Carmen raises her hand to ask a question. “Mr James,” she purrs. “Why are they called Dark Ones, it isn’t creative? Honestly, it sounds stupid.”
“Au contraire, ma petite chou. Your Historiography teacher will explain the history behind the name. What an exciting year you’re embarking on,” he says and rubs his chunky hands together. “With Miss Lucente in our midst, it’s sure to be a galvanizing year. Even though, you may disagree with the chosen slang for the former Light Tamers, the simplicity of the name fits. I must continue to show you how to make a protection spell. I’d like everyone to open up your silver spout on top of the salt and pour some in your hand.”
I clinch my teeth as the spout squeals against the cardboard. Salt reminds me of my visits to North Carolina as a child. No one warned me not to drink the ocean water the first time I went swimming. A towering wave knocked me backwards, and I ended up with a mouth full of water. After choking and gagging I threw-up until I had nothing else in me. I shudder at the memory.
“B, oh for cripes sake, you can’t go one class without thinking of him? Caleb, oh I miss you…I can not make it without you by my side. Caleb, my love, my heart, my everything, I will die if I can’t shove my tongue down your throat in the next five minutes,” Amber said dramatically.
I prod her with my finger. “Shut-up, for your information, I wasn’t thinking about him. I was thinking about the ocean. So….there!”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Mr James clears his throat loudly as he holds his salt up in the air. “Salt is a mineral, from the earth and sea. It’s freely available and affordable. I want you to stand up next to your table and arm length away from your lab partner.” We all stood up and spread out our arms. “Good, before you do anything, I want you to pour a circle of salt all around you and chant this spell. Salt of the earth, protect me in this sacred circle.”
“Do we say the words out loud?” I ask. After a minute, of clarification from Mr James, I hold my arm out and spin in place, pouring salt. I whisper the incantation and cross my fingers. I don’t feel any different.
“Mr Woodson, I want you to stand perfectly still. No matter what you do, and this goes for all of you…don’t step out of the circle.” Mr James holds up a small amber bottle, we all turn to face Thorne standing perfectly still in his circle. In the next moment, the bottle whizzed through the air directly at him. Before I have a chance to think about what I’m doing, I fling my hands into the air.
Everything blurred as the vile halted inches from Thorne’s circle. Oh crap! I chazzled, what on earth do I do? My danger vibe kicked-in, and now I’m going to be busted. Shit…shit…shit. Let it go, don’t do anything… let it fly. No, take the vial and put it back in Mr James’ hand. I’m so going to die. I jump up and put the vial back in his hand, then scamper back back into my spot. Time caught up and as if it never happened, Mr James looked at the vial in his hand curiously and then over to me. Don’t call me out. I cross my fingers praying he didn’t notice the hiccup in time.
Mr James pulled back as if he’s about to pitch a fastball at Thorne. Before I have time to think, he flings the vial at me. I hear a blood curdling scream, and realize I’m the screaming maniac. I cower down on the floor in a squat, my arms are shielding my face. I look around when nothing happens, suddenly realizing I’d successfully made my invisible shield. I didn’t actually see that part, but Amber and the rest of the class were yelling things like wicked awesome.
“Miss Lucente, are you okay?”
“You sure have a lot of faith in us. What if I hadn’t done my shield properly? You could have put my eye out with that pitch.”
His robe rustled as he walks over to me. “I believe in everything you kids do. I’d like a minute with you in the classroom. Everyone else, I want you to practice your speed in making a circle. Dust Busters are up in front of the room, they are for salt only. Suck up the salt and pour it in the tub on my table, we recycle salt. Miss Raine will be here in about ten minutes and don’t leave a mess. She does not like dilly dallying.”
I better not get in trouble for screaming, he tried to kill me with the damn bottle.
“Do you have a clue how dangerous chazzling is in a room full of Tamers? It was incredibly thoughtless on your part.” Mr James crosses his arms in a huff.
Busted. “I’m sorry, it happened so fast, I didn’t even think about what was happening. I’m sorry. Please don’t tell anyone. I heard that if people find out, I’ll be in danger.” I’ve already screwed up, and it’s only my first day. My ‘this sucks’ list will be updated as soon as I get home.
“You’re going to be nothing but trouble for this school and your friends, if you don’t think before you react.” He looks at my face and the hard lines begin to soften. “Jessie, I’m not trying to be mean.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat and taking a mental breath, I look up to face him. “I understand, but how did you know?”
“Within the hidden school, there is little we don’t know. That isn’t to say that there aren’t students with abilities we don’t know about, but they know not to use them. I’ll report the incident, but it’s only listed as a time breech. We don’t list the exact ability unless it becomes an ongoing issue.”
What did Mrs.Ward say? ‘The beginning to a smashing school year.” Something will be smashed; I’m not sure what. The door opens; Miss Raine looks at us curiously. She gives Mr James an intense stare down before she gathers the rest of the students.
We follow Miss Raine in a single file line, up the stairs and back to her class. Amber is suspiciously quiet, and when it comes to quiet…you don’t think Amber.
“Students who had alchemy lab today, you’ll go to lab as deemed necessary. Have a brilliant first day. Fate has a way of bringing us all together, and I for one am grateful to be your teacher.” She tilts her head with a fake smile plastered on her face.
The bell rings its melodic tone, not the shrill sounds like we had in my old inner city school. Amber jumps up, throws her backpack over her shoulder and hurries to the door.
“Catch you at lunch B, later tater.” Amber says as she practically knocks everyone over to get out of the room.
Later tater? Her nickname for me is B, for Bronx. Only cool people get a nickname from her, so she says. I navigate to the door, paying attention not to let anyone touch me. Without looking up, I sense him…Caleb.
“Hey beautiful, how was your first class? I saw Amber charge out with her old chip on her shoulder. I thought we cured her…guess not,” Caleb says and takes my hand. The now familiar current runs through my veins.
“It was enlightening, to say the least. You have Alchemy next don’t you?” He nods at me and leads me two doors down from Miss Raine’s room.
“This is where I drop you off,” he says and gently backs me up against the wall. Leaning down he whispers in my ear, sending my hormones through the roof. “I’ll be here after class to walk you to lunch.”
My heart skips two beats and a chill runs up my spine. “Why can’t I think to you? I tried, but I could tell it wasn’t working. Did you hear me?”
“They’re probably jamming our frequency. You know they have all of their so-called charms. After this summer, nothing surprises me.” He leans in and gives me a quick kiss.
“P D A,” someone who looks no older than twelve shouts out. I feel my face flush with embarrassment. It’s one thing to have Amber tease us relentlessly, but having a pimply-faced kid do it, is totally different.
I shimmy past him and promise to meet after class. Honors English, my best subject.
Chapter 2. Mildly Interesting
“Take a seat at any of the pods, think wisely, as it will be your seat all semester,” the teacher says. Pod? I look around and see that small groups of four desks placed facing each other around the room. A few of the faces look familiar from the night at Caleb’s house. The night that almost put an end to Caleb and I. The night that changed my life forever.
“Jessie,
come over here and sit with us,” Carmen coos. The other two at our pod, Caitlyn and Rob, aren’t impressed with Carmen’s charms. It’s apparent, by the way they roll their eyes every time she speaks.
This may jolly well be the dumbest decision of my life to sit here with the three of them.
“Is it natural or from a bottle,” Rob asks.
“Huh? Are you talking to me?”
Rob clucks his tongue and presses his lips together. “Your hair…is it naturally dirty blond or do you chemically alter it?”
“Ahhh, natural, although it gets lighter in the summer from the sun.” I reply, trying not to sound like an idiot.
“Oh, so tres chic.” By the look on his face, I’m convinced he’s considering touching my hair.
“You scored Caleb Baldwin I hear. How did you get so lucky?” Caitlyn asks as she continues drawing Japanese anime pictures of our classroom. Her long raven hair and straight cut bangs with black eyeliner make her look as though she’s straight from her drawing. “Not that a guy like him would be interested in someone like me, but he is a feast for the eyes.”
“Stop Caitlyn, you’re beautiful and a little bad-ass. If you were my kind of thing, I’d so go for you,” Rob says and flicks a Life Savor on her desk. “Jessie, I’m kinda known around here to pass out Life Savors when I think you need a smile,” he tosses a yellow one to me.
I laugh as Caitlyn and Rob banter until the teacher Mrs. Jones decides to quit texting long enough to call the roll. The way Carmen keeps her purse in her lap, and the occasional look down, she is texting too. Thankfully she is more interested in the conversation going on inside of her purse than grilling me. One hundred and ten minutes seem like a lifetime, for one single class. Sadly, being new to the school and the teacher preoccupied, I sit silently with nothing but my thoughts.
“Hey zombie girl, the bell rang,” Rob says as he slaps his hand on my desk.
I stifled a yelp and look up at his laughing eyes. “That was mean.”
“I never claimed to be nice. You headed to lunch? I’ll walk you to the cafeteria if so.”
Picking up my handouts of classroom rules and shove them in a folder. “Oh, thank you, but it’s not necessary. Caleb’s waiting for me.”
Rob fake stabs himself in the heart. “The first girl I ask to eat lunch with me shoots me down like a wild turkey. All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
I raise my eyebrows at him, and give him a sideways glance. “You’re quoting Poe, because I won’t walk with you to lunch? Nice.”
He claps his hands quickly and squeals in delight. “Oh, yay! Another Poe fan. Girl, we are going to get along fabulously,” he says as he prances away.
As promised, Caleb is standing in the doorway waiting for me. “I see you met Rob. He has an endless supply of candy. If sugar is an addiction, he has one.”
“That’s priceless. Yeah, he clued me in about Life Savors.” He reaches for my hand, and we walk to the cafeteria. It was only three months ago when I was walking the halls of Madison High School with my best friend Jersey. Neither one of us had a boyfriend, we played it off by making fun of the lovey-dovey couples holding hands. Here I am, being a hypocrite.
The cafeteria looks nothing like the kind we had in the Bronx. The smell of fresh-baked bread and chocolate chip cookies make my stomach growl. Spread across the room are different food stations, everything your heart desires.
“Where do you want to start? I like the salad bar; it has everything you can think of to put on a salad. If you’re not in the mood for rabbit food, we can get steak or chicken, whatever. I’m not picky. I’d avoid the Brussels sprouts though, there’s nothing that screams hot like a butt smelling vegetable.” Caleb says and smiles and brushes his shoulder with mine.
I fill my plate with cantaloupe, grapes and a hardboiled egg. “Where’s Amber sit?” I ask and balance my plate of food. Scanning the dining tables I finally see her at a table in the corner of the room. She spots me as I walk towards her. “Hey, we can sit here right?”
“Sit already. For gawd’s sake, it isn’t like I own the table or anything,” Amber says. “This is Shawn, she’s a junior too.”
Shawn flashes me a smile and a half wave. If I were African-American, I’d wear my hair just like hers. Her giant afro, with caramel colored highlights, bounced up and down as she moved. “Hi Shawn, I’m Jessie.”
“Yeah, everyone’s talking about you. I wouldn’t have guessed you to be friends with Amber.” Her deep southern drawl matched her bouncy hair. “Not that there’s any problem being friends with her.”
Amber rolls her eyes, bored with the conversation. “Hell-O, I’m right here. Tell me how you truly feel,” Amber snaps. She pockets a handful of saltines like a kleptomaniac, stuffing them in the side pocket of her backpack.
“Oh, whatever Amber. Jessie here is one of those classy hippie types. She doesn’t strike me as the neglected angst-filled teenager.”
“Hi ladies, look how lucky I am. I’m able to sit with the prettiest girl in school,” Caleb winks at me, “and the cool kids.” His plate of salad was barely recognizable with his pile of ranch dressing smothering it. “You’re not too good for me to sit with again this year are you Amber?”
“Touché,” Amber says as she grabs an imaginary sword from her chest.
“How’s operation Thorne going?” I watched as Amber chewed on a carrot nervously.
Caleb swallowed his hulking bite of salad before asking us what we are talking about.
“Wait, you’ll see,” Amber said and grinned at us. She pulled the wrapper from a giant cupcake decorated in confetti and streamers. “Want a taste before I take a bite?”
“Thanks, I’m good.” I grab my hardboiled egg and salt it evenly before biting into it. Amber takes a carrot and runs it through her frosting before popping it into her mouth.
“Ewww,” we all said in unison.
“Everything tastes better with frosting. Do you want some for your egg?”
The vibe at the table suddenly changed as Shawn and Amber stare at something or rather someone who was headed our direction. I jumped as a hand grabbed the chair on the other side of me. I recognize the black hoodie before I even see his face…Thorne. He sets his plate of macaroni and cheese and corn down on the table, and then he takes a butter knife and separates the food. Once his food is void of touching, he takes a napkin and folds it just so. Amber watches him like a cat after a mouse, ready to pounce. Without a word, Thorne starts eating his food like it were his last before battle.
“Dude, slow down. You’re giving me indigestion just looking at you. Food should be savored, not swallowed whole,” Shawn said. “My mama would swat your hand.”
“Good thing your mama isn’t here then, huh?” Thorne shot back. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. At my old school, you had only fifteen minutes for the entire lunch. You learn to eat fast. Plus their food was gross, not worth savoring.”
“What school was that?” Amber asked curiously. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought her eyes turned to slits like a cat.
“Just a school in a different lifetime,” Thorne replied demurely.
Shawn and I watched Amber as she sits stunned that he didn’t answer her. Caleb, obviously amused with Amber’s lack of comeback, happily ate his salad. We chatted quietly about nothing in particular and Thorne finished his mac-n-cheese and ignored our chatter. I watched in amazement as he pulled out a copy of The Lightning Thief and started reading.
“Thorne, I don’t mean to bother you while you’re engrossed in your children’s book, but I have to,” Amber says sugary sweet. “Listen, there were things that happened this summer and for whatever reason I got stuck with these two.” She pointed at Caleb and me accusingly. “I have a reputation to uphold, and you my dear are my solution.”
His right eyebrow lifted, and his face broke out in a grin. “That sounds mildly interesting.”
“Mildly interesting? I’ll show you mildly interesting. I�
�m sorry, but this has to be done,” she stands up abruptly and walks over to where he is sitting. He stayed silent, probably curious about the crazy girl with the wild hair. She pushed the table out of her way. He was sitting with his legs stretched out, and feet crossed at his ankles. If I didn’t watch her with my own eyes, I’d never believe she is so bold. She put one leg over his lap and both hands over his shoulders as she straddled him. Without warning, she leans forward and kissed him. The book falls silently to the floor as he puts both hands on her waist. People in the lunchroom started to take notice of our table and cat calls began to be chanted. I scoot closer to Caleb, he put his arm over my shoulder and nudges his chair until we are hip to hip. Shawn’s mouth falls open, and I’m pretty sure she isn’t breathing.
Thorne was incontestably not objecting to Amber. As uncomfortable it’s making me, I can’t quit watching.
Caleb whispers in my ear that Major Yukmouth is on her way.
“Yukmouth?”
“She retired from the Air Force as a Major, and her last name is Yukkamoth. She is disgruntled from not being a real police officer.”
A teacher wearing smart shoes and a perfectly starched white shirt and khaki pants marched over (literally) and cleared her voice loudly, causing the two to come up for air. “That is unacceptable behavior, both of you should be ashamed of yourselves. The two of you practically having sex on the lunchroom floor is the reason for detention. I’ll meet you both here after school to scrub all of the tables and chairs.” Her finger is waggling so hard that her cheeks jiggle. As she walks away, she yells out for us to mind our own business or everyone will be here after school. As though a giant mute button was pushed, silence filled the room.
“How was THAT for mildly interesting?” Amber asks as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I don’t know, can I get an instant replay?” He replied coolly. Without missing a beat, he picked up his book and started reading again.
Shawn and I struggle to contain our laughter. We laugh until tears are streaming down our faces. Every table that was within eyewitness shot was laughing hysterically. What a way to start our first day of school. Between our early morning meeting in Miss Wards office to Amber randomly kissing a stranger. Grandma Gayle is going to die when I tell her about today.
Enlightened A Light Tamer Novel (The Light Tamer) Page 2
