by C. S Luis
“Where have you been? You’ve missed two days,” I said and wondered if what I had said had gotten her into so much trouble. Perhaps she had been suspended, and perhaps that’s why she wasn’t in class. Maybe that’s why she was hiding now.
“I’ve been busy,” she merely said.
“Busy? Do you want to get in trouble?” I asked her.
“Have you seen Mr. Claypool?” She suddenly asked me.
“No, I suppose he’s in his office along with Mr. Vasquez. No, wait. I think they’re both passing out letters for Dr. Black,” I immediately corrected myself, recalling Mrs. Wallace giving them the letters to pass out.
“Yeah, isn’t that him on the intercom right now?” Alex asked. “What’s that about?”
“Didn’t you see the large sinkhole outside?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she laughed. “I think we have to talk.”
I stared right at her, and she looked back at me, and for a moment there was a long pause, and all we could hear was Dr. Black’s voiceover in the hallways. She moved to the other end of the cafeteria and poked her head out of the entrance. I followed behind her as she stepped out into the hallway, and I continued to follow her as she ducked into the stairwell. I came to stand outside the staircase as she leaned against its rail.
“What are you doing?” I asked, watching as she looked around.
“I think they’re looking for me,” she again said.
“Alex,” I tried to say, knowing the reason they were looking for her was because of me.
But she interrupted. “I need to talk to you,” she again very seriously said.
“It’s my fault,” I immediately told her. “It’s my fault they’re looking for you. I told them you were on the roof with me,” I confessed, ready for the expression on her face to turn to one of betrayal.
“I was on the roof,” she simply admitted.
“But it wasn’t entirely the truth; you were just trying to get me out of trouble,” I again said.
“Whatever,” she said. “I’m still in trouble. I know Claypool is gonna be on me more for missing so many days. But that’s not important right now,” she suddenly said. “We need to have a serious talk, Claudia.”
“About?” I asked, gazing at her.
“You’re in danger; you have to believe me when I tell you this. I know what happened out there. I know who made that hole out in the parking lot.”
I gazed at her, perplexed, like I was just noticing her.
“How?” I asked.
“I know because he knows,” she merely offered, which startled me. How? Hadn’t I always said the same thing about Quentin? I knew because he knew. Who did she mean?
“Remember what you said about your abilities, about what you can do?” She asked me, and I slowly nodded, not sure I wanted to hear her any more.
“I know because Quinn knows. I know of him,” she whispered, and when she said that, I knew whom she meant. That when his name left my mind; she whispered it, “Quentin.”
I had never told her anything about Quentin, I thought.
“You didn’t have to,” she answered my thoughts, and I nearly stumbled away like she was some kind of monster that had come alive from out of the dim, shadowy stairwell. I was scared even though I had done it myself many times. So this is what that felt like.
“How?” I stupidly asked. Did I still have the nerve to ask, but I guess it was a normal human response.
“You know how,” Alex firmly said, almost wanting to scold me. “I wanted to show you something before. But now we’ve run out of time. At least I have. But there’s something I must give you before it’s too late.”
“What are you talking about Alex? You’re making no sense.”
“Claudia, listen to me. This is important. This is not a joke. He’s here, and he’s coming for you, and no matter what, no one can stop him. Once he’s set his eyes upon you, he will want nothing else but you. He’ll take you. You can’t trust him. Even if you think you can.”
She looked down at her wrist. I noticed the charm on her bracelet glowing a bright red. She leaped from out of the stairwell and into the hallway to stand alongside me. She looked down the hallway and then slowly backed away.
“Listen, something bad is going to happen, and I need to give you something before it’s too late.” She grabbed at the bracelet and then looked around desperately; it seemed like she was trying to make a decision.
“Alex, what are you talking about? Is it something bad? Are you getting expelled or something?”
“Claudia, this has nothing to do with school,” she said, rolling her eyes at me and looking down the hall. She gasped and backed away. She grabbed at the bracelet, but then looked back towards the exit. Then I saw them, just as Alex saw them. They were coming down the hall.
“The puppets,” I heard Alex whispered.
She pulled at the bracelet and then gave up.
“Alex, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t explain now. I have to go. But you must trust what I say. I have to give you something; it’s very important.” She backed away towards the door.
“Alex!” I called over to her. “What’s wrong?” I asked her; she was never afraid of them before, so why was she now running off?
“It’s a long story, but you must trust me. I’ll find you again when the time is right. I must go. Please take care. I’ll see you soon,” she smiled. Grabbing hold of me, she held me tightly in an embrace before she hastily ran away.
“But Alex wait, where are you going?” I asked, moving forward.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right. I have to go!”
And as the three neared, she rushed out the side entrance before I could say anything else. Then she was gone as the three, Sean, Tina, and Ruben were now standing but a few inches from me. They startled me as I turned, and I nearly jumped. I no longer heard Dr. Black’s voice over the intercom, and I wanted to hurry back.
“What did she want?” Tina rudely asked me, but she had an odd grin on her face.
“That’s none of your business,” I said. Their eyes beamed right at me, which made me change my tone. “I’m not sure,” I again said as they looked strangely at me.
“You’re so lucky.”
“Yes, so lucky,” Ruben whispered.
“You’ve been chosen by him. He wants you, and he’ll give everything to possess you,” Sean said. “Come to him, my pet.” He gleamed at me with a creepy smile.
“Yes, come to him,” they all repeated in a creepy way. They appeared to be in a strange trance, like devoted religious members.
“How do you know about him?” I suddenly asked them.
“You know how. The same way you know what he knows,” Tina answered.
“We serve him,” Tina confessed. “Praise him.”
“Yes, praise him,” they all said together.
“He awaits you,” they again said. Their voices were all in sync.
“Awaits me where?” I asked
“You’ll soon see, soon enough,” the three answered with grins.
They laughed. “Be patient my pet,” Sean now said. “You will know soon enough.”
They walked around me and out the exit, leaving me alone as the bell rang above us, and the hallway flooded with students.
I got lost in the crowd, hurrying in the other direction as everyone else was trying to escape out the doors. It took me a moment to finally make it to the main office, and as I came in, Mrs. Wallace was on the phone; she didn’t even notice me when I walked in.
I picked up my school bag from the chair beside her desk and slowly walked towards Dr. Black’s open office door. I could hear voices arguing. Michael mainly sounded upset, and as I stepped up to the entrance of the office and looked in, I heard him say, “She has to know him.”
“Know who?” I asked. I stepped inside, and they both turned to look at me, surprised to see me standing there. For a moment neither one said a word as I stepped fully into the office.<
br />
“Michael,” I said. “Is everything okay?” I could see he looked upset.
“Everything is fine, my dear,” Michael said, stepping past me.
“I have wonderful news,” he again said.
Dr. Black seemed unsure. I couldn’t clearly tell, and I knew I still wasn’t clearly able to read him as I often did read others. That hadn’t changed, and besides, I was afraid after what he had said to me when I had attempted to do such a thing during our dinner.
Although I could see he appeared to want to stop Michael. His expression was set and firm.
“Yes?” I asked, unable to know the answer before his lips opened.
“It’s true. You have an uncle,” Michael offered with a smile on his face.
I wanted to rejoice, and I looked over at Dr. Black to see if he shared in my happiness, but he didn’t; in fact, he turned away and walked to the back window of his office. And I wondered why he wasn’t rejoicing as we both had.
“Oh Michael, I can’t believe it,” I said, and I reached and tightly hugged him as he held me, and as he pulled me back, I gazed at him, searching for images of my uncle, but I couldn’t find any, and I didn’t understand why. I could always so easily read Michael, and I couldn’t understand now why his mind was blank.
“Please, tell me his name,” I said, filled with happiness. “I must know his name.”
“Christian Vega,” Michael offered with a gigantic grin on his face. I smiled and looked over at Dr. Black.
“Did you hear Dr. Black? I have an uncle! Isn’t that wonderful?”
He turned to look at me, but he wasn’t happy. He couldn’t offer me anything but a smile that wasn’t his usual smile, and I knew it. I walked up to him and stared at him. I think I made him uncomfortable.
“Dr. Black, isn’t that great news?” I asked him again.
“That’s wonderful news, Miss Belle,” he tried to say, but I could see it bothered him.
“Claudia,” Michael said from behind. He came to stand behind me. He put a hand on my shoulder. “I invited him to have dinner with us tonight.”
I spun around and gazed at him. My eyes lit up, and I was excited. I was going to meet my uncle. I had so many questions to ask him. I wanted to know about his life and his time in Iraq and whether he’d ever suspected he had a sister and a family.
“He’s my mother’s brother, right?” I asked Michael.
He nodded, suddenly realizing something. “Oh my, I forgot.”
“What’s wrong Michael?” I asked, staring over at him.
“I asked him to meet us here, but I have to do some shopping before tonight. I wanted us to catch up before we headed home. I hate to bring him along while we’re shopping and bother him with all that,” he said, putting a hand on his forehead.
“I can stay here and wait for him,” I offered.
Michael looked over at Dr. Black who then said, “She can stay here. It’s all right. She can keep me company.” He smiled as I looked back at him.
He still appeared slightly serious, and I knew something was bothering him.
“Could I trouble you to bring her home with Christian?” Michael boldly asked. There was a short pause as I glanced back up at Dr. Black, and finally when he caught me looking over at him, he nodded.
“Not a problem Michael,” he softly said.
“Thank you, sir,” Michael politely said and stepped over to the door of the office; he looked over at me and smiled, and then he was gone.
13
Dr. John Black
She seemed so happy that even realizing we were alone again had not bothered her as I motioned her towards the bag that still sat on my desk.
“Breakfast arrived while you were gone, Miss Belle. I think it might be cold now,” I said to her.
Claudia immediately wandered to the front of my desk and poked through the bag, taking out a blueberry muffin and immediately taking a big bite.
“That’s so good,” she said, wiping at her mouth. She looked so cute doing so. She grabbed at the orange juice on the carry container and popped open the lid and sipped it. I took a seat behind my desk, leaning back with one hand resting under my chin and my arm resting upon the armchair, watching her. She was beautiful, even while doing something as simple as eating.
She put the cup down on my desk and took a deep breath.
“God, I was starving.” I smiled over at her, nearly laughing as she said that. She looked so adorable.
“Pull up a chair,” I offered as she put her muffin down and pushed the chair closer to my desk. She came around and sat, resting her elbows on top of my desk and digging into the bag for a hash brown.
She put it in her mouth and grabbed another one from the bag. With one in her mouth, she mumbled a distorted, “Thank you.”
I merely smiled and nodded until she stopped eating and asked, “I’m sorry, isn’t one yours?” She sounded silly and sweet.
“No, no, I bought those for you,” I said to her. “You eat, and don’t worry about me. I’ve already had my breakfast while I was waiting on you.”
Claudia blushed, scarfing down the hash brown. “I’m sorry,” she offered but said nothing else.
“I thought we were going to have breakfast together. What happened?” I asked.
She lowered her eyes and grabbed at her orange juice again. She took a sip, put it down, and wiped her mouth.
“I was talking to a friend out in the hall.” She looked back up, taking another tiny bite from the hash brown.
“You had me worried. I thought something had happened to you.” She blushed again while looking over at me.
“I’m sorry,” Claudia offered, taking another bite and swallowing.
“It’s quite all right,” I said.
“So, is this friend a boy?” I asked.
John, why are you asking her this question?
Claudia looked up immediately. “No,” she said as if the question sounded ridiculous. John Slater seemed to rejoice.
I sat, with my coffee already cold, contemplating whether to go outside and refill my cup with fresh coffee or stay here and simply observe every last detail of her. I remained, leaning on my seat and watching as she finished. She then gathered the wrappers and empty cup and put the trash in the empty bag on my desk.
Claudia looked up at me, and I smiled, realizing she had caught me staring over at her again.
“Thanks for the blueberry muffin,” she said in a sweet voice. “It was really delicious.”
“You’re very welcome,” I simply said, just looking back at her for a long moment. The silence seemed to absorb me until she sat up and came over a bit towards me. She nearly caught me off guard, and for a second I thought she was reaching for me.
“Dr. Black, do you not believe he’s my uncle?” She immediately and boldly asked me. I wasn’t prepared for her question since she hadn’t been so daring before. Claudia suddenly gazed at me. I blinked. I had never once looked away, and now her stare was weakening and paralyzing me. The same emotions that had stirred in me before were again resurfacing, but far stronger. This connection or link to one another was overbearing. And for some reason she couldn’t sense it as I had. Why I asked? Or whatever was happening to me.
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” I softly answered her. “This is obviously important to you,” I offered, and she seemed surprised by my words. I meant them.
She lowered her head perhaps thinking about what I had said.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about you.”
She looked up; I think there was a slight smile on her face. She liked that I worried about her, and that delighted me, so I said again, “I don’t want to see you hurt or get your hopes up.”
She blinked as I tenderly smiled over at her. “Dr. Black, do you think he’ll like me? I mean…do you like me?”
I was surprised by her question, surprised that she thought so very little of herself. And I was surprised she had presented John Slater with such an inter
esting and intoxicating question. That I merely couldn’t immediately answer.
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say or how to answer. Finally, I managed to say, “Claudia you’re a wonderful person. I can’t understand why anyone would not like you or adore you. You’re very pretty, sweet and kind, and very thoughtful. Trust me when I say this, there’s no way in hell he will not like you.”
“But do you?” She asked.
I blinked. Why was she insisting on asking such a question? My heart skipped a beat, and I began to sweat. What did this mean? I wanted to tell her everything, but of course I couldn’t.
What she said next left me desperate, but in my mind, I kept saying abort, so my lips wouldn’t say what John Slater had been dying to say all along. What this connection between us was doing to me. I was spiraling out of control emotionally in every direction and I couldn’t stop.
She said, “I know I was rude and mean the first time we met. I was just angry with myself over what happened to my grandfather. I would understand if you thought I was a brat. I mean, I kind of was in a way.”
I laughed. “I never thought that.”
“I want to apologize for that,” she again softly said.
“Claudia, you already have,” I said to her as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on my desk.
“Well, I think I owe you another apology. I haven’t really been much of a nice person to you at all. And I know you’re only trying to be nice to me. I can see that now.”
I leaned forward and put my hand on her cheek, and she blinked up at me. Her dark brown eyes paralyzed me again. She was lovely, and if I could simply kiss her I might have.
John, stop. You can’t.
I felt guilty for knowing the danger that lurked only a day away.
I pulled my hand away before John Slater escaped and did something else I wouldn’t be able to control.
“Why don’t we start over?” I suggested, rising and coming around my desk to where she sat. She lifted her head off my desk and turned to look over at me with a silly little girlish grin.
I extended my hand out to her, and she nearly giggled as she rose.
I said, “Hello I’m Dr. John Black. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
