by Geof Johnson
The man coughed and blinked rapidly. “What did you…?” He stumbled back one step, then slumped to his knees. His eyes closed and he fell heavily on his side.
The old wizard traced the outline of a door and opened it. Then he grabbed the man by his ankles and dragged him through it to a wooded area beyond. “This isn’t a bad world. I believe you’ll grow to like it here. I don’t think you know how to make doorways, so I doubt I’ll see you again.”
He brushed off his hands, stepped back into his tower, and the doorway winked out.
* * *
Jamie woke in the darkness and stared at the ceiling. The old man didn’t kill him. Good. I don’t know if I could deal with it if he had.
Chapter 36
During dinner one night at the beginning of summer, Evelyn dropped a bombshell. “The Lindseys signed another year lease on my condo. This will be their last.”
“Then what are you going to do, Gramma?” Jamie asked.
“Then I’m going to move in there.”
“What? No! That’s too soon.”
“Jamie, by then I will have been here fourteen years. That’s not exactly rushing it. Besides, since I already have enough furniture for the condo, I’ll be leaving my bedroom furniture here, just the way it is. I can still spend the night if I want.”
“But…we need you here all the time.”
“Sweetheart, you’ll be going into ninth grade then. You won’t need me to do things for you, and I think you’ll be better off if I don’t. You need to be more independent.”
“But you’re moving away.” Jamie looked dejected.
“It’s not far, you know that. You can ride your bike there in ten minutes. You can come over any time you want, and I’ll still be over here a lot, probably more than you want.”
“You could never be here too much.” His lower lip started to protrude. “And what if I need a ride somewhere and Mom and Dad aren’t around?”
“Call me, and I’ll come get you.” She knew her next announcement would ease the sting of the first. “Rachel, Carl, I’m going to buy a new car soon, and I want to give my Buick to Jamie.”
“A car?” Jamie’s face brightened.
“That’s very generous of you,” Rachel said. “But don’t you think you should trade it in?”
“It’s too old to be worth much, even though it doesn’t have a lot of miles on it. But it’s in perfect shape, and he’ll be driving in a couple of years. He’ll need a car when he starts working.”
“A job?” Jamie said.
“Yes, a job,” Carl said. “My dad’s cousin Earl has a veterinary clinic, and he said you can work for him next summer. It wouldn’t be much, but it’ll be a start.”
“And we could use the money.” Rachel pointed with her fork. “You need to start saving for college. Tuition keeps going up every year.”
“Will I have to give up my dog walking business?” Jamie asked.
“Probably not. But you’re not making that much now, anyway, since Sassy died.”
“But we’ll have to see how it goes with school,” Carl said. “High school will be a lot harder, and your grades come first.”
“And you still have to get through eighth grade,” Rachel said.
* * *
Jamie’s grandmother was very good at finding things for him to do, and the summer before eighth grade was no exception.
“But Gramma, I want to hang out with my friends.”
“By hang out, I’m assuming you mean sit around and do nothing, or find ways to get in trouble like other teenagers. That’s not going to happen.”
“But Gramma —”
“Besides, it’s only three days a week, and you love the library.”
“But I don’t get paid?”
“No, it’s called volunteering.”
“It’s not going to kill you,” his mother added.
“Oh, all right.”
But by the end of June, he was glad.
“I’m so bored I could kill myself,” Rollie said as he and Jamie were shooting baskets on the last Saturday in June.
“I thought you were looking forward to watching TV and playing video games all day.”
“I was. I was looking forward to playing basketball, too, but nobody’s around and I have to play by myself, and I’m getting tired of practicing jump shots.”
“You should come to the library.”
“Aw, man, I get enough books during school.”
“Fred’s been coming with me some.”
“I see her anyway.”
“Other girls come in. Cute girls.”
Rollie held the basketball with both hands and regarded his friend. “Real cute?”
“Cute enough. You see any cute girls hanging around here?” Jamie waved at the empty street.
“I might just do that.” Rollie launched a shot.
Much later, Jamie came to realize that the best part of working at the library was Fred. She liked books almost as much as he did, and when there wasn’t anything for them to do, they were allowed to read. One of Jamie’s fondest memories of that summer was of the two of them curled up in the comfortable wing chairs in the reference section, reading in the cool and quiet while the sun blazed away outside. Sometimes, he’d put his book down for a moment and watch Fred, her green eyes intent on the page before her. Somehow, she could sense his gaze on her, and she’d look up, give him a little smile, and they’d both return to their books.
* * *
When Jamie wasn’t at the library, he was looking for opportunities to practice magic — real magic — without getting caught. Whenever a spell would pop into his memory, or he’d think of a new application of something he already knew, he’d lock himself in his room or the clubhouse and try it out.
He’d locked himself in his room once to work on translocating objects, using a small picture frame as his subject. He managed to make it disappear easily enough, but when it reappeared, it was jammed edgewise into his bedroom wall. He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out how to use magic to repair sheetrock.
Something he’d come to realize about the old man: He was a powerful sorcerer and he worked hard to get that way, constantly studying, experimenting, and practicing his art. But Jamie had advantages the old man never dreamed of, technological advantages, with a wealth of information on both television and the Internet. Jamie constantly watched science channels and online documentaries, looking for new things to try with his magic. The more he knew, the more he could do.
Another thing he realized about the old man: He was obsessed with studying magic, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else, even eating and sleeping. That wasn’t a problem for Jamie, because he had his friends to keep him grounded.
One afternoon he sat on the floor of his room, trying to see how many little rubber balls he could keep orbiting above his head as his own personal solar system. He was elevating his eleventh ball when he heard a loud knock on the door, causing him to lose his concentration, the balls raining down around him like rubber hail.
Rollie opened the door. “Dude, get your bathing suit on. My mom’s taking us swimming.”
Jamie was out the door in three minutes.
* * *
Carl pulled into the parking lot of Carter’s Veterinary Clinic, a white cinder block building not far from Jamie’s house. Jamie stepped out of his father’s truck. “I’ve never been to a vet before.”
“That’s because we never had a dog or a cat.”
“How come?”
“Your Gramma doesn’t want to clean up after ’em. She said you’re bad enough.” He held the glass door open for his son. Inside they found a long counter on their right and a waiting area on their left, where a man sat with an aggressively barking pit bull.
Carl said to the lady behind the counter, “Could you please tell Dr. Carter that Carl and Jamie are here?”
Jamie walked into the waiting area to see the fierce dog, whose owner was pulling back hard on its leash
.
“Don’t get too close,” the man said. “He’s not very friendly.”
“It’s okay.” Jamie held his hand out. “What’s his name?”
“Boris. But really, don’t try to pet him.”
“Boris, be a good boy so I can pet you, okay?” Jamie took the last two steps to the snarling animal and thought, Sit down, Boris. You know you want some petting. Boris sat on his haunches, gave a brief whine, and wagged his tail. Jamie rubbed the dog’s big head. “Good boy.”
From behind him Jamie heard, “I’m impressed.”
Jamie turned to see an older man in a long white coat with his father. The man said, “Your dad told me you were good with dogs, and he wasn’t kidding, was he?”
Carl introduced him as Cousin Earl. His older cousin said, “Let me give you the grand tour.” He opened the door that led to the rest of the clinic.
After showing them the examination rooms, treatment room, and lab, Cousin Earl opened a door. “This is the kennel. This is where you’ll be spending most of your time.” They were immediately confronted by a strong animal odor and a chorus of barks from the dogs in the long rows of cages. “You’ll mostly be responsible for walking the dogs and cleaning cages. It’s not glamorous, but you gotta start somewhere.”
“I don’t mind.” Jamie looked into the different pens. “I like walking dogs.” Jamie stopped at a cage. “What’s wrong with her?” Inside was a medium-sized black lab, looking tired and forlorn.
“That’s Lucy. She’s got heartworms, but she may be too far gone to save.”
Jamie rubbed her nose through the bars, and Lucy’s tail made a weak fwip fwip. “Can I take her outside?”
“I don’t know,” Cousin Earl said. “She probably doesn’t want to.”
“I think she does. Please? I’ll carry her.”
Cousin Earl looked at Carl, then back at Jamie. “Okay, but just for a little while. You can take her through the back door to the yard.” He opened the cage, pulled out the dog, and handed her to Jamie. Carl held the door as Jamie carried Lucy out to the fenced in yard beyond.
“I’m gonna make you better, Lucy,” Jamie said, sitting in a shady spot on the ground. She lay down beside him and put her head in his lap. “Now, I’m not a healer, but there may be something I can do.” He patted her head. “Nobody’s looking, so here goes.”
He closed his eyes and focused his will inside of Lucy’s chest until he found her heart, almost completely choked with spaghetti-like worms.
“Gross! There are so many.” He focused on one worm and translocated it to a bare spot of ground about five feet in front of them. “One down, dozens to go.” He focused on another and translocated it, then another and another, careful not to remove any heart tissue.
After about ten minutes, he scanned her heart one more time, and finding no more, turned his attention to the mass of worms on the ground before him. Jamie checked again to make sure no one was looking, pointed his finger, and sent a searing bolt that incinerated the parasites.
Jamie stroked Lucy’s head for about five minutes, then said, “Ready to go in?” To his surprise, the dog stood somewhat unsteadily, wagged her tail, and licked his face.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He stood and held the door open for the dog. She walked inside with him, where his father was talking to their older cousin.
“Why Lucy, look at you,” Earl said. “You must be feeling better.”
Jamie grinned. “She just needed some fresh air.”
Earl shook Jamie’s hand. “You come work for me next summer, okay? You can walk all of our sick dogs. People will think I’m a miracle worker.”
Chapter 37
Bryce’s back-to-school party that year was like the one before, except for a few small differences.
This time, Fred was there. Even though Betsy had a boyfriend by then, Fred didn’t trust her. She wasn’t about to let Betsy get her mitts on Jamie again,
Also, the boys had grown, almost catching up with Fred and the other girls. The only problem was, the girls, especially Fred, were still growing, but mostly in places where boys didn’t. Jamie tried not to notice, but it was hard at a pool party, because the girls wore bathing suits that showed off exactly where they were growing.
“Fred, why did you have to wear that bathing suit?” Jamie said as they walked up Bryce’s driveway to the gate.
“What’s wrong with it?” Fred asked.
“It shows too much.”
“Too much what?” She smiled impishly.
“You know what!”
Rollie laughed. “Dude, don’t look if you don’t like it. Nobody’s making you.”
But Jamie did like it. He just didn’t feel right about liking it. “You should put a shirt on or something.”
“Don’t be a prude,” she said. “It’s a pool party. You should take your shirt off.”
He didn’t want to do that. He wasn’t as skinny as he used to be, but he was still self-conscious about it.
Another difference that year was that Bryce’s dad had set up a music system near the pool to encourage dancing.
They walked through the gate to the backyard and Fred saw a few kids gyrating by the pool. She threw her towel at Jamie. “Hold this. I’m gonna dance!” She ran off.
As Fred left, Rollie said. “Let’s check out the game room.”
They stepped inside and Jamie said, “Hey, the pinball machine is open. Let’s play.” They put their towels under the machine. Jamie pulled the plunger and launched the ball.
“You’d better not cheat,” Rollie said. “I know you can keep that ball going all day if you want.”
Jamie grinned. “I don’t need magic to beat you.”
About fifteen minutes later, Bryce came in. “Boy, that Fred sure can dance.”
“Just now figuring that out?” Rollie said.
“No, I mean, I’ve seen her tap dance at the talents shows, but boy! She’s got some moves. She’s dancing with anybody and everybody.”
“Did you come in here just to tell us that?” Jamie asked.
“No. Burgers are ready. Thought you might wanna know.”
“Cool. Come on, Rollie, let’s eat.”
They walked outside and Jamie saw Fred dancing away by the pool. When they got closer, he saw that her partner was Reggie Foreman, but Reggie didn’t seem to be interested in dancing. He was more interested in Fred, and not her face. Fred didn’t seem to notice.
“I see Reggie’s getting an eyeful,” Rollie said.
Jamie scowled. “That’s disgusting.”
“I never liked that guy.”
“Makes two of us.”
At the food table, Rollie got sidetracked by some friends from school, so Jamie loaded up a plate and found an open bench . As he raised his hamburger to his mouth, an out-of-breath Fred plopped beside him.
“Is anybody sitting here? No? Thanks, don’t mind if I do.”
“Uh, Fred, why don’t you have a seat?”
“That smells good. I think I’ll eat, too. Save my place.” She returned minutes later with a plate of food.
As she sat down, Jamie said, “You sure are dancing a lot. Aren’t you tired?”
“No. You should try it.”
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“So what? Besides, you danced with Betsy last year. You owe me one.”
“Aw, come on, we’re friends. Friends don’t make friends dance.”
“Then I’ll go dance with Reggie. He likes to dance.”
“No, he just likes to look at you.”
“Good. You should, too.”
“He’s not looking at your face.”
Fred’s mouth dropped and she covered her chest with her arms. Then a glimmer of realization flashed in her eyes and she grinned. “Oh, I get it. You’re jealous.”
“No I’m not.”
She poked his ribs. “Yes you are. You’re jealous of Reggie.”
“Stop, Fred.” Jamie bumped his drink cup and knocked it to the
ground. “Now look what you made me do.”
“You can get more.” Fred stood. “I’ll go, too. I could use one.”
As they walked by the pool toward the food table, Fred said, “Give me your cup and I’ll get your drink for you.”
“Thanks, Fred.” He handed her his cup, and Fred threw her hip into his, knocking him off balance into the pool. He splashed awkwardly.
He came back to the surface and spluttered, “Doggone it, Fred!”
Fred was doubled over with laughter.
He climbed out of the water, soaked. “Now my shirt’s all wet.”
“So? Dry it.”
“How?
She wiggled her fingers.
“Oh.” Magic. “Well, I’m definitely not dancing with you now.”
“Okay. Then I’ll just have to dance with Reggie.”
“No!” he said a little too loudly. “I mean, no. I’ll dance with you.”
“Oh good!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the area where the other kids were dancing and she started moving right away.
Jamie stood self-consciously still for a moment, trying to decide what to do, before settling on an easy side-to-side step, moving his arms as little as possible.
But Fred wouldn’t settle for that. “Oh, come on. Dance!” She grabbed his hand and twirled under his arm, then twirled him, laughing as she moved. “That’s better,” she said. “Loosen up.”
And he did, a little. Jamie found that when he finally let go and enjoyed it, it was fun. More fun than he expected.
When the song was over, Fred said, “Thank you, thank you. You finally danced with me.”
Jamie noticed that Fred was between him and the pool. “No, I should be thanking you,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her beautiful green eyes for a moment and smiled. Then he leaned toward her like he was going to kiss her. Fred eyes were wide with surprise, but then she closed them and puckered her lips.
Jamie gave her a gentle push that sent her flailing backward into the pool.
Chapter 38
