by S. C. Ransom
Suddenly I felt overwhelmed by the events of the last few hours, and I felt the tears welling up again. This time I couldn’t avoid the sobs which escaped me, and I gave in to the frustration and anger which I had been holding in check. The tears fell in fat lines down my cheeks and on to the grass in front of me.
Almost as soon as it had started I knew I didn’t want to be crying. I had to get a grip. I started to root around in my bag for a tissue. “Oh, crap,” I muttered to myself as I pulled out an empty tissue packet, then dived into the corners of the bag to see if one had escaped. I was so intent on my search I didn’t register the tingling in my arm.
“Hey, hey, keep still or I can’t talk to you.” His honeyed voice was full of warmth and humour, but changed abruptly as he saw my face. “What’s the matter? Are you alright?”
“Oh, Callum, I’m so pleased you’re here. I thought you had gone for the day.”
“I had, but then you called, and, well, I couldn’t resist coming back. But what’s happened?”
I was suddenly embarrassed. “It’s nothing. Nothing really, I just got angry. Someone has been telling lies about me to my friends.”
He was instantly angry on my behalf. “Who? Who would do that to you?”
“It was Rob. You remember I told you about him yesterday.”
He was suddenly wary. “He’s the one you were out with the other night.” It was a statement, not a question. “He’s upset you again.”
“I’m just angry, not upset.” I wiped away the tears with my fingers, having given up on finding a tissue, and tried to sniff unobtrusively.
Callum was silent, and I anxiously watched his face in the tiny mirror. He seemed to be struggling to find the right thing to say.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
“There isn’t that much to tell really. I dumped him, he got upset and now he’s started telling people lies about me.” I really didn’t want to tell Callum that he was telling everyone he dumped me and that I was lusting after someone else. It was all far too ridiculous, and so unimportant.
I watched his face as he thought about what I had told him. I knew he could tell that I wasn’t giving him all the details, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to ask, and I was grateful for that. “You’re sure you don’t want to reconsider the idea that I might give him a little visit?”
“No!” It came out rather too sharply. I didn’t want Callum having to do anything out of character just so that I could get my own back on Rob, turning Callum into the sort of person he didn’t want to be. “He’s not worth it, believe me. Don’t go and ruin your record because of him.” I tried to give him an encouraging smile.
He looked murderous. “It would be a pleasure. I don’t want anyone hurting you.”
“Please, it’s nothing. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have called you when I was upset. I just knew that seeing you would make me feel better.”
“Never worry about calling me. I will always be here for you, whatever you want me for.” The passion was clear in his voice.
“I’m so pleased you came. I wasn’t sure if you were still around or had gone back into London.”
“I was heading back, but I got distracted by the cinema in Richmond. They are showing some terrible children’s film, and I thought that not being able to remember it would be doing the audience a favour.” He stole a glance at me to check that I approved. “Then I heard you call, and I came straight away.”
“So how far away can you be to be able to hear me?”
“I don’t think there is a limit. You were as clear in Richmond as you are right here.”
“But Richmond is miles away. How did you get here so quickly? It must have been less than a couple of minutes.”
“Don’t forget, I don’t have to go around anything. As long as you are wearing the amulet, I can fix your location and run in a straight line to you, through anything.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “It’s really good to know you are there.” I smiled as confidently as I could. I didn’t want him thinking I was still upset. He returned my smile and ran a gentle hand down my back.
“Do you want me to stay now, or…?” His question was gentle.
“I’d love you to stay, but I can see Grace coming, and soon it will be time to go back to class. Shall I call you when I’m free at home?”
“OK, but I’ll be here straight away if you need me. Don’t forget.”
“As if I could,” I murmured as he kissed my head and disappeared. I tried to see him go in the mirror, but he was too fast, so I put it away and watched Grace as she approached across the fields. The lunchtime athletics practice had started, so she had to make her way around the edges of the track and keep a wary eye out for stray javelins. It made for slow progress, but that gave me plenty of time to compose myself: I didn’t want Grace or anyone else believing that I cared about Rob.
Even picking her way across a field, Grace was delicate and composed, her inappropriate footwear dangling carelessly from her free hand. Despite being barefoot her walk was elegant – the result of years and years of gymnastics. She had represented the county at her junior school, but when I met her as we started seniors she made the decision to quit. Her mum had been furious, having spent every weekend for years ferrying her around to competitions, but as Grace had explained to me, it was because her mother enjoyed it, not because Grace did. So my friend was never going to make it to the Olympics, but she could still drop into the splits and turn a somersault on the spot. She also always looked graceful, whatever she was doing.
As she reached me she sank elegantly to the ground, proffering the banana I had asked for. “How’s things now?” she asked gently.
“I’m fine. I’m really sorry for earlier. You know how I get when I get angry, and thinking about him makes me furious. But I’m calm now, so I’m not going to think about him any more.” I hoped that this would satisfy her. I absolutely didn’t want to go all over it again.
“Whatever you want,” she murmured, companionably. “You missed a great fight in the dining hall,” she added, with a twinkle in her eyes, knowing exactly how to distract me. She then gave me a colourful description of a slanging match between two younger girls in the queue for lunch. It hadn’t quite come to blows by the time the prefects had waded in, but it sounded close. Grace had a gift for telling stories, and could imitate loads of accents, and before long I was weak with laughter. It was just what I needed, and by the time we started walking back for the afternoon lessons thoughts of Rob had been firmly shoved to the back of my mind.
There was a full house of people at home when Josh and I got back from school, including my grandparents, which made getting away somewhere quiet to call Callum next to impossible. I helped Mum make the dinner and we all sat down together. My grandparents were very keen to hear about my driving lessons. I told them that I had been past their house with my driving instructor just a few days before, and Dad immediately decided that I could drive them home, as it would give me a bit more practice. So after dinner I squeezed them into the back of the Mini and we drove back to Kew with Dad next to me in front.
After we dropped them off Dad relaxed back in his seat. “Not bad driving, Alex. What’s the news on your test then?”
“Well, actually, Miss McCabe says that I should put in for it. She thinks I’m ready.”
“Yes, I’d agree,” he said. “And don’t wait too long either, otherwise you’ll start driving like a driver, not a learner, and that’s bound to make you fail!”
The journey home gave me time to think up a new plan for seeing Callum. When we got to the house I parked and called out to Dad as he got out of the car.
“I think I’ll just sit here for a bit and go over the Highway Code again. I’ll see you inside later.”
“Really?” he asked, surprised. “I thought you would have known all of that by now.”
“Just double-checking.”
“You do have some strange ideas,” he laughed. “Have f
un!” He shut the car door and went into the house.
I waited for a moment to make sure that no one was about, then whispered, “Callum?”
There was no waiting this time. He must have been really close by. I angled the rear-view mirror and the vanity mirror so I had two views of him. “Hello,” he breathed as he nuzzled my hair. “I’ve missed you. Did your day improve?”
“Yes … and I’m really sorry you had to see me like that.”
“Hey, don’t apologise for being upset! I never mind when you call me. In fact,” he paused, looking a little embarrassed, “it felt … good, being wanted.”
“Oh, Callum, you make me feel so much better.”
He snorted. “I’m stuck in a different dimension. I can’t see how that can improve anything.” But I could see from the shy smile and the slight flush on his cheeks that he was happy.
“So what did you do?” I ventured. “Did you stay in Richmond?”
He looked into the distance. “No, I went to St Paul’s. I thought I would tell them what was going on, in case one of them had anything useful I could learn.”
“Ah. How did it go?”
He continued to look pensive. “They were pretty much speechless. Even Catherine, and that doesn’t happen often.”
“So did any of them come up with anything useful? Any thoughts on how this can be happening?”
“No, nothing.” He looked away for a moment. “It seems that amulets do turn up on your side very occasionally, and it’s big news for us when one surfaces. I’d never heard of it before because this is the first one that has turned up while I’ve been here. Everyone was extremely curious about it … and about you.”
“How did Catherine take it?”
His face in the rear-view mirror clouded. “She … she didn’t believe me at first, but I finally convinced her by telling her a bit about you. She knows that I couldn’t make all of that stuff up.”
I wasn’t sure that I wanted this strange woman knowing too much about me, but she was Callum’s sister, and perhaps his only real companion in the strange world he inhabited so I bit my lip. “I hope you didn’t have to go into too much detail?”
“Nothing that would embarrass you. Nothing about how I can do this,” his long fingers traced the line of my neck, “or this,” as his lips found my shoulder.
“I wish I could touch you!” I exclaimed, thumping the steering wheel in frustration. “You are driving me crazy and I just have to sit here.”
He stopped instantly, his face the picture of contrition. “I’m sorry, I thought you liked it.”
“I absolutely love it! I just wish I could reach you too.” I gazed at him longingly. “Can you feel anything I do? You said the other day that you can feel a slight resistance when you touch me. What if I touch you?”
He straightened up beside me. “No idea. Shall we give it a go?” He smiled cheekily. “Where do you want to start?”
I was suddenly very nervous, frightened that I might not be able to feel him, and also frightened about what I would do if I could feel him. It was dark inside the car now, so I could only see him in the yellow glow of the street light outside the house. He sat waiting patiently.
I reached up beside me and watched as the Alex in the mirror gently touched his cheek. My fingers felt the smallest resistance, as if I was touching a soap bubble. I watched myself stroke down the length of his jaw. His chin lifted slightly and I could see that his eyes were tightly shut. I dropped my hand.
“Did you feel anything at all?” I asked, disappointed.
His eyes opened slowly, and the emotion in them was almost painful to see. “You touched me, Alex. I felt your fingers on my face.” A single tear ran down his cheek, and I automatically reached up to try to smooth it away. He leaned towards my hand, obviously savouring the moment. “I never believed that this could happen,” he whispered gently.
I felt awed by the power I had. I could now touch him a little, in the same way that he could touch me. We sat in silence for a moment, each lost in our thoughts. I could see his brooding eyes, the colour of the sea at midnight.
“Oh, Callum, what are we going to do?” I asked eventually. “Can we live like this?” I lifted my fingers to trace the curve of his neck.
He seemed to have trouble refocusing. “I don’t know. I didn’t expect this.” He was silent for a moment, then began, “I think that it would be best if we…” He stopped suddenly. “We’ve got company. Time for me to go. I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to keep the amulet on.” He swooped to kiss my cheek and was gone.
“Crap!” I exclaimed as Josh opened the car door.
“Nice welcome! What have you been doing out here for so long? Mum wants to know if you want a cup of coffee.”
“I was after a bit of uninterrupted peace, actually.”
“Well I’ve blown that, I’m afraid,” he added, sliding back the passenger seat and folding his long legs into the car. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
I sighed. It was obvious what this was going to be about. I felt a familiar mix of irritation, gratitude and love.
“I was just wondering what you would like me to do,” he started. “That prat has been shooting his mouth off, but I didn’t know what your story was. And I don’t want to make things worse.” He grinned at me apologetically.
“I really don’t know. I’ve not said anything to anyone, but he is saying that he dumped me, and he is now going out with Ashley. She is extremely smug about it all.”
“Well, I could threaten him a bit. You know – make things a bit uncomfortable…”
I laughed. “Thanks, Josh, I appreciate the offer, but he’s still not worth the bother.”
“If you’re sure. I’m going to tackle him on the lies, though. He can’t get away with that.”
I shrugged. I really didn’t care at this point. Josh looked quizzically at me.
“Are you positive that you are OK? You seem kind of … unnaturally subdued about the whole thing. Not like you at all.”
I nodded. “Really, I’m fine. I mean, I’m angry with him but otherwise it’s a waste of energy.”
Josh suddenly sat up straight in his chair. “There’s someone else, isn’t there? That’s why you don’t care.”
“Wow, that’s a bit of a leap!” I returned quickly, not wanting to let him see he was close. “Where would I meet someone else?”
“Oh, it just seemed the most likely solution.” His voice was disappointed.
“No, I just realised that he didn’t deserve me, that’s all.”
“You are right there, he doesn’t.” He was quiet for a moment. “Not many people deserve anything that bad,” he added with a smirk, backing away from me as far as he could in the tiny car.
I took a quick swipe at him, but as ever he was able to grab my hands before I could do any useful damage. We sat in companionable silence for a bit, watching as next door’s dog suddenly raced around the side of their house, being chased by a large fox. Josh really disliked the little white terrier, as it used to terrorise him every time he went round to retrieve his lost football when he was a kid, and I could hear him grunt in satisfaction at its predicament. But we couldn’t leave such an unequal fight, and without even discussing it, we both got out of the car as noisily as possible to scare the fox away. The little dog growled at us when he was safe, and I vowed to leave it to its fate the next time it needed rescuing.
I went straight to my room, but Callum wasn’t there when I looked in the mirror and I went to bed feeling that some important part of me was missing.
The next day was a driving lesson day, so I didn’t see Grace on the coach. Ashley continued to look unbearably smug, so I avoided her as much as possible. I didn’t know when Callum might appear so I was constantly jumpy. But there was no sign of him, so when it was time for my driving lesson I slipped the amulet into my bag. I couldn’t risk him turning up part-way through a driving lesson. My arm didn’t feel right without the bracelet, and the disconcert
ing feeling of loss I had had all day felt stronger.
But I was soon absorbed in the lesson as we made a circuit of the Kingston one-way system. It took every ounce of my concentration to get round in one piece without ploughing into the pedestrians who seemed to leap out at every turn.
The trip back to school was a breeze after that, and luckily there was a good parking spot available. I heaved a great sigh of relief as I turned off the car.
“Well,” said Miss McCabe, “you did very well. Have you sent off your test form yet?”
“It’s in my bag waiting to go. I just wanted to check that you didn’t think last time was a fluke.”
“You’re the last person I’d have expected to be short of confidence.” She laughed. “Send it in and see what date you get, then we can see how many more lessons you need.”
She headed off back to the staffroom, and I started making my way to the dining hall to grab a quick sandwich, groping in my bag for the amulet as I went. As I slipped it on to my wrist Callum was instantly there in my head, shouting loudly, his tone urgent and worried. I had to stop dead and lean against a wall to stop from falling over.
“What do you think you were doing? You must NEVER take the amulet off! Never! Do you understand me?”
I staggered backwards under the onslaught, putting my hands to my head to try and stop the noise. The ranting continued and faded as he tried to catch up with my movements.
“…So irresponsible… If you had any idea how much danger…”
“Stop it!” I hissed as loudly as I could without attracting too much attention. “Just wait a minute. I need to find somewhere quiet to see you.” I marched around the back of the sports hall and into the changing rooms. I quickly checked the toilets and then wedged the door shut. I braced myself then looked up into the mirror. He looked weirdly out of place in the white tiled room. “Right,” I started, “calm down. What’s the problem?”
