Death's Dilemma (DHAD #2) (3 page)

Chapter Three

Spirit Week

“What did you just volunteer us for?” I asked Lacie as I brought my hand down in student publications. This was our last class before lunch and the only class I didn’t stand out in. All the kids who liked to wear black seemed to be here. It was like our own little cult.

“You didn’t hear? You really should pay attention if you want to pass.” She laughed, knowing well enough how I felt about that topic.

“No,” I said as the bell rang and we walked down the hall to lunch. “The teacher had been mumbling something, and like normal, it went in one ear and out the other. I already knew enough about human culture, and seeing as I no longer hunt you guys, I don’t find it relevant enough to pay attention.”

“Spirit Committee,” she answered.

“What is that?”

“You seriously don’t know?” She laughed again.

“No, ‘Spirit Committee’ wasn’t in my Reaper studies.”

“It’s fun! I did it at my last school. It’s just a week to look like an idiot, but everyone does it. She smiled. Each day has a theme, and everyone dresses according to that theme. It’s all done for homecoming week. You know, to get everyone in the spirit. Hence the name. Next Monday is Hawaiian day. Tuesday is super hero day. Wednesday is wacky day. Thursday is ‘80s, and Friday is school color day. So purple and white everything! Then, at the end of the week, there’s a parade during halftime that displays floats. Each day after school, we, as part of the committee, help build the float for our class.”

“Floats?”

“Yeah, like a big parade float but on a smaller scale. Each class makes one as a group. So the freshman, sophomores, juniors, and then us seniors make one. You make them out of chicken wire and tissue paper. Then, next Friday, we walk the parking lot to the football field where they’re displayed at half time. The teacher’s judge, and winners are called. The football game goes on, and from what I’ve heard, they usually lose.” She laughed. “And afterwards, everyone goes to someone’s house to burn the float we worked on. It’s really just an excuse for a party, but it’s fun, or so I’m told. Then, the next day is the dance.”

“We didn’t have so much luck at the last one. And where did this come from? Sure sounds like something that would need much more planning in advance.”

“Well, we’ve only been here a few months, and I guess they didn’t have enough people volunteering, so I volunteered us.”

“I don’t like the sound of any of this. How long have you known about this dance coming up?”

“Cendall, there are signs all over. Look around once in a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m too busy watching your ass, along with Chad, it appears,” I laughed as we both turned and saw her recent crush approaching.

“Hey you guys want to sit outside today?” he asked like we hadn’t just caught him staring at Lacie’s ass. She blushed, and we agreed.

“He’s sort of cute,” I said as he walked away and headed towards the tables outside the cafeteria.

“I guess. Most of the girls here think he’s cute, and I can see why. He’s nice, tan, and tall, and those hazel eyes are gorgeous, but I don’t know. Just never felt like that about him. I’ve actually started talking to someone else.”

“Maybe you should tell him that.”

“Yeah, but it’s nice having a full table at lunch.” She smiled.

“What do you feel like eating today?” I asked as we stood in line.

“No idea. Nothing smells good.”

“Does it ever?”

“Cheesy breadstick day does.” And she was right. That was the only time this menu didn’t make me cringe.

“What will you be having?” asked the lunch maid who had a hair net that clung to her eyebrows.

“Fries.”

“Same here,” Lacie said. The lady handed them to us, and we headed to the stone tables outside. Myah, Cameron, and Chad were already waiting.

“Hey guys!” Myah waved like we didn’t see her. She was, what I guess you could call, Lacie’s and my first friend at this school. She’d given us the tour on day one, and since then, she hadn’t left Lacie’s side. I sometimes wondered how she survived before us. At first, I questioned her motives as she seriously never left us alone, but one touch of her skin, and I didn’t fear any longer as her life flashed before my eyes.

She’d grown up in California in a modern, metrosexual, free-loving town. When she came here two years ago with her hipster clothes, she was immediately cast as an oddball, and the girls picked on her. I secretly thought it was out of jealously, but I kept that to myself as I didn’t really have time for high school politics. But if I ran a school and a Mexican bombshell came in, drawing all the boys’ attention, I’d probably be jealous too. Not that Myah noticed, of course. In her eyes, she was a plain Jane. A plain Jane that was all legs and standing at nearly six feet. Her light, golden-cocoa skin and honey brown eyes made her stand out. Hell, she’d even gotten some boys to join the swim team, even though they had to get in those little purple speedos. I told her my theories of why the team suddenly had 20 more boys when she joined the team this year, but she wasn’t having it. And it really was a waste of their time. When she was at practice, practice was all she did. She wouldn’t so much as glance their way, giving only the final lap her attention.

Lacie made me go to one of her meets once, and if mermaids existed, I would swear she was one. She swam faster than her competitors by not just seconds but sometimes a full minute. It was sort of sad when her life flashed before my eyes and I could see that, up until we arrived, all she did was focus on school. It wasn’t until her senior year that she decided she wanted to try having friends again. She had a group of girls she hung out with all throughout middle school, but in her move, they had lost touch. I caught myself asking about them once, and she looked at me extremely confused. Luckily, Lacie had been able to cover my tracks. When I used to do that trick on humans, they could never see me, and I never talked to them, so I never had to worry. But here, it was an issue. I tried, because of this, to just not talk to people or touch them unless I thought they were a threat. Seeing someone’s whole life story was exhausting when you had to see them day after day. I use to only see it as it was an advantage, a tactic to find their vulnerabilities and weaknesses, but since I was no longer in the soul collecting business, this tool was now a nuisance.

“Are you going to sit?” Myah asked as she waved her hand in front of her face.

“Yes, sorry, lost in thought.”

“That’s nothing new,” she laughed.

“So did you join Spirit Committee?” Myah asked Lacie as she pulled out her turkey sandwich from a small brown bag.

“Yes we both did.” And with that, Myah let out a loud chuckle.

“Cendall joined Spirit Committee?” She smiled, and I shot a glare in her direction.

“Yes, you’ve said before I needed to work on my social skills. I’m just taking your advice,” I said, and she rolled her eyes, probably catching the sarcasm.

“Yeah right, but who cares?! It’ll be so much fun! I have so many ideas.” She started to ramble on to Lacie and Chad, and I turned towards Cameron.

“Spirit Committee today, and you’ve only been to the office once this week. You’re growing up right in front of my very eyes,” Cameron teased as the others carried on in their conversation.

“Oh shut up.” I playfully punched his shoulder. Like how Myah had become Lacie’s first friend at this school, Cameron had become mine. I think it was mostly because of how much he reminded me of Dave. I wonder where he was at on his scroll. When I’d last seen him, he was about half way through.

Cameron, like Dave, had short, blonde hair, but their physical similarities ended there. Cameron was tall and lean while Dave was short and stocky. Cameron also had light grey eyes, and his tone was daintier, almost feminine. He reminded me so much of Dave when I’d first met him because he was so easy to talk to. After one conversation on the first day of class, I felt like I’d known him forever. Didn’t help that with one touch, I had the full version of his life story, but he’d never know. He, like Myah, had no deep, dark secrets, but unlike her, he did have something he was struggling with—something we had yet to stumble upon in conversation. It wasn’t an uncommon story: Absentee father, mother who was physically present but mentally checked out long ago. He’d basically raised himself from a very young age, and it gave him a wisdom that I couldn’t help but admire, almost like he was one of those old souls I’d learned about back in training. They said they were myths, but with the wisdom and patience this kid had, it seemed like something you could only get after living more than one life. We quickly became close because, like my old friend Dave, he helped me out on the first day. Not that I needed it, but he did so before we even became acquainted.

It was first period, and I’d asked a kid if he could move so I could sit next to Lacie. The jerk told me to “fuck off”, and I was about to throw his desk with him in it across the room when Cameron got up and said I could have his. Since then, we have eaten lunch with him and Myah every day, and he’s helped me get out of a few extra visits to the principal’s office by calming me and helping me have patience with these high schoolers. He probably thought I was just crazy, but he stayed by my side either way, and without having Dave there to talk to anymore, I found a large comfort in that.

“Why do you always follow what she does? It’s almost like she’s the president’s daughter and you’re secret service or some shit with the way you act.” My eyes widened, and I tried to play it off.

“No, quite the opposite actually. You see, I’m an assassin, and she’s my target...Grim Reaper style.” I winked, and when I looked back at Lacie, her eyes were wide, and she shook her head. I hoped Cameron didn’t catch it. Sometimes, the truth was so much easier than stringing together lies. He didn’t believe it anyway, so I was safe.

I heard someone laugh out loud behind us. I turned to see Catherine there with another one of the Guardians from the house. She pointed up and down her leg and then back to me. “SLUT,” she mouthed.

“Freaking bitch,” I said out loud

“Who?” Cameron asked

“No one. Nothing. Sorry. Lacie, isn’t it time we get to class?”

“Oh yeah, it is. See you guys later,” Myah said as she, Chad, and Cameron headed back inside. Lacie and I stood up from the table, and Catherine began walking our way with whoever else was attached to her hip.

“I know him leaving me has something to do with you, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. He’ll come to his senses sooner or later. He’s only nice to you because you saved his life. You’re just some new project for him. He loves projects, but he’ll see the truth soon.”

“I couldn’t care less if you get back together or not, and I have nothing to do with that. There is nothing going on between Trevor and me, so the rumors you’ve started at the house can come to a halt. He’s all yours. In case you forgot, we’re supposed to be on the same team now.” She’d only been around one day, but in that time span, the whispers as I passed by other Guardians in the house increased. She worked fast.

“We will never be on the same team. There are those who, as we speak, are fighting to get you off this assignment, my father and Trevor’s parents included. And another thing, I don’t really appreciate you being near my assignment. So, for his sake, it would be nice if you just left him alone.”

“Cameron is your assignment?” I guessed.

“Yes, and you need to stay away from him. Death follows you around, which doesn’t surprise me considering where you came from.”

“If your Cameron’s Guardian Angel, then I’ll make sure I’m with him every waking minute I can be, because if you’re guarding him against my kind, he’s heading for an early grave. Instead of focusing so much on your hatred for me, you should probably be worrying about your assignment that, I might add, is no longer in this area.” She looked around frantically and then scurried off. Her friend rolled her eyes at me as she pasted.

“What she said!” Lacie shouted at them as they left.

“Now it makes sense why there was so much tension when she showed up the other day. She thinks Trevor and I have something going on.”

“That’s not giving her much credit. A blind squirrel could see that.”

“We don’t.”

“Not yet, but soon the Red Sea will part.”

“You’re such a nerd, Lacie.”

“I know, but we really should try and hang out with Cameron as much as possible. If she’s his Guardian, he really could be in trouble.”

“If he was near death, I’d be able to feel it already. They assign Guardians far in advance, so we’ll worry about it when it comes.”

“Okay. You’ll keep an eye out on him though, and save him if it comes down to it, right?”

“Lacie, saving lives has never been my business, and you know that. Even though I’m here protecting you, I’m still a Grim Reaper. I didn’t just give up on my entire life’s teachings because I saved you. You weren’t supposed to be on my list, and I know that. That is why I’m here. People have to die, and I can’t save everyone we get close to. It’s just not my job to do that. That’s what Guardians are for, to fight against Reapers when they try and take a soul at a vulnerable moment. You know Reapers just don’t kill, right? We only take souls during moments when they’re supposed to die.”

“Yes, but a soul has a ton of those moments, don’t they?”

“Well most do, yes, but...”

“Cendall, I know you choosing to protect me instead of taking my soul hasn’t shifted your thinking…completely, but he’s our friend. And if he was to, say, be around me and a Reaper was trying to take his life, wouldn’t you have to interfere because it could bring me harm, since we don’t want Demons or Reapers near me?”

“Always finding that loop hole.” She was right, though. If he was nearby, I would have to help, and then I wasn’t breaking anyone’s code, was I? Plus, I could save my friend’s life, nothing wrong with that. They wouldn’t take that excuse back home, but I didn’t have to follow their rules anymore.

Chapter Four

Gym Genocide