by Lisa Beeson
That evening when The Flock got back, they celebrated Ari’s first run by ordering a whole bunch of pizzas and having a small party on the rooftop.
Cam had been right. Watching the sunset over the city from the roof was magnificent.
Chapter 21
On Thursday afternoon, Ozzy told everyone to meet at the apartment so he could show them the video before he handed it over to Hawk.
Tank came up first, since he just got off his shift in the store. He breezed in and flopped on the 1950’s couch. “Hey Cam-manche, did you know that you’re all over Reddit and Twitter?”
Cam paused the video game he and Leo were playing. “Haha! No way, seriously?”
Tank nodded. “Yep. Title of the post is ‘Best photo bomb ever.’ It’s a pic of you upside down, making a stupid face over a couple oblivious girls posing for the camera. It’s a pretty sweet shot. It’s been reposted couple thousand times already.”
Cam raised his arms in triumph and sang out in an operatic voice, “I am a celebrityyyyyy…”
Tank laughed. “And Hawk’s over the moon because you were wearing the store shirt.” He pulled out his phone and brought up the picture on the website.
Ari looked over his shoulder to see the picture as he showed Cam. You could barely tell it was Cam; he was in motion and his crazy hair was all over the place. But, she had to admit that it was a pretty awesome shot.
Cam pointed at Tank. “I told you I was Hawk’s biggest cash cow.” He pumped his fist in the air and went back into his opera voice and sang out a long glorious, “Moooooo….”
Tank threw a pillow at him, which he caught with one hand while still playing his game with Leo.
Just then, Ozzy walked in with his laptop under his arm. “Here it is guys, the finished product.”
He squeezed between Cam and Leo on the couch, putting the laptop on the trunk that was serving as a coffee table. Tank and Ari sat on the floor on either side at their feet so they could see the screen as well. Ozzy clicked on a file and a video popped up. It started with Cam’s intro and Ari’s lame greeting. Thankfully, he had cut the shot off before everyone had started laughing at her. Music pumped in the background while Leo and Tank did their first jumps. It was cool to see their stunts from different perspectives. It almost looked professionally done. Then, it was Ari’s turn, and she was amazed at how cool she looked. Ozzy did an excellent job of making her not look like a spazz. The whole video was well done; he was able to showcase everyone’s best stuff. When it was over, they clapped and told Oz he did an awesome job.
“Yeah, Hawk should like it. But, um… there’s something else you guys should see…,” Ozzy closed the video and clicked on another file. “Looking through everyone’s footage, I noticed something kind of disturbing.”
Ari didn’t like the sound of that.
“I edited all the clips together and put them on a loop,” Ozzy said, while he clicked play on the second video. It was all shots of the same man in the periphery as they stunted their way through the city. He didn’t know he was being filmed, and in every shot, he was looking right at Ari.
Ari could almost hear the blood thrumming through her veins. This is was not possible.
They all looked at her. “Do you know this guy, Ari? Is he a cop?” Ozzy asked.
She knew exactly who he was. She’d recognize that muscular, well-dressed man with the tattoos anywhere.
Shiny-man… How the heck did he find me all the way from Savannah? “No, he’s not a cop…” Ari said just above a whisper.
“Then who is he?” Cam asked, concerned.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “But the last time I saw him was in Georgia.”
Leo looked over at her nervously. “Well, he knows who you work for now. We were all wearing the store shirts.”
“Don’t sweat it. We all got your back, girl,” Tank said, trying to comfort her.
Ari turned to Ozzy. “Please don’t tell Hawk about this, Oz. He’ll freak and kick me out.”
Ozzy looked her over, trying to decide who to be loyal to. “If you swear he’s not a cop…”
Ari crossed her heart. “I promise. He’s not a cop.”
He’s just a weirdo stalker who seems angry at me for some reason, and wants to take my necklace. That’s all…
Ozzy sighed. “Alright, I won’t show this to Hawk…,” he said, looking her in the eyes, “…for now. But if this guy gives you any trouble I have to let Hawk know. So I suggest you stay low for awhile; this guy seems like bad news.” He right-clicked the file and moved it to a different folder.
“I’ll keep you safe, Pipes. Don’t worry about it,” Cam said, ruffling up her hair. “No one’s going to mess with my protégé.”
“Yeah, we’ll keep an eye out for him in the store and around the block,” Tank said. Leo nodded in agreement.
“Thanks guys,” Ari said, feeling fortunate to have lucked into finding good friends.
Ozzy patted her shoulder. He then stood up, closed his laptop and put it back under his arm. “I’m gonna go show the Flock vid to Hawk. See ya guys later.”
After Ozzy left and Tank and Leo were busy playing a video game, Cam asked Ari to go over to her alcove so they could talk privately. When they got in and closed the shower curtains, he looked out the windows to check the block for the mystery man. When he was satisfied the guy was nowhere to be found, he turned back to Ari. “What’s going on? I could tell you were afraid of that guy. Is he a Suit?”
She shook her head. “No, he’s not a Suit. I think he might be a Progeny, but he’s super bright so he must be really powerful. And for some reason he seems really interested in my necklace.” She took the blue pendant out from under her shirt. She told Cam all about how she found it, about the first time she saw Shiny-man at Adelina’s Antiques, and how she saw him again when the suits were chasing her. Then she told him about Cass’s ring and how when she held them both in her hands they lit up.
To show him, she retrieved the black velvet pouch from her backpack and shook out the ring onto her hand. Both jewels illuminated with a clear brilliance. Cam’s mouth dropped open. “Wow. This keeps getting better and better. I knew bringing you home with me was the best idea I ever had. Things around here were starting to get pretty stale.”
Ari put the ring away. “This is serious, Cam. I can’t let this guy get the jewels. I agree with Cass. They belong with me; I can feel it.”
“I know it’s serious,” he said, taken aback. “And I’m totally taking it seriously, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the adventure of it. C’mon, Pipes, you gotta admit that this is all awesomely surreal.” He lightly punched her arm. “We were not meant for a mundane life. I feel it in my bones.”
She nodded in agreement, but she wished with all her heart that it wasn’t true. She would have been perfectly happy living a normal, mundane life with her family in the comfort and security of her home.
Chapter 22
Taking Ozzy’s advice, Ari stayed only in the apartment and on the rooftop over the next couple days. She tried to relax, but there was nothing on T.V., and she had she conquered all their video games on the first day of seclusion – much to Leo’s amazement. Her sleeping patterns were sporadic at best. The nightmares of something chasing her were back, but now she could feel the oily shadow tentacles of the Shades licking at her heels, and the sound of the engines from the Suits’ sedans roaring behind her.
She asked Leo to get her some books, telling him that she’d pay him back when she had more money. But he waved her off, and said he do it for her if she told him how to beat the last level on the video game he had been working on for weeks. She agreed, and he came back with a whole stack of books for her. She had told Leo that she good with anything, so he got all kinds of books from almost every genre. Whenever she was bored or couldn’t sleep, she’d go up to the roof and read.
Early one morning, Ari woke up with a gasp. The black sedan had almost run her down this time, and it was hard to
calm the pounding of her heart. There was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep, so, without looking, she plucked the next book from the top of the pile and quietly went up to the rooftop.
The sun was just cresting over the buildings, and Ari stood there soaking in the warmth of the finger-like rays reaching out to her, making the last vestiges of the nightmare melt away.
Blowing out the last of the tension in her chest, she looked down at the book she had brought up. It was a book of Sudoku puzzles, and the tension immediately came back.
Her dad loved filling out Sudoku puzzles in his free time. She would silently watch him fill them out until she figured out how to do it. And sometimes, when he would get stuck, he would put it down so he could come back to it later with “fresh eyes,” as he would say. When he did, Ari would try to help him out and sneak in a couple answers. He finally caught on to what she was doing when she accidently used a pen instead of a pencil, like he had used. But instead of getting mad that she was messing with his puzzles, he just chuckled and shook his head at how clever she was. From then on, when he got stuck, he would ask her for a clue so he could finish it on his own.
All the good feelings the beautiful sunrise had given her were now replaced by an overwhelming homesickness.
She let the book fall from her hand as she walked over towards the eastern side of the building and sat on the parapet, letting her legs dangle over the edge. She felt Cam’s calming presence even before he sat down next to her, swinging his long legs in time with hers. Usually Cam would try to say something funny, but he seemed to have picked up on her somber mood and intrinsically knew that what she needed was just for him to be there. He reminded her of how Roosevelt always knew when she needed his quiet comfort by her side.
They sat like that for awhile until Ari gathered up the courage to ask, “Cam…What’ the date today?”
“Umm…” he looked down at his digital watch that showed the time and date. “Today is August 9th.”
She nodded and a single tear escaped from to slip down her cheek. “That’s what I thought. Thanks.”
Cam scooted closer. Now that she had broken the silence, he felt that he could ask, “What’s the matter, Pipes?”
Ari wiped the errant tear away. “Nothing, it’s just family stuff. You don’t want to hear about it. Street kid code and all that…” She didn’t look at him. She knew one look into his concerned soft brown eyes would undo her. But, from her periphery, she saw his shoulders slump and he looked down at the street below.
“Myles Baldwin…,” he breathed.
“What was that?” she looked over, confused.
Cam took a deep breath. “Myles Baldwin…that’s my real name. It’s the only thing my father ever gave me.” It seemed that once the flood gates were open everything came pouring out. “My mom said that my dad didn’t start off as a bad guy. They met at college and were totally in love. When they graduated and he got a job at a high tech computer company – apparently he was some kind of computer whiz – they got married and were going to live happily ever after.
“Then, a couple months later, she told him that she was pregnant. He had seemed really psyched at the time. And when they found out I was going to be a boy, he wanted to name me after himself, like he was named after his father. I was going to be Myles Cormac Baldwin III. Everything was going swell until my mom was about six months pregnant with me, and he started acting sketchy. He was usually really social, but he started shutting himself away, distancing himself – even from my mom. Then, one day, instead of coming home after work, he just took off. The cops said there wasn’t any sign of foul play, so he must have just skipped town. It devastated my mom. He was the love of her life, and he just abandoned her and their child. She had wanted to change my name just to spite him, but they had already monogrammed Myles all over a bunch of my baby stuff. So, she kept Myles but changed my middle name to Lucas, after her Father and Grandfather, and called me Milo instead.
“After I was born, Grams wanted us to come live with her in Illinois, but Mom was stubborn and wanted to stay in New Hampshire just to prove that she didn’t need anyone else. She had to take on two jobs just to pay the bills and keep us in a two bedroom apartment, but she made sure to be there for me when I needed her. It was just me and my mom and we were happy – or at least I was. Then she busted her head on some stupid ice… and that was the end of that.” He wiped at his eyes, and sniffed.
Ari put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Cam.” Her own sorrow melted away with thought of her friend in pain.
Cam looked off into the distance and continued on, like she hadn’t said anything. “After the funeral, Grams took me to live with her in Rockford. She lived on an old farm outside of town and let me have the run of it. I was kind of an annoying kid, so she thought it was better to just let me be a daredevil and take me to the E.R. every now and then, instead of having to deal with my hellion antics in her house. She was strict and had an acerbic wit, but she loved me and did her best to raise me right. About a year and a half ago, she had a major stroke. The doctors said the machines were the only things keeping her alive. So, I told her that I loved her and said my goodbyes, then skipped town before they pulled the plug.”
He took a deep breath and sat up straighter, shaking off his sadness like a dog shakes off water, trying to resume his usual laid-back genial demeanor. “Foster care wasn’t my style. And since I only had a couple years until I turned eighteen, I took the cash Grams had squirreled away for years and had a buddy drive me here to Chicago. And now, here I am, an internet celebrity, sitting on a roof with the coolest kid I know.” He winked and gave her a smile.
Ari didn’t know what to say. Cam had just laid himself bare, something he told her never to do, just because he had seen her hurting. As far as she knew, he hadn’t told that much about himself to anybody. So, she thought it was only fair if she told him about herself as well.
“My name was Kira Riley… and it’s my dad’s birthday today. I miss him so much that it hurts.” She could feel the tears building up behind her eyes. But she pressed on, telling him about why she had to leave her family and how awesome they were. How they took in a strange, damaged little girl and helped her grow into who she was today. “And here I am, a self-emancipated weirdo, sitting on a roof with the coolest internet celebrity I know.” Wiping away her tears, she smirked and gave Cam a sideways glance. They both laughed, and then spent the next half hour, or so, in amicable silence, watching over the city from above.
A week had passed with no sign of Shiny-man when Hawk called the Flock into his office. Ari practically flew down stairs, happy to be getting out of the apartment. They all sat down in the chairs that faced Hawk’s desk and he was actually smiling. “Well done, guys. The video has blown up; it got almost a million views just over the first weekend. And Ari, you were brilliant! Store sales and youth gym membership have gone up, all because of you.”
Cam beamed over at Ari, who smiled shyly down at her shoes.
“You all earned every cent of this; good job,” Hawk said as he passed out envelopes to them all.
Ari waited until she got upstairs and back in her alcove to look in the envelope. She took out the cash and counted it. Hawk had given her $250 dollars for free-running around the city. She couldn’t believe it. All Ari had to do was make one more video and she’d have enough to afford the train ticket to Toronto, and maybe even get a sleeper car.
The Flock decided to treat Ari to dinner to celebrate the success of her first video. So they went down to Chicago’s Little Italy to a bar and grill the boys liked. They assured her she could order anything she wanted, so she ordered her usual amount of food, shocking them all at how much she could put away. They all had a good time teasing and joking around, and Ari enjoyed feeling like one of the guys.
After the bill was paid, Tank and Oz said that they were going to meet up with some friends at the bars downtown. Leo said he’d go with them since he had a fake ID. Cam had o
ne too, but he said he was going to head home with Ari. When the group split and went their separate ways, Ari looked over at Cam as they walked down the sidewalk. Feeling bad, she asked, “Sorry you’re stuck with me, instead having fun with your friends.”
He smiled and nudged her with his elbow. “What are you talking about? You’re my friend.” He leaned over conspiratorially. “You’re my special superhero friend,” he said, and then punctuated it with an overly emphatic wink.
Ari laughed and pushed him away.
“Besides, I’d rather hang with you than go to the bars with them anyway. Tank gets crazy when he’s drunk, and tries to pick fights with hot girls’ boyfriends. And when Ozzy drinks, he gets mean and sulky. Leo’s cool, but he usually just sits there sketching on napkins because he’s too scared to use his ID. I’d probably spend the night playing darts and getting shot down…I mean… getting all the ladies numbers, anyway.”
Ari laughed, but she checked his intentions to make sure he was being honest and not just saying all that to make her feel better. And, to her surprise, he was being honest; he really did prefer to be with her rather than with his other friends.
She looked over at the tall boy who had helped her out in her time of need, and had her back no matter what. The boy who laid himself bare, believed her no matter how crazy she sounded, and believed in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself. Yeah, he could be silly and annoying sometimes, but he also kept things light in a very serious world – she needed that. “Cam, you’re awesome…,” she said, trying to tell him how much she appreciated him without embarrassing them both.
