by Laury Falter
Gershom had no email and no cell phone, preferring to stay on the fringe of society rather than in it. That quality had been fascinating to me before but suddenly turned into a great point of annoyance.
Slowly, I comprehended what was happening. First, Eran and, now, Gershom had disappeared from my life. I had never felt more alone.
I deposited the Absence List in the trash and left the girl’s restroom wondering if my day could get any worse. The halls were busy with the rest of the student body trying to get to their next class. I stopped by my locker, turned my combination to open it, and pulled out my books with no hint of enthusiasm.
It was the middle of December and finals were a week away, yet I still considered simply walking off campus and heading for The Square. Despite the overcast sky, I would welcome the opportunity to ignore my troubles and concentrate on my work. In fact, if there had been an exit door on my way to Biochemistry, I believe I would never have made it to class.
Still distraught when I walked in, I found that, Mr. Sparks, the school’s most notable chemistry teacher hailing from M.I.T., was not at his desk.
The class had tables lining both sides of the classroom with an aisle in the middle. I happen to sit at the desk to the far left and was lucky enough to have the normally two-seater table to myself. I preferred it this way because despite the enormous amount of money being poured into the other students’ education, they truly struggled with their class exercises. I always finished at least fifteen minutes before anyone else.
As I took my seat, I heard Ashley whispering across the aisle to a friend of hers. Though I tried to ignore her, the topic of conversation drew me in.
“He has several doctorates…and he’s taught at Harvard and Yale. Must have cost the school their savings to bring him onboard…” Ashley remarked, leaning halfway across the aisle. “And, Liz, he’s not even close to looking like a nerd.”
Liz was leaning across the aisle too, fixated on what Ashley was saying. “What’s he look like?” she asked in a whisper, glancing back to check the door. “Shouldn’t he be here already?”
“I saw him in the main office, probably getting the assignment list or something. Anyways…he’s absolutely stunning. Like…like a model. Tall, long legs, trim, dark hair, tanned skin, but his face…” She paused to draw in an exaggerated breath. “He clearly missed his calling for the runway.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to see him,” Liz said, eagerly looking again toward the door.
“And get this…” Bridgette went on, her voice low but excited. “He insists on being called Elam. Not by his last name but by his first. Isn’t that so…normal? He doesn’t have this stuffy, I’m-so-important demeanor that all the other teachers have.”
“Wow…” Liz replied, shaking her head as her eyes glazed over. “How old is he?”
“You know that’s the only odd thing about him.” Bridgette shook her head in astonishment. “He looks like he’s thirty-something but with those credentials he’s got to be older than that. And there’s also…”
“What?” Liz pressed.
“Well…I just get the impression that he’s a lot older than he looks. He has a young face, no wrinkles, but he comes across as old, like centuries old.”
Liz leaned back, perplexed, as if Bridgette had just spoken in gibberish. “How can that be?”
Bridgette appeared to think better about explaining further and retracted what she’d said. “You know, I’m sure I’ve just had too much sugar today.”
“Yeah,” Liz emphasized. “You’ve probably had fifteen licorice sticks by now.”
“Twenty,” clarified Bridgette, and they both laughed.
I wasn’t laughing, however.
I knew without a doubt, without anyone needing to tell me, that another one of the Fallen Ones had arrived.
The thought crossed my mind that Eran would appear if anything should happen, and considering my eagerness to see him, I almost wished something would. As ridiculous as I knew that to be, I couldn’t help missing him terribly.
As I waited for Elam to walk through the door, I was balancing several emotions at once. A small part of me – very small – tried to convince myself to leave the class. That was unacceptable. I had a strong aversion to running away, even if staying meant the threat of bodily harm. A larger part of me was curious about this newest Fallen One and how he would behave. Gershom had been a good friend during the time he’d been here so maybe I shouldn’t judge this one so harshly.
Just as the bell rang, my built-in radar went off, signaling the substitute teacher had arrived.
He was just as Bridgette had described, but I would add a few more descriptions, including dark and ominous. As he made his way to Mr. Sparks’ desk, his eyes scanned the classroom, finally landing on me.
I didn’t do it intentionally – and I was even surprised by it – but I ended up smiling at him.
He hid it well, but I still saw his reaction. Just as he dropped his gaze to Mr. Sparks’ chair his recoil of surprise turned immediately to a deep, furious frown.
No, this one was not like Gershom.
“Good morning, students…” he said in a gruff, yet youthful, voice. “It must still be morning since I see some of you with eye crust.”
Giggles flittered throughout the classroom and it was easy to see the students instantly warming up to him.
“As you may know, Mr. Sparks has taken to an unfortunate illness. I am your substitute. You may call me Elam. Not Mister or Sir, I’m far too young for that.”
Another eruption of giggles broke out.
“Elam will be just fine. Now, I understand you are currently in the middle of a lesson, and this is lab day. So please take out your supplies and get to work. I am here to supervise and answer any questions you may have.”
I rose with most of the other students and headed for the cabinets that contained our lab sets, feeling Elam’s focus on me. Once I’d collected my equipment and turned around, sure enough, I found Elam still watching me. He was no longer frowning but staring intently at me, analyzing, like a mountain lion watches its prey. I ignored him, returning to my desk to prepare for the lab.
As I got to work, I heard students chatting and laughing as they progressed with their experiments. I pulled out my textbook and turned to the lab instructions, reading them through once. I could still feel Elam watching but looked up only once to confirm it.
I was happy with myself, able to focus my attention away from the hairs parading on my neck and away from the unrelenting, intense stare of an attacker. It felt like I had done this for centuries. I maintained my comfort level, and I was able to remain calm and unruffled until close to the end of class when I heard Liz whispering to me from across the aisle.
“Maggie…”
I glanced up noticing quickly that while I was nearly finished with my lab work, her lab partner was gone today and she was only midway through her procedure.
“Yes?” I asked, curiously. She never talked to me before and, although I was glad she acknowledged me, I couldn’t immediately see any reason for it.
She was looking at me expectantly.
“Can I borrow your beaker?”
“Sure, let me wash it,” I said, already moving toward the sink. “I just used it.”
I reached the basin and turned on the cold tap water, avoiding the faucet’s spurt that sprayed back at me. After it was cleaned and dried, I brought it back to Liz and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she whispered, appreciatively.
A movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye and I glanced toward the sink to find Elam standing in front of it. He was there less than a few seconds and then returned back to the front of the room. He took a seat just as my eyes darted back to Liz.
“Do you need help?” I asked her.
“No,” she shook her head, still concentrating on her experiment. “I need more time…”
I looked up at the clock and saw the bell was going to ring soon.
All at once, an explosion rocked the room.
The floor shook beneath my feet and Liz’s sturdy, wood desk, where my hand had been resting, rattled violently.
I only felt a sudden cloak of heat engulf me. It was so brief, lasting only as long as the immediate danger was present, that I almost doubted that I’d felt it at all.
The next second, I was surrounded by broken glass, billowing smoke, and screaming students.
I spun around realizing that everyone was bent over, choking on smoke, bleeding – everyone but me – and I knew undoubtedly then that Eran had been here.
Several guys moved around the room, asking if anyone was injured. Others were staring, vacantly, at the destruction around them.
Dazed, I watched Elam walk through the classroom door just as the students began to stand up and filter out into the hallway. My peers were gravely pressing their hands against their cheeks as blood streamed down their foreheads and stained their clothing.
“This way! Out of the classroom, this way!” Elam was yelling over the commotion and weeping.
Students began filtering out the door and passed me, coughing, trying to expel the smoke and chemicals from their lungs.
I was the last to leave, just as The Warden arrived.
“What’s this?” he franticly demanded. “What’s happened here?”
Elam put his arm around The Warden’s shoulders and directed him to a distance where no one could overhear them.
I tried but with all the coughing it was impossible.
Instead, I moved through the throng of students, some of which were from other classes now gawking in the hallway, having come out after hearing the explosion. A few paces down the hallway I found what I was looking for – a first aid kit.
I opened it and grabbed bandages, ointments, and anything I could carry back.
As I reached the spot where the majority of my class was standing, I looked for those with the most blood streaming down their faces. I heard someone mumble, “The sink…It came from the sink.” He was one of the guys from the back of the class so he would have had a better vantage point than others.
“Who was at the sink before it blew?” asked someone standing beside him. He was clean and uninjured, clearly from another classroom.
Their eyes searched the crowd until another guy called out, coughing through his words, “That girl…who talks to the dead…”
I halted with the first aid items still stacked in my arms.
Almost in unison the crowd turned to me.
“That’s true, isn’t it?” Bridgette asked Liz, both of them had singed hair and black streaks marring their faces.
Liz nodded, expressionless. “She…she washed out her beaker.”
“What was in that beaker?” A guy stepped through the crowd, demanding. I recognized him as someone who sat near the sink.
“It was the same thing you put in your beaker,” I said, indignant. “Didn’t any of you notice Elam at the sink after me?”
I watched as some of their expressions faltered. “You did, didn’t you?” I said, quietly, my voice seeming to roar in the now silent hallway.
The Warden, who had been talking with Elam during this time, glanced in my direction and then stood to his full height, stomping down the hall toward me.
“Ms. Tanner, in my office. Now!”
That was all the confirmation the other students needed. Hearing my name, furiously screamed by the principal, right after they had been severely injured, gave them the scapegoat they were looking for. I dared a look in their direction and found those not coughing or choking staring at me with unwavering contempt. Yet, it was Elam’s face that lingered in my memory as The Warden marched me back to his office, because his was the only one in a sea of repugnance that stood out in contrast.
He was sneering.
Following The Warden, who was obviously upset, I remained a good three paces behind him and struggled to keep up. Thankfully, this gave me few minutes to think about what had just happened. I thought back, step-by-step, on what had happened just prior to the explosion and I could have sworn I saw Elam pouring something down the drain just before leaving the classroom.
The Warden screamed at Ms. Olsonite to call for an ambulance – several of them – before slamming the door to his office behind me.
“Sit!” he demanded, and I did.
The Warden leaned against his desk, too furious to sit. His arms were crossed in front of him and he was now breathing through his cheeks like a bull.
“Can you explain, Ms. Tanner,” he said my name with revulsion, “how everyone was injured in that blast but you?”
I stared back, unable to answer.
“Can you?” he shrieked.
I slowly shook my head and innocently replied, without thinking, “Right place, right time?”
The Warden’s face went beet red and started to pulse in places I didn’t think could pulse.
I held up my hands in defense. “Look, I don’t know. One minute I was asking Liz if she needed help and the next minute the lab exploded.”
“Elam mentioned you were at the sink prior to the explosion,” he seethed.
“Did he mention that he was, too?”
The Warden’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief. “You aren’t accusing a notable professor of a criminal act, are you?”
“I’m telling you the facts.”
“Well then, let’s start with what you put down the drain to ignite the explosion.”
Shocked from being accused of something I didn’t do, I reacted by standing up, which put The Warden on edge. “I used the same liquids that everyone else in the class used, Mr. Warden. Despite what Elam told you, you’re going to be hard pressed to find evidence proving otherwise.”
I realized I was challenging him, meeting his argument and insinuated threats head on, but I didn’t care.
I would not be accused of harming others.
“How do you explain…” he said, visibly shaking with fury. “How do you explain that you were the only one left untouched in that classroom?”
The fact was I could explain it, but he would never believe me. His mind wouldn’t have been able to comprehend that my guardian, my husband from my past life, had swooped in to protect me like an ethereal blast blanket.
“I was lucky enough to avoid flying shards of glass, Mr. Warden. That doesn’t make me the cause of it.” I stared at him, daring him to continue.
The Warden seemed to rationally think through what I’d said because he took a moment before speaking again.
“You have been a pain in my side since you started here. Now, you have put these students at risk – even if I can’t prove it – yet.” He paused, taking in a deep, shaky breath. “Do not think for one second you are off the hook. The moment I find proof that you caused that damage, you will be expelled.”
Oddly, a few weeks ago that would have been welcomed news. I may even have considered fabricating evidence just to expedite the process. But now…I had truly started to enjoy it here. It took only a second to decide I was going to fight to stay.
I opened my mouth and began to speak, but The Warden cut me off.
“Leave…now!” he seethed through his teeth, never taking his eyes off me.
I exited his office and headed for my next class. At lunch, I avoided the cafeteria entirely, finding a small alcove in the library. My sandwich was left untouched in the bag as I sat, staring out the window going over what had happened. Elam had poured something down that drain. I was sure of it, and it angered me even further knowing he managed to put everyone else at risk just to get to me.
At the end of lunch, I headed for European History, not averting but also not meeting the watchful stares of the rest of the student body. Judging from the number of eyes on me, everyone had heard, and they had heard I caused it.
Achan was already in the room, sitting in his usual seat. I only had to sneak a quick glance to know that he’d been told, too. His sneer was unmistakably
visible and clearly unreserved. The rest of the students were talking about the explosion until Mr. Morow entered and went straight into his lecture. At the end of class, I moved swiftly through the crowded room and headed for the gym, holding my head high while avoiding direct eye contact with everyone.
Once there, I readily changed clothes and took a seat on the mat nearest the dressing room door, waiting for class to begin. As the other students began to sit on the open floor, the wide berth everyone gave me wasn’t easily ignored.
Sarai chose a spot in front of me, her typical routine. She was the only one who kept her eyes locked on me when I looked up, not bothering to hide her scorn.
It didn’t take long for me to realize it was expected of me to leave school grounds after being blamed for something of this magnitude. I flatly refused to meet that expectation. For one, I wanted to make sure the students injured were recovering well and the only way I could learn this was by staying at school and listening to the passing conversations. Another reason was because running only makes you look guilty – which I was not. I had just as much right to be here as any of the other students. And then there was the fact that the last two times Eran had shown up was on school grounds. I knew he wouldn’t reappear again – unless my life was at risk – but school was the closest I could be to him right now. I missed him, and as irrational as it was, I felt closer to him at school than any other place. And right now, I really needed him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: ADMISSION
When I got home, Ezra was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. The moment she saw me, she stood, urgently moved toward me, and took my face in her hands, inspecting it.
“You’re not hurt,” she stated, though I knew this was a question.
“No.”
She let out a deep sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I had never seen her so shaken before.
“Really, Ezra. I’m fine.” I pulled away from her so she could see my sincerity.
She released me and went back to her chair, shaking her head. “When Mr. Warden called-”
“He called you?” I asked, allowing my alarm to be shown. “He didn’t call when I was cut in fencing class so that must mean he still thinks I’m responsible for what happened today.”
