My Soul to Keep

CHAPTER 8



“Welcome to hell.”

“Excuse me?” Even I could hear the confusion in Jessica’s voice.

“I’m sorry, did I say hell? I meant the cafeteria.” I smiled when she giggled. I smiled bigger when her hand tightened around my wrist. My face nearly broke in half when she tripped and ended up in my arms. “Are you okay?”

“I am now, thanks for catching me.”

“My pleasure,” I said and meant it.

I led her over to the table I usually sat at with Jeremy and pulled the seat out for her. “What are you doing?”

“It’s your first day. I’ll get us food and be right back.” I saw her struggling with her own sense of independence. “Tomorrow, you can get us food and I’ll sit on my butt.”

“Deal,” she said and felt around the contours of the chair before sitting down at the table.

“Hope you like Alpo. Don’t worry, I’ll get kibbles too.”

Another small laugh and another huge smile.

I did feel guilty knowing she thought I was joking about the food. Sometimes I swore they really were serving us dog-food. I made my way into lunch lady land and smelled the sloppy-joes before I saw them. Shuddering, I forced myself to keep the remnants of pretzel in my stomach. I grabbed the cream colored lunch tray from the stack at the start of the line. I started off slowly in the Jell-o section and browsed my choices solemnly. I avoided the fruit filled ones, knowing the fruit probably came from a can produced somewhere around the time our school had been built. I settled for two small cups of plain orange.

Next came the cheerleader food, little Styrofoam bowls of lettuce and sliced veggies. Due to my companion’s feminine nature, I grabbed one of them and slid it on the tray with a packet of ranch dressing. I never met a girl who didn’t eat salad and ranch dressing.

I slid the tray down the metal rails and faced my greatest fear, the dreaded sloppy-joes of James Underwood High. I looked up at Mrs. Sanchez in her blue pants, white shirt, and greasy spatula. I closed my eyes in resigned determination, and nodded. I didn’t want to look. I felt her drop the evil on a bun onto my tray. I could feel it mocking me, teasing me, threatening my very innards. I tried not to look down as I slid forward, grabbed two cans of Coke, and made my way to the cashier.

“Only one sandwich?”

“Yeah, too much of a good thing and all that,” I said through gritted teeth. She must have caught my sarcasm, because she let out a cackle, sending shivers down my spine.

I made my way back to the table and found Jeremy talking to Jessica. “What up, Jer?”

“Connor, what happened to you last night? I called you after work but nobody answered.” I looked at Jeremy funny. I'd gone home and crashed, but the rest of the family should have been home.

“I crashed hard. Nobody else answered?” I set the tray down and sat down next to Jessica. “Sloppy-joe or salad?”

“Salad, please. I can smell the sloppy-joes,” she replied with a frown.

I picked up the salad, soda, and Jell-o and arranged everything in front of her. “I got you Jell-o, too. It’s usually safe enough to eat. If the sloppy-joe kills me, call the paramedics would you?” She laughed at my joke and I tried not to bubble over.

Jeremy raised one eyebrow at me and looked at Jessica.

“Did you two introduce yourselves?”

“Yeah, she’s the new kid everyone’s talking about.” As soon as the words left his lips, Jeremy regretted it.

“Everybody’s talking about the blind kid, huh? Don’t worry about it, I’m used to it.” It really didn’t seem to bother her and my respect level jumped even higher for her. “I’ve been blind for ten years. Some things never change. I’m guessing from the way your principal tripped all over himself to accommodate me, I’m the only one at the school?”

“You might be the only one in town,” Jeremy said without any hint of embarrassment.

“Sweet, I should start a club.”

“How did you lose your sight?” I asked. It had been killing me all day.

“They diagnosed me with macular degeneration, but it ended up being a series of small tumors on my optic nerves. They did everything they could.”

“I’m sorry,” I said and meant it.

“You son of a bitch, you gave me the tumors?”

“Huh?”

“Relax, Connor, I’m kidding. It’s not your fault I’m blind and it’s sort of my way of saying, ‘Don’t say sorry.’ Trust me. I’ve grown quite used to not being able to see. I miss it, but I’m not bitter or angry.”

“You’re really cool, Jessie. I hope you know that.”

“I do. Pass the salt. And don’t call me Jessie, ever.”

“Why?” Jeremy finally piped in.

“My last name is James. If either of you call me Jessie again, I’ll beat you with my cane until you bleed.”

“No problem, Jessie,” we said in stereo.

* * *

“Thanks for helping me today. I really appreciate it.” Jessie squeezed my arm as we stepped through the front doors of the school into the chilly afternoon air.

“I didn’t mind at all. I’m kind of looking forward to helping you tomorrow, too.” She didn’t say anything, but I think I saw a little blush rush to her cheeks. “How are you getting home?”

“My dad is picking me up. He works from home, so lucky me.”

“Just wanted to see if you needed me to walk you home,” I said and it sounded lame to me, too. “Maybe Friday?” I tried not to sound pathetic.

“It’s a date.”

“Is it?”

“It is,” she said and gave me a little smile, warming me from the inside out. “Do you see a black Cadillac waiting anywhere?”

I tore my gaze from the little smile on her lips and looked around the parent pick-up line. Sure enough, at the head of the line sat a shiny brand new black Cadillac Escalade with blinding chrome rims. I cocked my right eyebrow up in surprise. Not too many families in Cedar Hills were very well off. Since the economic landslide, even they didn’t have the money to tote around their kids in a car that cost as much as most houses in the area. “Big, black Escalade?”

“Yup, that’s my dad,” she answered and I thought I detected a modicum of embarrassment in her voice.

“Are you guys in the witness protection program?” I gave a little inward groan at my own stupidity. The joke left my lips before my “don’t look like an ass” filter stopped it.

“No. Why?”

“Just don’t see too many Escalades in the area.”

“Ah. Dad is an author. He writes some spy thriller series that’s sold like a billion copies.”

I looked at her like she'd just stepped off a spaceship and had tentacles instead of arms. “And you live in Cedar Hills, why?”

“My grandparents grew up here. They died before I was born. My dad and my step-mother are getting a divorce. She got the big house, he chose to move here and get away from Philly.”

As soon as we got within twenty feet of the SUV, the driver's side door opened and my worst nightmare stepped out and walked around the back of the vehicle. He stood about six and a half feet tall. His long brown hair had been pulled back in a ponytail so tight the wind didn’t stand a chance against it. His brown eyes lit up when he saw his daughter, but narrowed into cat like slits when he saw her hand on my arm.

I gulped audibly, not from the venom in his gaze, but from the shimmer of the air around him. Mr. James wasn’t human, but he appeared to be. He had an orb on him somewhere, but I couldn’t tell where. I blinked twice and tried to see through the shroud around him. For some reason I couldn’t see through it and I didn’t know why.

I must have registered a fair amount of shock on my face. His narrowed eyes travelled from his daughter’s hand on my arm straight up to my eyes. His eyebrow cocked several inches above what my practiced in the mirror eyebrow lift could ever hope to attain.

I saw his lips move as he spoke several words under his breath. The light breeze that had been prevalent all week picked up and brought his words from his lips and settled them over my skin. I heard them as they settled and every other word ended in a soft “th” sound.

I shivered as his words tried to pull my human illusion away from me. I could feel my wings starting to spring forth from my back.

"No," I whispered and concentrated on being human.

Whatever tried to settle over me, snapped with an audible Pop.

I knew her dad wasn't human, but that scared me. For the life of me, I couldn't imagine what he could be. Had he wished to be some sort of wizard? I could see that. If I had thought about it before I wished to be one of the Fallen, I might have chosen that. Knowing invisibility spells would be really awesome...

Jessie tilted her head and tried to listen. “Are you okay?” She sounded confused.

“Yes, I thought I had to sneeze but it went away.”

She giggled and pulled me forward, closing the distance between me and her father. “Daddy, this is Connor. He’s been showing me around the school today.”

“Hello, Connor,” he said and held out a hand I had no intention of touching.

“Hello, Mr. James,” I responded and gently picked up Jessie’s hand from my wrist and put it in her father’s waiting hand.