Earth Angel (Falling Angels Saga) (21 page)

He again lowered his voice. “Ya want to be real American heroes? All ya have to do is stand up, and admit you were at The Explosion. Don’t let this sweet, intelligent, loyal girl take the rap fer ya. Show some guts… and some pride, and stand up fer somethin’ fer once in yer lives!”

He finished his impassioned plea and stared out into a sea of unchanging faces. He waited a full minute, his face slowly falling, as he realized the audience was not swayed. He turned to me and shrugged, as if to say,
I tried
.

Meanwhile, a satisfied grin had slithered across Principal Lockhart’s lips. She did a brief one man applause. “Thank you again, Mr. whatever your name is, for more heartfelt words.”

Just then I heard a small voice say: “I was at The Explosion.” My eyes moved to Maudrina, standing in front of her seat.

No!
I wanted to scream.
Don’t go down with me.

Jeremy Bowen stood. “I was there, too.” Then, Alonzo Briggs.“Me, too.” And to my surprise all the jocks stood up. But it wasn’t over yet. Tran and Geoffrey stood, as well. My eyes bulged in surprise. Not only were they not at The Explosion, they would never have been invited. Yet, there they stood. Tran looked at me and nodded.

Principal Lockhart’s eyes widened as well. A satisfied grin appeared on her lips. “Now, we’re getting somewhere,” she chimed. “Vice Principal Abernathy, get the names of all who are standing,” she called.

Ashley Scott stood next. Then all of the Poplarati sprang to their feet, like flowers springing from the earth at hyper speed.

That’s when the miracle happened. One-by-one, the rest of the students seated in the auditorium stood and spoke up: “I was at The Explosion… I was at The Explosion… I was at The Explosion.” Like a swelling wave, rolling across the sea, students rose to their feet and lifted their voices. “I was at The Explosion.” With each declaration, Principal Lockhart winced. It was as if she was being stabbed again, and again, and again. “I was at The Explosion.”

From where I was sitting the students rising and coming to my defense was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I had never been that popular. But they weren’t just defending me. Harrison was right. This is
our
school. The school is what
we
make it. The teachers and administrators are here to help us learn and grow. They are not here to ride roughshod over us. My fellow classmates were defending themselves against tyranny. I thought of the words of Thomas Jefferson:
All Tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.

American History I, thank you very much.

Most of my classmates weren’t at The Explosion, but they all stood up in solidarity. It was like a sixties sit-in. Trust me, a fifteen year-old trivia buff knows these things. By the time it was over, every student in the house, and a few teachers, too, were all on their feet.

Suze and I sat aghast. Harrison looked over, shooting us his most arrogant grin, as if to say,
I told ya so
, in his infernal accent. I couldn’t help but grin back.

“So what are ya goin’ ta do now?” Harrison asked, turning his attention to Principal Lockhart. “Expel them all? You know what they call a school without students? A building.”

The room fell silent as Principal Lockhart looked from me, to Harrison, and finally into the sea of students.

“Very well,” said Lockhart dry-mouthed. Her shoulders were slumping, as if all the fight had been stabbed out of her. “I know you all weren’t present that day. I appreciate the honorable—although misguided—gesture. And since it seems as though we are never going to get to the bottom of this, I have decided it will be in the best interest of the school, and the student body, to rescind my order of expulsion. As of today, Megan Barnett is fully reinstated with no penalties for attending the unsanctioned event known as The Explosion.” She faced me. “But if I ever hear of something like this happening again…” her words trailed off.

“You won’t,” I assured. “Promise.”

“I can vouch for that,” added Suze.

Lockhart again turned to the crowd standing before her. “This means from any of you, or there will be hell to pay. Now, get to class!”

Thunderous cheers and applause rang out in the auditorium. The sound was deafening, but oh, so sweet. I/we had won. I wasn’t sure what this victory would mean down the road. It was the first time the entire student body had ever been united on something. But if we were united once, we could be united again, and together we could change the world.

Harrison left the stage, strode down the aisle, and out the door.

“Who was that man?” Suze asked as we started out.

“A friend of Guy’s.”

“Really? He must be a very good friend. Is he a lawyer?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Harrison was a demon tracker. But of course, I couldn’t tell her that.

“I must thank Guy the next time I see him.”

I could tell by the way she was looking at me she was adjusting her opinion of Guy. I knew that somehow he had gotten word to Harrison to help me. Guy has never let me down. I again wondered if I had seen the last of him.

When we arrived in the parking lot, I saw Harrison about to climb into Guy’s Mustang. “I want to thank him. Mom.”

“I think we should.”

I held up my hand. “No. I want to do this alone.”

“Oh. Okay.” There was a question in her eyes that she didn’t ask.“Thank him for me, too, please.”

I moved across the lot. When Harrison saw me coming, something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone so quickly, I wasn’t sure what it was.

“My mother and I both thank you,” I said walking up to him.

“Yer welcome.”

“Did Guy send you?” I blurted.

“Can’t a man do a noble deed on his own?” I stared into his eyes. They betrayed nothing.

“Fair enough,” I said. “Let me ask you something else? Did you use Angel Eyes on my classmates?”

He chuckled. “Do not underestimate yer fella man, Megan. I’ve already made that mistake. Don’t you make it, too.”

“You didn’t answer either of my questions,” I said unwavering.

“And I don’t intend ta. Keep a sense of mystery in yer life. It keeps ya on yer toes.”

I let out a sigh. “You are exasperating, you know that?”

“I do,” he replied. Slowly the arrogant grin made its way to his lips. I found myself grinning back. “And now, believe it or not, I have ta get goin’. There are demons in the world that require my attention.”

“How did you wind up with Guy’s car?”

Harrison chuckled again and shook his head. Then he put on his sunglasses and climbed into the car. “You’re wicked smart, Megan Barnett. I’m sure you’ll figure it all out.” With those words, he put the car in gear, and drove out of the parking lot.

I wondered why he’d come to my defense. Even if Guy had asked him, he had good reason not to. I had denied him the opportunity to use
The Book of Calls
to even the playing field for Nephilim among the angels. But Harrison had more power than he thought he did. I hoped one day he’d realize he doesn’t need
The Book of Calls
to accomplish his goals.

No matter why he did it, I owed him big time.

Danny Tambor was moving across the parking lot towards a Harley parked by the fence. Erin was standing next to the Harley. The best way to describe her outfit
du jour
was hooker chic.

I had to save her. I tried catching her eye. I got the feeling she knew I was staring at her. She seemed too intent on not looking in my direction. Without a word to her, Danny got on the bike and fired it up. Its throaty rumble had everyone in the parking lot staring. Erin climbed on the bike behind him, put on her helmet, and together they drove away.

I moved back to Suze.

“Is that Erin with that boy?” she asked as the bike drove past.

“No, of course not. What would Erin be doing with someone like that?” The old guilt over Matt’s death kindled in my belly like a brush fire in dry weeds.

I have to save her.

“That girl on the bike looks like an older version of Erin gone bad.”

I nodded and emitted a soft grunt.

“Have you seen her lately?”

“I stopped by her house the other day.”

Suze had never mentioned how I’d gone from spending all my time with Erin to spending all my time with Maudrina. It was impossible not to notice. I believe she thought we needed a break after Matt’s death.

“I’m glad today worked out,” she said, her voice brightening. “I need to learn to trust you more. You told me it would work out, and it did.” Relief flooded her face.

All I could do was smile. What could I say? I couldn’t take credit for what had happened today. I had dodged a huge bullet, and I knew it.

“Well… I guess I should get to work.” Her voice cracked, and I realized her eyes were filling with tears.

“Mom, it’s going to be okay,” I said. “We won.”

“It’s not that,” she said smiling through her tears. It’s… you’re growing up.” A burst of laughter sprang from her lips. It seemed both happy and sad. “I know. You’re thinking,
W
hat is the matter with this woman?
Of course I’m growing up. It’s just that it’s happening so quickly.” The tears washed down her cheeks. “Look at me. I’m making a scene in front of all your friends.” She pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed at the tears.

“Hey,” I said pulling her into a hug, right there in the parking lot, with classmates and teachers passing by. “I may be growing up, but I’m always going to need my Mom.”

There was a time if she tried to hug or kiss me in front of my classmates, I would have shooed her away. Back then, I didn’t want to seem like a little kid. Today, as I stood holding her, a part of me longed for those little girl days. Not the not just hugging part, but all the little girl stuff.

The first bell rang.

“We need a girl’s day,” I announced, changing the subject. “Saturday. Just the two of us. A little shopping, lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, huh?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said, putting an end to the storm clouds.

A few moments later, I headed off to class and mom to work. Life was getting back to normal, at least it seemed normal for those on the outside looking in.

#

Because of the special assembly, school was on a shortened schedule. That meant we’d still go to all our classes in order, but ten minutes had been shaved off the length of each period to get a full day in.

English was first period. When I got there Maudrina was waiting by the door.

`“Eeeee!” she squealed as I walked up. She dropped her books. They clattered to the floor as she corralled me in her arms, and started jumping up and down. I didn’t feel like jumping up and down, but she was my best friend, the first person to stand up for me, I couldn’t leave her hanging.

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” she squealed still jumping.

I looked around and realized all eyes were on us. Jeremy Bowen and Alonzo Briggs were passing by on their way to class. Both boys were smiling. Jeremy shot me a near imperceptible nod as they moved past.

“Can we stop jumping now?” I was getting out of breath.

It dawned on me that I had turned a corner with my classmates. As I looked at them in the corridor, everyone met my gaze. No one looked away. I had a feeling the days of
poor Megan Barnett
were behind me.

“I told you we could do it.” We had stopped jumping. Maudrina was beaming at me.

“
Us
, huh?” I said with a smirk.

“I was the first one who stood up. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t kicked it off.”

“Don’t ever do anything like that again,” I said turning serious. “We both could have been kicked out of school.”

“This school would be a dump without us.” She smiled at me, and I realized Maudrina wasn’t just a high school friend. She was the kind of friend you had for life; the kind of friend who was at your wedding and there when you named your first child. “I guess we should give a tiny bit of credit for what happened to that gorgeous man with the hot accent. Who was he?”

“Harrison. Usually he’s an arrogant jerk. I don’t know what got into him today. But I’m glad it did.”

“How do you know him?”

“Guy,” I responded, my voice dropping.

“Where is Guy? I haven’t seen him since that day on the steps with the beautiful girl.”

I let out a slow breath as the painful memories came flooding back. “It’s a long story,” I said, my voice suddenly weary. “I’ll tell you later.”

She didn’t press the issue.

When class began, Ms. Karcher allowed us to work on our
A Raisin In The Sun
papers. The papers were due in a week, and with all the getting kicked out of school and
The Book of Calls
drama in my life, I hadn’t been working on mine.

Today, for the first time in a long time, I felt I might be able to concentrate. I was hard at work when I heard the classroom door open. I didn’t look up until I heard my name.

“Is this Megan Barnett’s class?” a boy asked.

Oh, no!
I thought. My spirits plummeted. Principal Lockhart was waiting for the assembly to end so she could ambush me with no one else around.

I looked up. I had never seen the boy standing at the front of the room. He was incredibly handsome, with dark unruly hair and a pair of dreamy eyes that made my heart stop.

Those eyes
.

“Yes, this is her class.” Ms. Karcher said to the boy.

“This is for her,” he said in a voice that was both sexy and sweet. He moved to Ms. Karcher’s desk with the grace of cat, and dropped a small envelope.

“I’ll give it to her,” said nosey Doris Baxter, who sat in the first row, leaping from her seat.

The boy started from the room, his eyes scanning the seated students until they found me.

I knew he was an angel.

“Wait!” I called getting up. My heart fluttered back to life.
Has he been sent by Guy?