Ember Rising Light (Book One)

by C.K. Mullinax

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lunch time arrived and I almost forgot about my scheduled appointment with the nurse. But sadly, I had no way to forget about my aching ears. I rushed to her office. Explaining that something went wrong with my stereo, I told her the volume had turned itself up loud while I was standing in front of it. The nurse wrote down ‘possible ruptured eardrum’ and I felt myself panic.

  She pulled out the instrument to look inside my ears. Then she checked my eyes, my reflexes and asked a whole bunch of questions after her examination was complete. I answered them as fast as I could, because I needed to get to the lunchroom. Since I couldn’t get a word in edgewise with Krista today, she didn’t even know I had this appointment.

  My ear drums were still intact although the nurse understood that I felt like they had been destroyed. She told me to stay in a quiet environment for a few days and my hearing will return to normal – beyond that, there’s nothing else she can do.

  “Would you like me to call one of your parents to pick you up…” the nurse offered.

  “I need to try and stay for the rest of the day. I have a quiz and my parents are kinda tied up…” I told her.

  She gave me a note for the remainder of the week and told me to go to the emergency room if I become dizzy or start to vomit. The nurse had given me cotton balls to help muffle the noise. I stuffed them into my ears. They didn’t help very much, but something’s better than nothing.

  I ran across campus to find Krista in the loud lunchroom. The voices echoed around viciously inside my head. She looked at me urgently, as I approached her. I knew she would be upset because I was running late.

  “What did you find out? Did you talk to him directly or get it from the secretary? Spill everything…” Krista stated without giving me a chance to explain.

  She mistakenly believes I’ve been discovering information about the new guy, but it’s my brother that has it.

  “Oh no, did I miss Tray?” I responded to her inquiry with a question of my own.

  It was a pointless and ridiculous thing to say since I knew I had missed our overlap by at least, five minutes. In fact, my own lunch period was almost over already. My brother will definitely be in class by now.

  “Well, he was in here earlier, but his bell rang a few minutes ago. I think he left before it rang, but he didn’t say anything to me at all. What difference does it make whether your brother’s in here or not?” she asked me impatiently.

  “He was the one getting all the information for us…” I complained and was frustrated that I’d missed him.

  I also knew Tray would be very worried because I didn’t tell him anything about my nurse’s appointment either. That meant he waited for me to show up for lunch and didn’t know why I never came. He had probably gone to the library to see if I had wandered into it and gotten distracted somehow.

  “Well, text him or call him to get the information…” she pressed me.

  “That would be an excellent idea if we had cell phones,” I replied in disappointment.

  “How do you two survive without cell phones? I can’t imagine living without mine…” Krista stated with surprise.

  “Well, it’s not easy…” I lied.

  Tray and I didn’t really have a need for cells since we are usually together. When he’s at work, I’m home and we have a landline. Tray is the only person who transports me – making mobile phones useless.

  This is the first time I have ever wished we had an electronic leash. I hate to make my brother worry about me. I don’t have any way to get him a message in class either. We had barely spoken on the way to school this morning and I was entirely responsible for that situation. He didn’t know anything about my injured ears or my nurse’s appointment. I didn’t answer his questions when I ordered him to do me a favor or tell him that I loved him before I rushed off to class. Then, I top it all off by not even showing up at lunch - giving him another reason to worry about me through his next class period.

  This has morphed into an ugly trend and I plan to change it this afternoon. I decided to just tell my brother what’s going on with me regardless of how much it pains me to share. Tray and I didn’t really have a need for cells since we are usually together. When he’s at work, I’m home and we have a landline. Tray is the only person who transports me – making mobile phones useless.

  I still don’t want him to think that I’m psychotic. But I don’t have any choice anymore. I am at the end of my road. I need to talk to him.

  For the time being though, I had to shove those thoughts aside. I needed to help Krista find out something about this new guy. If we didn’t discover something, she was going to explode from anticipation.

  “Have you seen him anywhere else?” I asked my best friend.

  “No and I’ve run from one end of this school, to the other. Where on earth could he be hiding?? Oh my heaven help me, you don’t think I just imagined seeing him this morning, do you?” she inquired as her facial features contorted into an expression that I’d never seen before.

  “I’m positive you didn’t just imagine him. Oh wait, I think I might know where he is,” I said as the revelation hit me.

  I grabbed my stuff and rushed toward the exit. Krista followed right behind me. We only had a few minutes left before our history class started.

  Now, it was my turn to pull her along as fast as I could. She didn’t ask any questions and that was a relief. My head was still throbbing, unmercifully. We walked back to the parent/teacher conference room that doubled as the new student lockdown-bore-fest in times of need. We could both see his profile through the window from the narrow hallway.

  Krista positively melted right beside me as she watched the mystery guy through the conference room window. I knew he was bored because I had been in that orientation just a few weeks ago myself. Mystery guy’s dark brown hair was about all I could see of him. I turned to ask her a question, but fell silent and smiled.

  She was drinking him in – that’s the only way I knew how to describe it. She had this soft, doe-eyed expression on her face that reminded me of the first time I ever ate chocolate. I had never seen anyone fall head over heels so quickly for a stranger until right that moment. It was an amazing thing to witness.

  I knew from experience that the guidance counselor wouldn’t give him a break for at least another forty-five minutes. Then the warning bell sounded. I tapped Krista urgently on the shoulder, but she didn’t respond to my gesture. So, I tapped her again with even more force, in order to get her attention.

  “Come on, we gotta get to class! I promise I’ll find Tray the minute we’re dismissed, but we’ll be late if we don’t leave now. Your guy won’t get a break from this mind-numbing nonsense for a long time,” I explained to her.

  I gave Krista one final tug in the direction of the door. My best friend sighed heavily and then finally turned around to leave. As it happens however, destiny would intervene before we could go anywhere at all.

  The conference room door opened and mystery guy stepped out into the hallway. He appeared to be headed toward the restroom. That meant he would have to walk right by us. Krista’s mouth dropped open in shock as he approached us. He would have to squeeze because the hallway was so narrow.

  “Excuse me,” mystery guy spoke to my best friend and smiled.

  She made no move to get out of his way though. So I swiftly pulled her back against me. This barely created enough space for him to squeeze by her. His arm brushed against hers and I felt the resulting chills as they raced up her arm excitedly.

  “Sorry,” he offered over his shoulder to my speechless best friend.

  He smiled at her again and even hesitated. For one awkward moment, he stood in place and waited on her to smile or say something in response. It was obvious that he wanted to talk to her. She was so stunned that she couldn’t react at all. Mystery Guy shook his head and continued to walk to the boy’s restro
om, evidently confused by Krista’s unusual behavior. I hoped he would give her a chance to speak to him when she got her voice back. This could end up being one of those stories couples talk about on their 50th wedding anniversary. This scenario was so much cooler than any ‘Ember-intrigue’ I could make up too.

  Mystery Guy has light grayish eyes and dark brown hair. He was only an inch or two taller than me – trim but well built. He was smaller than the average high school guy. Judging by his size, I would have assumed he is about twelve or thirteen years old. My perception might be skewed though, since I live with a giant. I only had about fifteen seconds to look him over too before he finally disappeared. That meant that I could have been off by a few years or inches in either direction.

  Krista watched mystery guy as if the Creator himself had just graced us with his presence. I clearly wasn’t seeing what she saw in him though. To me, Mystery Guy looks like every other non-descript teenage boy that went to school here – only perhaps a little smaller. It wasn’t my opinion that mattered. I was deliriously happy for my best friend. It would be wonderful to be able to see him through her eyes somehow. That way I would know what she found so fascinating.

  We escaped into the main hallway just in time to hear the final bell ring for our history class. Krista didn’t pay any attention to it. She put her back up against the lockers and was out of breath like we had been running a marathon. She hugged her books as if they were something extraordinary with a faraway look in her eyes.

  I finally convinced her to go sit with me in the library. It was our only available choice unless we went to the boiler room together. But, the dark clique kids might be down there right now, having a group ditching session. We couldn’t risk walking into something like that.

  We sat near the back of the library. Although we weren’t hidden from view, these seats were the closest ones to seclusion. We opened up our history books so we could at least give the illusion that we were doing something school related.

  Krista whispered incessantly about her Mystery Guy. She speculated about everything, but she didn’t ask me to make up an ‘Ember-intrigue’ for him. I think she wanted to find out the real deal because she might get confused otherwise.

  It was almost pleasant sitting in the library. I should have thought of this idea before now. My ears are still blaring, but at least nothing tries to challenge the ringing in this quiet environment. I closed my eyes and listened happily as my best friend wondered aloud about the new boy on campus. It felt like only thirty seconds before she was ready to go find Tray.

  “Your brother’s class gets released in about twenty five minutes. Can we please leave now so we’ll be there the second he comes out?” Krista whispered softly and I watched her wiggling around in her chair from anticipation.

  “Sure we can,” I agreed and stood up.

  “By the way, what’s with the cotton stuffed in your ears?” she finally asked about my new accessories.

  I told her the watered down version of what happened as we walked in class-ditching-stealth-mode toward Tray’s classroom. We leaned against the wall and waited for my brother. She looked down the hallway in one direction and I looked down the other.

  Krista apologized for not asking about why I was late this morning and for forcing me to skip history class.

  “Your news is way more important than my ringing ears. The nurse couldn’t do anything to help me besides give me cotton balls and tell me to stay somewhere quiet. So that appointment was a waste of time. And you know my history assignments are already completed through the end of the year. Unless the teacher gives us a pop quiz or a handout, we’re not missing anything vital…” I whispered to her.

  For some reason, Tray’s teacher dismissed his class twenty minutes early. It was good that we were waiting outside the door or we might have missed him. My brother goes to work when this class is released. Then, he uses his entire work break to pick me up from school and drive me home. Then, he goes back and works for another few hours.

  I made a mental note to thank Tray for everything he does for me before I tell him about my current turmoil. After all, I have been keeping some big stuff from him. This is not normal because we are always honest with each other. I’m embarrassed just thinking about how secretive I’ve become. I had only done it to protect him. Once the information is out, his anxiety level will drastically increase. That’s what happens when someone you love needs a straitjacket, I suppose. Although I hate the idea that he will think I am a rubber room candidate, some type of mental health intervention might be required. I need to talk to my brother…

  The instant the classroom door opened, I remembered to yank both cotton balls out of my ears. The noise slammed into my brain like an unwelcome, drunken guest inside an echo chamber. I quickly shoved them into my pocket even though I needed to keep them in.

  No need to scare him until I can at least explain some stuff…

  “Hey, kiddo one and kiddo two,” my brother added after seeing Krista standing beside me. “Ember, I realize the lunch today left a lot to be desired, but you could’ve at least made an appearance for my sake.”

  “Never mind the lunch thing. I’ll explain everything to you later – I promise,” I stated with the emphasis on everything.

  Tray offered me a sideways grin, and casually put his arm around my neck. He obviously understood my meaning too because I could feel his body relax against my shoulder. I tried to take some comfort in the gesture because I’m not sure if my brother will ever relax again once he hears the unabridged truth about my insane life as of late.

  Krista had to run beside us just to keep up the pace. She tugged violently at my shirt sleeve in her impatience. We had been waiting for this all day and she couldn’t stand the suspense anymore.

  “Well, how long you gonna keep us in the dark? What’d you find out about our Mystery Guy?” I asked him urgently because we were itching to discover what he knew.

  I sincerely hoped that my ridiculous made-up title didn’t rub off and stick to the poor boy. Tray and I both knew how hard it was being the new kid at school. It was bad enough to get stared at, pointed at and talked about, but titles like ‘Mystery Guy’ had a way of hanging around.

  “His name is Greg La Cour and he’s a freshman. He just moved to this area from Philadelphia with his parents. His mother is a biologist and his father is some kind of hotshot executive at a factory near here. He has one younger brother named George who’s in seventh grade and one older brother in college.

  “Greg’s one of those ‘computer genius’ types – as in he plays video games and can probably program them too. He has every system, including the Nintendo DSI and more games than he could name. His Nintendo is currently in his left cargo pants pocket along with two games, but I can’t remember which two he said they were. Oh, I hope you don’t mind Ember, but I shared your trick of hiding the device in an oversized sweatshirt pocket with him. I figure there would be less chance of it getting discovered because he can keep his hands stuffed inside along with it.

  “This is the second Nintendo he’s had to purchase because his first one is still currently locked down in the vice principal’s office at his last school. Let’s see, oh yeah, he has this dark sense of humor. It’s flippin’ hilarious. I would bet good money that he’ll end up in some Ivy League school of video game computer technology and make zillions. That last part was my best psychic prediction, but the rest is straight from the horse’s mouth,” Tray stated.

  Krista was captivated. I was shocked that she wasn’t taking notes or something. Later, I would realize she didn’t have to write anything down. She could repeat every single detail in the same order my brother had stated them.

  “The point of the grilling session was to find out if Greg was or is currently attached,” I offered with an exasperated tone.

  “Not that he told me, but that’s not something guys share with other guys they’ve just m
et. Well, unless they happen to be dating a super model…” he offered sarcastically. “But, my best, educated male guess is the guy is likely free for attachment purposes. Hope that helps…” Tray said to Krista and smiled widely.

  “Now, I’ve gotta jet Little Girl, but I’ll be back around 2:45 and expect you to share that ‘everything’ with me,” Tray told me.

  I prepared to duck because I thought he was going to rub my head. He smiled like he just read my mind and slid into the driver’s seat. My brother winked at me before he backed out of the parking space.

  “He’s not seeing anyone! Woo-hoo!!” Krista exclaimed, deliriously happy that Greg is available.

  Even outside, her voice sent what felt like a lightning bolt of pain through my throbbing brain. I retrieved the cotton balls from my pocket right then and stuffed them back into my ears. Krista whispered “oops…sorry”.

  We were both amazed at the amount of information Tray had managed to discover and from THE source himself, no less. Krista and I parted ways just as the warning bell sounded. I sat down at my desk with three minutes to spare. About twenty five minutes into the lecture, the bell rang to dismiss us. I was perplexed because it wasn’t time to go to my next class already. I watched as all the students gathered their books and swiftly exited the classroom.

  “Why did the bell ring so early?” I asked my teacher curiously.

  “Don’t you remember? We have a school-wide assembly today for spirit week. All afternoon classes are abbreviated,” she replied.

  I ran to find Krista because I knew I couldn’t survive through that noisy chaos. She was still on Cloud Nine when I located her. I explained that I wouldn’t be in the assembly this afternoon and she understood why. Before I headed back to the office to call Tray, I thought about something.

  “Wait Krista…this assembly provides us with a unique opportunity. Greg will need to be escorted to the gymnasium since he’ll have no clue where to find it. They usually select a student to do that. They’ll dismiss him from new student orientation so he can attend. If you make yourself available then you could possibly walk with him…” I told her quietly.

  Remembering my injured ears, she refrained from shouting. I quickly provided her with precise details about how to make this happen. It was interesting when I realized my experience made this little plan possible. Who would have thought the new student bore-fest would yield any positive results?

  My best friend repeated all the information to me so I knew that she had it down pat. Then, she gave me a quick hug and told me that she owed me, big. Krista gave me her word that she would follow the plan exactly. Before she left, I reminded her of the importance of using her real voice and not her imaginary one.

  My head was screaming in protest from the incessant ringing in my ears. I found the school nurse and asked her if I could use the phone to call for a ride home. Mr. Jansen said Tray was in town picking up a part. He offered to come and pick me up, but I told him I would just wait in the nurse’s office. He promised to relay the message and I thanked him.

  The nurse gave me two painkillers to take. It turns out medication does not sit well on an empty tummy. I made it over to the sink just in time to get sick.

  “I think you should lie down in here until your parent arrives. Just rest, I’ll be back in a bit to check up on you,” she offered sympathetically and dimmed the lights as she left.

  I couldn’t close my eyes because I would keel over. Tray had informed me that I have been talking in my sleep and he looked extremely concerned when he revealed it. So whatever I was chatting about was something that scared him. I have no way to control what I say while I’m unconscious. Falling asleep this close to an adult isn’t a risk I can take.

  My toothbrush and toothpaste were in the side pocket of my backpack. Although I brushed my teeth four times in a row, it only took ten minutes. I propped the bed up so I would be in an upright position as I considered my entertainment options.

  My portable CD player was in my backpack, but that’s where it would have to stay. The school nurse will confiscate it. I was scared to eat a snack. My only distraction option was reading a book. Although I did make an effort, I couldn’t concentrate. And my ears are whining even louder from the silence. Struggling to stay awake, I watched the hands of the clock drag on. I should have gone to my class.

  My thoughts started to drift around. I wonder if the dark clique kids are down in the basement, ditching class right now. I glanced toward the door and thought about exploring the boiler room, but decided against it. The nurse would be back in to check on me and I figured I would get in trouble if I just disappeared.

  The efforts to remain alert were all for naught because I didn’t have anything to keep me occupied. My mind wandered through all my worries, Krista and Greg’s possible relationship, Tray’s reaction to the news that I’m a raving psychotic and a laundry list of other concerns. I couldn’t remain focused on any one thing for more than a few seconds. I made the major mistake of closing my eyes and fell asleep sitting up…