Benjamin heard the garage door creaking open. It was his mom coming home. His dad was out of town again on business.
He ran to the bathroom and threw some cold water on his face. Benjamin’s mom was usually too preoccupied with work stuff to realize when something was going on with her son, but he didn’t want to take the chance. His nerves were already frazzled. His plan was to eat a little bit and then say he had a lot of homework to do. That wasn’t unusual.
Benjamin dried his face on bath towel and took a deep breath.
“Calm down,” he said to himself.
+++
He really shouldn’t have worried. After giving him a quick hug and the bag of Chinese food, Mrs. Dragon left the kitchen to get on a conference call. Benjamin picked at his food for a couple minutes until he gave up and went upstairs.
Too exhausted to think, Benjamin flopped onto his bed and fell asleep.
+++
Benjamin woke to his mom shaking him.
“Wake up, Benji. Wake up. Are you okay?” Mrs. Dragon asked. She was in her nightgown and her eyes looked heavy from sleep.
“What’s wrong, mom?” Benjamin groaned.
“You were shouting in your sleep, honey. I heard you all the way in my room.” The master bedroom was on the opposite side of the house on the first level.
Worry creased her normally serene face.
“I’m okay, mom. I…I guess I was just having a dream.”
“Why are you still in your clothes and why is your light on?”
“I guess I was more tired than I thought. Fell asleep in my clothes,” he shrugged and croaked a laugh.
Mrs. Dragon shook her head.
“I keep telling you to get more sleep, honey. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, mom.”
She looked at him for a moment.
“I’ll leave your door open. If you need to come sleep with me, just come downstairs.”
“Mom!”
She put her hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. But I’m leaving the door open.”
Benjamin rolled his eyes as Mrs. Dragon made her way back to bed. He laid his head on his pillow and draped an arm over his eyes.
What had he been dreaming about? He couldn’t remember.
+++
The next morning Benjamin got up early and packed his books for school. He was anxious to get back to where things were normal. Normal? Would anything ever be normal again?
+++
Nathan found him at his locker minutes before the bell.
“Hey, you feeling better?” Nathan asked.
Benjamin flashed a forced smile.
“I’m okay. I think I was just tired.”
“Good, cuz I was thinking that maybe,” Nathan looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper, “maybe we can go over to the park and practice again.”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of homework to do tonight.”
“Come on, dude. I know it doesn’t take you long to finish. Just for a little bit, okay?”
Before Benjamin could reply, the school bell rang and they both ran to their first class of the day.
+++
The two friends didn’t have any classes together in the morning. Benjamin spent his first three classes half paying attention to the lessons and half trying to figure out how he’d get out of going to the park with Nathan. Old Kennedy (that’s what Benjamin had decided to privately call his mentor) had been clear about keeping his gift secret.
Now that he thought about it, Benjamin was sure that his nightmare had something to do with the other gifted people coming to punish him after they found out Nathan knew about his gift. Benjamin imagined shapes peeking in through the pollen encrusted school windows. He needed to come up with an excuse for his friend.
+++
Lunchtime came and went. Benjamin traded away the food his mother had packed, but only picked at the mound of French fries he’d gotten in return. He hadn’t eaten a whole meal since breakfast the day before. Benjamin wondered if it was possible to starve to death from worry. The thought made him shove another ketchup and mustard covered fry into his mouth.
His friends jabbered on like nothing had happened. They were used to Benjamin keeping to himself. The only times he actively participated in lunch conversations was when they needed his brain. He liked feeling needed. This time, however, he just wanted to hide in a corner.
Nathan glanced at him a couple times and Benjamin forced a smile back. It was going to be a long day.
+++
After school, Nathan convinced Benjamin to walk home. They’d stop at the park on the way. Benjamin kept tight-lipped as Nathan went on about some girl in 8th grade.
“What about you?” Nathan’s question momentarily woke Benjamin from his stupor.
“Huh?”
“I asked if you like any girls in our class.”
Benjamin blushed at the comment. Being two years younger than his classmates not only meant that he was shorter than everyone (except that nice kid Salvatore in the wheelchair), it also meant he had to listen to his friends go on and on about girls. It wasn’t that Benjamin didn’t like girls. He turned pink every time he saw Emily. Being naturally shy only made it worse when he tried to talk to older girls. They looked at him like a little brother or something. It was easy for Nathan. He was already taller than most of the 8th grade boys and he could talk to anyone.
“Not me.”
“Well maybe if Mandy says yes to going out…”
Nathan’s voice trailed off as his gaze fixated ahead.
“There she is!” Nathan whispered.
Benjamin followed his friend’s eyes. A few yards away two girls walked toward them.
“Quick, how does my hair look?” Nathan asked.
“Uh, fine I…”
“Do you have a piece of gum?”
Benjamin couldn’t help laughing. He’d never seen Nathan act this way.
“What?” asked Nathan.
“I’m, uh, all out of gum. Sorry.”
“Okay. Shh.”
The girls were fifty feet away when they noticed Benjamin and Nathan.
“Hi, Mandy!” Nathan waved.
The girl with the light brown hair sighed. “Hello, Nathan.”
Nathan didn’t seem to notice the tone of annoyance in Mandy’s voice.
“Where are you guys going?”
Both girls looked down at Benjamin and giggled. Mandy whispered something into her friend’s ear. They giggled again.
Nathan’s face colored as he realized that they were laughing at his friend. Benjamin dropped his gaze to the pavement.
“What’s so funny?” Nathan’s smile disappeared.
“Oh, nothing. Cynthia was just wondering where you found your midget.”
The girls started laughing so hard it looked like they might start crying in hysteria. Benjamin was too embarrassed to say anything. Nathan wasn’t. His voice came out like a striking whip.
“You shut up!”
Mandy and Cynthia stopped laughing and looked at Nathan warily. He was quivering with anger.
Instead of apologizing, they crossed the street and resumed their whispers and giggles.
Nathan put a hand on Benjamin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Benjamin. They shouldn’t have said that. Don’t worry, I won’t ask her out.”
When the smaller boy looked up there were tears in his eyes.
“Come on, man, let’s go to the park,” suggested Nathan.
Benjamin shook his head. “I think I’ll just go home.”
Nathan nodded and pulled his hand back.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Leaving Nathan standing where they’d stopped, Benjamin forced himself to continue on. Nothing had changed.
Chapter 14: Research
Benjamin did his best to avoid his friends until the weekend. It wasn’t hard. The only class he had with them at school was P.E. He spent hi
s lunches in the library working on a fake research paper.
What he was really doing was searching for any clue about his gift. Benjamin quickly found that the middle school library didn’t have much in the way of heavy reading. Instead, he used the internet to scour websites for any sign of humans with powers.
First he looked at sites talking about magic wands and witches. He soon ignored those. Kennedy hadn’t said anything about using a wand, much less a broomstick. Silly.
After that he typed in ‘magic.’ The definitions varied. More professional sites like Wikipedia mentioned incantations or spells. That still didn’t sound right to Benjamin. He hadn’t said anything to stop Nathan, pick up the pencil or save Emily. Benjamin did find the word ‘paranormal.’ He clicked on the link.
It broke down ‘paranormal’ into two parts: ‘para’ and ‘normal’. ‘Para’ in Latin meant above, outside or beyond. That sounded pretty spot on to Benjamin. ‘Paranormal’ basically meant ‘outside normal.’ He almost laughed out loud. That sounded like a perfect word to describe his life before he’d found out about his freaky destruction gift.
“Paranormal,” he said out loud.
A group of eighth graders looked up at his unconscious blurt.
“Shhh!” said one of the girls.
“Sorry,” whispered Benjamin. Trying to ignore the annoyed glares, he refocused on the computer screen.
At the bottom of the webpage he found another word: Psionics. He clicked on the link. Psionics was described as using the mind to do paranormal things like moving objects and reading minds.
Next he looked for anything mentioning miracles or unexplained events. There was a lot about Area 51 and psychics telling fortunes. For a second Benjamin wondered if maybe he should go see a fortune teller. No. He’d be in big trouble if the fortune teller found out about his gift.
Benjamin huffed in frustration and went to click out of the website. His hand slipped and he accidentally clicked on another link titled ‘Hurricane Katrina.’
He waited for the slow library computer to load the page. It finally came up. There was an article. At the top was a picture of a black family huddled together, smiling at the camera. Benjamin quickly read the short story.
Miracle In The Midst of Misery
Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, leaving thousands stranded and homeless. There are many stories of death and destruction. This is not one of them. Amidst the misery in the aftermath of the powerful storm, we found examples of hope and possibly even miracles.
Ina Johnson, a single mother of five and long-time resident of New Orleans, made the fateful decision to remain in her neighborhood home during the hurricane. It wasn’t until too late, when the water had already risen over five feet inside their home, that the Johnsons attempted to evacuate.
“None of my kids can swim,” said Ms. Johnson. “We held on to each other, the older boys helping the younger ones. I prayed and prayed that God would deliver us...”
With the entire neighborhood flooded, the family tried to make it to a major highway. They never made it. The Johnsons glimpsed the still lit road ahead. Ms. Johnson remembers, “All of a sudden the water started rising real fast.”
What she couldn’t have known was that not minutes before, the levy nearest their location broke, allowing massive amounts of seawater to enter. This fact, along with the timeline, was confirmed with the Army Corps of Engineers.
Illuminated by the street’s lights, Ina Johnson stared in horror as an enormous wave barreled down on her family.
“I said, ‘Oh, God, please save my babies.’”
According to Ms. Johnson, instead of the being pummeled by the roaring water, the wave parted. That isn’t the most amazing part of the story. She then says her entire family lifted into the air and touched down gently on a five-story building a block away. The family was safe.
“We was flyin’,” said twelve-year-old Ronald Johnson.
“I neva’ knew we could do that,” remarked eight-year-old Stevie Johnson.
So what really happened? We might never know. This reporter has confirmed that the building in question was, in fact, completely boarded up prior to Hurricane Katrina making landfall. There also aren’t any ladders to allow a normal person to climb up the building.
“It was a miracle, I tell ya,” says Ina Johnson.
We might never know what really happened on that dark night in September. Was it a miracle? What we do know is that the Ina Johnson and her family will live on to tell their tale.
Benjamin stared at the computer screen. Hadn’t Old Kennedy told him that he’d chosen to help out during storms and stuff? Could that have been him or someone else with a gift?
Looking around for another blue link, Benjamin found one labeled ‘Hurricane Hugo.’ The page pulled up another story similar to the one told about Hurricane Katrina. This time it was about a man and his dog. The man had decided to ride out the storm. His house had collapsed and he’d somehow escaped the devastation. It said Hurricane Hugo hit the southeast U.S. in 1989.
Benjamin scratched his head. Were they just two random events? That’s when he noticed a name listed in the reference block: Jarvis Mandry. He was the one who’d found the separate articles and compiled them for the website. Benjamin clicked on the man’s name.
The next page outlined Mr. Mandry’s background. He was a paranormal investigator with degrees from the University of Virginia, Yale and Stanford. Mr. Mandry became a writer in the early 1980s, although he was still conducting investigations into unusual events.
Benjamin scrolled down the page and his jaw dropped. There were over one hundred links to articles about unexplained events and supposed miracles. Benjamin scanned the titles.
‘Baby Survives Six Story Drop’
‘Woman Miraculously Cured After Being Diagnosed With 73 Tumors’
‘Rebirth of a Once Dead Forest’
‘Man Regains Sight After Being Blind for 37 Years’
The stories went on and on.
“Hey!”
Benjamin jumped at the sound of Nathan’s voice behind him.
“What are you working on?”
Benjamin closed the internet browser and looked up.
“I…uh, just doing some research for a paper.”
“Shhh!” hissed the group two tables away.
Nathan rolled his eyes at them and motioned for them to mind their own business. They did as commanded. Nathan was still one of the biggest boys in school, not to mention that he was popular. Most people listened to him.
“Did you already eat?” asked Nathan.
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I just wanted to come check on you. You’ve been quiet.”
Benjamin smiled at the comment. He appreciated someone worrying about him. Unfortunately, he now carried a burden only he could know about.
“Just busy, but thanks.”
“Wanna hang out after school?”
“I’ve really got…”
“I know, I know. You’ve got a lot of homework. How about I come over to your place and bring my homework. I won’t bug you, I promise.”
He made a funny face that almost made it seem like he was begging.
“Uh, sure.”
“Awesome! I’ll meet you on the bus.”
Benjamin watched his friend walk away. Maybe he needed a little company. Being alone always made his mind wander too much.
Chapter 15: Summer Camp
Benjamin and Nathan sat next to each other on the bus. Nathan wanted to talk about girls. Benjamin kept steering the conversation back to things like video games and new movies.
“I can’t believe we only have a couple more weeks of school. I’m sooo ready for summer,” said Nathan, sweeping a hand through his hair. “What are you doing this summer?”
“I don’t know. I think my parents want me to go to some camp. Camp Waha…”
“Camp Wahamalican?!”
“Uh, I think so.”
“You lucky turd.
That place is awesome,” crowed Nathan.
“Have you gone?”
“Me? No way. My parents can’t afford it.” For one of the few times since Benjamin had known him, Nathan’s face colored.
“Well, I don’t even know if I’m going. I think I’d rather stay home.”
“No way, Dragon!” Nathan had recently taken to calling Benjamin by his last name. He said it sounded cooler. “There’s so much stuff to do. Plus, it’s half girls!”
Once again Benjamin shifted the conversation to something more comfortable. “What do they do at Camp Wahamachooky?”
“Wahamalican. It’s like all the outdoor stuff you want. Camping, fishing, hiking, canoeing, archery…Man, I’ve wanted to go there forever. I think Aaron’s going this year.”
Benjamin loved being outside. The only thing he didn’t like was mosquitoes. They always seemed to find him first. His mom called him the family Mosquito Magnet. He wished Nathan could go with him. At least he’d know Aaron. Maybe he could find his chosen path at camp.
+++
Benjamin could only fake doing homework for so long. So after finishing all his assignments, the two boys played video games. They were thrashing the enemy in Call of Duty when Nathan’s cell phone rang.
“It’s my mom. Can you pause the game?”
Benjamin pressed pause and waited.
“Hey, mom. Yeah, I’m over at the Dragons’.” He looked up at Benjamin and mimed eating. He was asking if it was okay to stay and eat. Benjamin knew his parents wouldn’t care. They barely paid attention to him at dinner anyway. Besides, Mr. Dragon was out of town again. Benjamin nodded and Nathan smiled.
“Is it okay if I stay here for dinner?” Nathan asked his mom. He listened to her response and moaned, “Come on, mom. We always eat dinner together.”
Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) Page 5
