by AJ Salem
“Wow, Gem. I’m so proud of you,” Charlotte said.
“What a relief.” Morgan laughed. “You can’t land a back flip but you are so much better coordinated than any of the new girls.”
“Is that a backhanded compliment?”
“Oops.” The color drained from her face. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Practice is during lunch today. We moved it so Charlotte could get home and set up,” Emma said, not seeming all that impressed by my recent change of heart.
“It’s alright, Morgan,” I said, ignoring Emma’s blasé attitude and reminding myself not to let anyone else’s opinion get the best of me. “Am I still invited tonight?” I asked.
“Wow, silly. Of course,” Charlotte answered. “And I have a big surprise for everyone,” she squealed.
“Charlotte. You always amaze me,” I said.
“Word is you’re a freak, Gemma. Allison’s been telling everyone about your tats. How’d you even get them?” Emma said, with a knowing look in her eyes. I turned to see Allison already making her way towards us.
“Hey freak,” she said. “Gonna get a tramp stamp tonight to add to your collection?”
“No one was talking to you, Allison,” Morgan said. Her quick defense surprised me.
“Free country and all that,” Allison replied. “Just warning you girls that sluttiness is contagious.”
I saw Matt looking around as if he were looking for something very important up in the ceiling. “What have you been telling her, Matt?” I asked. His lying about our relationship stabbed deeper than any blade Allison could use against me.
“He told me all the juicy details,” Allison interjected before he could answer.
“There are no juicy details, bimbo,” Charlotte said. “Gemma’s a virgin.”
“I’m pretty sure the entire school heard that,” I muttered.
“That’s not what he said. And it would be even more pathetic if you were.”
I felt the hopelessness sinking into me. A small crowd had already gathered around us, holding on to every bit of gossip. Allison stepped closer and I watched as the shadow filled her eyes. Smoke crept up from behind her and enveloped us. Around us, everyone had frozen mid-action. Emma was sneering from behind Morgan. Charlotte had her hand up in the air, finger pointed at Matt, her mouth ready to give him a beat down. The rest of them were frozen in various states of amusement. A blanket of silence coated them all.
“I’m supposed to get you, Gemma. For them.”
“Allison?”
“No. But does it matter who I am? I find it more important who you are.”
“I’m just Gemma.”
“And they want you. But I’m going to have a little fun first.”
My emotions ran from furious to scared silly. Finally, though, anger won out. I found myself wanting to fight back. I was just beginning to piece my life back together.
I felt the pulse of the sigils at my wrist. I touched my hand to the place where my necklace lay beneath the thin layer of clothing and I coiled all the energy I was feeling through me. I tugged at the invisible strands of electricity that started at my wrist and pulled them through my body until they fluttered beneath the gemstone. I let the energy grow and expand until it reached the point where I could no longer contain it. With one final thought, I let it go.
The force exploded through me into Allison, shoving her to the far wall and drawing all the surrounding blackness back into her. Then, as if someone had pressed play, the sound came back on and everyone came back to life.
“Just for the record,” I said, as all eyes were on us wondering when exactly Allison had gotten kicked to the ground. I pulled at my sleeve exposing the marks. “Consider this a tribute to Brian. And Mimi. And Jenny. Not like you could even fathom what it means to care about someone more than yourself.”
I turned to Matt who was probably seeing the real me for the first time and said, “And you should be ashamed. I hope your meat and two veg fall off.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked, helping Allison up to her feet.
“Ask Mr. Flynn. It’s British.”
After the whoots and the whistles died down, I waved to Charlotte and Morgan. I even managed half of a nod to Emma, who smiled back, undoubtedly switching her eggs to my basket. Then I made my way to homeroom, trying to figure out who exactly wanted me and why.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The look on Thom’s face, as I sat in homeroom, pained me. I tried my best to pretend that disappointment didn’t weigh heavily on his already deep black eyes. It was harder knowing that he had turned up the setting on his ignore-o-meter to nonexistent. I felt despondent and alone in a crowd of dozens of people.
Ian walked in twenty minutes late and took the seat behind me.
“Mr. McQueen. You’re tardy.”
“I had something,” Ian replied, hanging his backpack on my chair.
“Something?”
“Yeah, something.”
“Care to explain, in private?” Mr. Flynn said standing from his chair and motioning to the door.
“Not really,” Ian said. I could feel him rustling through his bag. When I turned, he smiled and winked. I smiled back but it felt empty, knowing the time we spent the day before was all at Thom’s expense.
“Mr. McQueen. I am the teacher here. Outside. Now.”
“Well, you’re not really a teacher. We all heard you begging Principal Kelly for your job,” Ian said with a snicker.
Thom stepped forward and placed his hands on Ian’s desk.
“Insubordination will not be tolerated.” He was looking at Ian but I knew he was really talking to me. I could feel his words pinning me to my seat and I was angry that he had a way of making me feel so small. “I cannot mark your attendance if you cannot provide a reasonable explanation as to your whereabouts.”
“I guess I’ll take the day off then. Long weekend.” He grabbed his bag and stood up. “Catch you later, Gemma.”
“Bye, Ian,” I whispered.
As he walked passed me, Ian brushed his hands across my shoulder and I grabbed at them, realizing that he was really going to leave.
“If you’re going to be leaving, do so now. I will not have you disrupting the rest of the class,” Thom said. His voice was commanding yet remained in check. He folded his arms across the plain black cotton tee he wore, giving him an intimidating appearance.
“Sure,” Ian said, and with one last wave to me, he was gone.
Not ten minutes went by before the bell rang and I sighed in relief that I was going to escape Thom’s heavy aura of dissatisfaction.
“Miss Pope.” He called after me when I was mere steps away from liberation. Ninja stealth couldn’t have helped me escape Thom’s notice.
“Yes, Mr. Flynn?” I said, backtracking my way to his desk.
He waited for the last of the students to leave and then resumed. “Do you think I’m running a bloody day care here?”
“I’m really sorry I never showed up yesterday. I was having a bad day. I sliced my arm by accident and Principal Kelly gave me permission to go home.”
I started to pull up my sleeve. It’s not there anymore, genius.
“I was under the impression that I had already explained the gravity of the situation we are in.” He stood up, his body imposing. I rocked on my heels and looked down, avoiding his brutal gaze. “You saw what they did to that car. Do you think all the craziness going on in the world right now isn’t more of the same? The rules are changing and we need to figure out why before it’s too late. Can you manage that, love?”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. If I even should. It seemed juvenile to even try on any of the excuses I had come up with, so I answered from the heart.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“That’s better,” he said, and heaved the grimoire onto the desk. “We try again after school. Today. You mentioned a Dyybuk living near your home. We’ll try there. The next s
tep is to summon a demon who can get these things to talk.”
“Got it.” It felt safe enough to look up and when I did, I caught Thom’s turbulent gaze. Nothing compared to how pissed off he was now and I could only imagine that it could get much worse.
“Meet me outside at two-thirty.”
I didn’t argue.
“Gemma, awesome. I’m glad I caught you.” Charlotte was walking towards me in her cheerleading uniform and, for once, a pair of comfortable white Keds.
“Your shoes aren’t up to code, Char. They are at least three inches too low.” I laughed, shoving my books in the locker.
“Wow. So the girls are outside already. You in?”
“Sure. Let me go change.”
I was extra cautious in the girls’ locker room, keeping my senses on high alert. I didn’t want Allison catching me by surprise again and nearly broke my nose trying to get my sweats on without taking my eyes off the door.
Outside, the rest of the squad was warming up on the field. Emma, still a junior, was showing the new recruits some of the basics while Charlotte and Morgan were on the bleachers.
The air was clean and crisp. The sun was just reaching its apex in the sky and, for once, I felt normal again; my only care in the world being not dropping anyone at the bottom of the pyramid. Then I saw the line of Dybbuk huddled behind the row of billboards at the far end of the field. I used my hand to shield my eyes from the sun and counted six of them. Goddamnit.
“Hey, I’m here.”
Charlotte and Morgan looked up from the Harrisport Cheer Bible, a binder that’s been passed from captain to captain, each one adding their new routines.
“Cool. You can just sit here with us. I don’t want to push you in the fitness department.”
“I can handle it, Charlotte,” I said.
“Yeah, but we’re not even sure what we’re doing this year. Everything is so stale. Besides, you know all the stuff Emma’s working on now.”
“Fine. But next time, we’re all getting our butts up.”
“Yeah. For sure.”
“Have you seen the stuff the Knights have been posting on their site? Hot stuff. I wish we could come up with a routine like that.”
“Why don’t we work on it tonight?” Morgan suggested. “We’ll crank up the music in your basement. I’m sure it’ll click. It always does.”
“Yeah but this year the stress is all on me,” Charlotte said. “If I don’t come up with something to impress, I’m toast. And I know we’re all besties, but Emma’s going to be the first one to kick my ass about it.”
“Just ignore her. She’s got her panties in a bunch about something,” I said to reassure Charlotte.
“Oh and I totally forgot,” Charlotte said. “You guys have to come watch me in the revue. I’ll die of embarrassment if I get on that stage and the seats are empty.”
“Sure. When is it?” I asked.
“Not for another two weeks but apparently ticket sales haven’t exactly been stellar in the past.”
“I’m in,” Morgan and I said. “Jinx,” we said again and joined in a fit of laughter.
I let my eyes stray across the grass. The Dybbuk hadn’t moved. At least that means they haven’t gotten closer.
“So am I going to be the one to ask you what are you and Ian about?” Charlotte said, tucking her legs beneath her, ready to take in all the dish I had to offer.
“What’s his story? I hardly see him. He like comes and goes as he pleases,” Morgan said. “So mysterious in a tall, dark and handsome kind of way.”
“He’s different. I can’t explain it. He has a way of making me feel calm and excited at the same time. He makes everything else fall away and keeps me wondering what’s next. He makes me care about what I’ll be doing next week and even next month,” I said, looking out onto the field, thinking of Brian’s last home game.
After a very undemanding hour of gossiping, I rushed back into school, excited to finish up my classes and have the day come to an end. Before I could get to Mr. Flynn’s class, Principal Kelly stopped me in the hallway. “Gemma. Just the person I was looking for.”
“Hi, Principal Kelly. Nice boots.” She was wearing a loose yellow overcoat embroidered with multicolored feathers, paired with a brown fringe skirt and light blue cowboy boots.
“I was hoping we could have that meeting now. I’m concerned about your plans. You haven’t even met with the guidance counselor about which colleges you’ll be applying to. If you have any interest in early admission, the deadline is sooner than you think.”
“Well, you see, I have English now and Mr. Flynn is super strict about attendance.”
“That’s good to hear. I was worried his inexperience would show and that you kids would prey on him like carrion in the African bush. No worries. I’ll write you a pass.” She started walking to her office and then looked back. “It shouldn’t take long,” she said, waiting on me.
In her office, Principal Kelly liked to play a soundtrack of healing Tibetan singing bowl music. She told everyone that it helps clear the mind and heal the body and soul. I wasn’t too sure if it worked but she seemed to look good for her age.
“Have a seat, Gemma.”
I dropped into a blue canvas upholstered chair that reminded me of the kind they bolted down in rows in hospital waiting rooms. The fabric was itchy and wore easily in spots that were high use, like the center of the seat and arms.
“I’m glad to see you joined the squad again.”
“How did you know?”
She pointed to the window behind her that overlooked the football field.
“Charlotte’s been a big help,” I said. “And Morgan.”
No shame in taking the time to brownnose for my friends.
“That’s good to hear,” she said, leaning back in her chair. She didn’t say anything else and the silence was beginning to grate on me.
“So,” I started. “About college. I’m not too sure what I’ll be doing. I promise I’ll set aside some time this weekend to do some research. I don’t really want to go too far.”
“I understand.”
Yeah right.
“Can I go back to class?” I asked.
“Gemma,” she said, “I didn’t really ask you here to talk about college. Knowing your father, he’s probably already planned out that part.” I noticed the slight derision in her voice. “I’m not sure if you know this but I was very close to your mother.”
“No, I didn’t. But then again, I don’t know much about her. She kind of picked up and left.” Now it was my turn to make snide remarks about my own parent. “And my dad tries his best.”
“I’m concerned about you.” She leaned in closer and reached for my hands, which were clasped on the table. “I’m concerned about this,” she said, pulling back my sleeve and revealing the sigils.
“I don’t think my body is much of your concern,” I said, yanking my arm out of her grasp.
“Your mother and I practiced together. We were part of a coven of witches. I know better than anyone what those markings are. You are playing with fire.” Her voice was strained and I could see the petrified look in her eyes.
“I’m fine, Principal Kelly,” I said. “Is that it?”
“Gemma, I am begging you to stop. Whatever it is, it’s not worth the risk.”
“Like I said, I’m fine. Can I have that pass now?”
She took out a pink slip of paper, checked the time and signed. “For you mother’s sake, I am pleading with you to stop whatever dark magic it is you’re doing.” She held out the slip and I snatched it out of her hand and headed straight for the door.
“I owe my mother nothing,” I said. My blood boiling at Principal Kelly’s presumptuousness, I stormed right out of there and straight into Thom’s chest.
“Where were you, Miss Pope?” he asked. The sleek leather jacket suited him well. Was anyone ever going to tell him how god-awful his shoes were?
“Here,” I blurted, shoving the pa
ss into his hand. “Can we go now?”
He unfolded the crumpled slip of paper and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
We walked in silence side by side until we reached the parking lot, where he unlatched the helmet from his bike and tossed it to me.
“Put that on.”
I caught it in my two hands against my stomach and then dangled it away from me by the strap like a dead animal. “Uh-uh. No way. Not happening.”
“Come on. It’s safe.” He straddled the large leather seat and patted the small cushion behind him. He turned the ignition and kicked the bike into gear, sending out a plume of smoke that soon evaporated as the bike warmed up.
“You don’t understand.”
My eyes are open. I can’t hear a thing. There is a sharp pain coming from my leg and I see bone jutting out from my thigh, tearing through flesh and fabric. I take a deep breath.
I turn my head and Brian is still out. I frantically search for the door handle amidst the layers of ballooned nylon and take a deep breath to keep back the wave of nausea that is threatening to drown me in terror.
I hobble out of the car, keeping pressure off my injured leg. Using the car as a crutch, I hop my way around to the driver’s side. I look up and at the top of the cliff, there are people jumping up and down, waving in panic. None of them are looking at me. I tear at the door until it gives and Brian’s arm slinks out. There is blood caking his shirt and pouring down his shoulder. I grab his head and send my fingers dancing around his neck for a pulse. I can’t find one. I pull on his arms until his upper body is dangling out the side. I drag the rest of him out. His cellphone lights are blinking and I stare at the texts. I bash it against the rocks until it dies and toss it as far as I can.
I can’t let Brian die like this. I open his mouth and breathe in. I beg him to open his eyes and I punch his chest. I look up again and see no one. I still can’t hear. With a burst of adrenaline coursing through my veins, I start pulling Brian out and drag his limp body to the passenger side of the car. I don’t stop until he is sitting in my seat and I hear the clink of the seatbelt. I rest my head against the pebbles on the floor and pass out.
