Chapter Forty Five
We formulated a new strategy – one that hopefully wouldn’t incinerate me or fry my brother’s brain either. I planned to return to school and Tray would allow me to navigate through my sudden celebrity status the best way I knew how. I promised to avoid the cafeteria or any place that a large number of kids might gather for the next few days. If things are still chaotic after that break, then we will reassess the situation. I would have to allow him to assist me.
I called Krista and told her we would pick her up. Maybe she could shed some light on what happened at school today and have some ideas for possible crowd control. I asked Tray to please refrain from using his obliteration skill on her, at least for tonight. I need my best friend’s perspective and ingenuity. I’m also terrified for him to use his gift anymore.
“I’ve gotta stop running away every time I get into trouble. At the rate I’m going, I’m gonna fail my freshman year because of my horrible attendance record,” I told Tray on the drive over to pick up Krista.
“What horrible attendance problem are you referring to anyway? I haven’t heard a single thing about it…” Tray stated curiously.
He looked like a cat that had swallowed a canary. I laughed when I realized that my attendance record was probably perfect.
“And here I thought you’d only use your powers for good and not evil…” I offered to him and we both laughed.
We drove into Krista’s driveway and I prepared to get out. Her grandmother walked out the door and over to our car before I had a chance to do anything. Tray rolled his window down so she could talk to us.
“You’re both coming to our holiday party. The theme this season is Casino Royale…” she told us.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he accepted and his smile lit up the interior of our car.
“The dress is formal so please let me know if you need a tuxedo. My late husband was about your size. I think his navy one would look nice, but his black one would look better,” Elizabeth stated, surprisingly.
I had never thought to ask about her late husband. Any man that had more than one tuxedo in his closet would be an interesting person to discover. Krista had her clothes and her books packed as she rushed out the door.
We went home and Tray sat down in front of the television while I cooked dinner. Krista helped me chop vegetables for the salad. I told her to ‘flippin’ spill it’ – code phrase for tell me everything about everything that’s happening.
It appears as though Tray is ignoring us. But I highly suspect that he is listening intently.
“Our friends have apologized to Greg for being so obnoxious, but they never said why they were acting like a bunch of jerks. Tisha invited us out to the movies this weekend. I told her we’d already made plans. Greg is still leery around them and I don’t blame him. They were being big morons.
“I’m sure at some point he’ll warm up to them since he’s one of the nicest guys on earth. Oh my goodness, I didn’t tell you what he did today right before he dropped me off at home, did I?” Krista continued to talk about her new love interest.
I could feel Tray’s frustration level rising all the way from our living room.
“So, what exactly was all the celebrity hysteria about in between classes? Did I wake up on the Hollywood side of the bed without knowing it?” I asked her dramatically.
Tray’s massive obliteration wiped Krista’s memory, too. So I had to blame my disappearing act today on the crazy celebrity reaction between classes.
“You should thank your lucky stars that you didn’t show up for the insane lunchroom scene. We’ve suddenly got a major lunchroom table over population issue. I don’t mean like two or three extra people either. It was outrageous…
“You’ve become a star overnight and I’m already in your orbit – kudos to me for being your best friend. Holy heaven, that’s so pathetic. I’m riding on your celebrity star just because I know you, bah…” she remarked and wrinkled her nose in distaste.
It seemed that she didn’t want to be known as my sidekick. I certainly can’t say that I blame her.
“At the risk of sounding like an idiot, how did my star rise all the way to the top without me even knowing it existed in the first place?”
“Girl, don’t you realize that you are the high school champion of the underappreciated and non-popular? You stood up for the little invisible people. Stars like that become all time legends…” Krista explained.
“I was only yelling at our friends and making a point to one other person in particular. I didn’t stand up for anyone else other than Greg,” I told her.
“Well I, and about two thirds of the student body, disagree with you on that. I think the part about “…being bent on proving her right” is gonna make the front page of the year book. Everyone is trying to figure out who the ‘her’ is that you were shouting about. The whole scene might even make it to the Yahoo News homepage if Randall can figure out a way to do it.
“That guy practically lives on Yahoo. He’s posted your entire speech, word-for-word on every site he comes across. He’s offered a reward to anyone who has a video of it because he wants you to go viral…” Krista informed me.
The water boiled over right when she said it and I reflexively jerked the pan off the heat. Tray was standing beside me before I had released the handle. He inspected my hand and wrist.
“I’m okay – no burns or scratches. Owww though, I do bruise,” I told him jokingly.
He sighed and returned to the recliner.
“Now I know for sure I sound like a complete incompetent, but what language are you speaking?” I asked Krista.
We both exchanged puzzled stares.
“English, of course…hello, earth to Ember…we need you to return to us…it’s kind of important that you be here while we’re having a conversation…” she stated humorously in an over-exaggerated voice.
“Did you say he wanted me to get ‘viral’?” I inquired, perplexed.
How could me getting a virus, help Randall’s aspiring Internet career? That’s ridiculous…
I watched as understanding finally colored my best friend’s face and she started to laugh hard from the revelation.
“I said he wanted your speech to go viral – meaning he wants to post the video on the Internet for everyone in the world to see. They’re called viral videos my computer illiterate friend…” Krista choked out between fits of laughter.
I got ready to laugh with her because, now that I understood, my question was funny. Then something horrific occurred to me. I couldn’t let that psychotic, audacious, over-the-top video, of me losing it, get posted on the Internet! My private life is not up for public viewing!! I felt the floodgates as they prepared to open wide. The anger bubbled dangerously close to the surface. My spirit light and inner fire responded and my body temperature spiked accordingly.
Just before I opened my mouth to yell a blue streak in my overwhelming panic and fury, my brother rescued me from myself.
“Did anyone take Randall up on his reward offer?” Tray asked from his seated position in the living room without turning around.
“No! Everyone was so stunned by Ember’s outburst that no one thought to video it. Then, we add in the minor detail that her speech was so brief. Basically, it would’ve been said and done before they could’ve started filming…” Krista explained to Tray.
My anger cooled down quickly as the realization struck me.
I’ll have to thank Tray later for saving my skin, yet again…
It took longer than usual to get dinner on the table. Krista and I would forget what we were supposed to be doing as we talked and formulated plans. I explained that I certainly wasn’t looking for this kind of attention. She replied that sometimes celebrity status is just thrust upon us and there’s nothing a girl can do about it except ride out the popularity storm.
I’m not sure whether she’s secretly enjoying
my overnight stardom because it makes her a pseudo-celebrity herself or if she knows that I can’t avoid the limelight entirely. Perhaps she thought I might as well enjoy my five minutes of fame since I couldn’t seem to run away from it. Whatever her reasoning though, Krista offered some very practical suggestions.
“If you try to ignore your adoring fans and remain silent, then the rumor mill will socially annihilate you for sure. That move would backfire anyway because ignoring them only shines the spotlight on you even more. Everyone would start to gossip and then you’d suddenly be known as a snobby diva.
“You’re the hero to the invisible and non-popular kids so you can’t morph into a snobby diva, for heaven sakes. You can definitely see the problem with just trying to pretend it didn’t happen, right?
“So we have to sort of minimize the fall-out, somehow. I was thinking that you should offer to be interviewed for our school newspaper. That way you get to control what happens. You can give them your list of conditions for agreeing to do it. You could say no pictures or personal questions – you know…stuff like that. By agreeing to an interview, then everyone gets a chance to hear your point of view. They won’t have to guess or gossip about it. It’s your call. I just think that’s your best bet…” she told me.
“I’ve gotta agree with that assessment. I’m gonna state for the record here and now though, that I’d rather accept death than to have a video of me posted on the Internet…” I said.
“Heard and duly noted for our record. Next, I believe we should avoid the cafeteria and any other places that kids crowd around, like the vending areas or the gym. We’ll need to confer until the worst of this is over though. So we should just go ahead and plan on meeting in the library for lunch. Unfortunately, that strategy prevents us from actually eating because we can’t take food or beverages inside the library,” Krista reminded me about the policy.
“I think you ladies should be safe from discovery as long as you stay near the back. Go ahead and bring your lunches with you. Just make sure you carry your trash out with you when you leave. We can’t have food smelling up the library,” Tray stated to us and gave me a knowing look.
I couldn’t stop the worried expression that shadowed across my face. I knew that we would never get caught eating in the library and I also knew exactly how my brother intended to make that happen. I didn’t want him to use his ability anymore for a while. Tray smiled and winked at me in response. I couldn’t talk to him about it in front of Krista. But it wouldn’t do me any good to argue with him even if she weren’t here. He had already decided to do it.
He’s so stubborn…
We didn’t bring up the topic of what our friends would do or say when we ‘no-showed’ for the lunch the next day. Fortunately, sometimes things work out though even when we fail to plan for them…
Ember Rising Light (Book One) Page 49
