He traced a cursive one with his fingertips.

  “Scoping out a spot?”

  “I’ve got a couple in mind.”

  She scattered a handful of leaves across the roots and snapped a few more pictures. “I’m done. You ready to keep going?”

  Alex nodded and led the way beyond the oak and back onto the trail. There would be another hour of hiking before they looped back around.

  “How’s your dad?”

  “I talked to him last night. He seemed kinda sad, I guess.” Alex kicked a rock off the trail and listened to it fall through the trees. “He said he’s sending me a present, but I’m not allowed to open it until Christmas day.”

  “It must be really hard for him.”

  “Well it’s not gonna be easy for any of our parents. It sucks that we can’t go home for Christmas.”

  “Yeah, I know. But your situation…‌it’s different. For your dad, I mean.”

  They walked in silence for a few minutes before Eva spoke again.

  “Does he ever talk about her?”

  “Who?”

  “Your mom. Does your dad ever talk about your mom?”

  Alex sighed. Seeing those roots must have stirred up this line of questioning. “No. He’ll mention her name in passing once in a while. But if you’re asking if we’ve ever sat down and had a deep conversation about her, then the answer is no. Nothing like that.”

  “I figured.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing. Just that guys aren’t good at that kind of stuff.”

  “What stuff?”

  “Discussing feelings.”

  “Oh, please don’t go all amateur psychologist on me. I mean, if you really wanna know, I can tell he thinks about her a lot. I know I look a lot like her.”

  “So every time he sees you he’s reminded of her.”

  “If you wanna put it that way, then yeah, I guess.”

  “And you don’t think that’s sad?”

  Alex kicked another rock. “Well, Jesus, of course I think it’s sad. But I didn’t—I didn’t even know my mom. She’s never been a part of my life. So it’s not like these feelings are always on my mind.” His head was beginning to itch and his jaw clenched.

  The truth was he had thought about his mom. Many times. He wondered what it would be like if she were alive. Would his dad still be a professor? Would they have had more kids? But he never put those thoughts into words, even on those days when he could tell his dad was hurting. Alex always told himself it was for the best; that bringing her up would only make his dad more depressed. But deep down, he knew that wasn’t true. And it made him feel callous. Just like he felt now. Suddenly, that itch became unbearable. He jammed his fingers underneath his beanie and raked his nails across his temples.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

  Alex readjusted his beanie. “It’s not you. I’m mad at myself. It’s just so hard for me to put this stuff into words. It makes me seem like some prick who doesn’t care that his mom died.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Not even close. It just means you’re a guy.” Eva flashed a smile and edged past Alex. “I’ll take over rock-kicking duty for this last stretch.”

  “Well, then do it with authority.”

  She sent one screaming over the edge. “Like that?”

  “Perfect.”

  They reached the rocky outcrop that marked the end of the trail. It was huge, as if someone had taken a jackhammer to Stonehenge and made a pile of the rubble. They clambered up the side and took a seat at its highest point. For their efforts, they were rewarded with a view of the valley, now equal parts yellow and orange and red.

  “It’s even prettier with the fall colors,” Alex said. He took the sounds of the camera’s shutter as Eva’s agreement.

  “It feels good up here on the stone,” she said, taki
ng off her gloves. She removed a brown paper bag from her backpack and pulled out a sesame seed bagel. She placed it in Alex’s hand. They locked eyes and his face contorted in a ridiculous smirk. There was a faint echo as their laughter bounced around the surroundings.

  “So now you’re smiling.”

  “Well, now that I know I’m not gonna starve,” Alex said, tearing off a hunk. He leaned across her lap and felt inside her backpack for the peanut butter. She handed him the butter knife.

  They ate in silence and shared a water bottle. When the food was gone and the supplies put away, they laid back on the rock and closed their eyes.

  Eva was the first to speak. “Did you ever tell your dad about your dream? You know, after we took the pill.”

  “You mean the one where Philip shot me in the chest and then my dad saved me by giving me his own heart, killing himself in the process? No. No, I don’t think he’s gonna hear that one.”

  “Geez. You are feeling morbid today.”

  Alex still remembered every detail. The police car. The shoot-out. The hospital. The funeral. And then the ride home. “You were in my dream, you know.” Alex regretted the comment as soon as he said it. Why, why, why did he just tell her that?

  “Oh?”

  Alex’s face was pale and his eyes were wide. He sat up as if to put some distance between them, but Eva did the same. The comment was out there. There was no avoiding it. He turned to Eva and saw that he had every ounce of her attention.

  “And what was I doing in that dream of yours?”

  “Uhhh.”

  “Come on. Let’s hear it.” Her green eyes were full of mischief, her lips turned up in the faintest smile.

  Alex had to look away. He focused on the strands of blonde hair that had escaped her coat and were now blowing in the wind. “You were with me at the funeral. At my side.”

  “Your dad’s funeral?”

  “Yeah.”

  Eva pulled in her feet and sat cross-legged. “That doesn’t explain why it looks like you’ve seen a ghost. What else happened?”