Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (18 page)

“
And if that happens, I’ll
never give it,” Calloway said.

“
I expected nothing less,”
Easton said. “But I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Calloway nodded. “I think they keep
returning to the library because they suspect I’ll return with the
book.”

Breccan shook his head. “That doesn’t
make sense,” he said. “Why would you come back?”

“
I don’t know,” Easton
said. “But I can’t think of any other reason why the Hara-Kirs are
always there.”

Calloway was wondering the same thing.
The Hara-Kirs were always in the library and he suspected it wasn’t
a coincidence. “I don’t think they’re looking for me,” he said. “I
think they are there for another reason.”

“
But why?” Breccan asked.
“Why are they
always
at the Grandiose Historian Library?”

Calloway sighed. “I don’t know,” he
said quietly. “But I have a feeling we’re going to find
out.”

Fitting In

The sound of movement upstairs made
Calloway sit upright in his chair. There were dozens of feet
thumping against the floor and Calloway knew Weston had company
over.

Easton sighed and put the Kirin Book in
her backpack. “She could have told me she was having people over.”
She zipped up her backpack and placed it on the table. “Weston is
probably having a party.”

“
Does she do that a lot?”
Breccan asked.

Easton shrugged. “I guess.”

“
What do you mean
you
guess
?”
Breccan said.

“
Well, I don’t live here,”
she snapped. “And I don’t spy on my sister.”

Calloway rolled his eyes. “Should we
leave?” he asked. “I’m exhausted from the long day. This can wait
for another time.”

“
They’ll probably come
downstairs,” she said. “The music can’t be heard when it’s played
in the basement.”

The door opened and Weston walked down
the ladder with people following behind her. She walked to the
stereo and turned on the radio, playing an electronic indie song.
Against Calloway’s will, he started to dance in his seat until he
saw Easton glare at him.

“
I’m having a
get-together,” Weston said. “Stay or go—I don’t really
care.”

Easton sighed. “Let’s go.”

“
We don’t want to be
rude,” Breccan said quickly. “Your sister invited us to her party—I
think we should stay.”

“
She didn’t
invite
us,” Easton said.
“She said our existence makes no difference to her—not the same
thing.”

“
I’ve never been to a
college party before,” Breccan said over the loud music. “Come on.”
He turned to Calloway and saw him shake his shoulders to the music.
“Calloway wants to stay.” Calloway stopped moving at the sound of
his name.

“
Fine,” Easton said. “But
you aren’t going to know anyone. And I doubt college freshman want
to hang out with high school kids.”

“
Let’s find out,” Breccan
said as he stood from his chair.

Weston was talking to a guy in the
corner of the room and he was laughing at her words, clearly
pleased by her company. Weston was smiling at him as she continued
to speak. Breccan walked over to her and Calloway followed behind
him. Reluctantly, Easton trailed behind with her arms across her
chest.

“
Hey,” Breccan said to
Weston. “Cool party.”

Weston nodded at him but Calloway was
certain she didn’t hear a word he said. “Breccan, this is my friend
Scott.” Breccan nodded to him as they shook hands. “And this is
Calloway,” she said.

“
What about me?” Easton
said.

Weston rolled her eyes. “And this is my
little sister,” she said.

Easton shook his hand then glared at
Weston. “I’m only a year younger than you—I’m not your baby
sister.”

Weston took a drink of her cup.
“Whatever,” she said as she walked away.

Scott watched her walk away with a
saddened expression, clearly disappointed that his time with Weston
was over. He turned to the three of them. “So, are you freshman,
too?” he asked.

“
We’re seniors,” Breccan
answered.

Scott raised an eyebrow.

“
In high school,” Calloway
added.

Scott nodded his understanding. “Are
you joining us at Fresno University?” he asked as he shoved his
hands into his pocket.

“
That’s the plan,”
Calloway said. “We’re all applying there.”

“
Cool,” he said. “Let me
know if you need me to show you around. Weston’s friends are my
friends.”

“
She isn’t interested in
you,” Easton said quickly.

Calloway stared at her in astonishment.
Scott looked at her with a confused expression, unsure why she said
such a comment. “Excuse me?”

“
She flirts with every guy
she sees,” Easton said. “Don’t take it so personally. She never has
a boyfriend because she prefers being single. I’m just warning you.
Every guy drools over my sister.”

Scott nodded. “Thanks for the heads
up,” he said as he drank from his glass. “I assumed she was out of
my league anyway.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “She thinks
she’s above everyone else.”

“
You don’t like your
sister very much, do you?” Scott asked.

“
No, I do,” Easton said
quickly. “I love my sister.”

Scott stared at her for a moment. “You
weren’t making that very clear.”

Breccan shook his head. “Ignore her,”
he said. “She doesn’t know how to act at parties.”

“
At least I’ve been to one
before,” Easton snapped. “This is your first.”

Breccan glared at Easton for a
moment.

Calloway stepped toward Scott and
pulled him away. “I apologize on my behalf of my annoying friends,”
he said. “What are you studying at Fresno University?”

“
It’s okay.” He laughed.
“My major is English.”

“
I was considering pursing
the same degree,” Calloway said. “Are you enjoying it?”

“
It’s a lot of reading and
writing so it’s time consuming, but other than that, I love it. I
couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

“
And what do you want to
do with that?”

Scott shrugged. “I really don’t know,”
he said. “I’ll figure that out when graduation nears. I’ll probably
just change my mind anyway.”

Calloway laughed. “College students are
known to do that.”

A guy walked over to Scott and they
embraced each other. “What’s going on?” the man said. “I didn’t
know you were going to be here.”

“
Weston invited me,” Scott
said. “I couldn’t say no.” He turned to Calloway. “Calloway, this
is my friend Michael.” They both shook hands.

“
It’s nice to meet you,
Calloway,” Michael said. “Are you from Fresno University,
too?”

“
No,” Calloway answered.
“I’m still in high school—a senior.”

“
That’s cool,” Michael
said. He turned back to Scott. “You’re still stuck on Weston?” he
asked. “She’s too free to be tied down. I suggest you look for
someone else.”

“
I know.” Scott sighed. “I
had a high school girl tell me the same thing.”

“
That’s just
embarrassing.” Michael laughed.

“
Yes, I realize that,”
Scott said.

Michael turned to Calloway. “How do you
know Weston?”

“
I’m friends with her
sister,” he answered.

“
Cool,” he said. “I’ve
never seen you around before. Welcome to the party.”

“
Thanks.” Calloway smiled.
He noticed both men wore expensive jeans and jackets that were more
costly than his entire wardrobe. Calloway realized he was wearing
an old sweater covered in holes, and his pants were washed out from
all the spins in the washing machine. But then he realized that
neither of these guys cared—they didn’t even notice. They didn’t
mind that he looked poor—no one did. The knowledge made him feel at
ease. He felt at home with these people and was excited to start
college. He looked forward to being around students that didn’t
care about what clothes he wore or how much money his family
made.

Easton and Breccan finally stopped
fighting and rejoined him. Calloway turned to his cousin. “Are you
guys done?”

Breccan rolled his eyes. “We’re never
done.” He introduced himself to Michael and they discussed the
university and what major Breccan should declare.

Weston walked back over to them and
hugged Michael. Calloway watched Weston wrap her arms around
Michael’s neck and then Calloway focused his gaze on the strands of
brown hair that fell across her back. He noticed Michael’s hand
around her waist.

“
I’m so glad you came,”
she said as she pulled away. “You have to a take a break at some
point. You can’t study all the time.”

“
I agree.” He smiled.
“Even though you never study.”

“
I do sometimes.” She
smiled. She turned to Scott. “I hope my sister isn’t bothering you.
She can say the weirdest things sometimes.”

Calloway laughed at her words and
Easton glared at him.

“
No,” Scott said. “She’s
been great.”

Weston rolled her eyes. “If she becomes
too annoying just walk away—that’s what I always do.”

“
Stop acting like I’m a
child, Weston.” Easton crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re the
only one who has a problem with me.”

“
I have a feeling that
isn’t true,” she said as she smiled at Breccan.

Breccan’s face turned red, and when he
tried to smile it turned into a grimace.

“
Are you sure you want to
go to formal with her?” Weston asked Breccan. “It’s not too
late—you can still back out.”

Calloway laughed. “Yes, he does,” he
said as he elbowed Breccan and snapped him out of his
stupor.

Weston looked at Calloway and he felt
his heart race. “Have you found a date?” Weston asked.

“
No,” Calloway answered.
“I’m going stag.”

“
You can’t go to winter
formal alone—that’s lame,” she said.

Calloway laughed. “Yes, it is, but I
can’t find a date. I would prefer not to go at all but my aunt is
making me.”

Easton stepped toward Calloway.
“Everyone makes fun of Calloway because he defended this girl at
school and now her boyfriend has made it his life goal to harass
Calloway at every moment. Why don’t you go with him, Weston?
Calloway wouldn’t be a loser anymore—he could be cool—and Hawk
might back off.”

Calloway shifted his weight. “That’s
unnecessary,” he said quickly. “Ignore her, Weston, and forget that
she even asked.”

“
You defended a girl and
now you’re the biggest loser in school?” Weston asked
incredulously.

“
It’s a long story.”
Calloway sighed. “Basically, this jerk was harassing this girl in
my class, and when I intervened he started to tease me instead.
This has been going on for a while and the guy never lets up. He
hands me McDonald’s gift cards in class because everyone knows I’m
poor. He even broke my camera in photography class so my family
would have to pay for it.”

“
Who does this guy think
he is?” Scott asked angrily. “He can’t get away with
that.”

“
That’s unacceptable,”
Weston snapped. “You should tell the principal.”

“
That’s the problem,”
Easton said. “His
dad
is the principal.”

“
I don’t see why that
matters,” Michael said. “He has to follow the rules like everyone
else.”

Calloway shrugged. “The school year is
almost over—soon I won’t have to see him ever again.”

Weston placed her hand on Calloway’s
shoulder and the touch made Calloway flinch. “I would love to go
with you, Calloway.”

Calloway felt his cheeks blush. He
avoided her gaze for a moment before he finally looked at her. “You
don’t have to, Weston,” he said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“
We’ll have a great time.”
She smiled. “And we’ll teach this bully a lesson.”

“
It can be a double date,”
Easton said happily.

Calloway nodded. “Thank you for going
with me,” he said to Weston.

“
What are friends for?”
She smiled at him. She walked away and returned to her other
friends at the party. Calloway watched her for a moment before he
turned back to his friends. Breccan was staring at him with a
dumbfounded expression and Easton was smiling.

“
Well, that worked out,”
Calloway said.

“
I can’t believe you are
going with
Weston
,” Breccan said. “Every guy at formal is going to hate you
for showing up with someone as hot as her.” He looked at Weston
across the room. “Now I wish you were going with Easton.” He
sighed. “I could be going with Weston.”