Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (20 page)

After they finished their breakfast,
Aunt Grace drove them to the corner. Everything was exactly the
same when Calloway arrived at school. Everyone ignored him, knowing
he was Hawk’s biggest nuisance, and Calloway spent his time in
isolation when he wasn’t with his two friends—the other class
freaks

In English class, Beatrice continued to
act like she didn’t see him. There was no Calloway Martins—he
didn’t exist. Despite her betrayal, Calloway found himself staring
at her locks of blonde hair as they trailed behind her back. Every
time she smiled, Calloway wondered how it would feel if he was the
one she was smiling at. Calloway shook his head and forced the
thoughts to the back of his mind. Not only did Beatrice have no
interest in him, but she didn’t care for him at all. She was
selfish and stupid—nothing like Calloway in every
respect.

At lunch, Calloway saw the booths in
the quad, selling tickets for the formal dance. He stepped closer
and read the sign—it was seventy five dollars per couple. Calloway
sighed. He had no idea how expensive it was going to be. Since he
didn’t have the funds to pay for the dance, he turned away and
advanced to the library.

Easton was staring at the pages of the
Kirin Book when he walked inside. Her eyes were focused on the
symbols in the text as she concentrated on deciphering the
language. Calloway was surprised they weren’t closer to decoding
the text with her unrelenting determination.

“
How’s it coming along?”
Calloway asked as he sat down.

She sighed. “I’ve translated a few more
sentences,” she said as she grabbed her notes from her binder.
“Apparently, the essence of any human can be taken or given freely,
but it’s much easier for the Hara-Kir to take the essence if the
human already feels no purpose.”

“
What does that mean?”
Breccan asked.

Calloway looked at him. “It means if
someone is depressed—full of sorrow—then it’s easier to wrestle
their essence from their body,” he answered. “Perhaps that’s why
the Hara-Kirs haven’t tried to take our essence—we have too much
purpose for it to be stolen.”

“
Possibly,” Easton said.
“That makes me feel better but it also makes me feel
worse.”

“
Why?” Breccan
asked.

“
It means that the
Hara-Kirs prey on individuals who are sad and feel a sense of
hopelessness. Humans can feel this way for any reason—it’s a part
of life—and the Hara-Kirs can take advantage at any time. What if
the Hara-Kirs had attacked me when my father died? I wouldn’t have
escaped.”

Breccan nodded. “At least we know
everyone in Disneyland is safe.”

Calloway laughed. “I’m glad you
recovered this, Easton,” he said. “This is helpful.”

Easton nodded. “I’m doing my
best.”

Calloway looked at his cousin. “Did you
see the fee for formal?”

“
No,” Breccan answered.
“What is it?”

“
Seventy five dollars per
couple,” Calloway answered.

“
Yikes,” Breccan said. “At
least Easton and I can split it.”

“
Excuse me?” she said as
he looked at him. “I’m your
date
. You’re taking me
out.”

Breccan sighed. “Damn.”

“
I’ll pay for both our
tickets when I get my first check,” Calloway said.

“
That isn’t going to
work,” Easton said. “Tickets are due by the end of this week and
you just started your job. You won’t get paid on time.”

Calloway sighed. “That’s great,” he
said sarcastically.

“
We can just ask Mom and
Dad,” Breccan said.

“
No,” Calloway said
quickly. “I’ll figure out a way to pay for my ticket. I’m not
asking Uncle Scott for anything.”

“
They don’t care,
Calloway,” Breccan said. “It was their idea that we go to this
dance to begin with.”

“
Well,
I
care,” Calloway said. “And I’ll
figure something out.”

“
You are so stubborn.”
Breccan sighed.

“
No,” Easton said. “He’s
selfless.” She looked at Breccan then returned her gaze back to her
book, letting her final words linger in the air.

Breccan stared at her. “Why is this
book in a different language anyway?” he asked. “They speak our
language.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “What are you
talking about now?”

“
One of them spoke to
Calloway,” he said. “And Calloway understood everything the heathen
said.”

“
I didn’t notice that,”
she said quietly. The pen in her hand trembled in her palm.
“Perhaps this is a language they created to hide their
secrets.”

“
That doesn’t make sense,”
Breccan snapped. “Why would they detail their secrets at all if
they were concerned about exposure?”

“
I don’t know.” She sighed
in frustration. “But that’s the only logical
explanation.”

“
And how did the book get
on our side?” Breccan asked. “What happened? They just misplaced
it?”

“
My father took it,”
Calloway answered.

“
But how did he get it?”
Breccan asked. “Obviously, he didn’t travel to the other side and
return—that’s impossible.”

The sweat under Calloway’s palm became
evident as his flesh stuck to the surface of the wood. He wiped his
hands on his jeans then looked at Easton. The expression on her
face indicated her frustration—Calloway felt the same. “I don’t
know.”

The lunch bell rang and ended their
intense conversation. They left the library and headed to the next
period while Calloway dreaded his last class of the afternoon.
Somehow, time sped up when Calloway wished it wouldn’t and he found
himself walking to the photography building a moment later,
dreading the class with every step of his shoe. He anticipated the
remarks and cruel jokes he would receive by Hawk when he arrived.
Would he throw a Togo’s sandwich at him and ask him to remake it in
front of the class? Would he tell everyone he was paying the
mortgage because his family was too poor to pay their
bills?

Calloway didn’t look at Hawk when he
walked inside. The entire class was already sitting in their seats
and they glanced at him when he came into the room. The only
student that didn’t look at him was Beatrice—she was still ignoring
him. He took his seat next to Breccan and patiently waited for the
class to begin, staring at the whiteboard straight
ahead.

“
Aren’t you going to be
late, Calloway?” Hawk said from behind him.

Calloway sighed loudly, controlling the
anger in his body. He was assigned detention because of Hawk’s
provocation and he didn’t want the punishment to escalate into
something more severe like a suspension. He was lucky Mr. Avey was
the one that caught their fight. Any other teacher would have given
Calloway a suspension and dismissed Hawk with no discipline at
all.

“
I’m sure your shift
starts soon,” Hawk said loudly. “Maybe if you work there long
enough you’ll become the manager and start making some real
money—like your uncle at the hardware store.”

The knuckles under his skin stretched
from the tension in his clenched fist. His palms were shaking in
anger but he ignored the impulse to punch Hawk in the face—it would
have to wait. Calloway saw his cousin tighten his fist in anger.
Hawk’s vicious words were getting to him. Calloway didn’t blame
Breccan for being upset—Hawk was going too far. The constant
hateful comments and attacks were destroying their patience and
control—they both wanted to retaliate but they were inhibited by
their circumstance. The teacher sat at her desk and ignored the
audible exchange carrying on in her classroom, indifferent to the
harassment.

“
Hey, Calloway,” Hawk
said. “Your sandwich tasted like crap.”

His friends laughed at his comment and
gave him a high-five. Calloway didn’t understand the valor in the
words—Hawk just repeated the same jokes. Calloway sighed in relief
when he saw Mrs. Ezquibel address the class. She told them to take
their cameras outside and work on their assignment—portrait
pictures—until the period was over. Calloway and Breccan stayed in
their seats while the rest of the class filtered out of the
room.

“
We’ll get him when we
graduate,” Breccan whispered. “And we’ll get him good.”

“
I look forward to it,”
Calloway said.

When the class was over, Calloway
walked to Mr. Avey’s room to serve his detention. Mr. Avey smiled
at him when he walked inside. “Good afternoon, Calloway,” he said.
“You will be serving detention today so homework isn’t
allowed.”

Calloway nodded. “That’s fine.” He sat
in his desk and looked at his teacher. The SAT was an expense he
couldn’t afford and Mr. Avey generously paid for it—he didn’t even
ask Calloway to reimburse him. The formal fee was another payment
that Calloway couldn’t cover and he wondered if his teacher would
assist him once again. “I wanted to ask you something before Hawk
arrives.”

Mr. Avey looked away from his screen.
“And what would that be?”

Calloway sighed. “Well, I’m attending
the winter formal but I don’t have the money for the entrance fee.
My job started this week and I won’t receive my first check until
after the dance. I was hoping you would loan me the money and I can
reimburse you after I get paid.” Calloway shifted his weight. “If
not, that’s totally fine.”

Mr. Avey pulled the money from his
wallet and handed it to Calloway. “Of course I will,” he said. “I
know you’re good for it.”

Calloway took the money and placed it
inside his wallet. “Thank you, Mr. Avey.”

He nodded. “Who’s the lucky
girl?”

“
She doesn’t go here,”
Calloway said. “She’s in college.”

Mr. Avey smiled. “An older woman—she
sounds nice,” he said. “I hope you have a wonderful
time.”

Calloway nodded then took his seat in
the front row.

“
Is this young lady your
girlfriend?” Mr. Avey asked.

“
I can’t afford a
girlfriend.” Calloway laughed.

Mr. Avey laughed. “And they don’t get
cheaper as you age.”

Calloway wondered if Mr. Avey was
married or had kids. He never thought about it before. His teacher
didn’t wear a wedding band, and there were no pictures of his kids
on his desk. Calloway didn’t ask because he thought the question
was too personal.

Hawk opened the door and walked into
the classroom. He didn’t speak or look at Mr. Avey as he took his
seat on the opposite side of the room, as far away from Calloway as
possible. Calloway didn’t mind—he didn’t want to be near his
tormentor.

“
You will both serve an
hour of silence as discipline, “Mr. Avey said. “Your time begins
now.”

Calloway leaned back in his chair and
stared at the clock on the wall. The tension in the silence was
pressing on Calloway’s eardrums. The clock ticked, and the sound
was loud in the room, counting the minutes until he could leave. He
wished he could do something with his time—even math
homework—instead of staring at the whiteboard in front of the
classroom. Even though Calloway couldn’t see him, he knew Hawk was
furious that he’d been given detention. His father couldn’t spare
him this time. Mr. Avey was the only teacher that didn’t feel
threatened by Hawk’s connections, which was another reason why
Calloway liked him so much—he wasn’t afraid to get his hands
dirty.

Mr. Avey walked to the door, holding a
stack of papers. “Don’t move or speak,” he said. “I’ll be right
back.” He left the classroom and shut the door behind
him.

The door clicked in the frame and
announced their teacher’s departure. Calloway didn’t turn around in
his seat to look at Hawk. He pretended he wasn’t in the room. A
moment later, Hawk returned to the offense and attacked.

“
You know why Beatrice
wants to go to formal with me?”

Calloway sighed. “I really don’t care.
Now shut up and be quiet—your words mean nothing to me.” Calloway
stared straight ahead, not bothering to turn around to face his
aggressor.

“
Well, I’ll tell you
anyway,” he said. “She wants a date she isn’t embarrassed of.
Beatrice hates it when you stare at her—she’s ashamed to be in the
same room with you. It grosses her out.”

“
Tell her to wash her
hands, then.”

“
You should have just
stayed out of it, Calloway. Now you’re going to pay for
it.”

“
As will you,” Calloway
said.

“
Are you threatening me,
Poverty Boy #2?” Hawk laughed. “What are
you
going to do? You aren’t man
enough to touch me.”

“
Ask me again when we
graduate,” Calloway snapped. “And I would rather be poor than
stupid. Daddy’s money will only last so long—what will you do,
then?”

Hawk was quiet for a moment. “At least
I have a dad,” he spat. “And not one that killed himself because he
was ashamed of his only son.”

Calloway jumped to his feet and stared
at Hawk. “My dad didn’t kill himself!”