by Simon Archer
Jade found what she was looking for and pulled out a handful of Ziploc bags, filled with multicolored and variously shaped seeds.
“Okay,” Jade said, readying herself as she arranged them in her hand. “We’ve got pumpkins, zucchini, squash, lemons, oranges, carrots, and apples.”
“Well, I vote not apples,” I said, making a disgusted face. “Because then I can't eat anything you make with them.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Jade said, pointing at me as she remembered. “You’re allergic.”
“Guilty as charged,” I said as I held my hand in the air.
“Oh god, I remember when we found that out,” Mom said as she held a hand to her forehead, lost in the memory. “You were just a baby, and I was feeding you baby food. I always thought apples would be safe, but we ended up in the hospital that day.” Mom shook her head as if the thought of it still distressed her. “We never had apples in the house again.”
“Or Skittles,” I said disappointedly.
“Skittles?” Jade raised a confused eyebrow. “They have apples in them?”
“They use apple juice as a natural sweetener,” I informed my friend, kind of pleased that I knew something about food that she didn’t, though one could argue that candy wasn't real food.
“Oh,” Jade said, then her eyes looked up to the sky, thinking. “I should think of doing that some time. It would make some of my desserts a lot healthier.”
“Please don’t,” I said, with a slight beg to my voice. “Then I won’t be able to eat your desserts.”
Jade let out a pleasant laugh. “I promise to make you an apple-free alternative to any desserts I make.”
“Yes,” I said with a fist pump. “This is why we’re friends.”
“Well, I hope it’s for more reasons than that,” Jade said, a hint of anxiety in her voice. She reached up and fiddled with a necklace at her throat. It was on a thin silver chain with a small red ruby encased in a delicate outline in the center. She reached up and put the ruby in her mouth, nervous and sheepish.
“I’m kidding, Jade,” I said as I put my arm about her shoulder. “We are definitely friends for more reasons than that.” I leaned over to whisper in her ear so my mother wouldn’t overhear, “And we are more than friends for more reasons as well.”
Jade’s smile widened. “Awesome.”
“Do you want to walk around the Market with us, Jade?” Mom invited. “We’re killing some time before his lunch ends, and he has to get back to his booth.”
“You have a booth there?” Jade asked wide-eyed. “What do you sell?”
“Oh, I’m just sharpening knives,” I said nonchalantly. “Making some extra money, you know.”
“Don’t I,” Jade said with an exaggerated eye roll. “I’ve been teaching at weekly cooking camps for kids.” She stuck her finger in her open mouth and mimed gagging.
I laughed at her reaction. “That bad, huh?”
“It’s terrible,” Jade said with obvious annoyance. “And you can never eat anything they make because you’ll get sick.”
“Kids are walking Petri dishes,” Mom said knowingly.
“I know!” Jade agreed. “No matter how many times they wash their hands, it’s just so contaminated. I had a coworker who insisted on eating the food the kids made. She was like, ‘If they can eat it, so can I.’ Wrong! She ended up having to leave halfway through the day once and found out she had colitis.”
“Gross,” I said, scrunching up my face at the thought of that kind of infection in your large intestine.
“Right?” Jade held up a hand as if pushing away the disease itself. “I never touch their food. I’m looking forward to getting back to the campus kitchen and making real food with professional cooks. I bet you’re ready to get back to the smithy.”
My dorm mate had a point. There was a large part of me that was itching to make things again, instead of just perfecting other people’s blades. I wanted to hear the smack of hammer on metal, the crackle of the fire as it heated the metal, and the hiss of the oil when I quenched a blade. It would also be nice to see Sarah, my blacksmithing mentor, again. She was one hundred percent healed after the fire of the old smithy, and I knew she would be anxious to get to work again too.
Though we had to be even more careful this year, Sarah had Parkinson's, and sometimes her shakes made it difficult to hold the tools required for smithing. We didn’t want to burn down our brand new smithy the Academy built for the students and us.
“Sure, but I’m going to miss being home too,” I admitted honestly, thinking of my mom standing right there.
But she didn’t buy any of it. Seeing right through me, Mom elbowed me playfully and called me out. “Oh, be quiet. We all know you’d rather have your hands covered in ash and deep in the forge than be stuck at home with your mom for the summer.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Andrea,” Jade said conspiratorially, “I’m his dorm mate and have the room right next door to his, and sometimes I feel like I barely see him because all Cameron wants to do is forge.”
“I’ve always been afraid of that,” Mom said with an exasperated sigh. “I’m surprised he has friends at all.”
“Hey!” I called out, only slightly offended. “I get out of the forge every so often.”
Jade and Mom had matching looks on their faces: doubtful. “Not nearly enough, I bet,” Mom guessed with surprising accuracy.
“He’s either in the forge or training with Hailey,” Jade said, putting a mocking emphasis on my recruiter’s name.
Inadvertently, my jaw tightened, and my heart thudded against my chest. I tried to slow my breathing and temper my excitement. It was annoying how eagerly I reacted even to just hearing her name.
Hailey Barlow was a soldier for the Enka, or Fire, branch of the Military. She was stationed at the Academy as the head of the Enka students even though she was a recent graduate. As the daughter of Apollo, she got all of her father’s infamous good looks with dirty blond hair that was always flowing freely around her face, and a body that looked as though it had been sculpted by Michelangelo himself.
Consequently, Hailey had the ability to channel her father’s sun fire. So we had similar gifts. Problem was, Hailey sometimes had the tendency to explode into a ball of fire, destroying everyone and everything in her wake. Being impervious to such intense heat, I was the only known thing to be able to calm Hailey down when she passed the point of control. It’d happened only twice, but both times warranted a lasting connection between the two of us.
Not only was she ridiculously attractive, but the soldier had a kind demeanor and believed in me. Our conversation was natural and easy, never forced or awkward. She did what she could to help me out and be an advocate for my abilities, especially since I kept her secret about the continuing nature of her explosions.
Oh, and we shared a passionate kiss and amazing sex several times. Not to say I didn’t have amazing sex with Jade or Daniella, but in Hailey’s case, she gave total control to me, and we constantly snuck around because she was my recruiter and we didn’t want people to know we were together yet.
“Hailey and I have similar powers,” I tried to defend my case to my mother and my dorm mate. Not wanting Jade to tell my mother about my sexual adventures on campus “So we train together. That’s all.”
“Uh-huh,” Jade said, clearly teasing me as her eyes glinted.
Mom even had the audacity to eye me. She knew about my feelings for Hailey, thanks to one rather drunken evening early in the summer.
“I told him that I expect grandkids at some point,” Mom said with a casual shrug.
“Mom!” I cried, embarrassed.
Jade’s mouth popped open like she’d just scooped up some juicy gossip, whereas my face pinched into something pained and mortified that Mom would be so blunt and crass in the middle of a public place and in front of my friend. But then again, my mom was wearing an ugly mumu in the middle of a public place and in front of my friend. I should really
stop being surprised by anything she did.
“What?” Mom replied with a second shrug. “You’re already twenty six. I’m not getting any younger. So, let the tension build, and then have at it. She’s very attractive.”
“Can we stop talking about Hailey and babies?” I asked, not wanting to hear any more about how my mother expected kids and how it was leading into dangerous territory about my sex life on campus.
“Fine,” Jade said.
“Thank you,” I replied, opening my eyes again with a sigh.
“But she’s going to be the one escorting us back to campus next week. So you will have to talk to her knowing that your mom has talked about her babies.” Jade reminded me.
“That’s going to be the first time you’ve seen her since the summer, isn’t it?” Mom double-checked.
“Yes,” I said through a heavy sigh.
Jade reached for her bags but first handed Mom her basket. “Why don’t you walk me back to your booth? I want to see where you set up shop.”
Gratefully, the three of us made our way back down the street, through the Farmer’s Market, toward the south end where my booth was. Khryseos and Argyreos led the way, clearing a path for us with their imposing presence. Every so often, a kid would approach and want to pet them, which I always said yes to. The dogs loved the attention and always relished in it, as if I never paid them enough.
“Hams,” I muttered as a pair of brunette twins, no more than seven years hold hung around their necks, and the dogs licked the sides of their face, sending a spray of giggles into the air.
As we continued walking, we chatted about our summers, and Jade told me about spending time with her dad and stepmom. She did what she could to get out of the house and couldn’t wait to get back to the Academy.
“I love my stepmom, I really do,” Jade would assure me, “but when they had my half-siblings, I became more distant. They’re so much younger than me, and I don’t know how much I fit into their family anymore.”
“You know, Jade,” Mom said as she slung an affectionate arm over my Dorm mate's shoulder. “If you ever want to stay with us over the holidays, you’re more than welcome to.”
“Really?” Jade said with wide and hopeful eyes.
“Absolutely,” Mom said with confidence.
Jade looked at me for confirmation, with a teasing smile gracing her lips. Meanwhile I had thoughts about getting her into my bed and having her under me outside of Campus.
“Yeah!” I agreed enthusiastically. “You’re always welcome.”
“I might take you up on that this year,” Jade said, red coming to her cheeks, a mix of joy and desire.
“Just let me know,” Mom said with a one-shoulder shrug, either not noticing or deciding not to comment on the buzz of desire between Jade and I, and she released Jade after giving her a slight squeeze.
“Oh!” Jade said suddenly, surprising all of us. “There’s the cool booth where I got all my seeds.”
My dorm mate pointed at a booth with two tents pushed together to make the booth longer. There was a long row of tables bursting with fresh fruits, all organized by type. On the very end, however, was a nice and neat section with raised displays, like mini stairs, to show off all the packets of seeds.
People wove in and out of the booth, bumping into each other to get the best items. Workers on the other side of the table raced to fill the fruit baskets as they rapidly went from the table to the hands of customers. They were running a spectacular deal: Fill a bag for ten dollars. The booth provided the bags, which weren’t any larger than the bag a newspaper came in, but if one was strategic about it, they could fit some quality stuff in there.
As my eyes gazed over the crowd, I locked eyes with an unfamiliar but eerie woman. She had the blackest hair I had ever seen in my life, looking like a cloak of midnight surrounding her head. It was tied into a long braid that hung over her shoulder, like a prairie girl. Her face was long, almost horse-like, but when she offered me a slight half-smile, it brightened her up. She wore no hat or sunglasses, and her clothes fit tight around her shapely body. Her whole ensemble was way too fashionable to be at this market, especially amongst the throng of shorts, sandals, and flannel.
Even though I would have sworn I never saw the woman before in my life, she grinned at me. Then, surprising me completely, she winked at me knowingly. Before I had a chance to call out or ask something of her, the woman turned and walked into the crowd of patrons.
I blinked a couple of times, but still, the image of the woman remained like a stain on the carpet. There was a tug at my pants, and I looked down. Argyreos was at my side, pawing at my leg.
“Sorry, boy,” I said as I gave him a soft pat on the head.
The dog cocked his head at me as if to ask, “Something bothering you?”
“Just thought I saw someone I recognized,” I said aloud, though the dog, while he did have magical powers, wasn’t really talking to me at all.
I beckoned him onward, and the pair of us weaved through the crowd to catch up with Jade and my mom.
3
The last week of summer passed by in a blur. I spent most of the time with my mom, helping her prep her classroom and the first couple of weeks of lessons. It was fun getting to go over a fourth-grade lesson plan, like being in elementary school all over again. That was way more appealing than the prospect of going back to college courses.
Still, the day had finally come for me to meet Hailey and the rest of the students in our area so we could head to the Academy. Unfortunately, none of us students knew where the Academy was precisely. It was a well-kept secret for the protection of the Academy and the students. Only graduated soldiers and administrators knew the exact location.
That was how Kari was able to let in a group of harpies last year over Christmas break. Rumor had it that security had significantly tightened up since that attack. Good, as it had been one of the first and definitely the most devastating in the Academy’s history.
The letter I had gotten a couple of months ago explained how we were to get to the school. We were to meet everyone at a remote bus stop just outside of town, the exact geographical coordinates listed. That was when I learned you could type latitude and longitude in Google Maps, and it would still give you directions. Believe it or not, my mom taught me that.
We were in the car, with only a backpack and a small duffle packed for me. We had very specific uniforms that we were supposed to wear at the Academy, including the sashes that signified our rank. I figured I would be getting my second-year sash, a red one with a black line running down the center, when I got to campus.
I kept my three sets of uniforms clean and folded over the course of the summer. I also packed a couple of pairs of civilian clothes for weekends, the only times we were allowed to be casual on campus. Also in my bags were a picture of Mom and me, some simple dog supplies like the stuffed monkey Khryseos liked to carry around, and a new leather apron I’d splurged on with some of my Farmer’s Market tips.
Honestly, Khryseos and Argyreos took up more room than anything I was bringing to campus. The two of them huddled up against one another and slept soundly to the smooth rhythms of the car while Mom and I drove to our designated drop spot.
It was a quiet ride, filled with bittersweet moments. I wanted to say something profound and memorable, especially since the last time I left, it had been so quick and sudden. While we had survived that year apart, the anticipation of this one ate at me more.
“You’re worrying again,” Mom said without looking over at me in the passenger’s seat. She brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. “I’m going to be fine, you know.”
“I know you are. I’m worried about me,” I said with a hint of a joke in my voice.
“Hardy har,” Mom responded, not really laughing at all. She reached over and patted my knee. “You’re going to be fine.”
“Maybe I won’t get drafted, and then I’ll get to come home,” I said. Part of me was kidding, and
part of me was more hopeful of that outcome than I would have admitted.
“If you come home before Christmas break, I will be sorely disappointed in you, young man,” Mom said with mock scolding. “It’s going to be a great year for you. I just know it.”
I leaned my head in my hand and stared out the window, to the rushing cornfields as we drove through what appeared to be the middle of nowhere on an empty two-lane road. Memories of her weirdness when she was singing the silly song came back in a rush. I’d tried to bring it up over the past week, but like Jade’s interruption, things just kept happening, and we never got around to talking about it. Something told me that if I was going to mention it, now would be the time to do so.
“Mom,” I said, hesitation apparent.
“Yes?”
“I know you said you don’t remember your silly songs,” I said, not knowing how to start. “But, like, how do you feel when you sing them?”
Mom’s eyebrows curled together. “That’s a weird question, Cameron. I don’t really know how to answer it.”
“Can you try?” I prompted. I glanced over at her, though she kept her eyes on the road ahead, like the responsible driver that she was.
“Well,” Mom said, cocking her head to one side as she thought. “I guess I feel good, most of the time. They are often funny, so I feel goofy. Is that what you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I guess I mean, how do you come up with your lyrics? Your ideas for the songs?”
“Well, you can thank my theatre degree for that,” she said with a joking smile. Mom dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “Being a comedic act-tor and all. It takes skill, talent, and practice.”
“But they’re not always funny,” I said, trying to get her to talk about it a little more seriously.
“Jeez, thanks, kiddo,” Mom said, a little offended.
“No, I mean,” I said quickly, trying to right my wrong, “sometimes they are rather serious. And ominous.”
