by S. L. Naeole
Rolling her eyes, Lark handed me something from her bag. “Here. Put this on your arm.”
I looked at it and marveled at what I saw, glad for the distraction. It was a bronze snake that was coiled just so that it would wrap around the bicep. “What is this for?”
Stacy finished pinning up my hair and then clapped her hands. “You’re Athena, the Goddess of wisdom. That’s your Erichthonius. Lark said it was very important that you had one. Your shield is in the car.”
“And who are you supposed to be?” I questioned, looking at her gown, which was the same length as mine only in an ivory shade rather than white.
“I am Artemis. Lark said that with your intelligence you’d suit well for Athena, but my penchant for fighting, and that fact that I have a twin brother made me the perfect Artemis.”
Lark nodded, “Yeah, but your brother—from what I’ve heard, he’s no Apollo, so I think that might disqualify you.”
“Oh please. And what qualifies you as Aphrodite? Other than your looks?”
Lark smirked, not caring that she really shouldn’t know how beautiful she was due to her blindness. “Is there any other reason necessary? Now come on, let’s go before we’re late for school.”
The three of us stumbled outside, having said quick goodbyes to Dad and Janice who both stared in shock as I left the house for the second time in a dress. As we joked about what the reactions would be when we got to school, I caught sight of someone standing by Stacy’s car.
“Graham,” I breathed.
Lark’s head lifted up and Stacy stopped laughing. “Get off my car, Princess.”
He backed away, his hands held up as though Stacy were holding up some kind of weapon. He looked all three of us up and down, a lazy smile on his face. “You ladies look nice.”
Stacy made a confused sound, Lark’s face lit up, and I felt my heart crack a little. “What’s up?” I asked casually, fearful that at any moment, a black Charger or motorcycle would appear and then I’d be stuck in the middle of some ridiculous testosterone driven war.
He laughed, and shrugged his shoulders. “I saw that your owner wasn’t here, so I thought I’d stop by to see if you needed a ride. When I got outside, I saw that your friends were here, so I figured it was safe to at least say hi. Hi.”
Ignoring the swipe at Robert, I smiled at him. And it felt good. It felt very good. “Hi back.”
Graham looked over at Lark and Stacy, and then at me again, and grinned. “Are you guys the three Graces?”
Stacy slapped her forehead, the sound visibly pleasing Graham. “That’s who we should have been! The three Graces!”
Lark shook her head. “Nope. We don’t meet the personality requirements. Well…you don’t, anyway.”
Not wanting to have to listen to another argument between the two of them, and not wanting to have it happen right in front of Graham, I quickly changed the subject. “What time is it, Graham,” and pointed to his watch.
He glanced at it, “It’s a quarter to eight.”
“What? We’re late! Come on, let’s get going guys. Robert expected us fifteen minutes ago,” I groaned, my voice tinged with nervousness.
Stacy nodded, and fumbled for her keys inside of her bag. Lark, who always sat in front, waited while I said my goodbyes to Graham.
“I guess I’ll see you at school,” he said, not trying to hide the sadness in his voice.
“I guess.”
I watched as he stalked away towards his car, and then I climbed into the backseat of Stacy’s. I leaned my head on the window, and wondered when had everything become so difficult. I waved as we passed him getting into his car, but he didn’t see me.
The ride to school was quiet. Stacy kept opening her mouth like she was going to say something, but then closed it. Lark didn’t speak at all. I just wondered what else could go wrong today.
As we pulled up to the school, I scanned the parking lot for Robert’s car. It wasn’t there. Neither was his motorcycle. My gaze travelled to Lark’s reflection in the rearview mirror. Where is he?
She shrugged her shoulders. I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since yesterday when he brought you home.
I frowned. He didn’t tell you that he was meeting with Sam?
Lark’s eyes widened and then narrowed into suspicious slits. No. He knew I’d start in on him about it. But damn him for leaving like this, and without saying anything.
My head jerked at her thoughts. What do you mean, leaving? He said he was meeting with Sam and that he’d be waiting for me here at seven-thirty.
Lark frowned. His meetings always end up with him leaving. Sam has probably taken him on one of his duties. Ugh, that means that we probably won’t be seeing him until Monday. She grunted and slouched in her seat, apparently not pleased with the idea.
It was my turn to frown as I realized that this would be the first weekend that Robert would be away. He had spent a few nights away before, but never more than one at a time, and I had discovered that I didn’t sleep as well when he was gone. If he was going to be away for three nights, I’d be a complete zombie by the time he came home! I closed my eyes and tried to reassure myself that I was going to be alright.
After parking, the three of us climbed out of the car, our enthusiasm for the day’s events thinned a bit, and walked towards the school’s entrance. Everyone was in costume. This year’s theme had been widely interpreted, as it had been intended. There were people dressed up as actual number threes, while others came as famous trios. Chips, Dip, and Salsa were dressed up as the three stooges, and three of the girls in our class were dressed up as the three witches from Macbeth.
As the bell rang for class, Lark unfolded her walking stick, sighing as she did so. It was a pain for her, to have to pretend that she needed it when I knew she did not, but her obvious impairment necessitated it, and so she begrudgingly started swinging it back and forth as she started walking, waving a nonchalant hand back at us as she did so.
Stacy quickly opened up her trunk and peered in. “Uh-oh. I don’t know where your shield is. I think we might have left it at Lark’s house. That’s okay, though. I think all you have to do is say who you are. It’s not like people are going to know you’re missing your shield, after all.”
I couldn’t argue the point with her there. We were the only ones dressed as Goddesses, so I simply nodded and waited as she locked up the car. We headed off to homeroom at a leisurely pace, grateful for the return of Mr. Frey’s penchant for sleeping during class. It appeared that his being awake the day of my soliloquy had been a fluke, and there would be no more repeat performances.
The day, as it was, passed slowly for me. I hadn’t appreciated the fact that with Robert in school, I had something to look forward to. The classes that we shared together dragged without him there, and the classes that we didn’t share made me dread leaving because I knew he wouldn’t be outside of the door, waiting for me.
Lunch, as well as third period with Stacy offered a respite from the nagging feeling of loneliness that plagued me throughout the day. I hadn’t expected that I would feel so…lost. It was overwhelming. By the time the last bell had rung and it was time to head off to the gym for the homecoming assembly, I was feeling quite depressed.
“Snap out of it, Grace. You act as though he’s your life force or something,” Stacy quipped as we walked to the gymnasium. “He’s probably just taking a skip day and hanging out at the mall or something. Besides, he’s just a guy—no offense, Lark—and guys really aren’t reliable. I should know. There are five of them in my house.”
Lark was silent, her thoughts for me alone. You’re not the only one worried. I can’t hear him. I can never hear him when he’s with Sam. It’s one of the reasons why he gets on my nerves.
I frowned, wondering if she felt the same way when it was my thoughts she couldn’t hear.
I know why you protect your thoughts, Grace. I don’t understand why Sam and Robert are protecting theirs or how they’re doing it. Mayb
e it’s because Sam is winged. I don’t know. I just know that it irritates me because I don’t know, and I like to know everything.
Well, she was right on that account. She did like to know everything. “So when exactly is the prize for best costume supposed to be awarded?” I asked, looking for anything to change the subject…of either conversation.
“Tonight, after the game at the carnival that the boosters are throwing; the announcement is supposed to be made there.” Stacy fiddled with her prop bow as we sat down in the bleachers, intentionally trying to distract herself from something.
“What are you doing?” Lark hissed at her as the tip of the bow hit her arm for the third time. I knew that she was more concerned with the damage that her body would do to the bow than the other way around, and the questions that that might bring up, but Stacy made the proper assumption and put the bow on the floor.
“Sorry. I just don’t want Sean to see me.”
Sean was Stacy’s twin, and older brother by two minutes. Those two minutes meant a lot in Stacy’s family, because that left the role of the baby of the family to fall on the shoulders of the only girl, and the five brothers were very protective of their baby sister. “He’s already told me that he’s telling Mom when we get home, so I don’t care what you two say, I’m not going home until after we win the prize money.”
Lark’s sightless eyes glared across the court at someone sitting high up atop of the bleachers. His face looked similar to Stacy’s; his jaw was square, and his forehead was slightly wider, but they shared the same honest eyes, and the same sarcastic twist to their lips. I watched as the perturbed look on his face suddenly changed to one of…apprehension?
What are you doing to him? I could tell by the way Lark was smirking that she was up to something.
I’m showing Sean just what will await him if he tells his mom about Stacy’s costume.
I gasped. Isn’t that kind of against the law?
Lark turned her head towards me, her expression one of annoyance. Look, I’m an angel in form and function, but I’m not one in behavior, okay? And no, it isn’t against the law. It’s me trying to save our friend here a little trouble from her parents that she doesn’t need.
Suddenly Lark’s head turned, her focus right back on Sean. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her eyes widening and narrowing as thoughts that were obviously troubling ran through her mind…and then her mouth opened, shocked. She turned to look at Stacy, who could have been my reflection, our faces both concerned for her strange behavior.
“Why didn’t you tell us that you used to have cancer?” Lark blurted.
Stacy’s face showed her surprise and also the pain of a silent betrayal. She turned to look at her brother, and whispered, “Who told you? I’ve never said anything to anyone. I don’t even think about it now. Only my family knows…” Her head whipped back to Lark. “How did you find out?”
Lark’s lip trembled, and I could see her struggle, the flash of pain in her eyes as she fought the truth from coming out. She stood up, and with methodical steps, slowly left the two of us in the gym, her stick mindlessly waving back and forth with no purpose whatsoever. Stacy grabbed her bow and rushed after her while I followed.
Lark, where are you going? I sent my question out to her, hoping that she’d answer it, but I couldn’t hear her response. Stacy and I both stopped in the parking lot, neither of us knowing where Lark could have gone off to.
“Where did she go?” Stacy turned to face me, her eyes full of tears. “I don’t understand. Why did she leave? How did she find out, Grace? Did you know?”
I looked in her eyes, and I couldn’t say anything. The truth was not mine to tell. Stacy’s secret hadn’t been Lark’s to tell either. I just didn’t know what the consequences were for Lark if she couldn’t tell Stacy the truth.
I watched as Stacy’s head perked up, her brow furrowing with concentration, and then she started walking away from the parking lot. “Stacy?” I called out, but she kept walking. “Stacy where are you go-” She raised her hand up to silence me as she stopped, her head dipping down a bit before straightening, and then she turned, heading towards the baseball diamond towards the back of the school. I followed her, trying to match her pace, but failing pretty miserably. She was in great shape, while I felt like a sack of potatoes.
We kept walking, Stacy much further ahead of me than she had been when she took off, until we reached third base. I was panting, while Stacy seemed irate. “Wh-why are w-w-we h-here?” I wheezed, the air not wanting to cooperate with my lungs to get the words out with the appropriate amount of syllables.
Stacy looked at me as though she hadn’t realized that I had been following her. “I heard Lark’s voice. She kept saying to come to the baseball field. Then she said third base—go to third base.”
“Maybe she’s talking about with a guy,” I joked, not knowing what else to say because I knew what was coming. I just didn’t think it’d be today.
Stacy raised her hand again. “Shh. She’s saying something.” She swung her head around, as though looking for something. Her body turned, following her head like a tail would on a dog, and after three full rotations she stopped, shaking the dizziness away.
And then she screamed.
Because Lark was standing right in front of her.
“Holy Hell and everything covered in chocolate, how did you do that?” Stacy shouted.
Lark looked…fragile. I had never seen her like this before, and it was scary. I could see that she was terrified. Today she would either be gaining a true friend, or losing the first one she had ever cared about. I stepped back, not wanting to intrude on whatever happened.
Stacy’s head bobbed up and down as she answered an unspoken question. I saw her eyes widen, her mouth open, and her hand raise up to cover it. She turned to look at me, accusations written plainly in her eyes, and then whipped her head back at Lark, her jaw set stubbornly as this new bit of information set in, obliterating what she had thought was real and what wasn’t. Her forehead wrinkled up in concentration, and I smiled at the familiar action, knowing what it was she was trying to do.
Lark’s head shook, and a small smile tipped the corners of her mouth. She disappeared, eliciting a shocked “oh” from Stacy, who stared blankly at the empty spot that Lark had occupied just seconds before. When she reappeared a few minutes later, she had something in her hand; it was my shield. Stacy took the shield from her and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Lark finally spoke, a strange sense of easiness in her voice. “I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
Stacy smiled. “With such a huge secret, I guess I can understand that. But why now? What’s changed?”
The strain of having to be honest aside, I was curious as well as to what could have compelled Lark to make the decision to finally reveal the secret that she had kept to her for over five hundred years to a human.
“When I heard your brother’s thoughts, I realized how long you had kept your secret to yourself. You didn’t exaggerate when you said you don’t even think about it. I would have seen it. I knew then—knew more than I’ve ever known anything else that I could tell you. I could tell you everything and it would be okay. I could trust you,” Lark’s words tumbled out.
Stacy laughed. “How awesome is this secret?” She directed her next question at me, “And I suppose you were never going to tell me?”
I shook my head. “It’s not my secret to tell.”
Accepting that, she did something that was very Stacy. She reached out and hugged Lark. The small displays of affection that I had been a part of with Lark had told me that it was possible to not be surprised by a similar reaction on her part, but never did I expect to see what happened next. With a loud shout of joy, Lark’s arms wrapped around Stacy and they shot straight up into the air, disappearing completely from my sight.
I could hear Stacy’s shrieks of excitement, but I couldn’t see her. I held my hand above my eyes
as I scanned the skyline for any sign of them, but seeing nothing, I sighed and prepared to have a seat on third base. A slight breeze alerted me to their return.
“Don’t you dare sit on that filthy base in that dress,” Lark ordered.
Stacy’s cheeks were ruddy from the wind, and her eyes were glazed over with excitement. “I cannot have imagined a better Halloween. This is better than Christmas.”
“So did you actually tell her what you are, or have you decided to let her figure it out on her own?” I looked at Lark, and waited for her response.
“She knows everything.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “Well that’s great. I had to play twenty-one thousand questions with your brother, and she gets a straight answer. What’s the difference?”
Lark’s lower lip stuck out. “Grace, I really cannot tell you.”
“Ugh! She gets all the answers and I get ‘sorry, I can’t tell you’. Consider yourself high up on the angel social ladder, Stacy. I’m currently cruising here on the second rung.”
Stacy smiled. “I’m sitting on that second rung with you, Grace. Besides, you got to find out because Robert loves you. I found out because my brother can’t keep a secret. Even in his own head.” And that was it. The biggest secret of all was the one even the angel hadn’t known about.
“So are you in remission?” I wanted to know.
“Well, technically, yeah. I’ve been cancer free for over ten years now, but I don’t like to think about it. I don’t, really.” She gazed away towards the woods behind the school. “That was a tough time for my family.”
Lark and I stood beside her, the three of us forming an odd, silent trio.
Then the noise of the school crowd took over as we heard the rush towards the football field. The assembly was over. The game would start in an hour, and after that, who knew. It was Halloween. One costumed person had been unmasked already. What else lay in store?
SENSE
We were routed by Newark High. Our poor football team had been completely destroyed before the first quarter countdown had ended. Graham had been sacked so badly, he had to leave the game before the second down. Newark scored three touchdowns and a three point field goal in the first seven minutes of the game. A state record, the crowd murmured, the double meaning not lost on everyone.
