Circumstellar Read online

  It was true. Ty’s clothes looked like they had been wadded in the same small, dark space as mine, but he actually remembered the tie. Looking at Lesia, I saw her uniform was as perfect and pressed as Principal Dipper’s suit. It made for a stark contrast between us. Then again, Ty and I didn’t have mothers to do our laundry for us.

  Ty let out an awkward laugh. “Ha, yes, I know. I’m still working on it. But my dad’s always in a rush, you know, and he, uh, accidently grabbed my keys on his way out. I didn’t want to leave the house unlocked, so I called him and waited for him to, um, send them.”

  I raised an eyebrow at Ty’s explanation. So much for the hormonal girls excuse. I didn’t doubt the story was true, actually. I knew he didn’t like to talk about his home life, and this was far from the cool, confident explanation I was expecting. I was a little surprised he’d even brought it up. Perhaps, like me, Ty respected Principal Dipper too much to try the smartass lie routine. That or he really didn’t like the science lab.

  “Hmm, very well, Mr. Callahan.” No way, I thought. “This once, and just this once, I shall excuse you. Don’t let it happen again,” Principal Dipper warned in her strict manner. “Now, you and Miss Delaney are to report back to class. I would like a word with Miss Fairheit.”

  Ty didn’t waste any time in leaving the room before the principal could change her mind about his pardon. Lesia, who had been so quiet throughout the whole ordeal, sent me a questioning look with her eyes before exiting the room. It was just me and Ursa.

  We looked at each other, neither saying anything for a minute. She pursed her lips and set her gray orbs on me.

  “Ingrid,” she began in a voice so soft I wouldn’t have believed was hers had her lips not been moving, “I know it’s hard. You have to take care of yourself and,” she paused as if debating if she should finish, “take care of your aunt.” I steeled myself, wondering where this was going. “You have a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders. It’s difficult having to be the adult when you’re still a child. It was for me, too.” Trying to escape her gaze, I looked down at my lap. My stomach started twisting in shame and embarrassment. Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t finished. “You have a lot to deal with, but if you just applied yourself a little more, you could do so well. I’ve spoken with your teachers. They think you have a lot of potential, if only you would put more effort into your work. I believe that, as well.”

  I refused to raise my eyes from my lap, fearing if I looked up the tears would come and I wouldn’t be able to stop them. Why was she bringing this up? I didn’t want to talk about this. Not to her. Not to anyone. I didn’t want to be pitied. As I sat in my thoughts, I realized I didn’t want to disappoint, either.

  “Ingrid, I don’t mean to upset you. I just want you to know that we understand and that we,” she paused again, her voice barely a whisper, “that I know you are a very special girl. I see you doing great things in the future.”

  I finally raised my head, my glassy purple eyes looking at her face. It may have been a trick of the light, but for the first time, I saw a small smile gracing her stern face. I looked behind those thick-rimmed glasses and saw in her eyes that small glint of compassion she liked to hide. I also saw the truth she held behind her words.

  “Thank you, Principal Dipper. I’ll try harder. I promise,” I said – truthfully – while rising to my feet. “But I’m really late for class. First period’s almost over.”

  It only took a fraction of a second and the kind old lady was replaced by the no-nonsense administer. In a way, I was relieved. This was a person I knew how to handle.

  “Very well, Miss Fairheit. Report to class and don’t forget to do your punishment this afternoon. As much as I enjoy the morning company, I don’t want to have this conversation . . . again.”

  “Oh, you won’t,” I said as I grabbed my bag and left the room. I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the hall and rushed to catch the last five minutes of English. I was so glad that was over, but in the back of my mind, I felt a little lighter. After all these years of being a “troubled teen,” it was good to have someone finally believe in me.

  The rest of the day wasn’t very eventful: the same old teachers teaching the same old subjects, the same girls gossiping over some cute new surfing champion, and the same guys arguing over football. There was one notable exception, and that was me. Being true to my word, I did attempt to stop daydreaming for half the lecture. I even got Lesia to fill me in on the English I missed during my foodless lunch hour. As the last class of the day finally ended, I sighed in resignation while Lesia and I made our way to the science lab.

  “I can see why Ty was so desperate to get out of this. Mouse dissections, yuck!”

  “Well, it could have been insects,” Lesia replied with a shudder. I could agree with that sentiment.

  “That’s true. Come on. Let’s get these guts off the floor and get out of here,” I said, grabbing some gloves and a biohazard bag. This was truly nasty. Honestly, I thought while scooping up some stray eyeballs, can’t freshmen learn without mutilating everything. They even managed to get some on the bottoms of the tables! A brief flash danced across my vision, but I reflexively pushed the memory down.

  “I’m so going to kill Ty when I get out of here,” I grumbled.

  Lesia let out a little giggle while going over to the window. “You know, I think he might be squeamish. But,” she paused, looking out, “he still waited for us.”

  “Huh?” I dropped my bag and peered out the window. Sure enough, there he was leaning against the one of the brick pillars. He looked down at the ground, a head full of messy auburn on full display.

  “The good news is he’s not going bald.” I grinned at Lesia, but she was no longer focused on me. Her eyes were still fixed on Ty, a gentle gaze in her brown eyes and a soft smile on her lips. She made a slight “hmm” at my remark, but her eyes never wavered. Lesia was always so cheerful and kind, but she never looked so content as she did then looking at him. And I never felt so sick.

  I quickly turned, tying up the last of my “body bags” and throwing them into the closet. I had always suspected, but never could I have known. No. That wasn’t true. It had been there. Little signs barely noticeable to the unobservant. I just didn’t want to believe . . .

  “Hey, why don’t we go to Clive’s? I know it sounds strange, but after handling all this, uh . . . stuff . . . I could really use some comfort food.”

  I fixed a smile on my face just before I turned to face her. “That sounds great.”

  Lesia smiled in return, and together we closed the closet door and headed out to the school gate. She made little jokes about our “clean up duty,” which I could only respond to with light laughter, my mind still buzzing from the window. As we headed to the door, I settled on doing the same thing to the look I did with the rest of the signs and everything else I didn’t want to know about. I passed it to the back of my mind and pretended like I didn’t see a thing.

  Chapter 3

  Newton’s First Law of Motion

  Clive’s was, in short, a local burger joint. It was also a hot meeting spot for teens and young adults because of its atmosphere and good quality. The owner, Clive, was a kind old man who always strived to make the best burgers around. It was like heaven for fast food junkies.

  “Come on, Ty, you know you want to give me a piece of your burger. It’s the least you could do after bailing on us in Ursa’s office,” I reasoned while eyeing his feast. Mmm, double cheeseburger. It was the first opportunity I’d gotten to eat all day. I was so hungry.

  “Okay, first of all, I didn’t bail on you; I just had a good excuse. And second, I waited for both of you in the hot sun, while you played with the mice inside. But since I’m such a good friend, I will be generous and give you a bite,” Ty finished while tearing off a piece of burger and tossing it to me. It existed for only a nanosecond before I stuffed it in my mouth. Glorious.

  I didn’t blame Ty for being reluctant to gi
ve up his food. Like me, this was probably the only meal he was going to get for the day. I prepared to make a bid for another small sample when a large carton of fries plopped in front me. I raised my eyebrow at Lesia when she sat down.

  “What? I just accidentally ordered two instead of one.” She shrugged, trying so hard to play innocent.

  “Funny how often that happens,” I teased. “You’d think by now you would have learned not to make that mistake. Thanks, though,” I said, giving her a grateful look. I meant it, too. Without Ty and Lesia, I probably would have starved to death.

  “Oh, it’s no problem. Besides, I don’t think Mr. Clive’s been charging me full price.”

  I glanced over to where Clive stood behind the dining counter. He was smiling and talking to a few college students, his bright blue eyes glinting in the light. He really was a nice guy. In fact, I knew Lesia wasn’t the only one that got “undercharged.” Whenever Ty came up short, he always just took what Ty could give no matter what the order. I made a mental note to one day pay him back for all those free large fries.

  “So, Tybalt, why did you bail on us?” I asked, turning back to my fries.

  “You’re impossible sometimes, you know that?” he said, a smile creeping up on his face. “Wouldn’t have you any other way.” I viciously fought to keep the blush off my face. “The truth is . . . I already told it. My dad did take the keys. And please, let’s keep the full name a secret.”

  “So? You still could have helped us clean the lab. It was like a slasher movie in there.”

  “Well, it’s, ah,” he paused, furrowing his brow, “I just kind of have a thing . . . about mice.”

  “Is that it? Hell, I thought there was something serious going on. You could have just said you’re scared of mice.”

  “So that’s why,” Lesia piped it, a thoughtful look on her face, “you were missing on dissection day when we were freshmen.”

  “And why he didn’t want to go on that field trip to the farm,” I pointed out.

  “Come on, guys, keep it down. It’s embarrassing. I wouldn’t be doing this to either of you. Well, maybe I would.” He snickered to himself. “But the point is I’m way too cool for this to get out.” It wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if he hadn’t been so serious.

  “If you say so,” replied Lesia while joining in with my laughter.

  “Oh, you girls are so mean,” he huffed, pretending to pout. “I’m so not inviting you over to my slumber party this weekend.”

  “Good,” I returned as I checked my watch. “Looks like it’s time for me to go make sure Auntie hasn’t drown herself.” I devoured my fries and stood up. Ty and Lesia also finished their meals and followed me to the door.

  “Have a good night,” Lesia said with a wave before turning to leave. “I’ll see you bright and early,” she said pointedly. “This time I mean it.”

  “Bye, Lesia!” Ty yelled after her. “Be careful!” I expected him to start walking away as well, but instead, he turned towards me. “Do you want me to walk you home? You have a lot further to go, and it’s going to be dark soon.”

  I could feel my stomach knotting up as I looked up at him. More than anything, I wanted to say “yes.” I wanted to walk hand in hand all the way back to my small, stinky house, smiling all the way. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to inconvenience himself for me or to walk home from my house in the dark. The lack of street lights on every corner was no big deal to me, but I knew it would be hard for him. And somewhere in my mind, a small part of me didn’t want to appear weak.

  “No, that’s all right,” I declined at last, a small note of disappointment in my voice, “but thanks for the offer. Really.”

  “Are you sure?” I nodded and he smiled at me. “Okay, Ingrid. You better be careful. I don’t want any bad calls in the night.”

  “Don’t worry, I will,” I said, smiling back. “You be careful, too.”

  “All right,” he said, his eyes lingering on mine for a few seconds before finally turning away. When he started walking, I turned to leave. Someone really needed to tell my stomach gymnastics tryouts were over. I was going to have to do something about this before I developed some serious gastric problem.

  It was a nice time for a walk. The sunset bathed all the houses in a pretty orange glow. The lights in many homes started to come on, and in some windows, I could see families sitting down ready for dinner. Must be nice. I hummed wistfully as I continued on my way. Other than me, it was really quiet out here. Not another soul in sight. Kind of eerie, actually.

  I gripped the straps of my bag with clenched fists and quickened my pace. Maybe I should have let Ty walk me home. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes darted around taking in every shadow, every dark corner. The only sounds were the wind rustling in the trees and my own pulse. It was so quiet. Something’s wrong! The hair on the back of my neck stood on ends, and I broke out into a run. My feet pounded into the concrete while I plowed full speed down the sidewalk. Almost there. I’m almost there. There! I could see my house just at the end of the stre – Pow!

  I cried out as I slammed into the ground, my knees and hands scrapping roughly into the concrete. Something hit me in the back – hard. I stared at the ground for a second trying to catch my breath and steady myself.

  “Damn! That was one big bump in the path! These damn humans need to watch where they’re going!”

  I froze, eyes widening. I wasn’t alone. Someone did run into me: someone big and stupid sounding. And what was with that weird accent. It was like this guy had lived in at least five different countries.

  “You’re the one who needs to watch where they’re going, Plumbarco. We finished what we came here to do. Now you’re just making unnecessary messes.”

  The new voice washed over me and tingled all the way down my spine. Deep and smooth like fine silk. He had the same accent as the other guy, but boy, what a voice.

  “Come on, Farron, I haven’t seen a human in years. Let me have a bit of fun, will you? The Lady won’t mind.”

  “She will mind if we are any later than we already are. She’s waited a long time for this, and her patience is wearing thin.”

  From the sounds of things, whoever this Farron guy was, he was obviously much more intelligent than this Plumber-whatever.

  “Fine, fine. Have it your way. Always ruining the fun,” I heard the Plumber mutter. “Guess I’ll just have to hurry up and kill this one.” Oh, God. “Would’ve liked to play a bit.”

  My mind sped into overdrive. What should I do? Fight? No, from what I could figure, this guy could probably chokehold Becky. Lay still and play possum? I don’t think so. That left me with one option. Run. I braced myself, ready to spring to my feet and take off like a bat out of hell.

  “I think you’d better let the girl go.”

  Huh? Who was that? I paused from my escape plan, wondering if another creep had come to join the party. At least, this time it sounded like someone that – hopefully – didn’t want to kill me.

  “Who the hell are you?” The Plumber and I were on the same page with this one, but he confirmed what I hoped. I took in a deep breath, not realizing I had been holding it. This guy wasn’t a friend of theirs.

  “You already know who we are,” a strong female voice rang out. “Now give it back to us, or we will take it by force.”

  For someone who had been here since this whole thing started, I sure felt like I’d missed a lot of the conversation. Curiosity overwhelmed my fear, and I turned my head, shifting my eyes to glance at the newcomers. Even as the sun set behind the horizon, I could still easily make out their features. Both had their eyes focused intently over my head at, I assumed, my attackers.

  I first looked at the guy who saved my life. My gaze left his hard blue-gray eyes to take in the rest of his face. He was good-looking, admittedly: a strong jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and a perfectly straight nose. Blond hair cropped into a short buzz cut crowned his head. Looking down, I noticed he was wearin
g a white tank top and light green, loose fitting pants. The whole thing screamed martial-arts-military-man.

  My eyes moved to his female companion, and I instantly felt a stab of envy. She was beautiful, tall, and slender. Her intense hazel eyes never wavered from their target, and with her full lips and short black cut, she reminded me of a model. She wore a white wrap shirt held by a green cloth around her waist. Unlike her army-like buddy, her light green pants were cut into shorts, displaying long ebony legs. They were an impressive sight, all right, especially considering they couldn’t be but a few years older than I was. The two people, that is, not her legs.

  “I knew I should have just stayed in bed today,” I mumbled, shifting my gaze from the two teens on my left to the ground again. I sighed and worked up the courage to look at the figures on my other side. The scrapes on my hands and knees burned as I studied the cloaked figures. They were just as mysterious to me now as when I was staring at the ground, the heavy hoods giving nothing of their appearances save for one thing – or rather four . . . things. From within the folds of black, two sets of bright, glowing eyes shone brilliantly – like stars in the night sky – glaring at the pair on my left. The familiar sight filled me with shock and confusion. A bizarre, single thought came to me then: the only thing my mind could process. Somehow, I got the impression my strange visitors were a little less than human.

  “How did I get into this?”

  That was the question of the century.

  Chapter 4

  Opposition

  After a short trip down memory lane, I focused my attention back on the mysterious men. Emerald and sapphire, that was the only way to describe the glowing orbs in the darkness. Taking another look at them, I could tell both were tall; however, the blue ones were a good few inches higher than the green. His cloak also seemed bulkier. If I had to make a guess, I’d say “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was the one unclogging toilets. Despite my desperate situation, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch at my thoughts. I turned my gaze back to the other man, only to find myself staring into the most vivid form of green I had ever seen. To be fair, most of the other shades don’t light up.