Chapter Sixty Two
Tray had been ‘keeping my feet to the fire’ or, rather my feet on the ground as I worked through the dance. I was usually so exhausted from hours of practice that I could barely keep my eyes open on the way home each night. That meant no opportunity to pester Tray for information. We spent every single minute together when I wasn’t in school working through channel dances. I still didn’t have a chance to find out any information because Willow was always with us. Ah, life’s little curiosities…
Our time together had netted me something very useful though. Tray had taught me a thing or two about how to run an effective con in order to pry information out of someone. There’s a certain irony to the fact that this was his chosen lesson, but still…
He explained how to run it by saying, “You should always disguise your question by turning it into a statement. In other words, don’t say ‘hey, where are you from?’ – say, ‘I’d like to know where you’re from’. The other person feels almost obligated to answer.”
I noted this con for later use because I knew it wouldn’t work on either him or Willow. So I formulated my own kind of gypsy con in order to find out about their relationship. I decided that I would surprise Tray by just springing the question on him when he least expected me to ask it. I would wait until after my cake and ice cream thing at the Jansens’ and then, I planned to pounce. He would be expecting me to ask about it right after we got home from dinner tonight because we were technically going out with Willow. However, he wouldn’t suspect anything at all tomorrow.
I pray that I can contain myself until then…
Valentine’s Day at any high school USA – GAG! Krista had given me a total of only three hours in eight days. That meant her input into any plan was virtually non-existent. So it was my plan or no plan. I decided that some gypsy skills must be inborn like my spirit light. This meant my pounce and question plan was likely from my inner gypsy. But, if that didn’t work out, I had resolved to pout openly if he refused to answer me. Not much to either plan, but I was hoping simplicity would somehow win out over ingenuity.
Flower grams, candy grams and sticky sweet messages from secret admirers poured into every morning class. They interrupted the teachers and distracted the students with this Cupid nonsense. The student council used the proceeds as a fund raiser for some type of project. I would know precisely what the money is used for if I read the school paper. That task had long since been added to my list of ‘Things I Would Never Get Done Before I Died’ list.
I noticed between every class change that the dark clique girls compared the number of grams they had received and how many admirers they had. Cat Girl had so many flowers that she was wearing them in her hair. She paid me a passing glance as she walked by and then, smiled with that wicked, evil grin. I didn’t drop my gaze, but she obviously wasn’t up for the volcanic stare down challenge today. She dismissed me with a backwards wave of her hand.
Krista didn’t know much about the dark clique and neither did anyone else. I didn’t even try to make up any Ember-intrigues about them because I would’ve ended up getting extremely frustrated. Every time I casually mentioned one of the dark clique kids to Krista, she would say something like “I’m not sure who he is” or “She’s kind of new”. She didn’t even know any of their names, for heaven sakes. This was crazy.
I didn’t want to take a chance on my best friend getting caught asking a bunch of questions and being shoved into their limelight. I still had no idea what the dark clique was up to that day outside the gym, but they had their sights set on Greg – well and me too, but that doesn’t count. So I left the subject alone because I didn’t want the dark clique renewing their interest.
I would never survive wearing another outfit like that…
Then, I noticed what might be the key to solving my problem. Eli was walking down the hallway in my direction with his arms full of flowers. I had this absurd moment where I thought they all belonged to him. It took a second before I remembered he was on the student council, so that means he’s delivering them.
Duh…I think my internal fire might be frying my brain…
“Hi Ember – Happy Valentine’s Day with my compliments – you look spectacular,” he declared and handed me two carnations.
“Thanks, same to you…” I stated moronically.
He looked in the direction of the dark clique chicks and I watched him wave hello to them. They waved back and squealed simultaneously like Eli was some kind of celebrity and they just captured his attention. Then, something brilliant occurred to me. I could use the con my brother taught me to get Eli’s assistance.
“Oh, I know her name, it’s…” I said and paused.
I tried to look perplexed after I stated it – like her name was just on the tip of my tongue.
“Which one?” he asked curiously and then, he said ‘hello’ to two more girls in passing.
“The one standing next to the locker…” I offered, cryptically.
“Always stay on the general topic, but never give away your ultimate goal…” Tray’s words rang in my head.
“Ember, you’re gonna have to be more specific than “the one by the locker”. You do realize that they’re all standing by the lockers, right?” Eli informed me and laughed.
“Give them each a flower – I’ll pay you for them at lunch. Count them out while you hand them to each girl. I’ll count along with you and I’ll tell you the number when you get back – now go!” I ordered.
He obeyed my command and offered one to each dark clique chick. They all giggled and thanked him. He must have made up some story about where they came from because I highly doubted those girls would be so ecstatic if they had known it was me doing the sending.
“Thanks, Eli-honey,” they said again, but in unison this time.
I was really grateful that I had skipped breakfast that morning or it would have returned with a vengeance – very unpretty.
“Number 4…” I said.
“Brylie Flynn,” he stated – so Cat Girl’s name is Brylie.
“Oh, she’s that freshman…” I offered and waited for him to correct me, but my gypsy luck changed course in the wrong direction right then.
“Well, if I didn’t know better Ember, I’d think you were fishing for a formal introduction. I’m sure they would love to meet you. How about I break the ice?” he questioned me slyly with a wink and a smile.
I am so busted...
“Sorry Eli, but I’m not interested. You’ve seen my social circle for heaven sakes. It’s large enough without adding more diva estrogen to the mix…” I stated and shut up before I dug myself in deeper.
I thought I saw a shadowy look tint his facial features for just a brief second. Eli appeared to be furious about something. The shadow faded almost instantly though. I stood there in confusion and tried to decide what I had said to make him so angry. But, I finally figured out that had simply misread his expression and the situation. He smiled at me before offering me some unsolicited information.
I really stink at reading people…
“You want to know all of their names?” he dangled the carrot and I had to fight the overwhelming compulsion to yell “please, please, please”.
I tried to look disinterested in what he was offering as Eli waited for me to answer him. Already revealing more than I intended to, I could not respond to him no matter how much I wanted to know their names. I smiled sweetly and sort of turned my back to him to demonstrate my indifference.
“I’ll start at one,” he whispered in my ear.
My internal fire blazed into an inferno immediately and my skin was crawling. Eli is way too close to my body. Preparing to react, he must have sensed my discomfort. He took a step back. The flaming blaze retreated, but I was still struggling against the dire need to grab my chest in pain. I don’t want Eli thinking about my body, much less looking at my chest. Besides, he is still standing clo
ser to me than I feel comfortable with. Close enough to hear a whisper is way too close to my personal space – especially for a guy friend.
“Amanda Leesh, Catherine Bailey, Mykiah Endoll, Brylie Flynn, Lilly Almhurst, Brooklyn Sparks, Jadee Wheeler, Lindsey Hagen, Heather Aims, Elise Palter, Sunny Hurts and Amee Davine,” he rattled them off one by one.
I had determined, after hours of observation, that girls are kind of organic in their friendships. This means our best gal pals are situated either to the immediate left or right of us when we stand around comparing notes – or in this case Valentine’s grams.
Eli helped me narrow down the field of potential suspects tremendously. I figured that either Mykiah or Lilly was the other girl in the bathroom that day of the welcoming Greg prank. It was unexplainable I didn’t want Eli to know what I was up to. I knew it had been a mistake to ask him for one specific name, but I had corrected the error immediately.
“Wow, impressive – you must hang in their circles often,” I observed and hoped I still appeared disinterested as I waited for him to reply.
Infuriatingly, the Eli-information-well dried up on me. He didn’t even respond to my observation. I had no idea if I said the wrong thing to him or if he just had better things to do.
“No need to pay for the carnations – I’ve got ya’ covered, Sweets. See ya’ at lunch, right?” he asked and started to walk away to deliver more flowers.
Only Tray “covers” me, perfect boy and I’m not your “Sweets”…
“The carnations cost…” I shouted after him.
“Free for you…” he replied with a smile over his shoulder.
If Eli thinks he can bribe me with free flowers to get a date with Willow, he is going to be disappointed. I saw Logan and Ally in the hallway.
“Hey, do either of you know how much the carnations cost?” I asked.
“They’re two dollars…” Ally informed me.
“Thanks for the info – see you at lunch,” I said.
Eli’s comment about “covering” me grated on my nerves the rest of the morning. Even after Tray paid Eli for all the flowers (including the two he had given to me with his compliments), I still felt unsettled.
I tried to shrug off the shadow that seemed to be crawling up my skin. Eli’s whispered comment had made me very uncomfortable. I have always hated to have anyone invade my personal space unless I invited them inside. Given the fact that Eli is already a major annoyance in my Tray and Willow matchmaking world, I decided to spend the rest of the day in careful avoidance of him. I had taken a huge risk asking him for Brylie’s name because he desperately wants to cash in that dinner rain check.
I managed to head him off the first few minutes of our lunch period by bringing up subjects that would keep the girls talking – i.e. hair styles, boyfriends, make-up. Anytime Eli tried to get a word in edgewise, I would change to another girlie topic. My female friends took the bait and kept the conversation rolling.
Eli will not get a chance to say ‘dinner’ or ‘rain check’ at this lunch table if I have anything to do with it. I have worked too hard to get Tray and Willow to go out together. Perfect boy didn’t have a chance to speak more than three lines. Frustrated he announced he had to leave early to deliver more flowers.
He gave me a dark look before he exited. Eli must have realized that I was onto his diabolic scheme. But he is the president and has to set an example. I thought I heard him make a comment about someone getting my attention. I ignored him and then, interjected a weird, out of place comment into the current conversation. My friends burst out laughing.
Too bad Eli, guess you are just going to have to wait until Monday to ask Willow out to dinner. Hopefully, it will be way too late by then…
I spent the second half of my lunch period obsessing about dinner tonight and how to assist Stupid Cupid. Since Eli will be consumed by student council activities for the rest of the day, I figured I would be home free.
It turns out that I misjudged Eli and his level of determination. I definitely didn’t give him enough credit as a worthy adversary. I should have known he would try something because I am his only ‘in’ with Willow. I had successfully deflected and dodged his rain check offer for over a month now. I suppose he’s tired of being placed on my back burner. He was going to get my attention and force my hand on this rain check issue. By the end of my next class period, he would prove himself a worthy challenger in the ‘gonna use Ember to get Willow so she’ll go out with me’ game.
There I sat, minding my own business and zoning out in my class after lunch. Needing to clear my mind, I plan to fully execute my very first ‘inborn-gypsy-skills’ strategy on my stubborn brother tonight. My thoughts were thoroughly occupied, so I wasn’t concentrating on the teacher’s lecture.
I did hear the Valentine’s mob squad when they walked into the classroom, but I defiantly ignored them. Their constant arrivals and departures are beyond aggravating. They shouldn’t be allowed to interrupt every class. So, when I saw Casey Majors walk through the door, I put my head down on my desk in silent protest. But, fate would choose that moment to swing her moody and very heavy hand in my direction. The blow would also come at a time when I least expected it. It seems that fate might actually be a gypsy!
“Excuse me, Ember are you awake?” I heard Casey’s voice and my face heated.
Maybe I should play dead??
I looked up tentatively and realized that she was standing right beside my desk and that all eyes in the classroom were on me.
Welcome back to Harttown Primary, Ember – we surely did miss you.
I swallowed hard as panic started to consume me.
“I’m awake,” I stated the obvious – go me!
“These are for you…”
I never knew four little words could herald such a massive amount of chaos!
Her arms were full of carnations and she placed them all on my desk. I prayed that she just accidentally dropped them, but I could never get that lucky. The madness didn’t end there either. Three more student council members took their turns bent on burying me alive in flowers.
“They’re all from an admirer – Happy V. Day,” Casey informed me.
The council members exited the room, giggling. I was the one and only person to get any flowers in the whole class.
Holy Creator help me!
Eli must believe I will be more inclined to get him a date with Willow by stunning me with over-action. It won’t work…I can’t believe he would do something this outlandish.
Even though I didn’t want to admit it, I sort of have myself to blame for some of this insanity. I did let him interview me for the school paper. He probably assumes I’m one of those closet attention-hound type girls – the kind that emphatically denies hating the spotlight when they really mean the opposite. And, I had coaxed information out of him about the names of the dark clique chicks. So, that move probably confirmed the assumption for him.
No matter what he rightly or wrongly assumes, one thing is for sure. Eli definitely now has my full and undivided attention.
He also has everyone else’s too. The class was pointing and whispering. They were shocked by this insane display that is currently my Valentine’s Day horror. It appears as though I had lost a fight with a psychotic florist. I shrugged in embarrassment and then, laid my head down in the stems. Carnations spilled all around me and I had no clue what to do.
I prayed that the Creator would make me invisible, somehow. My desk, along with my body, stayed stubbornly visible inside my personal nightmare – Cupid’s revenge.
The class continued to whisper about the over the top carnation nonsense even after the teacher resumed the lesson. Krista tried to get my attention and I mouthed “help me” to her. She responded by asking me “how??”
I could feel an impending meltdown on my immediate horizon, but then suddenly…
“Ember, would you mind taking your head out of the f
lowers, please?” my teacher asked me.
“Sorry,” I offered and tried to comply with his request, but I couldn’t actually see over the carnations.
“Why don’t you take your gifts and put them in your locker? Here’s the hall pass…” my teacher stated, walked back to my desk and handed it to me.
I wanted to thank him as I tried to gather my stuff. My luck however, would take yet another turn for the worse. I couldn’t carry the astronomical amount of flowers no matter how I positioned them. It was silly of me to think I could, because it took four people to carry them into the classroom.
The teacher sounded thoroughly frustrated by my request, but he finally agreed to let Krista assist me.
“Oh my heavens, what is this flower-overload all about??” she asked me when we were alone in the hallway.
Her voice sounded muffled from the greenery.
“It’s Eli’s gimonsterously obnoxious chess move on the ‘get to Willow through Ember’ game board. I’ve been avoiding his rain check inquiries and he apparently doesn’t like being dismissed. He’s determined to get me to surrender her to his ridiculous dinner scheme and prove he has plenty of money to throw around too. You’d know all about this if you could manage more than seven minutes between classes to chat with me,” I responded, angrily and with more bitter hurt than I had wanted her to know about.
What did I say before – I should have been prepared for the pain.
“I’m so sorry, Ember. I’ve been neglecting you haven’t I? How about I come over tomorrow night and spend the rest of the weekend with you – just us. No boyfriend on my part and no crazy Eli madness on yours. I promise I’ll be there – whatever time you want me to come,” Krista offered.
I felt a tear spill down my cheek, because I knew she would never break a promise to me. At least, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone witnessing my emotional breakdown in the hallway because I was hidden behind a mountain of carnations. They would have to be at least 6 feet tall in order to see over them. Tray is the only student that could actually do that.
Krista and I were struggling to pick up the straying carnations as we inched our way down the hall. My locker was still miles away when the bell rang. So, we had to stop and wait on the masses to get to their next class. Students lined the hallway and gawked at the carnation spectacle.
I moved Florist to the bottom of my ‘Careers to Have Before I Die’ list…
“Oh my sweet heavens, what’s this carnation tower all about Ember?? Did you hijack a flower truck?” Willow asked me and sounded surprised.
Although I could easily recognize her voice, I couldn’t see any part of her around the carnations. She took some flowers from both mine and Krista’s pile. But, we were still up to our noses in greenery.
At that point, I had a split second decision to make. If I tell Willow the truth, it might wreck things tonight with Tray. But, I don’t want her to think this is someone’s idea of a love token meant for me…and I definitely don’t want Tray to think that either.
“Greg gave all these to Krista – can you believe it??” I blurted out the lie so fast that Krista didn’t have time to react.
“What?? There has to be well over $500 worth of carnations in our hands. Krista, I think this is getting too serious between you two,” Willow stated, worriedly.
I offered my best friend an apologetic expression. I hope I didn’t just ruin our friendship…
“This is just his warped idea of a crazy and beautiful joke, Willow. Don’t worry – we’re not planning on running away together anytime soon…” Krista replied and I wanted to shout halleluiahs to the heavens above.
My best friend managed to smooth out my pathetic lie and cover my back, simultaneously. I love my Krista!
“His parents must be loaded if he can afford that kind of joke…” Willow stated.
We ended up having to stuff carnations in all three of our lockers. Then, my best friend and I had two minutes left to work out a plan of containment.
“I’ll keep Willow super busy during the next class change. I won’t give anyone a chance to speak to her…” Krista whispered.
“Okay…thanks…I’ll keep her occupied while we walk from our last class to the car,” I replied.
“I’ll just take the flowers home with me and we’ll figure out what to do with them this weekend. I promise I will come over tomorrow night. Happy Birthday…a little early. Gotta go…” she stated and hugged me before she ran to her next class.
I was doomed to worry myself senseless for the rest of the day. A class full of kids knew who those flowers were for. There’s always a price to pay for telling a lie – even a little white one where no one gets hurt and keeps a big brother from having a stroke.
So, I resolved to tell Willow the truth before Monday about the carnations. I can’t take this kind of pressure anymore. Tray will just have to sort out his own love life because I vow to never get involved in it, again.
Well, after I get him hooked up with Willow, then I will never get involved in his love life again.
Ducking slightly and looking skyward, I waited for the lightning to strike me.
I discovered an interesting and terrible fact about myself as I walked into my last class of the day. I am, bar-none, the world’s worst liar.
That’s bad news for my inborn-gypsy-skill- set that I need to rely on this weekend…
It seemed like the entire school was whispering about Ember’s ‘flipped-out-secret-admirer-flower-power’ play. The pressure was crushing me. So, I sent Tray a text message to come pick me up early. I also added that I wanted to get a head start on tonight because I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore. I didn’t want him to think something was wrong.
I told my teacher I was feeling bad and that was the most accurate way to describe it. She knew exactly what was wrong with me because she said “take this note, call your parents and don’t forget your flowers”.
The text message I sent to Willow demanded that she meet me right that instant because we’re leaving. She came running down the hallway in my direction like I was on fire. Happily, I wasn’t on fire, for the moment. Ironically though, that was the only thing that I had going in my favor.
“Are you okay, Sweetie??” she asked, breathlessly.
“I’m just too excited to stay until the end of class,” I announced, praying that I sounded convincing.
“You’re skilled at scaring the living beejeezus outta me. Oh wait, you did make it clear to Tray that you’re fine, right??” she asked me in a panic as she pulled out her cell phone to call him.
“Yes, of course,” I replied and handed her my phone so she could read the text message for herself.
She sighed in relief. I talked a blue streak while we waited for Tray and crossed my fingers. We sat outside, away from any entrance to reduce the risk of someone passing by and making conversation. Willow didn’t mention anything else to me about the carnations. Miraculously, it appears she didn’t discover the truth behind the mountain of flowers.
I ran to our car when I saw Tray drive into the parking lot. Opening the door and leaping into the back, I managed to startle my brother. I usually sit up front and I don’t normally hide in the floorboard, either. They looked at me like I had lost my mind.
“What’s this about?” Willow asked when she sat down in the passenger seat.
Recovering slightly from my panic, I emerged from the floorboard.
“I just need to stretch out for a few minutes. It’s kind of been a long day…”
“You sure you’re alright, my baby?” Willow asked and I could feel Tray tense up.
“Yes, perfectly fine. I just wished we’d skipped school today altogether,” I said and they both gasped.
Tray glanced skyward to make sure it wasn’t falling because I typically never want to skip school.
“You shoulda told me, Little Girl. We’d be on a road trip, right now…” Tray replied and rel
axed a little.
It turns out that perpetual anxiety is draining. I wrestled against my drooping eyelids because I want to watch them for signs of any possible romantic affection. My total exhaustion would win out over my curiosity for a change. Before I knew it, we were parking at Sunridge.
My disappointment over missing the ride was compounded by the fact that I didn’t want to practice. I have a few hundred things to think about and plan before dinner tonight. I can’t afford the interruption. I whined and complained so much that Celeste finally relented. She said I could take a break today since I appear to desperately need it. This probably would have been the end of it, but somehow Tray and Willow managed to make Celeste change her mind. Since my whining/pouting scheme didn’t work, I changed tactics and decided to plead for mercy through rationalization.
“I’ll get plenty of real world practice in tonight. Please, please, please with sugar on top – I just wanna take a break for today. I’m entirely ready to do this tonight, I promise,” I begged and hoped it would be the truth.
Tray and Willow both tried to convince me, but I continued to argue the point. My brother must have finally realized that we would be debating this until time for dinner. So, he asked me to take a walk with him and I reluctantly agreed. My thoughts raced around in circles as we started to hike.
“Something’s on your mind…” he stated once he had me walking.
Oh no you don’t…that con won’t work on me…not today, of all days…
“There’s always something on my mind, Tray. Which ‘something’ is the ‘something’ that you’re interested in hearing about?” I responded with an edge of diva-girl attitude and a curious glance.
“I’d like you to tell me precisely why you don’t want to practice today – minus the attitude, if possible…” he said in an irritated tone to match mine.
He waited patiently for me to say something.
Curses, he knows me too well, I can’t stand the suspense.
“I’ll, at least, listen to your proposition,” I blurted out, fully aware that I had just been played.
“I’ll give you an hour to do whatever you wanna do – if you’ll give me practice from then until we leave to go home and get ready…” he offered.
But, I wanted and needed more than an hour. I told Krista I would call her. She promised to help me formulate a ‘Tray-Willow-Valentine’s-Day-romance’ plan in, what could be considered, an emergency cram-session over the telephone. Plus, I need to get her take on how much damage control will be required with the Eli-carnation fiasco on Monday. Both of those things combined will take way more than an hour. So, I shook my head to decline.
“No takers, huh? Let’s see if I can sweeten the deal for you. If you give me what I want this afternoon, I’ll give you the entire day off tomorrow. No practice unless you just want to for some reason. You can have your whole birthday off. I’ll also take you wherever you wanna go…”
“Well…” I hedged, trying to decide if we could plan everything in an hour.
“And, I’ll tell you anything you want to know, tomorrow night…” Tray trumped me, yet again.
“Let me get this straight. I can have an hour now and all day tomorrow to do whatever I wanna do. Plus, you’ll tell me precisely what I want to know about anything I ask…” I repeated his offer incredulously.
“Yes, Little Girl – I’ll tell you exactly what you want to know…”
“Tell me, now…”
“I take it that we have a deal…”
“Deal!” I exclaimed.
“You’re part, first. My end of the bargain comes tomorrow night,” Tray stated.
I hugged him and told him how much I love him. Then, I ran all the way back to Sunridge because Krista will be getting out of school any minute. I rushed into Willow’s bedroom, closed the door and called my best friend. I was wiggling around in anticipation because my hour just got freed up for gossiping.
No scheming required…
Ember Rising Light (Book One) Page 66
