Amber

by Dan-Dwayne Spencer

  I also learned a thing or two about forgiveness. Forgiving myself for past failures, forgiving my parents for their abuse, and in general, forgiving everyone I want in my life; they deserved it because no-one’s perfect. Maybe the biggest lesson I learned was about responsibility. I was chosen and empowered—too bad my gift didn’t work when I wanted it to. My power had a mind of its own and turned on at the oddest times. Still, I couldn’t use it for selfish reasons. Reuwel said I had impressed the Creator when I wasn’t selfish. His words only confirmed what I guessed; this superpower had a purpose—fighting demons.

  Since the battle of Blue Eye, everywhere I looked I expected to see demons and such, but I didn’t. I wasn’t even getting any prophetic dreams. Everything was quiet on the battlefront as school started for the 1969-70 term.

  The halls of WT High were crowded with teenagers, neither demons nor wicked Ishtar was anywhere in sight. At least they didn’t appear in Miss Brenda Beverly’s math class. Everyone at the school calls her Miss BB. After math, I walked into Old Lady Wheeler’s Spanish 2 class expecting to see Sarah. There she sat in the second row, and sitting beside her chatting like they were old friends, was Rose. Shock doesn’t come close to what I felt. It turned out that Rose’s parents had moved to Western, to get her away from what they called bad influences. They blamed her hippie friends for her running away.

  My world just became one person larger. It was time for reunion hugs. Old Lady Wheeler almost hit the ceiling when Rose planted a kiss on my cheek. I thanked God and whatever plan of fate that had sent her to my high school. Although I had mixed feeling about Sarah being in the same class, at least for the time being, she didn’t know Rose and Jimmy were a thing—not yet.

  I sat in my assigned seat and opened my Spanish book while Ms. Wheeler started teaching.

  “Hola, are you ready?” It was Mr. Dark. I hadn’t heard from him since the fateful day in the cemetery.

  “I can’t talk now,” I silently replied. “I’m in class.”

  “You don’t have to say anything, just listen. They’re here.”

  My eyes flew wide open. I knew exactly what Mr. Dark meant. Demons were at WT High.