Ember Rising Light (Book One)

by C.K. Mullinax

  Chapter Eighty Nine

  Twenty minutes before my first period class, I audaciously waltzed into the school’s newspaper office. I decided I needed to do this before I had a chance to chicken out. By some strange fortune Eli was the only staff person in the room when I arrived. He looked surprised, but very happy to see me.

  “Hi Ember – wow you look great today…” Eli offered with a smile.

  Why was he always and forever so infuriatingly complimentary??

  “Thanks and you do too…” I replied and gave him a sideways smile in return.

  “You ready to reveal all in your next news piece?”

  What did he mean by “all”??

  The comment struck a nerve, but I didn’t have time to explore it further. I pushed it aside quickly because I was currently on a gypsy-mission.

  “I just wanted to make sure you’ve been hearing me clearly, because you know everyone, who’s anyone. I’m not ready to date – at all…I’m still too young. I’ve been sheltered my entire life, as you know since you did that article on me. I’ve heard these crazy rumors that most guys around the school assume I’m of dating age now, just because I turned sixteen. I really wouldn’t want to disappoint them if they chose to ask me out on a date, but I’d have to say “no.” I’m sure you understand where I’m coming from.

  “I was hoping that you might help me spread the word because you are the most popular guy I’m friends with. I’d really appreciate it…” I stated and held my breath while I waited for him to respond.

  “Sure, I’ll be glad to spread the word for you. I wouldn’t want all those guys trying to ask you out on dates. Leave everything up to me…I’ve got you covered…”

  “You’re the best Eli – thanks…”

  “Woo-hoo, VICTORY! I have just successfully run my very first con job and without anyone’s help at all…Ember girl, you are the flippin’ STUFF…” I applauded myself, mentally.

  Ah but what a hollow gypsy victory it would turn out to be…

  The ‘Ember’s-first-and-worst-really-stinking-bad-gypsy-con-job’ netted me the results I had planned for. Eli seemed to respect my decision. He must have told everyone in the whole school that he and I weren’t going to be dating anytime soon. So word got around faster than my spirit light can arc above my head.

  I left Eli’s office that morning and walked down the center of the hallway. I was feeling all kinda smug and gypsy powerful for about fifteen minutes. Then, life rushed back in and knocked me down with a vengeance. It was like I had ticked off some lesser, but very influential demi-god and he was bent on watching me fall to ruins for his personal entertainment. My downfall from ‘gypsy power’, as it were, would be provided by the hands of the unattached high school male population.

  I just thought my insta-fame was bad…I hadn’t seen anything yet…

  My first period yoga class is exclusively for girls. The journey between the newspaper office and that particular classroom spans less than five minutes, walking. Somehow though, five different boys managed to intercept me on the way to change into work out clothing. Two other guys caught me between the locker room and my yoga class – three doors down and less than one minute away.

  I had no idea who any of these boys were, but this fact just seemed to give them extra courage to talk to me. Three of them asked me to go out on a date directly. I told them “Sorry, but I’m too young right now”. Strangely, they didn’t appear discouraged by my declaration. In fact, two of them said, “How about next weekend, then?”

  I was thoroughly perplexed, because honestly, how much maturity does a girl gain in a few days?? The other four boys asked me to eat lunch with them today, so they could ‘talk to me about something’. I nervously, although politely, declined their offers too with various excuses that sounded ridiculous to me. In my defense though, I didn’t think that I would be in need of plausible excuses to not eat lunch with some random boys I didn’t even know.

  So I spent the entire forty minutes of class thoughtfully considering this new, strange dating dilemma situation. I had no idea why the boys wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer – especially when I had given them a reason of some kind. None of them seemed to understand that I had actually declined their offers though. They all said, “We’ll talk more at lunch”, even though I stated clearly that I already have lunch plans.

  At first blush, this situation was slightly confusing and perhaps a tiny bit comical. In my estimation, it was awkwardly manageable. After the third boy asked me to have lunch with him, the humor factor had all, but vanished and the manageability decreased by a considerable margin. I thought maybe those seven boys would get word to the others that I’m going to say ‘no’ to them as well, so they shouldn’t bother.

  Guy number eight obviously doesn’t have text capability or something. He was headed in my direction and loudly, called my name. I bolted for the girl’s locker room and thought, like a naïve babe left to wander in the woods alone, that surely I would be safe inside those walls. Instead, I got cornered the instant I stepped out of the shower. Only two towels separated my body from a bunch of girls that were intent on hooking me up with their best male friends.

  Unlike the boys who spoke to me one-by-one, the girls didn’t have the patience for that. I counted seven girls all talking to me, simultaneously. I was thoroughly overwhelmed, but they kept right on talking over each other. They continued to get louder in an effort to try and drown the others out. I attempted to tell them that I’m only capable of hearing one person at a time, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. So I grabbed my backpack and rushed into the closest dressing room to escape their madness.

  I kicked myself mentally for not keeping my cell phone with me, instead of leaving it in my locker. Phones were expressly forbidden because most of them had cameras. I had seen at least three cell phones get confiscated in the last month, and I didn’t want to risk losing mine. So I always followed the rule.

  As luck would have it, Krista wasn’t in school today. None of my other friends took this class. That meant I didn’t have anyone to help rescue me from this unfolding chaos. I was breathless like I had been running a marathon. I was overwhelmed and felt a panic attack coming on fast. So, I inhaled and exhaled slowly as I worked to calm myself down.

  Did those girls think I would stand half-naked all morning and consider their various offers?? That’s insane…

  My spirit light vaulted turbulently inside me. My internal fire lifted and tried to help me contain it. For the moment at least, I maintained control and the light was securely locked inside my body. I felt nauseated though. I didn’t know whether my sudden illness was brought on from my raging internal storm, or because the jackals were standing just beyond the thin dressing room curtain.

  I decided it must be the female jackals and their impending ‘Ember feeding frenzy’ that had me feeling sick and panicked. They seemed more than prepared to pounce the second I showed my face again. I fought against the nausea and urgently tried to breathe through it.

  Another terrible thought occurred to me before I could chill out at all. Any girl could just peer around the curtain in order to chat. Not all girls are as modest as I am, and some have no problem at all standing around talking to each other nude. I forgot about the raging inner storm and immediately, jerked on every piece of clothing I had. I didn’t even bother to dry off.

  My hair was still dripping wet. My back and chest were getting thoroughly soaked as a result, but I didn’t care. I slid down in the corner of my dressing room prison and tried to think of some useful strategy to get out of this scene. I made up my mind to stay put and say nothing else until the bell sounded. With any luck, they would figure out they needed to go about their business, because second period starts soon.

  But, luck wasn’t destined to be on my side…

  I would quickly discover that a pack of girls on a mission has more tenacity than Tray does about anyt
hing, EVER. I could see handprints as they pressed against my dressing room curtain. Then, I heard someone ask ‘Hey, are you okay in there Ember?’

  At that point, I decided to loudly get this situation under command. After all, I had gotten everyone’s attention in the lunchroom that day. Well, that’s what I planned to do before everything fell to pieces.

  My spirit light somehow managed to break free of the inner fire’s containment. Much to my horror, I started to illuminate and my voice committed mutiny as a result. I couldn’t seem to respond to any of the girls’ concerns. Someone is going to push the curtain aside any minute. Then, mass destruction…

  Why didn’t I get an invisibility essence of some sort along with my inner fire???

  I saw at least ten sets of feet underneath the curtain. They were discussing whether they should check on me or go get the teacher. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reply verbally. My spirit light was threatening to shake me apart – I need to release this power. I also fought against the resulting nausea of trying to contain the energy inside. My body was immobile from fear. This situation would soon turn catastrophic, but I was currently helpless to stop it from happening.

  As the overwhelming fear consumed me, I briefly considered escaping inside the shadows of my mind, like I had done on the day Tray and I ran away. It would definitely halt the rising of my spirit light. However, I would also end up locked inside myself for an unknown amount of time if I did that.

  I have to fight my way back from the shadows…

  A straitjacket would be issued since my ‘mental escape’ would most likely be discovered by the yoga teacher. I had also terrified Tray senseless, the last time I selected that option. It took weeks before I was able to return to him. That was the only choice I could think of though, in my all out state of panic.

  Then, an idea emerged from the chaos. I had no clue if it would work, but I was willing to try anything.

  Although I knew my pony tail holder would be destroyed, I ripped it open anyway. It held a piece of the cunning ribbon from my birthday vestment inside it. I had actually distributed all, but one of the pieces to my pony tail holders because I wear my hair up every day. And, I wanted to keep that safe memory close to me at all times.

  I retrieved the piece of hidden cunning ribbon and quickly tied it around my right ankle.

  “Tray, I’m surrounded and I need you, now!” I shouted for him in my thoughts and kept repeating the command.

  Sadly, I didn’t give any consideration to certain, obvious facts. The first, I was stuck inside the girl’s locker room and calling my very male brother to come to my rescue. Secondly, in my state of complete panic, I had forgotten what the cunning ribbon was capable of doing. Tray’s obliteration radiated from the ribbon and filtered into the madness just beyond the curtain.

  “Ember’s not here anymore – gotta wait until lunch to talk to her…” my brother’s voice announced.

  The girls finally started to leave the locker room and believed that I was no longer here. I yanked off the cunning ribbon and stuffed it in my pocket. I waited until I was alone before I ran out of the dressing room – still illuminating rapidly. I noticed the time as I rushed toward the exit. We still had eight minutes before the bell rang. The hallway was empty when I saw Tray and Willow running toward me.

  “What on earth happened in there??” Tray bellowed and I ducked, reflexively.

  “Tray, lower your tone please. Ember Sweetie, are you okay?” Willow asked gently.

  My spirit light tried to fully illuminate and my internal fire reacted violently to the scare. Miraculously, I kept my spirit light from bursting out of me completely. It would have destroyed the school. The result of my containment would be overwhelming sickness as they both rushed through my body like an electrical current. Suddenly, the nausea I had been fighting rose with a vengeance. I turned around and made a mad dash back into the girl’s locker room. I managed to make it over to a sink before I lost the battle.

  Willow followed me inside. She pulled out several paper towels, wet them with cold water and put them across the back of my neck. She kept whispering that everything would be okay when the sickness overtook my body. I would shake uncontrollably as the internal fire and my spirit light twisted around in between the heaves.

  “I wanna go home,” I whined weakly and Willow led me back outside to Tray.

  By the time we got in the car to go home, my spirit light and the internal fire had settled back into a comfortable position. I was so drained between the stress, containment and the sickness though, that I slept through the entire ride. I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes open, so Tray carried me to my bed. I listened through the hazy drifting as my brother and Willow spoke in their language. I didn’t have enough energy to interpret much, but I did understand that he planned to go back to school to find out what had happened.

  “Tray…” I said softly and fought against my exhaustion.

  “Yes, Little Girl?” he replied from the threshold of my door.

  “Please, don’t leave me. I’ll explain when I wake up, but I want you both to stay here. Promise me…” I requested as the misty darkness swept me away.

  I was asleep before I heard their promises.